TDDS - 2020 Shelter-in-Place on a Desert Island Music Draft - BONUS 5
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- Start date
Converge - The Dusk in Us (2017):
01 A Single Tear
02 Eye of the Quarrel
03 Under Duress
04 Arkhipov Calm
05 I Can Tell You About Pain
06 The Dusk in Us
07 Wildlife
08 Murk & Marrow
09 Trigger
10 Broken by Light
11 Cannibals
12 Thousands of Miles Between Us
13 Reptilian
Genre(s): Metalcore, post-hardcore, post-metal, hardcore punk
After a career that has spanned thirty years thus far, nothing has managed to blunt Converge's edge. They are the rare band in the realm of heavy music that has managed to persist into their fourth decade together without compromising and without slowing down. They are the fine wine of hardcore, a band that retains its original configuration and has somehow gotten better with age, pushing their sound with every release, finding new ways to wrench beauty out of increasingly brutalist shapes.
If you are new to Converge and genuinely interested, I would suggest beginning with their 2001 masterpiece and progressing forward from there. The Dusk in Us, their most recent release, is a distillation of everything Converge has ever been, and is a fantastic bookend for the five albums of growth that precede it. It's a staggering and exhausting album that strikes a tone quite like the image depicted on its cover: bleak and uncompromising. It's the sound of torching the boat at a Viking funeral.
This is not everyday listening. It is music for when you are at your most in need of noisy, earth-shaking catharsis. But when those of us with a love for heavy music feel that need, The Dusk in Us is a salve unlike any other.
01 A Single Tear
02 Eye of the Quarrel
03 Under Duress
04 Arkhipov Calm
05 I Can Tell You About Pain
06 The Dusk in Us
07 Wildlife
08 Murk & Marrow
09 Trigger
10 Broken by Light
11 Cannibals
12 Thousands of Miles Between Us
13 Reptilian
Genre(s): Metalcore, post-hardcore, post-metal, hardcore punk
After a career that has spanned thirty years thus far, nothing has managed to blunt Converge's edge. They are the rare band in the realm of heavy music that has managed to persist into their fourth decade together without compromising and without slowing down. They are the fine wine of hardcore, a band that retains its original configuration and has somehow gotten better with age, pushing their sound with every release, finding new ways to wrench beauty out of increasingly brutalist shapes.
If you are new to Converge and genuinely interested, I would suggest beginning with their 2001 masterpiece and progressing forward from there. The Dusk in Us, their most recent release, is a distillation of everything Converge has ever been, and is a fantastic bookend for the five albums of growth that precede it. It's a staggering and exhausting album that strikes a tone quite like the image depicted on its cover: bleak and uncompromising. It's the sound of torching the boat at a Viking funeral.
This is not everyday listening. It is music for when you are at your most in need of noisy, earth-shaking catharsis. But when those of us with a love for heavy music feel that need, The Dusk in Us is a salve unlike any other.
I felt the same way .... It is a great composition for sure but the level of reverence for it long ago surpassed the point of no return which invites backlash and shrugging. I'm sure I would feel differently if I'd heard it when it was brand new though instead of coming to it after already being so familiar with the dozens of bands who tried to emulate it.
It's only in the last 10 years that I've dug into their back catalog but my favorite Led Zeppelin album is the one with all the mellow acoustic tracks on it that no one really talks about and my favorite Led Zeppelin song is the one named after a piece of citrus fruit (no, not that one-- the other song named after a piece of citrus fruit).
It's only in the last 10 years that I've dug into their back catalog but my favorite Led Zeppelin album is the one with all the mellow acoustic tracks on it that no one really talks about and my favorite Led Zeppelin song is the one named after a piece of citrus fruit (no, not that one-- the other song named after a piece of citrus fruit).
