REACT TO: 89.3 The Current Top 893 Songs from 2005-2025

 

Facebook Post from April 15th

https://www.thecurrent.org/feature/2025/04/07/vote-for-the-893-essential-songs-of-the-current

April 23, 2025

The Current is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now. The listener-voted countdown celebrates the biggest songs released in the past 20 years that were played on The Current .

Voting is open now, and runs until midnight on Sunday, April 27. Then, tune in to hear the results during Minnesota Public Radio's Spring Member Drive from 7 a.m. on Monday, May 12, until 7 p.m. on Friday, May 16.

Vote for up to 15 songs using the embedded ballot below. For each, first choose an artist/band by scrolling or typing in a search. Then, make a choice from the list of songs by that band in The Current’s library. After you’ve completed your ballot, hit “SUBMIT.”

This year’s 893 Essentials giveaway is two VIP three-day tickets to Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, held July 18-20 at Harriet Island in St. Paul. Enter for a chance to win.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a ballot. Voting is now closed!

Playlist Countdown Page 

So, I have only vaguely paid attention to these lame lists 89.3 does during their Spring Fund Drive for MPR, and I didn't vote of course, but even if I had wanted and tried to, just reading a few comments on Facebook, they limited it even more than in the past. The sounder even states "893 Essential Songs The Current Plays" or something to that effect.

So, in glancing at the list, and it is only songs that came out from 2005-present, man, there's some real dreck and super obscure stuff..even for Hipsters.

But, I will for shits and eyerolls of course, likely pay attention and see what ends up on it. The sheep being brain washed to champion the Hipster Brand of limited flavors of modern music.

And I may think of even doing a YouTube commentary about it. But I also of course thought of just making my own. Although 893 as I've stated in their past lists that long, would be a time consuming task in a short window.

People were allowed to vote for 20 songs though per the description in that now closed voting link/page.

So, here's 20 400+ songs I guess that if that had write-ins, I could have done.

97% or more of the artists were not included, kind of going back to my feeling, I could curate a much more engaging playlist than their sheep-ish "members" with narrow-minded taste, lapping up whatever Pitchfork and the First Avenue umbrella force-feeds their ears.

edit: This is hardly complete, but from a general gauge, it's like taking the last 20 years, and finding 20 different artists every year.

I also may want to try re-sorting and labeling these by year.

It is a pretty nice estimation of music of the last 2 decades on MY RADAR at least.

I mentioned it a few times on YouTube, I will likely this coming week, try and do an abridged review of this on YouTube. We'll see. It's super EPIC being 390+ songs.

edit: here they are by Release Year (mostly the release year of the album they were on, or preferred version, etc).

I may try and make this list into a Spotify Playlist soon (and maybe even RYM list), just per I'd love to hear these tunes, within a playlist. The only issue, some are Suites per say (The Willing Well), so that may not work. Also of course probably 5-10% or maybe more ain't on Spotify. YouTube Playlist tho?

404? at this point.

Spotify Playlist (353 songs, 51 at least that have a * on them are missing. YouTube playlist with those coming hopefully soon)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6fqV3gRZkfGCcZRk1KQggb

also, I will try do some kind of video talking about this list on my YouTube. No, unlikely naming them all off, lol. But at least talking about some of them. How many per year maybe?..i'll see.

