Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 3, 2024 18:26:07 GMT -5
I heard an interesting question today- if you entered a room that had everyone you ever met, who would you go to first? My Dad. I'd love him to meet my wife. He passed away 17 years ago, so it's been a while.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 3, 2024 11:16:10 GMT -5
Next favourite album of 2004... #6 - All Years Leaving by The StandsLiverpudlian band the Stands desperately wanted to be the successors to the La's (of "There She Goes" fame), but they simply aren't that good. Not by a long shot! But that's not to say that there isn't some good music to be found on the band's debut album, All Years Leaving. It's a pleasent mix of jangly guitars, unabashedly '60s-style melodies, and earthy songwriting. It's also an album I've found myself returning to many times over the last 20 years. There's an appealing sepia-toned nostalgia to a lot of the songs, as well as a sense of weary melancholy that I find appealing. Standout tracks include "I've Waited Too Long", "Here She Comes Again", and "I Need You". If you like the sound of the Byrds, Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and (of course) the La's, you'll find plenty to enjoy here (not that the Stands are in the same league as those bands and artists, you understand). I've picked out the single "Here She Comes Again", which was a minor hit here in the UK, and which is probably the strongest track on the album…
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 3, 2024 11:11:19 GMT -5
#6 – Dale Watson – Dreamland
I don't know Dale Watson's music, so I can't compare how much slicker this is than his other stuff, but that track "Fox on the Run" sounds like vintage Flying Burrito Brothers to me. I like it a lot. "Honky Tonkers Don't Cry" is fairly enjoyable too, with some nice fiddle and pedal steel -- and I dig that twangy guitar solo. Overall, I like the retro country-rock vibe of these songs.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 3, 2024 2:59:19 GMT -5
Yeah, I immediately assumed it was a street address too ...likely of the comic's original owner. Like, 414 Geneva Drive, Detroit or something.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 2, 2024 18:23:35 GMT -5
#7 – Dave Alvin – Ashgrove
Yeah, not bad at all. I quite liked the track "King of California" that you posted a while back from the 1994 album of the same name and these two tracks are also good. "Ashgrove" is more blues-flavoured than that earlier track, but it rocks along nicely.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 2, 2024 18:14:18 GMT -5
Next favourite album of 2004... #7 - Together We're Heavy by The Polyphonic SpreeFor the uninitiated, the Polyphonic Spree are a 24-piece Texan band led by lead singer and songwriter Tim DeLaughter, who all dress in the robes of a religious cult and make uplifting and symphonic-flavoured, neo-psychedelic alternative rock. This is the band's second album and musically it treads much the same ground as their debut – like a weird cross between early '70s Chicago, the Association, Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys, and the Flaming Lips. Overall, Together We're Heavy sounds more expensively produced than the band's first album, but the songs on it aren't quite as strong. The enormous-sounding arrangements are still infectiously epic and ambitious, but the quality of the material is a slight come down from the band's earlier work. Still, it's not a bad album by any means, with standout tracks being "Hold Me Now", "We Sound Amazed", and the 10-minute plus "When the Fool Becomes a King". The Polyphonic Spree's "happy-clappy" brand of sunshine pop optimism (which has a certain melancholy to it) might not be to everyone's taste, but it's hard not to feel at least a little bit more positive about the world in general when you listen to them. Here's the single "Hold Me Now" for your consideration…
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 2, 2024 9:30:03 GMT -5
Huh. Well...that's...that's something. I don't even begin to understand what's going on there. This made me chuckle. It's pretty far from your usual musical wheelhouse, I guess. To be fair, it's quite an odd record even by Björk's standards.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 2, 2024 9:24:02 GMT -5
More catching up with my favourite albums of 2004... #8 - Medúlla by BjörkI could see myself taking a chance on this. I've often thought of trying something by Björk but have never gotten round to it, mostly out of sheer laziness. I would caution against Medúlla as your first Björk album. It's not a particularly easy listen compared to some of her other stuff. It's got some good stuff on it, for sure, and the voices only nature of the album is certainly very interesting, but it's not that immediate. I'd say you'd be much better starting off with her first solo album Debut (1993), or it's follow-up Post (1995), or my personal favourite Homogenic (1997). Those are much easier introductions to Björk's music for the neophyte.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 2, 2024 4:09:30 GMT -5
