The How Do I Get Into _____ Thread

I saw this on Reddit and was going to give it a go. @Enaz Fox is this legit?



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That's excellent! The different genres are what confused me the most. Off to follow the More Psych path...
 
I'll play - How do I get started on King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard? They've got a ton of albums and I don't know where to start.
I bought Paper Mache Dream Balloon after I heard a few of the songs on our Colorado Public Radio. So I’m probably in the minority there with that album getting me interested in them. Then got Nonagon Infinity after it came out and was hooked ever since. Went back and got Quarters and Mind Fuzz on vinyl about a week after Nonagon came out and downloaded the early albums. I’ve gotten everything physically on vinyl ever since... I think their song Head On/Pill might be the best song they’ve ever done.
 
Well looks like I’m the only one who uses this thing, but yesterday I listened to “A Crow Looked at Me” by Mount Eerie. It was an experience to say the very least. It made me revisit the Glow Pt. 2 by Microphones, another Phil Elverum project.

What next steps should I take in Phil Elverum’s really huge discography?
If you're more into the Microphones side I'd go to It Was Hot We Stayed In The Water and if you're more into A Crow... try its companion album Now Only next or Winds Poem is another good Mt Eerie album
 
With all the hoopla today....

How do I get I to Stereolab? Don't believe I've ever heard a single track.
Start with Mars Audiac Quintet. If you find yourself drawn to the driven guitars
Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Dots and Loops are where I started.
i started with Emperor too, but it didn’t really appeal to me. I tried Mars Audiac Quintet next, and found it to be the perfect blend of guitar and keyboard driven Motorik. The albums prior are more guitar based, and the albums after are more keyboard based. MAC finds the perfect balance between the two, IMHO.
 
Start with Mars Audiac Quintet. If you find yourself drawn to the driven guitars

i started with Emperor too, but it didn’t really appeal to me. I tried Mars Audiac Quintet next, and found it to be the perfect blend of guitar and keyboard driven Motorik. The albums prior are more guitar based, and the albums after are more keyboard based. MAC finds the perfect balance between the two, IMHO.
Driven guitars sound like a wonderful option.
 
How do I get into John Mayer?
His first 2 albums were very light on the pop/acoustic side, but I think he started to come into his own sound with Continuum. It's got the perfect blend of pop/rock and the blues sound that he'd later chase for good. Depending on which you sound you prefer (pop or rock/blues) you could head to his earlier material or later material, respectively.
 
How do I get into John Mayer?
His first 2 albums were very light on the pop/acoustic side, but I think he started to come into his own sound with Continuum. It's got the perfect blend of pop/rock and the blues sound that he'd later chase for good. Depending on which you sound you prefer (pop or rock/blues) you could head to his earlier material or later material, respectively.
This is a good answer but I'd actually recommend starting with the John Mayer Trio album - if you're into that one then you can dip your toe into the water of mainline John Mayer solo albums via Continuum. If you can't dig him in Trio format (understandable), I'd bet that you're not going to get into his regular work.
 
Alright, here's a big one:

How do I get into David Bowie?

Heard plenty of his albums (First few, Berlin albums, Ziggy Stardust, New Day, Blackstar + a couple of random ones), but he never really clicked in the way he always seemed to for fans.

It's not that I dislike anything I've heard, I really like Space Oddity, some of the Eno/Berlin tracks; I feel like I dont 'get' Blackstar, and maybe won't until the rest clicks for me.

Any particular suggested listening order or hidden gems? Any of his movies, interviews or documentaries I need to see? I always got the impression it's not just about the music for many people, and I'm kind of missing that aspect for now.
 
Alright, here's a big one:

How do I get into David Bowie?

Heard plenty of his albums (First few, Berlin albums, Ziggy Stardust, New Day, Blackstar + a couple of random ones), but he never really clicked in the way he always seemed to for fans.

It's not that I dislike anything I've heard, I really like Space Oddity, some of the Eno/Berlin tracks; I feel like I dont 'get' Blackstar, and maybe won't until the rest clicks for me.

Any particular suggested listening order or hidden gems? Any of his movies, interviews or documentaries I need to see? I always got the impression it's not just about the music for many people, and I'm kind of missing that aspect for now.

Sounds like you've taken in a pretty large sample size so far. It may be Bowie just isn't your bag.

With that said, a couple of my favorite Bowie records are Scary Monsters and the self titled release from his short lived straight-up rock and roll side project Tin Machine.

As for Blackstar, if you haven't dug into the backstory (the way it was recorded totally under wraps, the song content dealing with Bowie's impending death, the orchestrated timing of the release etc...) that may shed some more light on it's purpose and place. He was always a step ahead.



To your last point, Bowie has always been a very conceptual/visual artist. You may want to poke around YouTube and watch some documentaries/live stuff.

