June 2019 Vinyl Challenge

ranbalam

ranbalam

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Joined
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Hello!
List below are the topics for this month's vinyl spin challenge.

Parameters: Not many
This isn't a contest or competition and you can't/won't be eliminated
Interpret each topic in your own way
Try to play something that hasn't been played
If you get behind you can catch up or just post on the day you jump in or jump back in
Don't be shy about telling stories about your selection, and yet don't feel you have to elaborate on anything you post
Have fun!

Day 1 - Who Are You?
Welcome to the June challenge! Play a record from your go-to genre

Day 2 - Off and Running
It's not always easy for a band or artist to put out a second record, regardless of whether their first one was successful or not.
Play a band or artist's second record. And if you think it's better than their debut, tell us!

Day 3 - You Move Me
Play a record that features a vocal performance that really moves you

Day 4 - In The Pocket
As a drummer, I have great respect for the bass-drum-rhythm guitar sections of bands. They often go unnoticed but are always necessary.
Play an album that features a tight-ass rhythm section.

Day 5 - String Theory
Play an album with a string section featured in at least one song

Day 6 - All That Brass
This day kicks off Great American Brass Band Week. Play something the features a brass section

Day 7 - Should You Have That?
Got any bootlegs or promos? Play one! If not, play something random from your collection for us.

Day 8 - Boxed In
What qualifies as a box set, three or more records? Ok, let's go with that.
Play a something from a box set you own

Day 9 - The Obligatory Jazz Sunday Category

Day 10 - Perfect?
I like to say that perfection only exists in definition.
But go ahead play an album you'd rate a 10. (or as high as you'd rate one)

Day 11 - Our Amps Go To 11
Play something that you have to play loud to really enjoy

Day 12 - Those Were the Days
Sometimes a song can take us back to really specific times in life.
For today, play an album that features a song that brings up a sweet memory from your past.

Day 13 - Lucky 13
I've never considered 13 to be unlucky, I was born on a 13.
Play an album that you were lucky to find or got an unexpected great deal on

Day 14 - Flag Day
I still don't know if my wife is kidding when she says Flag Day is one of her favorite holidays. What does one do on Flag Day?
Play a record reflecting however you would celebrate Flag Day. Or, just play something random if the topic hurts your brain.

Day 15 - Hair-Raising
You know when a song is so perfectly placed in a movie or show that you get goose bumps? Or when that perfect symmetry between audio and visual is achieved?
Yeah, give us some of that. Or, play your favorite soundtrack.

Day 16 - Yes, It's Fathers Day
I'm a father and a son, but let's not limit it to just that today.
Play something for someone in your life, male or female, that you admire. A mentor, teacher, grandparent etc.
And by all means play something for pops if you want to!

Day 17 - You Gotta See These Guys!
Play a record by an artist or band that puts on a great live show. (This doesn't necessarily mean play a live album)

Day 18 - National Splurge Day
Play a record you splurged on, or a record from a recent big haul.

Day 19 - Repeater
Play an album you never tire of hearing
Play an album you never tire of hearing

Day 20 - Oh The Colors
Play a record that isn't black.

Day 21 - Summer Is Here!
Summer jams, anything goes

Day 22 - Hot Water
Play an album by someone who has been in some kind of legal trouble

Day 23 - I Love You Unconditionally
Play an album that sounds bad, or is in bad condition but you play it anyway.

Day 24 - Shredders Unite
Play an album with an outstanding guitar performance

Day 25 - Randomizer
Pick someone else's post from earlier this month, then play a record related to that record or the person who posted it

Day 26 - Outlier
Play a record that from a genre that you don't typically like/buy/collect

Day 27 - Those Were The Days Part II
Play an old/used record that sounds fantastic

Day 28 - Food Pairing
You're having a dinner party, or maybe just a friend over for a meal.
What do you play when you sit down to eat?

