ITT: We make bundles of music for others

[Mando Pandango]

Well, my list right now consists of Phoenix, We Are Scientists, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Count Zero, Queens of the Stone Age, and other stuff you guys might not have heard of. It's growing.

[Boogus Epirus Aurelius]

Ween - Transdermal Celebration I've heard Detachable Penis, and I guess that's not all of what they do. But I don't see a lot of originality. The basslines and rhythm guitar lines are really great, but I don't have much to say about this. It's not my thing. I skipped past the rest of it.

Detachable Penis is actually a King Missile song.
I've heard a lot of people who think it's ween for some reason.

But, picking one song to represent the band is impossible. They completely throw out all convention and cross genres randomly.
Every album is a different trip.

Some people call them novelty or gimmicky, but the solid convincing musicianship and clever writing is enough to dispel that.
They're not really to be taken seriously. They're irreverent.
Released a ten track country album called "12 golden country greats" which is full of the more traditional country sap ballads  (fluffy) and some genuinely clever writing (Help me scrape the mucus off my brain.

I dont have the time to compile a pack, but I'll go ahead and keep on plugging this band mainly because I absolutely love their music and the quiet little scene they've blown up.

They've got  an incredible community of dedicated tapers. Nearly every show appears on browntracker.net, usually days after.

And they're probably my favorite band to see live. Nothing beats a sweaty four hour show capped by a fifteen minute encore of the blarney stone.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtTJMTbR6Lg[/youtube]

So when people ask me to suggest where to start with them, I always point to the mollusk.
It's more or less a thematic album in a very loose sense. Builds this really nice nautical theme throughout. Synthy and effects laden, goofy at times and fluid at others, it's a really great piece of work.

From there, just work your way to the newest stuff. Quebec is gorgeous.
Chocolate and cheese is like swimming in a lake full of rice pudding with needles covering the bottom.
White Pepper is probably the most normal, conventional album, but it's melodic, well written, and seemingly genuine until you pull apart the lyrics.
The newest, La cucaracha, probably feels the most hinky, but there are some really solid tracks.

If you enjoy flying through those, you can strap on a gas mask and a biohazard suit and take a dip into the earlies.
God Ween Satan is their first commercial album, and it's loud, offensive and musically lacking, but it's still a super enjoyable listen.
The Pod is muddy, murky, and sludgy. The cover shows former member "mean ween" with a scotchguard bong. Pretty much sums up what you're going to hear. The beginning and the end are well written and fun, but it's easy to get lost through the foggy and aimless middle tracks.
Pure Guava is a really good album though. Kind of combines them both and hints at the more prog/melodic/genre crossing shit they pulled out later. The whole album feels like it's inflated with some pretty high grade helium.

Ugh, I hope I'm not messing up this thread here.
Anyhow check em out. One of my all time favorite bands.
And dont take them seriously.
Cheers!

[Hiro]

But, picking one song to represent the band is impossible. They completely throw out all convention and cross genres randomly.
Every album is a different trip.

Some people call them novelty or gimmicky, but the solid convincing musicianship and clever writing is enough to dispel that.
They're not really to be taken seriously. They're irreverent.

THIS

So when people ask me to suggest where to start with them, I always point to the mollusk.
It's more or less a thematic album in a very loose sense. Builds this really nice nautical theme throughout. Synthy and effects laden, goofy at times and fluid at others, it's a really great piece of work.

Indeed, I love that album. I had a smile on my face the whole way through on my first listen.

Quebec is gorgeous.

I only have Transdermal Celebration, but if it's any indication of the rest of the album, want. ;__;


btw I just noticed your name is the Ween mascot 

[Samus Aran]

hey little boy, whatcha got there?
kind sir, it's a mollusk i've found

[Hiro]

hey little boy, whatcha got there?
kind sir, it's a mollusk i've found

Kaz have you listened to mine yet 

[Samus Aran]

Kaz have you listened to mine yet 

no i have to go write a paper

i'll be listening to it tomorrow once i can breathe easy, too much fucking stuff due tomorrow

[Hiro]

no i have to go write a paper

i'll be listening to it tomorrow once i can breathe easy, too much fucking stuff due tomorrow

ok coo
I'm going to finish yours tonight

[Commander Fuckass]

Hiro should make me a funkee homosapien pack <3

[Mando Pandango]

I'm listening to my un-listened-to music in order to get better songs in my pack.

[the shortest route to the sea]

Velviter - The Swimming Song I love banjos. Sufjan and Le Loup both make fantastic use of them. Good cadences on it, I like it. The bass just sorta does nothing once it comes in, but the banjo creates all continuity that's needed. Acoustic rounds things out nicely, voice just floats (lol) along. There's something...Eastern, in the way the guitars pivot around that bass note. I like the way he occasionally repeats a line, just to emphasize and cadence on it. It's not like your other stuff, at all. It hops along nicely, good fiddle solo. Hopping, that's the word. I can't say the drummer does a good job, but I like the cadence of it all. Nice tune.


