devi: (Default)
devi ([personal profile] devi) wrote2004-11-19 01:20 pm
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"But tonight I think I'd rather just go dancing -

- There'll be time enough for rocking when we're old, my love."

Who's coming to Synthetic Culture tonight?

And a poll, because this has been on my mind lately. Which genres of music do you like? And I mean really like, makes hairs stand up on the back of your neck or tears come to your eyes or your foot to tap uncontrollably or makes you feel all's right with the world, that sort of like.

This isn't supposed to cover all genres. My purpose will be explained shortly. (I should have put in an 'Other - please state' thingy, so please state your others in the comments.)

[Poll #387696]

[identity profile] nisaba.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
I should be out tonight, once I work out where it is, anyway... :)

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:34 am (UTC)(link)
It's on York Way, near King's Cross. Have you got my number?

[identity profile] nisaba.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
I haven't, no. I've just been looking it up on the web though, and I think I know where I'm going...

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
Meetup beforehand, maybe? The walk up York Way is chilly and grim, and the more travelling companions, the merrier. I'm told there's a quite nice pub in King's Cross called Smithy's, though I need to check where it is...

[identity profile] nisaba.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 06:21 am (UTC)(link)
That sounds like a good idea. You should be able to see my contact details linked in my memories on my userinfo page if you want my number. I've never heard of that pub in King's Cross though, so I can't really help there I'm afraid.

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 06:33 am (UTC)(link)
You can find out about it here (http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/show.shtml/5342/Smithys_Wine_Bar/Kings_Cross). People I know who like roughly the same sort of pubs as me have met up there on Friday nights before Popstarz several times, so it seems a safe enough bet. How does nine o'clockish sound?

[identity profile] nisaba.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 06:45 am (UTC)(link)
A bit optimistic for me - I finish work at 8pm, won't be home until 9. I'm hoping to be ready by 10 and in the area before 10:30. Do you expect to still be in the pub about then?

If it's too late don't worry - we can get the bus to Camden and run really really fast to the club from there :)

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 07:27 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, I'll root out the number and text you, and let you know when we're moving on to the club? See you later!

[identity profile] nisaba.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 10:37 am (UTC)(link)
That would be brilliant - see you tonight!

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 10:52 am (UTC)(link)
Oops. I just remembered what 'root' means in Australia :)

[identity profile] nisaba.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 11:07 am (UTC)(link)
It's ok, I've learnt to translate :)

[identity profile] mooism.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 07:38 am (UTC)(link)
Smithy’s at 9pm is fine for me :-)

Some elaboration:

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
I hesitated over 'goth with guitars', but so much of it just sounds cheesy to me these days that I find it hard to like unironically....

Oh, hang on, I danced like a loony to The Cult last time I was at B-Movie. And I still like the Sisters. And I only stopped listening to Fields of the Nephilim because I lost my CDs and the minidiscs broke. I am a hypocrite and am going back to change that.

And for 'mainstream dance', I mean things like Orbital and The Orb and the Chemical Brothers and stuff, not *shudder* Eric Prydz and his ilk.

Re: Some elaboration:

[identity profile] bateleur.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, right, well if Chemical Brothers counts then I'm going back to change my answer ! (And Basement Jaxx ?)

Re: Some elaboration:

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:50 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, them too. There's nothing even remotely underground about them any more, is there?

Re: Some elaboration:

[identity profile] fluffymormegil.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
I even like the desperately cheesy bits without the faintest hint of irony :)

[identity profile] miss-newham.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:35 am (UTC)(link)
Which category does Nick Cave come into? The things I love are so varied that I had to limit myself to about five of the categories, and I love them for so many different reasons that I couldn't tick anything in the second question as a must. I don't know what Synthetic Culture is for something, but suspect I'm too old to go clubbing - have fun!

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
I know it's pigeonholing, but I have a particular hypothesis I want to prove. It's not meant to reflect the whole beautiful and varied tapestry of indie :)

Nick Cave... tricky. I'd probably agonise and then plump for 'goth with guitars'. Ugh, he's in the same category as The Mission then...

[identity profile] fluffymormegil.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:50 am (UTC)(link)
I think my answers would mostly prove I'm (a) white (b) weird (c) truly, madly, passionately in love with music.

[identity profile] darklily.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
...oh, hang on just a jiffy there. Would that be 'R&B', the original kind, such as has harmonicas and hard luck stories, or 'R&B', the modern kind, such as features on MTV?
I like to be sure about what I'm voting for...

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
Since I've heard very little proper R&B, I was using the modern meaning of the term. Yup, MTV stuff.

