[noopster]

I have no idea how I hadn't noticed this thread for so long. It would have made the pandemic that much more bearable!

Originally Posted by SmartCat

A few years back, I realized that about 50% of Metallica songs are horrible. Thrash metal it is called I think - their songs were used to torture Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

If Metallica is torture to you, I suggest you listen to a band called Napalm Death. They almost sound like a parody band- here's a sample:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuSHgiZFVuI

Actually, Metallica was the band that took heavy metal mainstream. Especially their 1990 "Black Album" (it was actually untitled) that got massive airplay on MTV thanks to videos of iconic tracks like Enter Sandman, The Forgiven and Nothing Else Matters. The early 90s was the golden age of thrash with bands like Megadeth (spun off from Metallica by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine), Pantera, Slayer and the like.

I was fortunate to catch the "horrible" band live in Bangalore in 2011. Do read this (Anywhere I Roam- The Metallica Travelogue)!

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

No CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival) fans?

Me! Me! Me! Since I started playing guitar in the late 80s, I would love to jam to songs that I could easily pick up and play along, and CCR tops that list! I had a friend in college who could pull off Fogarty in his sleep, so we had a lot of fun jamming to their classics.

Originally Posted by papr23

My current favorite album while driving is Sitar Metal's self-titled debut album. It's a fusion of the calmness of Sitar and the scream of the metal. Sitar takes the centerstage most of the times. There is little or no vocals in all the songs which further makes the Sitar standout. Do give it a try!

https://Youtu.be/qFXhGeAODBA

A friend of mine pointed me to Sitar Metal sometime last year and I found them really good. Like any fusion/exotic stuff, good in small doses, though. No doubting their talent, though!

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by noopster

Actually, Metallica was the band that took heavy metal mainstream. Especially their 1990 "Black Album" (it was actually untitled) that got massive airplay on MTV thanks to videos of iconic tracks like Enter Sandman, The Forgiven and Nothing Else Matters.

You misread my post. There is nothing 'thrashy' or horrible about the songs you mentioned. Unforgiven I/II/III & Nothing Else Matters can actually be classified as Rock Ballad/Power Ballad. Because of these songs, Metallica was accused by their hardcore fans of "going soft" to get airplay and reach wider audience.

Was Metallica's 'Black Album' A Sellout Or A Masterpiece?
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...181741807.html

In music, the word “sellout” can mean any number of things. It can mean that a band has changed their sound to something more commercially-friendly. It can mean that they allowed one of their songs to be used in an advertisement, or it could just mean that the band is suddenly becoming popular, and fans are upset that it’s not exclusively “their thing” anymore.

When the album was released 25 years ago this week, the reviews were mostly positive, but the diehard fans weren’t having it. They had grown accustomed to the fast, thrash sound that defined their first four albums, and the new direction they were going in did not sit well

[noopster]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

You misread my post. There is nothing 'thrashy' or horrible about the songs you mentioned. Unforgiven & Nothing Else Matters can actually be classified as Rock Ballad/Power Ballad. Because of these songs, Metallica was accused by their hardcore fans of "going soft" to get airplay and reach wider audience.

LOL I didn't misread anything. You said 50% of Metallica songs are horrible. My favourite Metallica songs include Sad But True, Through The Never, Master Of Puppets and others that people have only heard Turn The Page will never appreciate and probably diss as you are doing. It's fine. To each his own.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by noopster

LOL I didn't misread anything. You said 50% of Metallica songs are horrible. My favourite Metallica songs include Sad But True, Through The Never, Master Of Puppets and others that people have only heard Turn The Page will never appreciate and probably diss as you are doing. It's fine. To each his own.

And that too when turn the page is not even their song.
Yeah, I have a gripe against people who don't like Metallica either. Yes, they became softer, but I loved their evolution, much like hetfield's voice, which is not what it was in, say, kill em all. I used to stop by Archie's every day for their albums, last I recall was for reload. They may be soft, but they're not Christina Aguilera yet.

PS: You got the bangalore concert. I was standing in the sun for 4 hours in Gurgaon.......

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by noopster

LOL I didn't misread anything. You said 50% of Metallica songs are horrible. My favourite Metallica songs include Sad But True, Through The Never, Master Of Puppets and

You remind me of my brother who was crazy about Metallica, and now listens to stuff that I have never heard ever, and can’t hope to appreciate. Liked the soft rockish Metallica of the Black Album - and the odd older song (Master of Puppets was a favourite) - but found most of the rest too wild for me.

