Listening Project: Week 7: Music From a Painted Cave by Robert Mirabal

[MugginsXO]

Listening to this now. Early feeling is positive.

[MugginsXO]

I enjoyed this. I will be giving another listen to it later but here are my initial thoughts. I thought it had a really nice, friendly sound to it and while I can’t yet say whether these songs will stick in my head, I do know that I enjoyed listening to them. It has a sound that really suits this time of year, and while I am perhaps unflatteringly swayed by album art, it seems to express an Autumnal flavour which makes me feel like going for a walk in the woods. I have been listening to a lot of music lately and in the last couple of years that is generally emotionally weighty, dark in tone and as with much of the Rap I have been enjoying quite aggressive at times. It is relaxing then – in a good way – to take time for an album that is pretty and happy. It reminds me of why I like a certain kind of sweet rock that I don’t listen to nearly enough. It makes me want to get Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth and Wilco on again. I have never heard Nada Surf as far as I am aware and this does make me want to hear more of their work. Good choice!

I particularly liked Jules and Jim and Looking Through.

[Lowbacca]

I enjoyed this. I will be giving another listen to it later but here are my initial thoughts. I thought it had a really nice, friendly sound to it and while I can’t yet say whether these songs will stick in my head, I do know that I enjoyed listening to them. It has a sound that really suits this time of year, and while I am perhaps unflatteringly swayed by album art, it seems to express an Autumnal flavour which makes me feel like going for a walk in the woods. I have been listening to a lot of music lately and in the last couple of years that is generally emotionally weighty, dark in tone and as with much of the Rap I have been enjoying quite aggressive at times. It is relaxing then – in a good way – to take time for an album that is pretty and happy. It reminds me of why I like a certain kind of sweet rock that I don’t listen to nearly enough. It makes me want to get Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth and Wilco on again. I have never heard Nada Surf as far as I am aware and this does make me want to hear more of their work. Good choice!

I particularly liked Jules and Jim and Looking Through.

Very glad to hear that. Repeated listens are worth it, trust me. The remaining Nada Surf catalogue is great as well. Maybe next you should try Let Go (2002). It's probably my favourite overall and has a lot of Nada Surf 'evergreens' on it.








EDIT: Nada Surf on German television, playing a Beach Boys favourite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofHYXof3zts

[rab2591]

The remaining Nada Surf catalogue is great as well. Maybe next you should try Let Go (2002). It's probably my favourite overall and has a lot of Nada Surf 'evergreens' on it.

A favorite album of mine! It's a powerhouse of great songs (Inside of Love, Blonde on Blonde, The Way You Wear Your Head).

As for The Stars Are Indifferent, it has some amazing songs on it, but I've never got into it like 'Let Go'. Perhaps I'll listen to it a few times in the next week and have a change of heart.

[the captain]

I enjoyed listening to this, but in all honesty won't buy it or actively seek it or other music of theirs again. Don't take that too negatively, as I really did enjoy it. Solid songs, tuneful, energetic. It reminded me of Velvet Crush, whose music I did buy some of years ago but similarly wouldn't if introduced to them now. I wish I'd been introduced to Nada Surf (and Velvet Crush, and Teenage Fanclub, and an assortment of somewhat similar bands) in the early to mid 90s, when they were coming out. Instead that phase of my musical life was an active rebellion against all things then-current. Grunge and the so-watered-down-as-to-be-meaningless "alternative" didn't appeal to me much, so I dove deeply into the legends of previous eras, plus jazz.

Turns out I missed plenty of music from people who I suspect were thinking the same thing I was, which was that this kind of music was possible. I missed about five or six years there...

So why the lukewarm reaction? I think it's just a younger man's music, honestly. If I were 16, 18, 20, I think it would have struck a (power) chord with me. I tend to prefer music with more depth of texture now, not so much straight-ahead power chords. (The good melodies and vocal harmonies do help, though.)

If songs from here popped up on shuffle every so often, I'd perk up and somewhat excitedly ask myself, "what's this?" But the truth is, I wouldn't remember, and may well guess wrong.

Thanks for the exposure to it, Lowbacca.

(And thanks again to MugginsXO for the thread idea. It's the best part of the board since its inception.)

