Listen to an album you've never heard by an artist you never listen to and then tell us about it!

what could be simpler? bonus points if you have NEVER listened to the artist or even heard them or heard them much. or if its a genre you almost entirely avoid. lots of people only know some things because of the radio or other "in the wild" experiences.

i'm actually putting my cart before my dumb horse because i haven't decided on an album. no bigs if i'm the only one who does it. i'm pretty good at amusing myself. but i am always interested in hearing what people think of new things. to them. first impressions. i already like that tom petty listening thread a bunch but most on there are pretty familiar with the music already.

i'm thinking i might try taylor swift. never listened to an album. i've never listened to a beyonce album! the possibilities are endless. or i could really hit my discomfort zone and try a smashing pumpkins album....*shiver*.

if i do taylor should i do nu-1989 or olde-1989 or do i have to do both? decisions....

anyway, if you are bored, try something and then jot down some thoughts. you don't have to write a book. you could go modern classical!

think of all the country records you have never heard. pretty much all of them!

i'll report back when i have something.

Sure, tell me what to listen to. I bought albums based on your recommendations, Scott! Was it you who told me to get A Salty Dog? that Procol Harum album. I bought Lansing-Dreiden but I didn’t like them and sold them. I love A Salty Dog tho.

I’ve never listened to Linda Ronstadt. Or A Tribe Called Quest. Or much country music at all aside from Willie and Dolly.

just close your eyes and pick one! the world is your unheard oyster. i'm still trying to decide myself.

i don't know if i want to go bad or what. i mean i'd probably enjoy a t-swift album just fine based on the the hits i know. she's super-catchy. though its possible that it ends up being a harrowing journey filled with haters and men who stab her and shoot her and stuff. okay you can probably guess which four songs i know...

Scott, listen to No Borders Here, The Speckless Sky and then The Walking all by Jane Siberry

Tell me what prog I should listen to. I only know Canterbury stuff like Charles Hayward This Heat Family Fodder. I have never listened to Yes or Genesis or any of that. I know Queen and Rush obv.

FGTI -- I'd be really curious what you get out of Jethro Tull album.

Yes - Close to the Edge
Genesis - Foxtrot
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Van der Graaf Generator - H To He Who Am The Only One
King Crimson - Red

Gentle Giant's Power and the Glory I think is a good place to start, think you may find it more interesting than 10-20 minute tracks by Yes or Genesis

As a starter anyway. Cue rival posters denigrating my picks

xpost lol

I am listening to Fly by Night by Rush

I have never knowingly heard Rush

nah Matt those are good picks, kind of the same that got me into prog. that's definitely the VdGG album you wanna start with, Genesis it's either that or SEBTP, as for Yes...for me it was Fragile which is a lot more digestible, but CTTE *is* like the greatest prog album ever, so it can't be wrong

for me I'd like to hear some stuff that would sound cool in DJ sets, preferably something kind of exotic and available on vinyl

I know and like VdGG. I like Red and Discipline but not a tonne of other KC. I will listen to those vanguard other prog albums! I’ve never listened to any of them.

I am obsessed with Mark Leckey’s sets on NTS. I have been listening to one a week and then investigating all this new music I’d never heard of. Everyone should listen to Mark Leckey’s sets on NTS. He is amazing

"I have never knowingly heard Rush"

awesome! okay, i think i have a good one. its indie rock which isn't out of my comfort zone but i have only briefly scanned this album in the past and never listened to it and its indie-famous.

i did kinda mean to put "well-known" in the thread title but i forgot. i feel like it should at least be something that fans of a genre are well aware of. don't want to be too obscure. but people can do whatever they want.

I'd be willing to bet you've definitely heard Rush before, the thing with them though is it's generally the instrumental bits that are famous so it's harder to place them. they get sampled a ton (including by Saint Etienne) - once I started actually listening to their albums there was a lot of "oh, it's *that* song"

Fgti, if you've never listened to the debut King Crimson record, that one is definitely worth knowing.

