Interactive Poll #18 for Real: Short and No Suites

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Topic: Interactive Poll #18 for Real: Short and No Suites
Posted: September 14 2020 at 15:05

My votes:

Yasmine Hamdan - Beirut

Morgan Delt - Tropicana

Morphine - Honey White

Honorable mentions:

Fever Tree - Man Who Paints The Pictures

The Nits - In the Dutch Mountains

Peixe : Avião - Quebra (basically left out because I already knew the song)

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Posted: September 14 2020 at 09:21

I wasn't confident on my nomination so I'm particularly glad you liked it Thumbs Up

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Posted: September 14 2020 at 08:26

I'm fairly traditional in what I listen to so these resonated with me....I had heard the Fever Tree many years ago..never bought a copy. Drake I have in my collection...but voted for him because I love his music.

Low Anthem is new to me....liked the languid slow indie folk tune.

Fever Tree

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Low Anthem

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Posted: September 14 2020 at 08:20

My three votes go to:

1. Einstürzende Neubauten - Haus der Lüge
2. Fever Tree - Man Who Paints The Pictures
3. Peixe : Avião - Quebra

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Posted: September 13 2020 at 21:35

jamesbaldwin wrote:

The Anders wrote:

Morphine - Honey White

Once again an interesting listen. My main association is the 80's alternative rock, and maybe it is just that? I didn't know the band. I especially like the way they use saxophones.

Did you notice that the bass has two strings? It was designed by the singer and bassist himself.

He also designed the Basitar and Guitbass played by the Presidents of the United States of America. You remember these guys?

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Posted: September 13 2020 at 16:45

Raff wrote:

Einstürzende Neubauten - Haus der Lüge: for some odd reason, I'd never heard anything from this well-known band. If this intense, riveting track is representative of their output, I'll be doing some exploring soon.

Well, yes and no. It's surely a highlight. It showcases some of their strength, the use of noises and sounds, Blixa's intense voice, and their at times uncompromising energy. They have a number of similarly thrilling songs, for example ZNS; actually the whole Halber Mensch and Haus der Lüge albums are great. Another side of them is even more noise oriented and experimental, but more difficult for the rock listener, in the beginning they had a quite punky approach, and more recently they have some more poetic and conceptual work. They are not really a band of which any single track can be seen as representative. Overall their work is very diverse and still evolving. They are without a doubt one of the leading progressive bands of the last 40 years, alas too far from what the gatekeepers of "prog rock" want to listen to.

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Posted: September 13 2020 at 15:39

mathman0806 wrote:

^I remember D-A-D. They had just one song that got airplay here in the States way long ago. But it was good, think it was called "Sleeping the Day Away."

You came close:" Sleeping My Day Away" :)

Personally I am not so much a fan of that type of music, but it's not a bad song. It's a classic here.

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Posted: September 13 2020 at 08:40

^I remember D-A-D. They had just one song that got airplay here in the States way long ago. But it was good, think it was called "Sleeping the Day Away."

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Posted: September 13 2020 at 08:29

mathman0806 wrote:

jamesbaldwin wrote:

Surprise: Haus der Luege... Yes, it overtook in the final sprint Beirut... Sorry Mathman... Cry

No problem there. This was tough competition. I voted for EN myself.

But, since you found Yasmine to be fetching, you might like this bonus video. A nice in studio performance. Musically, shows some more of her trip hop roots.

She is a musician to keep under observation.

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Posted: September 13 2020 at 08:02

jamesbaldwin wrote:

Did you notice that the bass has two strings? It was designed by the singer and bassist himself.

I'll look for it. Stig Pedersen of the Danish band D-A-D played on a ONE string bass!

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Posted: September 13 2020 at 07:06

jamesbaldwin wrote:

Surprise: Haus der Luege... Yes, it overtook in the final sprint Beirut... Sorry Mathman... Cry

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Posted: September 13 2020 at 06:47

Raff wrote:

Einstürzende Neubauten - Haus der Lüge: for some odd reason, I'd never heard anything from this well-known band. If this intense, riveting track is representative of their output, I'll be doing some exploring soon.

