Music genres you don't 'get'

[PKTrekGirl]

And PKTrekGirl, you should try Thrice. Their vocalist can scream and sing, both.

See, now I took your suggestion and went and watched a few of their videos (Artist in the Ambulance, Red Sky, Image of the Invisible). I like them just fine, but I don't consider them metal - to me they sound like the harder end of alt rock on the first two songs, with some punk overtones in the last one (which was also well within my comfort zone already - everything from The Clash to The Pixies to The Ramones to Jane's Addiction I already liked). So I would class them as sitting right on that Alt Rock/Metalcore line.

My favorite bands of all time are bands like Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains...and current bands I kind of like are bands like Breaking Benjamin, Alter Bridge, Filter, QotSA, etc - which are pretty much along the lines of Thrice, from what I can tell. I also like Bullet for My Valentine, which I think is probably closer to death metal than is Thrice (though still a couple of steps removed, I guess). And as I said, I have recently been playing the hell out of The Birthday Massacre...which seems to be sort of a black metal/industrial metal fusion with a singer that is not really either, but who absolutely makes it all work.

Now granted, I have only listened to a few Thrice songs now...but I think Alice in Chains and Bullet are harder than they are. And I see a huge difference between those bands and death metal.

What I'm trying to get to here is something that is closer to death metal. I like Thrice...but that was not a reach for me. I'm trying to get to a place that is a bit of a reach...but not too far, if you know what I mean.

I don't know...maybe Killswitch Engage is that next step away from Bullet for my Valentine....What do you think?

 

[O'Dib]

One of the rare bands I like death vocals in: Isis. Mostly because the screaming portions are few and far between, and the rest of it is slow, sludgy, metal. Sometimes they even sound like chillout.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS3NkhjsBf0[/yt]

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

KsE is definitely harder than Thrice; Thrice was harder in their earlier days, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCUSzSProPw

Underoath can be pretty heavy, more screaming as opposed to clean vocals than later Thrice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1oedTV7Sbc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQy5674frWM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPisHjRRrtU

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Rap - let's face it, we're all going to say this

Well each to their own, but personally I love it. A lot of it's rubbish, but when you've got a charismatic MC, great lyrics and top quality music - ah, that's what it's all about!

I like a wide range of music (rock, hip hop, jazz, soul, classical), but I've never really been able to get into dance or electronic music (barring electro pop like the Pet Shop Boys). I've tried, but it never does it for me.

I also find most metal pretty uninteresting. There are a few bands I like, but in general I tend to find it pretty hard to stomach at album length.

 

[lurok]

What I don't understand is why I have an easier time with non-Western forms of singing, and that includes with women, than I do with opera. Most of the time I hear Westerners make fun or even say it's scary or grating. But to me it's the most beautiful thing in the world. Especially Middle Eastern music.

Have you tried Natacha Atlas and Sussan Deyhim?

 

[Bob Morton]

I gave up along time ago trying to get people to like Death Metal. It's my fave and has been since about 1988; doesn't reduce my enjoyment if you like it or not.

I have over 500 Death Metal CD's (that's real plastic, not 1's and 0's on a hard drive).

I think the thing that most people don't get is that they can't stand the vocal (I'll be the first to admit that it's not really singing) and can't understand the lyrics. After listening to Death Metal for 20+ years, I can't understand the lyrics either! What appeals to me in Death Metal is the skill & creativity of the musicians, the speed and precision with which they play their instruments, the complexity or simplicity of the song structures and how the vocal interacts and compliments the music. The vocal in Death Metal is really just another instrument, played in a characteristically extreme manner.

Another significant portion of my collection is Jazz and I think alot of what attracts me to Death Metal is the same as for Jazz; barring the vocal and the distortion pedal.

Some of my Modern Death Metal faves are Fleshwrought, Ulcerate, Vireamia, Lost Soul, and Fleshgod Apocalypse. None of which will appeal to someone that doesn't already enjoy that form of music.

In Jazz I enjoy Pat Martino, Jaco Pastorius, John Coltrane, Ornette Colman, Wes Montgomery, Wayne Shorter, and Dave Brubeck.

What I don't get is Country Music. I think it's the antithesis to Death Metal - it's all about the lyric and a lesser emphasis, if any at all, on the musicianship.

 

[bigdaddy]

Anything metal, opera and anything Christain, more so Christain rap.

