Topic: The Forced Listening Thread (Read 318358 times)

KharBevNor · « **Reply #850 on:** 22 Apr 2006, 17:21 »

Evie Sands - Any Way That You Want Me

Starts of very, very mellow, with vocals the central focus, building up to a very big old-school sixties pop/rock sound. With a pretty nice range of backing instruments. Well written, good singing and nice instrumentation. Not much to make it stand out, but there were some nice little touches that I did rather like, so I'll give this a 6.75.

Now, grab a pint and a fag, and get ready for a good old fashioned sing-along. This is the kind of thing I like to think of when someone says punK:

Cock Sparrer - Lies

Rizzo · « **Reply #851 on:** 23 Apr 2006, 03:50 »

This is interesting...
Somewhat slower than I was expecting. I like the vocals, very very English.
I like it. Somewhat punkrock but more interesting than a lot of punk.
8/10 very fun and a cool solo.

I'm putting up two by the same band. Right click, save target as, direct link to their site.
Hybrid has the coolest sample ever at the start.
Machinae Supremacy-Hybrid
Attack Music has the second coolest sample ever.
Machinae Supremacy-Attack Music
Get them. Review them both. Enjoy.

Alegis · « **Reply #852 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 08:56 »

Oh nice topic, I'll participate ^^
Not the best in reviewing songs, but one can always practice like this. A nib like me probably won't satisfy the review you wished for at all.

Attack Music :
Don't really like it too much, voice doesn't fit the music IMO which I don't really like in the first place. 'dull' : ( 4/10

Hybrid :
Like the tune of this one more, the "video game" eske improvisation is more succesful than Attack Music. Good parts are the guitar as it fits more the oldskool games. Lack of voice helps xD 7/10 Pleasant to listen to

I'll also give 2 suggestions from same band :

(perhaps not the best to link, though good ones, and had em on ftp)

The Smiths - Handsome devil
direct download link - save as

The Smiths - Rusholme Ruffians
direct download link - save as

Which reminds me, yousendit expires over 3 days or limited download. Try orbitfiles
http://www.orbitfiles.com/
Make 1gb account, upload the songs, and click the sharing icon afterwards ("SHARE IT"

) and the other icon for download link

for example, Billy Idol - You spin me right round
http://www.orbitfiles.com/download/id15970876
(those who don't like good ol' 80ies beware)

jcknbl · « **Reply #853 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 15:28 »

Ok, now we have to find someone who hasn't heard the Smiths in order for this thread to continue...

minkles · « **Reply #854 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 15:31 »

Quote from: jcknbl

Ok, now we have to find someone who hasn't heard the Smiths in order for this thread to continue...

I've never heard The Smiths. Seriously. I'll do this one today, when I get the time. Don't post another.

Alegis · « **Reply #855 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 16:38 »

Quote from: jcknbl

Ok, now we have to find someone who hasn't heard the Smiths in order for this thread to continue...

I did a search !

jcknbl · « **Reply #856 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 18:05 »

El Opium · « **Reply #857 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 18:53 »

Someone 'could' listen to Billy Idol.

minkles · « **Reply #858 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 19:14 »

Here goes:

The Smiths- Handsome Devil- 6/10- It is somewhat catchy at first, and I do like the guitar. However, it becomes repeditive very quickly, and the vocals are monotone and rather boring.

The Smiths- Rusholme Ruffians- 7.5/10- I like it. Upbeat and fun. However, I still don't like Morrissey's voice, and it doesn't have much of a discernable melody.

Now, listen to The National- Karen

jcknbl · « **Reply #859 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 22:27 »

The National- Karen

I really want to like this because I have a thing for low, untrained vocals. And in general the vocals are pretty good, he sounds like a Paul Simon who went through puberty but never learned to sing. Unfortunately there isn't much in the way of instrumentation to stand on. I mean if you thought the Smiths were repetitive I can't imagine what you must think of this. 8 for the vocals, 2 for the band. That averages to a 5.

