At 2/9/19 08:00 AM, SevenSeize wrote:

At 2/9/19 07:14 AM, Oolaph wrote:

At 2/7/19 09:38 AM, Cyberdevil wrote: I like this idea. Nice album presentation layout too. Seems I'm a bit late to this party and the EST listening times seem a bit on edge with GMT so probably won't be able to join in on many of those but: happy to join the shuffle if there's room? Picks so far seem like ones I might want to catch up on too, all interesting...

You can thank the mysterious photoshop wizard @Jackho for those hot images, he even made a template so a worthless goofball like me can edit them for each album. As for joining the shuffle, we limit the names in the hat to people who participated in the previous week and eliminate repeats until we've made a good rotation, so just give it a spin and post what you think and you'll have a chance to pick next week's album!

Also, question: the thoughts and rating it was implied you'd be posting after each one of these, is most of that going on within the Discord? Not seeing much of that in the thread...

Honestly we didn't really expect this many people to get into the discord parties, we thought most people would listen on their own time and report back like the other "of the week/month" threads we've done in the past. The ratings are not necessary at all, I've been asking for them after we listen to the record and then recording them in hopes that in the future we'll maybe see which ones were group favorites, individual user's tastes, and who picked the STINKERS, but we'll see how they shape up.

---

and speaking of DISCORD PARTIES, we've been caught in a time loop for what seems like centuries and it looks like it's week 4 again. We'll be listening to Stranger Fruit by Zeal & Ardor tonight at 6PM EST, and if Bren can't make it tonight TOO BAD, SUCKA.

Super-ultra-hyper-mega-meta-Lydian exclusive Discord link: https://discord.gg/Bwn7Ba

Links for listening: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple

@argile @BadHorse413 @BrenTheMan @Cyberdevil @finicalpricklez @GallowJolt @Jackho @KieranBurgen @Malachy

@NekoMika @Nova @S3C @SevenSeize @SukiWukiDookie @TheMajormel @Zornuzkull

Bren better not stand us up.

I bought the prettiest dress for tonight's party.

It's a twirly dress and pink with lace.

At 2/9/19 07:14 AM, Oolaph wrote:

At 2/7/19 09:38 AM, Cyberdevil wrote: I like this idea. Nice album presentation layout too. Seems I'm a bit late to this party and the EST listening times seem a bit on edge with GMT so probably won't be able to join in on many of those but: happy to join the shuffle if there's room? Picks so far seem like ones I might want to catch up on too, all interesting...

You can thank the mysterious photoshop wizard @Jackho for those hot images, he even made a template so a worthless goofball like me can edit them for each album. As for joining the shuffle, we limit the names in the hat to people who participated in the previous week and eliminate repeats until we've made a good rotation, so just give it a spin and post what you think and you'll have a chance to pick next week's album!

Also, question: the thoughts and rating it was implied you'd be posting after each one of these, is most of that going on within the Discord? Not seeing much of that in the thread...

Honestly we didn't really expect this many people to get into the discord parties, we thought most people would listen on their own time and report back like the other "of the week/month" threads we've done in the past. The ratings are not necessary at all, I've been asking for them after we listen to the record and then recording them in hopes that in the future we'll maybe see which ones were group favorites, individual user's tastes, and who picked the STINKERS, but we'll see how they shape up.

---

and speaking of DISCORD PARTIES, we've been caught in a time loop for what seems like centuries and it looks like it's week 4 again. We'll be listening to Stranger Fruit by Zeal & Ardor tonight at 6PM EST, and if Bren can't make it tonight TOO BAD, SUCKA.

