Thanks...I do know metal pretty well.

As for the sludge/stoner crowd, the statement about it being a progression of "classic" I think is accurate. A lot of the stoner bands are Sabbath disciples, and that makes sense in the grand scheme of things.

Lastly, dick grayson is 100% correct on black metal. Sadly though a lot of the kids tend to dress up and act silly, but a lot do actually enjoy the music and ignore the message.

That's me. Except I like Slayer (up until Seasons), like Metallica's first 4 albums and as for GORGOROTH.. "Under the Sign of Hell" is a great record. The rest is meh..

They are NOW. They weren't when they released "Valley of the Damned". That's actually a really good record.

EDIT: Oh and to verify, I've NEVER worn corpse paint, hung a piece of my friends skull around my neck, hung out in a forest, been to Norway or burned a church.

..even though I've wanted to do more than one of those things, I've thought better of it before doing it.

I only listen to classic rock, pop and country, since the stuff that's been put out in the last 15 years, sucks.

I guess that makes me a snob then...

There's nothing wrong with Music snobbism.

No, not a snob, just ignorant.

:lol:

My boss, who is my same age, is like that. I've tried to introduce him to new music and nothing seems to stick. Personally, I would die if all I had to listen to was the same stuff I heard in High School.

I repeat myself incessantly on this point, but I'll say it again here:

It takes *JUST* as much skill, talent, creativity, and artistry to create a memorable *pop* song as it does for any other genre of music: rock, metal, country, alt, etc. Maybe even moreso.

I postulate that there is more skill and craftsmanship in Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me" than in Nine Inch Nail's *entire* ouvre. My opinion, of course, but who else's would I be talking about here?

But even still, let's not kid ourselves, even for a moment, that Paris Hilton's "musical endeavors" are anything worth talking about except in the context of wistful derision. Cmon now...!

1. That's me. No American Idol, No Top 40, No Pop Music. From today's era.
I do like it form the 50's- 60's though. Early Rock n Roll to Classic Rock
To espescially heavy metal and Blues. I think i'm pretty well deverseified.
I'm just not a fan of today's Pop scene. I can barely watch the National
Anthem at sport games anymore because the people think they're on
American Idol-( see Patti Labelle )

2. This isn't me. If you like a certain kind of music that I don't like, that's fine
by me. I don't care what you want to listen to or what anyone else likes.
You can listen to or like anything you want to, but that doesn't mean that
I have to do it also.

3. I reallly didn't care about what's going on there. I just passed the whole
Coldplay story on by.

I agree. But the fact that it's catchy doesn't make it good.

Damone? Mike Damone?

The charisma of Robin Zander? The songs?

Skill can create some of the most awe-inspiring soundscapes, but there is no book you can read to teach you how to write a good catchy melody. You either can or you can't IMO.

To me the best songs combine catchy melody with proficient skill. A catchy melody out of an R&B singer who sounds like 10 other guys is one thing. A catchy melody from an artist with a unique sound is something else entirely.

That's why I like NIN for instance. So many sounds on those records I've never heard before. Plus Trent has a unique and interesting voice. He's certainly not the most skillful vocalist out there, but he uses his voice as an instrument very effectively IMO.

I know there are tons of pop-type singers who can hit every note, do the typical R&B ad libs, etc., but really, who wants to hear that when they have nothing interesting to say with their musical voice?

If you had posted "It takes *JUST* as much skill, talent, creativity, and artistry to create a memorable *pop* song as it does for any other genre of popular music" I might have agreed with you.

Since you didn't disclaim it in such a way... I'm left thinking you equate something like this:

I totally agree, but the big difference is generally all that work going into the song is done by someone(s) other than the actual artist. I believe that is usually the point of contention.

As a music fan ... and a musician going on 32 years now (eesh)... I'm totally offended. :mad:

Yeah, you misinterpreted my post (or I didn't clarify). I *am* talking "popular" or "contemporary" music of the day, not counting composers, virtuosos, maestros, etc. If you think I'd equate The Jonas Brothers with Al Di Meola, you're off your meds.

But I'd still rank Cheap Trick over Phillip Glass any day of the week. Twice on Tuesdays.

Understood, but the end result is the end result. You can appreciate the songwriting, performing, and production efforts of a song or album to all ends of the Earth, but I'd rather saw my own legs off than listen to "Pet Sounds" again, no matter how much genius Brian Wilson poured into it. (It's one of those albums, again, I appreciate the effort but the end result doesn't do anything for me. I'd rather listen to anything by The Left Banke).

