Sonic Youth - She's in a Bad Mood, from 1983.
Pure no-wave music, with out-of-tune guitars and a dark, claustrophobic atmosphere. I love it.
Sonic Youth - Massage the History, from 2010.
Recognizable as the same band, but much more professional and mature. Nowhere near as chaotic. They seem to be fond of long, chill jams lately. I love it.
edited 24th Jul '11 12:50:28 PM by sca_punk
They're off the streets now, and back on the road on the riot trail. http://www.last.fm/user/sca_punkRX Bandits - Teen Idol
— a very typical third-wave ska song about some Valley Girl or something
RX Bandits - Bring Our Children Home Or Everything Is Nothing
— ... rather different.
RXB are a band which really have evolved over the years though... it's expected, but still quite some contrast listening to them one after the other
The Flaming Lips, "Bag Full Of Thoughts", 1985
The Flaming Lips, "Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existental Fear, Part 2", 2011
This was sorta interesting for me because I hadn't actually heard anything from their crazy current Gummy Skull/Gummy Fetus/collaborating with hip experimental indie bands phase until I looked it up just now, and it's a bit more similar to their earliest material than I'd have thought.
edited 24th Jul '11 1:16:45 PM by MikeK
here's an interesting one, an Omar and Cedric version
that's some change in style
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Which one I prefer depends on what mood I'm in.
You have good taste in music, sir.
edited 25th Jul '11 10:26:21 AM by CinemaZebra
"My brain used to be a little bitch, so I mugged it's ass." -kegisakLed Zeppelin 1969
Led Zeppelin 1979
Totally different sounds, but pulled off well in both cases. They were growing increasingly progressive as they went on, but the process was sped up near the end of their run due to various things going on in their lives.
Metallica 1983
Metallica 2008
Still heavy metal and still kicking ass. A bit more sophisticated nowadays. They seem to know what they are better than they did 27 years ago.
edited 24th Jul '11 11:44:55 PM by thelittleman66
What do ya mean I ain't kind? Just not your kind...Rush 1974
Their first album is kind of an anomaly, being pretty much basic hard rock without the progressive rock elements.
Rush 2010
Well, it's still hard rock, but considerably more sophisticated. Not as complex as the epic suites they did in the 70s, and without the synthesizers prevalent in the 80s, but still.
no one will notice that I changed thisThe characteristic Mountain Goats sound is there, but this track from John Darnielle's first casette release, Taboo VI: The Homecoming, is unusual in this respect - the album is so poorly recorded that the singing is barely audible, and his singing is rough around the edges at best.
The Mountain Goats are now a real band, rather than just Darnielle + guests. This change took place when they signed to 4AD in 2002 to release Tallahassee. But even since then, they've made better use of drums, bass and additional instruments like the piano in this track. At its heart, though, that characteristic sound is still the same.
edited 25th Jul '11 12:00:23 PM by Saeglopur
Listen to Music with Tropers at The Troper Turntable!This can get kind of fun when you use a band that has a debut they consider Old Shame:
Ministry - Work For Love
(1983)
Slick, danceable Synth-Pop with slightly goth-ish Fake Brit vocals. By the way, that funky little guitar lick that pops up occasionally is pretty much the most guitar you hear on the whole album.
Very fast-paced Industrial Metal (with much more emphasis on the "metal" part) with political lyrics and a barely intelligible Guttural Growler of a singer. The vocals sounds like an entirely different person actually, when in fact their singer's actually the only member the 1983 and 2007 versions of Ministry have in common. Not actually from their latest release by the way, just the last one that was (almost) all original songs, as opposed to covers, remixes, or live performances.
edited 27th Jul '11 6:20:56 PM by MikeK
Then:
Ti, Ki Izzivas (You, Who Are Challenging)
The first track, Sodba Veka, isn't available on Youtube.
(*Music live from their first concert, ridiculous vid came later*)
Pure Industrial / No Wave, sung in Slovenian, Sounds like the love child of SWANS and Zu.
Most recent original composition:
They've spent 30 years absorbing whatever is popular in European dance music like some sort of Facist Katamari Damacy, their lineup is now almost completely different and they've abandoned their more experimental sound in favor of a more accessible means of delivering their absurd political message.
And their uniforms are still ridiculous.
edited 27th Jul '11 6:14:17 PM by inane242
The 5 geek social fallacies. Know them well.Meshuggah in 1989
, a derivative if somewhat cerebral thrash metal band.
Meshuggah in 2008
, a surreally experimental and apocalyptically heavy groove behemoth.
Dream Theater in 1985
, an amateur group of Rush wannabes.
Dream Theater in 2011
, an experienced, omnicapable, genre-defining progressive metal act set to release what may be their best album in years.
I think in the long term, age really does improve bands (although the bands I like seem to release their best stuff in the middle of their career).
It's the opposite for me. There are only a handful of artists who've improved over time. Most of my favorite albums are usually by bands early in their careers (usually one of their first three albums, but sometimes even the demos).
Slayer:
Morbid Angel (beginning from their debut album instead of the demos):
Manilla Road:
- 1980
- Solid, epic heavy metal, but they'd really hit their stride after the next album.
- 2008
- Still excellent
edited 28th Jul '11 8:57:05 AM by brc2000

So recently I've liked to go back to my favorite bands' first performances/music and comparing them to their latest music/performances, and seeing how much they've changed.
So, that's what this thread is for; post the band's first track, then their latest track, and then contrast and compare the two tracks.