A Fraction of the missing songs on Spotify, found in some form on YouTube

2005 Abandoned Pools - Goodbye Song

2005 Broadcast - I Found the F

2005 Broken Social Scene - 7/4 (Shoreline)

2005 Calla - Swagger

2005 Carpark North - Human

2005 Clor - Love + Pain

2005 Coheed and Cambria - The Willing Well

2005 Dikta - Breaking the Waves

2005 God is an Astronaut - All Is Violent, All Is Bright

2005 Gojira - Flying Whales

2005 Gruvis Malt - Since 1968

2005 Imogen Heap - The Moment I Said It

2005 Josh Rouse - Winter in the Hamptons

2005 Kaura - Now or Never

2005 Klimt 1918 - They Were Wed By the Sea

2005 Matisyahu - King Without a Crown (Live at Stubb's)

2005 Mew - Zookeeper's Boy

2005 Neverending White Lights - The Grace

2005 Opeth - The Grand Conjuration

2005 Paulson - I Knew You When

2005 Porcupine Tree - Arriving Somewhere, But Not Here

2005 Presto Ballet - Peace Among the Ruins

*2005 Shadow Gallery - Floydian Memories

2005 Shaman - Reason

2005 Subterranean Masquerade - Six Strings to Cover Fear

2005 System of a Down - Old School Hollywood

2005 The Mars Volta - Cassandra Gemini

2005 The New Pornographers - Sing Me Spanish Techno

2005 The Pineapple Thief - The World I Always Dreamed Of

2005 The Receiving End of Sirens - This Armistice

2005 Time of Orchids - All We Ever Wish

2005 Vedera - The Falling Kind

2005 World Leader Pretend - Bang Theory

2006 A Chinese Firedrill - Circles

2006 Aereogramme - Barriers

2006 Aviatic- Goodbye Beautiful Day

*2006 Casket Salesman - Feeling Ten Feet Tall

2006 Fair to Midland - Orphan Anthem'86

*2006 Giant - Stories

2006 Gotye - Heart's a Mess

2006 Hammers of Misfortune - The Locust Years

2006 Incubus - Dig

*2006 In Reverent Fear - The Greatest Love

2006 Kunek - Good Day

2006 L.E.O. - Goodbye Innocence

*2006 Martyr - Dead Horizon

2006 Mason Proper - A Chance Encounter

2006 Men Women and Children - Celebracion!

2006 Midlake - Roscoe

2006 Muse - Map of the Problematique

2006 Opus Dai - Firefly

2006 OSI - Bigger Wave

2006 Protest the Hero - Blindfolds Aside

2006 Russian Circles - Death Rides a Horse

2006 Sans Seraph - December

2006 Scott Matthews - Elusive

2006 Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disko

2006 SikTh - Bland Street Bloom

2006 The Appleseed Cast - February

2006 The Decemberists - The Island

2006 The Dresden Dolls - Sing

2006 The Faceless - Leica

2006 The Jealous Girlfriends - Something in the Water

2006 This Day & Age - Always Straight Ahead

2006 Tokyo Jihen - Touching Up Your Makeup

2006 Under the Influence of Giants - Mama's Room

2006 uneXpect - Chromatic Chimera

2006 Weird Al Yankovic - White & Nerdy

2006 Wolmother - The Joker and the Thief

*2007 100Ft Snowman - Estranged

2007 Andre Matos - Time to be Free

2007 Battles - Tonto

2007 Bend Sinister - Time Breaks Down

2007 Between the Buried and Me - White Walls

2007 Biffy Clyro - Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies

2007 Blackfield - Christenings

2007 Bloc Party - Uniform

2007 Born of Osiris - Bow Down

*2007 Canon - Don't Trust the Teachers

*2007 Cavil at Rest - We Could Love

2007 Dark Tranquility - Misery's Crown

2007 Deas Veil - Surface

2007 Editors - Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors

2007 Far-Less - A Toast to Bad Taste

2007 Fields. - Song for the Fields

2007 Fountains of Wayne - Someone to Love

*2007 House of Fools - Until It's Over

*2007 Inme - I Won' Let Go

2007 Janelle Monae - Many Moons

*2007 Jared Micah & Hats - The Magic Is On!

2007 Kaddisfly - Via Rail

2007 Karnivool - Themata

2007 Kiss Kiss - Janet

2007 Meniscus - Cusp

2007 Menomena - Wet & Rusting

2007 Minus the Bear - Double Vision Quest

2007 Ne Obliviscaris - Tapestry of the Starless Abstract (from Aurora Veil)

2007 Oceansize - The Frame

*2007 People for Audio - The Captain

*2007 Pure Reason Revolution - Golden Clothes

2007 Sheena Ringo - Gambling

2007 Silverchair - Those Thieving Birds (Part 1) / Strange Behaviour / Those Thieving Birds (Part 2)

2007 St.Vincent - Your Lips are Red

2007 Stateless - Bluetrace

2007 Strata - Poughkeepsie, NY

2007 The Apex Theory - Lightpost

2007 The Apples in Stereo - The Same Old Drag

2007 The Bird & the Bee - La La La

2007 The Ebb & Flow - Independence Day

2007 The End - Dangerous

2007 The Pax Cecilia - The Tragedy

2007 The Polyphonic Spree - Section 22 (Running Away)

2007 Three - The Serpent in Disguise

2007 Thurisaz - Circadian Rhythm

2008 !Forward Russia! - Breaking Standing

2008 Adebisi Shank - Colin Skehan

2008 Agalloch - Sowilo Rune

2008 Anathallo - The River

2008 Annuals - Springtime

*2008 Apes & Androids - Johnny and Sarah

2008 Black Mountain - Bright Lights

2008 Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears - The Purple Rocket

