The Nutcracker Suite is by far one of the greatest pieces of music I've ever heard composed by a human being, popular or not. Beauty and nostalgia incarnate. That would be on a short list of like 10 records I would take to a deserted island...where they had electricity
Wagner and Holst are two others I love, also extremely popular but I'd never discount them for it. Wagner is arguably the most influential, tour de force composer of all time.
I know it's out of left field, but I really enjoy Danny Elfman as a composer, in particular his 80s-90s stuff. Sure, some might say he 'doesn't count', he scores films and some of them are even musicals, but the guy turned the orchestration into more or less his own language, which for me is the mark of a true great. Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, and so forth.
BlackDragon480Bluster KerfuffleMaster of Windy ImportRegistered Userregular
edited May 2020
Operas would be Mozart's Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, along with Wagner's Parsifal. Large scale/ensemble would be Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique (especially 3rd and 4th movement and the fact he conducted it with a cavalry sabre once). Solo showcases would be Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu for piano and Ernst's play on Schubert's Erlking for violin:
Album isn't as good as this song, but it's still a kicker.
I really love "Nobody Knows Anything" off that same album. The John Bush era of Anthrax has a lot of middling material, but the highs are great. I was skeptical when Joey came back, having not enjoyed pre-Bush Anthrax as much as a lot of people, but their last two albums are pretty solid. Even my wife, who has never been a big fan of the band, comes back to For All Kings a lot.
I just think John sounds so much better in Armored Saint than in Anthrax, especially the first four culminating in Symbol of Salvation. But there are a few good songs when he was fronting Anthrax and I think Sound of White Noise is fairly solid. I still prefer the way Joey's voice had a clinical, melodic, almost lighter counterbalance against the punchy thrash riffs they used in the later 80s. Persistence of Time and Among the Living are still my faves by that band.
Any recommendations on where I should start with Wagner? I've always been intimidated, mainly because of the magnitude and length of The Ring.
All these folks trying to be the Hiroo Onoda of the Loudness War...
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jungleroomxIt's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered Userregular
Belladonna is probably the reason I never liked Anthrax. He always came off as the David Lee Roth of thrash to me, and I really couldn't ever get into DLR either.
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BlackDragon480Bluster KerfuffleMaster of Windy ImportRegistered Userregular
Any recommendations on where I should start with Wagner? I've always been intimidated, mainly because of the magnitude and length of The Ring.
I'd say Flying Dutchman would be the easiest to parse and follow along with. The story/libretto is far more straight forward than the Nibelungen, it's not as long as any of the Ring Cycles 4 titles (all of them are 3+ hours, Dutchman is about 2 and a half hours with intermissons), but still has some fantastic leitmotif and a couple of great arias:
I'd say Flying Dutchman would be the easiest to parse and follow along with.
I'll check it out. I've never been able to get into opera on the few occasions I've listened to any, but we'll see how it goes. I've heard a few of Wagner's overtures, though, and they're awesome.
The Nutcracker Suite is by far one of the greatest pieces of music I've ever heard composed by a human being, popular or not.
I feel like the very existence of the Suite is a crime considering how much amazingness is left over from the full ballet. I think if I was trying to make a suite from The Nutcracker, I would just keep adding scenes until I ended up with the entire thing again and have to start over.
Wagner and Holst are two others I love, also extremely popular but I'd never discount them for it.
It's wild how often blatant influences from "Mars" pop up. I was just listening to King Crimson's In the Wake of Poseidon the other day, and "The Devil's Triangle" is basically "Mars" injected with crazy prog mayhem.
All these folks trying to be the Hiroo Onoda of the Loudness War...
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jungleroomxIt's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered Userregular
I feel like the very existence of the Suite is a crime considering how much amazingness is left over from the full ballet. I think if I was trying to make a suite from The Nutcracker, I would just keep adding scenes until I ended up with the entire thing again and have to start over.
I don't disagree at all, this is one of those cases where you can't have too much of a good thing. I'm with you and prefer the entirety (I misspoke a bit earlier, my CDs have the whole thing).
I do think some of the highlights are clearly in the 'Suite' though, and can understand why those pieces were extracted to create such a 'highlight reel', I don't know that it would have achieved such widespread success otherwise (of course they've done this with many of the composers).
I didn't mean anything disparaging by "highfalutin", it's just that some people seem to discount works like The Nutcracker simply because they're popular. You know, snobbery. It's everywhere. But, regardless, if it's good then it's good.
If you're the sort of person that hangs out in a hesher thread, then you'll have definitely dealt with some sort of music snobbery >_<
surrealitychecklonely, but not unloveddreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered Userregular
yeah part is a sort of liturgical minimalist - he even developed an explicit style called tintinnabuli of which spiegel im spiegel is the most famous example
If you're the sort of person that hangs out in a hesher thread, then you'll have definitely dealt with some sort of music snobbery >_<
Haha. Beethoven so cvlt. Great band until they went choral on their 9th album.
