TrekBBS vs. the Music

[Alidar Jarok]

3. The Refreshments - Banditos

This song sounds fresh today still despite being 15 years old. Funny lyrics too, I do like it. This song got absolutely nowhere in the UK IIRC, and is probably the only song anyone will remember from this band sadly. I would recommend the whole album to anyone reading this, a real slice of Americana.

Interestingly enough, even though I'm the one who posted that song, this advice applies just as strongly to me. I actually didn't even know them as a 90s one hit wonder, I knew them as a band that got played on the radio as a "you might remember this 90s one hit wonder, but probably not." I thought the song was so catchy it was worth keeping.

Except for maybe the comment about Soundgarden's best album. I'd go with Superunknown, but Down on the Upside pulls a close second in my book.

Yeah, I also tend to go with Superunknown. That being said, when it comes to the major bands, I try to avoid their best known song or songs (for Pearl Jam, I went with State of Love and Trust for that reason). I feel a lot of Superuknown falls into that category (Spoonman and Black Hole Sun definitely fall into this category, Fell on Black Days is pretty close).

Plus, Burden in My Hand is amazing, so it was a no brainer.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Jetfire, Sworn and Broken was a single off of their last album, which was released in 1996. So perhaps you heard it on the radio or something. And the fact that it had a video might have made it more visible as well.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Yeah, I also tend to go with Superunknown. That being said, when it comes to the major bands, I try to avoid their best known song or songs (for Pearl Jam, I went with State of Love and Trust for that reason). I feel a lot of Superuknown falls into that category (Spoonman and Black Hole Sun definitely fall into this category, Fell on Black Days is pretty close).

Plus, Burden in My Hand is amazing, so it was a no brainer.

Oh, completely agree on all counts. Burden in my Hand was a perfect song to post, because it's an awesome song (one of the best off that record, although I like Pretty Noose and Blow Up The Outside World quite a bit as well) but not as well known to the general public as songs like Black Hole Sun.

Although I never miss an opportunity to watch that Black Hole Sun video. That video is just so frakkin' bizarre!

 

[Pingfah]

Ha! I would LOVE to review these songs, but I will resist, for the time being, in order to give someone else a chance (but they better not wait too long or I will be on job! ).

Yoink!

Well, that's okay. You reviewing them basically falls into the category of 'saves me the effort', since I agree with pretty much everything you said.

Yeah, I get that a lot

Except for maybe the comment about Soundgarden's best album. I'd go with Superunknown, but Down on the Upside pulls a close second in my book.

Well they are both fantastic albums obviously, but Superunknown can be a little bit sludgy at times. It's an extremely serious album, whereas DOTU has more melody, more diversity and beltingly good tunes IMO.

I know all the cool kids in the grunge fanbase prefer their earliest albums, but I don't care. I'm perfectly happy loving their big label efforts.

I suppose so, although I think maybe Badmotorfinger would probably be the most common fan favourite which was the major label debut. Before that I think they did some great music but they hadn't really come together as the powerful and precise unit they became on the later albums.

Did you know BTW that Chris Cornell didn't mean to reform the band? It was an accident. When he tweeted "School is back in Session, the Knights of the Sound Table ride again" he was actually just referring to the launch of the new website, and the forthcoming Telephantasm compilation. Of course all the fans assumed he meant the band had reformed, and they were overwhelmed by so much fan interest they felt awful about letting everyone down

Also, the new album they are working on is going to be "not another rock or metal album". Should be interesting. I have complete faith in them.

 

[Jetfire]

Here are mine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLOfluH8mgQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NczLNctogZk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=842qlTabY98

Is anyone gonna review my songs?

I am looking at you PKTrekGirl...

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Here are mine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLOfluH8mgQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NczLNctogZk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=842qlTabY98

Is anyone gonna review my songs?

I am looking at you PKTrekGirl...

Oh my...don't know what to make of that invitation! But fingers crossed for no death metal.


1. In The Dark - The Birthday Massacre
Wow. I was holding my breath during the opening bars, waiting for that godawful death metal 'singing' to begin....but was pleasantly surprised by some chick with an excellent voice...singing to a hard rockin' tune....for which they made one funky-ass cool video.

