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Middle Aged Dummies!! Artists #1's have been posted!! (15 Viewers)

I'm so glad I didn't look at Modest Mouse's lyrics back when I listened to them and only went with that which wasn't on a lyric sheet because :suds::cry:is no way for a young, healthy man to feel all the time.

I didn't move to the city, the city moved to me
And I want out...

Can't do it, not even if sober
Can't get that engine turned over

I always knew the narrative was black as night just from feel alone. The deciphered indecipherable would have made it worse.
 
"Burnout" might be my favorite Green Day song just for the first line. First track off of the first major-label backed album they did. Succinct, to the point, and a declaration

I declare I don't care no more

I used to think that was "I did but I don't care no more," which isn't quite the declarative but works nonetheless.
 
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My original intention was to pick a good chunk of songs from every round and get through everyone at least twice, but I abandoned that after realising its not going to really understand an artist and just concentrate on artists and songs I already knew. Had to throw myself out of my comfort zone and listen to everything. Or try to anyway. Next is the first of a series to try a different concept.
 
John Maddens Lunchbox said:
My original intention was to pick a good chunk of songs from every round and get through everyone at least twice
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I'm still trying to rotate bands and listen to that which I haven't heard of yet still might like.

Just listened to "Haley" by Big Thief. Interesting interview right here for anybody interested.

www.newyorker.com

Adrianne Lenker’s Radical Honesty

In her folk-rock songwriting and in interactions with her Big Thief bandmates, the musician’s raw openness creates strange and thrilling effects.
www.newyorker.com www.newyorker.com
 
JML’s Reimagined rankings
Part 1 - Todd Rundgren 31-21 re-ranked
Drafter - @New Binky the Doormat

Every songs gets 3 full listens, more if I feel its going somewhere and i need to persist. If I havent given it 3 listens, its because something really annoyed me. That will show up in the comments

Prior Knowledge of artist
I knew his big hit in Australia well, his hit that made #21 in Australia vaguely and his production of Bat Out of Hell.
I knew he was roped in on a big budget to produce an album by Australian band Dragon in an attempt to break them in America
I had heard of Utopia, but only by name.

Expectations
When someone else loves an artist, I am generally there with an open ear to see what they like and see if I can “get it”. Due to having a minor knowledge of Mr Rundgren i wasnt going in with a negative opinion, or really a positive one. But i was curious.

My Reimagined Rankings

31 - Little Red Lights
I just couldn’t get into this one

30 - Buffalo Grass
Not bad, but I wasnt feeling it

29 - Black Maria
Maybe this is the blues or maybe it isn’t, but while the musicianship is great, I just struggled with it

28 - Dust in the Wind
I could see myself enjoying this with maybe more patience, but theres a lot of songs to get through here

27 - Hideaway
Some 80’s cheese on this one. Quite fun

26 - Seven Rays
Has definite moments of enjoyment. Just maybe too long and proggy. In the right mood, I could really dig this

25 - Parallel Lines
I really enjoyed the vocals on this one. Maybe the first one i really enjoyed

24 - Lysistrata
This is a song i persisted with. Nothing on first listen, but by the third i sensed it was worth hammering away with. Probably listened to this one the most and its real good.

23 - Too Far Gone
This sounds very similar to the one i knew very well. Same album as well. Enjoyable

22 - Be Nice to Me
Simple and lovely. Resonated with me strongly

21 - Hammer in My heart
This is such a fun track. Sort of like Devo. It Sounds like about 10 other songs I cant place my finger on as well. Probably one i dont want to over listen to though.

Comments to date
I have quite enjoyed the variety of styles, the obvious talent on display and am looking forward to seeing where this list heads. As expected, not everything hits my preferences, but nothing made me cringe and due to the variety, the anticipation of what to expect next is there.
 
"The Beast and Dragon, Adored" is one of my favorite rock songs of all-time. It's the beginning to an album that probably goes in the top ten albums of my life. As those that draft with me might note that I've pointed out before, it's a summation of each track on the album and was rumored to have been sequenced (for sequencing nuts like MAC_32, Eephus, and others) as the last song on Gimme Fiction. The rocker gets serious right away, however, and is a wonderful introduction to a multi-dimensional album spanning a bunch of genres.