The Futureheads - Worry About It Later Guitar chords, loose, go over the piano and drums, creating something...exciting...random harmonies, and now building kit. It's a loose sort of way to start a groove on a song, and even when the drums switch, it messes around on the toms. But the voice really helps create a rhythm, creating rhythms where other notes are held. Guitar work is strange but exciting. I like the use of the intro in a chorus fashion, it's exciting. The whole thing has an energy, which is so exciting since it gets pretty sparse. They're pretty exact, they have to be. It creats a precision, and like I said, an excitement. That guitar right before the chorus plays some damn strange intervals. With tamborine adds a nice touch. Um, that guitar breakdown after the chorus is just weird. They don't play there instruments in a normal...tonal sense. It's always somewhat dissonant, and the bass creates that feeling too. The drums are echoey and in the back, as in the guitar, so we follow the voices and get pushed along by the bass.The voice work is fantastic, but the actual notes that each instrument is playing are strange. It's not bad, it'll just take some getting used to. I think I like them.


The Futureheads - Favours for Favours Again, high strange guitar. Nice bassline, creates great percussive rhythm. Great drums to work with it. I like the held note by the guitar once things start escalating, compliments everything well. Part of why this group seems so floaty to me is that the recording is pretty echoey, and the songwriting is...random. It shifts interestingly, and fun...and there are great complimenting parts and strange lines, but it seems to just flop down like some sort of groovy whale on the beaches of my ears. I mean, it's groovy and all, but it's a fucking whale. Vocals in chorus section, including backup, really do it well. Bands rarely use vocals this well, I think. Great bass work, rhythm guitar too. Drums are still just sort of there, however apt they are in parts (i.e., verse/intro). Nice short songs. I like them, but they'll take a while to get used to.


Caesars - Fun and Games That's really beautiful, great use of acoustics, one melodic and one rhythmic. Stupid lyrics, and stupid bongo. Nice harmonies. Not the smoothest transition to the drum heavy part. It's...unexciting, man. Nice synth solo, but this groove does nothing for me. It's...one-dimensional. It has some good parts, I'll admit.

Kasabian - Secret Alphabets Cool, more Kasabian. Lovely dones, tonal and then just rhythmic, switching between the two to create an uncoiling feeling helped by the cymbol, and acoustic twills. That's a bass, wow! That's some great bass work. Sonically, it's a bit strange, but it's like...red dusty room. Nice vocal line, very nice; descends over the progression really elegantly. Great rhythm. Guitar bits are nice, that one sitar was nice. Later in the verse, guitar plays for a little bit on 8th notes, and fades out. They just throw wonderful things in and take them out and put other songs in, while the song goes on like a train. I like that about them. That's the same guitar part in the breakdown, then synth goes on top of it. Now electricy things. They have a fantastic sense of rhythm, how to make it memorable, and the notes and lines support each other well, like that wailing synth over the unison descending synth line, with vocals and backups under that too. That's just elegent. Beautiful, orchestrated, well-though, well-executed. I really love this band!

Del tha Funkee Homosapian / Dinosaur Jr. - Missing Link Good groove, nice bassline. Screaming guitar works with the spoken word line. Ok solo...man, it's just sitting there. The two guitars are having a cool conversation, trading of lines, which I like, but it's nowhere near the front. Eh, not varied / exciting enough for me, and the production isn't great.

Caesars - Strawberry Weed That's a brilliant baseline, great use of acoustic guitar, and finally you're using the drums right. It all flows brilliantly. Nice melody over everything, it gives a similar call which we can come back to. Vocals somewhat reference it. Love the cycling strawberry weed line. Cute clapping, but they're doing a few subtle things to keep the line going: guitar bits, bits of backup vocals, and yes, clapping. It hasn't gotten boring yet. Nice harmonies, subtle but creating cool new tones on the verse. Like the synth introduced for strawberry weed part. Great bassline, still, man. Hehe, chromatic bubbly synth line there, in and out. Just cool bits. Drums get better to support the guitar + drums part, and bass and claps move it up. Great, great sense of growth there. We're back home in this riff that, unlike a lot of electropop, doesn't get repetitively irritating. A lot of the stuff you have in here borders on irritating electropop. Fun, man.


The Clientele - Bookshop Casanova Cool percussion, really tight, using both bass, guitar, and drums. There's a sense of tension, which the violins then release, in that rising and falling line. Great sense of flow, in that decision. Bassline supports everything well, violins play an atmospheric role. Vocals could do more than ride a few convenient eighth notes. Part after chorus is nice, going back to the first versish part, and now the second versish part with swelling synth. I hope they use it to create more anticipation for the chorus...which they do. Violins and bass, and drums, rise to the chorus, but then...it's just more material. It's not fundamentally different, I don't feel like I've arrived anywhere until the descending part. It's not bad, but I'd prefer something at the top of the mountain I was just carried to the top of. Nice solo. Very tight though, very beautiful and well-thought. I like it a lot, I do!


