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aforrestofstuff · 5 years ago

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Okay! I have a burning question for you, my dude. Music is my life, and I wanna know what kind of music the OPM casts listen to. Thanks, my guy!

I had a feeling this would be inevitable lol. I don’t really know a whole lot about music or genres or anything like that so I’m just gonna give you a rundown of each character individually and some song recs along with that just to smooth things out a little. Thanks for your ask, by the way! ❤️ Now my playlists will be put to good use.

A Brief Rundown of the Major OPM Characters’ Music Tastes:

Blast: hc that he doesn’t even have ears since he never fucking LISTENS

Terrible Tornado: Stuff that makes her feel powerful. Loud vocals and good instrumentals. Also, she’s a little angsty since she’s saltier than the gotdamn Pacific almost all of the time. (Recs: Florence and the Machine - How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, Susanne Sundfør - Delirious, Florence and the Machine - What Kind of Man, Kali Uchis - Dead to Me, Let’s Eat Grandma - Falling Into Me)

Fubuki: some of that real classy shit. Slow songs that are nice to just have a cup of tea with. Nothing too meaty or fast-paced, she enjoys taking a moment to breathe every once and a while since life gets pretty hectic when you’re managing a gang of some 30 hooligans. (Recs: Wes - Midnight Low, any song from Lana Del Rey’s entire discography lol, Florence and the Machine - Grace, The Marìas - I Don’t Know You, Yellow House - Ain’t Gonna Call, Feng Suave - Toking, Dozing)

Silverfang: Stuff from his time. I hc that he was a bit of a party animal back in his prime so he’s gotta have those grooves. Disco to the extremo. Also, another hc: Garou absolutely hates his music. He would play it during training and Garou would contemplate homicide. (Recs: Frankie Valli - Grease, The Edgar Winter Group - Free Ride, KC and the Sunshine Band - I’m Your Boogie Man, Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride, The Main Ingredient - Everybody Plays the Fool, Andrea True Connection - More, More, More)

Bomb: save as Silverfang, although I hc that Bomb was a little more of a nerd growing up. Still, he never missed out on a good party. (Additional Recs: KC and the Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight, The Trammps - Disco Inferno, Tierra - Together, Cornelius Bros and Sister Rose - Too Late to Turn Back Now)

Atomic Samurai: Old shit. Shit older than Silverfang. He’s really not that old, but his soul is fucking ancient and he’s got that classic “grrr music these days sucks” kind of shithead attitude. (Recs: Jim Croce - Time in a Bottle, Dion - Runaround Sue, The Carpenters - The End of the World, The Band - The Weight)

Child Emperor: Upbeat synth. Stuff to listen to while he’s working on his machines and whatnot. Probably has meaty beats to keep him in tune with what he’s doing, like working around a clock. Probably some groovy citypop in there too. (Recs: Taeko Ohnuki - 4:00 AM, Junko Ohashi - Telephone Number, Tatsuro Yamashita - Magic Ways, Hiroyuki Sawano - NEXUS, Superfly - Kakusei, Mariya Takeuchi - Plastic Love)

Metal Knight: Intrumentals that Disney villains listen to. Deep, dark shit that makes you feel sad. He probably feeds off of negative emotion. What a toolbag. (Recs: Lucas King - Sociopath, Abel Korzeniowski- Table for Two, Max Richter - Never Goodbye, Max Richter - She Remembers, Evelyn Stein - Quiet Resource, Mac Quayle - Adagio in G Minor)

King: video game soundtracks, obviously. Might be some electro funk in there too, as a treat. (Recs: Metal Gear Solid 3 OST - Snake Eater, Mick Gordon - Rip and Tear, Xenoblade Chronicles OST - Main Theme, Persona 5 OST - Last Surprise, Daft Punk - Verdis Quo, Toby Fox - Hopes and Dreams, Disasterpeace - Prologue, iamthekidyouknowwhatimean - Run, Darren Korb - Old Friends)

Zombieman: Dad Music. Old rock that makes you wanna rail some lines of white thunder and dance on top of a car. He’d be reluctant to try out new stuff but does so nevertheless. Just a little bit of weird alternative here and there. (Recs: Poison - Unskinny Bop, Mötley Crüe - Dr. Feelgood, Black Sabbath - War Pigs, Def Leppard - Animal, CRX - Walls, MGMT - Little Dark Age, Pink Floyd - Money, Queens of the Stone Age - Villains of Circumstance)

Drive Knight: Dark synth, obviously. Need I say more? (Recs: El Tigr3 - She Swallowed Burning Coals, Trevor Something - Enjoy the Silence, Greg Drombrowski - Devour, GUNSHIP - Woken Furies, GUNSHIP - Thrasher, Carpenter Brut - Invasion A.D., Kavinsky - Nightcall)

Pig God: this guy probably just listens to ASMR of people eating food lol.

Superalloy Darkshine: Upbeat stuff that’s good for exercise; loving those new jams along with some of the old. He’s got a pretty groovy style. (Diane Ross - Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Saint Motel - Puzzle Pieces, CRUISR - All Over, Barry White - Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up, Sade - Kiss of Life)

Watchdog Man: 10 hour loop of wolves howling on a summer night.

Flashy Flash: classical. Some nice instrumentals to listen to while training. Stuff that preferably doesn’t have any or very little lyrics so it’s not too busy on his ears while he’s fantasizing about killing someone. (Recs: Vaughn Williams - The Lark Ascending, Debussy - Rêverie, Grieg - Peace of the Woods, André Laplante - Une Barque sur L’Ocean)

Metal Bat: Modern alternative. A little bit harder than say, Mumen and Kama, but not as hard as Zombieman or Death Gatling. He’s that middle ground where he’s still got some real bangers, but Zenko can listen as well. He’ll play this stuff loudly as he’s doing chores and working out, no headphones ever. It gets pretty annoying. (Recs: Foals - Exits, The Blue Stones - Black Holes, Solid Ground, CRX - Broken Bones, Jungle - Happy Man, The Strokes - Reptilia, We Are Trees - Girlfriend)

Genos: synth. But not just any synth, some heavy, fast-paced synth that’s just like him: speedy, relentless, and powerful. He listens to shit that’ll make you wanna get up and start killing Terminators. Probably. There’s some other synths in the mix too because we love a three-dimensional king. (Recs: Carpenter Brut - Division Ruine, The Protomen - I Still Believe, Carpenter Brut - Leather Teeth, Gunship - Tech Noir, TWRP - Phantom Racer, Le Castle Vania - Red Circle)

Tanktop Master: Dad music but the type of dad music that makes you think your dad was a sappy nerd back in the day. Long tracks that are good for workouts. (Tears for Fears - Woman in Chains, Pink Floyd - Us and Them, Duran Duran - Ordinary World, Billy Idol - Eyes without a Face, A Flock of Seagulls - I Ran, The Alan Parsons Project - Eye in the Sky, Tears for Fears - Sowing the Seeds of Love)

Puri-Puri Prisoner: Pop. Dance music. He doesn’t really get to listen to a lot of music in prison, so he holds on to whatever he can and savors every second of it. (Coldplay - Talk, Bruno Mars - Runaway Baby, Lady Gaga - Bad Romance, Flo Milli - Beef Flomix, Doja Cat - Say So)

Mumen Rider: Hes a lighthearted, soft boy. Likes some fluffy indie tunes. It helps to motivate him when working out or doing hero stuff. He might need to cry every once in a while though, so there’s some sad songs in the mix too. (Recs: Varsity - The Dogs Only Listen to Him, The The - This is the Day, Amarante - Don’t Look Back, Alvvays - Saved by a Waif, The Monkees - As We Go Along, Acid Ghost - Hide my Face, Mogwai - Take Me Somewhere Nice)

Sonic: same as Flash. He’s a little more hip with the times however, so he’s got some more groovy, electronic instrumentals to listen to in addition to some elegant stuff and isn’t opposed to having a little bit of lyrics sprinkled in there as well. In fact, he’s not opposed to uppity pop either. He thinks dancing is frivolous but he secretly does it when he thinks nobody is looking. (Additional Recs: Odesza - Bloom, Pretty Lights - One Day They’ll Know [Odesza Remix], BØRNS - Electric Love, Hembree - Culture, The Cinematic Orchestra - Arrival of the Birds)

Garou: same as Metal Bat. Bang let him have a little MP3 player during his time at the dojo and has since collected a few songs on there. They’re very near and dear to his heart since it’s one of the few good things that came from his absolute disaster of a childhood. (Additional Recs: Foals - Inhaler, CRX - Slow Down, Deep Sea Arcade - Close to Me, Gorillaz - Empire Ants, The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger, Glass Animals - Take A Slice)

Death Gatling: Shit your old Vietnam-vet grandpa would blast on the back of his F150. He gives me self-righteous asshole vibes, if I’m honest. Like, don’t get me wrong, I like Death Gatling, but he seems like the type of trailer park-dwelling sewer rat to carry a revolver into a Walmart for “self defense” and that’s probably the type of music he listens to, too. (Recs: Megadeth - Trust, Megadeth - Angry Again, Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son, Glen Campbell - Southern Nights, Mötley Crüe - Kickstart My Heart, Quiet Riot - Cum on Feel the Noize)