The Black Keys- Midnight In Her Eyes

http://s52.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=13F431JJCB2L438GW3QFWGFRIA

Storm Rider · « **Reply #860 on:** 24 Apr 2006, 23:07 »

OK, I downloaded the Black Keys track already, but I can't seem to get yousendit.com to work. It keeps asking me for a recipient email address, which is not how it used to work.

Rizzo · « **Reply #861 on:** 25 Apr 2006, 00:06 »

Quote from: Storm Rider

recipient email address

Lol n00b. Just put your own email.

Quote from: Alegis

Attack Music :
Hybrid :

But the samples man, what did you think of the samples?

Alegis · « **Reply #862 on:** 25 Apr 2006, 08:23 »

Quote from: Rizzo

But the samples man, what did you think of the samples?

I'm such a nib I'm not even entirely sure what you're speaking of, if it's the repeated digital sounds ; Hybrid's one is pretty nice. Reminds me of Sega somehow. The repeated tune of Attack Music doesn't fit harmonically, and a guitar that doesn't impress/convince me.

"Welcome to Rivendel" is pretty funny/nice out of context like this as it reminds me more of Agent Smith than Elrond. Doesn't have anything to do with rest of song though xD

Quote from: El Opium

Someone 'could' listen to Billy Idol.

Don't even think it's Billy but Dead or Alive. Which you'll probably think to be worse. Not entirely sure, once again.

lightsabermario · « **Reply #863 on:** 25 Apr 2006, 14:42 »

Midnight in her Eyes is pretty good. It sounds great to listen to, and the guitar sounds great, although I wish he'd do a little more with it. The vocals are excellent. Sounds like the stuff i grew up listening to.

Now try this on for size: Scourge of 1691 by goat.
http://www.powergoat.com/page2.html
Warning: This is very long (13 minutes) and very intense. But if you're an adrenaline junkie like me, pump it up.

Rizzo · « **Reply #864 on:** 26 Apr 2006, 00:14 »

Quote from: Alegis

"Welcome to Rivendel" is pretty funny/nice out of context like this as it reminds me more of Agent Smith than Elrond. Doesn't have anything to do with rest of song though xD

I meant the Hugo Weaving and Futurama samples. I reckon, while they're totally out of context, they're still two of the best samples of ever.
"In actual news, the human race was doomed to extinction today as the robot revolt turned violent".

KharBevNor · « **Reply #865 on:** 04 May 2006, 09:10 »

Goat - Scourge of 1691

The title of this is mega-krieg, so I figured I may like it, and, upon beginning to listen, I am starting to give a guarded yes. The dark piano sound at the beginning is a bit off, but it soon goes into very Rhapsody-esque guitars which very much encapsulate the computer game feel. I recognise a good few parts of this...good old Transylvania. The only problems really are some of the levels of various synths and the quality of some of the drum sounds. The cymbals and hi-hats sound pretty lame at a few points, but otherwise the actual quality is very nice. Apart from this, there are a few transitions between elements of the medley that could have been done better, imo. My favoured approach is when the guy doing the medley sits down to some serious songwriting and actually creates bits that mold the tracks together in such a way that there may even be two songs going on at once. This track had more of a disjointed feel in some of its loud/soft transitions. Also, I'm pretty sure those sound effect samples were a bad idea. There were some very nice, particularly guitar sections, however the slight weakness in the putting together broke out some nice rock-outs.

Could be improved, but all said, pretty damn fun. Methinks I will download this guys stuff. Quite inspires me to continue with my half-hearted attempts to do something awesome with the music to Shadowgate and Raptor: Call of the Shadows.

8/10

Now, shameless self-promotion time again, as I can't really think of anything else to put. This is from a demo a few people here have...a remixed version appears on The Blasted Heath. A bit more beefed up than my usual post-industrial wankery.