[Lowbacca]

I enjoyed listening to this, but in all honesty won't buy it or actively seek it or other music of theirs again. Don't take that too negatively, as I really did enjoy it. Solid songs, tuneful, energetic. It reminded me of Velvet Crush, whose music I did buy some of years ago but similarly wouldn't if introduced to them now. I wish I'd been introduced to Nada Surf (and Velvet Crush, and Teenage Fanclub, and an assortment of somewhat similar bands) in the early to mid 90s, when they were coming out. Instead that phase of my musical life was an active rebellion against all things then-current. Grunge and the so-watered-down-as-to-be-meaningless "alternative" didn't appeal to me much, so I dove deeply into the legends of previous eras, plus jazz.

Turns out I missed plenty of music from people who I suspect were thinking the same thing I was, which was that this kind of music was possible. I missed about five or six years there...

So why the lukewarm reaction? I think it's just a younger man's music, honestly. If I were 16, 18, 20, I think it would have struck a (power) chord with me. I tend to prefer music with more depth of texture now, not so much straight-ahead power chords. (The good melodies and vocal harmonies do help, though.)

If songs from here popped up on shuffle every so often, I'd perk up and somewhat excitedly ask myself, "what's this?" But the truth is, I wouldn't remember, and may well guess wrong.

Thanks for the exposure to it, Lowbacca.

(And thanks again to MugginsXO for the thread idea. It's the best part of the board since its inception.)

That's an exceedingly fair (and perspicuous) evaluation, oh captain. It is much appreciated.

Looking forward to what's in store in the future with this little project of ours..

[the captain]

Looking forward to what's in store in the future with this little project of ours..

Ditto. Tomorrow's the day pixeltwin offers up the next round. Should be fun. (Unless it sucks. Then I'll complain like nobody's business.)

[feelsflow]

I hope Marc picks something familiar to me.  I remember a few MTV videos by Nada Surf from the 90's - that's about it.  I didn't get a chance to listen to their other albums.  Lowbacca, you said you had to listen for months to form a positive feel for this, even seeing them live.  I've only got a week buddy.  

The Stars Are Indifferent To Astrnomy

"Waiting For Something" - This is better than what I remember from the 90's.  I didn't care for "Popular" much.  I could name so many bands that had/have this same sound musically, so that leaves how much do you like one vocalist over another.  I like this track.  Good opener.

After a few tracks, stopped to check them out on Wiki and youtube (some of the old videos).  They sound like their influences:  Byrds, Records, The Jayhawks after Olson left.  I'm a big fan of the Jayhawks then and now.  Hate that Olson has left the band again to return to solo recording.  I'm going to name another in a moment, but those are the most prominent comparisons.

"Jules and Jim" - Best track here.  I could put on the Records' second album and get the same.  The Records often wore the Byrds badge proudly on their chest.  There was something else I noticed...played it again.  Then went searching youtube, took me a few tries to remember the name of the song.  Do any of you remember "Under the Milky Way" by the Church?  Let's add them and Love and Rockets (think their more acoustic numbers with David J singing).

"The Moon is Calling" - It's hard to form an opinion/review when the best I can say is that the song sounds like this or that.  This has a keyboard riff I know I've heard on a Cars' track.  The vocals are flat out Louris era Jayhawks.  Song too - given time I could figure out which one, it's one of the singles.  Will add my Jayhawks comment doesn't mean much - they were a copy band too, especially on the first three.

"The Future" - Early 70's Byrdsy.  And again filtered thru the Records' sound.  Nada Surf, at least on this record, can slip on that cloak at will.  They must have loved Crashes and the Searchers.  Power Pop is hard to pull off and still sound original.  One of the best, Raspberries, sure couldn't.  And they were a Great band.  Todd could do it - he's great at everything.  If he set out to sound like someone, it was by design.

So Lowbacca, have I ravaged your pick too much?  Hope not.  So much music wears influence.  To just say it sounds pleasant will have to do.

Comment:  I think "our little project" is losing interest big time.  Most of the folks that signed up have been no-shows for reviews.  Our next pick is Marc.  Has he visited this thread?  I was sorta surprised when he signed up, after all his service running the Survivor Game.  And a Big Thank You Marc for doing that.  I enjoyed it very much, and hope you bring it back after some rest.  We still have a few solo records to do.