Seriously, Jetfire, this may be the best song you have posted in this entire thread, as far as I'm concerned. These guys are all the things I love about metal...without all the things I don't love about metal. Positively epic! I will definitely be following up on these guys...and if other songs are similarly good, I will be making another trip to Amazon. I almost don't even want to go on to the next one - I'd rather watch more of these guys other videos right NOW. 11/10


2. Orgy - Fiction (Dreams in Digital)
So where the hell have you been hiding these bands for the last 24 pages of this thread? Cus I like these guys too. These guys are more on the harder end of alt-rock, as opposed to metal...but I like their sound. And another funky-ass cool video. Bonus points for the girl being a Cylon in the end. I will check these guys out some more also...although I'm still more excited about The Birthday Massacre. 9/10


3. Psyclon Nine - We The Fallen
Good grief. Just when we were getting along so well, too.

I can't imagine you thought for one nanosecond that I would like these guys. So I won't be coy about it - this quite literally is music from the depths of hell. I mean, this is some seriously scary shit. Barely made it through the 'song' (and I use that term in only the most general sense, mind), and the only way I did make it through the song was to pretend I was listening to an NCIS episode where Abby is playing her music in the lab.

This was just horrendously....horrendous.

Not into that whole death metal COMBINED with black metal. It's just too much. 3/10 and that's only because I acknowledge the fact that they are clearly good at what they do. I just REALLY, REALLY dislike what they do.


As for my picks, I really wasn't planning on reviewing or picking tonight and am monumentally unprepared...so I'm gonna have to come up with something quick. Not all that imaginative, but I'll try and come up with something more obscure next time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU7YK6zW4nI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swfVBPcCpb0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=penvn9VL32Y

 

[Jetfire]

PKTrekGirl,

Welcome to the darkside! The Birthday Massacre is a great band...Chibi the singer is totally hot...love her. Love the whole goth synthrock metal-pop sound.

Orgy has been around for a while...like the band alot...they were signed to KoRn's label back in the day.

Psyclon Nine is industrial metal...they put Marilyn Manson & Nine Inch Nails to shame...IMO. They do mix in black metal into their industrial sound.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Did you know BTW that Chris Cornell didn't mean to reform the band? It was an accident. When he tweeted "School is back in Session, the Knights of the Sound Table ride again" he was actually just referring to the launch of the new website, and the forthcoming Telephantasm compilation. Of course all the fans assumed he meant the band had reformed, and they were overwhelmed by so much fan interest they felt awful about letting everyone down

Heh. I had, of course, heard that tweet-quote. Perhaps the most famous line in grungedom of the past 3 years, since, as you said, everyone (including me) assumed it meant that Soundgarden was getting back together...and that got massive buzz. And of course, in the Pearl Jam community, curiosity as to how Matt Cameron could possibly survive first chair membership in TWO epic grunge bands at one time! I mean, just when we were getting used to referring to him as something other than 'Pearl Jam's new drummer - You know! That guy who used to be in Soundgarden!'. I mean, it only took us, like, 12 YEARS to come 'round to believing he would actually stay...and thus cease referring to him as 'new'.

It's funny that Chris Cornell didn't mean it that way...but good on them for pulling it together for the fans. IMO, Soundgarden together is much better than it's individual parts - I much prefer Soundgarden to anything Chris Cornell has done since, to be honest...although Audioslave was okay, I guess.

Any word, though, about if they are getting along this time 'round? I'd like to think that being older and wiser (hopefully), they could put their differences aside to make Soundgarden work...but IIRC, they nearly came to blows onstage by the end of the Down On the Upside tour.....And Chris Cornell is not exactly known for being the most stable individual on the planet.

Also, the new album they are working on is going to be "not another rock or metal album". Should be interesting. I have complete faith in them.

Not rock? Not metal? So what are they gonna do? Elton John covers? (I know...painful to think about)

I am definitely looking forward to hearing what they come up with. I really hope it's good, and is a huge success. I'd really like to see them move forward together.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

PKTrekGirl,

Welcome to the darkside! The Birthday Massacre is a great band...Chibi the singer is totally hot...love her. Love the whole goth synthrock metal-pop sound.

Orgy has been around for a while...like the band alot...they were signed to KoRn's label back in the day.

Psyclon Nine is industrial metal...they put Marilyn Manson & Nine Inch Nails to shame...IMO. They do mix in black metal into their industrial sound.

Psyclon Nine is industrial metal??? Now granted, my repertoire of industrial metal is limited to Nine Inch Nails and...well, that's it. Just Nine Inch Nails.

But these guys do NOT sound at all like NIN. At least not to me.

NIN just doesn't have that heavy-duty Satanist thing going on (or that screeching either!)....and that seems to be this band's forte. I mean, I do hear some of that industrial sound, I guess...but it is WAY overshadowed by that black metal vibe and that godawful screeching. To me, these guys are in a separate universe from NIN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDsqpeiTqg8

Separate universe.

I've been responding to Pingfah since I did my review...but I'm gonna go listen to more of The Birthday Massacre now. I really liked those guys a lot.

