Middle-aged Dummies are back and bursting at the "themes" to get going! Full theme ahead! (2 Viewers)

[Pip's Invitation]

Some participants from prior M-aD countdowns who haven't committed to this one, but could be interested? This might be less intimidating than the Zegras countdowns since you don't have to listen to a full catalog from an artist. We'd love to see you!

@Doug B

I actually never saw this when it was first posted. Weird.

EDIT: Hmmm ... not in my alerts at all, even now as I look through.

Thanks for the invite ... timing is really bad for me. I'll have to sit this one out. Appreciate the thought, though

Weird. Well that sucks.

It's a quirk of the board that if you "at" a bunch of people in one post, only the first few get the notification. We discovered this in the Offense-Defense Contest thread in the Shark Pool.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Finally thought of a good theme, so I am in.

A hobby of mine is higher end audio gear. Audiophile I suppose, but without the snobbery. If all we're listening to is your Sonos speaker, I'm good. But once we get into my mancave/office, and you sit in the sweet spot and just listen, I promise it's a different experience. You begin to hear stuff you never heard, and the seperation of the instruments and vocalists and how they all contribute to the song is astonishing. If we share a little smoke, all the better!

So my list is 31 songs that sound great on a decent 2-channel system.

If you have a nice setup, you probably have some of these on a playlist somewhere to demo your system, as some of these on my (thought-about-but-yet-to-be-compiled) list are well-known to demo speakers. But many are my choice - something that made me say "oh nice" and put it on my "speakers" playlist. I tend to appreciate lots of genres, so this won't be a bunch of snobby smooth jazz/etc. Even metal or a 70's one-hit-wonder can sound intricate and unique on a good system. Hopefully I create a good "speaker demo" playlist here.

Better be some Queen here. Also Kansas and Boston.

(We are Telarc fans, so we feel you.)

(Not literally.)

Also Steely Dan, even though our gracious host hates them. Aja is the standard "test out the sound of your new system" record.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

Thanks. Im really in over my head here lol.
The alleged 33% accuracy makes me question trusting it as a source though.
There is a huge playlist of D#Minor songs that I exported and not a single song has Key 3 and mode 0.
Loads of Key 2, Mode 0 and Key 5 and Mode 1. Among others

KEY=5/MODE=1 would be F major which is the relative major for D# minor but that's about the extent of my music theory knowledge.

As nerdy as we are as a collective group, this music theory thing is going to bring it to 11.

I think I have understood about 3 words of their series of messages.

I was about to say - no one will have any clue if John is "cheating" or not.

Thanks. Im really in over my head here lol.
The alleged 33% accuracy makes me question trusting it as a source though.
There is a huge playlist of D#Minor songs that I exported and not a single song has Key 3 and mode 0.
Loads of Key 2, Mode 0 and Key 5 and Mode 1. Among others

KEY=5/MODE=1 would be F major which is the relative major for D# minor but that's about the extent of my music theory knowledge.

As nerdy as we are as a collective group, this music theory thing is going to bring it to 11.

I will actually be sitting out of those discussions because I know f@ck-all about what key is what.

Im pretty sure my knowledge about keys is worse than all of you lol.
Its essentially a one joke theme and im playing that joke early. But there are some pretty good songs categorized as #D Minor and every song will have a link saying that the song ive chosen is D#Minor.

I obviously bit off more than I can chew here. But thats part of the fun. Batman by comparison is relatively boring.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Metal songs from 1988-1992 that became the gateway into the world of music for a young Yambag

My metal journey started in 6th grade with a very vivid memory. A classmate brought his Walkman into school and was telling everyone they had to listen to this song. During recess that day, I put on his headphones, and what I heard blew my mind. It was Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry. I remember checking out the cassette cover and thinking how badass Dee Snider was. I went home and asked my parents if they could buy that album for me, and of course, they said, "Nah, doesn’t sound like stuff we want you to listen to."

