Interactive Poll XIII - Surprise, surprise

Lewian wrote: By the way, do you know of Italian radio shows where good new music is played regularly?

Lewian wrote:  Nice one, Joanna Newsom is awesome (I got to know her on the radio, but that was actually a show where regularly good stuff was played, so not that much of a surprise), and this is a super fun video! Here's some of her music:

Video removed for space....That was quite a fun video!  Obviously she can play the harp and she is very whimsical in her presentation.  I liked the classroom effect, all shades of oak and white, reflecting her harp, her hair and her clothing indoors and the move from inside to outside with the chalkboard sketches.  Her voice is definitely an acquired taste.  Raff had expressed how I feel about it, too much of it at once is too much.  But I also love her comedic sensibility in the Portlandia episode as well.  Thank you for sharing the video, I'd not seen it before and it's very charming.

TCat wrote: The one thing that always surprises me is this particular cover of John Lennon's "Imagine".   The thing that surprises me about it is how much I adore this cover and how many people just hate it.  I think the tension that is built in this version is so pertinent to the current times, it's like everyone is waiting for the final straw that could bring everything down, and that is the feeling I get when I hear this.   A Perfect Circle - "Imagine" (Video) Thanks to Lorenzo for posting what I call the "real" versions of "Born in the USA".  I didn't know the song was originally meant for the "Nebraska" album, but these versions really push the meaning of the song to the fore, and I especially love the third one that you posted.  It was what inspired me to post what I think is the cover of the many covers of "Imagine" that truly conveys the meaning of the song.

Lewian wrote: mathman0806 wrote: Me too! My favorite album of his is the second one, Electro-Shock Blues. (Eels video) Another one of my top albums from the 90's. Coincidentally I heard this one on the same radio show (not on the same day though) where I came across  Joanna Newsom. Very cool. The first half is pretty close to Holger Hiller's stuff (my contribution to the - what? - second poll or so).

Lewian wrote: mathman0806 wrote: Me too! My favorite album of his is the second one, Electro-Shock Blues. (Eels video) Another one of my top albums from the 90's. Coincidentally I heard this one on the same radio show (not on the same day though) where I came across  Joanna Newsom. Very cool. The first half is pretty close to Holger Hiller's stuff (my contribution to the - what? - second poll or so).

The Anders wrote: I really like the Electro Shock Blues album too. I think my favourite track is "My Descent Into Madness", because of the baroque-like string section.

Electro Shock Blues and the debut are the only Eels albums I know. I did discover the band due to hearing the "Beautiful Freak" song, which was a pretty big hit song, methinks. "My Descent Into Madness" is likely my favourite too, also because of the baroque-like string section. There's lot of music I love with such string sounds both from the 60s through 70s and in the 90s up. It's something of a particular passion of mine in music, and I love 90s-up music with a certain retro feel to it (evocative of the late 60s). One reason I like "Beautiful Freak" is that it has an air of pathos and fragility (qualities I commonly do favour in music as it resonates with often melancholic and awkward/unsure of myself me). I'm really interested in how music interests (and film and TV) reflects on people's psychology/ life experiences.

Edited by Logan - July 22 2020 at 14:48

rushfan4 wrote: Because I apparently have lived a sheltered life and not come across any rare obscure exciting surprises like the rest of you folks, I am going to select a well known pop artist who provided a surprise to me "prog rock" album and specifically this song: [video embed edited out for bandwidth]

Maybe some people are less easily surprised than others. Just being at the forum I get multiple surprises every day (not so much in discovering music, but in what people say or "fail to say" quite often). I am someone who makes predictions (to myself) a lot, such as this person will likely say this, or that person will likely vote that, and am surprised that I get it wrong as much as I do as I used to be much better at making accurate predictions (my psychic powers have waned).A very predictable forum can be a very boring forum, though, but one can expect certain patterns of behavior from individuals.

I love Neil Diamond and that song. I couldn't think of many instances of surprise (two of mine were based on coincidences which really were not that that amazing or surprising) and none that are very obscure,I would think. Two pretty popular songs, and one pretty popular act with Air. Part of the fun in these polls for me is thinking through one's approach within the parameters, and that process can be quite creative. It's a very thoughtful and introspective exercise, and also an interactive, communal exercise. It's that combo that makes this series such a winner for me.

Such a predictably boring Logan response, sorry.

I really like the Electro Shock Blues album too. I think my favourite track is "My Descent Into Madness", because of the baroque-like string section.

Because I apparently have lived a sheltered life and not come across any rare obscure exciting surprises like the rest of you folks, I am going to select a well known pop artist who provided a surprise to me "prog rock" album and specifically this song:

Edited by rushfan4 - July 22 2020 at 14:10

Raff wrote: I love Joanna Newsom's music, but her voice takes some getting used to, and a whole album of it can get a bit tiresome after a while.

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: I was at a college party in my sophomore year when someone put this album on. I'd never heard anything like it. I immediately stopped talking and sat down to listen to the whole thing. I borrowed it from the host when I left and bought it 2 days later. Still adore everything he's done. (Video)