Music Recs Round You Show Me Yours

[icepixie]

It's about time for another music recs post. However, I have a problem: I haven't heard much new that's good lately. :(

Instead, I'm asking you to rec music to me! What do you like? What have you been listening to of late? Links are great, but just names and titles are good too. Lay 'em on me.

(...Okay, I lied about having nothing. Possibly I've rec'ed her before, but if I haven't, try out Lucy Kaplansky, especially these two: This Is Home, Ten Year Night.)

Comments

[alto2.livejournal.com]

I've been inhaling Bruce Springsteen lately (I don't think you could go wrong with much of anything, but the ones on my list are Magic and Tunnel of Love), and then decided that after three solid months of the Boss in my car, I needed something radically different, so I've been listening to Lyle Lovett's The Road to Ensenada for the last week or so. I adore "That's Right (You're Not from Texas)" and "Private Conversation," which are the songs I heard on XPN that made me think perhaps I should put my anti-country prejudices aside and give him a try, but there's really nothing on the album that's not good. (And for me, car time is intensive music time--I never get to really know an album until it's been in my car for a while--so the fact that I'm not just playing him in my living room is saying something!)

[icepixie]

Thanks for the recs! Bruce Springsteen is someone I've heard at various points in my life on the radio or whatever, but haven't ever really sat down and listened to. Lyle Lovett I've been meaning to check out since I heard a cover of "If I Had a Boat" by Eddie from Ohio. I've listened to some of the album you mention, and I like the title track a lot.

Re: anti-country music prejudice (which I share): I think there's a big, big difference between the Garth Brooks/Keith Urban/LeeAnn Rimes/Shania Twain kind of country music that floods "country" radio stations so that most people think of it as the prime example of the genre (not incidentally, this is what usually comes out of Nashville) and everyone else who gets lumped in that category. I hate the first kind, which is generally distinguished, in my experience, by 1.) someone making godawful noises from from a pedal steel guitar, which does not have to sound that irritating, but invariably does in this kind of music, and 2.) a fake southern drawl and/or what appears to be singing through a mouthful of marbles. Underneath those two markers, this style of country is basically pop music with, all too often, some right-wing rhetoric pastede on. People like Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, the Wailin' Jennys, and so on are more what I tend to think of as "alt-country," and IMO are more on the singer/songwriter spectrum than the pop one. The structure of their songs is different, their instrumentation is different, and if they have a twang, it's natural. I mean, there's a definite difference from singer/songwriters who don't always get lumped into the country genre, but these people are a hell of a lot closer to Patty Griffin or even Dar Williams than they are to frigging Carrie Underwood. IMO, anyway.

/native Nashvillian rant

[alto2.livejournal.com]

Until this spring, I owned exactly one Springsteen CD (The Rising), which I bought in 2002 because it felt like 9/11 therapy. (I also figured it was time I acted like I was a New Jersey resident or they'd kick me out!) I totally loved it, but never went beyond it. I'm glad I finally have--it's sort of a "where have you been all my life?" sort of thing for me.

As for country, I hear what you're saying, but I'm coming from a totally different angle. I grew up in a Pennsylvania town where country is more popular than God anything else. Every year, Alabama would sell out the fair (which was the only local venue for any event of any size). They probably still do. Hank Williams, Jr, Willie Nelson, Eddie Rabbit, the Oak Ridge Boys...frankly, bands I would rather pop my eardrums than listen to. To this girl who grew up in an all classical-choral household, most of it hits me as twangy with really sketchy vocal quality/diction (I'm not crazy enough to expect Willie Nelson to sound like a choirboy, but still...tothough here I have to say Bruce's "yer"s drive me up a wall, too--oh, they just GRATE) that mostly makes me want to run screaming for some Mozart. Or even some good pop. There's really very little I won't listen to, but for the most part, my list can be summed up as country, metal, and rap. I tend to like the stuff that's more crossover/pop than traditional country for that reason.

I do like Alison Kraus, too, and the Emmylou Harris I've heard is okay (but I've only heard her on the radio, so it's harder for me to judge), so I agree with you there (we may actually be agreeing more than I think, too). But I am not sure I'd ever be able to get myself to sit down and listen to Alabama.

[icepixie]

I also figured it was time I acted like I was a New Jersey resident or they'd kick me out!

*snerk* That he's from New Jersey/strongly identified with the state is pretty much the only thing I know about Springsteen.

