Non-Classical Music Listening Thread!

[71 dB]

Autechre - Chiastic Slide

[NumberSix]

The Jayhawks: Xoxo


This is pretty good alt country by way of 90s power pop.

So, Tom Petty? Yeah, not the first time I've thought it about their music.

[drogulus]

    The Tonyvishnu Orchestra

    I saw this lineup. John was playing some kind of crappy pawn shop electric.



     Yeah, that's it. It's a Mustang, a real POS from Fender.

   

[Bachtoven]

Dying Fetus' newest album is so brutal and technical--but also catchy at times.

My old technical death metal band Psypheria played with them once--they are really nice guys and very down to earth. (We also played with Morbid Angel, Nile, Cannibal Corpse, Immolation, Deicide, Crytopsy, Arch Enemy--you name 'em!)

Here they are in concert:

[Bachtoven]

Thanks, but about as metal as I get are Black Sabbath and Tool. I have very little interest in metal as a genre, but these two afore-mentioned bands are the exception.

Then don't even bother checking out Dying Fetus or any of the other bands I mentioned in my post!   (Unless out of sheer curiosity!)

[steve ridgway]

Being in a technical death metal band sounds fun @Bachtoven - what instrument did you play?

[steve ridgway]

Dying Fetus' newest album is so brutal and technical--but also catchy at times.

My old technical death metal band Psypheria played with them once--they are really nice guys and very down to earth. (We also played with Morbid Angel, Nile, Cannibal Corpse, Immolation, Deicide, Crytopsy, Arch Enemy--you name 'em!)

Here they are in concert:

Played a few minutes and it sounds fine but we have enough death metal in the car player for a good mix now .

[71 dB]

SPOTIFY:

Katy Perry - 143

KP used to be one of my favourite pop artist. Her second album Teenage Dream is imho a pop masterpiece. The last decade of her career has been like watching a terminally ill person fade slowly away. Each album has been worse than the one before. This has worked, because the starting point was so high in quality, but there are limits to everything. Her previous album Smile had only one great pop song (Daisies). I almost didn't get the CD.

So, Katy Perry dropped her new album, 143. I had very low expectations for it. Women's World is  lacklustre and the music video to it is a total mess. Lifetimes was better, but still very boring and generic house pop. The album has trap influences. Katy Perry isn't a trap artist. These are purely commercial choices to make the album sound cool (and familiar) for new generations. The music on this album simple (even for pop), generic and boring. It is content slop. There are no good songs on this album. The best songs (All the Love and Wonder) have potential and could became good songs with more ambitious production. There is no way I am going to spend money on this album. Even Smile felt like waste of money and it was clearly better that this one. In fact it is hard to believe an artist such as Katy Perry released a garbage album like this one. Yes, maybe this is made just to made some money, but this feels like a total flop. How much will this sell and make money? Katy Perry is insanely rich. What is the point of this? If there is no urge to create great music that has meaning to the creator, why bother? The only "accomplishment" this album is able to do is to rape Crystal Waters' Gypsy Woman. I would retire if I was her...

Rating: 1/5.

[Todd]

[steve ridgway]

SPOTIFY:

Katy Perry - 143

KP used to be one of my favourite pop artist. Her second album Teenage Dream is imho a pop masterpiece. The last decade of her career has been like watching a terminally ill person fade slowly away. Each album has been worse than the one before. This has worked, because the starting point was so high in quality, but there are limits to everything. Her previous album Smile had only one great pop song (Daisies). I almost didn't get the CD.

So, Katy Perry dropped her new album, 143. I had very low expectations for it. Women's World is  lacklustre and the music video to it is a total mess. Lifetimes was better, but still very boring and generic house pop. The album has trap influences. Katy Perry isn't a trap artist. These are purely commercial choices to make the album sound cool (and familiar) for new generations. The music on this album simple (even for pop), generic and boring. It is content slop. There are no good songs on this album. The best songs (All the Love and Wonder) have potential and could became good songs with more ambitious production. There is no way I am going to spend money on this album. Even Smile felt like waste of money and it was clearly better that this one. In fact it is hard to believe an artist such as Katy Perry released a garbage album like this one. Yes, maybe this is made just to made some money, but this feels like a total flop. How much will this sell and make money? Katy Perry is insanely rich. What is the point of this? If there is no urge to create great music that has meaning to the creator, why bother? I would retire if I was her.

Rating: 1/5.

The biggest surprise I got with Classical music was that of composers building on their knowledge and experience to actually get better with time - even in some cases into their 80s .