 

[Australis]

Music with cookie monster vocals. Why does it exist? I've heard them in rap and metal and a few other things, and to me it just adds nothing.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

What I don't understand is why I have an easier time with non-Western forms of singing, and that includes with women, than I do with opera. Most of the time I hear Westerners make fun or even say it's scary or grating. But to me it's the most beautiful thing in the world. Especially Middle Eastern music.

Have you tried Natacha Atlas and Sussan Deyhim?

I liked what I heard of Natacha Atlas when she guest starred in Peter Gabriel's project, Big Blue Ball (she sang "Habibi"). From that, I would definitely be willing to try more of her stuff. Is it easy to find, in the US?

 

[lurok]

I liked what I heard of Natacha Atlas when she guest starred in Peter Gabriel's project, Big Blue Ball (she sang "Habibi"). From that, I would definitely be willing to try more of her stuff. Is it easy to find, in the US?

I'm not sure but I would guess so as she was pretty commercial At the very least I imagine she'd be on iTunes or other alternatives.

 

[Goliath]

I'm not sure why, but I have a much easier time with literally screamed vocals, like in metal, than with some opera--generally with female voices.

Yes--it's the sopranos that really seem to bug people, for some reason. Opera fans have always loved high voices: castrati--male sopranos--were the rock stars of the 18th century. But a lot of ordinary people really seem to dislike them, except when they're members of choirs.

I think that's one of the reasons why the Three Tenors were such a big commercial success. The tenor is perhaps the most pleasant--or the most inoffensive--of operatic voices. And when people realized they were not going to be subjected to any "screeching," they discovered that the music was actually quite nice, in small doses.

Personally, most of my favourite operatic singers are mezzo-sopranos--women with slightly lower, darker voices. Mezzos are often cast nowadays in parts formerly sung by castrati, in "trouser roles" (i.e. they play male characters), or as villainesses, seductresses, sorceresses, etc. Carmen, from Bizet's opera of the same name, is probably the most famous role for mezzo-soprano.

Someone once summed up the roles sung by mezzos in three words: "witches, bitches, and britches."

 

[ITL]

I'm not sure why, but I have a much easier time with literally screamed vocals, like in metal, than with some opera--generally with female voices.

Yes--it's the sopranos that really seem to bug people, for some reason. Opera fans have always loved high voices: castrati--male sopranos--were the rock stars of the 18th century. But a lot of ordinary people really seem to dislike them, except when they're members of choirs.

Let's give it a listen, shall we?

Not my cup of tea, but there you go. Apparently he was in his 40's - and past his prime - when that was recorded.

And as for "getting" a genre - I "get" everything. I just don't like everything. It's never a puzzle to me why any music has it's followers.

 

[J.T.B.]

What I don't get is Country Music. I think it's the antithesis to Death Metal - it's all about the lyric and a lesser emphasis, if any at all, on the musicianship.

"If any at all?" Nashville sessions are as selective and demanding as any in LA or NY, only the very best need bother to apply. It may not sound like it to you, but it is not easy to play.

--Justin

 

[PKTrekGirl]

KsE is definitely harder than Thrice; Thrice was harder in their earlier days, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCUSzSProPw

See, that doesn't even sound like the same band to me.

Now granted, I only selected 3 songs almost at random from YouTube...and you gave me this one (not sure if this is typical of their early period or an extreme that was presented to illustrate how much they have changed)...but the styles, to me, are completely different. Not a step or two two to one side or the other...but movement several steps in the lighter direction.

I can only imagine what their original fan base thought of this drastic re-directioning. I bump into a fair number of Metallica fans & detractors on YouTube (particularly in my Alice In Chains circles) and seems like there is a lot of bitching about them 'selling out' (I wouldn't know - I don't listen to their music, based purely on the fact that Hetfield is a total dickwad ) But I would imagine that if a band like Metallica was taking heat for 'going soft', these guys surely must be as well.

Underoath can be pretty heavy, more screaming as opposed to clean vocals than later Thrice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1oedTV7Sbc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQy5674frWM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPisHjRRrtU

Yeah...this is pretty intense.

*sigh* Maybe I'm just not meant to like death metal.

I mean, I want to, kinda. And I do try things. I actually was kinda good with that band ISIS that O'Dib posted last night - I listened to that and the roaring didn't seem as bad. Maybe because I felt like it was well placed in the music, and not just roaring for the hell of it. I don't know.....

I guess what I'm looking for is sort of a death metal 'lite' - for people like me, who like hard rock, punk rock, industrial rock..and the grungier side of grunge but haven't been able to make the leap say, past a band like Bullets.