I think we're basically in agreement on country. FWIW, I tend to put Alabama in the same category as Brooks & Dunn and the others I mentioned as exemplifying the style I hate in my first comment. I think my dichotomy might fall apart when we get to people who were around before the late 1980s, because I just don't know much about various country musics before then. (Like, I would probably have to agree that Willie Nelson and Hank Willians, Jr., are not in that category of pop-with-country-veneer, but I still can't stand them either.)

Oooh, okay, for once in my life the Country Music Hall of Fame has been useful: on their list of country styles, I tend to find "Country Rock," "Alternative Country," and "Singer/Songwriter" worthwhile, and dislike everything else, with an especial hate for "New Country." That was basically what I was trying to explain earlier, I think. :)

Red Dirt Girl is my favorite Emmylou Harris song, of those I've heard (and it's not a long list; I should check out more of her stuff, though man, she's produced a thousand songs). She's not someone I'd want on a desert island or anything, but I like what I've heard.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

I love music rec posts! And that website is awesome - immediately bookmarked. I hate sending people to YouTube to listen to a song.

Two songs I heard for the first time the last few weeks I'm in love with: Mumford & Sons, "Little Lion Man" (http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Little+Lion+Man/2ycia8) and Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - "Home" (http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Home/2UWEeu).

And kind of going off of your recs (and those songs were lovely; I'm definitely going to see if my library has any of her CDs), here's a few female vocalists: Joker's Daughter - "Nothing is Ever What it Seems" (http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Nothing+is+Ever+What+it+Seems/2wJ5Q6), Laura Gibson - "Come by Storm" (http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Come+By+Storm/2p06tY), Laura Veirs - "Wide Eyed, Legless" (http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Wide+Eyed+Legless/2op4sR), Anna Ternheim, "You Mean Nothing to Me Anymore" (http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/You+Mean+Nothing+to+Me+Anymore/2grgaa), and Frida Hyvönen, "Today, Tuesday" (http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Today+Tuesday/98b3).

(I hope all these links work.)

[icepixie]

Grooveshark is amaaaaaaazing. Best thing to hit the interwebs since Napster.

Yay, another Lucy fan! She's totally great. If you're interested in more like her, my recs posts from this year is pretty much all singer/songwriter/folk along her lines. (Some of the older links may work; I don't think I discovered Grooveshark until March or so.)

All your links did work; thanks! I liked the Joker's Daughter song, as well as "Little Lion Man." I think I actually rec'ed a Laura Veirs song earlier this year; I'm pretty sure it was "July Flame," which was an iTunes free single at some point. She's pretty nifty.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Seeing that you like some of the singer/songwriter folk stuff like the Wailin' Jennies (I don't have any of their stuff yet, but I've heard some and I like it), I cannot recommend one artist strongly enough: Abigail Washburn (http://www.abigailwashburn.com/). Her "Song of the Traveling Daughter" album is still one of my favorite CDs - it's a really interesting mix of American folk and traditional Chinese influences, and written about half in English and half in Mandarin. And the samples on her site from the upcoming CD sound pretty good, too. She's got a really sweet, low voice with a nice burr to it, and she's a damned fine fiddle player - I had the pleasure to see her live here in Seattle a few years ago, and was totally charmed.

Another favorite is Kate Rusby (http://www.katerusby.com/), who does a mix of original and traditional English folk songs. Check out the samples on her site, she has an absolutely stunning voice, though the songs tend toward the slow and fairly simple presentations. And then there's Karine Polwart (http://www.karinepolwart.com/songs/) - Scottish singer/songwriter, I know her mostly from a now-defunct folk band she used to sing for, but "Resolution Road" and "What Are You Waiting For?" from her "Faultlines" CD are two of my favorite songs right now, and I'm hoping to look into more. She has individual mp3s available on her site, looks like, and samples of each so you can see if they're anything you'd be into. :)

[icepixie]

Hehehe, I totally have every album Kate Rusby's ever put out, and most of Karine Polwart's stuff as well. (The joys and hazards of having similar musical tastes! :D)

Speaking of, have you heard the album Rusby did with Kathryn Roberts? There is a fantastic Ninth Doctor vid to one of the tracks, "Exile," here.

Abigail Washburn was new to me, and I like her! I will definitely be looking for more of her stuff now. Thanks!

(OMG, the Jennys. I'm about twenty seconds of footage out from finishing my B5 vid to "Apocalypse Lullabye." Though I need to redo a couple parts to make it epic-er...)

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Aww, yay! I'm glad you have both of them (and seriously, I'm jealous - it takes me forever and a day just to find a few of Rusby's albums, let alone Karine Polwart - I'm convinced that her I'll just have to buy online, as nobody, not even the folk-and-acoustic specialty stores, stocks her here). That duet album of Rusby and Roberts is one of my all-time favorites, but I haven't seen that vid before. In all honesty, that song is pretty solidly Lennier/Delenn for me. ♥

And yay for liking Abigail!

