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I finally caved and bought an iPod. It became necessary.
Some of you may remember that about a year ago I lost 64 of my treasured CDs, and that I used to keep my collection in autobiographical order ŕ la High Fidelity. Well, the cost of 64 CDs is more than the cost of an iPod... so I bought one. This way, if I lose the iPod I don't lose my precious albums...
There's a hitch, though – I eBayed a used 10GB iPod, and when it arrived it had ~3.5GB of music on it from the previous owned. A nice touch (albeit not legal), especially since some of it was music I didn't already own. As a result I am (re)discovering Jane's Addiction. But most notable are the title artists – Sigur Rós and Autechre. The former in particular. The Sigur Rós album () is remarkable, though I can't listen to too much of it at once. It's not my normal listening fare – far too ambient – but I'm very impressed by it. While I'll admit that I've been making an effort to be more forgiving of albums over the last six months or so, I still like to think that I have sufficient taste and talent to know a good album from a stinky pile of poo. () and Ágćtis Byrjun are impressive. Normally Coldplay borders on being too mellow for me, but both Sigur Rós albums just have a certain je ne sais quoi that keep me coming back to them on my playlist whenever I feel like I can handle the mellowness. Autechre is harder to listen to, because they're even more ambient (and considerably more synthetic; Sigur Rós are actually a band). Nonetheless, I've had to sit up and take note.
Anyone heard of these artists?
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
I've heard of Autechre... Mark is quite the music connoisseur, and went through a brief period of being really into them. He says you should also try Boards of Canada and maybe Luna Park, also maybe Röyksřp (I don't know if I'm spelling that right).
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Then Mark repeats his Ryoksop however the heck you spell it suggestion, as well as Zero 7, but not their Back to Mine album because it's a mix album and not really representative of what they sound like.
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Sigur Ros is great, though I've only listened to them casually. Have you tried Godspeed You Black Emperor! or Mogwai?
Posts: 2443 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Sigur Ros is excellent. I have never been a fan of Godspeed!, but I LOVE Mogwai. If only for the name it is a great band. But they have some real depth to them. Their ambient stuff is beautiful and at the same time they can pull out a rock tune that will keep you satisfied. Great bands.
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Was the iPod worth it? I've read some reviews which kind of slagged the sound quality. I was shopping for mp3 players a little while ago, and ultimately I decided on the Nomad Jukebox Zen , 20GB.
It is the greatest portable music investment I've ever made. Great sound quality, and I've put about 60 of my 200 cds on it so far. Not even close to filling it up.
Posts: 1855 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Fitz, I love the iPod, and have no complaints about the sound quality. I'm not using the Apple headphones, though; I have my own earmuffs (Sony MDR-CD280) that are more than adequate for my needs. I also very much appreciate that it mounts painlessly on my desktop for data backup purposes, and that it automagically syncs with my calendar so I can keep my schedule on it.
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This thread inspired me to go buy a Nick Drake CD off iTMS last night. I've been interested in him, and he's not my usual style, so I thought I'd try something a little different. So far, I love the album.
Posts: 2220 | Registered: Jun 1999
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Strangely, I seem to listen to nothing but stuff that's outside my normal taste range! Just when I think I'm comfy, someone I know recommends something that shakes it all up. First I was pretty happy with mainstream rock (yeesh), then my girlfriend recommended Massive Attack and such, then someone else recommended me Three Mile Pilot and other indie stuff, then orchestral rock like gybe!, then I moved to Radiohead, then Tom Waits. Now I'm listening to some Portugese band called Blasted Mechanism, and all I can say is it's weird shit. The fun never ends. . . .
Posts: 2443 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I agree - a friend of mine recently introduced me to Sigur Ros, and it's amazing listening. The same friend also put me onto Arvo Part - specifically the 'fratres' album, which is also very heavy and far more ambient than my usual listening tastes, but when I'm in the mood, it's amazing 'short burst' listening.
I'm also in the process of rediscovering Pink Floyd at their early 80's best - Dark side of the moon and Mission Bell, specifically....
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you should check out Mum (the "u" should have an umlout i think), similar to sigur ros, but a little more mellow. icelandic.
it's so funny that this stuff is so underground in the states, most people have never heard of it; go to europe and it's all over the radio...
Posts: 380 | Registered: Mar 2003
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