Caesars - Soul Chaser EXCITING SYNTHY STUFF WOO it's so poppy and wonderful. Vocal line creates continuity, when it goes to the minor in the verse, that's a good thing to do. Bassline does...jackshit. But the genius lies in the synth and guitar use, as well as some vocality. A million leaves are falling into vocal harmonies. Seems to get more serious the second time around for the verse. Great vocals, wow. Vocals and guitar do a great, but subtle, job on the million leaves part. It's another one of those songs that just goes to the top of a hill and goes to the bottom just to do it again, and there's a steep breakdown on the other side that you then travel up to get back to the top of the mountain and it's awesome because you've achieved something. Classy vocals + drums. I'd prefer if things were more clearly stated, as the sound and form is a bit mushy, if you know what I mean. But it's still great and fine. Now I get it, so NO MORE CAESARS.


Beck - Burro Cute unison between trumpet and...strings? Acoustic sets a great rhythm, as good as any drum. Hits by strings, and a bit of trumpet, add a lot to an otherwise silent verse. There's a symmetry in the unison line: held notes to rhythmic notes to held notes, low to high to low. His voice is fine, I guess. The echo is a good effect. He varies the acoustic nicely. It hops along. Simple and nice. Well executed, subtle in parts. Just a nice groove, in all.


East Side Boyz/OutKast/Lil Jon/Mello/Slimm Calhoun - Last Call Oh man that's a great groove just from the voice. Just...great rhythm and syllables. That's a pretty awful beat...but they play with percussion a bit, which makes it better. But the horns...ugh ugh ugh! It's made up by the voice itself. It's just...a few different artists using their techniques to make a series of very different, but each really exciting, voice lines. That's saying nothing of the rhymes themselves, which are great, if sort of meaningness. It's a fun ride, and there are moments of real genius. And end it with a guitar on that horn line. Pretty nice.

Yeasayer - 2080 oooh, nice noise. Cycling guitar line, added percussion and voices and overarching noise movements. It's exciting, it's pregnant. The drums give it a direction, and the guitar lines give it a rhythmic purpose, but this all chugs under the soaring noise. It's a great effect. Voice line is pretty good. Great basslines and guitarlines, if a bit overcomplex. Cello is classy, man. That bit of percussion on the e and a of the beat fade in and out, like a bit of the noise which has come down from the sky to play. They're great musicians, definitely. Chorus is a bit muddy, and a tad abrput. Breakdown...where have I heard this before? Anyway, that's exciting, really exciting. Lines of...a clarinet? under that yeah! yeah! dadadadadadad etc. vocal line (nice symmetry and flow in that, like a waterfall). Did someone I know cover this? The chorus is unremarkable, which is sad. I just don't get anything out of it, but it's mostly genius in other parts. Really cool.

[Mando Pandango]

So I've got a good list going and it's still growing, but I've found I'm flip-flopping a lot on two songs by one artist. So I'm thinking of doing 2 volumes, with the same artists on both. Sort of like a mirror. Thoughts?

[Hiro]

Beck - Burro Cute unison between trumpet and...strings? Acoustic sets a great rhythm, as good as any drum. Hits by strings, and a bit of trumpet, add a lot to an otherwise silent verse. There's a symmetry in the unison line: held notes to rhythmic notes to held notes, low to high to low. His voice is fine, I guess. The echo is a good effect. He varies the acoustic nicely. It hops along. Simple and nice. Well executed, subtle in parts. Just a nice groove, in all.


East Side Boyz/OutKast/Lil Jon/Mello/Slimm Calhoun - Last Call Oh man that's a great groove just from the voice. Just...great rhythm and syllables. That's a pretty awful beat...but they play with percussion a bit, which makes it better. But the horns...ugh ugh ugh! It's made up by the voice itself. It's just...a few different artists using their techniques to make a series of very different, but each really exciting, voice lines. That's saying nothing of the rhymes themselves, which are great, if sort of meaningness. It's a fun ride, and there are moments of real genius. And end it with a guitar on that horn line. Pretty nice.

the fact that you did serious reviews of these two (especially Last Call) makes me lol

A lot of the stuff you have in here borders on irritating electropop.

[Boogus Epirus Aurelius]

I like this idea, so I put something together on my own.
It's hard to narrow down from nearly 12000 in my library, but it's been fun.
I'll dump it in a few days.

[Samus Aran]

Downloaded Hiro's pack, and I've listened to about half of it, barring the stuff that I already have of course. Mostly good stuff.

[Hiro]

Downloaded Hiro's pack, and I've listened to about half of it, barring the stuff that I already have of course. Mostly good stuff.

What song you at now 
Also, what songs stand out as particularly good/bad?

Your opinion on Caesars would also be appreciated