2008 Burst - (We Watched) The Silver Rain

2008 Demians - Temple

2008 Distrails - Broken English

*2008 Eroica - Monuments

2008 Exotic Animal Petting Zoo - A Balloon Enters Kyoto City

2008 Kacica - Daydream

2008 King's X - Go Tell Somebody

2008 Margot & the Nuclear So & So's - Pages Written On a Wall

2008 Mutyumu - 火焔鳥 / die Ewige Wiederkunft

2008 Ours - The Worst Things Beautiful

2008 Panic at the Disco - Nine in the Afternoon

2008 Paper Route - Are We All Forgotten

2008 Sculptured - Embodiment Is The Purest Form Of Horror

*2008 Tangled Thoughts of Leaving - Tiny Fragments

2008 The Age of Rockets - Avade Kedavra

2008 The Chap - Proper Rock

2008 The Gutter Twins - God's Children

2008 The Myriad - Stuck in a Glass Elevator

2008 The Reign of Kindo - Til We Make Our Ascent

2008 The Stiletto Formal - Sleeping Our Way to the Top

2008 Warpaint - Elephants

2008 Wolf Parade - Kissing the Beehive

2008 Woven - Cosmonaut

2009 Archive - Collapse / Collide

2009 As Tall As Lions - Circles

2009 Big Fresh - Entertainment

2009 Bleu - Go

2009 Brooke Waggoner - Go Easy Little Doves, I'll Be Fine

2009 Cale Parks - Running Family

2009 Diablo Swing Orchestra - New World Windows

2009 Do Make Say Think - Do

2009 Doves - Kingdom of Rust

2009 Dream Theater - The Count of Tuscany

2009 dredg - Gathering Pebbles

2009 Grammatics - The Vague Archive

*2009 Greg Herriges - Rama B Good

2009 Janus - Your Arms

2009 Malajube - Luna

2009 Mastodon - The Last Baron

*2009 My Latest Novel - I declare a Ceasefire

*2009 note. - Composition Two

*2009 Operahouse - Escape from the Sun

2009 Painted in Exile - Skylines

2009 Riverside - Driven to Destruction

2009 Shelter Red - Strike a Mortal Terror

2009 Sholi - Dance for Hours

*2009 Sigmund Droid - Maximum Grind

*2009 Solarcade - Rise

2009 Sound & Shape - The Love Electric

2009 Soundscape - Digital Lover

2009 The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra - Dark Matter

2009 This City Sunrise - Pretty Much

2009 Umphrey's McGee - Cemetary Walk

2010 22 - Gotodo

2010 Alpha Rev - New Morning

2010 Chromeo - Night by Night

2010 Dead Letter Circus - The Drum

*2010 Early Ghost - 1914

2010 Emanuel and the Fear - Jimme's Song

2010 Field Music - Let's Write a Book

2010 Fitz & the Tantrums - Moneygrabber

2010 Foals - Spanish Sahara

2010 Happy Body Slow Brain - Everything You Know

2010 Jazzkamikaze - Music is My Heroin

2010 Jimmy Gnecco - Bring You Home

2010 Journal - Labyrinth of Betrayal

*2010 Judgement Day - Peacocks / Pink Monsters

2010 Late of the Pier - Blueberry

2010 Lehto & Wright - Children's Songs

2010 Memoryhouse - To the Lighthouse

2010 Negroni's Trio - Sabado en la Noche

2010 Orphan Bloom - No Ever After

2010 Orphaned Land - Sapari

2010 Revere - As the Radars Sleep

2010 Sufjan Stevens - Impossible Soul

2010 The Besnard Lakes - Albatross

*2010 The Book of Right On - Pinpointing the Exact Moment Hollywood Said Good Enough

*2010 Gloomcatcher - The Rising Cane

2010 The River Empires - Three Tigers

2010 Timmy Sean - Can't Stop the World

2010 Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn

2011 *Shels - Plains of the Purple Buffalo

2011 Arafel - Kurgan

*2011 Battle Circus - Clockwork

2011 Canon Blue - Chicago (Chicago)

2011 East of the Wall - Underachiever

*2011 Erick Serna and the Killing Floor - Whiskey Song

2011 For the Imperium - Hero

2011 Glen Campbell - Ghost on the Canvas

2011 Hands of Despair - The Departure

2011 Hotel of the Laughing Tree - Weather Maps for Nikolai

*2011 Jimmy Gnecco & Paul Waaktaar-Savoy - Weathervane

*2011 Jon Anderson - Open

2011 Kimbra - Cameo Lover

2011 Mercies - Animals

2011 Metronomy - The Look

2011 Mutemath - Cavalries

2011 NewVillager - Lighthouse

2011 Nicole Atkins - The Tower

2011 O'Brother - Easy Talk (Open Your Mouth)

2011 Oedipus - Gimme a Chance

2011 Radical Face - Ghost Towns

2011 The Baltic Sea - Heavy is the Coast

2011 The Orion Experience - NYC Girl

*2011 Trent Romens - Loves Lost Cause

2011 Vektor - Tetrastructural Minds

2011 Water & Bodies - Celebration Song

2011 Yes - Fly From Here

2012 Alcest - Autere Temps

2012 Amanda Palmer - Want It Back

2012 Anathema - Untouchable Part 1-2

*2012 Brice Plays Drums - The Jester

2012 Bruce Peninsula - Of Songs

2012 Flying Colors - The Storm

*2012 Forest Park - Golden

2012 Gatherer - Thrive

2012 Godspeed You Black Emperor - Mladic

*2012 Guante - A Pragmatist Guide to Revolution

2012 Jessie Ware - Running

2012 Josh Benash - My Little Noose

2012 Media Addicts - Mr. Nice Guy

2012 Mike Linden - Paper Planes

2012 Moonloop - Strombus

*2012 Northern Abbey - The Catacombs (35)

2012 Oddland - In Endless Endeavour

2012 Pepe Deluxe - A Night and a Day

2012 Punch Brothers - New York City

2012 Ramona Falls - Spore

2012 Rush - The Garden

2012 Spawn of Possession - Apparition

2012 Sucre - No Return

2012 The Barnum Meserve - Broken Window

2012 The Gathering - Heroes for Ghosts

2012 Umbrella Tree - N-N-N-N-N-N-N

*2012 Vuvuzela - Rings and Things

*2012 Wolfhoppers - Purpose, Part I

2013 Capital Cities - Kangaroo Court

2013 Cloud Cult - Sleepwalker

2013 Dirt Poor Robins - Solemn Dream

2013 Genders - Technicolor Vision

2013 In Vain - Against the Grain

2013 K Sera - Dream, Like I Do

2013 Leprous - Chronic

2013 Mayer Hawthorne - Designer Drug

2013 Miracles of Modern Science - Dear Pressure

2013 Mother Falcon - Dirty Summer

2013 Nordic Giants - Violent Lights

2013 Persefone - Spiritual Migration

2013 Pretty & Nice - Stallion & Mare

2013 Renaissance - The Mystic and the Muse

*2013 RisingSide - A Spell

2013 Sir Video - Do What You Wanna

2013 Spock's Beard - Something Very Strange

2013 The Grape & the Grain - The Hudson

2013 The Mavericks - Back In Your Arms Again

*2013 The Red Paintings - Walls

*2013 The Royal Veil - Into the Sun (40)