One-Shotter: I hard hc that he had an emo phase he never quite grew out of. He doesn’t quite listen to emo anymore but he’s still into that alternative shit. Homeboy also likes some slow tunes every once and a while because he’s an emotional dude who’s not afraid of a good cry. (Recs: Anything from Blink-182, Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know?, MGMT - When You Die, Mazzy Star - Fade Into You, Cigarettes After Sex - Dreaming of You, Yon Ort - Other Matter)

Lightning Max: Same as Genos but without the terminator-killing. Fast-paced stuff because he’s a fast lightning dude. A little more upbeat because he’s not as much as an edgelord as Genos, however. (Additional Recs: Carpenter Brut - Hang’em All, The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize, Worn Tin - Sensitivity, B.E.R. - The Night Begins to Shine, Martin Hall - Different Kind of Love)

Stinger: he’s all about that FUNK! Stuff that gets him moving! Stuff that makes him wanna dance! (Recs: Daft Punk - Doin’ it Right, TWRP - Body Image, Wild Cherry - Play that Funky Music, Chemise - She Can’t Love You, Saga - Wind Him Up, Saga - On the Loose, TWRP - All Night Forever)

Okamaitachi: they give me electro vibes! New, modern shit that’s good to dance to or to just sit down and have a listen! Also, some shit that’ll probably play in a coming-of-age teen movie or something. They don’t really vibe with heavy music and that’s alright, babey! Keeping it light and bouncy. (Recs: Tei Shi - Bassically, Varsity - Must Be Nice, Class Actress - Weekend, CHVRCHES - Richard Pryor, Alvvays - Marry Me, Archie, Sobs - Telltale Signs, Goth Babe - Sometimes, ALASKALASKA - Meateater)

Iaian: Nice, low tunes that are good for meditation and to be used for background noise during training sessions. He never really sits down to listen to music, it’s always in the background of something else he’s doing so he prefers to have some soft beats that don’t really interfere with his senses. Tunes so quiet, he sometimes uses them as lullabies; especially since the trauma of losing his arm has since made it hard to sleep. (Recs: Boy Scouts - Saddest Boy, Susanne Sundfør - Mantra, Vashiti Bunyan - If I Were the Same but Different, Starman Jr. - Blue Fairy, Patrick Watson - Je te Laisserai des Mots, Sibylle Baier - I Lost Something in the Hills)

Bushidrill: same as Atomic Samurai just without the shitty attitude. He’s happy to listen to some newer stuff, he just doesn’t like it and that’s okay, baby! Probably some classy shit your wise old grandpa would listen to. (Recs: Dean Martin - Volare, Dion - The Wanderer, Peppino Gagliardi - Che Vuole Questra Musica Stasera, anything from Luis Miguel lol, Franco Micalizzi - Sadness Theme)

Amai Mask: probably just listens to his own music like a putz. If not, he’s listening to the sound equivalent of glittering diamonds. He’s probably got this shit playing at the end of a long day while he’s chilling in a hot bath or something. (Recs: Fergie - Glamorous, Rita Ora - Hot Right Now, Lana Del Rey - Freak, Lana Del Rey - Art Deco, Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backwards)

Saitama: He doesn’t listen to music much anymore, sadly. He did, however, have a killer motivational mix to get him through his vigorous training prior to becoming a hero. (Recs: Paul Engemann - Push it to the Limit, Journey - Don’t Stop Believin’, College & Electric Youth - A Real Hero, Joe Esposito - You’re the Best Around, Survivor - Eye of the Tiger, The Bee Gees - Nights on Broadway)

Here’s the playlist with all of these songs in order (mostly):

It’s on YouTube because I’m allergic to Spotify. I’ve got a doctor’s note. Also, all of my other playlists are on my little profile thingy so if you want to listen to my pile then go right ahead.

Thanks for your ask, my dude! ❤️ this took up ALL of my energy lol but it was fun.

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mineofilms · 4 years ago

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Call It Heavy Metal Noise

I just listened to the new EVANESCENCE last week. The album is called “The Bitter Truth.” It’s not bad. It’s more than I expected from them and/or her. She is a great singer, but I am not sure if her vocals work for “really, heavy” music over the alternative pop metal she has been doing. I really had not listened to the band since they broke out in 2004.

“Part of Me” is a great song and in tone the album is a little bit heavier than the band’s previous works. Like, if you take what she was doing back in the day and compare it to now, it is much more heavier a record. So, I would say less pop and more rock, but it’s still very tamed down by today’s “Heavy” Metal Standards. It’s not Jinjer. No one is Jinjer…

However, this got me to thinking about music, metal and classifications. We call these Genres and Subgenres. If you all have not seen “A Headbanger’s Journey.” I recommend you all see it. It’s great. A little dated by today’s standards as metal had grown so much and changed in the past 10-15 years that it is hard to have conversations about what has/is happening to metal since the turn of the century…

It’s a tough thing to label what is really Heavy Metal and what is Pop/Rock. I am stickler for labeling bands in the correct subgenre of Heavy Metal. It’s all “Heavy Metal” and Pop/Rock is a subgenre of the main genre of Heavy Metal. This perspective is if you are the Metalhead and are creating an outline and/or timeline of bands in Heavy Metal and what Subgenre of Heavy Metal you believe they belong in.

This is completely objective. It’s all opinion based, but there are some rules for saying a band is this style or another style. Criteria is really the only way someone can say this is that and that is this, within Heavy Metal labeling.

Take Nu Metal as an example. What is Nu Metal? The easy answer is Nü Metal is Rap Metal… Well, that is a very incomplete definition, but to someone that doesn’t know metal all that well or at all that would be an “alright” answer; I’ll except it... A better definition of Nu Metal is, taken from Wiki: (sometimes stylized as nü-metal) is a subgenre of alternative metal that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge.

This definition actually works for me, accept it is missing one very important part of the conversation about criteria. That is time period. Nü Metal isn’t just all those things in the Wiki take, it is also talking about a specific time period from 1993-2003. Now this doesn’t mean that some bands weren’t doing Nü Metal’ish / Fusion Rock based material before 1993. Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More had all sorts of stuff in their music that could include them in the Nü Metal subgenre, also what about Stuck Mojo? Hip/Hop and Hardcore, yeah, they were doing it too.

However, for the most part, most would say 1993 is a fair estimate for a start date as to when you started seeing bands that would be later labeled as Nü Metal started to show up. However, by 2003 the style was in decline and you had a lot of bands from the subgenre either flat out change their sound or packed it in as a band and went onto do other things. Like father all those babies they made on the road, backstage and on the bus…

Now, Nü Metal was still doing things after 2003, but was actually anyone listening to these bands anymore? All the bands that had one or two LPs come out, had a few singles on the radio and were/are still actively touring bands… Yeah, those bands… Did anyone even notice them still around or gone for that matter? I think not.

Flaw, 12 Stones, hell, even Finger Eleven? Anyone screaming for new records from these bands? If so, then Nü Metal is still around, its not, and hasn’t been for a long while now. Post-Nü Metal for me started around 2005…

This is sort of important as some of the bands we listen to today were not even out yet and there has been a resurgence in the style. However, I cannot call it Nü Metal as Nü Metal also has the time period as part of the criteria. I am calling this Nü Wave Metal, but it’s all objective. Call it whatever you want to, but if you get into a conversation about this topic with someone that is very passionate about Heavy Metal Culture, they might embarrass you and take your girl or guy. Now, that’s metal hahhahahah….

Some examples of subgenres:

Metallica… From Genre.Fandom.com; Metallica is considered: Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal, Hard Rock, Alternative Metal. They can be put into other categories, but for the sake of not giving anyone a headache we will just stick with this. It should be noted that a lot of Metallica’s labeling changes from album to album. It is widely argued that Metallica’s 1st 4 LPs were straight up Thrash while everything after “…And Justice For All” is not Thrash Metal. I tend to agree… To me, though, Metallica is still a Heavy Metal band.

Another Example is Lamb of God. Taken from Google; Lamb of God is considered: New Wave of American Heavy Metal, Groove Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Metalcore, Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Grindcore, Alternative Metal, Speed Metal…

For me, Google can be hit or miss. They got 2 right out of gates. I agree that Lamb of God is “New Wave of American Heavy Metal” and “Groove Metal.” Personally, the others are a stretch. I guess they fit there, but if I have to look up bands of a specific subgenre and I am left scratching my head then I do not include said band in the labeling.

Like I said, this is completely up to you, but use some logic and critical thinking when you do it. These are my rules… What are yours??? Sometimes it is easy. Limp Bizkit is easy to call Nü Metal like Anthrax is to Thrash Metal.