I've never listened to a Pavement album. Or a Fleetwood Mac album (though I at least know a few songs from them). Probably have never listened to a complete Rolling Stones album, though I definitely have heard a ton of singles.

fgti, in my opinion King Crimson is the best of the best prog - they had a few distinct phases: early 70s psychedelia, mid-70s hard rock, early 80s new wave, and then a sort of mishmash of these going forward:

Red is really really good, and a great starting point. If you're not into 'Fallen Angel' or 'Starless' then I wouldn't proceed further really.

For the earlier phase, you could do worse than listen to either of their first two albums: In The Court Of The Crimson King (the canonical fave) or In The Wake Of Poseidon (my fave, but not disimilar to the former). I rather like the jazz-inflected Lizard album too.

For the eighties stuff (that sounds not too disimilar from Talking Heads' expanded work, especially since Adrian Belew is the singer), maybe start with Discipline or listen to the live album Absent Lovers which gives the material a nice bit of metallic grit!

Jordan: I love most Pavement and I like all their albums for different reasons, but I'd say give Crooked Rain Crooked Rain a go; it's all killer no filler

So my thoughts on Rush are:

Well, I guess I assumed they'd be a bit widdly, a bit overstuffed, but this is sorta punk by comparison to most "prog" (if I'm going to compare it to prog). I seem to recognise a lot of the riffs, but as far as I know Rush aren't a big going concern in the UK. I'm gonna listen to 2112 now

2112 title track suite is all-time.

Rush, especially early on, has way more hard rock (Cream, Zep, Who) than most other prog bands.

god foxtrot is theeee greatest

Haha no I know some King Crimson. I know Court and the second one. I know Red and Discipline and weirdly Thrak. I like Belew as a singer. I haven’t listened to Aspic or Perfect Pair or Islands or whatever. Maybe I should. I’m not an immense fan.

I am a big Art Bears/Slapp Happy fan. But I never got into Henry Cow. Listened to Unrest once and didn’t like it. The album, not the band; I love the band Unrest.

Some of my favourite music is “the stuff they did in the late 70s, before they became famous and popular”. Scritti Polliti early recordings. Cabaret Voltaire. But still lots of gaps in that realm. I need to listen to more Coil and more TG-related stuff beyond the famous albums.

I’ve realized that romantic new wave or whatever you call it isn’t for me. Tears For Fears and that other band, “The King Of Rock n Roll”. Prefab Sprout. No thanks

I am, at some point over the next couple of days, going to listen to this:

https://www.discogs.com/release/1142199-Asha-Bhosle-The-Best-Of-Asha-Bhosle-The-Golden-Voice-Of-Bollywood

Which is a random comp Discogs threw up. Seems all the tracks are on Youtube so I'll hear them that way. I have never knowingly listened to any Bollywood playback music, other than what I've heard in the background of things or in clips, so I'll start here!

Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

And so I hear The Ballad of April Ludgate in its entirety for the first time. I definitely remember the first song and I think that’s about how far I got long ago on Youtube. It sounds vaguely Modest Mouse to me. I don’t hate it! It’s approachable. Tuneful. I just assumed it would immediately start up with the barnyard lo-fi racket. The “I love you Jesus Christ” part next is kinda lame. Jesus after Spaceman 3 or Jesus shooting heroin in indie rock feels too cutesy dumb and I blame the Velvet Underground. I’m still expecting campfire singing saws and I do get high school trumpet. The dude is no worse than any other non-singer indie dude. The yelling is too yell-y for me though. For the record, I do agree that it is strange to be anything at all. I think that’s what he says. It feels like the song “Two-headed Boy” probably influenced generations of people that I don’t listen to. Is that what The Decemberists sound like? I can envision a sad crusty pit bull having to hear that song on a street corner somewhere for eternity. Poor pup. Then we get dreary marching band. I knew it would show up. The dude’s conversational voice is pleasant. But then in comes the shouting. In general, the guitar + voice on this album works best for me. Like a cracked Irish folk singer. Or a Scot like Dick Gaughan. (I’d rather listen to Dick Gaughan…) With indie-people it can often feel like mock-gravity though. You really have to sell that theater of suburban cruelty. The first song on side two feels like the centerpiece of the album. The most accomplished/successful alt folk-rock. In my opinion. It is blessedly horn-free for most of its length. I really want to blame this guy for punk-folk. They do take you somewhere on this album. It isn’t really where I personally want to go but I can see young people being swept away by it. It makes sense. The production sounds like mush except for the vocals. I guess I expected singalongs! My apologies. I guess I can’t blame this band for the future inane campfire indie to come. It really is one person’s voice. These are my first impressions of an album that I first heard less than an hour ago.