 

[Jetfire]

PKTrekGirl,

I think I posted "Blue" by The Birthday Massacre before...um really like the song "Red Stars" & "Kill The Lights" is good.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

PKTrekGirl,

I think I posted "Blue" by The Birthday Massacre before...um really like the song "Red Stars" & "Kill The Lights" is good.

Ha! Well, that's interesting, because I went over to YouTube and just picked a couple of videos with a lot of views, assuming those were the more popular singles, and ended up picking "Blue" (which I somehow must have missed earlier ) and "Red Stars"". Both of which I liked.

You know how I'm always going on about bands not 'doing anything new'? Well, this band is NOT those. I mean, these guys are truly incredible. Somehow, they manage to seamlessly combine this dark thrash/industrial goth sound with the voice of that singer, who seriously has the voice to be a pop singer, you know? And her voice lightens the thing up just enough for me. Like putting just enough creamer in my coffee. Perfect.

I will go listen to Kill the Lights now. But feel free to post a few more suggestions, because I like the 3 I've heard so far.

Just curious - did you expect me to like these guys? Or are you surprised?

 

[Jetfire]

PKTrekGirl,

I had no idea you would like them. Um...just look through their stuff..."Looking Glass", "Nevermind", "Broken".

I haven't heard all their stuff...but I enjoy everything I have heard...

But I am surprised you havent heard Orgy Blue Monday cover.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Kill The Lights = great song too. Looking Glass looks like it has a video attached to it, so I will watch that one next.


As for Blue Monday...I recognize the song, but not their cover of it. I was around when New Order did it the first time.

But I do like that cover. Updated for the new millennium and everything! I think I might like the cover better than New Order's original, in fact.

 

[Jetfire]

I like the Orgy cover & the original by New Order.

Glad you like The Birthday Massacre.

 

[Thestral]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU7YK6zW4nI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swfVBPcCpb0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=penvn9VL32Y

Superchunk - Hyper Enough
Not a band I'm familiar with but they've got a good sound. The quality's a bit rough, is that the video or their sound supposed to be that way? Anyway, good guitar work, nothing really standout about the drums but its solid. The vocalist took me a minute, but he does a great job too. Heh, I liked the way the drummer kept going on after the song ended, nice touch. Always good to hear rock that's having fun, too. Good classic mid-90s rock, not sure what else to say about it other than good stuff and I'll listen to more. 9/10

Skin Yard - Inside the Eye
Heh, a nice driving song with the guitar pushing and pushing - it's almost as much percussion as the drums themselves at first, but gets more creative as the song goes along while not losing that driving sound. The singer doesn't really stand out either way to me, but does a good enough job. Definitely another song where I'm focused more on the music than the singing or lyrics. Good sound, very... hmm, Stone Temple Pilots (did I just display my own utter ignorance? )? Overall excellent song by another band I don't know. 8/10

Modest Mouse - Dashboard
You know what's weird about Modest Mouse? I've heard of them and been told I need to listen to them for years, and every time I hear one of their songs I really like them, but I've never made an effort to seek them out beyond when they're pointed out to me. Anyway, they've got a great sound, although the singer's voice is ocassionally a bit grating to me. Though at other times I really like it, so... Anyway, excellent instrument work and they've got a sound that's familiar but also very much their own. One of the things I really like that Modest Mouse does is bring in a variety of instruments (or at least sounds), which always improves a song for me. Thanks for this, it's reminded me I need to listen to more Modest Mouse. 9.5/10

My three:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeq5mQw7MMo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLLEBAQLZ3Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoBa9p1Bu2w&feature=related

 

[Eyes]

My three:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeq5mQw7MMo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLLEBAQLZ3Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoBa9p1Bu2w&feature=related

Bowling For Soup - High School Never Ends
I've heard of this song, but I've never listened to it. I'm glad you pointed it out to me. I'm guessing that there's definitely some sort of message here, but the pop-rock combination makes it great to listen to at the same time. 8/10

Sunrise, Sunset - From Fiddler On The Roof
I've never seen this film, but again, I've heard of it. I can't deny that it's beautiful music, certainly, but having not seen the film, it doesn't do that much for me. However, it is similar to some other film music, and it's nice easy listening. 6/10

Enter The Haggis - Lanigan's Ball
Well, I didn't expect this. Some sort of rock/metal mixed with the Irish folk tune. I don't know what to make of this, but I actually really like it. Quirky, and the Irish makes it catchy and well known enough to really enjoy it on first listen. 9/10

My three:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m48EcFrgf3M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI_5tbSwh3A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erhilgorTSE

The last two songs, I've only just heard myself. Plucked them from a release schedule.