2013 The Winery Dogs - Elevate

2013 Toria - Snow Crystals

*2014 Alphabetical Order Orchestra - Supergods

2014 Big Wreck - Ghosts

*2014 Clone - The City, Nightime

2014 Dream the Electric Sleep - Elizabeth

2014 Fjokra - Infinite Loops

2014 Gavin Castleton - A Light Like Yours

2014 Grimus - The Hell I'm In

2014 iamthemorning - The Howler

2014 Major Parkinson - The Wheelbarrow

2014 Marketa Irglova - The Right Here

2014 Michael Jackson - Love Never Felt So Good

2014 Nicolas Krygovich - Along the PCH on Oscar Night

*2014 Nomia - A Windswept Tree

2014 sElf - Runaway

2014 Syd Arthur - Hometown Blues

2014 Team Me - F is for Faker

2014 The Contortionist - Language I: Intuition

2014 The Family Crest - Beneath the Brine

2014 The Mercury Tree - Otoliths

2014 The Tea Party - Water's On Fire

2015 I Mother Earth - Blossom

2015 LA Priest - Oino

2015 majestyy - Spirits Touch

2015 Native Construct - Mute

2015 Small Leaks Sink Ships - The Mind is it's Own Place

2015 Steven Wilson - Happy Returns

2015 The Dear Hunter - Waves

*2015 The Pneumatic Transit - Lioness

2015 The Velvet Teen - Sonreo

2015 Timbre - Night Girl: Nycteris Sees the Sun

*2015 Tiny Giant - Heavy Love

*2015 Vennart - Doubt

*2015 Words for Penga - Drown

2016 Anakdota - Late

*2016 British Theatre - Gold Bruise

2016 Disillusion - Alea

2016 Esperanza Spalding - Judas

2016 Everything Everything - To the Blade

2016 Fates Warning - The Light and Shade of Things

*2016 Ideology - Oxygen

2016 Kansas - Refugee

2016 Long Distance Calling - Lines

2016 Marillion - The Leavers

2016 Must Be the Holy Ghost - Meltdown

2016 Rare Futures - Hope

2016 Textures - New Horizons

2016 The Monkees - You Bring the Summer

2016 The Woods Brothers - Terrafirma

2017 Bent Knee - Land Animal

2017 Bubblemath - Making Light of Traffic

2017 Bullet Height - Bastion

2017 Galactic Cowboys - In the Clouds

2017 of1000faces - Sleeping's for Dreamers (Feat.Jimmy Gnecco)

2017 Pain of Salvation - On a Tuesday

2017 The Night Flight Orchestra - Midnight Flyer

2017 Ulver - So Falls the World

*2017 Umi - Droplet (50)