A few months later, a young Yambag was in middle school, fully entrenched in that awkward phase of trying to find an identity. One day, his neighborhood best friend said, "You gotta check out this new band; they kick ***." He was gracious enough to let me borrow his brand-new copy of Appetite for Destruction. I was hooked again and used to listen to it on my Walkman every night while in bed. I didn’t want to give it back, but my friend let me borrow another cassette so he could have his GnR back. This album was Iron Maiden’s Live After Death.

After listening endlessly, I just knew that metal was for me. With money from my first part-time job, my friend and I would ask our parents to take us to the local independent record store, where we would scour the metal section and buy a few albums each visit. Album after album, we consumed as much as possible, both looking for the next heaviest, fastest stuff we could find. I spent years entrenched in this genre, refusing anything less than heavy, until I finally expanded my musical tastes in college.

With all that being said, my list of 31 songs really jump-started my love of music. I still listen to many of these to this day and love the nostalgia they bring. This list will be in alphabetical order by artist and cover many sub-genres of metal, for better or worse for the listeners. I used the 5-year span of 1988-1992, as that seemed to contain just about everything I wanted. There are a few artists where I would have preferred a different song but they missed the cut due to my arbitrary timeline. I’ll make sure to include those in the artist write-ups.

Good luck everyone!

This one I will be in sync with for sure. Very similar time frames and albums swirling around the KP walkman. I think my time frame is a little eariler, but was slower to catch on and quicker to diverge from metal in the 90s. My main entry was Iron Maiden after seeing the poster in my drummer partner's older brother's room when we met at her house for practice. That was my main source of metal for the first couple years along with 4 live albums that were played on a loop (Live After Death being one, of course). We didn't have much money, so I tried to get the most bang for my $ with live albums. Then, as with you Appetite hit and the following year was the next most important as I think about albums with 3 all-time favorites coming that year. This is your theme, so no more listing of titles, but I have a feeling we were digging into a lot of the same stuff. I might try to throw a quick list together to compare at the end.

VERY much looking forward to this one.

 

[jwb]

Honestly, for me, some don't work as far as the mix. I like Pet Sounds, but I recall being underwhelmed (critical listening-wise) when I bought a new vinyl copy about two years ago. I'll give it another go tonight though - I might have been expecting too much. I also did get a new amp and speakers since then.

Brian Wilson is deaf in his right ear so his music is lighter on stereo effects than a lot of music of that period.

It's an interesting theme that should provoke discussion about what different people consider most important when they listen.

Stereo, for the sake of stereo, can be annoying too (looking at you, Led Zep).

As to the bolded, it's a tough one to quantify, as it depends. It's all important to me, but for this list, it'll likely be songs that made me hear them a different way once I sat down and put them on a "better" system. Personally, I'm a fan of separation. It's cool hearing Fleetwood Mac and having Lindsey and Stevie kind of next to each other, one a little off-center and to the back, and Christine over there on the side, and having it all come together.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Honestly, for me, some don't work as far as the mix. I like Pet Sounds, but I recall being underwhelmed (critical listening-wise) when I bought a new vinyl copy about two years ago. I'll give it another go tonight though - I might have been expecting too much. I also did get a new amp and speakers since then.

Brian Wilson is deaf in his right ear so his music is lighter on stereo effects than a lot of music of that period.

It's an interesting theme that should provoke discussion about what different people consider most important when they listen.

Stereo, for the sake of stereo, can be annoying too (looking at you, Led Zep).

As to the bolded, it's a tough one to quantify, as it depends. It's all important to me, but for this list, it'll likely be songs that made me hear them a different way once I sat down and put them on a "better" system. Personally, I'm a fan of separation. It's cool hearing Fleetwood Mac and having Lindsey and Stevie kind of next to each other, one a little off-center and to the back, and Christine over there on the side, and having it all come together.

Being a non-audiophile, does all your discussion apply to a good pair of headphones as well?

 

[krista4]

REMINDER!!!111

Put the song you want posted last (your #1, if these were in order of preference) at the top of your list, and then go from there.

Please.

 

[Yo Mama]

REMINDER!!!111

Put the song you want posted last (your #1, if these were in order of preference) at the top of your list, and then go from there.

