Music Queries

[Sebastian]

Does anyone know who the band is with the song that goes 'let the bodies hit the floor'?.

Also, I want to try some Bruce Springsteen, can anyone recommend a good album(s) to start on?

[Cloud]

1) Drowning Pool

2) If you want balls-out rock n roll, Born In The USA. If you want introspective singer/songwriter, Nebraska. If you want both, The River.

Springsteen rules.

The best person to talk to about Springsteen would be John in the Bluenote music shop out by Eve Brown estate agents. He's probably the biggest Springsteen/Dylan/Young fan/geek I've ever met. He's my idol.

[hr][s]I want your skulls[/s]

[Mark]

Hey! I know John well, and allow me to assure you that he's less of a Springsteen fan than I am. Dylan, we're about on a par, though.

Anyway, yes, The Boss is great. Good albums to start on...

well, Nebraska is fabulous, but to be honest I actually find myself listening more to 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' when I'm in the mood for downbeat, acoustic mumbly Brooce these days. Both damn fine records though. If you like the classic E Street Band sound I'd recommend 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town' for a fantastic range of material, (including the Patti Smit-esque 'Candy's Room', a searing rocker called 'Adam Raised A Cain' and the brooding, majestic title track) or 'Born To Run' simply because it's THE bombastic, roaring down the highway ripped to the gills on Rock'N'Roll Boss album. The title track and Thunder Road are worth the price of admission on their own, and the rest of the album really isn't too far behind.

If you've got a bit of cash to spare and a DVD player, though, I'd actually point you towards either the Live In NYC or Live In Barcelona DVDs. Both are absolutely superb, and 'live' really is the best way to appreciate just how rich Springsteen's back catalogue is. No one album really comes close to capturing the essence of his music. The NYC set is more of a 'career best of' set, 'cos it's taken from the E Street reunion tour, and features some absolutely stunning reworkings of songs from throughout his career (the blistering electric workout on 'Youngstown' is one of the most powerful pieces of live rock you could ever hope to witness), while 'Barcelona' has the tremendous advantage of representing a complete show, from beginning to end. A load of stuff off 'The Rising' (and no bad thing...a damn fine record, if slightly overrated at the time of release. Errr...by me too, much as I still love it), mixed up with some really nice selections from the archives. A particular highlight would be the spine-chillingly beautiful solo voice/piano version of 'Incident on 57th Street' - one of THE best vocal performances I've ever heard from Springsteen.

Hope that helps. The problem with Bruce is that he's only really done two poor albums (Human Touch/Lucky Town), and even those are more 'mediocre' than downright shit. Although you could probably give the MTV 'Plugged CD a miss too - it's pretty middling for the most part. Other than that, it's just a matter of taste. The first two records lack the polish or sophistication of his later stuff, but still have some wonderful moments, while Born In The USA is far better than the overblown reputation would lead you to believe. Get used to the somewhat dated synths and there's a great powerful pop/rock album in there. The same goes for 'Tunnel Of Love', only with less rock, more synth, and a far darker, moodier tone overall. The best stuff on 'The River' is near-as-damn-it the best stuff he ever recorded, but it's a 2CD album, and there is some filler. Still one of my favourites, though. Worth considering if you really want a sampler with bits of everything, style-wise.

Steer clear of the 'Greatest Hits'...the title lies. Too many notable classics missing. 'The Rising' is a splendid return to full-on E Street form, but can easily wait until you've got more of the earlier stuff. The 'Live 75-85' 3CD set is excellent, but not as wide-ranging as you might hope. There's some good early live stuff on the first disc, but it's mainly from the Born In The USA tour (no bad thing if you like Big Rock Bruce, and there are some lovely gentler performances on there, but worth being aware of).

Shit, I've just summarized Springsteen's entire career. It was only meant to be a quick 2-minute post. Oh well...hope it makes sense, cos I can't be arsed to proofread it now.


ADIOS,

MARK

[Sebastian]

Thanks both of you. I'm very impressed, I expected a 'well try this album...', not an entire thesis. But thanks, much appreciated.

[Sebastian]

Yet another query, sorry about this. Can anyone recommend any good rap/hip-hop artists. I really don't know anything about this so I'm pretty much starting from scratch, but any pointers anyone can give me would be much appreciated...

[Mark]

Starting from scratch...

PUBLIC ENEMY

Best primer in almost everything that's good about hip hop. Progress from there.

Pick up 'It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back' or 'Fear Of A Black Planet' at the earliest possible opportunity. Two of the greatest albums of the past few decades.

[blueberry pie]

anyone know the name of the song and the artist for a punk song that has the words

"fear of flying"
"opening a can of worms"
"and I'm coming I'm coming I'm coming"

and something about a lightsabre?

Yeah, it's a long shot, but my ex-had it on her computer and she doesn't know either.

[Cloud]

[s]Sebastian wrote on 22:22, 19th Apr 2004:
Yet another query, sorry about this. Can anyone recommend any good rap/hip-hop artists. I really don't know anything about this so I'm pretty much starting from scratch, but any pointers anyone can give me would be much appreciated...


A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Beastie Boys, Jurrasic 5, The Roots.

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[s]I want your skulls[/s]

[Colin Seaton]

The track you're looking for is McLusky's Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues. It's opening track on McLusky do Dallas...