"SpaceMEN 3"

I also found myself thinking: "How rich is Mac from Superchunk...?""

I am going to listen to a whole Pavement album for this thread. I have only ever heard the Pavement song that Beavis & Butt-Head made fun of, but they are emblematic of so much that I hate about "indie" "rock" that if I find myself liking what I hear, I may be forced to reconsider my entire existence.

i love pavement so much. its weird almost how much i like pavement. those guitars are to die for.

pavement records sound good no matter how you listen to them. streaming. tape. LP. doesn't matter. i don't know how they did it. just the most ruling guitar sounds. they broke up and then never did it again kinda.

but if the voice bugs you there is nothing to be done about that. kinda like rush! right, fcc!?

but also, listen to Terror Twilight.

Hmm… that’s not the Pavement album I would advise anyone to start with!

Also they unfortunately messed up the S&E mix on the expanded reissue (IMO), I would advise against listening to that version…

(I mean it doesn’t ruin the album or anything, but you want that thin wild mercury trebel-kicker sound, not some weird bass boost)

Terror Twilight has some jammage with heft and i thought that might make an appropriate gateway drug for some skronky metalhead like unperson. but lord knows with him. he can be an enigma of sorts when it comes to likes/dislikes.

Haha no I know some King Crimson. I know Court and the second one. I know Red and Discipline and weirdly Thrak. I like Belew as a singer. I haven’t listened to Aspic or Perfect Pair or Islands or whatever. Maybe I should. I’m not an immense fan.

In the Court, Red, and Discipline are the main ones IMO - once you've heard those three I think you get most of what the band has to offer. I like Larks' Tongues a lot, IMO it's their most interesting record, though it's not as metal as Red (except for certain sections which are incredibly metal). I dig Lizard too but it's not exactly a record I like recommending to people. Three of a Perfect Pair has some excellent pop songs on Side 1 but they're kinda like Belew solo material.

Personally when it comes to prog I like to recommend Gentle Giant and Van der Graaf Generator. GG I think is a good starting point because they appeal to people's inner band geek and their songs are generally short. They're not trying to summon demons or invoke fantasy landscapes they're just trying to put wonky melodies together in odd ways. VdGG on the other hand are pretty dark and theatrical and in Hammill they've got a true rockstar persona which the other bands don't really have. At prog night (which coincidentally I am DJing tonight) that's the band that gets the uninitiated to pay attention, for better or worse.

Pavement are two bands to me. Westing and S&E, then the latter albums. I like both modes. There’s something smarmy about SM’s songwriting voice that keeps me from loving them, but I like them, I like him.

It’s funny, when I was young (20? 21?) I recorded with my friend James. He had IAAOTS and Moon Pix out, on CD. He talked to me about how much he loved both albums. I borrowed them both and listened to them on the same day. Moon Pix became a landmark album for me, I always want drums and guitar to sound like that. One time I recorded with Shahzad, he brought Jim White’s snare with him, I was so excited. NMH left little impression in comparison, good band good album tho. It felt in retrospect like a moment of choice, “choose NMH or choose Cat Power to define your young brain” and I chose Cat Power.

gentle giant are so awesome. van der graaf i would think might be a challenge or a chore depending on someone's tolerance for a LOT of words. so many words. but they were awesome.

depends which track you play - I find "Arrow" and "La Rossa" get a lot of "what the fuck was that" reactions, which I think is what you want

i love Nektar. both early and late. i would recommend them to anyone. they rocked so hard. i'm a big Barclay James Harvest fan - and a big fan of that pastoral/rural Harvest prog stuff - but for some reason i never push them on people. they might be underwhelming if you aren't into them. but also a band i like early and late. i feel like people see them as an afterthought. 3rd tier. whatever. but they could be so beautiful.

