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Wrestlevania

The Dancing Thumb (aka: music recommendations)

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Totally down with both of those. Just bought a Raincoats CD yesterday while wandering downtown with my girlfriend, actually. No offense to all the electronica fans, but that's not really my style at all. Kroms, looks like we've got pretty similar tastes.

The cashier was weird when I was buying the Raincoats. Not just because I had no idea who he was and I'd worked at that very store only 3 months ago.

"So, what do these guys play?"

"Oh, it's earlier female-fronted sorta-grunge-sorta-lighter-punk stuff. Really good."

"Like, riot girl?"

"I guess, but about 20 years earlier. They could be riot girl in that I'd say most riot girl bands would call them an influence..."

"Cool. Cool. *awkward silence.*"

"Welp. Bye!"

At least he was trying.

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Yep, I guess we do. Well...forgive me for being corny, but what I really do like is anything that's played passionately. Leadbelly, for example. There's some good electronica out there. But, yes, I do think we seem to like a lot of the same bands.

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Not really a recommendation... But I did not realize how awesome last.fm was, and I've been a member there for a long time. I always only used it for scrobbling music to my profile, but I tried out the Xbox Live app and have been listening to a ton of new stuff through the recommended stations. If any thumbs use it, add me: http://www.last.fm/user/SlaaneshPrince

So my recommendation: check it out if you haven't already.

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I saw Bob Brozman last night (and met up with Tonsko/Scrobbs too :)). He's an incredible experimental guitarist, and touring the UK at the moment.

Edited by Nachimir

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Just found a nice new bit of my kind of Drum 'n' Bass:

bbmdDQ3XrTM

Been a long time since I was really into D&B, but there's been some really good stuff coming through this year.

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Nice stuff, Wrestle!

I don't think I've ever contributed to this thread before. I have no confidence with recommending/talking about music any more. Long story.

Anyway, here's some hyper-smooth, melodic exotica. Damn. I bloody love it when John Zorn whips out the comfort-music.

qOr-RUc5FoI

Zorn usually puts out at least 3 or 4 albums a year, and has consistently impressed me since I first came across his music 4-5 years ago. Evocative soundtracks, avant-garde classical, free-wheeling Jazz (both electric and acoustic), Klezmer... Doom-grind-jazz-metal. The guy's prolific and varied. And they have shedloads of his stuff on Spotify!

Erm, otherwise. I've been navel-gazing like a 15 year old thanks to Tegan and Sara's new album Sainthood, and The xx's self-titled debut. It's fun to be glum!

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I already posted this in bbX1138's çool music to impress my friends'-thread. But I decided to post it here as well: I made a new mixset! :woohoo:

Listen to it here

It's a techno set that starts slow and builds up to some stomping techno. Complete with silly bonus happy hardcore song!

Please let me know what you think!

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Been a long time since I was really into D&B, but there's been some really good stuff coming through this year.

You're right, the last couple of years have been great!

Here's one of my faves, a hauntingly lovely piece of future funk:

VfFsQFuTbxU

which shares a sample with one of the best rap beats ever, 93 'til infinity

Ljw1PDHQRDg

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Been listening to a little bit of Dub this year, too. Here's a favourite discovery from the last couple of months, though it's from Roots Manuva's 2004 remix album Dub Come Save Me:

IoL_bbSwCww

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Sidenote: the owner of a club I once worked at apparently turned down the chance to host a Roots Manuva gig in the late nineties, saying "Roots Manuva? What kind of a name is that?". His clubs now almost exclusively host tacky retro nights, and have sticky carpets.

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Sidenote: the owner of a club I once worked at apparently turned down the chance to host a Roots Manuva gig in the late nineties, saying "Roots Manuva? What kind of a name is that?".

Shit! :fart:

Mr Manuva's one of the few musicians/actors/famous people I'd actually like to meet in person. Sounds like a genuinely complex and interesting fellow to talk to.

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Here are some of my favorites:

xExwrLmH8Vs

I think this needs no comment.

CMb9Uoi0d2M

This band is so underastemate. There is just something about them song that makes me feel the atmosfer in Gettysburg....and the fact that I know the bassist probably contributes.