My own musical tastes are centred around late 60s - early 90s rock - as my son says, my tastes are ancient. The only music post the mid 1990s that I like are some of the Coldplay and Adele numbers - and yes, I am forced to listen to some of my son’s generation stuff like Ed Sheeran.

[Duckdoc]

It's difficult to imagine that this evergreen song by Lennon and perennial driving music turns 50 this year.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/cultu...ne/cid/1817144

https://youtu.be/YkgkThdzX-8

[Samurai]

A very clear video from 1971, if you don't like the genre, watch it for the fashion sense of the people at the time. The young Bhimsen Joshi can be seen joking around at the end of the video. This kind of video is extremely rare.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqwE6K8Dy-g

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Samurai

watch it for the fashion sense of the people at the time.

Haha, the ladies look rather too modern and glamorous for a Chennai Sabha of the present day!

Super music.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Super music.

You can say it again. He was like a rock singer in his youth, literally singing like machine gun going off, firing taans instead of bullet. The above video is from a much longer documentary from 1971. Check the following video, jump to 0:25 to skip the titles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF5WuqPaO3Y

[Thad E Ginathom]

I'm currently listening to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60XhbhPyp7w

Wonderful concert from my favourite lady. Audio only, with still photos. I can be seen in the audience

[anjan_c2007]

Here's a ballad that takes you back to the 1980's.The sound is so typically British pop of that era. What a harmony so superbly rendered by Howard Jones ! The music takes us to the times when acoustic instruments ruled supreme. A superb instrumental backs the lovely rendition. I heard it on FM today after a long time and was simply thrilled by listening to it, after a few decades.

https://youtu.be/pekhxxngQ3s

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Here's a ballad that takes you back to the 1980's.The sound is so typically British pop of that era. What a harmony so superbly rendered by Howard Jones ! The music takes us to the times when acoustic instruments ruled supreme. A superb instrumental backs the lovely rendition. I heard it on FM today after a long time and was simply thrilled by listening to it, after a few decades.

Howard Jones is an underrated pop singer. He never had mega hits, but a few of his singles and albums had entered the Top Ten or had vanished after just peeping into the charts by entering the Top Twenty on major Western charts.

He is also a songwriter and the lyrics of his hit song from 1986 "noone is to blame", the video link of which I had posted yesterday is so sobre, soothing and meaningful:-

You can look at the menu, but you just can't eat
You can feel the cushions, but you can't have a seat
You can dip your foot in the pool, but you can't have a swim
You can feel the punishment, but you can't commit the sin
And you want her, and she wants you
We want everyone
And you want her and she wants you
No one, no one, no one ever is to blame
You can build a mansion, but you just can't live in it
You're the fastest runner but you're not allowed to win
Some break the rules, and let you count the cost
The insecurity is the thing that won't get lost
And you want her, and she wants you
We want everyone
And you want her and she wants you
No one, no one, no one ever is to blame
You can see the summit but you can't reach it
It's the last piece of the puzzle but you just can't make it fit
Doctor says you're cured but you still feel the pain
Aspirations in the clouds but your hopes go down the drain
And you want her, and she wants you
We want everyone
And you want her and she wants you
No one, no one, no one ever is to blame
No one ever is to blame
No one ever is to blame

[SmartCat]

For lovers of Hip Hop in general and Tupac in particular, go to youtube and type "Tupac remix" or "2Pac remix". A whole bunch of talented DJs have published incredibly high quality remixes of Tupac songs. Dare I say that they are better than the original songs.

A few samples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijX1jkvXcmM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdhStVBpyPw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pndq5DMZ9UY

[anjan_c2007]

A pop hit released in 1989 by Mike (Mike Rutherford) and the Mechanics that reached #1 in the US, Canada, Australia and Ireland, while it touched #3 in the U. K. charts. The lyrics and the rendition by the lead singer and his band makes it a very catchy tune.

It's about the Dad who passed away. His son regrets their communication gap and croons "it's too late when he dies, to admit that we don't see eye to eye." And the song title is here, "wish I could have told him in the living years." The song title is "Living Years." The father-son generation gap has been so exquisitely composed into a song. Burt Bacharach has said that its the best lyrics he has witnessed during the past ten years. During this period, acoustic instruments had almost surrendered to the electronic gizmos.

https://youtu.be/5hr64MxYpgk

[One]

Originally Posted by Samurai

A very clear video from 1971, if you don't like the genre....This kind of video is extremely rare.

Originally Posted by Samurai

You can say it again. He was like a rock singer in his youth, literally singing like machine gun going off, firing taans instead of bullet. The above video is from a much longer documentary from 1971

I don't understand this genre but I understand good music when I hear it. And this is beyond just good or excellent, thanks for posting these.