The Magic Formula: Your Perfect Musical Sound

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The Magic Formula In the "Lets Set a Standard" Thread, michael (mjemmerson@hotmail.com) talked about what his perfect musical sound. [snip] my own easy listening scale - add up the number of the following instruments played on the album. the more counted the better the LP: hammond organ, bongos, sitar, vibraphone, bird calls, electric harpsichord, moog, wordless vocals, marimba, theremin, 'jungle' drums, hawaiian guitar This got me thinking about my own "perfect musical sound" and I'm curious as to what your's would be. So...instead of merely naming bands you like, describe the sound/vibe/flavour that smashes your defenses, drops you to your knees and...forces you...TO...HONOUR THE FIRE

Okay. *My* recipe for shorts creaming:
Atmospheric but fast paced, mixing rootsy authenticity with punkish forthrightness. Coherent lyrics with many pithy, quotable zinger lines are a must. Lysergic eccentricity or Quirky popster quirkiness is acceptable if its not too intrusive. (And yes, I prefer the 80s popster-style silliness to 60s Acid rock silliniess); Also, I dig Minor chords and prefer *female* vocals.
So in my mad universe: Robert Smith stuck Siouxsie Sioux as his frontperson of the Cure.
Bono Vox was ousted and Elizabeth Frazier is U2's singer.
Sting gets assassinated and Harriet Wheeler sings for the Police.
David Byrne suffers terminal laryngitis and cedes
command of his band to the French chick from Stereolab. Bob Dylan Writes the tune and Enya sings it.
So Disintegration-Era Cure-ness + Joshua Tree-Era U2-ness (+ the best bits of Police, Talking Heads, Bob Dylan) - Annoying lead vocalist + Reading, Writing and Arithmatic Style Chickfactor = Nirvana.*

*By this I mean the enlightened state of being, not the grunge band.

― Lord Custos, Thursday, 14 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Damn. That seems incredibly narrow.
Try this: Goth + Blues + Celtic + Punk + Babe = MMMmmmmmagnifique!

― Lord Custos, Thursday, 14 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Men in makeup, moody synths, smart women who don't mind shouting, horrible feedback noise and beats. That would do for a start.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 14 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

you are fucking insane.

― ethan, Thursday, 14 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, yes.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 14 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, I took a different route and didn't do any subtracting: (1) Kevin Shields gets his act together and makes a return to form. (2) He rings up Morrissey and Johnny Marr, who've buried the hatchet amongst themselves and Rourke and Joyce. (3) My Bloody Smiths -- the greatest supergroup of all time... until (4) The topper: Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard join My Bloody Smiths as background vocalists for a year-long tour of the world. (5) My Bloody Smiths Can Dance - bow your heads.

― Tim DiGravina, Thursday, 14 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

They then do some work with Acen, turning into The Bloody Smiths Can Dance Crew.

― Dan Perry, Thursday, 14 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ned's perfect sound suits me too, but the male make-up isn't required as far as I'm concerned. I don't care HOW Robert Smith looks. I just like how he does his little flamenco'ey bit.

― Lord Custos, Thursday, 14 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My Bloody Smiths Can Dance - bow your heads.
...And for what we might've theoretically recieved, may we be truly thankful. Amen.

Somebody please set this up. I think it would be really interesting.

― Lord Custos, Thursday, 14 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

All our tastes are scarily similar, it seems. Sadly, Ethan appears not to approve.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 14 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

although you all are, in fact, fucking insane, the original comment was directed solely at lord custos. ultimate musical perfection = 'Bob Dylan Writes the tune and Enya sings it.'?!? FUCKING INSANE.

― ethan, Friday, 15 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Kevin Shields plays guitar,Robert Fripp plays the occasional guest solo,Klaus Dinger plays drums,Laetitia Sadier sings,with occasional back-up vocals from members of Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares.Peter Hook plays bass and Jonny Greenwood helps out on Mellotron and ondes martenot - he'd also have to buy an ARP.

― Damian, Friday, 15 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

mine would be kind of like, standard rock, then silence, then these guys saying 'no! no! please don't -' then this thing that sounds sort of like four grand pianos falling from a height of several metres onto fender amps and guitars and keyboards and drums and human bodies, then this weird gurgling noise, and a few whimpers, and then something like, bird calls, the sound of nature.

― maryann, Friday, 15 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Stevie Nicks + Arto Lindsay (on No Wave geetar) + Prince + Joni M + Peter Laughner doing a pastiche of Baby's On Fire. Remixed by Massive Attack's 3D and GoF's Andy Gill.

― helenfordsdale, Friday, 15 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Big chorous, loud guitars, guitar solos, fast/slow/lots of changes, accordian, moog/synth, vocal harmony, sense of the melodramatic, happy songs/ happy-sad songs...

― jel, Friday, 15 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

although you all are, in fact, fucking insane, the original comment was directed solely at lord custos. ultimate musical perfection = 'Bob Dylan Writes the tune and Enya sings it.'?!? FUCKING INSANE.
Naw. Just pragmatic. The idea of Bob Dylan singing something that Enya wrote would be rather sad. I don't think he knows a word of Gaelic, does he?

― Lord Custos, Friday, 15 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i'd rather have julian swales than kevin shields, his guitar wash is a great deal more beautiful. there should be a subject like the most beautiful noise ever to come from a guitar then i could nominate 'mad as the snow'.

― keith, Sunday, 17 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Keith. Yes, that's a good idea. Mr. Shields is now responsible only for occasional noise loops and assorted dissonance. Julian Swales is now onboard as lead guitarist. And he's brought along Patrick Fitzgerald as well. Catch them before the year is out...

― Tim DiGravina, Sunday, 17 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

two years pass...

does any of the nu-nu-nu-nu-nu-ILM crowd have anything to add to this thread?

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Monday, 3 January 2005 00:06 (twenty-one years ago)

70s Beefheart + Joni Mitchell album collab.

― Bumfluff, Monday, 3 January 2005 00:48 (twenty-one years ago)

The Chameleons, and that's IT.

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 3 January 2005 01:03 (twenty-one years ago)

ELO, but with girls

― Turkey versus Eagle, McCauley is my Beagle (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 3 January 2005 01:08 (twenty-one years ago)

and less naff britishness

― Turkey versus Eagle, McCauley is my Beagle (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 3 January 2005 01:13 (twenty-one years ago)

naff swedishness is ok

― Turkey versus Eagle, McCauley is my Beagle (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 3 January 2005 01:14 (twenty-one years ago)

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