Johan Brand(Änglagård)'s All Traps on Earth - A Drop of Light

[progmeister]

I don't want a fuckiin file. I want 360g of vinyl. All of them.

I'll try to hang on for a while, but maybe I will have to settle for a download. I am a very unhappy person at the moment.

24bit file on bandcamp!

[moecurlythanu]

24bit file on bandcamp!

When he said that he didn't want any two-bit file, he wasn't being literal.

[FrippWire]

Just pre-ordered. Hopefully Ken's pre-orders don't exceed his initial qty.

[LASERCD]

Just pre-ordered. Hopefully Ken's pre-orders don't exceed his initial qty.

Don't have a lot left but still have some. Fedex has been killing me. LPs arrived last week. CDs will arrive tomorrow.

[Zalmoxe]

Damn it, I forgot to add this to my last LE order. What an idiot I can be sometimes!

[JKL2000]

Got my copy from LE yesterday. Man, the ink smells fresh!

One thing - the sticker on the front of the bag the CD is in, did they expect ANYONE to be able to read that type without a magnifying glass? Has to be the smallest type I've ever seen in a CD release! Most of the booklet is readable though, and that's much more important. The last inner page though, with the "Thanks" section - they had the whole page to use, but used only about one fifth of the page - why not bump the type size up a bit - it's still quite hard to read. I don't get how these decisions are made...

Reading all the liner notes, though, the album took a long time to create, and seems to have been done with a lot of passion, so it's great that it's been born! I guess we need to appreciate that an album like this this even exists these days. I'm off for a Saturday morning listen...

[Sputnik]

Got mine yesterday too and gave it a first spin last night. Similar to Anglagard's music, this one will take some time to absorb. It's cut from largely the same cloth, with some different textures added by the voice and other instruments. Didn't blow me away on first listen like I thought it might, but it's definitely one I see having potential to appreciate more over time.

Bill

[Poisoned Youth]

Got mine yesterday too and gave it a first spin last night. Similar to Anglagard's music, this one will take some time to absorb. It's cut from largely the same cloth, with some different textures added by the voice and other instruments. Didn't blow me away on first listen like I thought it might, but it's definitely one I see having potential to appreciate more over time.

Do you still find music that blows you away on first listen? Did even the last Anglagard album do that? I’m asking somewhat rhetorically, but I find I’m rarely blown away anymore. I do as you say “see the potential” on repeated listens, but I have heard so much great music over the years, that it’s difficult for me to be wowed.

For this album, I’d say your assessment is similar to mine. I enjoyed it, see potential for future listens, but it didn’t stand out for me right away. I personally see this as more of a listener issue than an indictment of the music itself.

[Sputnik]

Do you still find music that blows you away on first listen? Did even the last Anglagard album do that? I’m asking somewhat rhetorically, but I find I’m rarely blown away anymore. I do as you say “see the potential” on repeated listens, but I have heard so much great music over the years, that it’s difficult for me to be wowed.

For this album, I’d say your assessment is similar to mine. I enjoyed it, see potential for future listens, but it didn’t stand out for me right away. I personally see this as more of a listener issue than an indictment of the music itself.

Yeah, actually I do still find music that blows me away on first listen. Nothing this year has quite done it, but here are some from last year that did it for me:

Kotebel - Cosmology
MediaBanda - Bombas en el Aire
Nova Collective - The Further Side
Utopianisti - The Third Frontier

Loved these on first listen, and still do! Several others were close, but most needed a bit more time to bake for me to fully appreciate, including the Accoro die Contrari, one of my favorite current bands.

I'm not going to say I've heard as much music as you over the years, but I've heard my fair share. I tend to have a narrower band of music that really resonates with me, but when something hits well within that band, it still has the capacity to wow me. I like to hear musicians "going for it," but not resorting to a simple chopsfest. I like a certain level of complexity in the compositions, but it doesn't have to be uber complex in some objective sense to still give a bit of a thrill. It doesn't have to be literally "progressive" for me to respond to it as "Progressive Rock," and that's where my listening heart lies.

So, maybe I'm a cheap date, but I think sticking largely to what I know I like and not feeling like I have to work to find appreciation for all styles and genres and artists has kept me from burning out on the music I love the most. In this sense, less has been more for me, and I'm still able to respond with excitement to some new stuff like I did when I was a teenager.

Bill

[Steve F.]

In this sense, less has been more for me, and I'm still able to respond with excitement to some new stuff like I did when I was a teenager.
l

Playing devil's advocate here, Bill.

Yes, it's new stuff that you respond to as if you were a teenager because it's largely the same music [by different people] as what you liked as a teenager.

There isn't anything wrong with that, but I had to at least mention this.

[moecurlythanu]

^ Not always, but often this has the opposite effect on me. Sort of a "been there, heard that" vibe. It's not that I require fresh and new, because I certainly don't, but too much "new" stuff has a "I've got a dozen other releases that took the same approach" thing going on. 13th in line is not a position to clamor for.

[JKL2000]

Playing devil's advocate here, Bill.

Yes, it's new stuff that you respond to as if you were a teenager because it's largely the same music [by different people] as what you liked as a teenager.

There isn't anything wrong with that, but I had to at least mention this.