This was/is a great idea for helping the General Music Discussion area come back to life.  Come on sliders, post.  Outsiders welcome - join up!  We need more opinions to make this work.  peace, Will

 

[Niko]

I feel bad for not commenting here. I listened to the Elvis album and really enjoyed it - I've been meaning to listen to Elvis for ages and this finally gave me a reason to. So thank you.

Just put Let Go on my iPod, and I will listen to it as I walk to the library to study.

[the captain]

I don't think anyone should feel bad or worry about participation. As long as those who are into it are into it and it's a good time, that's what matters. Come, go, stay, whatever. If it feels like work, f*** it.

[Lowbacca]

I hope Marc picks something familiar to me.  I remember a few MTV videos by Nada Surf from the 90's - that's about it.  I didn't get a chance to listen to their other albums.  Lowbacca, you said you had to listen for months to form a positive feel for this, even seeing them live.  I've only got a week buddy.  

What I meant was: the earlier Nada Surf albums (especially the 2000s) had all become so important to me that the new one took some time to get used to. There was a "positive feel" from the beginning, but not a single track stood out for me. I have a different appreciation of Stars Are Indifferent by now. Although, as good as (I think) it is, it's still not quite up there with these:

The Stars Are Indifferent To Astrnomy

"Waiting For Something" - This is better than what I remember from the 90's.  I didn't care for "Popular" much.  I could name so many bands that had/have this same sound musically, so that leaves how much do you like one vocalist over another.  I like this track.  Good opener.

After a few tracks, stopped to check them out on Wiki and youtube (some of the old videos).  They sound like their influences:  Byrds, Records, The Jayhawks after Olson left.  I'm a big fan of the Jayhawks then and now.  Hate that Olson has left the band again to return to solo recording.  I'm going to name another in a moment, but those are the most prominent comparisons.

"Jules and Jim" - Best track here.  I could put on the Records' second album and get the same.  The Records often wore the Byrds badge proudly on their chest.  There was something else I noticed...played it again.  Then went searching youtube, took me a few tries to remember the name of the song.  Do any of you remember "Under the Milky Way" by the Church?  Let's add them and Love and Rockets (think their more acoustic numbers with David J singing).

"The Moon is Calling" - It's hard to form an opinion/review when the best I can say is that the song sounds like this or that.  This has a keyboard riff I know I've heard on a Cars' track.  The vocals are flat out Louris era Jayhawks.  Song too - given time I could figure out which one, it's one of the singles.  Will add my Jayhawks comment doesn't mean much - they were a copy band too, especially on the first three.

"The Future" - Early 70's Byrdsy.  And again filtered thru the Records' sound.  Nada Surf, at least on this record, can slip on that cloak at will.  They must have loved Crashes and the Searchers.  Power Pop is hard to pull off and still sound original.  One of the best, Raspberries, sure couldn't.  And they were a Great band.  Todd could do it - he's great at everything.  If he set out to sound like someone, it was by design.

So Lowbacca, have I ravaged your pick too much?  Hope not.  So much music wears influence.  To just say it sounds pleasant will have to do.

Nah, no ravage. Rather incentives to look stuff up. Thanks for that. I've got to say though, for all the obvious influences and musical heritage, to me there's something distinctive and positively diacritic about Nada Surf's music. I'm too tired right now to formulate and specify. I'll leave you with another Nada Surf tune that helped me through a number of worn out moments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CoOI0zdJms

[alf wiedersehen]

I'm always so late to actually listen to the albums - oftentimes I actually post my thoughts after the next album has started - that I decided to change that. So, I listened with one day left. For some reason, listening to new music requires a lot of effort on my part. Anywhoozles, I listened to it and here are my thoughts:

I didn't like it. I'm sorry, Lowbacca, but it's just not my thing. I find that a lot of music has a certain feeling or sound that I find difficult to describe, but it completely turns me off of the actual music itself. This album definitely had that feeling/sound. I also didn't really find anything that really stood out to me on this album. There wasn't really much variation from the 'regretful/yearning mood with electric guitars' that permeate this album. I definitely can see what feelsflow is saying, as I definitely got a Tom Petty vibe from a lot of this (which can be traced back to his mention of the Byrds). And, let me just tell you, I despise a lot of Tom Petty's music.

I might give it another listen or two and let you know if my opinion changes at all.

[the captain]

I'm always so late to actually listen to the albums - oftentimes I actually post my thoughts after the next album has started - ...