Day 29 - Newbie
Play something you bought or received this month

Day 30 - Pride
As Pride Month wraps up, play an album by an artist that represents the LGBTQ community in some way.

Bonus Post (because I ran out of days)
Play either one: Great album, bad cover or bad album great cover, your choice!
 
Day 1: Who Are You?

It's not that I don't like certain genres...I can find most in my collection, but it's the specific music or artist that is more of a turn off. I usually say "I like anything but Country". While this is a overgeneralization, it is mostly accurate. I like some country. I have an aversion to what I think of as "Mainstream Country" - the 'merica, Bud Light, Nascar, "for the troops" type country....ugh.

Since I don't consider soundtracks to movies as a specific genre, I guess I'll go with Prog.

King Crimson ‎– In The Court Of The Crimson King
Discipline Global Mobile/Panegyric/Inner Knot ‎– KCLP1, 1969/2010

Cut by John Dent at Loud Mastering

nAibcP.jpg

Gjk0JM.jpg
 
Warning: wordy post made while unable to sleep ahead

Day 1 - Who Are You?
After some consideration and twisting of the rules, I decided my go-to "genre" was the music of Damon Albarn.

This isn't just a cop-out btw, I think in a roundabout way this does actually tie back to the "genre" idea. Albarn has long been my favorite musical artist. A large part of my admiration for his discography is how varied and eclectic it all is. The man has basically made a career of refusing to sit still and going on to play with every instrument in the store to his heart's content. The first two phases of Gorillaz were especially good breeding grounds for this experimental side of Damon, bringing in people like MF DOOM, Ibrahim Ferrer, Neneh Cherry, Del the Funky Homosapien and Dennis Hopper to fill out his increasingly unconventional guest list, as the music itself toyed with indie rock, R&B, hip-hop, metal, folk, traditional Chinese music, samba, reggae, dub, country... the list goes on. And then, disconnected from the animated madness, in his off-time, Albarn recorded full albums with Malian musicians, experimented with Arabic music and pretty much any sounds he wanted to on the 2003 Blur album Think Tank and lent his talents to a handful of film scores. And yet, for someone who adopts so many different musical styles to try on with ease, he never comes off as a chameleon, lost in his own experiment.

I say this all to explain that I think it's Albarn's impact on my taste in music that is responsible for why I don't, in fact, have a "go-to genre." When I was a young kid, the first Gorillaz album was like bursting through the door into an entirely different dimension. I don't know if I really questioned just how odd some of the music was because of my age and inexperience in music at the time, but, for better or worse, those albums formed me. They set my expectations and tastes for what kind of music I truly love. And when you've spent a better part of your middle and high school years trying to pirate a copy of "Democrazy" or a lost Blur or Gorillaz rarity instead of doing your homework, you begin to realize just how much this one artist has carried you through your life. The nature of being a fan of Damon's music is to be willing to accept that, more often than not, what you expect isn't going to be what you get.

And after such a long, half-asleep, possibly incoherent rant about how eclectic and vast his music can be, I've of course decided to spin his only album that doesn't play genre roulette throughout its entirety, his 2014 solo album, "Everyday Robots."

20190601_065015.jpg

Albarn's knack for being unafraid to touch any genre on the planet made him my first big musical obsession. But his words, his voice, his messages are what led him to being my favorite musical obsession. And to get the purest sense of who he is as an artist, Everyday Robots presents you with quite possibly the clearest picture of him, as a human being, unadorned by all the cartoon characters and bells & whistles and guest artists, than anything else he's ever made. Right down to its desaturated album cover, depicting Albarn slumped on a stool, his head downcast towards his feet, Albarn is making it clear this album is exactly what it claims to be: a "solo" album.