Please.

How important are links with the list? Deciding how lazy I want to be.

ETA - never mind, I’ll build out my playlist at the same time so I’ll have all the links.

 

[KarmaPolice]

REMINDER!!!111

Put the song you want posted last (your #1, if these were in order of preference) at the top of your list, and then go from there.

Please.

How important are links with the list? Deciding how lazy I want to be.

ETA - never mind, I’ll build out my playlist at the same time so I’ll have all the links.

I will warn you and others that I am quite lazy when doing the playlists. I will just add the first version I see, so if you or others want a specific version or have a preference I would add them when sending to krista.

 

[krista4]

I will warn you and others that I am quite lazy when doing the playlists. I will just add the first version I see, so if you or others want a specific version or have a preference I would add them when sending to krista.

Yes, this. I'll share links with KP if they're there. If not, he can choose whatever he wishes.

 

[Eephus]

REMINDER!!!111

Put the song you want posted last (your #1, if these were in order of preference) at the top of your list, and then go from there.

Please.

How important are links with the list? Deciding how lazy I want to be.

ETA - never mind, I’ll build out my playlist at the same time so I’ll have all the links.

I will warn you and others that I am quite lazy when doing the playlists. I will just add the first version I see, so if you or others want a specific version or have a preference I would add them when sending to krista.

You do a great job.

 

[KarmaPolice]

REMINDER!!!111

Put the song you want posted last (your #1, if these were in order of preference) at the top of your list, and then go from there.

Please.

How important are links with the list? Deciding how lazy I want to be.

ETA - never mind, I’ll build out my playlist at the same time so I’ll have all the links.

I will warn you and others that I am quite lazy when doing the playlists. I will just add the first version I see, so if you or others want a specific version or have a preference I would add them when sending to krista.

I know some don't have spotify, so if a youtube link is included, I will at least click on the link and match it to the version on Spotify when it's available - that is what I do for the artist 31s. No link, and you get what you get.

 

[Don Quixote]

I have been including both YouTube and Spotify links for the artist ones. Is there a best way to do that for this one?

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

I will warn you and others that I am quite lazy when doing the playlists. I will just add the first version I see, so if you or others want a specific version or have a preference I would add them when sending to krista.

Yes, this. I'll share links with KP if they're there. If not, he can choose whatever he wishes.

Pretty please with sugar on top, can the first page, preferably the OP have deadlines, both soft and hard included?

 

[Eephus]

I always submit Spotify links because they come automatically when I export the playlist containing my final songs. It's also how I listen to everybody's songs.

Single (Named) Ladies is blessed with some extraordinarily beautiful women so I'll post YouTube links in the writeups this time around.

 

[Mister CIA]

Finally thought of a good theme, so I am in.

A hobby of mine is higher end audio gear. Audiophile I suppose, but without the snobbery. If all we're listening to is your Sonos speaker, I'm good. But once we get into my mancave/office, and you sit in the sweet spot and just listen, I promise it's a different experience. You begin to hear stuff you never heard, and the seperation of the instruments and vocalists and how they all contribute to the song is astonishing. If we share a little smoke, all the better!

So my list is 31 songs that sound great on a decent 2-channel system.

If you have a nice setup, you probably have some of these on a playlist somewhere to demo your system, as some of these on my (thought-about-but-yet-to-be-compiled) list are well-known to demo speakers. But many are my choice - something that made me say "oh nice" and put it on my "speakers" playlist. I tend to appreciate lots of genres, so this won't be a bunch of snobby smooth jazz/etc. Even metal or a 70's one-hit-wonder can sound intricate and unique on a good system. Hopefully I create a good "speaker demo" playlist here.

Better be some Queen here. Also Kansas and Boston.

(We are Telarc fans, so we feel you.)

(Not literally.)

Also Steely Dan, even though our gracious host hates them. Aja is the standard "test out the sound of your new system" record.

I thought What Is And What Should Never Be was the standard.