Maybe I should just be okay sticking with Bullets. You can't love everything.

 

[Jetfire]

PKTrekGirl,

I think you might like alot of Nu-Metal...which is a mix of rock, metal & rap. I like Nu-Metal...and it isn't as harsh as death metal.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw1dYptM2ZM[/yt]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw1dYptM2ZM

and check this out, more nu-metal(some of the same bands) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dhs5cF_Vlo&feature=related

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I'm not sure why, but I have a much easier time with literally screamed vocals, like in metal, than with some opera--generally with female voices.

Yes--it's the sopranos that really seem to bug people, for some reason. Opera fans have always loved high voices: castrati--male sopranos--were the rock stars of the 18th century. But a lot of ordinary people really seem to dislike them, except when they're members of choirs.

Humm...well, I would characterize myself as an opera fan...but while sopranos don't 'bug' me or anything, I get edgy if they spend too much time in the highest registers.

For me, whether or not I really love an opera is more about the composer than anything else. I tend, for example, to really love Mozart's operas (Don Giovanni is probably my favorite opera). But then, I love Mozart in general.

Although, now that I think about it, Don Giovanni does have a 'darker' nature to it...and thus perhaps more emphasis on the lower voices....baritones, basses, etc.

I do love that libretto though.

 

[Goliath]

Humm...well, I would characterize myself as an opera fan...but while sopranos don't 'bug' me or anything, I get edgy if they spend too much time in the highest registers.

I should have been clearer: I meant most opera fans, throughout history.

That's one of the reasons why everybody knows the expression "prima donna," but relatively few people have heard of the "primo uomo".

Non-fans may not know that in opera, the "prima donna" is the "leading lady"--many of whom have become legendary for being--well--prima donnas.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

PKTrekGirl,

I think you might like alot of Nu-Metal...which is a mix of rock, metal & rap. I like Nu-Metal...and it isn't as harsh as death metal.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw1dYptM2ZM

and check this out, more nu-metal(some of the same bands) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dhs5cF_Vlo&feature=related

Wow, interesting variety on that first video (haven't watched the second one yet, but will!). Some of those bands, I'm already familiar with but never really considered them to be 'metal'. For example, Puddle of Mudd, Staind, and to a certain extent Incubus, are all alt rock bands in my mind. And they are several steps removed from, say, Slipknot (which I am also familiar with).

Still, that video was very helpful - thank you for posting it. I am gonna have to watch it again with a pencil and paper, because there were more than a few bands in there that I think have potential for me. I can't read all the names on the album covers though...so I may need your help on a couple of them I liked, based on these short clips.

But yeah...even setting aside the bands I would have classified as alt rock (and thus well within my comfort zone already), this group is more palatable to me. Thanks so much!

 

[Goliath]

Not my cup of tea, but there you go. Apparently he was in his 40's - and past his prime - when that was recorded.

Those Moreschi recordings are important historical documents, but the man was past his prime, as you say.

I think you can actually get a better idea of what the great castrati sounded like by listening to modern recordings. Modern vocal training techniques have made it possible for talented mezzo sopranos like Vivica Genaux to sing the extremely elaborate and difficult arias written for 18th-century castrati like Farinelli.

Genaux, for example, has recorded two different versions of the aria "Qual Guerriero in Campo Armato". This is the second. To understand the appeal of this sort of thing, I think you need to keep in mind that it's the vocal equivalent of an extended guitar solo. It sounds nothing like a "song," as most people understand it--but then, neither does a guitar solo.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAsGggoysOQ&feature=fvsr[/yt]

 

[Jetfire]

PKTrekGirl,

Ok...here is a list.

22. Saliva
21. Nonpoint
20. Mudvayne
19. Puddle Of Mudd
18. Staind
17. P.O.D.
16. Papa Roach
15. Ill Nino
14. Disturbed
13. Drowning Pool
12. OTEP
11. Incubus
10. Linea 77
09. System Of A Down
08. Slipknot
07. HED P.E.
06. Coal Chamber
05. Soulfly
04. Limp Bizkit
03. Snot
02. Deftones
01. KoRn



Some bands I think you should check out if you haven't heard already...

Static X "Push it"
Trapt "Headstrong"
Machinehead "Now I Lay Thee Down"
Kittie "Cut Throat"
Mushroomhead "Simple Survival
Chevelle "The Red"
American Head Charge "Seamless"
Primer 55 "Loose"
Adema "Giving in"