Like many others, I got into Opeth through the masterpiece Damnation. I was really not a fan of growling (and I still dislike most bands who use it), but Mikael Åkerfeldt's songwriting on Damnation was so amazing and influenced my own songs so much that I just sort of had to take the risk and buy this new "regular" Opeth release.
I'm very glad I did.
Strangely enough, the heaviest song on the record, Heir Apparent, was - besides Coil of course ;) - the first track I really got into and it's still one of my favourite Opeth songs (I also bought Deliverance and Blackwater Park in the meantime). Hessian Peel is really the standout track for me on Watershed. The way it builds up, the divine "verse" part and the heavy climax make this song one of the best I've heard in my entire life. It just captures everything I love about Opeth.
What I love most about this album is the way it sounds in it's entirety. Especially the 5.1 mix of the Special Edition sounds perfect for me.
Their concert in Munich was amazing. The outro of Deliverance left me speechless ;)
I can't put into words how much I love these two works.
Through Heima, I finally got a closer insight on the band and especially the beautiful country Iceland. The performances, the choice of songs and all of the background information are picked and put together just perfectly.
Im so happy I was able to catch them this summer in Dresden and see the masterpiece Untitled 8, one of my all-time favourites, live together with Gobbledigook and all of it's climax confetti.
Goosebumps everywhere :)
The emotions they convey with their music are nothing but amazing.
I finally got the Deluxe Edition a few days ago - needless to say it's a perfect and beautiful package in every respect!
The record that finally got me into post-rock. Perfect record from the beginning to the end, with everything I love so much about this genre.
Their concert in Munich was special, too. I never heard such a perfect performance by any other band yet (well maybe Tool ;) and the sound was perfect, too.
The climax of I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead was one of the most beautiful things I've seen and especially felt live this year.
I think you have to hear it - it's nearly impossible to describe it through words.
This album just blew me away. I agree with the general consensus that you either love or hate this record. Im glad it grew on me that well, I listened to it almost 20 times now and I still discover new things in this "wall of sound".
It's just so over the top but still composed in an amazing way.
Playing these songs (especially Aberinkula and Wax Simulacra) on guitar is so much fun! The way Omar Rodriguez-Lopez plays with strange time signatures and transitions is mind-expanding for me.
Their concert in Munich, which was almost 3 hours long, had a major influence on me, too - the most energetic performance I've seen so far!
I was very excited when I first heard about Trent's new work, Ghosts I-IV, and especially the idea behind it. I would have loved to buy a special edition of it, but the "regular" digipack was ok, too ;)
I have to say I love every single song, from the quiet start (9 Ghosts I) to the heavy, disturbing final tracks (31 Ghosts IV). I hope Trent continues working on this series in the future!
The Slip just right after Ghosts was perfect, too. Head Down, Echoplex and The Four of Us Are Dying (which always reminds me of Tool's Reflection, and i love that) stand out most for me.
Too bad they only toured in America with the Lights In The Sky Tour...I hope they come to Germany at least next year!
A friend of mine recommended them to me. I decided to go to his concert in Munich this summer, although I only knew like three songs. I believe this was the main reason why this concert blew me away that much. I thought it only would be John Butler who would be the standout person, but Shannon Birchall and Michael Barker are great musicians, as well.
Soon after the concert, I bought this record. I love all the lap steel guitar riffs with their funky sound to it. Very happy sounding music, too.
Standout tracks for me are Gov Did Nothin', Groovin' Slowly and of course, Funky Tonight ;)
I never expected to find a band like Panzerballett. Mixing jazz and metal the way they do is completely unique. But confining them to only these two genres would be wrong. The also throw in funk, swing and whatever you can think of.
Songs like Friede, Freude, Fußball, which is based on the world-famous soccer rythm, or their version of Birdland made me laugh like a little child when I first heard them.
On the other hand, Jan Zehrfeld, the "head" of the band, is truely a genius composer: Zehrfunk and Reload are just two examples.
If you are able to see them live one time, go there! Their shows are completely hilarious! They tend to play jazz-versions of songs like Mein Teil or Ein bisschen Frieden or a 10 minute Zappa-Medley.
You don't know what to expect, and that's what I love so much about them.
I picked this album out of all the amazing Fingerstyle records I discovered this year:
I have to mention Kaki King - Dreaming of Revenge, Andy McKee - The Gates of Gnomeria, Matthew Santos - Matters of the Bittersweet and of course, Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries.