 

[jwb]

Honestly, for me, some don't work as far as the mix. I like Pet Sounds, but I recall being underwhelmed (critical listening-wise) when I bought a new vinyl copy about two years ago. I'll give it another go tonight though - I might have been expecting too much. I also did get a new amp and speakers since then.

Brian Wilson is deaf in his right ear so his music is lighter on stereo effects than a lot of music of that period.

It's an interesting theme that should provoke discussion about what different people consider most important when they listen.

Stereo, for the sake of stereo, can be annoying too (looking at you, Led Zep).

As to the bolded, it's a tough one to quantify, as it depends. It's all important to me, but for this list, it'll likely be songs that made me hear them a different way once I sat down and put them on a "better" system. Personally, I'm a fan of separation. It's cool hearing Fleetwood Mac and having Lindsey and Stevie kind of next to each other, one a little off-center and to the back, and Christine over there on the side, and having it all come together.

Being a non-audiophile, does all your discussion apply to a good pair of headphones as well?

Yea, prettymuch. I don't like wearing them much but I do have a decent-enough pair, and they sound really nice. The separation isn't quite the same but it's still good.

 

[Eephus]

Yea, prettymuch. I don't like wearing them much but I do have a decent-enough pair, and they sound really nice. The separation isn't quite the same but it's still good.

You can get excellent separation with open-backs as long as you're the only person in the room.

 

[jwb]

Finally thought of a good theme, so I am in.

A hobby of mine is higher end audio gear. Audiophile I suppose, but without the snobbery. If all we're listening to is your Sonos speaker, I'm good. But once we get into my mancave/office, and you sit in the sweet spot and just listen, I promise it's a different experience. You begin to hear stuff you never heard, and the seperation of the instruments and vocalists and how they all contribute to the song is astonishing. If we share a little smoke, all the better!

So my list is 31 songs that sound great on a decent 2-channel system.

If you have a nice setup, you probably have some of these on a playlist somewhere to demo your system, as some of these on my (thought-about-but-yet-to-be-compiled) list are well-known to demo speakers. But many are my choice - something that made me say "oh nice" and put it on my "speakers" playlist. I tend to appreciate lots of genres, so this won't be a bunch of snobby smooth jazz/etc. Even metal or a 70's one-hit-wonder can sound intricate and unique on a good system. Hopefully I create a good "speaker demo" playlist here.

Better be some Queen here. Also Kansas and Boston.

(We are Telarc fans, so we feel you.)

(Not literally.)

Also Steely Dan, even though our gracious host hates them. Aja is the standard "test out the sound of your new system" record.

I thought What Is And What Should Never Be was the standard.

heh, this is the exact song I had in mind when I said this:

Stereo, for the sake of stereo, can be annoying too (looking at you, Led Zep).

 

[krista4]

I have been including both YouTube and Spotify links for the artist ones. Is there a best way to do that for this one?

You can send them both to me if you wish.

 

[krista4]

Pretty please with sugar on top, can the first page, preferably the OP have deadlines, both soft and hard included?

Oh, thanks for the reminder! I'd intended to do that.

ETA: Except I don't know what distinction you're making between soft and hard. Hard is hard. And TWSS.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I had to do an avatar change. No idea how he fell asleep like that.

 

[El Floppo]

Ok.. I think can cobble this together.

Mallet Rock

As some of you know, floppinho (17yo) plays percussion on his own and with Juilliards Pre-College Orchestra. Percussion... it's a thing. Since it's only been composed for on its own starting in the mid 20c (not the longer standing use as snare or timpani to boom boom boom important parts of orchestral works), most of it is.. well, it's a thing. I love out there stuff, but most of this is wasaaay ooooouuuuut there...even for me, and especially for Jr. At a certain point early on I wanted it to be more accessible for him, so started throwing whatever more contemporary songs I could think of that use some of these instruments into a playlist.

The mallet instruments like glockenspiel, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone are all a bit more interesting (to me anyways) since they're combining percussion/rhythm with melody. Some rock bands will use it as a distinctive localized device in an intro or as a bridge or other device in the middle of a track. Other times they're used throughout for a hooky theme and others will use them more jazzy-like as a complementary and incorporated instrument. I've tried to focus on songs using those instruments, rather than any random percussion instruments that are hit with mallets.