In the end, don't sweat it either way. if Bowie clicks, that's cool. If he doesn't, that's cool as well.
 
Sounds like you've taken in a pretty large sample size so far. It may be Bowie just isn't your bag.

With that said, a couple of my favorite Bowie records are Scary Monsters and the self titled release from his short lived straight-up rock and roll side project Tin Machine.

As for Blackstar, if you haven't dug into the backstory (the way it was recorded totally under wraps, the song content dealing with Bowie's impending death, the orchestrated timing of the release etc...) that may shed some more light on it's purpose and place. He was always a step ahead.



To your last point, Bowie has always been a very conceptual/visual artist. You may want to poke around YouTube and watch some documentaries/live stuff.

In the end, don't sweat it either way. if Bowie clicks, that's cool. If he doesn't, that's cool as well.


I am cool with not being a massive Bowie fan, I'm just kind of at a stage of music exploration where he's one of the last 'huge' artists left where I don't understand exactly why people are huge fans; to me that represents some missing knowledge or experience that I'm trying to find.

This process has lead me to pretty awesome breakthroughs with other artists and new all time favorites and stuff before, so I find it's worth the time pursuing like this. Especially as 'on paper' I can't pin down exactly why I'm not a huge Bowie fan, based on what I know it kind of feels like I should be.

Thanks for the recommendations, I hadn't heard of either of those albums before.
 
Alright, here's a big one:

How do I get into David Bowie?

Heard plenty of his albums (First few, Berlin albums, Ziggy Stardust, New Day, Blackstar + a couple of random ones), but he never really clicked in the way he always seemed to for fans.

It's not that I dislike anything I've heard, I really like Space Oddity, some of the Eno/Berlin tracks; I feel like I dont 'get' Blackstar, and maybe won't until the rest clicks for me.

Any particular suggested listening order or hidden gems? Any of his movies, interviews or documentaries I need to see? I always got the impression it's not just about the music for many people, and I'm kind of missing that aspect for now.
Oh man, Bowie is a favorite of mine. My thoughts:

Early period: I’ve always felt that Ziggy Stardust was way overrated. I prefer Hunky Dory (has Changes and Oh You Pretty Things, one of his best albums). If you like the whole glam sound, Aladdin Sane is a superior album to Ziggy.

Berlin era: Station to Station (has Golden Years and TVC15) might be my favorite Bowie album. Low and Heroes, while great albums, are not good entry points, considering each has a side of ambient music.

Scary Monsters has Ashes to Ashes and Fashion, and the rest of the album is fabulous, with that same guitar sound from Carlos Alomar. Lodger is underrated, has DJ and Boys Keep Swinging. Not quite as consistent as Scary Monsters, but still quite good.

IMHO, he hadn’t made what I would consider an indispensable record until Blackstar, but a lot of that had to do with all the backstory. Heathen is a solid album (contains a great cover of the Pixies song Cactus), and may be his second best post-Scary Monsters album.

Of course, if you prefer the “hits”, just get Nothing Has Changed, the three cd compilation.
 
I am cool with not being a massive Bowie fan, I'm just kind of at a stage of music exploration where he's one of the last 'huge' artists left where I don't understand exactly why people are huge fans; to me that represents some missing knowledge or experience that I'm trying to find.

This process has lead me to pretty awesome breakthroughs with other artists and new all time favorites and stuff before, so I find it's worth the time pursuing like this. Especially as 'on paper' I can't pin down exactly why I'm not a huge Bowie fan, based on what I know it kind of feels like I should be.

Thanks for the recommendations, I hadn't heard of either of those albums before.
Bowie's always been about the artistic angle for me. When I listen to him, it's clear he's making music as art and not just music. In this sense, his art also appealed to the mainstream in ways that those interested in the artistic angle may not have understood. Be that as it may, his appeal to both artistic and mainstream minds make him one of the more memorable artists out there, and especially one that continued to push the boundaries of what it meant to create a studio album.

It seems you've already dug into some of his critically lauded material, so to recommend specific albums/hits would be besides the point, because I think listening to Bowie is a state of mind that has to be achieved, and not one that can be achieved passively.
 
Bowie's always been about the artistic angle for me. When I listen to him, it's clear he's making music as art and not just music. In this sense, his art also appealed to the mainstream in ways that those interested in the artistic angle may not have understood. Be that as it may, his appeal to both artistic and mainstream minds make him one of the more memorable artists out there, and especially one that continued to push the boundaries of what it meant to create a studio album.

It seems you've already dug into some of his critically lauded material, so to recommend specific albums/hits would be besides the point, because I think listening to Bowie is a state of mind that has to be achieved, and not one that can be achieved passively.

Yeah, I think this is what I'm after, sounds to me like I need to unearth some more context surrounding it all. Which is why I thought interviews might work, maybe even some old reviews. Time for a YouTube deep dive I think.
 
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