Halo of Flies - St. Anthony's Fire

timehat · « **Reply #866 on:** 04 May 2006, 14:47 »

Halo of Flies - St. Anthony's Fire

My biggest problem with this piece overall is the production. The harp-like instrument sounds exactly like the Plucked! VST in Fruity Loops without any effects or anything. I find the sound to be rather irritating. Secondly, when the distorted bass comes in the first time, it is FAR too loud. Musically, there are some enjoyable moments with cool riffage from the bass and noodly little harp lead lines keeping things interesting. I would enjoy it more if the non-linear quality of some of the lead lines was carried over into the rest of the piece, but overall, there is a very repetitive looping feel to a lot of it. Dynamically, it is somewhat unique that the drums play a very low-key supporting role for the majority of the time. The reason this is interesting is because electronic music producers are usually obsessed with percussion and therefore it is sometimes overly bombastic or the only worthwhile part of the music; not so here.

Rating - 6/10

To be reviewed, I choose Gal Costa - Nao Identificado

E. Spaceman · « **Reply #867 on:** 04 May 2006, 15:14 »

Thread etiquette reccomends you put a link to the track you want to be reviewed.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #868 on:** 04 May 2006, 16:09 »

Quote from: timehat

Halo of Flies - St. Anthony's Fire
The harp-like instrument sounds exactly like the Plucked! VST in Fruity Loops without any effects or anything.

Exactly what it is actually...

I think that was before I knew about the mixer...unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I've lost the fl files for all that stuff, so re-working is kinda out :/

timehat · « **Reply #869 on:** 04 May 2006, 16:24 »

That totally sucks. When I switched from FL4 to 5 a lot of my files got fucked up and I don't have exported copies of a lot of them. I guess I need to get ahold of FL4 again and see if they load properly, because there was some material in there that I really liked.

Tropylium · « **Reply #870 on:** 05 May 2006, 03:16 »

Quote from: timehat

Gal Costa - Nao Identificado

Begins with discordant crashing noises; followes with some sort of waltz/latino song. (Disclaimer: this description might not be entirely accurate, since I know neither genre well.) Generally romantic and harmonic feeling, even tho there's some weird organ effects around the middle. Ends with more discordand crashing, but this time it seems to be some sort of a segway cut off. Well, the beginning might be that too, but the violin line seems more cut-off in the end.
I could probably make more of this if I knew the lyrics, but they're in some Romance language (out of which I speak none).

Generally, the idea appears pretty ballsy, humorous even; I could even imagine this being a "surprize" piece amidst an otherwise industrial album - or maybe this is just from a waltz/latino album which for some reason integrates some avant-gardish undertones. It's not exactly my cup of tea, but I can't find anything wrong in it.

I give 7.2/10.

To review: Mike Oldfield - Embers
(almost the complete track. All sounds have been produced using guitars)

Jedit · « **Reply #871 on:** 05 May 2006, 04:56 »

Error 403: Forbidden.

Tropylium · « **Reply #872 on:** 05 May 2006, 05:03 »

Damn. OK, try via this link: http://www.groove.nl/sound.php?letter=o
(it's from the album "Guitars")

timehat · « **Reply #873 on:** 05 May 2006, 17:07 »

That Gal Costa album is from '68. It would probably be classified as Tropicalia which is basically Brazilian psych-pop, the most well known band of that genre being Os Mutantes.

Mike Oldfield: Embers

The fact that you said that all the sounds were produced using guitars implied that some sort of trickery would be occuring, and such is evidently true within the first few seconds of the piece: sustained flute sounds, little squirty synth noises, etc. This all rests side-by side with some tasteful classical guitar melodies. The track has a nice feel to it, (reminds me of Camel somewhat) but doesn't seem to go anywhere (just a sample?). I think this would work really well as a segue between two more active pieces.
This being said, I'll rate what is here: 6.5/10

I choose Antonio Carlos Jobim - Triste

amok · « **Reply #874 on:** 06 May 2006, 08:56 »

Quote from: timehat

I choose Antonio Carlos Jobim - Triste

This is really funky. Very laid back, the piano and sax play off each other well, and the backing acoustic guitar is upbeat and catchy without intruding on the solo parts of the song. This sounds exactly like the kind of thing you'd expect to hear in a nice bar or coffee shop, it's busy enough to hold your attention but never overly so. Could do with being a bit longer and it's not my usual style but otherwise I got nothin' bad to say about this piece. 9/10