I'm listening to Slanted & Enchanted because it's the shortest Pavement album. I don't hate the vocals. They don't make me feel anything at all. Fucking Lou Reed. He and his enablers in the rock press (and at the three major labels that subsidized his lame ass for 40 years) convinced multiple generations of white dudes that if they couldn't sing they could just recite their lyrics and it would be fine. It's not fine. My biggest fear with this record, honestly, was that the drumming would be as limp and dead as 99% of "indie" "rock," but this guy actually seems to be awake and aware that he's playing a song and that it should have energy and dynamics. The songs are unmemorable, but at least they're alive while they're happening, which is more than I can say for Radiohead post-2001, to pick one example.

Aw man that’s not fair. I listened to In Rainbows again after years away from it, literally yesterday, and it’s even better than I remember. I get what you mean about Lou Reed though. I think with Malkmus it’s more about The Fall. “Two States” he’s even doing the MES thing

"I like Belew as a singer."

my tolerance is pretty low. and he makes things into his own image and it doesn't sit right with me. too bad fred frith didn't join KC. or derek bailey! hahaha!

i know for a lot of people S&E is the best but i think they got way better as they went from album to album. i love that last album. i like them all though.

omg the thought of Bailey and Fripp working together

i love Nektar. both early and late. i would recommend them to anyone

curious what the good late-period Nektar albums are. I've gone up to Recycled.

my tolerance is pretty low. and he makes things into his own image and it doesn't sit right with me. too bad fred frith didn't join KC. or derek bailey! hahaha!

I get what you're saying but on the other hand he's kind of the only guy who could've made it work, both in that he could keep up with Fripp and also write songs which you kinda needed by the 80s. I don't think Frith or Bailey could've done that. the downside is 80s KC sounds absolutely nothing like they used to, outside of maybe parts of Side 2 of ToaPP. Yes and Genesis at least retained *some* aspects of their prior sound.

someone listen to a City Boy album. i love them. the poor man's 10cc.

What's wrong with reciting lyrics, Lou Reed (or MES) style? Anyway, who taught all those metal dudes who can't sing that it's "fine" to tunelessly bark or growl lyrics? It's not fine! (lol)

if they couldn't sing they could just recite their lyrics and it would be fine

we're talking about pavement? melodies are kind of their thing.

Xpost I listened to the first disc of the essential Django Reinhardt. Lovely music. The guitar and violin are of course technically masterful, inventive and fun. But it kinda washed over me like it was upbeat ambient. I had hard time hearing them as individual tunes and recalling the melody lines. It is not really a complaint though. I enjoyed the music and will keep listening.

they always pick the same stuff for the reinhardt compilations, I should do a selection with some of the more off-piste stuff for you

i thought about maybe doing this with drake and five seconds later thought: yeah, i'm not listening to a drake album.

Yesterday I got three albums (bought two, downloaded a third from someplace else) by the Leaders, a jazz group from the late 80s with Lester Bowie on trumpet, Arthur Blythe on alto sax, Chico Freeman on tenor sax, Kirk Lightsey on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Famoudou Don Moye on drums. I listened to the third album, Unforeseen Blessings, first, and it's great. Much more straightahead than you'd expect from that lineup, though there are some short, somewhat avant-ish interludes (solo pieces by Lightsey and Moye, and a Blythe/Moye duo) punctuating the compositions. Good stuff.

currently spinning The Everly Brothers' Roots LP, it's... OK? I was expecting more overt psych moves.