2018 Childish Japes - Something Else

2018 Eldren - Apocalypse Town

2018 Guerilla Toss - Spider Heard

2018 Phideaux - Sourdome

2018 Rachel Flowers - Going Somewhere

2018 Typhoon - Remember

2019 A Formal Horse - Lonely Doe Young Doe

2019 Cats in Space - Thunder in the Night

2019 Coldplay - Arabesque

2019 Cousin Tony's Brand New Firebird - Love is Heartbreak

2019 Erthlings - Bridges

2019 George Michael - This Is How (We Want You To Get High)

2019 Jolly - Rain

2019 Local Natives - When am I Gonna Lose You

2019 Moron Police - Beware the Blue Skies

2019 Vonavi - Sunburst

2019 Owel - No Parachutes

2019 Thank You Scientist - FXMLDR

2019 The Claypool Lennon Delirium - Amethyst Realm

2019 The Tea Club - Creature

2019 Tuxedo - The Tuxedo Way

2020 Dirty Loops - Rock You

2020 Honorary Astronaut - E.K.E.

2020 Jake Allen - Affirmation Day

2020 Pat Metheny - America Undefined

2020 Psychotic Waltz - Devils and Angels

2020 The Midnight - Ghost in Your Stereo

2020 Toehider - wellgivit

2021 Adjy - In Medias Res (Between Longing and Mystery)

2021 A Kew's Tag - Metamorphioz

2021 Azure - A Sailor Will Learn

2021 Giant Sky - The Further We Go the Deeper It Gets Pt. 1-6

*2021 Kevin Gilbert - The Tired Old Man Suite

2021 Meer - Beehive

2021 Squid - Paddling

2021 Styx - Crash the Crown

2021 The Mask of the Phantasm - Final Night at the Duplex

2022 Evan Konrad - Alone

2022 Gospel - Tango

2022 Jonathan Nesmith - Like Love

2022 Oldster - My Little Primate Mind

2022 Sloan - Magical Thinking

2022 Snarky Puppy - Bet

2023 Avenged Sevenfold - (O)rdinary

2023 Billy Squier - Harder on a Woman

2023 Black Belt Eagle Scout - Blue

2023 HMLTD - Past Life (Sinnerman's Song)

2023 Peter Gabriel - Road to Joy

*2023 Scalise - She's Gonna Kill You

2023 Shell Pink - Setting Sun

2023 The Guess Who/Derek Sharp and the Champagne Jam - The King

2023 Yves Tumor - Meteora Blues

2024 Another Sky - The Pain

2024 Barock Project - Propaganda

2024 Circe Link & Christian Nesmith - The Fool

2024 DK the Drummer - Divided

2024 Doom Flamingo - Measurements

2024 Geordie Greep - Holy Holy

2024 Rocco of the Snow - Masking a Lot

2024 SJS - Pulling Saturn

2024 The Chilling Alpine Adventure - The Version

2024 The Crooked Fiddle Band - Deadly Nightsnakes

2024 The Radicant - Zero Blue (NSS Mix)

2024 The Warning - Hell You Call a Dream

2024 Ugly - The Wheel

2024 Willow - B i g F e e l i n g s

2025 Stereolab - Melodie is a Wound

Giant Sky III - The Final Record?

This is from the latest email newsletter: Sounds like the next Giant Sky album could be the last, but could be even bigger than Giant Sky II by a lot.

I regret to announce that this could be the end.

It's been a couple of months since the release of Giant Sky II, and the reception has been overwhelming. The CDs sold out, and the vinyls left counts less than a handfull. I am thrilled to see you take part in the journey of GIANTSKY, and I am humbled to have so many loyal followers (I know we are not millions, but goddamn we are high quality! Go Spartans!)
Also, I think this is the time to touch base with my favourite music enthusiasts: The SkyHeads.

Some of you are old school, and merged from the Soup camp, and some of you arrived here by chance. You have been part of my journey as a songwriter, musician and human being, and I am forever grateful. Now, as I am embarking on the final piece of the GIANTSKY trilogy, I am finding myself at a crossroad. What happens next? Will I still be making music? Do I have any more in me? I promised myself that I will never make music out of spite: The moment my inspiration runs out, I will stop. I am not sure what the future will bring, but one thing I am sure of, is that I want Giant Sky III to be as good as it can be. I want it to be the masterpiece. In the case of eternal FOMO, I would love for you to get on board now. And that's why I have come here for help.

Ok, so here's the thing: Even though I make music first and foremost for myself, I am curious about what you like about my music (both Soup and GIANTSKY) and what you'd like to see/hear more of? I would really appreciate some input on this. Also, for GS3, I want to implement even more orchestral passages, and be ambitious to the production of my compositions. This is extremely demanding, both financially and logistically. If you want to support this, and want your name in the liner notes of the vinyl of Giant Sky III, you can do it here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/recording-orchestra-for-giant-sky-iii

On a more culture-political note, the sheer amount of artists calling for attention these days makes it super hard for a project like GIANTSKY to get any reach. If you have any bright ideas to ways of breaking the surface and making a splash, I would love to hear your thoughts too. A kind forward of this email, a sneaky party playlist hijack, nagging your local radio DJ or becoming part of my unofficial promo apparatus are off course all very welcome!
Having your friends visiting the GIANTSKY Bandcamp page would also help. Maybe give them this discount code too, to get 20% off on whatever is left in the shop: skyheads2024

Wow, this became a long one. I hope you're OK with it. I hardly ever send out email newsletters, and when I do, I've usually piled up on things I need to get off my chest. Done. Thanks.

Thank you for sticking around, and for being you, and please stay in touch! With regards from a partially winter depressed eccentric from the far north. The northern lights sends their regards too. All my best.
-Erlend

Small Leaks Sink Ships - Prison Kitchen (Single) (2024)

New tune from the masters, Small Leaks Sink Ships.

listened 3 times. Really fucking good despite dealing with a jackass neighbor blasting his music and having to run Grey Noise simutaneously.

Judd's vocal performance sounds quite a lot like what he did on "Broken Church Bells" from the Polaroid People EP from 2018.

 But I imagine this tune was leftover from the time they were writing for Low Tide. Although 1 podcast with London suggested much of the initial music for their next record was swapped when things with their record label went South per COVID.

I dunno, it sounds much of the Polaroid People and Low Tide ilk, that I suspect it wasn't written in the last 6 months to a year. But I dunno. I do really dig it, and it will have to tide me over and compensate for the fact they are going on tour and I won't be seeing them.

Rest in Peace Mark Hollis of TALK TALK

2/26/19
edit:

this is really good, but it is from The Tea Party so go figure.




 2/25/19
Article

Rest in Peace Mark Hollis.

A few things to say:

a) I know many people who are Talk Talk fans who may find this blog
b) I don't hate his voice, but I struggled to like it
c) Talk Talk had a large influence on many bands I enjoy including Oceansize, Doves, Broken Social Scene, The Tea Party, and Mansun among others

That being said, people who were fans of Talk Talk but didn't find Steve Hogarth all that great used to accuse H of trying to be (or ripping off) Mark Hollis.