One of my favorite bands as of late is Winds Of Plague, formed in 2002. They use a lot of different elements, but came out in 2002. Do we call them Nü Metal? I am sure people did, especially back in those days. In those days the band sounded more like a Hardcore band over a Nü Metal band, but that was what was happening then.

If you were heavy, metal, and came out during that latter Nü Metal years, you were called Nü Metal. I absolutely do not agree with that, but I understand the logistics of it. I was dying a little bit inside when I was reading music people calling “Shinedown” a Nü Metal band? Wait, what???

Winds Of Plague is considered Metalcore, Hardcore, Deathcore, Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Avant-garde Metal, Symphonic Black Metal.

Some other bands I love… All labeling from Google… I agree with some, but not all. I do not know how they handle this, but I am not really feeling some of these secondary, third and fourth choices.

As I Lay Dying - Metalcore, Thrash Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Christian Metal, Melodic Metalcore, Christian Hardcore, Swedecore…

Dream Theater - Rock, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Hard Rock …

Machine Head - New Wave of American Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Nü Metal, Groove Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, Alternative Metal, Speed Metal …

Pantera - Rock, Thrash Metal, Power Metal, Hard Rock, Glam Metal, Groove Metal, Traditional Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, Sludge Metal, Southern Rock, New Wave of American Heavy Metal…

Scar Symmerty - Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Power Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal…

Sevendust - Hard Rock, Nü Metal, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal, Post-Grunge, Industrial Metal…

Twelve Foot Ninja - Experimental Metal, Djent, Alternative Metal, Jazz Fusion, Acoustic Music, Experimental Rock, Avant-garde Metal, Funk Metal, Dub…

I get most people do not want to label their music like that. However, Heavy Metal is a family of music genres that is in a class all by itself. The numbers differ, but you can have as many as 75 different Subgenres of Heavy Metal.

While writing this I could only find 54. Again this is all objective. People make them up every few years. There is a subgenre called Nintendocore and all it is people creating music which sounds like the music on the old NES gaming console. Why this is a thing I couldn’t tell you. Some people want to feel important I guess. We live in a very confused INTERNET fueled culture these days.

This isn’t a blog about human behavior in relation to Heavy Metal and 8-bit soundtracks. Now, if someone told me August Burns Red’s cover of the Legend of Zelda theme was Nintendocore and I didn’t already know what Nintendocore was then I could agree that this song is Nintendocore. It isn’t, but again how are you or I associate Heavy Metal music to other Heavy Metal music is opinion based. Most agree that a subgenre has its own rules, but bands flip flop and/or are interchangeable more than the Politicians of this country do.

It’s all just objective perspective… Some will say Pop/Rock is whatever Rock song/album/band is popular. I only agree with that a little bit.

I say POP/ROCK has 3 main criteria that work together, but are also mutually exclusive;

1) As a form of music that one cannot put a label on, specifically.

2) Has different elements from other musical genres.

3) Happens to be a popular song/songs.

So POP/ROCK is more like a label given to bands/artists that do not fit in a “specific” subgenre. I actually call this “Fusion.” Now, more or less this is talking about how Metalheads may think of it. This by no means is a judgement and/or based on any fact. There are no facts in music. It’s all objective. I do not deny. I am a snob when it comes to this, I am…

I was into Trance back in the day, Paul Oakenfold. I like Dubstep style music too. Dubstep is literally Heavy Metal with electronical instrumentation. There are a lot of similarities. Plus, you are seeing a lot of dubstep style sampling used in more extreme metal these days. The subgenre of Metalcore has a lot of these elements; Asking Alexandria, Attila, Skip The Foreplay, I See Stars, Capture the Crown, Make Me Famous. It was big in the latter 2000s and early 2010s… I still see this trying to push through to the front of Heavy Metal, but bands like Asking Alexandria and Attila no longer sound like what they were when they first started getting big. Asking Alexandria is basically a Pop band now and Attila would rather do Porn videos and be a marketing machine on Twitter than writing great Metalcore music. Things have changed… Not just with those bands, but bands in general.

The whole industry has shifted since the Pandemic started, but there was a lot of evidence that the typical Garage Band Journey of starting from nothing and becoming a house hold name was in decline.

When I took over logistics for the band I manage now after the first 3 or 4 months I was open to a lot. Once we started pulling local band grind of driving across the state for no money, no fans, which means no merch sales, means no money.

Now, locally we are good with that. We’ll play shows like that, here, but not 2 to 3 hours away in 3 beat up vehicles, cramming 10 people into a shitty hotel room, gas, booze, food, child care, scheduling conflicts. Before we know it we are pulling monies out of the band fund just to play a show.

We do not pay to play, especially in front of no people accept the other bands and their girlfriends. Jammin’ in 7-8 bands in a small ass bar with little to NO PAY, but the bar made their money that night. That isn’t a show that is band practice… There is one exception and that is when opening for a national.

Bands are on YouTube now, doing streams, covers, different takes of songs. Content is being streamed now more than ever and if bands are not willing to change with that dynamic then they are behind the times.

Being a garage band and playing shitty bars for no money and expecting record executives to be there to sign the band, well, that doesn’t exist anymore. It hasn’t in a long time actually.

The music is changing too… It’s all about tuning down, low tones and 8-string guitars, sometimes 2 of them. Now, older school guitar players will fight this and call it cookie cutter and/or basic, but the metal community has accepted this is the direction styles are moving metal forward.

Vocally you have people like; Tatiana Shmayluk of JINJER. Probably the hottest vocalist on the market next to Alex Terrible of Slaughter to Prevail. Tatiana is the best of both worlds with a soft voice and a scream that will make any metalhead smile wider than the Joker…

She can scream like a man, clean, but yet also pull off Gwen Stefani harmonics without all the synth bull crap. She does this with little to no effects and absolutely no Autotune. A lot of metal singers cannot go from scream to melody on a dime, but she can and it’s amazing. Also this is a great example of what 8-string tuned down guitars sound like with someone that can actually sing along with screaming. That is why Jinjer is doing so well right now. Rumor has it they are playing Janus Live in December in Saint Petersburg, Florida…

What Alex Terrible is doing/using is called “false vocal gutturals” and many of metal singers have damaged their vocal cords, seriously and permanently, trying to sing like this incorrectly. It took him 12 years of being coached and practicing for him to be able to do this the way he does and not damage his vocal cords. What is amazing about this is he does this with no added digital effects. Maybe some eq’n and your standard clean up filters, but nothing is added here to make him sound like this. It’s all him. He also sells these crazy demon masks that are always sold out and he will do hip/hop covers using only his false vocal cord gutturals. (Very entertaining)…

Closing…

All I am doing with this BLOG, and a really long one, is to show the difference between some of the labeling styles between popular Heavy Metal Subgenres. Just imagine if Lady Gaga did a real Heavy Metal record? Using her dance/pop style with an 8-string tuned down guitars, inverse bass drops, keyboards, LP turntable scratches, false vocal cord singing over just making a rock version of a pop artist.

That would be a very interesting sound I would love to hear. Now if Lady Gaga just did her normal sound with just some “rock” guitars that is exactly what someone would do if they said they wanted to go Metal, but truly do not know what metal is. Like the IG model that wears an Iron Maiden shirt but cannot name one single song of the band.

That isn’t new or pushing the elements. I get it, but whenever I hear a pop/rap artist take a stab at Heavy Metal they tend to show they do not know what Heavy Metal is. The only artist I have heard consistently over the years that can do it is Ice Tea’s “Body Count.” All black rap people making real, Heavy Metal records. And they are good… That’s what I am talking about… That’s love… That’s coming together…

I can just see some hotshot Producer saying “let��s do a metal song,” but it’s not metal, it’s barely rock, but Producer dude doesn’t know what real metal is nowadays. Metallica BLACK wouldn’t be called Thrash Metal nowadays, even Disturbed to me really isn’t “Heavy” Metal. So if you are not sure how heavy you have to be to be called “Heavy” Metal… Well, tune it down…

The Heavy Metal community is a huge group of people that come from all sort of backgrounds, places, colors, sexes, creeds, tastes, but we all tend to LOVE HEAVY METAL and that brings us all together. Man. I can really go and find wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy more examples of Metalheads being people with huge caring hearts than the latter.

Call It Heavy Metal Noise by David-Angelo Mineo 5/11/2021 2,806 Words

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superstusenpai · 8 years ago

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Top Albums of 2016: #5-1

Alright, the last post for a while, I imagine. The previous titles are all favorites, but these top 5 albums, the second i heard them, I knew they were special. Each one of these I’ve listened to maybe 20 times. Each addicting in its own way. if you only read one post, read this, and check out these albums. Can you guess the top ones? I may surprise you...

#5: Black Terry Cat - Xenia Rubinos

A newcomer to my ears, and holy crap what a find. Xenia is a force. The beats are so funk driven entwined with lyrics that range from spunky to profound to both. And the vocals. Oh man the vocals. This woman spins her voice as an instrument in such a brilliant way. Trying to describe her, it’s hard to not sound contradictory. Her music is some hybrid of some Lauryn Hill, some Esparanza Spalding, a dash of Winehouse and Dessa, and yet it is still so unique it’s unmistakably her.

