The Great HTF Music Challenge (3 Viewers)

[Bryan^H]

Back in the day after rundmc/aerosmith, I remember the next collaboration which immediately caught my attention was "Bring The Noise" from Anthrax + Public Enemy.



It was the first time I heard a rap/metal collab which sounded "organic" and not the two genres "shoehorned" into one another. A few years earlier, Anthrax did a rap/metal song "I'm The Man" which I thought sounded like a parody at the time.

Love Anthrax. I bought the tape "State of Euphoria' back in the day when it was released I went back shortly after and picked up "I'm The Man'.

Bit of trivia, both Anthrax and Metallica were both struggling for cash in the early 80's, and often shared rooms, and studio space.

Both bands survived on something they labeled "Poor Man's Bologna sandwhiches" Which was just 2 slices of bologna eaten out of the palm of their hands.

 

[jcroy]

Aerosmith - "Walk This Way" - Like I said, I enjoy both versions. Aerosmith is one of those groups that I have listened to a lot over the years on FM radio, but I don't own a lot of their catalog. (I think the dreaded 'over-saturation' has struck again. )

I never experienced Aerosmith as being oversaturated on radio and mtv.

This is likely due to my peak years of listening to the radio and watching mtv during the early->mid 1980s, when Aerosmith had already fallen off the pop culture radar. (ie. Before "dude looks like a lady" revived their career).

 

[Walter Kittel]

I have never heard the group Grizzly Bear on FM radio. My exposure to them came courtesy of an appearance on David Letterman when they were promoting their second album Yellow House in 2006. I purchased the album the next day.

About the closest comparison to another group stylistically that I can make for the group Grizzly Bear is Radiohead or perhaps Pink Floyd. I normally wouldn't post four songs, but I think this group is so distinctive that it was difficult to stop with just one or two songs.

From their debut album, 2004's Horn of Plenty -
Grizzly Bear - "Disappearing Act":



From their second album, 2006's Yellow House -
Grizzly Bear - "Knife":



From their third album, 2008's Veckatimest -
Grizzly Bear - "While You Wait For The Others":



From their fourth album, 2012's Shields -
Grizzly Bear - "Sleeping Ute":



- Walter.

 

[sleroi]

Im not a huge Anthrax fan, but I like a lot of their music.

Bring on the Noise - great collaboration, I agree it sounded organic. And it highlighted what Anthrax does best with that hard driving but slightly funky beat.

Im the Man - And this is Anthrax at its worse. Ugh, just a terrible song, musically, vocally, lyrically.

 

[sleroi]

Mark Lanegan

Where Did You Sleep Last Night - Nice slow burn of a song.

Judas Touch - Cool little song. Barely a minute and a half, but thats all it needed.

 

[sleroi]

Grizzly Bear - I was expecting a heavier sound based on their name, but...

Disappearing Act - I wasnt a fan of the intentionally scratchy sound or the distorted vocals in the beginning. Despite that, the instrumentation was so interesting, and the droning vocals so hypnotizing that I found myself really enjoying it by the end of the song.

Knife - Again, the beginning wasnt as musically interesting as the last song, and the vocals were kind of humdrum. But once the backing vocals and heavier chords kicked in I was once again sucked in.

While You Wait for the Others - Third time in a row, I didnt like the first minute of the song, and then I really started digging it. And I liked the more upbeat sound of the vocals. Not that there was anything wrong with the previous two songs, just nice to know that while there is a similarity in style that not every song of theirs is going to sound the same when I listen to an entire album.

Sleeping Ute - I liked the beginning of the song this time. It ended rather abruptly, but I guess it made its point.

Overall, a really interesting band that Ill have to check out more of their stuff.

 

[jcroy]

Yes, Stryper would be considered CC by most. CC is just a big umbrella term for modern music with Christian content/messages, so from there the standard genres apply, though there is not as much variety, or at least at the time I was following it. For the most part you had heavy metal, rock, pop/top 40 style, and essentially modern country which probably had the most similarity to the majority of CC music at the time. I'm sure there is the largely meaningless "alternative" genre in there, too, but I haven't kept up with it, so I don't really know what it's predominantly like now.

