Eclectic Music Survey #5 REPOST

[GGTZEUTSCHLE%AMHERST.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu]

>1000 homo djs                    1000 Homo DJs
Very homophobic name, but I've heard they're interesting industrial ... any
comparisons?

>808 state                        808 State
Synthy dance-pop instrumentals, not particularly impressive.

>a tribute to monk & bird         A Tribute to Monk & Bird
I assume these are the jazz greats -- is this a collaboration, or a tribute
album of their compositions by other artists?  Which label?  Worth getting?

>a-ha                             a-ha
Moderately bad, sometimes slightly worthwhile light 80's synth pop.

>abc                              ABC
Slightly better (than a-ha) rather heavier earlier-80's synth pop.  The album
with "Look of Love" is kinda fun in a stupid sort of way.

>abdul paula                      Paula Abdul
Interesting '90's dance pop, but the woman is a MUCH better dancer and
choreographer than singer ... kinda tough to make millions, no matter how hard
you dance, and how well you tell other people to dance, tho ... especially for
a black woman.

>ac/dc                            AC/DC
Baaaad ... "For Those About to Rock, We Salute You"??? please!  Mindless late
'70's pseudo-metal.

>afrika bambaata                          Afrika Bambaata
More info, please ... label?  Comparable bands?

>alarm                            Alarm
Decent tunes, though their style is (or at least used to be) a TOTAL U2 ripoff
... haven't heard anything since Strength ... have they gotten any better, or
more importantly more original?

>alien sex fiend                          Alien Sex Fiend
A really twisted friend of mine used to like them ... I think he just liked the
name.

agent orange                      Agent Orange
A pseudo-hardcore band of tolerable mediocrity ... the only album I have is
This Is The Voice and I hardly ever play it ... their idea of wit is putting
"This Is Not The End" as the last song on the album ... thpptt!

>allman gregg                     Greg Allman
Great guitar, if ya like blues guitar ... I don't.

>alphaville                       Alphaville
More bad white-boy dance-synth pop, a la a-ha (like that?).

>anderson bruford wakeman & howe          Anderson Bruford Wakeman & Howe
Pathetic attempts at reviving Yes.  Even the cover wasn't as good.  I guess
pathetic is a little harsh, but they certainly lost something big, though I
don't know them well enough to say what it is.

>anderson ian                     Ian Anderson
If this is who I think it is (singer and flutist for Tull?) he's great in the
band, but I've never heard any of his stuff solo ... I'd think he'd need the
band.

>anderson jon                     Jon Anderson
I actually like his Yes-pop better than the pseudo-Yes that comes from ABW&H.
Still not the real thing, though.  Actually better 'cos it doesn't try as hard
to be.

>anderson laurie                          Laurie Anderson
I haven't heard enough to really judge, but I like my singers to sing, not ...
perform.

>ant adam                         Adam Ant
Has he done anything since Goody Two Shoes?

>asia                             Asia
Vaguely tolerable early '80's remnants of late '70's progressive ... actually
one of the better '70's progressive bands, with Yes and Boston.

>astley rick                      Rick Astley
Puke.

>aykroyd dan                      Dan Aykroyd
What musical things has he done?

>aztec camera                     Aztec Camera
Bad pseudo-alternative pop.  I guess I mainly don't like them 'cos they and
Ice-T stain the beauty of the Just Say ... compilations, and they really don't
belong ... at least Ice-T is interesting; AC is just a misplaced pop band that
is being billed as "alternative" until they make it big (a la U2, REM, Sinead,
etc.) ... don't hold your breath.

>b52s                             B52s
OK weird-alternative-guitar-pop ... I certainly prefer the days of Rock Lobster
to those of Love Shack, though Roam is a hip tune.

>bach johann sebastian            Johann Sebastian Bach'
Assuming you mean the classical composer -- this man was truly a god.
*(This is the way I will denote answers to survey 2 -- this is my first one.)
Definitely get the complete Brandenburg Concertos, 1-6, recorded by Christopher
Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music on Oiseau-Lyre.  While were on the
subject of JSBach, why not his sons, Johann Christiann, Carl Philipp Emmanuel,
etc. ? I don't know anything significant about them, except that not one of
them was nearly as amazing as his father.  Nevertheless, I'm sure they had
worthwhile compositions, and that there is someone more qualified than I to
comment who will return this survey.  And what about PDQBach?