From a Songfacts quoting of Britt Daniel in Pitchfork

Spoon lead singer Britt Daniel told Pitchfork the story behind the opening track to Gimme Fiction: "I had the idea for a title: 'The Beast and Dragon, Adored.' That was supposed to be the album title, actually. Since it was one of the last songs we recorded for Gimme Fiction, the idea was that I would go back and mention as many of the other songs on the record in the song. So it mentions 'I Summon You.' 'Learning my scene' was from 'The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine.' In a way, it was also just a song about the making of the record, because we'd been away for a long time and I had gone down to Galveston, Texas, and done writing by the seawall. I had to find this feeling. It was a really hard record to make. I had writer's block during part of it. Maybe it was because it was the first time we'd really had some success. It felt different. Maybe I got distracted. There were a lot of late nights in Austin.

The beast and dragon were in the title of some French piece of art from the 16th century. They were signs of the apocalypse, and I had grown up hearing a lot about the apocalypse. My dad is Catholic, and my mom is non-denominational Protestant. My parents split up when I was 8, so I would go to the Catholic church with my dad and the Protestant church with my mom. Once I went off to school, I wasn't going to church anymore, but my parents kept me at it as long as they could."
 
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rockaction said:
That Dinosaur Jr. video just hella ruled. Yes, I used "hella ruled" without irony in a sentence.

That guitar solo at the end set to the father was ex-****ing-quisite.
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The video was awesome. Most of the time I am blindly clicking on whatever comes up on youtube looking like the album track. I didn't watch many, but a couple of the 90s videos are truly terrible. Of course it's the bolded that grabbed me and kept the song creeping up on the list. As I said, I stick by my assessment of this album as whole. I tried again this morning, and I can't express exactly why it doesn't click when the albums around it I think are fantastic. Right after this song is a stretch of 4-5 songs that I would say might be some of the lesser songs of their entire catalog.

BUT let's get back to the positive - which is that this song came out of the listens and grew into one of my favorites. I actually underestimated it on first pass through, and put the song on so a had a representative of all the albums when I made my first playlist. But as you highlighted - oh my, that last 90secs. There seem to be a lot of these types of their songs on my playlist where they go out in a blaze of guitar greatness. Again, keep in mind my "rankings" aren't official on this playlist - I'd expect this one to be higher on the list if I had to do it today after dozens of additional listens. I think it's a great way to kick off top 15 though with a slightly new sound, but starting to build up our endurance for longer and longer epic solos. ;)

Also, thank you specifically for posting about the video. I have officially decided to go with my gut and love for the next MAD31s, and what solidified the selection was their amazing videos that I had mostly not seen before and will be babbling about that too.
 
I haven't figured out scientifically or anything, but it seems like Dino has about 3-4mins of "song" in them at a time and everything above that mark is Mascis solos. I feel if you scan the playlist's longest songs you pretty much know how much guitar soloing goodness you are getting. E.g. Watch the Corners is 5 mins, and we had 90sec at the and and probably a decent 20 sec solo before that. Garden was 3mins and I think I made the comment that I loved it despite the lack of soloing. Not 100%, and I do feel it applies more to their later output more.
 
rockaction said:
I'm so glad I didn't look at Modest Mouse's lyrics back when I listened to them and only went with that which wasn't on a lyric sheet because :suds::cry:is no way for a young, healthy man to feel all the time.

I didn't move to the city, the city moved to me
And I want out...

Can't do it, not even if sober
Can't get that engine turned over

I always knew the narrative was black as night just from feel alone. The deciphered indecipherable would have made it worse.
Click to expand...
I had a similar reaction the first time I actually read and listened to the lyrics with the song several years ago. A lot of his songs are this way for me now.
 
zamboni said:
The Dreaded Marco said:
But I’m headed to the Oregon Coast for a weeks’ vacation in a few hours and hope to listen to 17, 16 and 15 over the next couple days.
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The Oregon coast is on our bucket list for vacation. Have a great time and hope to hear about it when you get back.
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I've been going to Cannon Beach, OR to vacation almost every summer for 50 years. My grandparents, who lived there for whole summers when they were kids, took us grandkids there for a couple weeks every summer growing up. I tried to continue that tradition with my kids, and still try to make it up there every year.

The entire coastline is beautiful. One of my favorite places on Earth.
 
KarmaPolice said:
I haven't figured out scientifically or anything, but it seems like Dino has about 3-4mins of "song" in them at a time and everything above that mark is Mascis solos. I feel if you scan the playlist's longest songs you pretty much know how much guitar soloing goodness you are getting. E.g. Watch the Corners is 5 mins, and we had 90sec at the and and probably a decent 20 sec solo before that. Garden was 3mins and I think I made the comment that I loved it despite the lack of soloing. Not 100%, and I do feel it applies more to their later output more.
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Huh. I'll have to see if I notice that. I laughed upthread because the thought is amusing enough.