Super-ultra-hyper-mega-meta-Lydian exclusive Discord link: https://discord.gg/Bwn7Ba

Links for listening: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple

@argile @BadHorse413 @BrenTheMan @Cyberdevil @finicalpricklez @GallowJolt @Jackho @KieranBurgen @Malachy

@NekoMika @Nova @S3C @SevenSeize @SukiWukiDookie @TheMajormel @Zornuzkull

At 2/9/19 07:14 AM, Oolaph wrote: You can thank the mysterious photoshop wizard @Jackho for those hot images, he even made a template so a worthless goofball like me can edit them for each album. As for joining the shuffle, we limit the names in the hat to people who participated in the previous week and eliminate repeats until we've made a good rotation, so just give it a spin and post what you think and you'll have a chance to pick next week's album!

Honestly we didn't really expect this many people to get into the discord parties, we thought most people would listen on their own time and report back like the other "of the week/month" threads we've done in the past. The ratings are not necessary at all, I've been asking for them after we listen to the record and then recording them in hopes that in the future we'll maybe see which ones were group favorites, individual user's tastes, and who picked the STINKERS, but we'll see how they shape up.

Quick spontaneous review of Strange Fruit anyway:

Enjoyed this. Grimy, desperate; dystopian. Gets heavier the further you listen. It felt a bit repetitive in the early stages but either it moves past that or I get used to it. I start liking the rhythm. Bit much filtering with the vocals, emulating days of when recording equipment couldn't really capture voices. Gives me the impression they may not be that great vocalists, though that's totally disproven in the final track, and that effect is pretty cool.

I love the energy. Tracks follow suit. Wholesome roster. The Hermit, The Fool and Solve were refreshing breaks in the overall fury. Interesting bridge of genres, almost like Deathmetal and Blues at the same time with some of them. Favorite's probably the last track: Built On Ashes, which was refreshingly out of style. Crisp vocals too. Gravedigger's Chant really reminds me of Sail (AWOLNATION). Great intro. Great end. Satisfying length overall.

4/5

At 2/15/19 06:11 AM, Oolaph wrote: The listening parties actually kick off the beginning of the week, so you slipped right into the middle of week 4 like you were meant to be here the whole time. Week 5 will begin tomorrow with Jackho's pick (boy do i wonder what he'll choose)

The progression of the sound on this album is really smooth and well done. They spend the first few tracks getting you used to the blend of the two styles, and then those individual styles get more and more extreme as you go on, which out of context could definitely seem weird to a listener if they just pressed play on a track from the second half. At first the blend might seem like a novelty, but it really does seem purposeful and well thought-out. Genuine influences from both genres coming together to form this sound.

At 2/16/19 12:34 PM, Jackho wrote: What up squadfam, we're already another week closer to death and this time it's my turn to run the music taste gauntlet.
The album I've chosen is Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

This is definitely the most popular and widely-loved album chosen so far, and so there's a good chance several of you will have heard it already, but it's a risk I'm willing to take and a record that's infinitely rewarding to revisit anyway.

For those who haven't heard it: you're in for a weird, loud, folky, vaguely emotional ride. There's very few albums comparable to this one that aren't transparently trying to follow in its footsteps.

As usual we should be listening around 6-ish EST today (11 GMT)

Links for listening: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple

> > > DISCORD LINK

@argile @BadHorse413 @BrenTheMan @Cyberdevil @finicalpricklez @GallowJolt @Oolaph @Jackho @KieranBurgen @Malachy @NekoMika @Nova @S3C @SevenSeize @SukiWukiDookie @TheMajormel @Zornuzkull @Cyberdevil @Dr-Worm

At 2/16/19 04:44 PM, SukiWukiDookie wrote:

At 2/16/19 12:34 PM, Jackho wrote: What up squadfam, we're already another week closer to death and this time it's my turn to run the music taste gauntlet.
The album I've chosen is Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

This is definitely the most popular and widely-loved album chosen so far, and so there's a good chance several of you will have heard it already, but it's a risk I'm willing to take and a record that's infinitely rewarding to revisit anyway.

For those who haven't heard it: you're in for a weird, loud, folky, vaguely emotional ride. There's very few albums comparable to this one that aren't transparently trying to follow in its footsteps.