This was many years ago on some of the forums. Maybe 2004? possibly earlier.

At that point I checked out Talk Talk and while there were some similarities and later found H was a fan of Hollis and Talk Talk; I honestly don't hear THAT much of a similarity. I hear more differences anyway (almost like a recent comparison on FB I saw with a song from The Family Crest and a System of a Down tune).

That all being said, I checked out 1 or 2 of Talk Talk's records. Spirit of Eden and The Colour of Spring.

Neither really impressed me all that much. And many call SoE the 1st "Post Rock" album, which some may feel that it is, but honestly, POST ROCK's origins as I've said for many years, really draws from SOUNDTRACKS and NEW AGE music, so in my mind, the 1st "Post Rock" album really goes much further back than that record.

And that record resembling "Post Rock" is vague and highly subjective.

But I may need to revisit, or re-revisit some of their records again as sometimes, time helps as it was many years ago I listened to some of those albums. I recall a couple of years back, buying 1 of their albums on tape and listening in my old car's tape deck. It was very earthy and had a lot of percussion, but the songs and vocals I recall were not highly memorable.

But again, maybe now they would do more for me?

anyway, Rest in Peace to someone who was a great, admired musician to many.

REACT TO: Velocities in Music POST ROCK *Deep Dive*

Podcast Link including a download

Spotify Playlist they made about Post Rock

As I've posted in the past, I really am enjoying Velocities in Music's podcasts, and some of these special Deep Dive episodes. So this is their deep dive into the history of Post Rock and a little bit on Post Metal.

Now, they said a few times how this while it was a deep-dive, there was a lot of ground they weren't going to be able to cover, so I took that with a grain of salt.

I guess I enjoyed most of it, including them talking about Godspeed and Sigur Ros, and a little bit about Russian Circles.

But a few points to bring up.

-The term or name "Post Rock" probably being the biggest thing, just when using that term. When you say it, namely to someone whose never heard the term, they ask "Is Rock Dead?" which of course isn't really true. And while the term still really doesn't make much sense, at least it seems it has become an accepted and somewhat understood name, even if the literal use still makes next to no sense.

-The similarities, origins, influences. Sure Talk Talk, Tortoise, and that nauseating band that every hipster seems to kiss the ass of, Swans, deserve some mention. But the thing is, what the style, at least the large majority when it came into vogue, really drew from, were a couple of things.

1) New Age music.
the nature-like ambient, atmospheric, drawn out soundscapes, are very similar to what dozens and dozens of New Age artists did long before any of this kind of music ever was created.

2) Soundtracks. The use of samples, music that creates atmosphere and has big climaxes, is pretty much the same format and style of, like New Age music, not dozens, but hundreds if not thousands of soundtracks to both films and television among other things.

Why I have rarely if ever seen anyone mention these 2 references with Post Rock, still baffles me.

That being said, I have over the last decade or more enjoy a good amount of it. Just for the sake of lists, here's a list I made 6 or 7 years ago, there are some names missing of course like Nordic Giants, etc..it does include a good portion of the artists who I still enjoy here on this list I made on rateyourmusic.com.

-They didn't mention much about the bands who use samples, or piano like God is an Astronaut. Or even some of the Western kind of stuff like Clann Zu, Crippled  Black Phoenix, or the early Murder by Death.

-Long Distance Calling, East of the Wall, Shelter Red also not mentioned, although they are Post Metal, and they even mentioned how they could do a whole Deep Dive separately, about it.

-I honestly found Caspian derivative of the 1-trick pony/nature music of Explosions in the Sky. Although I never listened to a ton of their music, but they were 1 of literally a couple of dozen artists I came across that sounded so formulaic to me. That honestly, at 1 point I didn't think I'd ever care for any of it. And Russian Circles actually since their 2nd album, have done that exact same style more or less to my ears.

-They didn't mention bands like 65daysofstatic who use keys/electronics. The Samuel Jackson 5 as well? .or actually I was thinking of bands who use electronic and trance music like Shpongle to point as well..

-They kept mentioning Don Caballero (I've always said their name like the former skate-boarder, Cab-ah-lare-oh), but from memory, that band was really a MATH ROCK band, at least their later stuff.

Now I know some people lump Mathrock in with Post Rock, but my feeling is the 2 are very distinct. Actually Mathrock is almost like Djent, in that it's really just the sound from that 80's King Crimson style of guitar tone/riff/rhythms ("Three of a Perfect Pair" largely). But if they are going to include a Mathrock band, they may as well open it up to the dozens and dozens of Mathrock and Mathmetal bands, lol.

I mean are Battles PostRock? They're rock, and they did mention the guitarist previous band. But I have never associated them with Post Rock.

-I would say bands like dredg, Oceansize, The Appleseed Cast are very much Post-Rock, even though they use vocals and prominent vocal melodies at times. But there's not debating their use of guitars and textures, along with influences come from much of it. dredg and Oceansize have both cited Mogwai as 1 certainly.

-The comparison they gave to Do Make Say Think with Explosions in the Sky, was frankly, kind of baffling. I am a Do Make Say Think fan, and why that is, is largely due to the varied use of INSTRUMENTATION. They use Chamber instruments, just like Broken Social Scene actually. Have Explosions in the Sky EVER used cello, or harp, etc? If they have, it certainly has never stood out in their music.