Greenhaus - Human Nature

Praeserpium Machinarum · « **Reply #875 on:** 06 May 2006, 09:41 »

Piv! It doesn't work

amok · « **Reply #876 on:** 06 May 2006, 09:45 »

How so? :O loads for me

Praeserpium Machinarum · « **Reply #877 on:** 06 May 2006, 09:57 »

It stops halfthrough the download and now I can't even press the link. It may be my computer that is fucked though...

amok · « **Reply #878 on:** 06 May 2006, 10:03 »

yup, seems to be working fine for me I'm afraid... I'll try re-uploading it.

ImRonBurgundy? · « **Reply #879 on:** 06 May 2006, 16:14 »

Quote from: amok

Greenhaus - Human Nature

i dunno, i'm not too excited about this. the melody's pretty generic, the production is overly slick, and overall it sounds kind of like Evanescence lite. 4/10

Leatherface- "Shipyards"
i think there's something very beautiful in the juxtaposition of the gritty punk rock singing voice with the piano ballad music here.

timehat · « **Reply #880 on:** 06 May 2006, 17:52 »

Leatherface - Shipyards

The aforementioned juxtaposition comes across as a bad joke. Sung in a stylistically appropriate voice, this song would be merely bland and tired. The vocals take the proceedings from boring to painful.

3/10

Thought Industry - Tall Ships on the Rocks

onewheelwizzard · « **Reply #881 on:** 06 May 2006, 19:02 »

Thought Industry - Tall Ships on the Rocks

I liked the way this sounded as it started up, seemed like the right kind of friendly, slightly-psychedelic pop. The vocals aren't my absolute favorite, but they're well delivered and they don't kill the song by any means. In fact, it kept up and overall the song is very pleasant to listen to. I quite liked it. 8.7/10 (and I'm going to try to find more by these guys. Thread success!)

http://download.yousendit.com/F772904357953172">Bigelf - Sunshine Suicide

Schmendrick · « **Reply #882 on:** 06 May 2006, 22:45 »

Craig Cardiff... in general

ImRonBurgundy? · « **Reply #883 on:** 06 May 2006, 22:48 »

Bigelf- "Sunshine Suicide"

this is actually pretty rad. not what i usually listen to at all, but the guitar notes and the melodies are extremely sweet. 8.5/10

since them playing a piano song is apparently a "bad joke" and "painful":
Leatherface- "Springtime"

timehat · « **Reply #884 on:** 06 May 2006, 23:44 »

Quote from: onewheelwizzard

Thought Industry - Tall Ships on the Rocks

I liked the way this sounded as it started up, seemed like the right kind of friendly, slightly-psychedelic pop. The vocals aren't my absolute favorite, but they're well delivered and they don't kill the song by any means. In fact, it kept up and overall the song is very pleasant to listen to. I quite liked it. 8.7/10 (and I'm going to try to find more by these guys. Thread success!)

http://download.yousendit.com/F772904357953172">Bigelf - Sunshine Suicide

I am very happy to hear that you enjoyed it. They are certainly one of my favorite bands. Their discography is incredibly varied though, so only the later stuff sounds like what I posted.

Praeserpium Machinarum · « **Reply #885 on:** 07 May 2006, 00:15 »

Leatherface - Springtime

Starts out with a guitar hiss before launching into an intro with drums and quite metallic guitars. Then the vocals kicks in and they are nice enough, he sounds like an old punk who has drunk so much that it has caused errosion on his vocal cords. He is not a good singer by any means but it fits. I don't really pay much mind to the lyrics, but I figure they deal in a bittersweet way with spring. The chorus halfway through is pretty good, raucous. It ends in a similar fashion as it started which adds a nice sense of cohesion.

Overall I like it, it is good punk and far from what passes as punk these days, 7/10

Now danish electronica:
Sorten Muld - Vølven

Vølven is a female seer from norse mythology, and in difference to the other songs on the album (III), this is an original. The lyrics essentially picture the Vølven resurrect and tell about her impressions of our time.

