Music Choices

[Veronica]

We have book threads (thanks for the Hild recommendation!), but what kind of music do you listen to?

We've created a Pandora station that today has played lots of Pink, currently a Foreigner song, Yakety Yak earlier today, Stray Cats, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, Adele, Bowling for Soup, Springsteen...

I really like Pink for working out.

Veronica

[thekarens]

Love Pink! Generally listen to the top 40 station, but I also enjoy classic country, black gospel and classic rock.

[rebeccaC]

Sara Bareilles


http://youtu.be/eLHQ4H93P2Q

This is the Kit
http://vimeo.com/16163092#

Etta James
http://vimeo.com/34286523#at=0

Joni Mitchell
http://vimeo.com/13148100

Emily White
http://vimeo.com/9104181#

Beth Orton
http://vimeo.com/49401469

Indigo Girls
http://vimeo.com/4202107

http://vimeo.com/69399362

Laura Nyro
http://youtu.be/f6OqXRi8g08

http://vimeo.com/46816930

http://youtu.be/-yjmYfPk4kM

http://youtu.be/6HI0RfvXZhE

[OakLeaf]

It's easier for me to say what I don't really like ... new wave punk, metal, R&B, ambient. Any of those I'll listen to a little bit, and there are particular artists I enjoy, but when I browse for new music I don't tend to go to those genres.

Classical, I prefer to really pay attention than to have it as background noise, so I'm much more likely to go to a concert than listen to recorded classical music; when I do listen to a recording, I'm probably not going to be doing anything else but sitting there in my headphones with my eyes closed. I prefer instrumental music to opera or lieder.

Other than that, the playlist I use most often just grabs any non-classical songs I haven't played in the last six months. I put it on random shuffle ... old-timey country gospel, really angry French hip-hop, bluegrass, newgrass, classic rock, blues, Tex-Mex, current "alternative," jam bands, traditional West African music, American hip-hop, folk rock, pop, Afropop, traditional folk, and yes, a bit of punk, R&B and metal (though my two Gogol Bordello albums are more than I have of any other punk band, and their music really defies genre).

Bands I just discovered recently and really love: Lucius (sweet voices, tight pop), The David Wax Museum ("Mexo-Americana"), Tift Merritt (country/Americana).

I'm very fond of Cloud Cult (alternative rock, ethereal music, sometimes wrenching lyrics) and Nellie McKay (smart, sarcastic and/or ironic pop). Jean Grae (hip-hop) just released a delicious new three-album cycle. Anaïs Mitchell - whose latest project is traditional English ballads - wrote an amazing opera based on the Orpheus legend, entitled "Hadestown." One of the absolute highlights of my year this year was hearing Mitchell with Jeff Hamer at Nelsonville. They performed their second set in a very, very intimate little cabin, room for maybe 30 people inside and many more crowding the windows and doors ... their prepared set was from the Child Ballads album, but someone requested "Why We Build the Wall," and we sang it with Mitchell singing the Hades part and the audience singing the damned souls' responses. It was absolutely electric.

What I gravitate to when I'm really upset: Martha Argerich's performance of Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1, with Abbado conducting the LSO. Turned up loud enough to drown out the sound of the world crumbling outside.

[Irulan]

I stream KEXP most of the time unless I'm listening to something I've downloaded. KEXP is a member supported station run by the (Paul Allen) Experience Music Project. They play everything and really support new artists. Every evening they have a different show: rockabilly, African, honkytonk.... As you imagine my tastes are all over the place. Lately I've been into Thievery Corporation and a lot of downtempo electronic music, but also funk, British soul singer Joss Stone,


Thievery corporation "Lebanese Blonde" http://youtu.be/04bg9IC9N6w
Joss Stone "right to be wrong" http://youtu.be/mrRAbowav3M
Eva Cassidy, died young of cancer, had an amazing range and refused to be categorized which is why she never made it big.
Her rendition of Sting's "fields of gold" brings me to tears every time I hear it. http://youtu.be/95rACWPsKnU

For classical, I love the Russian composers, like the Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky piano concertos.

[shootingstar]

I've actually been playing Christmas music for last 2 wks. (Canada has its Thanksgiving, 2nd Monday in October...which for us (since most of Canada is a bit further north anyway), is way more appropriate because of blazing fall colour and just harvested fresh veggies, etc.) But holiday music tends to be classical choral music or classical instrumental with some carols. The music just gives me good memories, spirits, etc.

I'm boring...I listen to a lot of baroque. I haven't been listening much to contemporary music in the past decade or so. Yes, I thoroughly enjoy live baroque concerts and did go to one last weekend. I made me realize how much I loved listening to live concerts of that type of music. (And yes, in Prague we went to a live one. Made sure of it.)

[smilingcat]

Pandora doesn't support the kind of music I want to listen. Even my neighbor managed to stump Shazam. In fact another neighbor thought it was just fluke but one after another it failed miserably. My musical choices also stumped Shazam.

What good is it?