But as I included earlier, the Chamber/Baroque instrumentation is rather common now in bands who I would call at least use elements of "Post Rock." Forest Park for example, featured wonderful trumpet. So have *Shels and Nordic Giants...and even a lot of the chamber/baroque pop/rock/folk bands I've gotten into like Typhoon, Mother Falcon or The Family Crest, certainly are influenced by Post Rock.

Some even call Kayo Dot "Post Rock" which I can follow to a point, even though I have struggled to like them.

So when they concluded about where this genre is going, I would say the chamber/baroque instrumentation is as big a part of it as anything new in the last decade. Certainly as big as Post-Metal and the electronic elements.

But that all being said, I still really enjoyed this episode, and look forward to more of these genre deep dives. They may even do progressive rock at some point, although I imagine if they do, it'll be as long if not longer than the Radiohead deep dive, i.e. 2 or 3 episodes potentially.

Adebisi Shank - This is the Third Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank (2014)

7/11/14 10:35PM

I have posted about this UK-based instrumental energetic Math/Post/Prog band of a kind. I really got into their debut LP in 2008 I recall/ The constant energy on that somewhat short (30 minutes?) debut record was off the charts. It almost was like workout music or something.

I recall the follow-up their 2nd album of aptly titled "This Is the 2nd Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank" I remember liking somewhat, but didn't find as addictive. Some people compared it to sounding almost too much like the band Battles. I guess I don't recall that so much, as it didn't quite have that amazing energy anfd flow that the 1st album did.

That being said, I actually rated it at 4-stars on rateyourmusic.com, so I must have liked a fair amount of it regardless.

Anyway, this record drops on August 12th. There's some of it to stream already plus a humorous teaser of sorts.



1. World in Harmony
2. Big Unit 04:35
3. Turnaround
4. Mazel Tov
5. Thundertruth
6. Sensation
7. Chaos Emeralds
8. Voodoo Vision 06:00
9. (trio always)

Preorder Link

http://adebisishank.bandcamp.com/

Godspeed You Black Emperor - 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (2012)

https://cstrecords.com/cst081/

This is interesting, sort of late-hour news, however, I'm sure NOBODY will recall, or hell even REMEMBER this post I made back on May 29, 2011. And the fact on the EPIC ROCK TALK that was made, I mentioned they might be coming out with an album this year. So? I was right, but nobody will actually give me credit of course.

Okay, putting that aside, I'm curious about this, but don't expect it to be an album of the year candidate really. Why I say that is, mood music generally has to floor me, and so late in the year, it's odds are low. But,  I won't dismiss its chances just yet.

I won't be surprised if the hipsters go apeshit over this. This has been available at shows I guess on their current tour. But they have such a loyal following, their fanbase are going to make this out to being the greatest thing since sliced bread. I expect to see it rather high it on many End of Year Lists, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up in the top 10 on the Sound Opinions 2012 EOY poll.

Blech, well, not enough time to elaborate more for now, but given my brain was struggling to find new releases this fall save for the obvious ones like Coheed, BTBAM and maybe a few others, this does help a bit.

EDIT:
Stream is here

the 2 epics are good, the other 2 tracks seem to go nowhere.

3.5 stars

Top 10 Album Index contender? doubtful.

1. Mladic 20:01
2. Their Helicopters Sing 6:22
3. We Drift Like Worried Fire 20:09
4. Strung Luke Lights at Thee Printemps Erable 6:28

DESCRIPTION

We are proud to announce the first new recordings by Godspeed You! Black Emperor in a decade. Featuring two twenty-minute slabs of epic instrumental rock music and two six-and-a-half minute drones, ‘ALLELUJAH! DON’T BEND! ASCEND! provides soaring, shining proof of the band’s powerful return to form.


Having emerged from hiatus at the end of 2010, GYBE picked up right where they left off, immediately re-capturing the sound and material that had fallen dormant in 2003 and driving it forward with every show of their extensive touring over the last 18 months. The new album presents the fruits of that labour: evolved and definitive versions of two huge compositions previously known to fans as “Albanian” and “Gamelan”, now properly titled as “MLADIC” and “WE DRIFT LIKE WORRIED FIRE” respectively. Accompanied by the new drones (stitched into the album sequence on CD; cut separately on their own 7″ for the LP version), GYBE have offered up a fifth album that we feel is as absolutely vital, virulent, honest and heavy as anything in their discography.



We don’t have much time for mythology, but we’d be lying if we said the return of Godspeed You! Black Emperor in 2010 didn’t signify a whole lot to us as a marker from which to look back on the past decade, to reflect on what’s been gained or lost within the confines of independent music culture and what’s been gained or lost in the socio-political landscape writ large. Godspeed’s music will do that to you. It is music that bears witness to, channels and transforms this predominantly terrible, infuriating, venal and nihilistically sad story we’re all living, sharing, resisting, protesting, deconstructing and trying to change for the better. We think GYBE has once again provided a uniquely moving and compelling soundtrack for these acts of analysis, defiance and ascension.