Renaming the Eroica and later publishing it with the subtitle "composed to celebrate the memory of a great man," because he disapproved of Napoleon's later career was a pretty punk move.
If I had better Photoshop skills, I would definitely post a picture of Ludwig with one of Johnny Rotten's hair-do's. In fact, I would probably make that my avatar.
I should also mention that I picked up Jon Lord's definitive studio version of his Concerto for Group and Orchestra from 2012 (recorded just before his death) a while back. It's beyond awesome.
Since, auto brought up Danny Elfman, I gotta ask. What're everyone's favorite film soundtracks?
Mine are:
Danny Elfman: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Hans Zimmer: Dead Man's Chest and At World's End
John Williams: The Phantom Menace, Revenge of the Sith, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (yeah, yeah, the prequels. The music is the only good thing that came out of those. Although I sort of remember the Clone Wars cartoon being pretty good. I should probably listen back to the original trilogy soundtracks again; haven't done that in a while.)
Vangelis: Blade Runner
I suppose we could include game soundtracks too, but I find that most of my favorites (like Majora's Mask) aren't very conducive to listening in album form.
EthelTheFrog on
All these folks trying to be the Hiroo Onoda of the Loudness War...
Don't forget The Dark Knight for Zimmer (with J. N. Howard), "Like a Dog Chasing Cars" is one of the most powerful pieces I've heard in my entire life, instantly transports me to the Nolan-Gotham-skyline.
SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
La Masquerade Infernale by Arcturus was another one of those formative albums for me. I'm two songs into this livestream and it's awesome to see/hear this. I've never had the opportunity to see them live.
BlackDragon480Bluster KerfuffleMaster of Windy ImportRegistered Userregular
Nice seeing them bringing in new faces as this little side hustle continues. Though I am a Ronnie Atkins fan, this version ranks as my second favorite behind this one:
New Esoctrilihum is really good, lives up to its cosmic goblin album art. It feels a bit more accessible/melodic than his previous material, which could be super dense and exhausting, without sacrificing the heaviness and weirdness.
+1
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surrealitychecklonely, but not unloveddreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered Userregular
been digging around the instrumental end of low viewer count stuff and found a few fun things
VanguardBut now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
for some reason, most of what I, Voidhanger puts out doesn't jive with me. I'm glad they exist - having a label that is dedicated to finding the weird in the metal underground but I own 0 of their releases.
That Esoctrilihum album getting a lot of attention so I went back to it. Okay, this is awesome. I ordered that and their last album on wax to throw them a bone during challenging times.
I haven't been as much into many of his releases lately as I was once, I did really like the Epectase album and this new Esocthrilihum is also quite good.
In other news, Mork will be streaming a quarantine gig in a few hours:
TerribleMisathrope23rd Degree IntiateAt The Right Hand Of The Seven HornsRegistered Userregular
I wasn't expecting them to veer so closely towards death metal territory (occasionally reminds me of deathrash ala Layers of Lies), though brutal thrash is a perfectly acceptable moniker as well. A lot of fun and brutal as fuck and while carving out their own sonic niche a bit more and being creative with their sound. Also self-recorded and self-mixed to excellent effect by the drummer Adam "Hammerlord" Mitchell.
I wasn't expecting them to veer so closely towards death metal territory (occasionally reminds me of deathrash ala Layers of Lies), though brutal thrash is a perfectly acceptable moniker as well. A lot of fun and brutal as fuck and while carving out their own sonic niche a bit more and being creative with their sound. Also self-recorded and self-mixed to excellent effect by the drummer Adam "Hammerlord" Mitchell.
Every drummer looking for a stage name must curse Jan Axel Blomberg for taking Hellhammer. Even if he did filch it from the band of the same name.
TerribleMisathrope23rd Degree IntiateAt The Right Hand Of The Seven HornsRegistered Userregular
edited May 2020
LOL. I'm sure that's true, though I believe in Adam's case the band got named after him ... 8-)
I've been catching up on the thread yesterday and today and some of the youtube links are dead and the artist and album are somewhat unclear. No big deal, and it may not be worth the hassle, but much appreciated, if those few youtube links were fixed or a band and album name were included. Again, no big deal, just thought I'd mention it for those of a curatorial nature. \m/
TerribleMisathrope23rd Degree IntiateAt The Right Hand Of The Seven HornsRegistered Userregular
I spent 6 of the last 9 weeks traveling for work with 0 P.P.E. while the rest of the company WFH virtual commutes ... on the one hand, yay for a paycheck in the beginning stages of a global depression, on the other, this confirms that my employers prefer the money I make to my continued earthly existence. I can't remember a longer reign of terror off the top of my head, and so I'm feeling pretty fucking twisted metal myself, atm, even a bit ultraviolent. It's been good to catch up on the thread. Thank you.
Posts
Wagner and Holst are two others I love, also extremely popular but I'd never discount them for it. Wagner is arguably the most influential, tour de force composer of all time.