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Her music reeks of purpose. Being Afro-Caribbean, Xenia reaches out to several people and their different cultures. Whether the songs are light or pounding with heavy bass, they are thick in message. It’s rich. The bow on this entire package is that Xenia is full of surprises. keyboard and drums one song, followed by two basses the next? This album is stupendous and deserves more love. Your love. please indulge.

#4: We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service - A Tribe Called Quest

This is one of the greatest sins in music I’ve committed: I’ve never taken the time to listen to A Tribe Called Quest. Never against them or anything, just never sat down and chose to listen. But like many other stories I’ve told earlier in this list, I figured a new album is as good time to try as any. And....wow....simply put, this is my kind of rap. It took me a second, but I figured where the hook for me was. You see, my first easing into rap was through Adult Swim during the mid-2000′s. The bumps in between shows were always backed by these incredible beats. Eventually, I had to hear the whole song, not just the few seconds on cable. This east coast sound is really hard to top, and after doing some backtracking on Quest’s discography, it’s easy to see that the sound I’m so in love was definitely made possible by them.

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The mixture of killer production and lyrics that match the rhythm consistently make for incredible songs. And while they’ve never been anything but amazing, the years and experience have helped Tribe Called Quest perfect their grasp. There are no real drags in the album as I can remember. Each is single worthy, and like all of the top 4, I knew the second I finished it, it was a 5 star album. Whether to reflect on our society or to simply have something to dance to, this album is absolute gold.

#3: A Sailor’s Guide to Earth - Sturgill Simpson

So yeah, I’ve evolved from teenage years of fighting country as a genre and learned that there is good. It was easy to find those slower, deeper folks, the classics, those that bordered on alternative folk/rock. But I’ve been craving some serious country. Something I want raise hell with as well as maybe drink away feelings to. And here comes Sturgill Simpson. I looked at the album because it looked like a typical Nordic theatrical metal cover. Someone told me it was country. I couldn’t believe it. I pushed play....and I listened to the single greatest country album I’ve ever heard.

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Horns. Energy. Purpose. I haven’t heard this in any country in the past couple decades, and I genuinely wasn’t sure if I ever would. This album has super highs and dark lows, each graced by Sturgill’s voice which carries the perfect tone to put you exactly the mood he wants you to. The bold choices or keyboards, horns, sax, and funkiest bass sounds in country history are just good to deny his greatness. I looked up his history, to see how the country world accepted him, and found that he seems to be quite outcast, which is maybe why I love him. When ACM made the Merle Haggard award, Sturgill was quoted saying “ "If the ACM wants to actually celebrate the legacy and music of Merle Haggard, they should drop all the formulaic cannon fodder bullshit they've been pumping down rural America's throat for the last 30 years along with all the high school pageantry, meat parade award show bullshit and start dedicating their programs to more actual Country Music." There is hope for country. I doubt there was a point hope wasn’t existent, but with Sturgill, I’m sure we’ll see a lot more quality from the genre.

#2: Cut The Body Loose - Astronautalis

I’m a sucker for Astro. His music has this bizarre connection I can’t shake, and the more I listen, the more I relate to this crazy stranger. To this day his album “This is Our Science” is one of my favorites of all time. Its focus on the incredibly relatable struggles of being in your late twenties and the immersive music was hypnotizing. I knew “Cut the Body Loose” couldn’t do the same. And it didn’t. Not even close. It came at me with so much more. This album is as much a celebration of being a middle aged dude in a young man’s game to the nostalgia of his childhood, and It’s as beautiful and haunting as it is fun and thrilling. This album, like so many of his others, has a perfect range of pulse pounding tempos, to morose moments of reflection. And I found myself connecting to all of it. I’m not in my 30′s, I don’t know that Southern life, let alone a childhood there. Still, each story is presented so masterfully, I find it engrossing and have a hard time listening to one track without taking the whole album in.

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This album hits on so many levels. It has Bassy party beats, punk tracks sticking it to all kinds, from Rick Ross to Kurt Cobain to Obama, Organs playing blues, a swing track, A GODDAMN THEREMIN, and ends with what I always picture to be an ironic soulful church hymn. It’s snide, angry, funny, punk, lively, macabre, and truly just so honest I can’t have anything but love for it. So many ideas are thrown at this album, and they all work because Astronautalis is one of the best in the business. One of the best albums of the decade, and while I may always be a “This is Our Science” guy, I’ll never not give this album the credit its due.

So what could be number one?

What could possibly surpass all these albums?

...

...if you know me...you knew it before you ever started reading this list...

#1: Blackstar - David Bowie

No surprises from me. No, the spot for best album of the year was pretty much solidified in the second week of the year. Where “The Next Day” was an honoring of the music stylings that had made Bowie great, this one was...transcendent. This album is everything Bowie, and for him to go out on this note...it’s something dark and magical. This is not just a simple goodbye or a fizzling out...this is a bombastic farewell made to haunt. Bowie’s masterful grip on the artsy and strange is in full swing, as his ten minute opener makes very clear. The finality in every song just sinks into me, especially with its prophecy fulfilled only days later. To say it is praised because of Bowie’s death is conflicting. Yes, this album is amazing because he’s gone, but that is the theme of this album. It’s an added level of beauty I wish wasn’t there. To witness a god of music shed his mortal coil is hard, but to be given a soundtrack to it is surreal.

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Bowie has been a youngster, a dancer, a badass, and whatever else he decided to blend into. This final album, though, solidified that no matter what side of himself he changed into, he is always first and foremost a weirdo. Freak. The strangest of humans. “Blackstar” encapsulates this perfectly. The intro is operatic and dynamic, followed in an absurd catchy track based around sex and frustration. And of course, while other tracks do a splendid job of bidding adieu, the immortal song “Lazarus” will grip Bowie fans for the rest of our lives. All these songs twisted and welded together with deep bass notes, moaning guitar chords, and the saddest horns. Everything about this album is so final, so fatalistic. I’d give anything to make this album less meaningful, to be about impending death from a man with many years left in him. Hell, I’d give anything to destroy the entirety of 2016, but if we are stuck in a dark world where life is unfair, how blessed we are that people like Bowie can give us one last experience like this? So yeah, no competition, this was far too easy, but give it a listen, and if you’re half the Bowie fan I claim to be, I feel you’ll be able to relate.

I hope you enjoyed the list, and if you read this, I’m genuinely interested in your favorites of 2016. Thank you for your time, and take care.

#xenia rubinos #Black Terry Cat #tribe called quest #We've got it from here...thanks 4 your service #a sailor's guide to earth #sturgill simpson #astronautalis #Cut the body loose #David Bowie #Blackstar

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avaliveradio · 6 years ago

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3.25 March Rock Mania New Music Monday Playlist

TODAY'S LIST OF WHAT'S FRESH COMING INTO A.V.A LIVE RADIO. THIS IS A ROCK GENRE SHOW SEGMENT FULL OF MUSIC THAT WILL INSPIRE YOU AND SEND YOU SEARCHING THE ARTISTS PAGES FOR MORE. EPISODE HOSTED BY JACQUELINE JAX.

Todays show is all about Rock and Roll. Get ready Rock fans to discover some new favorites.

Listen to the show : Starts at 8 am et on all broadcasting outlets including: https://anchor.fm/ava-live-radio

Artist: Rosetta Fire

New Release: Shakedown

Genre: Indie Rock

Located in: Warwickshire, England

This song is... 'Shakedown is about shaking off those fears of failure and giving it your best shot. Re-inventing yourself somewhat. Taking the best wishes of those around you and aiming to do them proud; but ultimately knowing that you have given it everything. For us that is music, but I don't feel it's limited to that.' Ant Gliddon - lead singer from Rosetta Fire. https://open.spotify.com/track/3DN3BIUNvtt9qQ3Og53pC5?si=biknPbTnToyPHDpoTDYvpw

The music we are creating is... Rosetta Fire will continue to showcase their unique brand of pop melodies, jazz inspired hooks, funk rhythms and folk rock vibes in venues around the UK in 2019, playing newly composed material in their live shows and honing their signature sound. Their blend of tight harmonies, strong melodies and memorable lyrics with an added pinch of optimism are trademark Rosetta Fire, with each new song showing a flash of creative brilliance from a band with an unorthodox sound.

Right now we are... New single - Shakedown - Out Now!!

LINKS: http://jaminrecords.com https://www.facebook.com/keepitjamin https://www.dropbox.com/s/7t1fefwu8itbbie/Jamin%20Records%20Logo%20Jpeg.jpg?dl=0 https://www.facebook.com/rosettafire https://open.spotify.com/artist/3rmp6r2mQGvzYflJyIb8Py

Artist: Greg Hoy & The Boys

New Release: Brilliant Jerk!