* * *

Hard to believe a full decade has passed since the release of Yanqui U.X.O., the last album by GYBE. Never a band to care for conventional industry wisdom, Yanqui was released shortly before xmas 2003 with little publicity and no press availability, no marketing plans or cross-promotions or brand synergies, with back cover artwork tracing the inextricable links between major music labels and the military-industrial complex. Driven by word-of-mouth from a passionate and committed fanbase galvanized by the group's sonic vision and its dedication to unmediated, unsullied musical communication, the album found it's rightful audience.

To suggest that such simple principles and goals have become harder to maintain and enact a decade later is an understatement. For all the contents and discontents – for all the "content" – of our present cultural moment, the idea of circumventing the glare of exposure, the massaging of media cycles and the calculus of identity management appears quaint, if not futile.

But Godspeed is looking to try all the same. The band wants people to care about this new album, without telling people they should or talking about themselves. They want to hold on to some part of that energy that comes with the thrill of anonymous discovery and unmediated transmission, knowing full well that these days, anti-strategy risks being tagged as a strategy, non-marketing framed as its opposite, and deeply held principles they consider fundamental to health as likely to be interpreted as just another form of stealth.

Truly, thanks for being open to hearing it.

Release date: 15 October 2012 (Europe), 16 October 2012 (rest of world)
Running time: 53:09

PACKAGING NOTES
CD comes in a custom gatefold jacket printed on 100% recycled paperboard in 4-colour process plus spot metallic ink and spot matte varnish. CD dust sleeve is also 4-colour print.

LP is pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl at Optimal (Germany) and comes in a tipped-on heavyweight gatefold jacket printed in full-colour process plus a spot metallic ink and spot matte varnish. LP dust sleeve is also 4-colour print. Package includes a 7 inch in printed dust sleeve (same audio appears in a different sequence on the CD) and a 12"x48" pull-out poster (printed full colour on both sides) featuring a collage of film stills specially-photographed and captured from the GYBE live 16mm projections.

TRACKLIST
1. MLADIC
2. THEIR HELICOPTERS' SING
3. WE DRIFT LIKE WORRIED FIRE
4. STRUNG LIKE LIGHTS AT THEE PRINTEMPS ERABLE

CREDITS
PERSONNEL
Thierry Amar, David Bryant, Bruce Cawdron, Aidan Girt, Efrim Manuel Menuck, Michael Moya, Mauro Pezzente, Sophie Trudeau, Karl Lemieux.

Tracks 1 and 3 recorded at Hotel2Tango by Howard Bilerman. Tracks 2 and 4 recorded at the band's jamspace, mixed by Amar, Menuck, Bryant and Moya at The Pines.

Mastered by Harris Newman at Greymarket.

Cover photograph by Charles-André Coderre. Burnt 16mm frames by Karl Lemieux, re-photographed by Yannick Grandmont. "Atonal Canada" photo by Timothy Herzog. Others images by Bryant/Menuck/Lemieux.

Russian Circles - Empros (2011)

sputnik news story

Chicago post-rock trio Russian Circles will release their fourth album, Empros, on October 25.

The album was produced by Brandon Curtis, who manned the decks for Russian Circle the group's 2009 release, Geneva.



1. 39
2. Mladek
3. Schipol
4. Atackla
5. Batu
6. Praise Be Man

blah, dunno if I even mentioned their upcoming album recently, but if not, here's some of the info. Last time I was thinking about them, was how Geneva was their 2nd attempt to follow-up Enter their great debut record, and more or less failing to do so.

I guess at some point, I won't expect much great work from them. They're a lot like a band like Zero Hour in that sense, 1 great record, a band member then leaves, and they put out many records after that don't really capture even close to the level of that breath-of-fresh-air debut album.

But as someone whose found a reasonable list of other "post" bands I enjoy really since discovering these guys in 2006, I'm just kind of impartial to what they do. If this album is better than their last 2, well, I might begin to start believing in them again. But my expectation level is not all that high here, which probably is the safest approach at this point for myself.

*Shels - Plains of the Purple Buffalo (2011)

6/22/11 11:33PM

facebook post

The album, Plains of the Purple Buffalo will be in stores July 11th - pre-orders ship out June 27 from http://www.shelsmusic.com

6/10/11 5:46AM

*shels - Plains of the Purple Buffalo - part 2 by Shelsmusic

yes, this new song sounds breathtaking at times. Namely the trumpet and peaks with the vocals kind of soaring. I'm getting more excited for this record now.


5/18/11 1:00AM


This is a bit weird. Why I say that;

*Shels are a band I have listened to in the past. April of 2008 apparently. But when I last listened to them? fuck if I recall. But for some reason, I remember liking them, but thought they broke up. And they're based in Los Angeles according to rateyourmusic.

Anyway, they released an album the year before that in 2007 Sea of the Dying Dhow that I apparently checked out, liked, but didn't go back to many times.

Well so some stuff has been posted over the last few years about their follow-up I guess (and nothing about their breakup?)

Now listening to the below Youtube video of "Conference of the Birds" I do remember why I dug them. Post-Rock of a sort. Maybe a bit like No Sound?



but anyway, this 2nd LP of theirs is coming, and the 1st song/sample is online now "Vision Quest." And this new record is expected to be released on June 27th (and not 18th as it says on rateyourmusic). I'll try and add more, even just a follow-up to revisiting their debut record again.

*Shels - Vision Quest by Shelsmusic

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