I've gotta pick up the Jennys - I heard a few of their songs a while ago on Pandora, and they really got to me, but I forgot about them completely until you listed them in your music on an LJ entry. And yay for a B5 vid! I can't wait to see it!

(Also, OMG, just watched 2 more BSG, and I definitely see what you mean about Roslin and Delenn, now. They can bond over DESTINY. ♥♥♥)

[icepixie]

I bought both of them through the iTunes store--they've got everything Kate Rusby's ever done, I think, and large chunks of Polwart's catalogue, if not the whole thing. Man, with the exception of a BSG soundtrack, I don't think I've actually bought a physical CD in four or five years.

I'm rather jealous that you have folk-and-acoustic specialty stores.

In all honesty, that song is pretty solidly Lennier/Delenn for me.

Ohhhh, for after OaR? Yeah, I can see that.

And yay for a B5 vid! I can't wait to see it!

I can't wait to finish it! I've been working on it since I started my rewatch; I'm ripping the material myself as I get each DVD from the library or Netflix, and it's been quite a long slog. I'm trying to get most of the main characters in at some point, and...see, the really awesome things on B5 tend to happen in dialogue, which doesn't really translate well to a vid. Marcus, for example, was rather trying; in my spreadsheet notes for it, I wanted a particular line to have "a shot of Marcus being bouncy," and well, he is, but it's all in dialogue, argh. I figured out a way around it, but grrr, difficulties.

Anyway. Not to randomly vent on you or anything...

(Also, OMG, just watched 2 more BSG, and I definitely see what you mean about Roslin and Delenn, now. They can bond over DESTINY. ♥♥♥)

HEEEEEEEEE. I knew you'd like that. It only really just occurred to me a few weeks ago, and I was like DUDE. They could trade tips on the best ways to con the rest of the universe into going along with this prophecy that they've decided Is About Them, Dammit. It would be fantastic.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Very cool! I've been trying to buy my CDs from physical stores, since the rise of iTunes and Amazon's done a real number on our local music stores (we've gone from having one on every block in most of the neighborhoods I frequent to, like, five that I can think of within city limits), especially where I can buy from the folk music store I mentioned - they're tiny, and I always worry they'll go out of business. I think they survive mostly on the instruments they sell and repair, more than the CDs, which is good, but... yeah. Anyway. They tend to keep Kate Rusby in stock because one of the women who works there is a fan, but I've had no luck convincing them to get Karine Polwart in.

Ohhhh, for after OaR? Yeah, I can see that.

Probably one of those "it was on my mind when I first heard the song" kind of things, but it's never going away now that it's set. I can see how it would really work for Nine, too, though.

I wanted a particular line to have "a shot of Marcus being bouncy," and well, he is, but it's all in dialogue, argh.

Huh. Yeah, it's funny, but it never really occurred to me exactly how much of the really fabulous stuff about B5 and its characters is purely dialogue - it's really not a very visual show in most ways, and it's almost like our brains just fill in the gaps and make things up to fit, sometimes. Marcus in particular - despite being one of the bounciest characters ever in terms of personality, he's remarkably still and sedate in physical terms. That would be really frustrating in terms of videos. I'm glad you found a way to make it work!

They could trade tips on the best ways to con the rest of the universe into going along with this prophecy that they've decided Is About Them, Dammit. It would be fantastic.

They totally would, and it would! ♥ I'm intrigued to see how this whole destiny thing of hers turned out. (And please, tell me there are crossovers with the two of them? I need to know that exact conversation exists somewhere, or I'm going to end up trying to write it myself and making a fool of myself with canon that I don't know yet!)

[icepixie]

it's really not a very visual show in most ways, and it's almost like our brains just fill in the gaps and make things up to fit, sometimes.

Yes, absolutely! There is a lot of talking, but I always forget about that. (Relatedly, the cinematography is always so much better in my head than it is on the screen. Sometimes the blocking is too. If I see one more "Oooh, it's a dramatic moment. We should zoom in slowly on the character's face until we've gotten uncomfortably close!" shot, I'm going to hit someone.)

Marcus NEVER FREAKING MOVES. It was driving me insane. (For the shot I wanted, I finally went with him coming into Susan's quarters with his poster, but there's still too much talkyface. Grrr.)

And please, tell me there are crossovers with the two of them?

THERE ARE NOT!! I do not understand this! I'm tempted to wiki up the Pythia stuff and try to write it myself.