Right now I'm listening to the trio of albums from 2007-2012 and reading the Pitchfork reviews to see what I've missed. I guess your least favorite is the one with "softer, more spacious" songs . They say it's the Jr. album that sounds most like their post-Barlow ones. I'm on Farm right now, on the first Barlow-penned track "Your Weather." It has such a beautiful vocal melody. Team Lou!

Regardless, it's so refreshing to hear a rock band that actually wants to shred and rock and isn't deterred by poptimist or modern cultural sentiments. Not that they're not down with either scene, but it rarely comes through in their music -- which in essence, might get at what you're saying in your comment. I'll add this: Dinosaur Jr. isn't in service of anything. It's rock music for rock music's sake.
 
The Dreaded Marco said:
I had a similar reaction the first time I actually read and listened to the lyrics with the song several years ago. A lot of his songs are this way for me now.
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Yeah, I'm not saying it's bad or anything -- just that it's awfully difficult to look back and see how relatable the lyrics were, and me, an obscenely wealthy person (by world standards), untroubled by war demands and death as of that point. One would think one could save the personal tragedy laments for actual tragedies, but such is life. I was personally making mountains of molehills and molehills of mountains. As Tom Cruise/Mav would say, giving the bird to the enemy while he was "inverted."

That's not to condemn myself. I guess I had to go through being a younger/ish man. Nor do I condemn Isaac Brock and his lyrics (I still think his lyrics are penetrating enough to elicit "best of generation" status for rock, partially because I pay so little attention to so few other rock lyricists). I haven't walked a mile in his shoes to judge.
 
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rockaction said:
KarmaPolice said:
I haven't figured out scientifically or anything, but it seems like Dino has about 3-4mins of "song" in them at a time and everything above that mark is Mascis solos. I feel if you scan the playlist's longest songs you pretty much know how much guitar soloing goodness you are getting. E.g. Watch the Corners is 5 mins, and we had 90sec at the and and probably a decent 20 sec solo before that. Garden was 3mins and I think I made the comment that I loved it despite the lack of soloing. Not 100%, and I do feel it applies more to their later output more.
Click to expand...

Huh. I'll have to see if I notice that. I laughed upthread because the thought is amusing enough.

Right now I'm listening to the trio of albums from 2007-2012 and reading the Pitchfork reviews to see what I've missed. I guess your least favorite is the one with "softer, more spacious" songs . They say it's the Jr. album that sounds most like their post-Barlow ones. I'm on Farm right now, on the first Barlow-penned track "Your Weather." It has such a beautiful vocal melody. Team Lou!

Regardless, it's so refreshing to hear a rock band that actually wants to shred and rock and isn't deterred by poptimist or modern cultural sentiments. Not that they're not down with either scene, but it rarely comes through in their music -- which in essence, might get at what you're saying in your comment. I'll add this: Dinosaur Jr. isn't in service of anything. It's rock music for rock music's sake.
Click to expand...
I think you are on an album it seems to apply a bit to. Off the top of my head, I'd guess Farm has 3 of their longest 5 songs and has solos pushing over 4 mins. My least favorite is the 2012 output. IMO the only misstep on Farm is track 12 or at least the placement of said track (I do think it's the worst on the album though and hate that it's the album closer).

What you are talking about is what I wished I did more as I was going through - dig into reviews, interviews, videos. I will say, that is in the process of being corrected for Part 2. I think having a stronger base knowledge of a band will help that, as I don't have to focus quite as much on stuff I hadn't gotten to.
 
An interesting exercise would be @rockaction to get to the 2016 album and see if he agrees that having 0 songs off it on the countdown is as big of a misstep as I currently think it is.

I'm not sure if it would be annoying or we don't want to start that trend, but I did think about including 6-10 songs extra songs in the playlist I share at the end that weren't talked about or heard on the countdown for a little bonus, and 2 each would probably come from the last couple albums since there was only 1 song combined from them on the countdown. Or I just include those in my final write up with a call to those interested to not forget about them while exploring.
 
KarmaPolice said:
An interesting exercise would be @rockaction to get to the 2016 album and see if he agrees that having 0 songs off it on the countdown is as big of a misstep as I currently think it is.
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I heard that it was a really good album. What I can't do is judge it against a catalog that I don't know backwards and forwards. Those earlier albums -- and even the '90s ones -- aren't in my immediate recall. You've spent a lot more time on this than I have, by the way. I thought "Daft Punk," "31 songs," "let's do a list after one or two times through the catalog."

