Myself, I never found time to go to a lot of concerts, but I'm hoping to change that now that I've got time and money. Before I moved to Houston though, I was lucky enough to see Pearl Jam on my last night in the 'Burgh Eddie was really feeling the crowd, and went through 2 bottles of wine and played for about 2 and a half hours.

September 11th I finally get to see Tool

Michael Formanek -- the Rub and Spare Change

Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green -- Apex

When Country Was King: Before Nashville, Southern California Served As Ground Zero For Honky-Tonk - http://ow.ly/5voKi

My pics are in no particular order...

Merle Travis: Had this incredible ability to lay down a bass track with his thumb, while the fingers picked out the melody. It almost sounded like two different guitar players, except for the fact that he integrated both so smoothly.

Django Reinhardt: I'm not a musician, so much of what he did seemed like magic to me. Speed, yes, but the notes he pulled seemed at times to come from the gods themselves. Just incredible artistry.

Chett Atkins: I just love that smooth, pluckin' style! Didn't realize how good he was until he did an album with Mark Knoppfler.

Mark Knoppfler: Shouldn't have to say anything. You all know him.

Jerry Reed: Yes, the "Smokey and the Bandit" guy. If you're not familiar with him as a guitarist, go listen now.

Ry Cooder: I actually became acquainted with his style from a movie about a young man battling the devil. Ralph Macchio was the young man dueling with Satan and his minions, and the actual guitar playing was Ry. Good stuff.

Brad Paisley: Yeah, another Country guitar player, but so much more.

Joe Walsh: Doesn't get enough credit IMO.

So, educate me. Who are your favorites?

This last week:

Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile (previously damaged)

Kaki King - Legs to Make Us Longer

Kaki King - Everybody Loves You

Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

These days, I don't listen to much IDM. There's to many micro-genres made by hipsters with laptops, and I can't stand most of it. That said, the poster children for IDM are among my favorite electronic acts. I am of course referring to Boards of Canada.

This is not their best song, but definitely a doozy. The video is pretty keen, too.

As a whole, head-case seems to prefer music made with acoustic instruments vs synthesizers. That said, I've seen BoC and the like appear more than a few times in the What Are You Listening To, Two thread. What are some of your favorite ambient and IDM tracks, H-C?

https://crooked.com/podcast-series/wind-of-change/

It’s 1990. The Berlin Wall has just come down. The Soviet Union is on the verge of collapse. A heavy metal band from West Germany, the Scorpions, releases a power ballad, “Wind of Change.” The song becomes the soundtrack to the peaceful revolution sweeping Europe — and one of the biggest rock singles ever. According to some fans, it’s the song that ended the Cold War.

Decades later, New Yorker writer Patrick Radden Keefe hears a rumor from a source: the Scorpions didn’t actually write “Wind of Change.” The CIA did...

IDIOT PRAYER: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace 

Old code because I'm busy DJing and don't have time to fix it:

Sup, Heads? My radio show is on the air right now, in Case you wanted to listen.

[url=http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/astonishing_performance_by_a_venezuelan_youth_orchestra_1.html]Gustavo Dudamel leads El Sistema's Teresa Carre

The surround disc was originally released in 2023 (I haven't heard it) - every so often, I like to dive down that audiophile remastering rabbit hole 🐇🕳️ (one commenter mentions listening on a sound bar on page 6): https://www.thesdeshop.com/products/tears-for-fears-the-hurting-limited-edition-sde-exclusive-blu-ray-audio

Comparison: https://magicvinyldigital.net/2024/02/11/tears-for-tears-the-hurting-review-test-vinyl-records-1983-2019-abbey-road-studios-2023-cd-1983-1999-amazon-music-tidal-dolby-atmos-bluray-stereo-5-1-and-dolby-digital-truehd-atmos/

I'll give this a try. You only live once.