Yngwie Malmsteen is admittedly an amazing guitarist and I can appreciate his talent, but jeepers his performances leave me incredibly indifferent. Duane Allman, on the other hand, just had that perfect combination of artistry and melody that almost anyone could groove to.

I gotta poop. BRB.

I find an interesting way to get interested in new bands is to download music videos randomly (since I don't have cable tv) - from a few regularly updated sites. Alternatively, I also pick up soundtracks to movies I like (Guy Ritchie films are generally a good source) - find a single that I'm interested in and then start looking for additional songs by the band. Lately it's been much more itunes first for convenience, but if necessary I'll order online.

Got into a lot of Japanese and Korean stuff from videos and recommendations from friends too. Never would have gotten into M-flo without seeing a music video a few years back. Their 3rd-5th albums are absolutely incredible.

Stuff I've been listening to a lot over the last few years:
M-flo
Coheed & Cambria (and side projects)
Skindred
Muse (did they ever even release the 2nd album in the US?)
Franz Ferdinand
Ghost in the Shell: SAC soundtracks
Pedro the Lion
Billy Nayer Show (thanks to American Astronaut - oooh, new flick coming out too = new music)
Clint Mansell soundracks
Gnarls Barkley
Matisyahu
Modest Mouse
Drunken Tiger
Vincent Black Shadow

and obviously quite a few others...

Nice! Another m-flo fan. I thought Planet Shining was an awesome album. The eponymous track and "Ten Below Blazing" are great tracks.

Holy crap he's been gone a long time.

"Planet Supernova" and "Expo Expo" are pretty good albums overall, but they're not nearly as good IMO as the next three - starting with "Astromantic".

LISA left after "Expo Expo" (got one of her solo albums too) and only shows up for guest tracks on following albums but the general style of the the other two guys switched from techno/hip-hop to some absolutely incredible collaborations/remixes with a very wide variety of bands - from hip-hop, swing, brass band, rock, etc. If you pick up the live DVD for "Astromantic" or the DVD/CD combo of "Award Supernova Loves Best" you'll see some absolutely awesome live performances with some of the other artists. It's hard to see how they could run a whole concert when they only have one or two songs with any given artist, but the individual performances are a lot of fun.

A few of my favorite tracks from the other 3 albums:
Astromantic:
Starstruck - "The Return of the LuvBytes" - M-flo loves (ie. featuring) Ai, Rum (from Heartsdales) and ......(can't remember the kanji)
Vanessa - M-flo loves Bloodest Saxaphone
Get On! - M-flo loves Crystal Kay
Astrosexy - M-flo loves Chemistry
I wanna be down - M-flo loves .....(kanji again, I suck at this)
Cosmic Night Run - M-flo loves Crazy Ken Band and Nomi Amaki
........ - M-flo loves Boy Ken and Black Bottom Brass Band
Beat Space Nine:
Taste Your Stuff - M-flo loves Bennie K
A.D.D.P. - M-flo loves Monday.....
Dopeman - M-flo loves Emyli and Diggy-Mo'
The Other Side of Love - M-flo loves Emyli
Tripod Baby - M-flo loves LISA
Cosmicolor:
Simple and Lovely - M-flo loves .....
Love Song - M-flo loves Bonnie Pink
Love to Live By - M-flo loves Chara

All their stuff is good though - some songs just grow on you a lot more. A good way to pick these up for a decent price (Japanese prices are ridiculous) is to go to yesasia and order the Region 3 Korean DVD/CD combos - include some great music videos, etc. Highly recommend the "Award Supernova Loves Best" CD/DVD combo.

edit again - cd japan has flash links where you can hear samples of some of the albums.
Astromantic: http://www.neowing.co.jp/track_for_c...KEY=RZCD-45123
Beat Space Nine: http://www.neowing.co.jp/track_for_c...KEY=RZCD-45336
Cosmicolor: http://www.neowing.co.jp/track_for_c...KEY=RZCD-45557

Again, I don't disagree, but I was more or less addressing your assessment of *pop* music. I just can't find it in me to respect a song where one person wrote the lyrics, another person wrote the music, session musicians record & mix it, and a totally different backing group plays the music and the artist is essentially paid to sing karaoke and take all the credit. I don't care how 'catchy' it is.

The exception being if the singer truly has a phenomenal and unique voice to bring to the table.

:mad:

<img src="http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000002K9P.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg">

Oh.

so I take it you really dislike Elton John and Bernie Taupin?

I don't see it as wrong - I just don't understand it. I think Britney in particular is about the worst thing I've ever heard but there are millions who think she is the real deal. I just don't understand what people see and hear in it.