I quite like some Weather Report but I've studiously avoided solo Jaco for reasons (mostly fretless bass related). Well, I listened to (most of) *Word of Mouth* and it's bonkers. It has an insane line-up (Herbie, Shorter, DeJohnette, Toots Thielemans etc) but I wasn't expecting third-stream big band fusion.

First track is kind of ugly and has lots of Jaco wibble. Track two made me think of Gil Evans in places, which is never a bad thing. It's the closing track that I liked the most. I'm not mad on the soprano sax, but Shorter is fire here. There are lots of steel drums and some quality handclaps towards the end.

I can see why Jim O'Rourke loves it: there are passages that big Jim nods to on Bad Timing and Eureka.

I love his s/t album

Listened to Deacon Blue's Raintown after Trevor Horn included it in an old Baker's Dozen column on Quietus. Surprised that WXRT didn't pick this up at the time. Could see the band playing Park West to a reasonably well-groomed late 80s Lincoln Park crowd. (update: Confirmed before posted) But then again, the songs aren't all that catchy, are they? I see this band inspires a fair amount of hate. Pleasant enough to my ears, though. Doesn't seem worth getting worked up over either way. Makes me want to listen to Prefab Sprout, which is fine.

I listened to Drukqs yesterday. I found it holds together really well for a supposedly overlong sprawling release (even if it is a little long), it has vision and variations, the gymnopédies tracks are genuinely good, there's a techno urge that is more palpable than in say Autechre, and for all its frenzy it coalesces into a placating whole.

Today they were playing pan-genre Latin covers of Kraftwerk while I was eating my lunch. I Shazam'd! It is Señor Coconut, the alias of a German guy who got into cha-cha and cumbia and made... an album of Kraftwerk covers, in 1999. This was the period when I was at my most musically omnivorous, so I'm surprised I hadn't heard it before-- I was listening to Louis Philippe and Darla compilations and shit so this should've been on my radar? I vaguely recall reading an article (prob in Vice magazine) wherein they shit on Señor Coconut and called it corny. It is corny! But hearing unfamiliar versions of Kraftwerk songs realllllly made me appreciate the brilliance of the musical material... usually I'm just lost in the production and the sounds of it. "The Robots" is an amazing song, every component part is so wonderful. Anyway. In 1999 this might've been considered some corny genre experiment but it was super-great to hear it in 2024, just driving home the classic nature of all these Kraftwerk tracks

yeah, i really wish i had picked up that album on cd when i had the chance.
was always in the racks of my local Fopp.
but i could not reconcile the fact that it was by the same fella behind some of my fave FAX releases as Atom Heart.
oh, and it was before i fell hard for library/corny grooves.

I'm going to pull that album out and listen to it right now!

Today I read this interview with drummer/composer Andrya Ambro in my friend's newsletter. I'd never heard of her, so I pulled up her most recent album, No More Blue Skies, released under the name Gold Dime, on Tidal. It's really good! Postpunk-ish arty vocals and angry guitars and synths, some really interesting rhythmic stuff going on, plus a few free jazz sax solos. It's on Bandcamp.

that senor Coconut record is an absolute blast!

His YMO covers album is pretty good too and he did 'Smoke On The Water', 'Riders On The Storm' and some other rock classics at some point. One trick pony but a consistently fun trick.

if you like that you may wanna check out this collection of steel drum Kraftwerk covers, it's really fun as well

https://www.discogs.com/master/1609899-Ebony-Steel-Band-Pan-Machine

lol i bought that Señor Coconut album in 1999 and sometimes i can still hear it in my head even when Kraftwerk is playing

I only got into Senor Coconut when Villalobos released this in 2006, I believe? That was the year I joined ILX, I think that was when this happened?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE_Im78tXH4

(I had this thread bookmarked and then didn't check it for several months until today lol)

Paix by Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes rules hard.