Genre: Indie Rock

Located in: San Francisco, CA

This song is... 'Brilliant Jerk' is the song you always wanted to have at a party to play at just the right moment when that certain someone starts talking and now it's finally been written. This is a classic.' (Please Pass The Indie).

The music we are creating is... People need to dance and move the positive energy all around the world: even if the song is about a guy that talks too much!

Right now we are... The band is embarking on an 8 month tour of the USA in a 1973 Airstream with 2003 Ford Econoline van

LINKS: https://open.spotify.com/track/3ZmYnyBe8AneFOJT80yfI0?si=CsWEU1KvQkmvTEcBjhMn5Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDADgfCrdGA https://www.facebook.com/HoyMusic

Artist: NewClue New Release: Homeless Genre: Hard Rock

Located in: New London CT,USA

This song is about homeless people & families & how it can happen to anyone! The music we are creating is relatable. We try keeping it real, by dealing with life's everyday struggles. There's always a price to pay for your actions. This campaign is so timely with the rebirth of yesteryear's Rockers and widespread revival tours. In our opinion, the 80's music was an expression; one that left a strong impact on a lot of us today. Everything has a way of coming full circle, and we see the 80's sound returning, but with a fresh reboot. We are CLASSIC ROCK REBORN with a NewClue. We sound like a big hair metal band with a little of today's song formatting (Shorter intros… BANG into the song). Our songs are little stories. They make you think ! If you like 80's and/or 90's metal/hard rock (Iron Maiden, Queensryche, AC/DC, Krokus, etc), you will bang your head to NewClue too.

Right now we are... Neil (our vocalist) has recently under going a Micro Laryngoscopy as he has Acid Reflux damage to his Vocal Cords. He has just recovered & we are writing again.

LINKS: https://www.reverbnation.com/NewClue https://open.spotify.com/album/6v9VzmHOkUhoz6kfTaOv6T https://twitter.com/NewClue2 https://www.facebook.com/NewClueBand

Artist: Vovkulaka New Release: Purple Door

Genre: Metal/Dubstep

Located in: Odessa, Ukraine

This song is... Think...Korn meets the Buddha...Vovkulaka takes you deep into the mystic realm of Buddhist meditation. Based on a true story of a band member who was taken into a meditative state and asked to open the Purple Door to achieve Bodhi(enlightenment)...However, the Demon 'Mara' makes this impossible...It is a Nu-Metal version of fear and temptation. It features spoken word, in Russian and English, from Naya G and JuleZ. In the end, darkness is chosen... https://open.spotify.com/track/2TzM4AsfwvIT9kE4AV7iSo?si=T5DzEnIFQU-g6wlXY6zWDg

The music we are creating is... Dark - Angry - Evil Metal. Most important, this is the first Vovkulaka track to Feature Naya G and JuleZ. Right now we are we are working on our CD featuring all our Singles!

LINKS: Twitter.com/VovkulakaMusic Facebook.com/VovkulakaFanPage Instagram.com/VovkulakaMusic

Artist: Then Falls The Sky New Release: Letting Go

Genre: Metalcore

Located in: Bainbridge, Ohio

This song is... ’Letting Go’ is a song about not letting your past define your future. Letting go and living in the present.

The music we are creating is... Energetic and hopeful. This be EP is holding nothing back and L etting Go is a great look at what is to come.

Right now we are... Recording a new EP for this summer. We are very excited about 2019.

LINKS: RN : https://www.reverbnation.com/thenfallsthesky/song/30469800-letting-go Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/album/6wFIcwmfhGMo9Ya2BBmMJD?si=mVEdq-sxS7u4bJJk94ZHhw Twitter : @thenfallsthesky Facebook : www.facebook.com/thenfallsthesky Instagram : @thenfallsthesky

Artist: The Soul Exchange

New Release: Right Here

Genre: Heavy Metal / Melodic Metal

Located in: Stockholm, Sweden

This song is... The Soul Exchange is a Swedish melodic metal band that mixes Classic Hard Rock with a contemporary Metal sound. They have taken influences from the 70’s Hard Rock scene and created their own style of Metal infused, guitar driven hard rock, with great attention to the melodies and grand vocal arrangements. "Right Here" is a song that represent the essence of The Soul Exchange with heavy guitar riffs and a grand vocal chorus.

The music we are creating is... "Right Here" is the 2nd single from the latest album "Edge of Sanity", and it is representative for what the band is all about, heavy guitar riffs coped with melodic vocal lines and grand vocal choruses.

Right now we are... The band is currently working on new songs for an upcoming 3rd album, with a tentative release late in 2019, combined with playing live gigs as they come.

LINKS: https://open.spotify.com/album/2qc0gMUWLoLntd8yh9CbXG?si=iEFfONOkR4SR54lcPteanQ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soulexchangeofficial Twitter: https://twitter.com/soulexchange1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesoulexchangeofficial

Artist: Ascent

New Release: Beacon Eleven

Genre: Rock, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock, Melodic Rock

Located in: Lake Forest, California

Ascent is a duo disrupting the Southern California live music scene by producing the sound of a full band with only two people. Part organic and part machine, darkened with fragments of light. This new single is heavily influenced by 70’s prog rock and 80’s metal and includes heavy guitar (PRS), hard-hitting rhythms (Roland V) and pleading, turbulent vocals.

Their New release ‘Beacon Eleven’ is takes the listener on a fantastic voyage placing you in the story, lost at sea and then relegated to a life alone on a desert island. One day you are rescued only to befall a horrible fate upon your return to civilization.

It is a heartbreaking tale of strength, triumph and tragedy. It asks if you are all alone and if so can you survive alone.

LINKS: https://www.reverbnation.com/ascent/song/29330494-beacon-eleven https://open.spotify.com/album/6stTDHL41teaaSHyGOCxOv?nd=1 https://www.twitter.com/ascentrocks https://www.facebook.com/ascentrocks https://www.instagram.com/ascentrocks

Artist: Cabela and Schmitt

New Release: Messin' With My Mind

Genre: Rock

Located in: Colorado and Nebraska USA

This song is... We are a trio of song makers who are attempting to provide as much music as we can for our current fans and the new to come. We've been writing songs for a long, long, but a couple of years ago we decided we should share our inspirations with other ears besides our own. Since then we have shared 7 releases with over 170 songs.Messin' With My Mind is a 70's/80's sounding rock song about a relationship that has emotional questions about its course.

The music we are creating is... This song is one of many we will share in the next few months/years, as one of our goals is to share swiftly and often the inspirations we are continually receiving. We hope to use AVA as one of the many tools to reach the people who might enjoy what it is we do. We are so grateful for the opportunity.

Right now we are... Putting the finishing touches on a new album set to be released April 15th

LINKS: https://open.spotify.com/track/6nrQmpsN5hSXNb0P8P7EII?si=pgExLWz5TuGRf0BrIC1c4w https://twitter.com/CabelaSchmitt https://www.facebook.com/cabelaschmittmusic https://www.instagram.com/cabelaandschmitt http://www.cabelaandschmitt.com

Artist: Thomas Thunder New Release: Lily

Genre: Progressive Rock Pop

Located in: Fairhaven, Ma

This song is... "Lily" is an Instrumental Progressive Rock Pop song with strong percussive elements. It has an uplifting tempo that's fun to dance to.

The music we are creating is... The music Thomas creates continues to be in the Progressive genre, primarily with strong rock overtones. This song is a little different in that it has a pop feel to it with the dance tempo and the varying percussion throughout. There are genre changes within the song, which gives it a Progressive label, so to speak, and there are rock elements as well. Not being restricted to a certain genre is what inspires Thomas to gravitate towards the Progressive genre.

Right now we are... Thomas is excited about creating a digitally animated video for the song 'Lily'. He's also planning on entering the Eventide Theater Songwriting competition for the second year in a row.

LINKS: https://www.instagram.com/thomasthunder11 https://twitter.com/ThomasThunder10 https://soundcloud.com/user-930498945

Artist: Mick J. Clark

New Release: Me My Body And I

Genre: Rock

Located in: United Kingdom

This song is... Screw my music, I want Kids to stop Self Harming, and hopefully being 'Empowered' by listening to this song I wrote for them.

To know that children are Self Harming, with some children even committing suicide breaks my heart. Children shouldn't be feeling they need to do this to themselves. My song is a 'message' to children, to Empower them. To eradicate Mental Health problems you must make the 'Root' of society, ( the children ), better educated and more knowledgeable about the pitfalls, the traps and the many ways that 'adults' will try to psychologically screw your young lives up, and then 'adults' spend millions trying to put it right.

LINKS: https://www.reverbnation.com/control_room/artist/3437780/songs https://open.spotify.com/album/0qg64Qc6oSgZg7z8kA3XV3?si=DSHTr4AwQca7Wqx7OP1kPw https://soundcloud.com/mickjclark/me-my-body-and-i

#Rosetta Fire #Greg Hoy & The Boys #NewClue #Vovkulaka #Then Falls The Sky #The Soul Exchange #Ascent #Cabela and Schmitt #Thomas Thunder #Mick J. Clark #Rock music #progressive rock #metal

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voodoochili · 7 years ago

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My Favorite Albums of 2017

Thanks to the magic of Spotify Premium, I was able to listen to over 150 new albums this year. Most of them were pretty good! It took weeks, but I was finally able to piece together a list of the year’s best that I’m happy with! Here is the list of my favorites, spanning several genres and countries of origin. Hopefully, you enjoy the read and maybe find something you’ll love!

