What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XII)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 01 January 2016
2016 has arrived today, so time to start this thread afresh.
Last year's thread (and links to previous years) can be found here;
Jeff Anderson posted:
Bat For Lashes - "The Bride" (2016) my favorite of her releases.
Jeff, It's a good album but I think it lacks the darkness and rawness of The Haunted Man. Natasha's whispering voice is as "earthy" as usual though.
1997 - CD (rip)...
Tony2011 posted:
2010 - CD (rip)...
Haven't listened to this in a while. I wish he'd release more material as he's really talented.
Great album Tony 
Lambchop - "FLOTUS" (2016) to my ear it is a pretty natural segue from Tindersticks to Lambchop. My first listen to this new release from KW and the gang.
Florestan posted:Frederic Chopin: Seong-jin Cho (piano)
Winner of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition Warsaw 2015
I have been in one of my Chopin Prelude phases lately and so any recording I hear of them I find absolutely stunning. As usual, I attribute this to the music itself. In a heightened state I am only listening to what is behind the music - the fascinating details I don't normally hear when you listen without a specific purpose. So it is not putting someone against another and rating this one above another and so on. This doesn't interest me but I only will say that this week I have been especially intrigued by Seong-Jin Cho. For me, there is something very special about his playing and interpretations that strike a very deep chord within me. Of course, his extraordinary technique allows this. No one can really reach behind the music until you have the ability to technically achieve whatever is required.
What is special is his musical sensibility. It is that perplexing ability to have an outcome that sounds just the way it should be but the realization that what he is doing is just a shear miricle which cannot be duplicated. It is like finding the secret recipe for some marvelous meal but then finding that simply following the recipe gives an entirely different outcome. Why does my outcome differ? I want mine to taste (sound) like that and I am so determined and trying so hard to "copy" what I feel it should sound like but it isn't even close. Seong-Jin Cho is remarkable in this in that you may actually miss the true talent here if you are looking for fireworks or sugary coatings that only please initially. He finds meaning in the music without over or under cooking anything.
His voicing and the way he builds the architecture is, for me, quite wonderful and teaches me a great deal about how natural this music can sound and affect you when it is played in such a musical fashion. In my opinion, out of the last four winners of the Chopin Competition (Yundi Li | Rafal Blechacz | Yulianna Avdeeva | Seong-Jin Cho) I would say that Seong-Jin Cho comes close to being my ideal player and of course Yulianna Avdeeva comes next. The former two are also great players but are less intriguing for me as I find them colder and indifferent for the most part.
If you have a couple of hours to kill I would highly recommend the following:
Chopin: Op. 28 Preludes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da0PZGnB4ko
Schubert: This is very good !!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW_YRji_noM
...and if you want an absolute treat not specific to this pianist? One day, I want to be able to attend many of these famous competitions like the Chopin International...
Do You Speak Chopin?
This is on Tidle. Thanks for the post. I will try next.
1989 - CD (rip)...
Epic (Gremlins, anyone?) is a great track and so is their version of War Pigs.
Peter Gabriel to end the evening.
Peter Gabriel - Us
1987 - CD (rip) ...
A bit of Biafra's anarchic madness.
After a nice concert evening with Arabella Steinbacher....
Angel Olson - "My Woman" (2016) first listen after reading a Stereophile article about the artist and this release.
Nigel 66 posted:I've been listening to these 2 albums on Tidal. They're a big name band, with a very loyal following, but for me, I just don't get them at all. Well, at least I tried.
Good on you for giving it a shot. It's metal. Well not the Black album and I don't like it either.
Tony2011 posted:
2010 - CD (rip)...
Haven't listened to this in a while. I wish he'd release more material as he's really talented.
Great album but the follow up was awful. He played in Delamere a couple of years back, sorry I didn't go really
Overwhelming triggered by the other post...
dayjay posted:Tony2011 posted:
2010 - CD (rip)...
Haven't listened to this in a while. I wish he'd release more material as he's really talented.
Great album but the follow up was awful. He played in Delamere a couple of years back, sorry I didn't go really
The follow-up was a soundtrack. He used the proceedings of his first record to fund his first passion: movies. Of course, I could be biased and be accused of just endorsing a north London lad in the pursuit of his dreams. Far, far from me I can assure you.
Sting - "57th & 9th" (2016) Like to confound the hater's of Sting, Coldplay & U2. I like all 3. A lot.
On vinyl.
Lunatic Soul, Walking On. A Flashlight Beam. Couldn't settle on an album until I put this on. Tidal.
2003 - Tidal...
Never been a major fan of Mrs Williams but this album is something special.
2016 - Vinyl...
Jeff Anderson posted:
Sting - "57th & 9th" (2016) Like to confound the hater's of Sting, Coldplay & U2. I like all 3. A lot.
Used to adore them all but now they all sound same, and bit like jenifer lopez