Symptom · « **Reply #886 on:** 07 May 2006, 13:10 »

Sorten Muld - Vølven

Well, something I never really listened to before, electronic music. So I'm afraid this will be short and clumsy, I got nothing to relate to.
Plus, I can't understand a word, so beyond what you told us of it, I got no clue what she is talking about.

The whole song has a very solid mood to it. It is very calm and relaxing, even if it has a pretty high tempo. The singer's voice is quite charming and the non-sense she's mentioning fits pretty well. The song evolves a bit, but not much change occurs.. If I liked electronic music, I'd probably like music like that. The fact that the rythm doesn't move much just puts me off too much.

I'd give it a 6/10.

With a Dream and a Gun, by Decadence.

amok · « **Reply #887 on:** 07 May 2006, 19:45 »

Quote from: Symptom

With a Dream and a Gun, by Decadence.

Fantastic start to this song, very folksy in feel and the little string hits really complement the singer. Smooth acoustic melodies and every instrument plays its part without overwhelming the others. The random piano & spoken word from around 3:00 onwards really suit the mood of the song and the progression in the second half is well-executed. I would definitely listen to this band more and recommend that others download the tune.

9.5/10

Empire State Human - Eastern Lights (warning: this song is electronic in nature)

Misereatur · « **Reply #888 on:** 08 May 2006, 03:01 »

Quote from: amok

Empire State Human - Eastern Lights (warning: this song is electronic in nature)

Electronic it is. I did'nt like the start, sounds like one of the example files in AudioMulch (basic drum machine and melody). Gets better when the vocals kicks in. And the chorus is pretty good. But it changes very little and sounds too cheesy to me.
6.5/10 Just because I liked the chorus.

My song:
Rashanim - Chorek

Jedit · « **Reply #889 on:** 09 May 2006, 16:50 »

Quote from: Misereatur

Rashanim - Chorek

Guitar-driven instrumental somewhere in between modern jazz, Guns 'n' Roses and Dick Dale's surf guitar. Interesting, but perhaps not the kind of thing I'd choose to listen to. It feels a bit improvised and random in places. I'll give it 6/10 anyway, though, because it doesn't suck.

I'm a little short of inspiration, so here's one picked pretty much at random:

John Matthias - Smalltown, Shining

nuisance · « **Reply #890 on:** 10 May 2006, 17:12 »

Quote from: Jedit

John Matthias - Smalltown, Shining

Nice song, starts off sorta like Neil Young or something, that slow doof doof dap plodding beat and the clean guitar. Kinda gruff vocals, half-spoken almost.. or at least often sticking around one note. Wasn't sure I'd get into it and then the strings came in, really loud and swamping everything and a bit dischordant? I dunno, I have a bad ear. Sounded cool anyway, thought it added a nice edge to thetune. It's not something I'd listen to heaps, but it's piqued my interest in an artist I'd never heard of. Right back atcha: 6/10

Right then:

Koushik - Be With

(resisted uploading one of my fave R&B hits in favour of something a little more "serious"

)

Rizzo · « **Reply #891 on:** 11 May 2006, 02:04 »

Koushik-Be With

Ok sounds like it's gonna be some interesting sampled music. Argh! The vocals... they make me want to book myself into a rest home for some peace and quiet. How can anyone sing that tranquilly? This is so airy and hideous. There is nothing about this song that says "Listen again".
My god that was twee. Seriously uninteresting music imo. I couldn't bring myself to get into it. It was just ugh. For a little bit I expected something similar to the Avalanches but it just went downhill once the vocals kicked in.

Salome-Killing Miranda

nuisance · « **Reply #892 on:** 11 May 2006, 03:52 »

Ouch! Well, that was my favourite album of last year, but never mind...