And, oh, while you’re here, check out In Itinere, the new EP by my band The Chordaes: https://open.spotify.com/album/79kKlk7OYfu1G62AjD3nlk

Check below for the Top 20, plus a ranked list from 21-50, and honorable mentions. I’ve included Spotify links for each of the top 20. Happy New Year and Happy Listening!

The Top 20:

20. Future – HNDRXX: Departing from his usual dark-night-of-the-soul-trap aesthetic, HNDRXX shows another side of Future—the unapologetic pop star. Packed with potential hits, (none of which, obviously, connected at actual radio), HNDRXX paints a glorious picture of a future (no pun intended) where pop, R&B, and rap meld into an invigorating hybrid. The stretch from “Damage” to “Fresh Air” represents some of the most accessible, emotional, and best work of Future’s prolific career.

19. Björk – Utopia: People often lament that the influence of the smartphone has driven people to isolate themselves from the physical world. Not Björk. On Utopia, which she describes as her “Tinder album,” technology has the power of bringing people closer together—��I literally think I am five minutes away from love,” she warbles on “Features Creatures.” Moving beyond the harsh, metallic soundscapes of Vulnicura, written and recorded at the end of a decades-long relationship, Utopia is a blissful and pastoral record, populated by flutes and bird sounds and overflowing with joy.

18. Smino – Blkswn: Powered by future funk production courtesy of Monte Booker, Smino’s first proper album makes good on years of promising SoundCloud singles. The perfect antidote of the flat-voiced rap-n-b perpetrated by Drake and PartyNextDoor, Smino’s voice has an underlying bluesiness and soul that grounds Booker’s soundscapes and paints a picture of the rapper’s life as a St. Louis transplant in Chicago. Highlights from Blkswn include the sweetly sung, romantic “Netflix & Dusse,” the unconventionally lustful “Anita,” and the gorgeous “Glass Flows,” a duet with frequent collaborator Ravyn Lenae.

17. Playboi Carti – Playboi Carti: Dancing on the perimeter of his own cavernous cloud-trap, Playboi Carti is hip-hop’s pre-eminent wave-rider Blessed by the wizardry of producer Pi’erre Bourne, a master of counter-melodies whose beats are as danceable as they are sonically absorbing, Playboi Carti might be mindless ear candy, but rarely has that candy been this sweet.

16. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – The French Press: A Melbourne-based five-piece with three distinct singers and lead guitarists, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever overwhelm with a veritable avalanche of jangly guitars. With overlapping lyrics and guitar lines that evoke a conversation with constant interruptions, The French Press is a decidedly Aussie take on guitar pop—an album-length exploration of the guitar tornado from The Velvet Underground’s “What Goes On.”

15. Tyler, The Creator – Flower Boy: Ditching the shock tactics and abrasive sonics of his earlier projects, Tyler, The Creator creates a vibrant, pastoral, even peaceful, jazz-influenced soundscape on Flower Boy. As you can possibly tell by the tongue-in-cheek title, Flower Boy is Tyler’s “sensitive” record, and the one that feels more in-touch with Tyler Okonma, not the monster he Created. Whether exploring his loneliness on “911,” existential ennui on “Boredom,” or casually revealing his fluid sexuality on the album’s hardest rap track “I Ain’t Got Time,” Tyler manages to subvert rap tropes even on his most mainstream release.

14. Ulver – The Assassination of Julius Caesar: Straight outta Norway, where the sun shines for approximately 5 minutes in the winter, erstwhile Black Metal band Ulver’s latest is a goth-industrial epic, foregoing noise for Depeche Mode-esque orchestral pop. The songwriting is as ambitious and accomplished as the music, imbuing important events in modern history (the Battle of Dunkirk, the death of Princess Diana) with the grandeur and majesty of Greek (or Norse) myth. It’s easy to get lost in the band’s world as it lights up the sunless sky with cascading falsetto harmonies, sweeping strings, and massive drums.

13. Bedouine – Bedouine: Born in Aleppo, Syria, raised in Saudi Arabia and three of the United States before eventually settling in California, Azniv Korkejian is as nomadic as the tribe that inspired her name. Her gentle, gorgeous debut album as Bedouine reflects the sunshine of her adopted home, but retains a lived-in melancholy that reflects her turbulent past. Evoking the big names in singer-songwriter-ing in equal measure (Bob, Joni, Carole, and especially Leonard on the single “Solitary Daughter”), her best track is her most atypical: the mournful, haunting sound collage “Summer Cold,” about the transformation of Aleppo from a vibrant city to a horrific war zone.

12. Algiers – The Underside of Power: Cataloging hundreds of years of oppression in one densely-packed fusion of DC hardcore, post-punk, and southern soul, The Underside of Power is a tough, but invigorating listen, explaining our nation’s bitterest conflicts with a beat you can dance, or at least mosh, to.

11. Oxbow – Thin Black Duke: A heavy, and loosely conceptual album, Thin Black Duke is a theatrical blend of noise rock, avant-jazz, and blues, dominated by frontman Eugene Robinson’s inimitable baritone, which gurgles, bellows, and stretches out syllables like taffy.

10. Mozzy – 1 Up Top Ahk: The game’s most reliable purveyor of starkly honest and soulful slaps, Sacramento rapper Mozzy had a prolific 2017, releasing five projects in the year’s first eight months. Though they were all worth a listen, the strongest and most substantial of these releases was 1 Up Top Ahk, his “official” album. Somehow only 30-years-old, Mozzy has the presence of a grizzled vet, relaying empathetic and violent street tales, flashing internal rhyme, and stacking syllables with the most pronounced NorCal accent in modern hip-hop. Despite the glistening mob instrumentals from frequent collaborator Juneonnabeat (don’t shoot him in the street) and other Bay Area mainstays, Mozzy’s life is not glamorous—the violence he depicts is not stylish, just an ugly fact of life about providing for his family. Featuring appearances from kindred spirits like Boosie, Jay Rock, and (in one of the project’s highlights) the late The Jacka, 1 Up Top Ahk proves Mozzy’s worth as a successor to the struggle rap throne.

9. Moses Sumney – Aromanticism: Dripping with emotion and otherworldly sexuality, Moses Sumney’s voice might be the purest and most versatile instrument in modern music. On Aromanticism, Sumney stacks, loops, and manipulates his voice to create an unclassifiable hybrid of art rock, neo-soul, and cosmic jazz. The songs on the album generally follow a similar structure, with Sumney’s angelic falsetto rising above plaintive piano chords or a snaking guitar line or rippling harp, gradually opening up into an orchestral tapestry at the song’s climax. But the lush beauty of the arrangements, coupled with Sumney’s emotional songwriting and unique voice, ensures that the album never grows stale. There’s no need to tinker with a formula that works as well as Sumney’s—after all, Monet never got tired of painting water lilies, did he?

8. Migos – Culture: It’s hard to believe when you think about it now, but in Summer 2016, Migos was an afterthought--an act that despite its youth seemed to be past their peak of popularity, latching onto the “Dab” craze as if their career depended on it. That changed in October 2016, when the trio dropped “Bad & Boujee,” a titanic banger that built enough momentum to reach #1 on the Billboard charts. How could Migos possibly live up to the massive expectations they built with “Bad and Boujee”? Well, an easy way is to make an album where “Bad & Boujee” is only the 4th or 5th best track. Culture was the most consistently replayable and enjoyable rap album of 2017, overflowing with infectious ad-libs and an impressive arsenal of distinct flows (not just the triplets!). The highlight of the album, and possibly of human civilization, is “T-Shirt,” a lurching drug dealers’ anthem that showcases the individual talents of the three-headed monster: Quavo’s smooth melodicism, Takeoff’s blunt-force bars, and Offset’s chameleonic and charismatic combination of the best qualities of the other two.

7. Alex Lahey – I Love You Like a Brother: Combining the dry witticism (and Aussie-ness) of Courtney Barnett with the bubblegum overdrive guitar riffs and emotional sincerity of Weezer, Alex Lahey’s I Love You Like a Brother was my biggest surprise of 2017. Shamelessly layering her tracks with unstoppable melodies, “whoa-ohs,” and “wee-ooohs,” Lahey has the acuity to make those massive moments feel earned. Even if you don’t normally go for pop-punk (which I don’t), Lahey’s debut is insanely fun, with sing-along anthems like the surprisingly literal title track, the grungy “Lotto In Reverse,” the plaintive vocal standout “There’s No Money,” and the standout, generation-defining “I Haven’t Been Taking Care of Myself,” highlighting the hookiest rock record I heard all year.

