05-20-2014, 07:28 AM
Hulk's awesome 2013 music thread got long in tooth, so I'm starting a new one, with what I consider my most important musical discovery since I heard "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" back in elementary school.Â
I've seen it ranked among the greatest albums of all time, so out of curiosity I got it from the library. It's not new music. Classic rock, in fact. It's not any good. Quite, the contrary. It's awful. It's Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica. A minority of critics consider it a masterpiece. An even smaller number of listeners agree. Calling it polarizing is generous. The first time I listened to it, I couldn't believe somebody released something this awful. It did make me laugh out loud. Matt Groening of Simpsons fame reported a similar reaction upon a first listening. He said after the 6th time, he thought it was the greatest album ever made. So I listened to it 6 times. Still sounds like crap.
Here's why I'm recommending it. It's a sonic palate cleanser or a musical aperitif. After listening to it 6 times, I find other music amazing especially new bands I hadn't heard before. Even bands I didn't particularly like before now sound like geniuses. Arcade Fire, in particular. Beefheart may have a particularly powerful influence in this case, because there is a direct line of influence from Beefheart to the Talking Heads to Arcade Fire. Note that I think the effect only works on quirky/off-beat music. This will not make you like Justin Bieber (note that I actually like "Baby" or at least I used to until I listened to it 300 times).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5I-Xq54FT4
I've seen it ranked among the greatest albums of all time, so out of curiosity I got it from the library. It's not new music. Classic rock, in fact. It's not any good. Quite, the contrary. It's awful. It's Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica. A minority of critics consider it a masterpiece. An even smaller number of listeners agree. Calling it polarizing is generous. The first time I listened to it, I couldn't believe somebody released something this awful. It did make me laugh out loud. Matt Groening of Simpsons fame reported a similar reaction upon a first listening. He said after the 6th time, he thought it was the greatest album ever made. So I listened to it 6 times. Still sounds like crap.
Here's why I'm recommending it. It's a sonic palate cleanser or a musical aperitif. After listening to it 6 times, I find other music amazing especially new bands I hadn't heard before. Even bands I didn't particularly like before now sound like geniuses. Arcade Fire, in particular. Beefheart may have a particularly powerful influence in this case, because there is a direct line of influence from Beefheart to the Talking Heads to Arcade Fire. Note that I think the effect only works on quirky/off-beat music. This will not make you like Justin Bieber (note that I actually like "Baby" or at least I used to until I listened to it 300 times).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5I-Xq54FT4