As usual we should be listening around 6-ish EST today (11 GMT)

Links for listening: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple

> > > DISCORD LINK

@argile @BadHorse413 @BrenTheMan @Cyberdevil @finicalpricklez @GallowJolt @Oolaph @Jackho @KieranBurgen @Malachy @NekoMika @Nova @S3C @SevenSeize @SukiWukiDookie @TheMajormel @Zornuzkull @Cyberdevil @Dr-Worm

Ew..

At 2/20/19 10:08 AM, Oolaph wrote:

At 2/18/19 04:54 PM, SevenSeize wrote: Who picking next album yo?

Oh, it's ME. I forgot to make a post because i just went straight into thinking about what album i was gonna pick. Still not telling until Saturday, though. Gonna wait until the last second because 1. i'm a terrible procrastinator and 2. i've already changed my mind four times

The lyrics didn't really play on my emotions as much as I hoped considering the emotional style, poetic as they are, and imaginative. It all seems well-written but somehow just not in sync with my emotional spectrum, and I wonder if it's the text itself or the music. Vague's a good word.

At 2/20/19 10:08 AM, Oolaph wrote: Oh, it's ME. I forgot to make a post because i just went straight into thinking about what album i was gonna pick. Still not telling until Saturday, though. Gonna wait until the last second because 1. i'm a terrible procrastinator and 2. i've already changed my mind four times

If you were following the lyrics you probably picked up on this, but much of this album was inspired by Anne Frank's diary and the emotional reaction Jeff Mangum (frontman) had to it. I wouldn't quite say it's about Anne Frank, but it's like a thematic link between tracks and many songs evoke specific scenes from the diary or reference Anne herself, while still being vague when shone through the lens of Jeff's distinct songwriting. I happen to have read the diary recently and that's what made me choose this album - I already loved it and would rank it among my all time favourite albums, but having the extra context made it click with me all over again, even more than before.

At 2/20/19 11:54 PM, Jackho wrote: Big thanks btw to those who joined in last saturday (@sevenseize @brentheman). It was a smaller party, but that was probably a more indulgent choice of album so I'm not surprised.

At 2/20/19 10:15 AM, SevenSeize wrote: because your choice will be good, I know it.

I dunno if you're aware of the extra pressure a statement like this puts on, but it do

At 2/23/19 07:29 AM, Oolaph wrote: Okay folks it's been a tough decision but I've run out of time and have to settle on one choice. After going through my shelves and changing my mind at least 10 more times last night, I finally narrowed it down to two choices and flipped a coin, landing on my original pick. Must be fate or something.

Week 6's album will be The Monitor by Titus Andronicus. A punk rock album that is grand in scale with zero subtlety and plenty of anthems to yell along with. Band leader Patrick Stickles paints a picture of his inner struggles using a palette consisting Bruce Spingsteen paraphrases and historical metaphors. He wrote the album while in the midst of an obsession with the American Civil War, and due to the numerous references to the war this record is typically labeled as a concept album. Don't be fooled though, this isn't a political album by any means. This shit is pure FEELINGS and is on the list of "albums oolaph has cried to", so get ready to rock out and type in all caps with me. The Discord listening party will begin at tonight at 6PM EST as usual.

Super-ultra-hyper-mega-meta-Lydian exclusive Discord link: https://discord.gg/9BgWfx

Links for Listening: Spotify | Apple

@argile @BadHorse413 @BrenTheMan @Cyberdevil @Dr-Worm @finicalpricklez @GallowJolt @Jackho @KieranBurgen @Malachy @NekoMika @Nova @S3C @SevenSeize @SukiWukiDookie @TheMajormel

At 2/22/19 09:01 PM, Jackho wrote: Dang, fair play to you, that's more effort than I've put into most of the albums so far. I have seen people claim it took many listens for Aeroplane to 'click' but I find that approach to music a bit weird - like, they're forcing themselves to enjoy it because of the reputation the record has, but imo you can't choose what you get out of an album and consensus is irrelevant, I'd love this one even if no one else gave a fuck about it.