What Are You Listening To?

[Thraak]

Just revisiting this classic album from the shoegazing/Britpop band from which Andy Bell would later go on to play bass in latter period Oasis.

Listening again after some years I actually forgot how good an album this is (even if they do owe something to the Stone Roses!). Here is one particular track which stands out!

Fantastic atmospheric lead-work on this one:
[video=youtube;Q4JZIfx36Bg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4JZIfx36Bg[/video]

[Tiggi]

Dublin band's third from 1992. They released five albums and achieved little success, which seems unjust.

Assured & confident mid-paced Alt-Rock album which bears some comparison to The Blue Aeroplanes, and mid-period James.

Contains an excellent "song" Endless Art which is an answer song to Oscar Wilde's assertion from the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray that "All Art is Useless". Consists of a spoken roll call of deceased artists, musicians, and writers set to music...

Good album.


AllMusic 3/5 stars.

[Thraak]

Interesting post Tiggi ^. I have one of this bands albums called 'Wide Eyed & Ignorant' which I thought was alright but wasnt too impressed. Maybe the above album would be a better one to judge them on? I'll need to investigate!

[Tiggi]

On the laptop.

2011 release from American band.

I really liked their eponymous 2008 album, which is a Rootsy album of earthy Americana, so was quite surprised to hear assorted electronics intruding on this one.

Can't say that their new direction does much for me, although the baby isn't entirely thrown out with the bath water...


AllMusic 4/5 stars.

[Tiggi]

Interesting post Tiggi ^. I have one of this bands albums called 'Wide Eyed & Ignorant' which I thought was alright but wasnt too impressed. Maybe the above album would be a better one to judge them on? I'll need to investigate!

It's worth checking out, Soulman. I dare say it won't blow you away, but it's pretty good.

[Tiggi]

2001 release from Icelandic Pop-Pixie.

Bjork picks from a wide musical pallette including some Glitchy beats, Harp, Choir, Orchestra, Keyboard textures, and Musical Boxes to accompany her idiosyncratic vocals.

This is a sensual, subdued album, and whilst it won't be to everyone's taste, it is to mine.

Bjork inhabits a parallel musical universe, and I like to visit it periodically...


AllMusic 4+/5 stars.

[Tiggi]

1985 sampler album from arty UK label ZTT, brainchild of journalist Paul Morley, & producer Trevor Horn.

Home to the likes of the Art of Noise, Propaganda, & Frankie Goes to Hollywood (all of whom feature here), ZTT tried to light a bit of a rocket under the complacent record labels of the time. They had some success, but burned bright only relatively briefly. Don't even know if they're still extant...

The album's not great, but contains an excellent Propaganda remix.


Not scored by AllMusic.

[Tiggi]

Dave's 2002 album.

Past his prime, but still a worthwhile effort. More conventional than many of his releases, but has enough of his odd twists & turns to make it interesting.

Sub-par Bowie is still Bowie !!


AllMusic 3+/5 stars

[CRAZY-HORSE]

a good album IMO...but im not a big Bowie fan so what do i know!?

[Tiggi]

I adore pretty much everything he did between The Man Who Sold The World, & Scary Monsters, and of the rest there's not much I positively dislike.

A brilliant song-writer.

SteveO has got me back on a bit of a Bowie kick of late, following his Ziggy posts.