[identity profile] darklily.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
Whew! For a moment there I feared that I was failing in my duties as a Nine Below Zero fan by not selecting that particular ticky-box...

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:38 am (UTC)(link)
Rhodri, apparently, likes every single one of these genres. Really, Rhodri?

[identity profile] miss-newham.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
That's the answer I wanted to put really. Even though I've never heard any electronic Goth music, I'm sure I love it anyway! My word, I'm feeling benevolent today.

[identity profile] rhodri.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, I was trying to make a point that I might like a song that fits in any one of the genres. And I left all the second question unticked, as a tune I like doesn't necessarily HAVE to have any of those attributes. Sorry for screwing the stats :)

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 06:07 am (UTC)(link)
You haven't screwed the stats at all. I was just curious about the reasons for your choices. I wasn't expecting so many people to span the spectrum, and certainly not as comprehensively as yourself. This is interesting!

[identity profile] smiorgan.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
You missed out Ambient. And Jazz...

[identity profile] bateleur.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
The 'MUST' in the second question prevents me from ticking any of the boxes. In spirit, though, I'd tick all but the first and last.

[identity profile] hoshuteki.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
I suppose the genre definitions are a little broad. No jazz, either. I'd tick Jazz. And Scott Walker needs a tick box ("doomed existential romanticism"?). Etc. Etc.

I haven't been to any goth-related events for a while, so there's a whole swathe of my flist I haven't been able to catch up with for a while. I don't have enough black eyeliner, sigh.

[identity profile] mooism.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
I’m up for Synthetic Culture tonight. There a plan to meet up somewhere first?

Music that makes my hair stand up on end is music that can make me believe it is all of existence. Not sure where cause and effect is going here. Usually has unusual (for music) sounds. Might not make me feel that all is right with the world, but at least keeps me from being so botherred that it’s broken.

Music that makes me cry is usually something I haven’t heard in a while. I often find myself fighting back tears when I go into Safeway‘s (they play 70s/80s/90s pop). But it’s not specific to that type of music.

[identity profile] al-fruitbat.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
I often find myself fighting back tears when I go into Safeway's

Uncle Monty???? ;-)

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:52 am (UTC)(link)
Meet up: not yet, but I'm working on it. See comment to nisaba above.

[identity profile] fluffymormegil.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
I can't answer this poll properly. So I'll leave a comment explaining why instead.
First question:
I think almost every category in that list has at least one instance of such a piece. I like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's "Red Eyes And Tears"; Echobelly's "Great Things" and Menswe@r's "Daydreamer"; Darkthrone's "Straightening Sharks In Heaven" and Iron Maiden's "Aces High"; the Sisters of Mercy's "Adrenochrome" and Fields of the Nephilim's "Last Exit For The Lost"; VNV Nation's "Darkangel" and :wumpscut:'s "Totmacher"; Duran Duran's "Rio"; Foreigner's "I've Been Waiting For A Girl Like You" and Pat Benatar's "Suffer The Little Children"; the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy In The UK" and the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen In Love"; Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise"; John Tavener's "The Protecting Veil" and. I'm not terribly well up on the house/techno/yadda category (though if the Prodigy qualify, that's that covered), IDM, or R&B, so can't comment yea or nay (though I suspect R&B probably gets a downcheck).
Now, the highest frequency of such moments (and the most intense examples) are probably in metal and guitar-goth.
Second question:
Lyrics - Not necessary, I like orchestral music.
A really good voice - Not necessary, I like first-generation punk.
Skill - Not necessary, I like first-generation punk.
Originality - Not necessary, I like some of the finer examples of extruded pop product.
Catchy hummable melody - Not necessary, I like Diamanda Galas.
Danceable beat - I like unstructured dark ambient.

[identity profile] ki.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
other - mainstream rock? ambient? whatever ben folds five, color theory, dead can dance, tori amos, black tape for a blue girl, better than ezra, black crowes, bush, and the like would fit into.

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
Dead Can Dance and Black Tape I'd put into goth, but hmm, they haven't really got guitars in them... whoops.

And - you've heard of Color Theory? The synthpop songwriter guy? Bloody hell. I thought I was the only one.

[identity profile] ki.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 06:15 am (UTC)(link)
blame my husband. i love color theory. (:

[identity profile] fluffymormegil.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 06:18 am (UTC)(link)
I'd quite happily put the DCD and Black Tape I've heard under "darkwave".

[identity profile] philipstorry.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 06:37 am (UTC)(link)
You missed blues as a genre. Gotta have me some blues some days...

(And I'm surprised that we haven't had a complaint about a lack of folk yet. Not my cup of tea, but I was expecting it.)

