Music Appreciation

[Reese Riverson]

I'm pretty sure almost everyone here appreciates music, but to what extent? Whether you enjoy playing instruments or listening to music, it doesn't matter in this discussion.

Music is only as good as our equipment gets, whether it's for playing it or recording it. How it's mastered, format is used, compression methods from your very home studio to studio's that mastered the song on your Compact Disc or downloaded media!

I personally have been straying away from MP3's for FLAC as far as digital content goes, but my preferences have been CDs more than anything. I've been working slowly to increase my vinyl collection, and may eventually begin my cassette and reel to reel collection.

Believe it or not, albums on vinyl are still being made today! However Mastering quality can still differ on those as much as our CDs and downloaded format.

Next thing that comes to play is the type of system you personally use for playing back music. Whether it be through a set of speakers or headphones, you have a wide range of choices and quality. As well as the very sound card (on-board or add-on-card) with in your computer.


So how do you go about appreciating your music? Whether you play it, listen to it, or both?

Me personally, I haven't played an instrument in my life, but I do have interests in trying to learn. The guitar and piano seems pretty cool in my books. I especially don't have the equipment on recording any live performances, but I do on playing my music.

Most of my components used are very well from the 70's and 80's. My most prized piece is my Pioneer SX-1980.



My cat truly appreciates music as well!

[Rulez]

I wrote a long-ass text on this topic but it somehow got deleted and I couldn't help it. I'm pissed off now, so tomorrow I'll reenact my former message. Be aware.

[Reese Riverson]

I wrote a long-ass text on this topic but it somehow got deleted and I couldn't help it. I'm pissed off now, so tomorrow I'll reenact my former message. Be aware.

I hate it when that happens... I think the best way is to type out your post in notepad, wordpad, openoffice, or microsoft word and just copy and past it over when you are done.

[Rulez]

I still don't feel like typing it again. I'll leave this for you, though, to make up for it:
My old guitar which I used to play for 7 years and I'm now selling it
My new guitar, the one I play all the time
The drum set I play (another look)
Vibraphone

Excuse the poor quality but who are you to judge

[Adsolution]

Red drum kits are awesome. Mine is also red.

Rulez, can you make a video of yourself playing? I really would like to you play one.

[Reese Riverson]

I have a video of one of my cats with my Stereo gear.

[Adsolution]

I'm just curious, how many people here enjoy jazz? I don't mean listen to it on a daily basis, but enjoy it when it comes on.

[DesLife]

I'm not fond of jazz but I quite like it. And I highly respect jazz players.

[Rulez]

Same as Des. I don't always listen to jazz, mainly rock and blues, but when I can, I usually listen to it.

[Tobbe]

There are a lot of great musicians in jazz, but I can't bring myself to like most of it. Although, as a bass player, I'm capable of appreciating anything with a good bass line.

[Reese Riverson]

I enjoy jazz, as of late I listen to the ones made by Joe McBride and a few others. I mention a few others because I have some compilations that were released with multiple jazz tracks by different artists on a single disc.

Prime example would be my Denver's Smooth Jazz 104.3 album.

It has music by Gota, Paul Taylor, Chuck Loeb, Kim Waters, Chieli Minucci, Bona Fide, Count Basic, Dancing Fantasy, Ottmar Liebert, Down To The Bone, Ken Navarro, Dotsero, and Third Force.

I enjoy every song on that CD, and was blown away when I played that on how beautiful it sounded on a pair of speakers I picked up from a Craigslist ad locally for $100USD.

Jazz isn't the only type I enjoy, as I do like pipe organ tracks, classical and orchestrated music. Rock and roll and various other types. I'm all open, and I enjoy quite a lot.

Which is why I care for the type of stereo equipment I have to play all my music.

When I want it loud, I can have it loud.

[incognito]

We have a topic to listen Zikmu at the moment, but I realize we also have this one to discuss about the music itself.
I've been into Vaporwave lately, as the genre is very innovative, has themes sticking on the albums (most of the time) and carries a very nostalgic vibe with it.
I'm kinda new with the Vaporwave, but for now my favourite albums are Plaza of Vanity which describes the journey in a city at night totally alone, 新しい日の誕生 of 2 8 1 4, which describes a dystopic cyberpunk future, which as described in the 80's sci-fi.
I love the loneliness feeling the genre brings to its listeners, and I recommend it to anyone who likes trancy beats, early computer technology, and 80's sci-fi aesthetic.
I'm currently listening the Blank Banshee 0, it is good, but some tracks doesn't fit the atmosphere, which is mostly present in the Ammonia clouds track, alongside with Photosynthesis and Cyber Zodiac.
The goal of vaporwave itself is sometimes to bring new feelings to its listeners and sometimes make them uncomfortable with awkward sounds.
It can be seen as many things, because yes, it is really big, there is tons of sub genres that comes from vaporwave, and the best way to explain it is to experience it yourself, a little bit like love.
Don't begin with mallsoft though, or you'll get soon disgusted of the music style despite it being as I said earlier, really vast.

[Itooh]

新しい日の誕生 of 2 8 1 4 is really great! Thanks for the discovery, I didn't knew the Vaporwave genre at all. I also listened to Hologram Plaza, really cool album too.