>bananarama                       Bananarama
Oh, god, them and the Go-go's, right?

bad brains                        Bad Brains
VERY thrashing hardcore with beaut reggae thrown in for spice here and there
... *[self-titled]* with such classics as "Pay to cum" "Right brigade" "Banned
in DC" and "Fearless Vampire Killers"

>bauhaus                                  Bauhaus
AWESOME!  These guys and Joy Division are like this (imagine two fingers
occupying the same points in the space-time continuum) -- very gloomy post-punk
gothic, with a little lighter stuff thrown in, even some hints of reggae toward
the end of The Sky's Gone Out.  Still, the most varied, and probably the best
album is definitely Burning From The Inside.  "Slice of life" sounds straight
off of a Love&Rockets album, and "Who killed Mr. Moonlight" and "King volcano"
are both mellow in a VERY weird way, but there is some harder stuff, too.**
Swing The Heartache -- The BBC Sessions is also quite good, but less
consistent.  These guys sired Tones On Tail, Peter Murphy, and Love And
Rockets.

>beatles                                  Beatles
Yeah, they're OK ... there isn't one real album (greatest hits don't count)
that I know of that has all their good stuff on it ... actually, I don't even
know of a single greatest hits album that has all the songs I like and doesn't
have "Drive my car" (I HATE that song).  Oh well.

>beautiful pea green boat         Beautiful Pea Green Boat
Name is interesting ... comparisons and label?

>beck jeff                        Jeff Beck
Great guitarist, can't sing to save his life.

>belafonte harry                  Harry Belafonte
Way overrated -- too slick and produced, but mildly fun, like Bobby McFerrin.

>belew adrian                     Adrian Belew
Who is this guy?

>benatar pat                      Pat Benatar
Love is a Battlefield ... very deep.

>bennett                                  Tony Bennett
Ooooo, yeah, swing for me, Tony baby, sing those Vegas lounzhes.


>birdsongs of the mesozoic        Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
Sonic Geology, eh?  Yeah, their music moves about as gracefully as a hunk of
granite.

>blondie                                  Blondie
Take a Chance on Me -- how can you not love Debbie Harry, the queen of
early-80's pop?  what a goddess.

>blue oyster cult                 Blue Oyster
Not my fav progressive band ... still of some interest ...

>bodeans                                  BoDeans
A few good tunes -- I'd like to get to know them better.

>bon jovi                         Bon Jovi
"Ack.  Thppttt." --Bill the Cat.
Manufactured down-home metal pop worse than GNR ... ouch!  (I must confess to
secretly liking "Dead or alive," tho ... even the best of us have our foibles.)

>boogie down productions                  Boogie Down Productions
Haven't heard 'em, but Edutainment sounds good, and KRS-One works w/ REM's
Stipe ... I might actually like 'em (rare for me and rappers.)

>book of love                     Book of Love
Ah, finally a GOOD white synth-pop dance band ... With a-ha, etcetera, I was
beginning to lose hope.  What's the difference?  Just more interesting and
innovative musically.

>bowie david                      David Bowie
What would life be without Changesbowie?**

>brickell edie                    Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians
Pretty cool if you can deal with the whine.  From what I've heard, *Shooting
Rubberbands At The Stars* though vapid, is better musically than Ghost Of A
Dog.  "What I am" is SOOOOO bad, though.  And who the hell illustrates those
albums (one acid trip too many, Edie?)

>brown julie                      Julie Brown
eMpTyVee at its worst ... at least she realizes how bad she is and doesn't take
herself seriously.

>brubeck dave                     Dave Brubeck
CT native -- yay!  Great jazzist, from what I've heard (not that much.)

>bruford bill                     Bill Bruford
On his own??  oh, my.

>bulgarian voices                 Bulgarian Voices
Beautiful  ethereal  awe-inspiring

>bush kate                        Kate Bush
Probably the wrong place to say this, but WAY overrated.  She has talent, yes,
but her voice is somehow hardly ever quite right.  And I can NEVER forgive her
for ruining Peter Gabriel's "Don't give up".

>butthole surfers                 Butthole Surfers
No talent.  None.  I love 'em.  Hairway to Steven** is great, though much
mellower than much of the rest of their stuff.

>byrne david                      David Byrne
Interesting Brazilian worldbeat.

>cabaret voltaire                 Cabaret Voltaire
I've heard they're interesting industrial -- any comparisons?

>cage john                        John Cage
Very innovative pianist -- haven't heard him, but I don't think I'd like him.

big country                       Big Country
It's all been downhill since their self-titled ** debut.  Peace In Our Time was
SO disappointing.

>casual gods                      The Casual Gods
OK, not as thrilling as music this loud should be.

>cave nick                        Nick Cave
and the bad seeds ... the ultimate cheesemasters ... they were in Wings of
Desire ... what more needs to be said?

>chadbourne eugene                Eugene Chadbourne
Without the Femmes, you're nothing.

>chapin harry                     Harry Chapin
The first philanthropic rocker ... the only music of his I know is "Flowers are
red" -- cute, sad story without too much musical merit.