I certainly didn't think it over it like you seem to have. I think if you ran into a DInosaur Jr. devotee, you'd get some squawking and squabbling, but nothing coming from me.

I'll listen to that album later. See if I can't conjure up an opinion or two.
 
Like the Slade instrumental song this round.
I’m halfway through Phish - not sure if we have back to back instrumentals for the first time (?) or if lyrics will kick in (Phish song I’m not familiar with here).
 
KarmaPolice said:
IMO the only misstep on Farm is track 12 or at least the placement of said track
Click to expand...

Barlow. Yeah, it's probably not sequenced properly. This should break up some of the guitar solo-heavy songs. But it's an indie effort, so you're not going to have an A&R guy going "Hey, fellas, about Lou's warbling on Track 12."
 
rockaction said:
KarmaPolice said:
IMO the only misstep on Farm is track 12 or at least the placement of said track
Click to expand...

Barlow. Yeah, it's probably not sequenced properly. This should break up some of the guitar solo-heavy songs. But it's an indie effort, so you're not going to have an A&R guy going "Hey, fellas, about Lou's warbling on Track 12."
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I am also biased and think track 11 would be an epic album ending, mic drop track.
 
KarmaPolice said:
Galileo said:
KarmaPolice said:
I'm not sure if it would be annoying or we don't want to start that trend, but I did think about including 6-10 songs extra songs in the playlist
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lol...I have 31 extra songs in my playlist at the end I will share. I doubled it.
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:lol: OK, I won't feel bad about 10 extra then.
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I figured people could choose to listen or not...on them if they are interested. I know there are several titles in my second set of 31 that some here will be surprised aren't in my top 15 to come. The Kinks catalogue is sizable and filled with goodness. I could replace the back half of my list with a completely new set of songs and still feel comfortable with the list as favorites.
 
rockaction said:
KarmaPolice said:
IMO the only misstep on Farm is track 12 or at least the placement of said track
Click to expand...

Barlow. Yeah, it's probably not sequenced properly. This should break up some of the guitar solo-heavy songs. But it's an indie effort, so you're not going to have an A&R guy going "Hey, fellas, about Lou's warbling on Track 12."
Click to expand...
Same issue with My Morning Jacket's It Still Moves. The album is very guitar-solo heavy, the next-to-last track being a "mic drop" epic, and the last track is an acoustic song (which isn't all that great). Not how I would have sequenced it.
 
25 thoughts on some #15s I haven't mentioned yet.

1. Turn It on Again - I've always liked the intro to this song. It's my second favorite off of the Duke album.
2. What's The Use - I find this relaxingly groovy.
3. Emily Dickinson - I like his voice on this one, especially on the verses.
4. Watch the Corners - This is good. I the guitar and his voice on this one.
5. What About Love - This was a big album for them in the mid-80s.
6. Totally Natural - The outro reminds me of when The Who used to destroy their equipment at the end of a show.
7. Don't Stop Me Now - 💃 weeeeeeeeeeeee
8. This Time Tomorrow - I love this. I like the gentle playing of the guitar and the vocals are very well done.
9. Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues - Ryan is channeling the Stones, and pulling it off well. I like the guest/backup singer on this.
10. Supersonic Rocket Ship - Another one of their songs where I love the instruments in it.
11. Everybody's Going to Heaven/King Kong Reggae - Todd's gateway to heaven is via hard rock. 🎸
12. Aerodynamic Beats / Gabrielle, Forget about the World - Richard Simmons could have led some good workout routines at Raves.
13. Halo -Dave sounds good on this one, and I like those drums.
14. Multitude of Casualties - I like the guitar in this one. I think maybe that the lead singer's speaking voice sorta reminds me of Adam Duritz's speaking voice. I'm not sure, though.
15. For Once In My Life - 🌞 This song has good vibes.
16. Sing A Mean Tune Kid - Play a mean solo, Terry. 🎸
17. Ma-Ma-Ma Belle - Close encounters of the Rock'N'Roll kind are blaring from ELO's spaceship.
18. Black Gives Way To Blue - :cry: Love that Elton played piano on this tribute song to Layne.
19. Locked In The Trunk of My Car - This is a really good TH rocker.
20. Dive - Lots of different sounds going on in this song, but it's the bass that stands out to me. That very last 1 or 2 seconds made me laugh.
21. Cowboy Dan - MM and Bauhaus have been the weirdest bands to me, but in a good offbeat creative way. My favorite parts of this song is the beginning with the tambourine and the outro.
22. The Beast and the Dragon, Adored - This song sorta reminds me of a slow number Ian Hunter would have done. That's a compliment.
23. Darker - Good late night driving song.
24. Poor Poor Pitiful Men - I like this lively version.
25. That's the Way I Wanna Rock N Roll - :headbang:

I like a lot of other's from the #15s too.
 