It's not so far from what I'm listening in electro. I'm not familiar at all with all genres unfortunately, so I'm still having difficulties giving names to what kind of music I like. I've recently discovered the existence of "Experimental hip hop", which seems to describe a lot of what I like, but have also a lot of sub-categories.
All of those seems to share common traits with vaporwave: use of samples, atmospheric, dissonances, sometimes lack of rhythm. Stuff like anosci (which I recommend to inco) seems really close to vaporwave. Other, like Tristan Arlic, Aaron Cherof, Jime Guthrie, or even Cut Chemist, are clearly from different genres, but I still have difficulties to identify which ones, as they have a lot of aspects in common.

And I'm not even talking about Jazz. My god, this is so dense, especially when it flirt with electro. Fusion, ambient jazz, experimental… Groups like Mahavishnu Orchestra or Jaga Jazzists are just crazy.

[Rayfist]

Anyone else here listen to a lot of videogame music? Kind of pathetic, but it's because of videogames that I got into some genres. Persona got me into acid jazz for example.

[Greeness]

Yeah, its probably because when you're playing a game you have to listen to the music that plays, so you find some tracks that you enjoy hearing and it kickstarts you to many different types of genres.

[Itooh]

Game soundtrack are cool! Well, I like atmospheric music and movie soundtrack, so i't no wonder I also like game soundtrack. I think it might take one third of my music library.

[Keane]

Vidya music is great, if anything I think it's as important as visuals/gameplay. It kind of helps make a game stick in your mind, whenever I think Donkey Kong Country or Majora's Mask my mind immediately goes to the music. I also love games that really use their soundtrack to boost the atmosphere, like how AC: New Leaf has all those subtle changes in tonality and instrumentation that slowly shift the game into being a little more nostalgic and feely during the night.

I also compiled this thing a while back you should check it out and tell me it's great

[Bradandez]

The entire Donkey Kong Country series has incredible soundtracks. These are so immersive, my mind always gets lost whenever I listen to them. Tropical Freeze is such an incredible score, very dynamic and very atmospheric. The two descriptions I listed work together and almost every song has both in them.

[incognito]

新しい日の誕生 of 2 8 1 4 is really great! Thanks for the discovery, I didn't knew the Vaporwave genre at all. I also listened to Hologram Plaza, really cool album too.

Woah, I wasn't expecting my post to be answered, and even less someone following my recommendation !
Glad you liked it, and about the Jazzy electro, that's really a sub genre of vaporwave, if you search a little you'll find many tracks like that.
For Anosci I haven't gave it a try yet, but be sure that I will post my feedback whenever I'll have listened to it.
From what you wrote higher you really seem to be a guy who's gonna love vaporwave, like a lot (hum hum, not mallsoft though)

About my recent music, I have slightly drove off vaporwave for the moment, but I'll be back.
I have been listening at some dystopic cyberpunk music again, but of another kind.
I can only recommend the "Replicas" Album of Gary Numan, there is a really good atmosphere in three particular tracks of the album :
"Are Friends Electric ?" Is the best of all, and also one of my favourite songs ever, the synthesizer gives retro cyberpunk vibes, and a dystopic atmosphere, the song describes the thoughts of a lone and paranoid guy at night thinking about love, although the song can have many interpretations.

"Down The Park" Still in the same vibes, but this time it is more about the dystopia that came with the new technology and synthetic men, making atrocities for the entertainment of mankind, all of this seen through the eyes of a guys walking down the park with a friend of his.

"Replicas" This one is more (I think) about illegal reunions punished by the police and the justice who became more violent and the cancellations of freedoms although I haven't listened the song enough to make myself a strong idea.

And finally, trying to get a little into Retrowave, I have spent all my day extending a track, here it is :
https://youtu.be/V2xF4DvLPu8

Perfect for being listened at night, it brings a sensation of emptiness to the listener and can be interpreted in different ways, I have mine and I'll let you get your own.

Yeah, its probably because when you're playing a game you have to listen to the music that plays, so you find some tracks that you enjoy hearing and it kickstarts you to many different types of genres.

True thing, when I think about it I wasn't listening at many songs besides game music like four years ago, now one of the biggest things in my hard drives is music.

[Keane]

Not sure if anyone here is musically autistic enough to make one of these but we should definitely make and share album charts in this thread: http://collage.topsters.net/ You can even add Rayman music to these.



tutorial:

The entire Donkey Kong Country series has incredible soundtracks. These are so immersive, my mind always gets lost whenever I listen to them. Tropical Freeze is such an incredible score, very dynamic and very atmospheric. The two descriptions I listed work together and almost every song has both in them.

Yeah DK musics kick ass. The original game's soundtrack is probably my favourite, there's a lot of ominous and atmospheric tracks that almost feel out of place in a fucking DK game but I think that actually ended up giving the game and all the sequels just the right bit of edge.

I really love those moments where DK's going through a dark cave and you got the water dripping in the background, or that mysterious music that plays by the temples, it's a nice contrast to the silly "ooga booga monkey" tone. The whole series and especially the first game has a tone to it that I haven't really found in any other game.