>chapman tracy                    Tracy Chapman
Oh, my, if I hear one more denigrating comment comparing this woman to Joan
Baez, I will retch.  To the friend who won the sweepstakes -- get the
self-titled** debut album first, but then buy Crossroads, too, even if it means
spending every last penny you own.

>cheap trick                      Cheap Trick
Bleaahhh!

>chicago                                  Chicago
Nope.  Nice album titles!

>ciani suzanne                    Suzanne Ciani
Heard her for the first time a few days ago -- very impressive, and quite
reminiscent of George Winston (whom I love dearly.)

>clan of xymox                    Clan Of Xymox
Sound a bit too much like the Cure, but, hell, they're on 4AD, so they get a
big thumbs-up.

>clannad                                  Clannad
If you like pure Irish folk, why not?  Sired Enya (whom I like better.)

>clapton eric                     Eric Clapton
cf allman gregg -- except Clapton is better, sings MUCH better, and *Crossroads
* is worth having.  Wonderful tonight is bee-oot-tiful.

>clapton straits                          Dire Straits & Eric Clapton
Have they performed together anywhere besides Live Aid?  That was hot, though,
Clapton and Knopfler, two guitar gods, jamming together on Sultans ... wow.

>clash                            The Clash
*London Calling*  Just shut up and get it and play it loud.

>clegg & savuka johnny            Johnny Clegg & Savuka
Great mulatto from the racist tip of the Dark Continent.  Proof positive that
even there racial harmony both in interpersonal relationships and in musical
combinations.  Very political, very moving, especially *Third World Child*,
though I haven't heard much else, and both Shadowman, and Cruel Crazy Beautiful
World are supposedly great too.  And you can dance to it!

>clockdva                         ClockDVA
I've heard good things -- any comparisons?

>cocker joe                       Joe Cocker
Washed up, but still has some great tunes in his past.  Just don't ask him to
sing them now.

>cocteau twins                    Cocteau Twins
Wow.  Beautiful, winding, ethereal melodies with weird synthesizers and drum
machines and one of the most haunting voices this side of the Lorelei.  One
album?  It would have to be *Head Over Heels* but please don't ignore Garlands,
Victorialands, The Pink Opaque, Blue Bell Knoll, or Heaven or Las Vegas.  For
your own sake.  Listen and be inspired.

>cocteau twins & budd             Cocteau Twins & Budd
One album if I'm correct -- The Moon and The Melodies** -- thanks for letting
my friend have this one as well as HOH -- beautiful New Age-ish piano plus all
of the above.  Definitely NOT Las Vegas.

>collins phil                     Phil Collins
Sometimes rockin' sometimes yawnin', usually better with his band.

>colourbox                        Colourbox
'nother 4ad band ... haven't heard 'em, tho ... any comparisons?

>consolidated                     Consolidated
Heard they're very anti-white ... is that less wrong than anti-black?  Still,
it's industrial, so I'll give it a shot ... Wha's it like?

>costello elvis attractions       Elvis Costello And The Attractions
The last (and only true) pop hipster ... funny without trying and a great
musician.  Can't sing to save his life, though.


>cramps                           Cramps
>cramps the                       The Cramps
These two are the same -- talentless, offensive, ugly ... pretty cool.

>cult the                         The Cult
OK alternative pseudo Led Zep.

>cure                             The Cure
Wonderful band, great melodies, though Robert Smith is among the most
pretentious purveyors of angst in existence, and Mixed Up is an obvious plea
for moolah.  Nevertheless, Standing On A Beach** (Staring at the Sea, the CD
version, doesn't have all the cool b-sides) is great, Kiss Me [3x] is quite
good, and Disintegration is nifty as all hell.

circle jerks                      Circle Jerks
I know they would have had to go next to Suzanne Ciani, but JC, how could you
omit the CHEESIEST hardcore band in history???  *Group Sex* should be in
everyone's collection o' slabs o' wax, perhaps mandatory to be allowed to vote
in the US ... the rest mostly sucks.

coltrane john                     John Coltrane
Did some pretty nifty things with some pretty unjazzy songs ... nevertheless,
it moves.  Definitely get *My Favorite Things* for a classic example.  Great
tune.

concrete blonde                   Concrete Blonde
All I have is Bloodletting*, but what the hell, get it since it's free -- they
mix up some almost thrash and some almost jangle-pop quite nicely, I must say.

copland aaron                     Aaron Copland
The American composer of the century.  I actually don't like him that much,
though I just found out that I love his Rodeo ballet suite, and both Quiet City
and Fanfare for the Common Man are fabulous.  The world will be a sadder place
without him.  For the best performances of his stuff, get performances
conducted by Bernstein ... another great loss [sigh]

That's it for now ... beware ... more will follow.
GGATz.
Greg Tzeutschler
Amherst College.