Bonus hole - BACCH crosstalk cancellation filter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/theoretica-applied-physics-bacch-stratosonic-surround-renderer/

Overall I'm pretty disappointed, the potential is there with hi-res but like CD it's often limited by how good the recording & mastering was.  I'm curious to hear what you guys think, has  hi-res digital been worth it with the music you listen to?

I could care less about the Hoffman forum diatribes of musical greatness and shit like that.  I frequently read the "What Are You Listening To" thread here and many other threads to see what's out there and get a feel for what many of you truly love in music.  If nothing else, we get a good sense of where you are coming from musically.  I figure a top five list would underscore that, and, hopefully, people find some new music to listen to.

What do my favorite albums have in common?  Melody, energy, dynamics, and catchy as hell riffs/choruses/solos.  I have to have something to hum in my head at all times.  Why do you think I like Grados so much?

1. Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

My favorite album for a long time.  It is the perfect combination of melody vs. bombast.  The songs flow so well with so many memorable guitar pieces.  This is my island album.

2. Opeth - Still Life

My second favorite album for a long time for the same reasons as MAYH.  These two albums are my favorite Opeth period.

3. Poema Arcanus - Iconoclast

A recent addiction.  There are so many pieces from this album that sound unlike all other bands I have heard before.  Everything here, from the song structure to the vocal delivery, is simply captivating.

4. Riverside - Out Of Myself

I will never hear another progressive rock album I like better.  Ever.  The guitar tone is just so perfect.

5. Moonsorrow - Verisäkeet

Like the other four albums, there are so many parts of this album that are so memorable for me.  The buildup and ending of Karhunkynsi, the chorus of Jotunheim, and the energy of Pimeä are so fun to listen to.

https://www.headphonesty.com/2025/04/audiophile-albums-show-off-systems/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJbiBxleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHdIaG5CVJ_7HV1XInkWg-Wcl3bi5eLqEwY5TvbZI40UW4lJ_Eqj6sLgZDg_aem_6BZ_zHeMd1xzv_520xfiqQ

Shirley Bassey: Good, Bad but Beautiful 

The group is set to member approval, so once you apply any current member will be able to accept you.

last.fm basically tracks what you listen to after you download the plugin for foobar2000, Winamp or iTunes. It then creates a weekly listened to top artists, and overall top artists.

If you apply to the group the fastest way to get accepted- reply to this thread.

  This is a bit like ...ca 2001 Microsoft buying mp3.com, but worse.  It's like Yum! Brands buying Five Guys Burgers and Fries.  I do not understand it, but I really don't like the sound of it.

This is a thread idea I've had for ages. In the age of the brick wall, so many remastered releases sonically inferior to previous releases. Such sins are particularly egregious in the world of classic rock, but the phenomenon plagues nearly every genre. The remaster of Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works: 85-92 managed to wreck what was already a very lo-fi endeavor to start.

Right now I'm trying to figure out what is the best Led Zeppelin set. I bought the original 4CD boxed set way back in 1990. In fact, it was the first CD purchase I ever made. I never did pickup the following 2CD set that had the remainder of the catalog not on the first set. I have listened to and enjoyed the Led Zep boxed set for two decades now. In that time there have been quite a few remasters that have followed.

10 CD Complete Studio Recordings (1993)

12 CD SHM set (2008)

This insane and semi-official 5LP and 3CD set (2010)

Discounting that last one, it seems for remasters there's a battle between the 1993 and 2008 sets. I did some digging and as one might expect, a number of audio snobs prefer the original 1980s CD versions. Most of the original CD releases were done by Barry Diament, who is very well respected in the industry and a staunch opponent against the loudness war. So.... any head-casers have experience with either the 10 or 12 CD sets, and maybe had a chance to compare them to the Diament versions?

https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/22/22295273/spotify-hifi-announced-lossless-streaming-hd-quality

https://newsroom.spotify.com/2021-02-22/five-things-to-know-about-spotify-hifi/

from: https://newsroom.spotify.com/stream-on/