Never Heard It

Tales is OK

CttE is terrible

dtguitarfan wrote: Logan wrote: Well, we you have rated Xing Sa, which is in Zeuhl with a one star, but perhaps you rated that after you posted that.  I used to try everything I found in the top whatever for the year, but I started realizing there were only certain sub-genres I really liked.  I kept listening to things in the top list that sounded like nothing but chaotic noise to me...and the thing is that I don't think it's ignorance on my part, because I have a solid background in musical theory.

I don't know what your musical background is, but saying that it sounded like nothing but chaotic noise to you does not sound like the kind of thing I would expect a music theorist to say. I don't know how much, if any, academic studies you've devoted to music theory, but getting away from certain formal music studies, if you're not that familiar with a style, the form may sound much less structured than it is. If one is only used to consonance for example, then structured dissonance might sound chaotic.  I like to say that the brain needs to be tuned to different modes of music sometimes to really appreciate them.  Not that you should like Zeuhl, or RIO, or anything. Of course one can appreciate and understand the mechanics of forms of music without liking them.  I come from a significantly different musical place than you it seems, so what's going to sound natural to me might sound like a mess to you.  And what seems brilliant to you might seem vapid and vanilla to me.  Vive la difference.

dtguitarfan wrote: Logan wrote: Although I expect that you would find music that you would like in the Zeuhl universe, judging by your ratings, username, and sigpic, it's probably not for you (maybe at some time you'll appreciate such music more, as, at least in my case, tastes adapted and my horizons widened as I got exposed to more music). If you can suggest a Zeuhl band that has any kind of similarities to some of the bands in the sigpic, I promise I'll try it...can't promise I'll like it though....

I wouldn't really expect you to like any Zeuhl band based on your sigpic, but if I knew what other kinds of music you like, I might be able to come up with one.  I don't care for the bands in your sigpic (though I liked Rush as a teenager).  Also like I said, my favourites on your ratings list you rated with a one (Univers Zero's Clivages being my favourite of them), and therefore recommendations from me, as I do have significantly different tastes, probably wouldn't be that helpful.  I've heard metalbands in the Zeuhl-related universe, but I don't expect that you'd like them, nor do I particularly.  I found them rather crass,  and  lacking in subtlety and textures, and lacking the joyful exuberance and playfulness that I find in music by Magma.

dtguitarfan wrote: Actually, I did listen to some of Magma's live album recently.  I was listening to it while working, and kind of enjoyed it.  But then I tried to listen to Khontark again when I had no distractions, but when I had no distractions I just didn't like it.  I felt like the musicians were trying to hard to be all avant garde.  And I wasn't hearing the complexity that I crave so much.  Sorry dude...

No worries, we don't haver to like the same music.  I don't turn to music in the rock universe when I'm looking for complexity/ sophistication generally -- I turn to more academic/ art music.  I actually haven't noted much complexity in the bands you listen to.  To me, say, Univers Zero's music seems more complex than ones you rate with five stars.  I don't find Magma that complex.  I would have thought that, say, Magma's MDK is a more complex composition than what I know of your 5 and 4 star ratings.  I like Magma's first two two very much, which appeals to my jazz side (the drummer/ composer Christian Vander is a big Coltrane fan, by the way.  Coltrane''s a favourite of mine).

I don't think the musicians are trying hard to be avant garde, but Christian Vander does appreciate musique concrete, and Stockhausen was an inspiration to him.  I don't find Magma to be terribly avant-garde oriented in approach overall, but I do find it to be generally on the "ävant" and sometimes delightfully over-the-top side of rock.

Rush is a very good power trio, but the music is not as complex as that of a chamber music trio from a compsositional standpoint, which doesn't mean that you should like Rush any less.  Nor is DT the most rhythmically complex band there is.  Some of the bands you like "play difficult", but I wouldn't call the music complex.
For me, complexity is not that important commonly, although I have thought that a lot of prog music would benefit from having a more highly trained arranger, as well as having more complex rhythms.

The simplest folk song could bring me more joy than the most complex symphony (though I love much classical and folk)

What music do you like best outside of rock/metal?

^ Oh, yes, you were missing out  .  5* review in the Rolling Stone Record Guide (1979 edition) ? Hm. Puzzler. 

Edited by Dayvenkirq - April 27 2012 at 17:51

i never listened to flower kings

Edited by PyramidMeetsTheEye - April 28 2012 at 16:24

Horizons wrote: PyramidMeetsTheEye wrote: i never listened to flower kings The Tangent is much better.

That really depends on who you ask I guess...I thought they sounded sloppy compared to Flower Kings.

ProgBob wrote: ^That reminds me.  I've never heard a whole album by Dream Theater.  I tried to listen to Images and Words (I understand that's supposed to be their best/most famous one) but I don't think I made it half way through.

I actually think Scenes From A Memory is their best.

ProgBob wrote: dtguitarfan wrote: I actually think Scenes From A Memory is their best. OK I might try that some time.  The other one had too much of an AOR/hair metal vibe for my liking.

If you didn't make it through the entire album, then you might not have heard the best songs.  Did you hear Learning to Live?  I think it is one of the most fantastic Progressive compositions ever - the keyboardist starts out playing this pattern: 3 3 4 5.  When the other band members come in, they are all playing different metres.  I can't figure out what the bassist or drummer are doing exactly, though I have tried.  However, I can tell you that the guitarist plays a straight 2/4 beat, which makes a pretty funky pattern on top of the keyboardist's 15/8 pattern.

Epignosis wrote: dtguitarfan wrote: ProgBob wrote: ^That reminds me.  I've never heard a whole album by Dream Theater.  I tried to listen to Images and Words (I understand that's supposed to be their best/most famous one) but I don't think I made it half way through. I actually think Scenes From A Memory is their best. I agree about Scenes from a Memory being their best and I think Images and Words is one of their worst.

Why?  Do you dislike the recording quality?  The singing?  Just curious.  This is definitely an opinion that goes against the popular opinion....

 ... Gong (except for Camembert Electrique and Gazeuse), Riverside, The Mars Volta, Billy Cobham solo projects, Focus (except for the yodeling on Cracked.com), the album "Marscape", other bands/artists: Opeth, Herbie Hancock solo (except for one song on YouTube; can't remember what its name is), ...

Edited by Dayvenkirq - April 30 2012 at 18:34

Dayvenkirq wrote:  ... Gong (except for Camembert Electrique and Gazeuse), Riverside, The Mars Volta, Billy Cobham solo projects, Focus (except for the yodeling on Cracked.com), the album "Marscape", other bands/astists: Opeth, Herbie Hancock solo (except for one song on YouTube; can't remember what its name is), ...