What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XI)

Nice guitar jazz, smooth and tasteful 

The bad plus as only the bad plus can sound...

Tending to explore countries one-by-one; their religion, art, military history, etc...I've worked for an Indian company for some years now and have of course dug deeply.  With India there is a LOT to dig...working with many Indians and also Pakistani I've never much explored Pakistan.

Midnight's Children is amazing for me after working with Indian and Pakistani folk.  I have indeed read many Ghazal's by Hafiz (Persia), but was surprised when I discovered this song:

Mujhse Pehli Si Mohabbat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2&v=eIUS0yJELCg

Don't care who you are; this is good stuff. 

Note:  Note to sound condescending, but if you aren't familiar with Ghazal's and these cultures..."Beloved" is not a human they are in love with, but God...there are many repeating themes in these poetry and some repeated phrases actually have an easily transposed meaning:  Beloved, Wine, Intoxication, Mole, Nightingale...all have a more subtle meaning.

Seeing now a connection between Pakistan and Persian poetry I have a new vein to mine.

"Recorded closely enough so that you can hear him grunting along with the music, Hank Jones gives full vent to his melodic gifts in a brace of pop and jazz standards from several decades, never staying on any of them for more than five minutes, and rarely falling back on the usual pianistic bop patterns."

Recoil: Unsound Methods

Perfect for those times when you need something twisted, haunting and malevolent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu1BcNeebMI

Farm Machine by Steve'n'Seagulls

From another forum. Essentially rock greats done on banjo. Got a novelty factor but the vocals seem weak and it just seems to lack body. Maybe I'm too used to the originals. Bit of a larf though :-)

If anyone's interested...

That's brilliant!

My speakers are back from repairs in Denmark and are also upgraded. A perfectly good excuse to take a day off work.

First up after breakfast and dog walking was The Decemberists "The King Is Dead" and "What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World". I really like this band with its mix of styles of folk music, rock and pop music. There are more than a hint of REM style in there as well. The vocalist Colin Meloy has a great voice and uses it like an instrument too - much in the same way as another favourite artist of mine Jackie Leven. It's difficult to describe but they shift between tone and rythm instantly. Anyway, here are the albums:

On vinyl...

Streaming | FLAC

(2009)

I usually prefer to listen to these Sonatas and Partitas transcribed for Lute but for a change will listen to them on violin. 

I was greatly moved when I heard Ibragimova play in Manchester and pre-ordered this disc as soon as it became available. It arrived on what was her 24th birthday.'

What a revelation it is to hear this music played without the ubiquitous use of vibrato. The violin, when it is allowed to speak, has its own characteristic sound, as has the oboe or the clarinet. The over-use of vibrato suppresses it, it demasculates it. She also avoids the mechanical swelling of the middle of every long note, a practice that makes short notes without a swell and long ones with a swell sound as if played on different instruments. There is nothing mechanical about the way Ibragimova shapes her notes, which is always completely natural and highly expressive.

In fact, she plays this music as if it had not been written by another person at all, by a composer, but as if a greast creative surge through her was creating it for the very first time ever. And than that, surely, there can be no greater praise.' - Dr. Andrew C. Hempel

A great album from a great band!

Spinning vinyl here as well:

"best of Pixies - wave of mutilation"

On vinyl...

A great concert from the great lady.

The Smiths "The Queen is dead". I used to admire their music back in the late eighties. One of the few bands which actually had something intelligent to say in with their lyrics.

Inspired by SteveJ post..

CD

Best band ever, bar none. 

Oh dear, oh dear

My thoughts exactly Dave. 

One from my youth on vinyl.

Streaming | Deezer Elite

(1967)

Because its been a long while since I listened to these boys.

Hehe, certainly one of the very best!

I was surprised to see you in a shop window on my way back from work last week and I just had to take picture of it..

Best to get on with the music... I bought Roseanne Cash' last album in May and haven't really had an opportunity to listen to it before now. It's not The Smiths-good but I can highly recommend it! 

"The River & The Thread" is labelled as americana and that it is, but there's also country & western, blues, roots and sing song with strings an all'

Wow, what a corker. I'm much smaller...