Just now discovered this thread and haven't read nearly all, but for Pavement covers by jazz artists and without many vocals (incl. 0 by Malkmus), try James Carter's Gold Sounds---some people really like it and some really don't---I did, though haven't listened since it first came out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEsf1l4nm1o

"Stereo" – 6:24
"My First Mine" – 6:30
"Cut Your Hair" – 6:30
"Summer Babe" – 4:36
"Blue Hawaiian" – 4:54
"Here" – 5:52
"Platform Blues" – 5:38
"Trigger Cut" – 3:54

James Carter – tenor saxophone soprano saxophone, contrabass sarrusophone
Cyrus Chestnut – piano, electric piano, organ
Reginald Veal – bass, electric bass, vocals
Ali Jackson – drums, vocals

(But really his albums with the most rockoid appeal, at least as launching pads, are Layin' In The Cut, w Ribot, Tacuma etc., also his first James Carter Organ Trio album, Out of Nowhere, with guests incl. Blood Ulmer.)

for Pavement covers by jazz artists

i cannot tell whether you are describing a circle of hell of not.

i might do this with blue nile - hats based on recent excellent revive. no idea what it could possibly sound like

oh it is so good, please listen Budo and report back

Ooh, there's a good one of these over on the ICP thread:
Insane Clown Posse

i did listen to the blue nile record. good night for it too, cool, took a walk by the river. i certainly thought it was beautiful, kind of lush and cinematic maybe, but i can tell i need a few more spins to let it sink in.

maybe after a few more listens i will have something to say. i feel like i almost never have anything interesting to say about music anymore. it's just kind of like, i like this, i don't like this, i'm not sure if i like this

(nb i may never have had anything interesting to say about music)

I don't know how this happened, but I've never listened to Arthur Russell much. I'm sure I listened to World of Echo at least once or twice but never dug deeper, I don't know if I was saving it or feeling resistant to the hipster renaissance and seemingly endless reissues.

Today I listened to Picture of Bunny Rabbit and Calling Out of Context, and of course they're incredible. I don't need to go into it, everybody knows, but Bunny Rabbit in particular has such a consistent and intimate feel. It's so stark and stripped back and yet somehow never feels demo-y or like anything's missing, and sounds like it could have been made yesterday.

I’ve never listened to Bon Iver. I’ve overheard Skinny Love and Re: Stacks and Holocene but I couldn’t name which one was which if you played it for me. I just had to Shazam one of his songs. He’s popular! I should know what his albums sound like

Huh this is so strange. It’s 50% the best thing I’ve ever heard and 50% “I feel embarrassed for all people involved”. Sonically this kinda kicks ass. I’m listening to self-titled, self-tilted

Overwhelmed by the impossible loveliness of the production. These stereoized guitars!

Curious what you think of the production on the next album (which is basically all production iirc)...

Just took my first spin with Sahib Shibab and a couple others I'd never heard before, although did know NHOP from all kinds of places, incl. bluegrass, also familiar Alex Thiel(mainly from his work w The Savage Rose) It's mostly fluid, fluent, fun, w flute of Shibab sometimes making me think of Rashaan, going from shapely to gnarly and back again (also good on sax). Good clear you are there/they are here sound, though they did lose me for a bit during "Not Yet," but it was late and first listen. Teen NHOP a natural leader when Shibab is quite sensibly giving him, but not aggressive about it, just doing what he always does, ditto cool spare otm guitarist. This is from ORG Music for Record Store Day Black Friday, Nov. 29:

Sahib Shihab,

Sahib’s Jazz Party & After Hours

(2LP)

Sahib's Jazz Party is an album by saxophonist/flautist Sahib Shihab, recorded live at the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, around the same time that he relocated there in 1963. Shihab is joined by flugelhornist Allan Botchinsky, guitarist Ole Molin, drummer Alex Riel, and 17-year-old bass prodigy Niels Henning Orsted Pederson. The recordings showcase Sahib’s diversity and dexterity as a player, including his openness to the avant-garde style, expanding on the bop era playing he is known for. The album is presented here in a gatefold jacket with a bonus LP, including three tracks not available on previous vinyl releases — what we’re referring to as the “After Hours”. The audio has been remastered by Dave Gardner and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas Group in Germany.
Tracklist:

A1 4070 Blues

A2 Charade

B1 Conversations, Part I

B2 Conversations, Part II

B3 Conversations, Part III

C1 Billy Boy

D1 Not Yet

D2 Someday My Prince Will Come

Teen NHOP a natural leader when Shibab is quite sensibly giving him room

Alex Riel, damn, sorry Alex!