6. King Krule – The OOZ: On The OOZ, Archy Marshall piles trip-hop, lounge jazz, rock-n-roll, and beat poetry into a blender and arrives at the most evocative imagination of the grimy underworld of the soul since peak-era Tom Waits. Though they have similar low, scratchy, bellowing voices, King Krule doesn’t sound like Waits (except on “Vidual” which is a dead-wringer for the first side of Rain Dogs), but The OOZ is an engrossing, hour-long trip through the 23-year-old’s mind. The album wallows in an unconventional sort of beauty, with Marshall airing his anxieties with his ungodly growl over clean, snaking guitar lines, creating an unforgettable ambience that sounds like the late-night act at the last jazz club standing after a nuclear apocalypse. Explained Marshall, “The Ooz for me represents … your sweat, your nails, the sleep that comes out of your eyes, your dead skin. All of those creations that you have to refine.” It’s a perfect title and a great metaphor—The OOZ synthesizes Marshall’s ugly thoughts and disparate influences and refines them into a style that is all his own, topped off with his striking, evocative, and poetic lyrics: “She sits as dust, with an earthly pus in a capsule on my tongue/And I think of what we've done and sink into where she sunk.”

5. Susanne Sundfor – Music For People in Trouble: When I first heard Music For People in Trouble, I was slightly disappointed. Ten Love Songs, the last album by Norwegian pop artist Susanne Sundfør, was a gothic masterpiece—a maximalist pop epic that resembled the lovechild of ABBA, Siouxsie Sioux, and Johann Sebastian Bach. Music For People in Trouble, on the other hand, is a relatively simple record, eschewing the grandiose arrangements of Ten Love Songs in favor of sparse recordings that feature only one or two accompanying instruments. As I spent more time with the album, however, I began to focus more on the songs on their own terms, and marvel at the power of Sundfør’s quivering soprano. Few living songwriters can write a melody like the classically-trained Sundfør; they lilt one moment, soar the next, and always reach unexpected, yet natural resolutions. If Ten Love Songs was an ode to the turbulent heart, Music For People in Trouble offers serenity for the aggrieved with gorgeous folk songs like “Mantra” or “Reincarnation,” pop power ballads like “Undercover,” and the pastoral dirge “No One Believes in Love Anymore.”

4. Sacred Paws – Strike a Match: An erudite indie pop group that uses African polyrhythms and snaking guitars to explore the intricacies of modern life—where have I heard that before? While Vampire Weekend is a great band, they often seemed like dilettantes when dipping their toes into African waters; not so for Sacred Paws, the muscular brainchild of guitar/drums duo Rachel Aggs and Elidh Rodgers. On Strike A Match, the duo adds a horn section to the revue, imbuing bouncy, skeletal pop songs like “Nothing” and “Everyday” with an added grandeur, in the process creating the most invigorating and danceable rock album of the year.

3. Slowdive – Slowdive: The most melodic and majestic of the English bands that comprised the Shoegaze movement’s late ‘80s/early ‘90s heyday, Slowdive reunited after a 21-year absence to deliver their second magnum opus. Filled with buzzing guitar riffs and heavenly harmonies, Slowdive is enveloping and engrossing, a triumph of atmospheric dream pop. Foregoing the ornate space operatics of 1996’s Pygmalion, the group’s self-titled 2017 album is a proper follow-up to 1993’s classic Souvlaki, one of my all-time favorite albums. Couching gorgeous, soaring melodies within circular bursts of noise and distortion, the band augmented their signature strain of shoegaze with tighter songwriting and a broader palette of musical ideas, whether embracing Glass-like minimalism on “Falling Ashes,” incorporating massive ‘80s drums on “No Longer Making Time,” or schooling imitators with dream-pop classics like “Sugar For The Pill” or “Don’t Know Why.” A master class in emotional dynamics, Slowdive establishes the band as not just genre stalwarts, but as uniquely gifted in the realm of sonic world-building.

2. Big Thief – Capacity: Last year, Big Thief drew national attention with the album Masterpiece, a cathartic and intelligent set of songs. Turns out, they might have used that title a year too early. Delicate and devastating, Capacity is a leap forward for the young band—a mature and varied collection of stories and moods, and an intimate exploration of human emotion. Led by Adrienne Lenker, with her literary gift for finding the extraordinary in mundane moments, the album derives its strength from its simple, yet note-perfect arrangements that augment and provide emphasis for the lyrics. Make no mistake, Capacity is a heavy album—the gorgeous “Mythological Beauty” embodies the point of view of a mother during a child’s graphic near-death experience, and the astonishing “Haley” finds Lenker in the bargaining stage of grief—but it’s buoyed by the inventive arrangements, the power of the band, and the winsome fragility of Lenker’s voice. But beyond all that, Capacity feels necessary, like if Lenker didn’t write these songs, the emotional weight would have been too much to bear. As a listener, I’m eternally grateful she decided to grace us with her music.

1. Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.: Ladies and gentlemen, the artist of the decade. I listened to well over 200 new albums in 2017, but this is the one to which I kept coming back, the one that never left my rotation. Only Kendrick could make three (four if you count untitled unmastered) straight albums of rap tracks deep and innovative enough to satisfy critics, while also landing at #1 on the Billboard 200 year-end chart. It’s so haaaard to be humble…

2015′s To Pimp a Butterfly was an insanely ambitious future jazz odyssey, with Kendrick Lamar looking outward, trying to find a universal theory of race relations in the United States, but never quite coming up with a satisfactory answer. On DAMN., Kendrick looks inward, reckoning with his own rising star and asking a simple question: is it possible to live the life of a rap star and still be accepted into the Kingdom of Heaven? With songs with titles that tackle the multitude of feelings, values, and desires we all contain, DAMN. paints a vivid portrait of the artist as a 30-year-old man, expertly rendering Kendrick’s inner conflict into his most “traditional” rap album to date. There are plenty of themes and lines that repeat throughout the project (Kendrick, like everybody else, really hates FOX News), but there is no overarching storyline or unifying concept. Instead, Kendrick gives us the clearest glimpse yet into his personality and what drives him—his love for his high school sweetheart-turned-fiancé on the gorgeous “LOVE,” his fear of death on “FEAR,” (man, these titles really spell out the themes, don’t they?), and the difficulty of remaining level-headed despite being so goddamned dope that it should be illegal on the smash hit “HUMBLE.” And it all ends at the beginning with “DUCKWORTH,” a superhero origin story (or more accurately, a prequel) that explains how small decisions can have life-altering consequences.

Best of the Rest:

21. Nick Hakim – Green Twins 22. The Clientele – Music for the Age of Miracles 23. Cornelius – Mellow Waves 24. Anna Wise – The Feminine: Act II 25. Young Thug – Beautiful Thugger Girls 26. Broken Social Scene – Hug of Thunder 27. SZA – Ctrl 28. Kelly Lee Owens – Kelly Lee Owens 29. Nadine Shah – Holiday Destination 30. Guerilla Toss – GT Ultra 31. Jens Lekman – Life Will See You Now 32. Deem Spencer – We Think We’re Alone 33. Jay-Z – 4:44 34. The Mountain Goats - Goths 35. Forest Swords – Compassion 36. Ty Dolla $ign – Beach House 3 37. Run The Jewels – Run The Jewels 3 38. Ibeyi – Ash 39. Daniel Caesar – Freudian 40. Charly Bliss – Guppy 41. Sinkane – Life & Livin’ It 42. Kamasi Washington – The Harmony of Difference 43. Bicep – Bicep 44. Rexx Life Raj – Father Figure 2: Flourish 45. Vince Staples – Big Fish Theory 46. YoungBoy Never Broke Again – AI Youngboy 47. Jason Isbell – The Nashville Sound 48. Do Make Say Think – Stubborn Persisent Illusions 49. Pile – A Hairshirt of Purpose 50. Fred Thomas – Changer

Honorable Mentions: Jay Som – Everybody Works Kelela – Take Me Apart Blanck Mass - World Eater Drab Majesty – The Demonstration Caddywhompus – Odd Hours Talaboman – The Night Land Kelela – Take Me Apart Lowly – Heba Jidenna – The Chief Landlady – The World is a Loud Place J Hus – Common Sense Miguel – War & Leisure

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houstonlocalus-blog · 7 years ago

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Popular Demand: The Best of The Week

Big Business. Photo: Joyful Noise

Now that it’s hot enough to be more mindful of where you spend your time, things are starting to look a lot like tours being routed around festivals. With performances from acts like Big Business, Reel Big Fish, and Bruce Bruce alongside locals like Astragal, George West, and D. Kosmo, it’s a pretty full week. Houston, here’s where you should spend your time over the next seven days.