Around 20-25 years ago, was Creed ever lumped into the alternative/CC category?

Creed's three albums from that time (i.e My Own Prison, Human Clay, Weathered), had lyrics which looked religious/spiritual.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Around 20-25 years ago, was Creed ever lumped into the alternative/CC category?

I personally would put them in the alternative rock category. Less sure about the CC categorization. Thinking about the term 'alternative' reminds me of the observation made in the early '90s regarding that label. When alternative became the mainstream it lost its meaning. What was it an alternative to, when all of the acts began producing music in that style?

- Walter.

 

[jcroy]

Thinking about the term 'alternative' reminds me of the observation made in the early '90s regarding that label. When alternative became the mainstream it lost its meaning. What was it an alternative to, when all of the acts began producing music in that style?

For that matter, I always thought the "grunge" categorization was almost vacuous. Back in the day, it seemed like an all encompassing term the mainstream media used to desribe the "seattle scene".

Of the big 4 grunge bands: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden, I thought they all sounded very different from one another to defy easy categorizations.

 

[sleroi]

While driving this morning I heard Wilco on my local station's Americana Monday lunch hour and realized no one had brought them up yet.

Their first album, 1995s AM was pure alternative country and wasnt very successful. So they started broadening their musical horizons, and even added avant garde jazz guitarist Nels Cline to their lineup, and put out a string of great albums that if I had to describe I would classify as country tinged progressive indy rock.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Anthrax & Public Enemy - "Bring the Noise" - Personally I am not a big fan of metal which works against this song. I do agree that the mixing of styles feels more organic and seamless when compared to the earlier example in this thread - "Walk This Way".

Anthrax - "I'm The Man" - I will refrain from posting a more comprehensive critique given the constructive nature of this thread. Nope.

Mark Lanegan - While Screaming Trees never obtained the success of some of the biggest acts from that era, they were an enjoyable band and I do own a few of their albums.

"Where Did You Sleep Last Night" - Like the gravel voice rendition on this track. Of course the MTV Unplugged version by Nirvana is the version most indelibly etched into my mind, but this is a worthy alternative.

"Judas" - Like the vocals on this song as well. Nice mood piece.

- Walter.

 

[TravisR]

I personally would put them in the alternative rock category. Less sure about the CC categorization. Thinking about the term 'alternative' reminds me of the observation made in the early '90s regarding that label. When alternative became the mainstream it lost its meaning. What was it an alternative to, when all of the acts began producing music in that style?

- Walter.

I think it started as a marketing term to say "It's not hair metal band" but yeah, once everyone almost immediately stopped wearing makeup and using hair spray (including the hair metal bands), the term became even dopier.

 

[John Dirk]

This is what I eventually guessed about her writing.

Back in the day, her first song which caught my attention was "You're Not Alone" largely for the reason that it had a very "metal" sounding guitar solo. (I must have first heard it either on the radio, or at a party). After picking up the cd and reading the lyrics, it didn't seem to be about anything religious. On the surface, it reads like what a young adult feels after a breakup and in an unfamiliar place.



In light of later knowing that she was an established CC artist, the lyrics of " You're Not Alone" has a slightly different deeper meaning.

Hard to get a real feel for her actual singing from this performance as the acoustics are just terrible. Not her fault but perhaps another version of this one might serve better.

 

[John Dirk]

Grizzly Bear

"Disappearing Act":
I get nothing from this one. Is it one of those mood-dependent songs? Would be interested in knowing what you like about it.

"Knife":
Well, you compared them to Pink Floyd and, with this selection, I can see why. While some of Floyd's material did appeal to me musically and acoustically, I'm not getting the same thing here.

While You Wait For The Others":
A little more engaging than Disappearing Act but, overall, still not doing anything for me. Seems like one of those songs you had to hear at the appropriate time in your life to have a lasting appreciation for. Is that it?

