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Ope3 said:
What was your take on Western Stars? I thought it was pretty strong and enjoyed the live/soundtrack version a little more with the increased role of Patti. I was glad I saw the movie in a theater.
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when it comes to Bruce, I am a traditionalist. It's one thing for an artist to experiment, but Western Stars was a step too far for me. It just got too far away from what I think of as the 'Springsteen sound' with the different instrumentations. There are some of his 'solo' albums I like (Tom Joad), but I would much rather hear him with the E Street Band in full roar. Never saw the movie on Western Stars.

Really, the last few studio albums (Working on a Dream, High Hopes) were just so-so for me. some of the songs felt like filler - in a way none of the classic albums ever did. I did like the Seeger Sessions. I've heard bits of the new album, and it sounds like much more of an "E Street Band" album.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
when it comes to Bruce, I am a traditionalist. It's one thing for an artist to experiment, but Western Stars was a step too far for me. It just got too far away from what I think of as the 'Springsteen sound' with the different instrumentations. There are some of his 'solo' albums I like (Tom Joad), but I would much rather hear him with the E Street Band in full roar. Never saw the movie on Western Stars.

Really, the last few studio albums (Working on a Dream, High Hopes) were just so-so for me. some of the songs felt like filler - in a way none of the classic albums ever did. I did like the Seeger Sessions. I've heard bits of the new album, and it sounds like much more of an "E Street Band" album.
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I prefer his E Street stuff as well, for sure.

Western Stars was essentially a concert movie that he held in his barn with selected friends in the audience, where he plays all the songs from the album. Before each song there is a 1-3 minute passage which either describes the song or Bruce looks back at parts of his life, with home movies and other footage.

I love hearing him talk, I wish I had made the pilgrimage to Broadway.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
the new album is supposed to be a much more traditional-sounding album with the full band involved. Apparently a lot of it was recorded live in the studio with a few overdubs.

anyway - chime in if you've heard the album. a making-of-the-album documentary is out on Apple+ TV - which I do not subscribe to.
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I just finished listening to Letter to You straight through for the first time. With high expectations, I can say it delivers. Just fantastic, nothing weak about it.
 

Ope3 said:
I just finished listening to Letter to You straight through for the first time. With high expectations, I can say it delivers. Just fantastic, nothing weak about it.
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picked up "Letter" over the weekend. my first reaction was a good album, but not great. Maybe it's my hearing, but it seems like the vocals were buried in the mix on a couple of songs. In general, I have had questions about the production on the more recent albums - a little too over-produced with too much compression for my taste. and more sax, please!

as far as the songs, I thought Ghosts and Last Man Standing were solid tracks. and the older songs he re-worked definitely have a different tone than the rest of the material. "if I was the Priest" was fun to finally hear - Springsteen played it for John Hammond during his original demo session for CBS. also interesting how different his version of "Janey needs a shooter" is compared to the version Warren Zevon did.
 









Bad Gopher said:
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Bad, I appreciate you putting up Lake Street Dive's music lately (their Beatles cover of Don't Let Me Down is wonderful), I had lost track of them over the last few years. If I recall correctly, there's a Minnesota connection with this band, am I right?
 

coolhandgopher said:
Bad, I appreciate you putting up Lake Street Dive's music lately (their Beatles cover of Don't Let Me Down is wonderful), I had lost track of them over the last few years. If I recall correctly, there's a Minnesota connection with this band, am I right?
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Yes! Mike Olson is from Minneapolis. Not to mention that Bridget Kearney is from Iowa City (went to HS with a good friend and national colleague of mine). When I saw LSD along the river in Des Moines in 2015, you could not wipe the smile off Bridget's face. She was high on life playing in her home state.
 

Andrew Bird dropped this video of his Christmas album yesterday. This record is purchase-worthy!

 

I've mentioned in a few threads that Chevelle is an underrated band, and my favorite band. New song released today, new album on March 5th. I can't wait!

 



This is a cool story. Fiona Apple's newest album has gotten a lot of praise, and the song Shameika gets a lot of airtime (at least on The Current). Fiona's middle school teacher reconnected her with the real life Shameika, who is apparently now a rapper in NYC. They hit it off and released a new song together, kind of sequel to the original. Pretty neat, IMO.