As for what makes something good - competence/excellence on instruments, I guess. Composition plays a large part as well - a good tune played badly is still better than a bad tune played well, IMO.

I'm interested to see that you put "a singer with a really good voice". I'm very into vocals, but I seemd to be thinking more and more these days that vocals are best as part of the soundscape. This probably comes from the last few gigs I've been to, where it was pretty clear that a good vocalist knows (or just subconsiously knows) when and how to use their voice to best effect. I can think of lots of singers who have good voices, but that doesn't mean that they sang well... Or were used well in the arrangement, for that matter.
triskellian: (tori)

[personal profile] triskellian 2004-11-19 06:47 am (UTC)(link)
Missing category from the first question: girlie acoustic (eg Tori Amos, Suzanna Vega).

My answer to the second one... technically, I shouldn't've picked any of them, because there are songs I like that are missing each of those things, but all of my favourite music is lyrics-based, so that's what I ticked.

Do we get to hear what your theory is, and whether the results confirm it?

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 07:25 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, you do get to hear the theory - when some more results have come in. So far it's not being proved conclusively.

[identity profile] ravenblack.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 07:35 am (UTC)(link)
I said a singer with a really good voice as a must, which isn't really fair since there can potentially be instrumental music, even, that I enjoy. But it's very much a rarity in comparison to well-voiced music. And 'good' is meant not only subjectively, but also contextually - Mr Rammstein isn't a voice I think of as "a good singing voice", but it's fantastic in its own environment.

I would also like to add whatever genre the good .hack//sign soundtrack songs are, which might be J-pop, but I wouldn't want to say that I like J-pop because the J-pop that I *don't* like, I dislike quite a lot. So I shall call it "wispy J-pop", and would also tend to lean my goth-with-guitars and lack of goth-with-bleeps together into a single category of "wispy goth". And Indie must also be reselected as "wispy Indie", probably. So really I'd just select the single category of "wispy", and then add a few Rammstein and Bathory songs or something as the exceptions that prove the rule. Even though they disprove it, that's proof in rhetoric-world.

Aargh

[identity profile] a-llusive.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 09:06 am (UTC)(link)
No jazz/blues and I don't want to put R&B instead cos it would be wrong
rap is different to hip hop

I can't put in one or more of the following... as my favourite tracks don't nec have more than one of these, or all the same attribute which attracts.

There's no "sublime associations with a period in your past/youth" in the second list.

I don't know what intelligent dance is, but I can't put mainstream, as that's not right either.

How can I find an anser wich includes Billie Holiday, Otis Reading, Outkast, Eminem, Goldfrapp, PWEI, Scissor Sisters, the first NIN album, Beastie Boys and Nirvana?

Re: Aargh

[identity profile] bluedevi.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 09:13 am (UTC)(link)
Ooh, tricky. I'd have put Outkast in hip-hop, but I suppose now you mention it you can't put Eminem in there.

Nirvana, though, I'd put under indie-rock. Clumsy, but they only allow you so many tickyboxes.

And I haven't put in jazz or blues because I have no idea what impact they'd have on the various things I'm trying to prove, as I'm clueless about them.

But you are pleasingly eclectic. I'm always interested to come across fellow eclectics.

[identity profile] plasticsturgeon.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 09:48 am (UTC)(link)
I just realized that I lied. Lots of the music I find thrilling is a capella.

[identity profile] arachne.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 01:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I wasn't sure which type of R&B you meant - the drek that gets called R&B these days, or good old classic R&B, the type that can be found on Blues Brothers soundtracks, etc?

No SC for me tonight, as I barely have two pennies to rub together :(

[identity profile] haggisthesecond.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 01:47 pm (UTC)(link)
If I had to name a genre of music that most consistently stirs me I'd have to say old Motown/soul. Also folk-influenced indie rock, but not as reliably.

[identity profile] fabulousfrock.livejournal.com 2004-11-19 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
My favorite songs span a wide spectrum, from the Kinks to Neutral Milk Hotel to Enya to opera. But the genre that probably affected me the most is glam rock especially Bowie and Roxy Music. I clicked on a catchy, hummable melody as being most important, but it actually isn't really necessary to me that the melody be catchy and hummable (although a lot my favorite songs do have this), just that the melody has to somehow affect me. Somehow the notes sound just right.

[identity profile] caescarna.livejournal.com 2004-11-22 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
Hmmn...I'm drawn most towards indie-pop, twee-indie pop and goth with guitars. However, I can't see how the Cocteau Twins would fit into any of the above categories above, broadly speaking they're more Ethereal than goth. This Mortal Coil however definately fall into the neo-classical mould.