That was what I was anticipating earlier when I suggested unique threads for each album, as it would better allow ongoing discussion. But conversely it would also likely result in a barrage of 5-to-10 post threads.

[feelsflow]

I'm always so late to actually listen to the albums - oftentimes I actually post my thoughts after the next album has started - ...

That was what I was anticipating earlier when I suggested unique threads for each album, as it would better allow ongoing discussion. But conversely it would also likely result in a barrage of 5-to-10 post threads.

Bubbly, so honest as always.  Tom Petty, yeah, I don't listen to him much these days.  I was a big fan back in the late 70's/early 80's.  Time changes everything.  Another fan of the Byrds and the Searchers.  The Byrds may not have been a top selling act while they were together, but their influence was lasting - especially in America.

captain,  I wasn't trying to rush anyone or offend.  Agree on both of your points.  If it's not fun - don't do it.  and...  Let's split 'em up.  Give folks more time.  Doubt anybody would care if the thread is short.  Not like many people are heading over to General Music anyway (another point I was trying to make in the nicest possible way).  All the Survivor threads were separate.  My comment was in hopes more folks join in, regardless how long it takes them.

It is difficult to fit in and prepare to review something you've never really heard.  I understand that.  Maybe that's what's happening.  Some hearing something new even by Elvis.  In fact I wrote some more notes last Saturday, after Lowbacca's review of Elvis.  Didn't get a chance in the afternoon - and Saturday night is my one night of the week where I really sit down and just listen to music with no distractions, and a few drinks.  I devote Sunday to the NFL.  Only reason I'm here tonight is because we changed up this week for Halloween.  Hope you all had a nice one.  I did.

[Dudd]

Apologies for lateness, I think I might have been putting off this one a bit because alternative rock has never really been my thing - just doesn't click with me often for whatever reason. And I don't think it did here and now I feel bad.

There's an innocence to this one that I quite liked. I liked "Waiting for Something" and the horns on "Let the Fight Do the Fighting". But I don't feel there was much variety and after a while I had trouble telling tracks apart. But a few relistens might do it.

[Lowbacca]

Many thanks for the fair criticism, folks.


Let's see what's in store for us this week..

[MugginsXO]

Main reason I am not mad on separate threads for each album is that it will decrease the focus on the new album per week, which I feel is the main reason to find time to listen to something new. I also want to keep the list of albums/selectors inn one easily accessible place. If folks are behind, no worries at all and just comment when you get a chance!

[the captain]

No worries, MugginsXO, it's the best thread on the board (General Music or otherwise) regardless. And "fixing" for one aspect would no doubt "break" another (not to mention one man's fix is another's break anyway).

Let's go, pixeltwin! Whaddaya got for us?

[MugginsXO]

I have sent a message to pixeltwin so hopefully the new selection will be up later today.

[pixletwin]

Sorry guys. It's been a busy week. Found out that I am being laid off at the end of the year so I haven't been able to participate like I want to. Give me 2 hours to pick an album!

[Lowbacca]

Sorry guys. It's been a busy week. Found out that I am being laid off at the end of the year so I haven't been able to participate like I want to. Give me 2 hours to pick an album!

sh*t, man. Take 2 days, if you need to. All the best for your professionel future..!

[pixletwin]

Thanks Lowbacca, but it turns out two minutes is all I required. I spent a lot of time rewriting my resume and feeling out contacts. I may have a new job lined up by the end of this week, hopefully. Otherwise I will find it very hard to enjoy the holidays.

Anyhoo, grab your favorite auditory palate cleanser and dive in to this:

Everyone (I assume) has a great album which they feel jives better within a specific context than any other album. For me, within the context of the month of November, I have one particular album I always renew an obsession with.

Here is the spotify link: https://play.spotify.com/track/0MYAOepwUOBfsToBdGiq6c

I hope you all like it. The final track is one of the few pieces to actually reduce me to a blubbering mess.  

[MugginsXO]

Sorry to hear about your job problems pixletwin! And thanks for selecting an album so quickly!

[Lowbacca]

Cool choice! Wanted to get Alice out again for quite some time.. now I have a reason! I remember liking "Fawn" as well. And the German "Kommienezuspadt", of course.

[alf wiedersehen]

Yay! I love this album.
I have a serious affinity for "Table Top Joe".