Wednesday you can begin at 8th Wonder Brewery for Guilla and iLL Faded for their tour kickoff show. For a good while now, Guilla has been grinding hard, dropping multiple releases and getting more and more steam. Last year’s Children of The Sun and Rap, Trap & Drums Vol. II just proved that, and his live shows are a pretty intense party from start to finish. The same could be said about iLL Faded, who’s been hyping crowds as Fat Tony’s DJ as well as a blooming solo act. Last year he also essentially dropped two releases with It’s OK To Be Happy and Vibes which came at the beginning of this year, while his live shows are usually the place to be and be seen. There’s also a set from Tenney Way III for the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and no cover.

If you’d rather get experimental, then you could head to Notsuoh for a night of experimental jams with a closing set from The They. The electro jams of Houston’s Chin Xaou Ti Won will also perform while the synth sounds of AISENCC will also perform. Ike Therot will also be on the bill where things kick off with ADJHEM for the Free show with doors at 8 pm.

Roger Waters. Photo: Columbia Records

On Thursday you could start at Toyota Center for the Us+Them tour from Roger Waters. Waters will be performing the songs of Pink Floyd, and some solo works both old and new for the immersive and state of the art show. By all accounts, what I’ve seen of the tour, it should be a trip. He’ll play from albums The Dark Side of The Moon, The Wall, Animals, and Wish You Were Here while adding songs from his own new album, Is This The Life We Really Want? The all ages show has doors at 7 pm and tickets between $55 and $250.

You can get your laugh on at Improv when Houston’s Alan Adams hosts his Couples Therapy show. Adams, considered by many to be one of the strongest joke writers in Houston, is of course not offering any therapy, unless you count being made to look like a fool in front of your sweetie therapy. The 18 & up shows should have plenty of laughs with doors at 7:15 pm and tickets between $15 and $25.

The Greatest View. Photo: Andrew Hemingway

Upstairs at White Oak Music Hall the folk pop sounds of Houston’s Motion Hotel will headline a show. This five piece makes songs that are pretty hard to ignore, their most recent being “Savannah,” which is definitely hard to shake. The indie rock of Anchor North will be on as direct support while the acoustic pop of Cypress’ Two Thirds will go on prior. The ultra catchy indie pop of Houston’s The Greatest View will open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and a Free cover for the adults, or $5 for the kids.

Over at Mucky Duck, you wouldn’t know it when you hear her new EP Cold, but Austin’s Christina Cavazos is only 17. With a headlining set at the landmark venue, you should find yourself falling for her intimate and endearing sound. She’ll have the Americana twang of Nashville’s Jane Ellen Bryant on the bill with her to add to the show which shouldn’t be missed. The 21 & up evening has doors at 9:30 pm and tickets between $20 and $22.

On Friday you can get the weekend kicked off at Improv with the world famous comedy of Bruce Bruce. The Atlanta comic is way bigger of a deal than you may think, he sells out pretty much every show he’s on, and he’s easily one of our nation’s favorite stand-ups. The shows should have two of Houston’s better up and coming comics on as feature act and host. There are two shows Friday, two shows Saturday, and one on Sunday. The first Friday show has doors at 6 pm and tickets between $27.50 and $37.50.

You can get your groove on at Warehouse Live in the ballroom for the ragga soca songs of Trinidad’s Bunji Garlin. Garlin is no slouch when it comes to songs that hit with precision and dance grooves, and his latest single “Big Bad Soca” from this year is definitely the soca jam. The hip hop of Atlanta’s T-Rock will be on as direct support while Trinidad’s Fay-Ann Lyons will go on beforehand. Barbados’ DJ Puffy will get the all ages show started with his Caribbean jams with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $45 and $70.

Astragal. Photo: Disha Khakeria

Over at Walter’s, the split cassette release party from Astragal and Donna Hayward will happen, and it should be pretty amazing. For starters, Astragal is one of the more exciting newer bands to come out of Houston, and their sound is more refined and intense on this release. That’s not to say that Donna Hayward is any less more dynamic, as their set should be just as energetic as their catchy tunes. The guaranteed indie rock good times of Rose Ette will also perform while the shoegaze noise of Austin’s Alexalone will open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and a $10 cover.

Rudyard’s has a pretty intriguing show when they’ll have the alt rock of Houston’s Dark Spark Rays over to headline. Adding acoustic and almost meandering folk to any indie rock outfit is a daunting task, yet this band does it with ease, and reminds me of a mix of The Smiths and solo Evan Dando. The insane psych of Bernie Pink will be on as direct support while garage pop of Such Marvelous Monsters will go on prior. The Southern coast garage punk of Let Me Remember will open the 18 & up show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $5 and $7.

If you’d rather get your chiptune groove on, the Lazybit Collective will have their monthly show over at Notsuoh, this time with a headlining set from Heavy the Bluebird. There’s also rap jams from Pajama Sam, Terrence T doe Keller, and N-8. Of course your favorite Lazybit characters will be on hand like Ten Pixels Tall, FLOAT, OVERCRASH and more. It’s Free with doors at 8 pm.

The Secret Group has an intriguing show where DJ Fredster and friends will mix things up called Clusterfuck. Multiple genres just spinning to make you get down while Brandon Duhon of Night Drive will be on hand to drop jams alongside DJ Poppers and more. The 21 & up show is free with doors at 9:30 pm.

Lightnin’ Malcolm. Photo: Continental Club

Over at Continental Club, the enigmatic and guitar slinging roots sounds of Mississippi’s Lightnin Malcolm will be on full display. Sometimes a duo, sometimes a one man band, this guy throws multiple genres together to make tunes that are pretty hard not to like. He’s rumored to have a crazy live show, and his latest release Outlaw Justice from this year is worth hearing in person. The 21 & up show has doors at 10 pm and a $12 cover.

On Saturday you can begin at Fuller’s Guitars in the Heights for the Punk Rock Garage Sale benefiting Christian Kidd of The Hates. Hosted by Houston punk legends MyDolls, the event will have lots of rare items, punk memorabilia, and more. It’s Free to attend, and it runs the bulk of the day starting at 8 am and running until 4 pm.

George West. Photo: Marcelo Quinones

Later on at Walter’s you can get your electronica fix when the Moving Components show happens. Sets from George West, PLXTX, Pfaff, Gold Cherry and many more will be on hand. It should have plenty of electronic groove throughout the night for the all ages event with doors at 7 pm and $10 cover.

Over at The Secret Group you can get your laughs in with the always funny antics of Sean Patton. The New Orleans born comic has made quite the name for himself with appearances on Maron and Inside Amy Schumer, as well as a ton of international and national comedy festivals and his own half hour special on Comedy Central. Two of Houston’s better up and coming comics should serve as host and feature act for the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $12 and $15.

Arthur Yoria. Photo: Jay Dryden Photography

Big Top Lounge and the Pachinko Hut behind it, will host the Third Birthday Bash for Houston’s Splice Records. Aside from the fact that they have a pretty killer roster, those at Splice are some of the most genuine and kind people in the music industry, and ones that you’d want to make it out for just to say you met them. The show will feature a headlining set from Arthur Yoria, while the bluesy sounds of Muddy Belle will go on prior. Bayou City Funk will also be on hand and the reggae of Dem will open the 21 & up party with doors at 8 pm and a pay what you can cover, with a suggested amount of $10 to $20.

Over at Continental Club, the swamp boogie of Pure Luck will be on full display. The rotating cavalcade that includes Jeff Pinkus of Butthole Surfers is pretty epic. Their debut album which is like a groove heavy twang fueled ride, Pure Luck is definitely as strong as these guys are live. The one man band intensity of D Kosmo will get the show started with plenty of trippy sounds and visuals for the 21 & up show with doors around 8:30 pm and a $12 cover.

Sunday at White Oak Music Hall downstairs you could relive your nineties youth with the SoCal ska of Reel Big Fish. Known for the hit song “Sell Out,” these guys have been going pretty strong since the early nineties. The reggae ska punk of The Expendables will be on as direct support while the punk of The Queers will get the all ages show with doors at 5 pm started with tickets between $29 and $34.

Megadeth. Photo: Live Nation

Over at Revention Center, the metal speed of Megadeth will be around to get the head banging going. These guys have been going hard since the early eighties, their live shows are pretty intense, and with records like Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying, they’re pretty hard to deny. Last year’s Dystopia was a return to form, and just proves they don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon either. The Swedish metal of Meshuggah will be on as direct support while Brittain’s TesseracT will open the all ages show with doors at 5:30 pm and tickets between $45 and $65.

On Tuesday you could head to Warehouse Live for another edition of The Moth Story Hour. This time the theme of the stories is Beauty, and should make for an interesting theme. The all ages event has doors at 6:30 pm, seating is limited, and there’s a $10 cover.

At Walter’s possibly one of the best bands going, LA’s Big Business will be in town to headline a set. This two piece, stronger than many four and five piece bands, is one of the best live bands you can catch, and their latest release Command Your Weather is like nothing else. A U N T I E will provide direct support while the heavy metal loudness of Houston’s Omotai will open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $12 and $15.

That’s about all that’s happening this week. No matter what you decide to do, remember that staying hydrated and drinking like an adult is in everyone’s best interest.

Popular Demand: The Best of The Week this is a repost

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