PS: This lyric is totally me. I still grind my teeth to an internal rhythm. :ROFLMAO:

I used to walk down the streets
On my way to school
Grinding my teeth to a rhythm invisible
I used my feet to crush dead leaves like they had fallen from trees
Just for me, just to be crash cymbals
 

Nokomis said:
This is a cool story. Fiona Apple's newest album has gotten a lot of praise, and the song Shameika gets a lot of airtime (at least on The Current). Fiona's middle school teacher reconnected her with the real life Shameika, who is apparently now a rapper in NYC. They hit it off and released a new song together, kind of sequel to the original. Pretty neat, IMO.





PS: This lyric is totally me. I still grind my teeth to an internal rhythm. :ROFLMAO:

I used to walk down the streets
On my way to school
Grinding my teeth to a rhythm invisible
I used my feet to crush dead leaves like they had fallen from trees
Just for me, just to be crash cymbals
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Fiona is still great.
 

Not exactly new (released in 2019), but I can't stop listening to this song.

 

The War on Drugs just played Colbert. Their new song kinda took my breath away. I'm saying this right now: when the live entertainment thing comes back, I'm seeking them out.
 

The Hold Steady with a new one, Family Farm.

 
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Ope3 said:
The Hold Steady with a new one, Family Farm. Craig Finn pays homage to the local 9.
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I was just going to post this on the songs you know by heart thread.

J/K Solid as always from the Hold Steady.
 

Bad Gopher said:
The War on Drugs just played Colbert. Their new song kinda took my breath away. I'm saying this right now: when the live entertainment thing comes back, I'm seeking them out.
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Their song Red Eyes belongs on any road trip compilation, IMO.
 

Not really new, as it was released in 2020, but I'm listening a lot to Mac Miller's "Circles" album. Good News was one of my favorite songs from the year end lists and I've found the entire album to be wonderful to listen to, and makes me calm. So very sad that he OD'ed, such a talented artist he was:
 

I've expressed my love for Chevelle many times on here, but their new album NIRATIAS was released on Friday and it might be their best one yet. I love every song on it, and it's a great blend of everything they've done over the years.

Ghost and Razor is one of my favorite songs that wasn't pre-released, it almost sounds a little Audioslave-ish.


They also made a beautiful slow song - Endlessly.

 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I've expressed my love for Chevelle many times on here, but their new album NIRATIAS was released on Friday and it might be their best one yet. I love every song on it, and it's a great blend of everything they've done over the years.

Ghost and Razor is one of my favorite songs that wasn't pre-released, it almost sounds a little Audioslave-ish.


They also made a beautiful slow song - Endlessly.

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Just got through my first full listen and I think it is safe to say that this is their best album yet....which is saying a lot. It's GREAT start to finish.
 


stocker08 said:
Just got through my first full listen and I think it is safe to say that this is their best album yet....which is saying a lot. It's GREAT start to finish.
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The only thing that takes it down slightly for me is the number of interludes, but every main song is really good. It's easy to listen to the entire album without skipping any songs.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
The only thing that takes it down slightly for me is the number of interludes, but every main song is really good. It's easy to listen to the entire album without skipping any songs.
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The interludes don't bother me much. I removed them when I ripped the album onto my computer. But yeah....every song is good. I think Remember When is the standout. But Endlessly, Mars Simula, and Self Destructor are all excellent as well. The remainder are all very good. Just a crazy solid album from front to back. And I think it knocks Sci-Fi Crimes off as the best Chevelle album by just a sliver.
 

New Dinosaur Jr album coming out April 23rd. They are also scheduled to play First Ave in September. I'm sure I'll get the new album but still a little unsure about getting a ticket that far out.
 


Mick with Dave, Eazy Sleazy

 

When I visited with Dante in November 2018 (!) he told me they were working on a new album. When they played at the virtual Mid West Music Festival in May of 2020, with only one exception they played songs I hadn't heard, making me think the new record MUST be IMMINENT. Nearly a year later...they're playing this year's MWMF...but in support of another artist (Doug Boodle). This video might seem like a joke, but this recording has truly been in development for a really long time.

 

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