John Maddens Lunchbox said:
Comments to date
I have quite enjoyed the variety of styles, the obvious talent on display and am looking forward to seeing where this list heads. As expected, not everything hits my preferences, but nothing made me cringe and due to the variety, the anticipation of what to expect next is there.
Click to expand...

love the takes JML - appreciate you taking the extra time to go through his stuff!
 
rockaction said:
"Burnout" might be my favorite Green Day song just for the first line. First track off of the first major-label backed album they did. Succinct, to the point, and a declaration

I declare I don't care no more

I used to think that was "I did but I don't care no more," which isn't quite the declarative but works nonetheless.
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I've liked every song by them so far. Are they still a band or did they disband?
 
plinko said:
simey said:
.
6. Totally Natural - The outro reminds me of when The Who used to destroy their equipment at the end of a show.
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This is exactly what … would do. They definitely wore their influences on their sleeves, be it the Who, Pink Floyd (we’ll hear this later), Janes or the Pumpkins. They even have a track that sounds like a Magical Mystery Tour reject
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They destroyed various things at all three shows I saw.
 
The Dreaded Marco said:
zamboni said:
The Dreaded Marco said:
But I’m headed to the Oregon Coast for a weeks’ vacation in a few hours and hope to listen to 17, 16 and 15 over the next couple days.
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The Oregon coast is on our bucket list for vacation. Have a great time and hope to hear about it when you get back.
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I've been going to Cannon Beach, OR to vacation almost every summer for 50 years. My grandparents, who lived there for whole summers when they were kids, took us grandkids there for a couple weeks every summer growing up. I tried to continue that tradition with my kids, and still try to make it up there every year.

The entire coastline is beautiful. One of my favorite places on Earth.
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I forgot you were from Washington - my bad. Will definitely have to reach out for advice if/when we go.
 
JML’s Reimagined rankings
Part 2 - Jorge Ben Jor 31-21 re-ranked
Drafter - @Don Quixote

Every songs gets 3 full listens, more if I feel its going somewhere and i need to persist. If I havent given it 3 listens, its because something really annoyed me. That will show up in the comments

Prior Knowledge of artist
None. Zip. Bubkus.
During my 1977 rundown i asked for an international flavour to complement my own knowledge and DQ cane to the party with some fun stuff I enjoyed, especially William Onyeabor.

Expectations
I had one hand on the panic button and one hand behind my back due to likely not understanding a word spoken. I knew Don Quixote wouldnt pick any old rubbish, so i expected quality. This may be the hardest list for me to rank correctly. I do expect to enjoy it more than some lists which are not my style at all. Not understanding what is said is crucial. It loses one of the senses.

My Reimagined Rankings

31 - Se Segura Malandro
I just couldn’t get anything out of this song

30 - Eu Vou Torcer
Didn’t grab me. Pleasant enough

29 -Zagueiro
Tried to flesh this one out to no success. Like all here it is great on the ears, but trying to get more was difficult.

28 - Bebete Vaobora
Bounces along nicely. Could dig this with more patience

27 - Magnolia
This one I found quite interesting. It has a good feeling

26 - Oba La Vem Ela
This is where I started to enjoy them more and wasnt getting frustrated lol

25 - Carolina Carol Bela
Enjoyed this one quite well. When you know a song is about a woman, its half the battle. He could be saying she eats babies or he loves her deeply though

24 - O Telefone Tocou Novamente
Very smooth. Not sure what the change in vocal pitch at the end is all about though. Would have been higher if i knew what was going on lol

23 - Meus Filhos Meu Tesouro
This one sort of transcended my lack of understanding and i really enjoyed the music

22 - Rita Jeep
This one resonated and it chugs along quite well. A fun track

21 - Agora Ninguem Chora Mais
A well structured and paced song. It has class written all over it. Im hoping for better in the top 20, because if they are better than this that can only be a good thing.

Comments to date
The music here is great. Its high quality stuff. The lack of understanding in the lyric makes it hard to make an emotional connection. Im not the most lyrical guy, but understanding if a song is a love song, a rant or about the bomb that dropped on Hiroshima all makes a difference. I do look forward to the rest of the list though as there is plenty I can appreciate here and i want to listen to music out of my comfort zone

Part 3 is Brandi Carlile
 
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