Okay so I used to listen to classical and opera a lot then started to like some country music but it drifted away from me. Folksy kind I liked, people like Mary Chapin Carpenter, Emmy Lou Harris. Also liked rock-a-billy kind of country like Highway 101... but it drifted. These days, I prefer listening to

Sissel Kyrkjebo from Norway (Angel passing through my room, Koppangen, Varen), Kale Moraeus; Lisa Nilsson (Utan Dina Andentag), Sonja Alden, CajsaStina Akerstrom (du) from Sweden; Andrea Berg, DJ Otzi, Helene Fischer, Claudia Jung... from Deutchland. None of these can be found in Pandora. Oh I also like volksmusik and Alpenmusik (Melissa Naschenweng)

My favorite still is Die Zauberflote (see even the spell checker marks as mis-spelled) von Wolfgang Mozart.

Sissel is absolutely the best. Better than Anna Netrebko me think, but Ms. Netrebko is a bonafide opera singer. Sissel is not. also like Haley Westenra from NZ.

oh I do like Pink but prefer Pink Martini.

Two versions of Over the rainbow a must listen are Israel Kamakawiwo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WFrMkPxa7I and Eva Cassidy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RDmXsGeiF8 both have died and both versions are better than Judy Garland HONESTLY.

BTW, does Asteria (13/14th century Burgundian Chanson) or Anonymous 4 come up in Pandora? both I like.

[Crankin]

No, Shooting Star, I am more boring! I basically don't listen to music. I quit using my IPod for outdoor stuff (walking, running), because I wanted to focus on being present in the outdoors. I don't even use it at the gym, if I am on a machine; I generally zone out and stare into space. I have no music on my I Phone and I truly don't have the inclintion to even learn how to download music from anywhere. I keep my radio in the car on one station, which touts itself as the "independent" radio station for greater Boston. They play a good mix of current stuff (Adelle), no rap, and introduce a whole lot of new artists. So, it's kind of an indie station. I do like classical music, instrumental, only. Actually had a 6 concert subscription to the BSO for a few years, but it was really expensive and the dates often conflicted with other stuff we had. They weren't very friendly about switching tickets, like our theatre subscription is. Can't stand opera, country, or heavy metal. I also like jazz, real jazz, not modern stuff. My dad was a jazz aficionado and played in a band with George Wein, the founder of the Newport Jazz Festival.
But, music has never been a big part of my life. I think I went to 2 concerts as a teen, and another 2 in college. I was forced into paying a little attention when I was a group exercise instructor. However, I bought my tapes pre-made, and never could answer the question, "Who sings this," when clients asked. I would have to tell them to wait until after class, so I could look on the tape.
DH is always playing music through our Apple TV device, and I am always asking him to turn it down!!!

[shootingstar]

"Two versions of Over the rainbow a must listen are Israel Kamakawiwo.." --It is a good version, smilingcat. I always feel wistfully sad (and I think of my sister when I hear it).

Crankin, I did listen to current pop, rock hits decades ago. But even as a student, I would get a headache of playing music with lyrics after 2 hrs. while studying. I focus best on intellectual tasks, with instrumental soothing music in the background. I play baroque when I do art.

I am accustomed for staring into space for hrs. ..as long as I see stuff along a trip or have people to look at. I've never been tempted to listen to iPhone, etc. music on any bike trips/rides. A person has an interior life, imagination and thoughts for me, that needs to flow and wander without distractions. Maybe it's my form of urban Zen state.

[Irulan]

Smilingcat- I enjoyed your post very much. I am going to look up some of the artists you have suggested. One thing interesting as I haven't tried Pandora for myself because of what I (don't ) hear on other's feeds. They have it at the gym and it sounds awfully repetitive to me. Every time they turn on, for example, the 80s road trip station, it is the same 15 songs. I don't have time patience to sit at the computer and tell a program what I like or don't like.....that's how you "build" your station, right? One of the reasons I love KEXP is that they do things like bring in artists like Snorri Helgason from Iceland that you've never heard of, for live shows and interviews.

I find it amusing also that I don't know who Pink is, but think Pink Martini is fabulous! Have you ever seen them live?

Streaming internet radio ( not talking services like Pandora, Shazam, Sirious) is a really cool way to get music that I don't see people doing much. There are many regular stations that have an internet feed, but also unusual stations like KEXP that have a huge online presence. Most are ad- free and many are member supported. You can get anything and everything, whether it's rock from London or Radio Ghana or non-top40 alternative mixes. I went through an African phase (love that "happy") music and you can tune in all the regional stations online.

There are so many choices out there- apps, streaming, services- I guess the main thing is to get what you want and find new stuff, unless you really like the same thing day after day. I have the music on all day every day while working, so for me it's important to have lots of options to suit my mood. I also have a huge collection on a media server hard drive so if I'm in the mood for a certain thing, I have it right there.

[Jolt]

I mostly listen to Celtic music...bands like Altan, Gaelic Storm, Irish Rovers, Danu, etc. If I am puttering around the house, I tend to have it playing in the background (Pandora is great for this, if a little repetitive as someone else mentioned). Not usually one to listen to music while running or doing other things outdoors, but if for some reason I have to use a treadmill or stationary bike music helps make it somewhat tolerable. I also have a few CDs with a mixture of different world music that I like to listen to in the car; usually I don't listen to the radio b/c there's too much talk and commercials and not enough music!

[azfiddle]

I am totally out of the mainstream- I mostly listen to Irish traditional music....

[Koronin]

Basically for me the music I listen to is 80's/90's Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, and some Pop.

[rebeccaC]

ani difranco

buildings and bridges


overlap
http://youtu.be/Ghoq37ykENk


patty griffin
heavenly day
http://vimeo.com/50399254