I know it's out of left field, but I really enjoy Danny Elfman as a composer, in particular his 80s-90s stuff. Sure, some might say he 'doesn't count', he scores films and some of them are even musicals, but the guy turned the orchestration into more or less his own language, which for me is the mark of a true great. Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, and so forth.
Fantasie as interpreted by Shishkin:
https://youtu.be/H4v4Ipl_UJI
A barely legal Hilary Hahn's Der Erlkonig:
https://youtu.be/UWNCbpwC-PQ
~ Buckaroo Banzai
I really love "Nobody Knows Anything" off that same album. The John Bush era of Anthrax has a lot of middling material, but the highs are great. I was skeptical when Joey came back, having not enjoyed pre-Bush Anthrax as much as a lot of people, but their last two albums are pretty solid. Even my wife, who has never been a big fan of the band, comes back to For All Kings a lot.
My Backloggery
I'd say Flying Dutchman would be the easiest to parse and follow along with. The story/libretto is far more straight forward than the Nibelungen, it's not as long as any of the Ring Cycles 4 titles (all of them are 3+ hours, Dutchman is about 2 and a half hours with intermissons), but still has some fantastic leitmotif and a couple of great arias:
https://youtu.be/xPYWOd5pJLs
And the rare basso profundo sighting:
https://youtu.be/B5Fjj6AoVDk
~ Buckaroo Banzai
I feel like the very existence of the Suite is a crime considering how much amazingness is left over from the full ballet. I think if I was trying to make a suite from The Nutcracker, I would just keep adding scenes until I ended up with the entire thing again and have to start over.
It's wild how often blatant influences from "Mars" pop up. I was just listening to King Crimson's In the Wake of Poseidon the other day, and "The Devil's Triangle" is basically "Mars" injected with crazy prog mayhem.
I don't disagree at all, this is one of those cases where you can't have too much of a good thing. I'm with you and prefer the entirety (I misspoke a bit earlier, my CDs have the whole thing).
I do think some of the highlights are clearly in the 'Suite' though, and can understand why those pieces were extracted to create such a 'highlight reel', I don't know that it would have achieved such widespread success otherwise (of course they've done this with many of the composers).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vdgZAJVnes
If you're the sort of person that hangs out in a hesher thread, then you'll have definitely dealt with some sort of music snobbery >_<
http://steamcommunity.com/id/pablocampy
used to play it with my father when i was small
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ6Mzvh3XCc
Haha. Beethoven so cvlt. Great band until they went choral on their 9th album.
!
My Backloggery
Renaming the Eroica and later publishing it with the subtitle "composed to celebrate the memory of a great man," because he disapproved of Napoleon's later career was a pretty punk move.
I should also mention that I picked up Jon Lord's definitive studio version of his Concerto for Group and Orchestra from 2012 (recorded just before his death) a while back. It's beyond awesome.
Since, auto brought up Danny Elfman, I gotta ask. What're everyone's favorite film soundtracks?
Mine are:
Danny Elfman: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Hans Zimmer: Dead Man's Chest and At World's End
John Williams: The Phantom Menace, Revenge of the Sith, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (yeah, yeah, the prequels. The music is the only good thing that came out of those. Although I sort of remember the Clone Wars cartoon being pretty good. I should probably listen back to the original trilogy soundtracks again; haven't done that in a while.)
Vangelis: Blade Runner
I suppose we could include game soundtracks too, but I find that most of my favorites (like Majora's Mask) aren't very conducive to listening in album form.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox7S0Nttbh0
All the people in the Arcturus feed comments talking about how it's 'old times' are making me feel REALLY old...haha.
My Backloggery
its a banger ladz
https://youtu.be/xKwQKqQ8MMY
~ Buckaroo Banzai
but then new haken song thats not bad?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYbiNGLtDkY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4GoBVkFIDM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xupn6fZgvjM
this is... noodly instrumental djent i guess?
https://clairvoyancedeathmetal.bandcamp.com/album/demohttps://clairvoyancedeathmetal.bandcamp.com/album/demo
filthy polish death metal
@desc
That Esoctrilihum album getting a lot of attention so I went back to it. Okay, this is awesome. I ordered that and their last album on wax to throw them a bone during challenging times.
In other news, Mork will be streaming a quarantine gig in a few hours:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJoC8T_G5YA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W130INpYIBk
https://hammerlord.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C4lK41SX-Q
And another:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8Mes7_jQew
try this
try this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PReGNI6LzA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4tdunDd_J0
Every drummer looking for a stage name must curse Jan Axel Blomberg for taking Hellhammer. Even if he did filch it from the band of the same name.
Steam | XBL
I've been catching up on the thread yesterday and today and some of the youtube links are dead and the artist and album are somewhat unclear. No big deal, and it may not be worth the hassle, but much appreciated, if those few youtube links were fixed or a band and album name were included. Again, no big deal, just thought I'd mention it for those of a curatorial nature. \m/
try this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aftYNevPkp0
My Backloggery
try this