Sleeping Ute:
Unadultered Laser Show material for sure.

 

[BobO'Link]

Anthrax + Public Enemy, "Bring the Noise" - Nope. Nothing...

Anthrax, "I'm the Man" - This one sounds like disjointed yelling and talking. Don't care for it.

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Mark Lanegan, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" - Don't care for this version (and I'm not that much of a fan of Leadbelly's original). It just has that heavy metal droning sound.

Mark Lanegan, "Judas Touch" - This one didn't do much for me either. Didn't care for the song or his voice.

<=======================>

Wilco, "I'm the Man Who Loves You" - Very odd intro that turns into a rather standard 60s style country/rock type song. Sounds like something I'd expect to hear from The Byrds.

Wilco, "Impossible Germany" - It was OK and a bit over long for what it is - I chalk that up to it being a live rendition.

Wilco, "Dawned on Me" - Didn't care for this one. The guitar feedback solo doesn't fit the rest very well.

Wilco, "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" - A 60s song with some 80s guitar grafted on. The drums/rhythm used was kind of monotonous. Didn't care for this one either.

 

[John Dirk]

I'm the Man Who Loves You
Became palatable after that rather out of place intro. Certainly not hearing the "Country tinge" here. The guitar at the end is unnecessary.

Impossible Germany
Smooth. I liked the flow from the first note. The vocals and music fit really well together. Nice song although it did go on a bit too long.

Dawned On Me
Meh... This one sounds pretty generic. It's not bad but just doesn't distinguish itself from the fray of similar sounding fare very well.

Outtasite
Again, nothing wrong with this but it's just not noteworthy as it sounds pretty typical a million other soft rock tracks I've heard. That said, some nice guitar and drumming.

 

[John Dirk]

There's *one* collaboration with a rap artist I'll listen to on the rare occasion and it just happens to involve Run DMC...\

Really??? I thought you specifically said you didn't like this very song earlier in the thread. It's not one of my favorites musically but it was iconic in it's day for fusing Rap and Rock in such a creative way.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Wilco - "Country tinged progressive indy rock" covers a lot of territory - but I agree that the band does tend to have a fairly diverse musical sensibility.

"I'm the Man Who Loves You" - The album from which this song comes, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" is one of the few Wilco albums I own and I like the album quite a bit. To repeat myself, the diverse musical style is the attraction. I tend to like the group's instrumentation a little more than the vocals, which is the case with this track.

"Impossible Germany" - First, really like the opening guitar on this song. Very smooth. Strong guitar work throughout the song. Just excellent. Wonderful performance.

"Dawned on Me" - It felt like there was more of a focus on the vocals for this track. Enjoyable, but slightly less so when compared to the first two tracks.

"Outtasite (Outta Mind) - Nice rocker. The rhythms of this song and singing style sort of reminded me of the group The Smithereens.

- Walter.

 

[John Dirk]

Both bands survived on something they labeled "Poor Man's Bologna sandwhiches" Which was just 2 slices of bologna eaten out of the palm of their hands.

Been there. Done that. Then there were the "mayonnaise sandwiches" when meat wasn't available.

 

[BobO'Link]

Grizzly Bear, "Disappearing Act" - Not sure just what to make of this one. Kind of odd. In the right sequence with other songs (i.e. in a suite) I think it could work but I didn't much care for it stand-alone.

Grizzly Bear, "Knife" - With a name like Grizzly Bear I wasn't expecting this more mellow sound. This one is *mostly* more coherent than the last but... I was pretty tired of it at about the half way mark.

Grizzly Bear, "While You Wait for the Others" - This one was a bit better, or rather not as sedate.

Grizzly Bear, "Sleeping Ute" - This was the best of the 4 tracks. It has a kind of Moody Blues sound at times but overall is something I'd have to listen to several times to see if they grow on me. First impression is "maybe" based solely on this track.