Now, obviously, in reality, there were many collaborators and musicians who came together to make Everyday Robots. But it's more about the album's tone, production and themes. The skeletal and acoustic minimalist approach to the album makes it an outlier for Albarn, and as he delivers some of his most personal lyricism, it feels unusually direct. Even on an album like "13", much of the overwhelming depressiveness was wrapped up in layers of spacey sound effects and distorted guitars to soften the blow. Here, however, there is no distraction, no bigger picture. This is just Albarn singing to you in a way that you feel he rarely allows himself to. In larger-than-life projects like Gorillaz and rock-star Britpop groups like Blur, Damon exudes personality in often charming and bizarre ways, and often directs his lyrics towards society and politics on a grander scale. Here, he's not putting on any voices or even threading the political needle at all. Rather, Everyday Robots is a crestfallen series of songs about love, relationships and the inevitable dissolution of both. It's a remarkably sad album at times, but despite its stripped back sound, there's also a cold (likely intentional) feeling that there's a lack of intimacy on Albarn's part. It's all very matter-of-fact; even as Albarn is penning lyrics about childhood nostalgia on "Hollow Ponds", it feels more like a man desperately trying to recall the dates of trivial events throughout his life than a man looking back fondly on a life well spent.

The sentiment at the center of a song like "Lonely Press Play" is a fairly universal one, and it's telling that on an album that takes such a somber approach to everything else that music is one of the few things Albarn still has complete and utter faith in. I'm sure we've all felt similarly at points, like music was the only thing in the world that was there for us. And I know when I feel this way, Albarn is the artist I can rely on to inspire me or commiserate with me when nobody else will.
 
LeeVing said:
Day 1: Who Are You?

It's not that I don't like certain genres...I can find most in my collection, but it's the specific music or artist that is more of a turn off. I usually say "I like anything but Country". While this is a overgeneralization, it is mostly accurate. I like some country. I have an aversion to what I think of as "Mainstream Country" - the 'merica, Bud Light, Nascar, "for the troops" type country....ugh.

Since I don't consider soundtracks to movies as a specific genre, I guess I'll go with Prog.

King Crimson ‎– In The Court Of The Crimson King
Discipline Global Mobile/Panegyric/Inner Knot ‎– KCLP1, 1969/2010

Cut by John Dent at Loud Mastering

nAibcP.jpg

Gjk0JM.jpg
Click to expand...

I love this record, my copy is in terrible shape and basically unplayable. I definitely need another copy. Is this a good version? Hard to find?
 
gaporter said:
Warning: wordy post made while unable to sleep ahead

Day 1 - Who Are You?
After some consideration and twisting of the rules, I decided my go-to "genre" was the music of Damon Albarn.

This isn't just a cop-out btw, I think in a roundabout way this does actually tie back to the "genre" idea. Albarn has long been my favorite musical artist. A large part of my admiration for his discography is how varied and eclectic it all is. The man has basically made a career of refusing to sit still and going on to play with every instrument in the store to his heart's content. The first two phases of Gorillaz were especially good breeding grounds for this experimental side of Damon, bringing in people like MF DOOM, Ibrahim Ferrer, Neneh Cherry, Del the Funky Homosapien and Dennis Hopper to fill out his increasingly unconventional guest list, as the music itself toyed with indie rock, R&B, hip-hop, metal, folk, traditional Chinese music, samba, reggae, dub, country... the list goes on. And then, disconnected from the animated madness, in his off-time, Albarn recorded full albums with Malian musicians, experimented with Arabic music and pretty much any sounds he wanted to on the 2003 Blur album Think Tank and lent his talents to a handful of film scores. And yet, for someone who adopts so many different musical styles to try on with ease, he never comes off as a chameleon, lost in his own experiment.

I say this all to explain that I think it's Albarn's impact on my taste in music that is responsible for why I don't, in fact, have a "go-to genre." When I was a young kid, the first Gorillaz album was like bursting through the door into an entirely different dimension. I don't know if I really questioned just how odd some of the music was because of my age and inexperience in music at the time, but, for better or worse, those albums formed me. They set my expectations and tastes for what kind of music I truly love. And when you've spent a better part of your middle and high school years trying to pirate a copy of "Democrazy" or a lost Blur or Gorillaz rarity instead of doing your homework, you begin to realize just how much this one artist has carried you through your life. The nature of being a fan of Damon's music is to be willing to accept that, more often than not, what you expect isn't going to be what you get.

