100 Things That I Love About Music

I'm one of those people who can't just settle at listening to the music of an artist or band.
Once someone has caught my attention I'm doomed to delve into the individuals character.
Nothing fascinates me more than learning about some of the great music individuals, their personalities, life and lifestyles of artists like Bowie, Curtis, Byrne, Eno, Strummer etc etc and especially the countless and colourful soul artists out there.
It's almost an obsession and learning about them adRAB another dimension while listening to their songs. Love it.
 
One thing I love about music is the instruments, all of them, I can't really think of one I don't like, they all have something special about their tone and they add a unique flavor to a song. I also love people who still make new radical instruments for a living, that to me is an important musical contribution that gets overlooked. Chapman sticks
 
And all of them sucked.

Buckethead is different - he's a compositional genius...not some washed-up grunge-era band that's somehow still selling albums.
 
I wish I had some Sennheisers... I have been a victim to so many broken earphones that I probably should get some decent headphones.

Sir Psycho Sexy is probably my fav switch... goes from funky dirty sex talk to absolutely bliss. There's another one playing in my head... I just can't put a name to it at the moment.

EDIT: Got it... it's Jakob - Malachite. I don't know if it's quite what you're talking about as it doesn't greatly change the feel of the song... but I love the bit at about 5:10 where an extra guitar track is added over the top. Really kickstarts it before it finishes. Ehhh, I wish youtube audio quality wasn't so crap... it takes a lot away from the song.


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#76. Album Artwork.

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There is no two ways about it. Album artwork is a huge selling factor in music, especially if you know naff all about the music contained therein. Nevertheless album artwork can instill an appreciation of art that was never there before.

A shedload of albums, especially those associated within the 'Metal' genre have terrible artwork. At one point in the 80's i thought they were running a competition for worst album cover. Nevertheless, my appreciation for art sprang from persusing the gatefold album sleeves of the 70's and 80's. All of a sudden, names like H.R.Giger and Hieronymus Bosch came to my attention. This lead to an appreciation of Monet and a divergence to Dali etc.

A lot of music used cover art as a tool to seperate itself from the mainstream. Whether the music was good or not, how many of us over 30 bought an album because of it's artwork? I bet there is a few.

That is the beauty of cover art. It is akin to a woman. Until you peel the visual layers away, you don't quite know what to expect, but first impressions last sometimes.
 
Well that's not exactly what I meant. Take my 100 people who make me love msic thread. I can name 100 music related people who piss me off a lot easier, because even though I already have my top 20 figured out, it's hard to do the middle of the list, because every time I think of someone I think they should go higher then the current spot I'm at in the list, but if it was about who I hated, position wouldn't matter as much.
 
#86. Film Soundtracks

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I am not talking about the latest bland blockbuster tie in. I'm talking about the soundtrack to those smaller/cult/cool pictures that unearth tracks that you have never heard and quite frankly; blow your mind. Scorsese is a genius at the perfect soundtrack, Tarantino is brilliantly idiosyncratic and Mann marries the image perfectly to the arabience of a track. Three examples why you should watch films more (purely from a musical standpoint):

Deathproof O.S.T (Quentin Tarantino). How foot tappingly awesome is this:

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Raging Bull 0.S.T (Martin Scorsese). Nothing short of movie perfection:

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The Insider (Michael Mann). Sorry I have posted this in a comp but ex Dead Can Dances' Lisa Gerard is an amazing soundtrack specialist.

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#85. That Album That You Did'nt Like On First Listen But It Is Now Played To Death.

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Sometimes these are the real beauties in your collection. Usually it is from a genre that you don't listen to or it is an album devoid of hooks and memorable riRAB or content. However SOMETHING in the record makes you want to listen to it again...and again....and again...and again. These albums are ridiculously rewarding because each time that you listen to it, you find something new. A sequence of notes that you did'nt hear before. An arabience that was just lost on you. A lyric that fits so snugly into that track's musical theme.

Music is a strange beast and it is that unpredictability that keeps my world spinning.
 
For me simple is the best, i dont think much of the album art of Iron Maiden and the type of prog albums you mentioned (though i respect them), for me good album art has to be striking and in your face yet very simple. Some of my favourites.

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They tend to be arty banRAB :D
 
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