2XVSmrQWgLs

Again, I think on this needs no comment(I intentionaly didn't just give the intro movie of Civ4).

And for some reason I can't find nowhere the best of them all, The Rolling Thunder Revue 1975 album version of Dylan's Hurricane.

Edited by Sleepdance

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I recently discovered that Melvins and Ufomammut albums aren't exactly ideal background music for studying, so I decided to try something completely different. I've been skimming through the artists on Spotify not-very-systematically at all and have thus far at least somewhat enjoyed the RJD2 instrumentals, Kid Loco and Tosca.

The problem is that I don't really know where I should be looking for. Can someone recommend something easy, not too distracting and not shit to listen to while reading a course book or something like that?

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I always go for instrumental jazz when I'm trying to study. Wayne Shorter, Kenny Dorham, and Jackie McLean being my three main go-tos.

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Like Miffy, I'd recommend some instrumental jazz. I've pumped a lot of mileage out of two great, relatively recent live albums - Charles Mingus at Cornell 1964, and Thelonius Monk w/John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall. They're damn good.

If they're too intrusive (Mingus gets a bit frantic at times), I'd recommend Miles Davis' On the Corner, or something super-chilled, like Coltrane's Blue Train. I practically wrote my whole dissertation while listening to Davis' mid-70s 'shaman period' albums. Heady stuff.

I suppose it depends if you want driving work music, or ambient work music. I usually go for more driving stuff - some rhythmical classical music is good too. Stravinsky's Petrushka is great, or I usually queue up a comp I have of Shostakovich and Schnittke's Quintets for Piano and Strings.

When it comes to reading, I often go quite ambient. I must have listened to Kraftwerk's Ralf und Florian album a million times for this reason.

Horses for courses, really. I had a friend who listened to Dragonforce at full volume, because the mad-dash pacing made him type essays at shred-speed. And he revised for his final exams to Israeli PsyTrance.

Edited by Nevsky

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Really liking Both of the following bands:

Them Crooked Vultures

YalghA3dGvI

and

Gojira (Not for anyone who doesn't like metal)

ko4dui0KYkA

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Been a long time since I was really into D&B, but there's been some really good stuff coming through this year.

Four words: Consequence Live for Never

It's so good.

http://www.myspace.com/consequencenz

Also, I posted this to Twitter and might as well repost here. My favourite albums of the year (with my definitive Top 25 on top)

albums09.jpg

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Current listening: a lot of Peter McConnell's soundtracks. Holy crap, that man is good. Even outside of the games, his music is good. I'm up to Psychonauts now. I think I'm going to buy the CDs. (Currently listening on YouTube.)

It also makes me really happy to see so many people praising the game and the soundtrack on the comments. Even after a day where I'm feeling like total crap, something like that can cheer me up considerably (for some reason).

I wish there was a Grim Fandango soundtrack.

Also, Monks, a great 60s band that were everything the Beatles weren't. I haven't had time to give their music a proper listen, but what I've heard I've liked:

5nFmULueK1A

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Oh, I meant CD (or, ideally, vinyl, though I'd first like to see the Brutal Legend soundtrack on vinyl). I know LucasArts released a skimmed version at some point, but I'd like to own a copy on CD, with the complete music. A nifty cover by Peter Chan wouldn't hurt either.

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I'm afraid the edited Grim Fandango CD is all that will be available.

It's too bad more McConnell soundtracks aren't available for purchase. For him I have official releases for Grim, Psychnoauts (two CDs), and Sly Cooper 3.

He also had a band at one point called Spinray if you guys are interested. The music is nothing like his game soundtracks. There's only one CD I know of.

I was planning to take the time to illegally download and rip music from all of the games McConnell has worked on, but this was years ago, and I still haven't had the time. I did find a ton of audio files on his website when he was missing the index.html that I probably shouldn't have, but which tracks are actually by him and not just music he was storing on a server is hard to say a lot. There was mostly Psychnobauts stuff that was released eventually, and I could pick out the Full Throttle 2 stuff.

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