PA Release Polls: Open to all PA members

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 MikeEnRegalia wrote:

^ case in point: You like Staraya Derevnya, but they are not in the archives (yet). You’ll soon be able to select their latest release for the November list. And you should - I would be glad to see which recent releases you really like, regardless of whether they are in the archives.

Hi,

With all due respect, I'm not one of those listeners that has to listen to everything to find out if it fits in the bathroom, or in the kitchen!

I like it, when "the music comes to me" ... something which is hard to explain, but in general, the way I "meet" a lot of the stuff, new or old, is impossible to determine. Some shows up at the door ... asking for a cup of coffee. Some shows up at the door, wanting to sell you some religion! Some shows up at the door, because it was the last one on this side of the street! And then, I walked over to 711 to get some cuppa cuppa and when I got home and turned on PA on the computer, the first thing that opened my eyes was "Staraya Dereynya" and I ended up listening to it. 

Going back to the 70's when my listening really improved and changed, it was the "surprise" that made me like something or go looking for it. The surprises in 1972 for me, were TD, Genesis, Nektar, Amon Duul 2, Can, Byzantium, Kevin Ayers ... and from that KA album, the inner sleeve with the Hipgnosis Breakfast Ingredients for the Harvest Label ... and I went after all of those folks right away. Still love dearly Edgar Broughton Band, Roy Harper, Third Ear Band, Kevin Ayers, Capability Brown, and then later some of the European Harvest label choices, like Tanned Leather, Kayak, Triumvirat, Cherubin, Eloy, Jane and many other bands that I'm failing to remember.

The only thread I used, then, was the Harvest label chase down, which was almost exactly like ECM which I was listening to at the time ... and not even Keith Jarrett either, but ECM for me started with Gismonti, then Garbarek, then Rypdal ... and the rest was history ... all of it!

The album of the month, for me, is fine for everyone else, but not really something that helps with the listening style that kinda requires "different", "alluring", wow ... I need some more coffee! ... stuff that is vastly different and it hits you from a completely different side of the "idea" of how to find music ... finding music, FOR ME, is not about "being told" at all ... and a list, for me, is sort of like being told what everything is, and here is a sample for you to needle, and by the time I hear 3 or 4 of them, it's like they all sound the same. 

Half of your listing, in my book ... is just you looking like you care for all the bands. And hoping that in a year's time, many of those bands will be sending you free copies of their material for your enjoyment and review. I don't see that you are into it for the art at all ... you are in it for the "styles" that fit ... invented by a number of folks out there somewhere. Popularity, is not an indication of the things I should listen to ... and sometimes, generally, I turn the other way intentionally!

You don't know what it is like to fight a corrupt establishment. I was in the middle of Vietnam, in the middle of the National Guard surrounding the Rathskeller in Madison, and freely frisking and touching all the women and students, and then getting my head banged in Chicago when ___ & The ___ ______ did not show up for a concert, and here came Dailey's troupes to hit you ... and a week later, one of your friends, was shot down in an apartment and accused of being a terrorist ... he was a straight A student in Madison, and so far removed from politics, it wasn't funny! You have no idea, how much of the music in the late 60's and early 70's was so important and stood up for you ... and all you can hear is music that has very little basis for its content ... and hope to get your imagination excited enough to get an erection! And listen, of course! Then you would understand what "meaning is" and "how" it can be worked. So much of the stuff listed, is simply not important enough ... other than ... just another song. I don't want PA, or "progressive" to be ... just another song!

It's a different time and place. I know that ... but a list, for me, is just an exercise in meaninglessness ... which you are justifying by numbers!

Sorry ... not my thing! And I'm glad that PA uses PEOPLE ... not numbers!

Edited by moshkito - December 22 2023 at 08:08