Praeserpium Machinarum · « **Reply #893 on:** 11 May 2006, 09:52 »

Killing Miranda - Salome

Killing Miranda are goth and pretty good at that. I really like the catchy guitar but the vocals and verses are less interesting. It starts with drums and then that the guitar enters and continues like a bit, maybe a bit too long. But then you discover that it is actually better than the quiet verses. His voice is fitting for the style, it has that monotone quality similar to post-punk bands like Joy Division. I don't like it much when it is distorted but when it does convey emotion e.g. at "Salome", it is fine. The lyrics fit as well "tonight, tonight the baptist dies" and "I have waited cold milennia to die for her", but again not that interesting in my opinion.
I like the ending as well, the wows and so on.

Good guitar + fine vocals + bad verses + trite lyrics = 7/10

Next: Morphine - Honey White

Ghostwriter · « **Reply #894 on:** 11 May 2006, 10:09 »

Morphine - Honey White

This song sounds like a jazz and indie song gone to the dark side. The horns and bassline sound really brooding, strange, and cool. The vocals fit the great vibe, but don't really hit me in a profound way. They're not bad though, and maybe something I'd grow to like. The horn intro hits you in the face, and it sounds really awesome. The lyrics are rather vague.

Overall, it has a really great jazz/blues/indie vibe and some kickass horn lines. Unfortunately, it seems like it would get old really fast. For that reason, 6.5/10.

Onward!

Halou - Milkdrunk

ImRonBurgundy? · « **Reply #895 on:** 11 May 2006, 11:22 »

Halou- Milkdrunk

well, the melodies are definitely pretty, and makes good background music, but it's really nothing i would go out of my way to listen to. 6/10

this is a video, because you really need to have the full audiovisual experience for this band:
Hurra Torpedo- "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (Live)

Ghostwriter · « **Reply #896 on:** 11 May 2006, 12:58 »

Holy shit, what? 1/10 (or 10/10, depending on your personal...interpretation. My score was probably heavily skewed by the bare man-ass.)

Next of all:

The Cinematic Orchestra - Channel 1 Suite

nuisance · « **Reply #897 on:** 12 May 2006, 08:33 »

The Cinematic Orchestra - Channel 1 Suite

Not bad, an instrumental loungey / jazzy programmed track. Really nice rhythm programming.. the beat drops just when you expect it to, but does something a little different. They certainly live up to their name, too, the horn stabs, moody bass and plucked out guitar part are very like the way eg. Portishead trawls through the back catalogue of a certain flavour of film music. Also like Portishead it's deceptively dark, even though it could be easily dismissed as cafe wallpaper... I dunno, I think it's pretty cool. Makes me wonder if I gave up on the Ninja Tune label too early... 6/10

Fennesz feat. David Sylvian - Transit

Ghostwriter · « **Reply #898 on:** 12 May 2006, 08:56 »

Fennesz feat. David Sylvian - Transit

This is a rather pretty track. There's no real rhythm; it just sort of drags on, supported by the lazy and mellow vocals, and occasionally puncuated by strange but beautiful synths. Sounds very much like something from a jazzy film soundtrack, or something you'd listen to during a walk in the rain. The wavery, baritone vocals are high in the mix, and that's a little obtrusive. Strange, but attractive. 6.5/10

Onward to...

Godflesh - Frail

karl gambolputty... · « **Reply #899 on:** 13 May 2006, 15:08 »

Godflesh - Frail

Not bad. Pretty heavy riff, reminds me of the Melvins, with a less growly singer. Gets a bit monotonous, the last half is pretty much the first half played over, but I didn't really mind listening to it again. 6/10 for you!

and now for something completely different:

http://www.savefile.com/files/3864277" target="_blank">The Delgados - Thirteen Gliding Principles

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: The Forced Listening Thread (Read 318358 times)

Alegis

jcknbl

Alegis

jcknbl

El Opium

jcknbl

Alegis

lightsabermario

timehat

timehat

timehat

Praeserpium Machinarum

Praeserpium Machinarum

timehat

Schmendrick

timehat

Praeserpium Machinarum

nuisance

nuisance

Praeserpium Machinarum

Ghostwriter

Ghostwriter

nuisance

Ghostwriter