De Natura Sonorum - Bernard Parmegiani (1978)
https://www.discogs.com/Bernard-Parmegiani-De-Natura-Sonorum/release/320878
It's been a while since I gave this record a listen. I almost forgot why I used to include in my list of top ten favorite records of all time. This record is simply phenomenal. The variety of sounds Parmegiani creates for this piece of music are not just mesmerizing, but to my ears, timeless. What's brings this record to a whole other level, is its depth of sonic storytelling. De Natura Sonorum doesn't just merely develop and express moods, it creates settings and scenes with details and actions; and as the listener you get to project your own experiences and personality to decide what its story is about. Or you can just admire it for how incredible it sounds.
https://www.discogs.com/Bernard-Parmegiani-De-Natura-Sonorum/release/320878
Tracklist
01 - Incidences / Résonances
02 - Accidents / Harmoniques
03 - Géologie Sonore
04 - Étude Élastique
05 - Conjugaison du Timbre
06 - Natures Éphémères
07 - Matières Induites
08 - Ondes Croisées
09 - Pleins et Déliés
10 - Points Contre Champs
I never even got around to hearing any covers of it; I'd just heard enough people refer to it as one of the greatest rock songs of all time, and I felt like it underdelivered on that. In fairness, something like 99 percent of the rock music I do like was released in the late-80s/early-90s, so I think that I may just be looking for something completely different, sonicly.
There's the whole joke perpetuated in Wayne's World where you don't play the intro in guitar stores and it's still a big part of guitar culture today online and all I can think to myself is who in 2020 is going into guitar shops and demoing playing that? (and that's even accounting for the whole blues lawyer meme where all the guitar gear is being bought by rich boomer dudes weekend warrioring).
I grew out of the song sometime after middle school ended. Ramble On, that's my LZ jam.
I grew out of the song sometime after middle school ended. Ramble On, that's my LZ jam.
Orishas - El Kilo (2005)
1. Nací Orishas
2. Distinto
3. Elegante
4.El Kilo
5. Que Se Bote
6. Reina De La Calle
7. Bombo
8. Al Que Le Guste
9. Amor Al Arte
10. Tumbando Y Dando
11. La Calle
12. Stress
13. La Vacuna
14. Quien Te Dijo
2. Distinto
3. Elegante
4.El Kilo
5. Que Se Bote
6. Reina De La Calle
7. Bombo
8. Al Que Le Guste
9. Amor Al Arte
10. Tumbando Y Dando
11. La Calle
12. Stress
13. La Vacuna
14. Quien Te Dijo
I don't have a lot to say about this album, it's just an instant dance party in CD form. Growing up in California, Spanish language music is never more than a few turns of the radio dial away so it seeps into you whether you go actively looking for it or not. I speak some, understand a little more, but I couldn't tell you what most of these songs are about. That doesn't really matter to me though -- sometimes the pleasure of listening to music is purely sensory.
Orishas is a Cuban rap group who are based in Paris and Wikipedia tells me that Fidel Castro himself was a fan! I don't remember how or why I picked up this album but the combination of Afro-Cuban instrumentation and rhythms with modern hip-hop production was an instant hit with me. I'd already been listening to other groups which combine traditional Mexican music with modern styles so it was more of a logical next step than a shot from the dark. Years later this is the Spanish language album I still enjoy the most.
When I turned 29 I decided I was going to teach myself to play the drums so I spent my entire tax refund on a drum kit and cymbals, stuffed it all into my small sedan, and drove to work where I could use the empty studios on the weekends to practice. I played along to a lot of albums over the span of a hundred or so weekends but this is the one I remember jamming to the most. I wasn't very good back then but the grooves here are pretty easy to follow and helped build my confidence to stick with it. Good times!
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Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
In a different draft I probably would have chosen a different Against Me! album, but when I decided to focus on more recent releases I decided to go with what I feel is perhaps their most important release even if I didn't have the same personal connection I did with a few of their earlier albums. Arguably it's one of the most important releases in the last 10 years and 6 years on it's still quite ahead of it's time.