It quite is, so don't hesitate to explore more of them. Personally I prefer the albums starting from Haus der Lüge (this album included), because they become a bit more melodic (their first period is more characterized by their punk, musique concrète and Krautrock - think of Can, Neu!, Kraftwerk - influences, which get more polished and melodic later on). I very much like their 2000s outings (Perpetuum Mobile or Alles wieder offen, e.g.). Just recently I listened to their latest album, out this year: Alles in Allem, but this one is less convincing to me. I'm sure you will find some albums to your liking, and I think Lewian might chime in to possibly give another perspective.

BTW, your suggestion of Anúna made me curious to listen to more of them - thanks!

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Posted: September 13 2020 at 06:01

Time for me to vote at last Smile

! Thanks to George for putting this poll together, and thanks to everyone for their truly inspired selections Clap

. As I have said time and again, these polls are the only good thing going on here at the moment. The forum has become almost as depressing as Facebook LOL

Anyway, here we go with my Top 3:

Peixe: Avião – Quebra: as The Anders stated in a previous post, this is progressive in the truest sense of the word, and something that needs more recognition. Eerie, intriguing, arresting.

Einstürzende Neubauten - Haus der Lüge: for some odd reason, I'd never heard anything from this well-known band. If this intense, riveting track is representative of their output, I'll be doing some exploring soon.

Fever Tree - Man Who Paints the Pictures: beautiful vintage psychedelia, something that will always be up my alley.

Honourable mentions:

The Kinks - Dedicated Follower of Fashion: one of the few songs I already knew, and a true classic.
Nick Drake - Day Is Done: beautiful and haunting.

This poll may have been the most successful as far as I am concerned, because I found something to like in all of the nominated songs. A great selection of music from different eras, showing that there is life outside the boundaries of traditional prog. Well done, everyone Clap

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Posted: September 13 2020 at 03:59

May I have 15 votes ?

It really is a pleasure to listen to the playlist: these are all great quality songs and so much diversity that choosing from it is very difficult. (The Kinks won't play in the playlist, but I have the album here).

So, we play the voting game and after many deliberative exchanges between me, myself and I (and the Hifi) I came to this result:

First: Despite the fact that I knew it before, this one grabs me most of all, again and again, for its sheer musicality, originality, energy and poetry. Indeed, much more innovative than most (all?) modern prog: Einstürzende Neubauten - Haus der Lüge

Then, it becomes much more difficult to make a choice. There's only very good music left... I'm voting for two songs that grab me in completely different ways:

- The beautiful profound quietness of The Low Anthem - To Ohio (which was in ferocious competition with Yasmine Hamdan, Anúna and CTM)

- The driving energy of Morphine - Honey White ; when this came up my ears turned towards the loudspeakers and I had to turn up the volume... (the battle here was with Fever Tree and Peixe : Avião, they provoked a similar reaction)

(all those mentioned were new discoveries to me)

And then the great pleasure to listen to all the others too: there's much musicality and great playing going on in this playlist and I must say that Morgan Delt's Tropicana grew on me after each listen... I will be exploring more of these bands, for sure. Thanks to all, again!

Edited by suitkees - September 13 2020 at 04:14

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Posted: September 13 2020 at 03:34

The Anders wrote:

Morphine - Honey White

Once again an interesting listen. My main association is the 80's alternative rock, and maybe it is just that? I didn't know the band. I especially like the way they use saxophones.

Did you notice that the bass has two strings? It was designed by the singer and bassist himself.

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Posted: September 12 2020 at 15:56

Second bunch:

The Low Anthem - To Ohio

Americana sentiments here. I like it, especially with the harmonium (if that's what it is) and the clarinet which fit the song very well.

Anúna - Deep Dead Blue

Listening on Spotify, blocked once again.

This is absolutely interesting. The sacred atmosphere puts me off a bit - a taste matter really - but the chord changes are excellent.

Heart - Dreamboat Annie

Surprise surprise: this one is blocked too. Turning to Spotify once again, I can see that the album of the same name contains two tracks, one called "Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)" and one that is just called "Dreamboat Annie". I assume it's the latter?