Antoine Dufour brought his songwriting to a new level with this record. He now seems to focus even more on the feeling he wants to convey with his songs rather than throwing too many techniques into his songs (of course, his songs still are damn hard to play ;). For me, that was the best thing he could possibly do. Existence just contains everything I love about fingerstyle and acoustic guitar.
I really had mixed feelings when I first heard of this new project by my favourite singer, Maynard James Keenan. People were saying it's a joke and even the hilarious sellout-discussion began once more. I bought it non the less. Once again, I'm glad I did!
I liked it more and more with every listen and I still listen to it very often. I really like it's unique sound, I did not expect it to be something completely different than Maynard's other projects.
This record and especially Rev. 22:20 (dry martini mix) got me into the whole lounge/chillout/downtempo direction, I started listening to Bonobo, Zero 7 and Thievery Corporation.
The Cat Empire is a really special band for me: they have such a unique sound (I have yet to find a band with a similar or even near style), they are amazing musicians (their 20min+ jam in Munich last year contained everything from Ollie McGill's perfect jazz solo to an unbelievable vocal solo by Harry James Angus), they just make music that makes me happy everytime I hear it and the best point: they develop as a band and change their sound constantly.
These two albums are the first full ones I was able to buy (what is the point of taking half of Cat Empire and half of Two Shoes and mix it together?!).
So Many Nights then fulfilled all my dreams, although it's less experimental than Cities. Who would have expected songs like The Darkness or Voodoo Cowboy?
A few months later I bought Cities, and I couldn't believe me ears when I first heard it. I love the experimental stuff of The Cat Empire, and them doing Funk (Boogaloo & Side To Side) and songs like Down At The 303 (genius lyrics by the way) were the most amazing things I could imagine regarding this band.
Being new to Last.fm, I am finding it a real joy to discover new music to enjoy as well as re-discover music I once listened to.
As a busy mom of 7, I often don't make the time to just sit and listen to music anymore. It's something I used to do when I was younger without as many distractions as I have in my daily life. I used to really listen to music a lot. After all, I considered myself a musician, with an eye to having music as my career! But that was my life B.C. (Before Children)...
Anyway, it was fun re-discovering Michael Hedges again. One of my favorite songs of his is Bensusan, from his Aerial Boundaries album. I remember reading somewhere (the album liner notes?) that he wrote that song for Pierre Bensusan. I only had the slight idea that this guy was a guitar hero of some kind.
The cool part about Last.fm (and the internet in general), is the ease of looking up and listening to a particular artist. So, I looked up Pierre Bensusan so I could listen to some of his music. I wasn't at all surprised when I came across the track So Long Michael. Michael Hedges died an untimely death in 1997 when he was killed in a car crash, so Pierre Bensusan wrote this tribute to him. Interesting musical connection...
Lately, I'm very fond of, but likely not as knowledgable about: The Flaming Lips, Architecture in Helsinki, Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, The Polyphonic Spree, Enon, The Fiery Furnaces, Animal Collective, Cloud Cult, Panda Bear, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols, Deerhoof, MGMT, Beck, Phish, Elekibass, Oasis, Black Moth Super Rainbow, The Octopus Project, Caribou, Clinic
I dig the sort of stuff that falls under Elephant 6 and New Weird America.
Historically, I've been very grounded in classic rock and oldies.
I prefer psych rock, but I listen to a little bit of everything, though.
Let's pretend we don't exist,
Let's pretend we're in Antarctica.
Thanks for dropping by. Add me if you want.
I can't really pigeonhole my tastes, so I suggest you hit play on the radio ===>
If we increase the size of the penguin until it is the same height as the man and then compare the relative brain size, we now find that the penguin's brain is still smaller. But, and this is the point, it is larger than it was.
--Graham Chapman as "Scientist"
Monty Python's Flying Circus Episode 38
Let's pretend we don't exist,
Let's pretend we're in Antarctica.
Maybe I'll never die
I'll just keep growing younger with you
And you'll grow younger too
now it seems too lovely to be true
but I know the best things always do
_________________
Sometimes I don't know what to think about the world
When this guy is burnin' up in the street with gasoline
And the flames show no mercy
So when you really need someone to talk to you
It doesn't always work like it's supposed to
You can love yer brain
Even if it slips down the drain
Man, I'm not no drug addict
But a person's gotta have something
To keep him from going insane
_________________
Well all that icing and all that cake,
I can't make it to your wedding, but I'm sure I'll be at your wake.
You were talk, talk, talk, talkin' in circles that day,
when you get to the point make sure that I'm still awake, OK?
Went to bed and didn't see
why every day turns out to be
a little bit more like Bukowski.