I think I have 31 tunes I like. If not, I'll do a little digging before due date.

 

[KarmaPolice]

i read that as "mullet" rock and was really confused for a bit.

 

[kupcho1]

Ok.. I think can cobble this together.

Mallet Rock

As some of you know, floppinho (17yo) plays percussion on his own and with Juilliards Pre-College Orchestra. Percussion... it's a thing. Since it's only been composed for on its own starting in the mid 20c (not the longer standing use as snare or timpani to boom boom boom important parts of orchestral works), most of it is.. well, it's a thing. I love out there stuff, but most of this is wasaaay ooooouuuuut there...even for me, and especially for Jr. At a certain point early on I wanted it to be more accessible for him, so started throwing whatever more contemporary songs I could think of that use some of these instruments into a playlist.

The mallet instruments like glockenspiel, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone are all a bit more interesting (to me anyways) since they're combining percussion/rhythm with melody. Some rock bands will use it as a distinctive localized device in an intro or as a bridge or other device in the middle of a track. Other times they're used throughout for a hooky theme and others will use them more jazzy-like as a complementary and incorporated instrument. I've tried to focus on songs using those instruments, rather than any random percussion instruments that are hit with mallets.

I think I have 31 tunes I like. If not, I'll do a little digging before due date.

I immediately thought of this when you referenced some of those instruments.
I hope I'm not spotlighting

Clink Clink, Another Drink

Spike Jones & His City Slickers · Greatest Hits · Song · 2007

open.spotify.com

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

rather than any random percussion instruments that are hit with mallets.

So no Dulcimer Stomp? (An Aerosmith fave.)

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

i read that as "mullet" rock and was really confused for a bit.

So did I. I had to squint to figure out what the hey a glockenspiel had to do with it.

 

[Eephus]

So did I. I had to squint to figure out what the hey a glockenspiel had to do with it.

The word glockenspiel looks like it could have an umlaut but doesn't

 

[El Floppo]

i read that as "mullet" rock and was really confused for a bit.

So did I. I had to squint to figure out what the hey a glockenspiel had to do with it.

Because those Glocks are all business up front, but a party yeah in the back.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

So did I. I had to squint to figure out what the hey a glockenspiel had to do with it.

The word glockenspiel looks like it could have an umlaut but doesn't

Sad, really. But my list is odd enough. It needs no help.

 

[zamboni]

i read that as "mullet" rock and was really confused for a bit.

So did I. I had to squint to figure out what the hey a glockenspiel had to do with it.

Because those Glocks are all business up front, but a party yeah in the back.

I'm probably one of the very few cretins that actually give this show a chance.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

i read that as "mullet" rock and was really confused for a bit.

So did I. I had to squint to figure out what the hey a glockenspiel had to do with it.

Because those Glocks are all business up front, but a party yeah in the back.

I'm probably one of the very few cretins that actually give this show a chance.

Or even heard of it

 

[El Floppo]

i read that as "mullet" rock and was really confused for a bit.

So did I. I had to squint to figure out what the hey a glockenspiel had to do with it.

Because those Glocks are all business up front, but a party yeah in the back.

I'm probably one of the very few cretins that actually give this show a chance.

Or even head of it

Hard to hear the vibraphone over those monster trucks

 

[SWC]

swc and my theme is songs that make you think of taking it to the bank brohans

 

[KarmaPolice]

i read that as "mullet" rock and was really confused for a bit.

So did I. I had to squint to figure out what the hey a glockenspiel had to do with it.

Because those Glocks are all business up front, but a party yeah in the back.

I'm probably one of the very few cretins that actually give this show a chance.

Or even head of it

Hard to hear the vibraphone over those monster trucks

I have to ask - is it too late for floppinho to grow a mullet for the mallet rock?

 

[zamboni]

swc and my theme is songs that make you think of taking it to the bank brohans

My apologies if this is one of them, GB.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

@Uruk-Hai

 

[SWC]

a scarf really accomplishes the same thing as a mullet when it comes to rear neck warmth take that to the bank bromigos

 

[El Floppo]

i read that as "mullet" rock and was really confused for a bit.