My knowledge on Heart is very limited (basically to "Crazy on You", "Barracuda" and "Alone"). I don't think they were as big in Europe as they were in North America, and that might explain it. Until a few years ago I knew the band solely by name. As for "Dreamboat Annie", it's very laid back with soothing vocals and fine vocal harmonies. The whole thing is perhaps a bit too polished and "radio friendly" for my taste. Very AOR-like. But by no means a bad song.

Morphine - Honey White

Once again an interesting listen. My main association is the 80's alternative rock, and maybe it is just that? I didn't know the band. I especially like the way they use saxophones.

The Nits - In the Dutch Mountains

It deserves credits for the title alone: Dutch mountains (even though I believe there are actually some mountains of sorts near Maastricht). It's a sort of music I wouldn't expect to hear on this site, but I really like the song. Very tasteful singing, and I love the break coming after approximately 2:30. Thoughtful atmosphere.

Leon Russell - Roll Away the Stone

We go back in time obviously. Boogie piano and a bluesy atmosphere. It actually sounds like it could have been produced by Jimmy Miller. It's very much that aesthetics, and I am curious to see if my theory is right. I love the atmosphere.

Peixe : Avião - Quebra

I see this one has got a lot of love, and it is no surprise at all. It is progressive in the truest sense of the word. I already knew the song because I own the CD on which it appears, so there is no moment of surprise for my part. Still a great track, and very creative.

Edited by The Anders - September 12 2020 at 16:50

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Posted: September 12 2020 at 13:32

TCat wrote:

Snicolette wrote:

2. The Low Anthem “To Ohio” This is more the style of brushing-up-against-Americana that I enjoy. Have never heard them, but really enjoy the harmonized vocals and understated sound. This was not a hit you over the head kind of thing, but I found myself singing the chorus during the day yesterday. Definitely will be looking up more of them.

Thank you for voting. This is not one of those tracks that slaps you across the face, but is just as powerful as that because of it's quietness. I really think you would enjoy their music and I recommend the album "Oh My God, Charlie Darwin" as a starting point. Their music is a bit lo-fi and that is on purpose. However, not all of it is quiet. There are a few completely "out-of-left-field" tracks there that will take you by surprise, but most of it is what I call a "new Americana" in that it sounds quite original, but is also quite raw and unpolished. But their music is always heart felt and enjoyable.

They were on the David Letterman show one time and played a very minimal track where one of the members did nothing put keep beat with a juice harp. Letterman jokingly asked him "Now what was your job with the band again?" He didn't know that that particular member actually plays many instruments and that is what gives the band a varied tone.

That's a great story for the band. Smile

I will enjoy looking up more of them, I thank you for bringing them to my attention. Sometimes quiet is the most powerful way of getting attention. This particular song was well-crafted and stuck with me.

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Posted: September 12 2020 at 13:13

Snicolette wrote:

Edited by TCat - September 12 2020 at 13:17

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Posted: September 12 2020 at 12:13

1. Yasmin Hamdan “Beirut” Haunting song and imagery. More modern than most Middle Eastern-y music I listen to, but every bit as compelling. Just kept coming back to it, so giving it first place.

3. Peixe:Avião – Quebra Apocalyptic, booming drums and deep bass. Kind of an eerie vocal, I like the sound of the piece, even without understanding the words. This was definitely the late to the party really interesting piece. I enjoyed the sense of dread (if that can be said) in it.

Also, although there are honourable mentions, these could have been all of the others, I just took the two that resonated more for me and were also kind of different than my typical choices.

Honourable Mention to CTM “La Mer” I really enjoyed this combination of classical and jazz. Deep voiced female singing with cello and piano, kind of minimal sound. Very intriguing. I think I may seek out more.

And to Morphine “Honey White” With all of the horns, reminds me a bit of Roy Wood, but the voice is kind of what I think of as a lazy voice (which is not a criticism), it’s kind of drawly. Definitely a well-done rocker. Also likely to seek out more.

Edited by Snicolette - September 12 2020 at 12:55

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