[Bachtoven]

Being in a technical death metal band sounds fun @Bachtoven - what instrument did you play?

Guitar.

[steve ridgway]

Guitar.

That must have been challenging. With regard to drums though, can you tell me if people physically play each of those insanely fast bass drum beats or if they require mechanical or audio processing assistance?

[Henk]

SPOTIFY:

Katy Perry - 143

KP used to be one of my favourite pop artist. Her second album Teenage Dream is imho a pop masterpiece. The last decade of her career has been like watching a terminally ill person fade slowly away. Each album has been worse than the one before. This has worked, because the starting point was so high in quality, but there are limits to everything. Her previous album Smile had only one great pop song (Daisies). I almost didn't get the CD.

So, Katy Perry dropped her new album, 143. I had very low expectations for it. Women's World is  lacklustre and the music video to it is a total mess. Lifetimes was better, but still very boring and generic house pop. The album has trap influences. Katy Perry isn't a trap artist. These are purely commercial choices to make the album sound cool (and familiar) for new generations. The music on this album simple (even for pop), generic and boring. It is content slop. There are no good songs on this album. The best songs (All the Love and Wonder) have potential and could became good songs with more ambitious production. There is no way I am going to spend money on this album. Even Smile felt like waste of money and it was clearly better that this one. In fact it is hard to believe an artist such as Katy Perry released a garbage album like this one. Yes, maybe this is made just to made some money, but this feels like a total flop. How much will this sell and make money? Katy Perry is insanely rich. What is the point of this? If there is no urge to create great music that has meaning to the creator, why bother? The only "accomplishment" this album is able to do is to rape Crystal Waters' Gypsy Woman. I would retire if I was her...

Rating: 1/5.

I like it. It's simple and the sound is pleasant. Very synth and spacy. Doesn't annoy me at all. Second song is stolen, that's my only complaint.

[Bachtoven]

That must have been challenging. With regard to drums though, can you tell me if people physically play each of those insanely fast bass drum beats or if they require mechanical or audio processing assistance?

They can actually do it! Most extreme metal drummers use triggers that activate samples of drums, but they still have to be able to play each strike. Our drummer used them live so we could count on having the same drum sound wherever we played and regardless of the abilities of the soundman. Triggers also allow the drummer to choose from a variety of sounds.

This is Nile's drummer. As you can see from the closeups of his feet, he's playing every hit:

[71 dB]

I like it. It's simple and the sound is pleasant. Very synth and spacy. Doesn't annoy me at all. Second song is stolen, that's my only complaint.

Nice that you like it. The songs don't annoy me (except for "Crush" which is just too stupid even for pop music). The music is just banal and lacks the epic feel Katy Perry used to have in the past. The production is good, but too simplistic. It sounds good for the great reverbs and effects, but those are just effects. Pop music can be much more than that.

[Henk]

Nice that you like it. The songs don't annoy me (except for "Crush" which is just too stupid even for pop music). The music is just banal and lacks the epic feel Katy Perry used to have in the past. The production is good, but too simplistic. It sounds good for the great reverbs and effects, but those are just effects. Pop music can be much more than that.

To my ears it's an adult sound. I prefer it to her earlier music. Perry grows up. And I grow up with her.

[NumberSix]

SPOTIFY:

Katy Perry - 143

*clip*

Rating: 1/5.

I haven't streamed the album and probably won't after the sampling she gave us. But given the quality of Pop Ladies' output right now - Chappell, Sabrina, Dua, Olivia, Charli, Kesha - the bar has been set pretty high for Katy. And she just doesn't seem to have what it takes anymore.

I am a little sad for her, but I am also embarrassed for her because she seems to be trying so hard and just coming across as ridiculous.

[NumberSix]

To my ears it's an adult sound. I prefer it to her earlier music. Perry grows up. And I grow up with her.

That's a nice perspective. Maybe I will consider changing my mind and giving it a go. But as I said, the bar for good Girlpop right now is pretty high. . .

[Henk]

That's a nice perspective. Maybe I will consider changing my mind and giving it a go. But as I said, the bar for good Girlpop right now is pretty high. . .

Kesha and Charli are a different category, they create their music themselves (Kesha I think as well?).

I don't really like Dua's new album.

[71 dB]

The biggest surprise I got with Classical music was that of composers building on their knowledge and experience to actually get better with time - even in some cases into their 80s .

This is about general trends in pop music. Pop music of today is simple and engineered to contain parts that can be used as music snippets in TikTok videos. I dislike that trend. Katy Perry could have worked against this trend and offer us something different, but she chose to be part of the trend. That's what is so disappointing.