I don't think I can really do service to the album. It challenged me when it came out, It still challenges me now. It wasn't the next album I wanted from a band I loved but it certainly was necessary - for artist and audience. Musically it's a great rock n roll record. Probably their most cohesive since transitioning to a full traditional band. Lyrically and conceptually, it's a conversation we'll probably only fully embrace in another 10-15 years. I'm not even quite sure we've fully caught up to the conversation Against Me! was having with their audience the decade prior to Laura Jane Grace coming out to the world and simultaneously transitioning from a mostly underground act struggling with the pains of mixed success and failures on a major label to becoming a queer icon with an expanded fanbase overnight.
So that said, I won't link individual tracks. It's worth a listen beginning to end and if you never listen to it again that is that and that's totally cool. Or maybe you'll revisit it during a lengthy stay-at-home/self-isolation/quarantine period while contemplating life on the other side. Also cool.
Transgender Dysphoria Blues on Spotify link
Track List:
1. Transgender Dysphoria Blues
2. True Trans Soul Rebel
3. Unconditional Love
4. Drinking with the Jocks
5. Osama bin Laden as the Crucified Christ
6. F***MYLIFE666
7. Dead Friend
8. Two Coffins
9. Paralytic States
10. Black Me Out
In a different draft I probably would have chosen a different Against Me! album, but when I decided to focus on more recent releases I decided to go with what I feel is perhaps their most important release even if I didn't have the same personal connection I did with a few of their earlier albums. Arguably it's one of the most important releases in the last 10 years and 6 years on it's still quite ahead of it's time.
I don't think I can really do service to the album. It challenged me when it came out, It still challenges me now. It wasn't the next album I wanted from a band I loved but it certainly was necessary - for artist and audience. Musically it's a great rock n roll record. Probably their most cohesive since transitioning to a full traditional band. Lyrically and conceptually, it's a conversation we'll probably only fully embrace in another 10-15 years. I'm not even quite sure we've fully caught up to the conversation Against Me! was having with their audience the decade prior to Laura Jane Grace coming out to the world and simultaneously transitioning from a mostly underground act struggling with the pains of mixed success and failures on a major label to becoming a queer icon with an expanded fanbase overnight.
So that said, I won't link individual tracks. It's worth a listen beginning to end and if you never listen to it again that is that and that's totally cool. Or maybe you'll revisit it during a lengthy stay-at-home/self-isolation/quarantine period while contemplating life on the other side. Also cool.
Transgender Dysphoria Blues on Spotify link
Track List:
1. Transgender Dysphoria Blues
2. True Trans Soul Rebel
3. Unconditional Love
4. Drinking with the Jocks
5. Osama bin Laden as the Crucified Christ
6. F***MYLIFE666
7. Dead Friend
8. Two Coffins
9. Paralytic States
10. Black Me Out
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Amon Amarth - Jomsviking
If anyone has cornered the market on Viking metal, well, it's Amon Amarth. I've seen them a couple of times now, once at 3 Floyds Brewing for Dark Lord Day - they brought out a massive Viking ship as their set - it was probably one of the most epic things I've ever seen...regardless of sobriety level. Most of their music revolves around the day to day Viking lifestyle. You know, pillaging, plundering, exploring. This album was a concept album centered around...well:
"The Jomsvikings and their world is the background for the story of a young man that is in love with a girl but unfortunately she's being married off. He accidentally kills a man when this happens and he has to flee — but he swears to have revenge and win her back. He can't let go of the past. He feels that he's been wronged and his life has been destroyed. The way the story evolves is not a happy story." [from Wikipedia]
1. "First Kill"
2. "Wanderer"
3. "On a Sea of Blood"
4. "One Against All"
5. "Raise Your Horns"
6. "The Way of Vikings"
7. "At Dawn's First Light"
8. "One Thousand Burning Arrows"
9. "Vengeance Is My Name"
10. "A Dream That Cannot Be"
11. "Back on Northern Shores"
Raise Your Horns is probably the one track that you can listen to independently, you know, to get a good sense of Amon Amarth. But if you want to listen to the whole album through, I'd go for it. Especially if you need a good workout soundtrack. Or if you've been wronged and seek retribution via enrampagement. I also included a link to "One Against All".