 

[Jetfire]

My three:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m48EcFrgf3M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI_5tbSwh3A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erhilgorTSE

The last two songs, I've only just heard myself. Plucked them from a release schedule.

1. Little Boots "Earthquake"

Never heard before. Sounds like dance/pop. Not bad. B-Good.

2. Starboy Nathan "Diamonds"

Never heard before. Pop/Hip hop...not too bad...like something I would hear out at the club. C-Ok-Average.

3. Fenech Soler "Stop And Stare"

Never heard before. Sounds like dance music...electronica. Not too bad...but I can only take this stuff in small doses. C-Ok/Average.

Here are mine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8GS2rwk-oE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY3CehyfUko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH2HzGoaHEg

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Enter The Haggis - Lanigan's Ball
Well, I didn't expect this. Some sort of rock/metal mixed with the Irish folk tune. I don't know what to make of this, but I actually really like it. Quirky, and the Irish makes it catchy and well known enough to really enjoy it on first listen. 9/10

Eyes, you might be the perfect person to ask this. I listened to this song last night and liked it alot, but am I the only one who finds it a bit odd that this is a Canadian band that named itself after a Scottish dish, that plays Irish-inspired music?

With a name like that, I thought sure this band must be from Scotland...but the music sounded Irish and so I had to look them up, figuring no Scottish band would be so much about Irish music. I mean, I don't know THAT much about the politics of your country...but I have always been under the impression that the Irish are very proud of their history/traditions (including music) and the Scottish feel the same about theirs. So it just seemed a bit 'off' to me.

However, when I looked them up on Wikipedia, I was surprised to learn that they are from frakkin' CANADA!

Go figure.

Anyway, this is what Wiki says about their name:

The name is a reference to the diverse nature of the band's sound. Like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HaggisHaggis (the food) the sound of ETH is a mixture of diverse and unusual elements, brought together to create something new.

Not so sure I'd want my band's 'diverse nature' to include reference to ground up sheep organs....but whatever.

 

[Eyes]

Enter The Haggis - Lanigan's Ball
Well, I didn't expect this. Some sort of rock/metal mixed with the Irish folk tune. I don't know what to make of this, but I actually really like it. Quirky, and the Irish makes it catchy and well known enough to really enjoy it on first listen. 9/10

Eyes, you might be the perfect person to ask this. I listened to this song last night and liked it alot, but am I the only one who finds it a bit odd that this is a Canadian band that named itself after a Scottish dish, that plays Irish-inspired music?

With a name like that, I thought sure this band must be from Scotland...but the music sounded Irish and so I had to look them up, figuring no Scottish band would be so much about Irish music. I mean, I don't know THAT much about the politics of your country...but I have always been under the impression that the Irish are very proud of their history/traditions (including music) and the Scottish feel the same about theirs. So it just seemed a bit 'off' to me.

However, when I looked them up on Wikipedia, I was surprised to learn that they are from frakkin' CANADA!

Go figure.

Anyway, this is what Wiki says about their name:

The name is a reference to the diverse nature of the band's sound. Like Haggis (the food) the sound of ETH is a mixture of diverse and unusual elements, brought together to create something new.

Not so sure I'd want my band's 'diverse nature' to include reference to ground up sheep organs....but whatever.

Well, I didn't look them up, but I was surprised to find that they were singing Irish stuff, with a Scottish name.

However, despite the name, I didn't get a Scottish vibe off of them. You are somewhat correct, it would be very unusual to find a Scot singing Irish folk music. I thought that they were American (or Canadian, as it seems), as they didn't sound like they were from the British Isles.
You can tell, I think, most of the time. Most British artists have a distinct sound that gives away their nationality. It's the ones that have a more generic sound that make it big in America, most of the time. Lowest common denominator and all, most Americans don't realise that they aren't American, and they're successful. Talking pop and RnB mainly here,the likes of Taio Cruz and Jay Sean, as that's the dominant genre in the charts today, but it still applies to rock artists.

One of my favourite rock bands, Biffy Clyro, are Scottish, and you can tell so much that they are Scottish when they sing. I didn't get this vibe from Enter the Haggis.
I assumed they were from New York or around that area (there are a lot of Irish people there, I think, or is that just Fairytale of New York playing at me again?), and some of the band might have Scottish ancestry. That's without looking them up.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

^ The Wiki articles says they are 'based' in Toronto...so I would assume most of the individual band members would be from that general area.

Thanks for your response - glad to know I was not the only one who was a wee bit surprised when the music started and it was Celtic-inspired.

So this band Biffy Clyro - have you posted anything by them in this thread? Perhaps I missed it? I have never heard of them...but I would be curious to hear some of their stuff if the mood should ever strike you.