And after such a long, half-asleep, possibly incoherent rant about how eclectic and vast his music can be, I've of course decided to spin his only album that doesn't play genre roulette throughout its entirety, his 2014 solo album, "Everyday Robots."

View attachment 3967

Albarn's knack for being unafraid to touch any genre on the planet made him my first big musical obsession. But his words, his voice, his messages are what led him to being my favorite musical obsession. And to get the purest sense of who he is as an artist, Everyday Robots presents you with quite possibly the clearest picture of him, as a human being, unadorned by all the cartoon characters and bells & whistles and guest artists, than anything else he's ever made. Right down to its desaturated album cover, depicting Albarn slumped on a stool, his head downcast towards his feet, Albarn is making it clear this album is exactly what it claims to be: a "solo" album.

Now, obviously, in reality, there were many collaborators and musicians who came together to make Everyday Robots. But it's more about the album's tone, production and themes. The skeletal and acoustic minimalist approach to the album makes it an outlier for Albarn, and as he delivers some of his most personal lyricism, it feels unusually direct. Even on an album like "13", much of the overwhelming depressiveness was wrapped up in layers of spacey sound effects and distorted guitars to soften the blow. Here, however, there is no distraction, no bigger picture. This is just Albarn singing to you in a way that you feel he rarely allows himself to. In larger-than-life projects like Gorillaz and rock-star Britpop groups like Blur, Damon exudes personality in often charming and bizarre ways, and often directs his lyrics towards society and politics on a grander scale. Here, he's not putting on any voices or even threading the political needle at all. Rather, Everyday Robots is a crestfallen series of songs about love, relationships and the inevitable dissolution of both. It's a remarkably sad album at times, but despite its stripped back sound, there's also a cold (likely intentional) feeling that there's a lack of intimacy on Albarn's part. It's all very matter-of-fact; even as Albarn is penning lyrics about childhood nostalgia on "Hollow Ponds", it feels more like a man desperately trying to recall the dates of trivial events throughout his life than a man looking back fondly on a life well spent.

The sentiment at the center of a song like "Lonely Press Play" is a fairly universal one, and it's telling that on an album that takes such a somber approach to everything else that music is one of the few things Albarn still has complete and utter faith in. I'm sure we've all felt similarly at points, like music was the only thing in the world that was there for us. And I know when I feel this way, Albarn is the artist I can rely on to inspire me or commiserate with me when nobody else will.
Click to expand...

Awesome post, and you write so well...I look forward to more of these!
 
Day 1 - Who Are You?

Like others on here, I like a ton of different stuff and it would be hard to pick a go-to. I like variety and rarely play similar artists or even genres back-to-back.

My one constant is that I always listen to ambient or classical in the morning, as I am right now.

Harold Budd/Brian Eno - the Pearl
Editions EG 1984

34DBBDD9-0EB7-4791-BB1A-34D56FF33759.jpeg
 
Day 1- Who Are you

I can’t tie myself to one genre. I’m all over the place and Sinkane is the same. He blends genres, eras and cultures across his records. Something that I am defined by is the constant need to continue to discover new stuff, and this is my most recent purchase. This felt like the perfect choice for this challenge “question”

 
Joyless Division said:
Day 1- Who Are you

I can’t tie myself to one genre. I’m all over the place and Sinkane is the same. He blends genres, eras and cultures across his records. Something that I am defined by is the constant need to continue to discover new stuff, and this is my most recent purchase. This felt like the perfect choice for this challenge “question”

Click to expand...


I'm really excited for this album, I don't have my copy yet. I absolutely loved Life and Livin It.
 
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