Second-straight hip-hop pick, as I take one last trip back to 1995:
LL Cool J - Mr. Smith (1995)
Something of a bounceback album for Cool J, after his previous release had bombed. Not spectacular, but solid, I look at this album as kind of like the Walt Williams of LL's discography. I can't say that it's loaded with heat but, if I'm sheltered-in-place, I'm going to be doing a lot of stuff that I want music I enjoy to just sort of be on, in the background, and this album fits the bill, nicely. Mr. Smith peaked at #28 on the US Charts, but was certified platinum by the RIAA, and produced three hit singles.
Track listing (links provided to songs released as singles):
Favorite non-single (no link, due to unable to find clean version on YouTube):
Source: Wikipedia
LL Cool J - Mr. Smith (1995)
Something of a bounceback album for Cool J, after his previous release had bombed. Not spectacular, but solid, I look at this album as kind of like the Walt Williams of LL's discography. I can't say that it's loaded with heat but, if I'm sheltered-in-place, I'm going to be doing a lot of stuff that I want music I enjoy to just sort of be on, in the background, and this album fits the bill, nicely. Mr. Smith peaked at #28 on the US Charts, but was certified platinum by the RIAA, and produced three hit singles.
Track listing (links provided to songs released as singles):
- "The Intro (skit)"
- "Make It Hot"
- "Hip Hop"
- "Hey Lover" (featuring Boyz II Men)
- "Doin It" (featuring LeShaun)
- "Life As..."
- "I Shot Ya" (featuring Keith Murray)
- "Mr. Smith"
- "No Airplay"
- "Loungin" (featuring Terri & Monica) (no link, due to unable to find the clean version on YouTube)
- "Hollis to Hollywood"
- "God Bless"
- "Get da Drop on 'Em'"
- "Prelude (skit)"
- "I Shot Ya (Remix)" (featuring Keith Murray, Prodigy, Fat Joe and Foxy Brown)
Favorite non-single (no link, due to unable to find clean version on YouTube):
- "No Airplay" (ADVISORY: even the "clean" version of this song is edited using backmasking, instead of "bleeping")
Source: Wikipedia
Back to @Capt. Factorial's playlist, I've gotten through The White Album and Ten, and I've moved on to Fashion Nugget.
Sacramento's own CAKE ladies and gentlemen! A rock band this good couldn't have come from anywhere else.
(Actually it's Cake that led me indirectly to my last album pick. There's a local band I followed for about 15 years that was heavily inspired by Cake and the lead singer of that band happened to be dating one of my Dad's co-workers so I hung out with him at shows a number of times and he mentioned once that he really liked this LA-based band called [redacted]... and after listening to all of their albums and looking for something remotely similar, that's how I wound up listening to Orishas. I'm fairly certain I didn't just make all of that up.)
(Actually it's Cake that led me indirectly to my last album pick. There's a local band I followed for about 15 years that was heavily inspired by Cake and the lead singer of that band happened to be dating one of my Dad's co-workers so I hung out with him at shows a number of times and he mentioned once that he really liked this LA-based band called [redacted]... and after listening to all of their albums and looking for something remotely similar, that's how I wound up listening to Orishas. I'm fairly certain I didn't just make all of that up.)