So did I. I had to squint to figure out what the hey a glockenspiel had to do with it.

Because those Glocks are all business up front, but a party yeah in the back.

I'm probably one of the very few cretins that actually give this show a chance.

Or even head of it

Hard to hear the vibraphone over those monster trucks

I have to ask - is it too late for floppinho to grow a mullet for the mallet rock?

Too late NOT to have done it. Only way to play the marimba.

 

[El Floppo]

a scarf really accomplishes the same thing as a mullet when it comes to rear neck warmth take that to the bank bromigos

I debated going with ... Scarf Rock. Next time.

 

[Don Quixote]

swc and my theme is songs that make you think of taking it to the bank brohans

My apologies if this is one of them, GB.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

@Uruk-Hai

Top comment: “Billy Joel was like the Mozart of the 20th century.”

 

[KarmaPolice]

a scarf really accomplishes the same thing as a mullet when it comes to rear neck warmth take that to the bank bromigos

Is is too confusing if I use a mullet for a scarf?

 

[zamboni]

swc and my theme is songs that make you think of taking it to the bank brohans

My apologies if this is one of them, GB.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

@Uruk-Hai

Top comment: “Billy Joel was like the Mozart of the 20th century.”

If I were @ProGaming-cw1qy, I'd be looking over my shoulder for Uruk.

 

[SWC]

a scarf really accomplishes the same thing as a mullet when it comes to rear neck warmth take that to the bank bromigos

Is is too confusing if I use a mullet for a scarf?

thats sort of natures way of saying i prefer to be single so good on you take that to the bank brohan

 

[El Floppo]

a scarf really accomplishes the same thing as a mullet when it comes to rear neck warmth take that to the bank bromigos

Is is too confusing if I use a mullet for a scarf?

Are you braiding that **** into your nostril and pit hair? If so

 

[SWC]

a scarf really accomplishes the same thing as a mullet when it comes to rear neck warmth take that to the bank bromigos

Is is too confusing if I use a mullet for a scarf?

Are you braiding that **** into your nostril and pit hair? If so

old sick emjoi take that to the barf bank bromigos

 

[KarmaPolice]

a scarf really accomplishes the same thing as a mullet when it comes to rear neck warmth take that to the bank bromigos

Is is too confusing if I use a mullet for a scarf?

Are you braiding that **** into your nostril and pit hair? If so

I use that hair to make mittens.

 

[Hawks64]

a scarf really accomplishes the same thing as a mullet when it comes to rear neck warmth take that to the bank bromigos

I debated going with ... Scarf Rock. Next time.

Is that a niche carve out of Yacht Rock? Like when your yacht is traveling in cold waters?

 

[titusbramble]

Got through four more stations today - the last one on GTA 3 (Double Clef FM, classical) and then three on Vice City (Wildstyle, old school hip hop/electro, Flash FM, pop/rock, and Fever 105, soul/disco/funk), those have added a good dozen or so tracks to the long list, one or two of which might get upgraded to the main 31. Will try and get another couple done, namely the rock and Spanish language stations

 

[rockaction]

Loving some of these themes. Great stuff. On this page alone we’ve got audiophile, mallet, and Grand Theft Auto radio stations.

Well done and very creative.

I am especially looking forward to driving my rig on the audiophile portion of the proceedings. Hope it sounds good with headphones.

 

[Raging weasel]

Thanks. Im really in over my head here lol.
The alleged 33% accuracy makes me question trusting it as a source though.
There is a huge playlist of D#Minor songs that I exported and not a single song has Key 3 and mode 0.
Loads of Key 2, Mode 0 and Key 5 and Mode 1. Among others

KEY=5/MODE=1 would be F major which is the relative major for D# minor but that's about the extent of my music theory knowledge.

As nerdy as we are as a collective group, this music theory thing is going to bring it to 11.

I think I have understood about 3 words of their series of messages.

Same, was going to ask for a translation.