Do you think this applies to the last couple of Cuneiform digital releases? I thought they sounded great on first listen.

[Steve F.]

Do you think this applies to the last couple of Cuneiform digital releases? I thought they sounded great on first listen.

Jed, I'm not sure if you are being sincere while being a dick or simply being a dick. So, let's drop it.

[Splicer]

Nothing this year has quite done it, but here are some from last year that did it for me:

Kotebel - Cosmology
MediaBanda - Bombas en el Aire
Nova Collective - The Further Side
Utopianisti - The Third Frontier

The last three in your list have made me feel more anxious than I've felt in a while. The last one simply made me want to start running down the street punching people at random.

[mozo-pg]

This is an interesting thread.

[boilk]

This year's Koenji, Karmic Juggernaut, Vak, and All Traps on Earth, all have blown me away on first listen. Far Corner blew me away on the second listen. So, very possible for me.

neil

[Sputnik]

Playing devil's advocate here, Bill.

Yes, it's new stuff that you respond to as if you were a teenager because it's largely the same music [by different people] as what you liked as a teenager.

There isn't anything wrong with that, but I had to at least mention this.

I guess. If you think MediaBanda and Utopianisti are largely the same as Yes and ELP, then I guess you're right. I hear differences and I think my horizons have broadened somewhat over the years due to exposure, but there are certainly common elements in the bands I listed above and the bands that strongly resonated with me in my teens. I listed some of those characteristics above. It doesn't have to be capes and Mellotrons, but there are particular musical elements that attract me, and the absence of them is usually an indicator of something that won't endure for me.

So yeah, I don't need music to be "completely new" to still be exciting to me. The same elements that attracted me in my teens are still the ones that resonate with me the most. I have explored lots of stuff from jazz to classical to avant chamber Prog to what-have-you. I'm not sure why very little of that stuff resonates with me, but it doesn't, and I don't feel a great need to try and "conquer" it. I'm happy liking what I like, and happy I still get a thrill when I hear something that pushes my personal buttons.

Bill

[Steve F.]

I guess. If you think MediaBanda and Utopianisti are largely the same as Yes and ELP, then I guess you're right.

I don't know that they are! I'm not saying that they are! But you brought up the idea of staying in your comfort zone meant staying listening to essentially the same things that excited you 40 years previously.

That was what I was asking/playing d.a. about.

I largely stay in my comfort zone too, but my comfort zone at 60 does not resemble at all my comfort zone at 20. Not even close. And I got to that point by not always staying in my comfort zone.

[JKL2000]

Do you think this applies to the last couple of Cuneiform digital releases? I thought they sounded great on first listen.

Jed, I'm not sure if you are being sincere while being a dick or simply being a dick. So, let's drop it.

It just seemed you were "painting with a very broad brush," as they say. But I guess since you said you were playing devil's advocate, that's ok. I just disagreed with the devil's advocate - I think there's still lots of exciting new music that's not the same as what I liked as a teenager. Bill mentioned MediaBanda, that's certainly one. I don't think they're that similar to any band from our teenage years, and neither are most recent Cuneiform releases.

[Steve F.]

^ ^ ^

gotcha! You were just being a dick! Thanks for explaining.

[Zappathustra]

I like the term "chopsfest". It makes me wanna crack a can of beer to go with my chops.

In fact I'm just doing that. Cheers!

[JKL2000]

^ ^ ^

gotcha! You were just being a dick! Thanks for explaining.

If that's the way you'd like to interpret it, be my guest. I guess that makes you feel better for some reason.

[Sputnik]

I don't know that they are! I'm not saying that they are! But you brought up the idea of staying in your comfort zone meant staying listening to essentially the same things that excited you 40 years previously.

That was what I was asking/playing d.a. about.

I largely stay in my comfort zone too, but my comfort zone at 60 does not resemble at all my comfort zone at 20. Not even close. And I got to that point by not always staying in my comfort zone.

OK. I said that I "tend to have a narrower band of music that really resonates with me." But I wouldn't say I haven't explored and evolved and broadened either. As I mentioned, I've heard tons of stuff in diverse genres, and even if Prog have often found myself pushing my comfort zone (I hated Gentle Giant the first time I heard them - now they're my favorites! ). For whatever reason, I just find myself returning to certain musical elements that really resonate with me, and not finding much to be excited about outside of that.

I think it's the way my brain responds to those elements that is the root of my continued enthusiasm for some of the records I hear, which is what I was trying to say to Cozy. It is also why I don't worry much about all the stuff I may be missing or that I'm not pushing my comfort zone "enough." Would I really get that much more out of it if I did? I think not, especially when I've tried and wound up ditching tons of stuff that in the end simply wasn't for me and left me feeling overloaded and burned out. That said, I still sample lots of stuff, and do still take some chances. So I hope the Devil is OK with that.

Bill

[Steve F.]

Bill,

Your original quote, as you say above, is why I asked what I asked.

Unlike Jed, no harm was intended by me and thank you for elaborating.

This devil is ok with it!!

[JKL2000]

^ Wow, you love looking for a fight.

Bill, I'm sure you could tell that I was supporting your comments, and the list of recent albums that excited you.