(Flugelhorn gets a little too "charming Billy" at one point in "Billy Boy," but the others actually don't)

I don't know how this happened, but I've never listened to Arthur Russell much. I'm sure I listened to World of Echo at least once or twice but never dug deeper, I don't know if I was saving it or feeling resistant to the hipster renaissance and seemingly endless reissues.

Today I listened to Picture of Bunny Rabbit and Calling Out of Context, and of course they're incredible. I don't need to go into it, everybody knows, but Bunny Rabbit in particular has such a consistent and intimate feel. It's so stark and stripped back and yet somehow never feels demo-y or like anything's missing, and sounds like it could have been made yesterday.

― Jordan s/t (Jordan)

He's amazing and his archival catalogue is a treasure trove. He had a very unique approach to songwriting and the amount of interesting musical ideas he left behind is astounding. It's so sad such a creative mind passed away at its prime. Listen to "another thought" next, it's mostly comprised of cello home recordings but it contains some of my favorite songs by him.

I was having a hard time finding that! Not on the reissue Bandcamp or on streaming (Qobuz), unless I just missed it.

Curious what you think of the production on the next album (which is basically all production iirc)...

I need to listen to it a second time, but on first listen:

- fragments and neologisms creating an unsatisfying cryptic crossword; but perhaps this is part of the appeal, lack of concrete meaning allows for listeners to project and project and project

- amazing sax production, like I could listen to hours of these players getting glitched

- extreme loveliness and unloveliness in the production, very appealing

- lyrics about "a cup of tea" and "the Ace hotel" were charmingly stinky

- fundamentally these songs (as chords and melodies) are really pastel, and at first left me feeling undernourished, but by the end of the album I felt more like I was listening to something sprung from folk/hymnal tradition, and I started to buy it

I listened to 2 more Iron Maiden albums - The Number Of The Beast and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. I did at least know a song from each of these (Run To The Hills and Can I Play With Madness obv). I liked both these albums more than Powerslave, which as I posted upthread I didn't like at all, although didn't really love either of them. I suppose I should listen to the pre-Bruce Dickinson ones next. or maybe Maiden Voyage by the other Iron Maiden, I like their song Falling

oh you will very definitely prefer the pre-bruce albums. of this i am almost certain.

Ty fgti (I'm friends with a few of those many sax players, there were some funny stories from those sessions)

On the Belew era Crimson music, if you like the studio albums be sure to check out the live album Absent Lovers. Belew and Levins vocals are very good live on that one, it is very impressive gig.

so I know Gong, but I am listening to Daevid Allen's solo LP Banana Moon for the first time ever, it's quite different!

love that album, never sure who to credit it to but it seems to be thought of as a DA solo LP these days. Just a classic "get a load of friends together and make an LP" thing.

I love *Seven Drones* by Daevid Allen.

I am a little late to this but Jordan, ‘Another Thought’ is my favorite Arthur Russell record, but it is also a record that i can hardly listen to anymore because even *thinking* about certain songs makes me well up. ‘A Little Lost,’ ‘Me for Real,’ and ‘Losing My Taste for the Nightlife,’ and ‘A Sudden Chill’ in particular— transcendent music.

and yeah, listening again, this and ‘All Hail West Texas’ might be my top two ‘i love this but i will weep openly while it plays’ records. (as for the latter, i can’t even listen to ‘Best Ever Death Metal Band’ without breaking into ugly tears).

my husband got me a tape of ‘AHWT’ as a birthday present gift and put it on while I was doing dishes and i had to ask him to turn it off because i couldn’t help but sing along but singing along makes me cry.