Lazy?
I don't like country. I'm a rocker by nature.
Geez, recommendations everywhere.
I have a rule when trying new artists: listen to the first song that shows up in their Google search, the most listened-to track on their Last fm page, and then the top result of their You Tube search. I tried them, and they were pretty classic metal/hard rock.
I'm not that good with trying new stuff unless I'm searching for it myself.
Hmmm. If I may be so bold, I do have a few suggestions in that vein, but I will have to know what you like first.
I like Venom, actually. Not love, but like.
Also, the phasing on that bass is classy as hell.
edited 10th Sep '13 4:54:14 PM by JHM
I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.I think my favorite bass solo of all time is Teen Town.
Although I'd say my favorite bassist is probably Squarepusher
. I'll admit I'm not too big a fan of some of his more experimental tracks, but he's made a lot of my favorite bass lines and solos and is my go-to counterexample when I hear the borderline strawman "electronic music takes no talent" argument.
American Cheese
by Electric Six and Midlife Crisis
by Faith No More are kind of what I have in mind.
edited 10th Sep '13 8:32:49 PM by DrStarky
Put me in motion, drink the potion, use the lotion, drain the ocean, cause commotion, fake devotion, entertain a notion, be Nova ScotianMy musical fixations...
- Anything with banjo and tuba playing rhythm.
- Acoustic Hawaiian guitars.
- Accordions, whether playing polka or French musette.
- Beer-hall style waltzes.
- Anything that never takes itself seriously.
I actually have a really varied taste in music but if you really want to know...
This has a banjo and tuba playing rhythm, an accordion playing lead, and it's a beer-hall style waltz. No acoustic Hawaiian guitar, though...
edited 12th Oct '13 12:03:58 PM by Aldo930
"They say I'm old fashioned, and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast."Something I don't hear too often but tend to enjoy is when bands have multiple guitarists, but don't really have a lead and rhythm guitarist. Sonic Youth is probably the most well-known example of what I mean.
edited 26th Jan '14 1:41:58 PM by FingerPuppet
Music which utilises multiple percussive rhythms underneath its main drum rhythm.
Radiohead's Idioteque would probably be the most prominent example of that, but there are many others.
edited 26th Jan '14 1:45:32 PM by porschelemans
I'm so sorry that my avatar doesn't appear fully in the shot, but the cat was threatening the photographer.- A big, climactic finish, especially when the whole song feels like it's been building up to it (Madness, by Muse as an example)
- Minor key.
- Soft singing.
- When the vocals are the only "instrument", such as in Sail.
edited 27th Jan '14 10:30:10 AM by Jinxmenow
"Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy."Another thread
discusses about the same thing as what we do here, I think. I'm not so sure. Perhaps I read the exact theme of the thread in a context different from the theme this thread has. I don't know. All of you can decide, I think.
I thought I would give myself some time to analyse my music taste so I can post in the thread with more affinities/fixations at one time. I give up on that however. I may post more of those later. I don't know if I'm allowed to do so. If it's alright, it would be nice that one of you can tell me if I'm allowed to.
- Singer-songwriters sing with dry and blunt deliveries. As examples, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen. Their singing sound more sincere to me for some reason. A number of people find their vocals rather insignificant, dull and lacking in expression. I still like them however.
- Drum solos. We definitely need more of these! I always think these solos require the sense of timing to pull off. I know too few drummers who attempt these though.
- Bass guitars in the forefront. I find rock music without the bass in the forefront a turn-off. Bass gives me the catchy melodies for me.
- Vocal harmonies. I find these rarities in radio pop music. I wish we have more bands which have members who sing together more often like The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Fleet Foxes.
- A mix of emotions in a single song. I love how some happy songs have a energetic and fun lead guitar solo, with a more introverted rhythm guitar as the foundation, and another instrument playing a more melancholy melody in the background. I don't know if this is what you call dissonance. It sounds about right for me. The opposite clashes of feelings make me feel that the particular songs have considerable depths.
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As far as I can tell, the other thread is for moments in specific songs you enjoy. This one is for things you like in general.
Also @tropeslave you might like The Minutemen and/or Nomeansno if you haven't heard them. Both are bass-driven bands fronted by guys who can't sing and they have one of my musical affinities: that weird treble-heavy guitar tone they both use (incidentally, the trebly guitars in bass-heavy songs sometimes leads to a bit of that "mix of emotions" thing you were talking about).
I know Nomeansno's drummer plays drum solos between songs and such live and he's pretty good, but I can't immediately think of any studio songs on which he solos. But if it's any consolation, he does have a tendency to play some pretty crazy fills, as evidenced here
and here
.
As for the Minutemen, their only "drum solo" is actually on a set of empty oil drums so I'm not sure if you'd count it, but he's still someone to look out for in their songs. However, it's hard to talk about the Minutemen without bringing up their bassist, Mike Watt, who was part of what gave them their defining sound. So here couple of their "longer" songs, which are both still under 3 minutes: "The Anchor"
and "The Glory of Man."
edited 3rd Feb '14 4:19:29 AM by FingerPuppet
You may or may not also like Akron/Family's first few albums, given their predilection for structurally complex and emotionally ambiguous songs with tonnes of four-part vocal harmony and odd instrumentation. That said, their later stuff is kind of dull.
Ah, recently I've been on a major overhaul in my musical tastes, constantly listening to new stuff and redefining what I like. I do quite a bit of active thinking over what I like specifically, since I also try to compose myself, but I find it more and more difficult to pinpoint exactly, so oddly enough with further musical analysis the descriptions on what I like in music get more vague. I shall try to formulate some list and come up with enjoyable minutiae anyways, for my own sport as well.
In no particular order of importance:
- Use of delicate dissonance and cluster chords within in a softer orchestration/instrumental texture. See most of the output by Toru Takemitsu and Messiaen.
- Major sevenths. Both chords and interval, it's literally my favorite interval. Also resolution of a major seventh to a perfect fifth (both voices moving one full step inwards) is absolutely lovely.
- Church modes, naturally, especially when combined with impressionistic and parallel harmonies.
- Use of disjointed, alternating rhythms, odd or alternating time signatures. Although syncopation is the most important key, odd time signatures themselves often aren't enough.
- Combinations of "sparkling" or "windbell-like" sounds for which I really have no good short description. Something like a combination of pizzicato, percussive elements on wood, metal, plucked string instruments, tuned idiophones. A collage of short sounds that are combined to make impressions of long sustained notes (Steve Reich comes to mind)
- Up-beat, catchy atonal music
- Polyphony in textures, melodies, rhythms.
- Combining a melody out of disjointed little fragments, often played by different instruments/voices. Same can be done with the backing music.
- Music with a coherent dramatic "line", where tensions and releases on a macro scale are well thought out. A piece that has an inner drive from one temporal moment to the next throughout it.
- Extremely varied texture, sonority.
edited 5th Feb '14 3:24:34 PM by yachar
'It's gonna rain!'