More catching up with my favourite albums of 2004... #8 - Medúlla by BjörkMedúlla is a bit of a departure for Icelandic songstress Björk insofar as the songs eschew her usual electronica backing in favour of a record consisting almost entirely of human voices. To create the backing tracks against which her lead vocals sit, she enlisted the help of two classical choirs – one Icelandic and one British – who were joined by an Inuit throat singer, former member of Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt, and Faith No More vocalist, Mike Patton. The result is a tranquil and experimental record that is heavy on mood and atmosphere, but perhaps a bit light on memorable songs. One song that is quite catchy and memorable though is the single "Who Is It?", but other than that, the album seems to go out of its way to be a complex and challenging listen. Still, the sheer breadth of influences on Medúlla is staggering – from chamber music to hip-hop, with lashings of beatboxing. Stand out tracks would include "Oceania", "Pleasure Is All Mine", and "Desired Constellation"; two of the songs are sung in Björk's native Icelandic ("Vökuró" and "Öll Birtan"). But honestly, picking out individual tracks is not the way to go with this record: this is an album that is more than the sum of its parts. Medúlla is far from being my favourite Björk album – the odder vocal sounds on it can be slightly irritating at times – but I do enjoy it if I'm in the right mood. Here's the song "Pleasure Is All Mine", which gives a pretty good example of what this album is like…
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 1, 2024 20:23:56 GMT -5
Pretty poor month for me -- only 11 comics read this month. I lost about two weeks when I was ill with flu and didn't feeling like reading anything though. Hopefully I'll be able to read a good bit more in May.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 1, 2024 20:07:38 GMT -5
Condolences TP. Duane Eddy was a hugely influential artist and, really, the king of the twangy guitar. "Peter Gunn" was one of the first things I ever learned to play on guitar and it was Eddy's version that I knew from hearing it in my Dad's record collection (along with knowing Eddy's mid-80s update of the song with the Art of Noise, of course). "Rabble -Rouser", "Forty Miles of Bad Road", and "Shazam" are all great tracks too. He was one of the rock 'n' roll greats.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 1, 2024 18:10:37 GMT -5
That's because with very limited exceptions, mostly Tomb of Dracula, Wolfman isn't a very good writer. I generally enjoy his work, but I agree that he's one of those journeyman writers, rather than somebody who makes me think "wow, this is brilliant." I quite like his run on Amazing Spider-Man in the late '70s and early '80s though, although it isn't a must-read run IMHO.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 1, 2024 15:08:16 GMT -5
#9 - Kasabian by KasabianBritish band Kasabian arrived in 2004 with the UK music press heralding them as the natural heirs to the Stone Roses' crown. Needless to say, the music didn't quite back up the hype, but the band's self-titled debut is definitely the sort of thing that would appeal to fans of the Roses and Primal Scream. There's also a touch of the Prodigy's big beat bombast to these songs too, along with the odd thread of prog rock weirdness. Myself, I thought this was an enjoyable album at the time, but it's not one that I've returned to very often in the last 20 years. I'm not quite sure why that is because there are plenty of strong tracks here – "Club Foot", "Reason is Treason", "L.S.F.", "Running Battle", and "Test Transmission" are all stand outs. I guess the album is a little samey across its almost 55-minute running time, but listening to it again, as I write this, it has an endearingly shabby charm and is much better than I remember. I should listen to this more. Here's the single "Club Foot", which gives you a very good idea of Kasabian's sound…
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 1, 2024 14:38:56 GMT -5
OK, a little late to the party, but here are my Top 10 albums of 2004 then. This was definitely a much less strong year for albums than 1994 was, as far as the music I liked is concerned anyway. #10 - Aha Shake Heartbreak by Kings of LeonThe Kings of Leon's second album is a notable comedown from the instantly likeable Lynyrd Skynyrd-meets-the Ramones spirit of their debut. Sonically, it very much treads the same ground as its predecessor, but it lacks the great selection of songs that made their debut such an enjoyable listen. Aha Shake Heartbreak is not a bad album at all, it's just that it kinda feels like we've heard this sort of thing from the band before, but done better. Still, "Slow Night, So Long", "Velvet Snow", and "Soft" are all pleasingly energetic songs and are among the best tracks on the album. Really though, it's the lead single from the album, "The Bucket", which is by far and away the best track on the album and that's the one I've chosen to highlight in this post…
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 1, 2024 12:29:38 GMT -5
Oh, man....Tunnock's caramels. One of the finest foods known to humanity.
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