And yeah, I know he's a pretty good read.
But God who'd wanna be?
God who'd wanna be such an asshole?
_________________
Let me take you down
cause I'm going to strawberry fields
Nothing is real
and nothing to get hung about
Strawberry fields forever
Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see
It's getting hard to be someone
but it all works out
It doesn't matter much to me
_________________
This is a call of arms to live and love and sleep together
We could flood the streets with love or light or heat whatever
Lock the parents out, cut a rug, twist and shout
Wave your hands
Make it rain
For stars will rise again
The youth is starting to change
Are you starting to change?
Are you?
Together
_________________
My favorite modern band is of Montreal, and my favorite classic band is The Beatles.
Growing up, all I listened to was classic rock and some britpop. I've since expanded my tastes tremendously.
I listen to stuff based on the fact that I like it, not based on how "cool" or "uncool" it may be.
I don't care for elitist attitudes, so if you're going to tell me what *not* to listen to, keep it to yourself. But if you have suggestions, please send me a rec.
My Review: Blonker is one of my all time acoustic guitar players that I enjoy listening to. The track "Castles In The Air" shows off Blonker's fine talents as an artiest. "Castles In The Air" is beautifully arranged & composed, mellow and warm. This track will take you on a wonderful journey that I love to take over and over again. I really love this track and if you like the acoustic guitar than you will love Blonker's "Castles In The Air" also! Check out the video's and enjoy.
~Jazz
Castles In The Air by Blonker
Side Walk Cafe by Blonker
Biography:
Dieter Geike was born on December 25, 1946 and lives in Bad Oldesloe, Germany. He plays the Guitar, Keyboards, Bass. His band members include Doris Rickmers (bass) & Holmer Harms (drums). Blonker's real name is Dieter Geike, but it's always been Blonker!"
In the face of digitalized and computerized music technology, the old guitar has had a remarkable renaissance in the popular music of the Nineties. This renaissance logically had its effect on the long tradition of those pop instrumentals that feature the guitar as the song´s melodic centre, like Duane Eddy`s "Rebel Rouser", The Shadows and "Apache", The Spotnicks and "Amapola", Peter Green´s legendary "Albatros" as well as the radio classic "Jessica" of The Allman Brothers Band down to Carlos Santana and his "Samba Pa Ti" or Joe Satriani´s "Cryin". Whenever the great guitar-instrumentals in the history of European popular music are discussed, one name and one track must be mentioned: "Blonker" and "Indigo".
In the late Seventies the young group from Hamburg surprised the world with that laid back, gently melancholic piece titled "Indigo". Without a big promotion campaign "Indigo" became a massive airplay hit and was soon considered a classic of its genre.
In 1979 "Blonker" turned from a regular group into a one-man-project. Dieter Geike, the man who had written "Indigo" and defined the sound of the band with his immaculate guitar playing, carried on alone and started a quiet, but impressive solo career.
Since the creation of the gem "Indigo", Geike alias "Blonker" has further developed and refined his vision of beautiful, timeless, melodic instrumental guitar music on a series of highly acclaimed and successful albums.
Take your top 20 artists. For each of these artists, collect the top 5 similar artists. The resulting number of unique artists is your eclectic score. If the score is small (extreme = 5) your musical preferences are very limited, and if it is large (larger than 80, extreme = 100), then you have an eclectic musical preference. You can compute your own score at http://anthony.liekens.net/pub/scripts/last.fm/eclectic.php
Just when I was about to freak out with my brains burnt with all the Michael Hedges, Michael Gulezian, Preston Reed and Justin King records, just when I thought there is no hope for someone who does the tapping thing with the guitar with fresh ideas and that it is listenable... there she is. Kaki King.
First glance on her Everybody Loves You was a mess, meaning "well, cool technique is not just a very good reason (a sufficient one) to make a whole CD". The second one (both glance and the album) was much better, though. Everybody Loves You reminds me the self-titled Justin King's debut - many fantastic sounds, a lot of magnificent technique, but... short of the music itself.
The second Kaki's album is a whole different story. Deep, touching, unbelievable. Somewhere between the CD's Kaki seemed to realise that great tapping technique is just one of tools for making good music. The tapping track are only a part of the CD, and they are much more grown-up, just like in the case of Justin's second CD,Le Bleu, or even better.
And finally, the king of the tracks:Doing the Wrong Thing. It just shows the very best there is in the whole CD. Everything is there - the story, the space, the heart... Radiohead-like trance guitar, drums like in old Raz Dwa Trzy tunes (I tak warto żyć)... just magnificent.
Michael Hedges