With my 18th pick in the Shelter-In-Place Album Draft, I select:
Reconstruction Site - The Weakerthans (2003)
Track Listing:
1 (Manifest)
2 The Reasons
3 Reconstruction Site
4 Psalm for the Elks Lodge Last Call
5 Plea From a Cat Named Virtute
6 Our Retired Explorer (Dines with Michel Foucault in Paris, 1961)
7 Time's Arrow
8 (Hospital Vespers)
9 Uncorrected Proofs
10 A New Name for Everything
11 One Great City!
12 Benediction
13 The Prescience of Dawn
14 (Past-Due)
The Weakerthans were a Winnipeg-based group (see: One Great City!) formed by the departed bassist from a punk band popular enough that I had heard of them (and it's not my genre, so I'm guessing they had a bit of a following). I was a bit surprised when I found that out, because I had never really considered their music to be hard-core in any sense - and often it's not, but in my mind they have a much softer edge than their music may deserve. Some of that may be due to the fact that they frequently use a musical saw, and it feels very...not punk. Most of it is probably due to the fact that their lyrics really stand out to me, verging on poetry. Plea From a Cat Named Virtute is just what it sounds like, a song from a feline perspective, while Our Retired Explorer is a mismatched dinner date between a philosopher and an expeditioner. One of the interesting things about this album is that while it's not a concept album per se, there's a thread running through it where about half the songs are at least tangentially related to a story of two people falling in love when one is terminally ill, as in Benediction's "shy discoveries/piled up against our impending defeat".
My favorite song on the record is the title track, and it contains the lyric that sold me on the band: "I'm a float in a summer parade/Up a street in the town that you were born in/With a girl at the top wearing tulle and a Miss Somewhere sash/Waving like the Queen".
Say do you have a ship - and a dozen able men - that maybe you could lend me?
Reconstruction Site - The Weakerthans (2003)
Track Listing:
1 (Manifest)
2 The Reasons
3 Reconstruction Site
4 Psalm for the Elks Lodge Last Call
5 Plea From a Cat Named Virtute
6 Our Retired Explorer (Dines with Michel Foucault in Paris, 1961)
7 Time's Arrow
8 (Hospital Vespers)
9 Uncorrected Proofs
10 A New Name for Everything
11 One Great City!
12 Benediction
13 The Prescience of Dawn
14 (Past-Due)
The Weakerthans were a Winnipeg-based group (see: One Great City!) formed by the departed bassist from a punk band popular enough that I had heard of them (and it's not my genre, so I'm guessing they had a bit of a following). I was a bit surprised when I found that out, because I had never really considered their music to be hard-core in any sense - and often it's not, but in my mind they have a much softer edge than their music may deserve. Some of that may be due to the fact that they frequently use a musical saw, and it feels very...not punk. Most of it is probably due to the fact that their lyrics really stand out to me, verging on poetry. Plea From a Cat Named Virtute is just what it sounds like, a song from a feline perspective, while Our Retired Explorer is a mismatched dinner date between a philosopher and an expeditioner. One of the interesting things about this album is that while it's not a concept album per se, there's a thread running through it where about half the songs are at least tangentially related to a story of two people falling in love when one is terminally ill, as in Benediction's "shy discoveries/piled up against our impending defeat".
My favorite song on the record is the title track, and it contains the lyric that sold me on the band: "I'm a float in a summer parade/Up a street in the town that you were born in/With a girl at the top wearing tulle and a Miss Somewhere sash/Waving like the Queen".
Say do you have a ship - and a dozen able men - that maybe you could lend me?
I am going to take the pick I was saving till the end. Always enjoyed his early songs but when this album came out it had something and two songs I really like. Actually I have the album and the cd is the one that is in my car in the cd player.
So for my 18th pick it is bob Dylan BLOOD ON THE TRACKS.
Tangled up in blue
You’re a big girl now
Idiot wind
You’re gonna make me lonesome when you go
Meet me in the morning
Lily, rosemary and the jack of hearts
If you see her, say hello
Shelter from the storm
Buckets of rain
And Dylan at his best with this performance of shelter from the storm
So for my 18th pick it is bob Dylan BLOOD ON THE TRACKS.
Tangled up in blue
You’re a big girl now
Idiot wind
You’re gonna make me lonesome when you go
Meet me in the morning
Lily, rosemary and the jack of hearts
If you see her, say hello
Shelter from the storm
Buckets of rain
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