Yeah, I uploaded my MP3 collection to Google Music ages ago, and that's what I use for playing my archived collection. The Google Music app is a huge slow piece of shit, though, and I sort of hate it a lot.
Spotify just works nicely, but there's no cloud storage option for local MP3's yet.
Amazon should just buy Spotify. Then it would have the best cloud storage and streaming together in one place and instantly become the obvious best.
A lot of my mp3 collection is available on Spotify so it doesn't really bother me. There are still occasionally things that aren't available, especially rap mixtapes because of rights issues, but its generally decent. My coworker uses Google Music pretty frequently because I guess it has a little more obscure metal bands on it than Spotify does and also has some more obscure EDM stuff as well but Spotify apparently has some stuff Google Music doesn't too so its sorta like one or the other.
Man, I've heard the "Spotify doesn't have obscure metal on it" thing a bunch, and I'm totally convinced people say that because they can't find a particular album by a particular band. The only underground stuff I can't find is subterranean - like the guys who release a demo on cassette only, and a limited-run vinyl LP, then refuse to do interviews or have a significant social media presence.
"Underground" doesn't even really exist anymore. It's just a show these days. You have to go well out of your way to keep people from hearing about you.
Actually I just barely asked him and he said Spotify is pretty good now in terms of metal bands. He says that the weird singles for EDM songs aren't usually available now but a lot of the songs I hear off the ASOT podcast I can usually find on there. If I can't find it its usually a newer remix that you can only find on a producers Soundcloud page or something which makes sense that they wouldn't have available.
If I can't find a song on Spotify, I listen to something else 99% of the time. If I really do need to hear something specific, then obviously it's either too good for Spotify or just too darn obscure.
I get that some people don't agree with the spotify model/pricing structure and, whatever, good for you. I'll find your song on YouTube or something if I really need to hear it.
Only band that comes to mind where I was looking for a song and couldn't find it, is Placebo. Not metal related or anything.
There are some bands that are strangely not on Spotify. Apparently Tool isn't which is kinda strange but Maynard being a douchebag makes sense he wouldn't put his stuff up there. But A Perfect Circle is but that might be because of the other members, or it might just be label ownership or something.
Unrelated but for some reason I was under the impression that Facebook owned Spotify. I think because Zuckerberg has talked up Spotify a lot in the past. Apparently they are still a privately held company.
And having just listened to Z2 (and about half of Sky Blue)...
It's alright. Not great, not terrible. Z2 isn't quite the followup to Ziltoid I was hoping for - I guess he's not really interested in making that kind of music these days. It's got some of the aggression and savagery of the first album, but it's set against some of the more recent atmospheric and choir-drive pop-metal he's been doing recently. Or rather revisiting. And there are places where it sounds like he's pulling punches.
Also, the narration is a bit much. It's supposed to be ham-fisted, but I think it distracts from the music. I might try tracking down the narration-free version and see if it's better.
Sky Blue is nice, a good continuation of Epicloud, but a little samey.
Everything Pete said is factually 100% correct. The narration dominates Z2. I like it when an album has a story and creates a Legend of Krauser. Back in my early high school days I even liked the Legend of Krauser that the ICP created. But it's best when that legend is like a thin wrapping around the meat of music. Here, the legend is part of the meat, which is unique, but slightly bothersome for repeat listenings.
Sky Blue is very samey with Epicloud. BUT I'm not going to complain about that. I see it as a positive. I'll happily take more Epicloud, especially when it includes tracks like "Universal Flame" and "Silent Militia."
It is always somewhat lame when you have a band, no matter how awesome, where every album sounds mostly the same *cough*Machinae Supremacy*cough*. But I think Townsend of all people is definitely not one to repeat himself more than once. I'm pretty confident that the next we hear from him it will be something new.
At the same time, there are people that never repeat themselves. I mean, there's nothing I'd like more than Daft Punk to release something like "Rediscovery." But they aren't doing it! I think Sky Blue being Epicloud 2 is a little less exciting because he gave it to us right away instead of making us wait many years and start pining for more of that. But in the long run I'll be thankful these 12 tracks exist.
I think the music would actually tell the story absent the ham-fisted narration. Dev does a lot of goofy things, and I get the impression he was attempting to take Ziltoid as over-the-top as possible. It succeeded in a way - it's pretty much a space opera.
Part of the difference is that the first Ziltoid wasn't really trying to tell a story so much as express Devin's state of mind at the time and in the few years prior. He released it not too long after killing SYL and before re-embarking on the DTP. As a result, the "story" on the first album is less coherent and cohesive, and it's an obvious metaphor for Devin at the time.
This time around, he went out of his way to create a standalone character and create a story arc tied to the music, which might be part of the reason it seems to dominate so much.
I think the reason it dominates so much is simply because the quantity of it is so great. Every audible word and lyric on the album is either the narrator or character dialogue. None of the songs can stand alone if you played them out of context.
Let's compare that to legends of old. The Beatles had "the walrus." But it's subtle. You could listen and not even know about it, or any of their other legends. Every Beatles Song stands alone. Only Beatles nerds know about their legend, which is what makes it a legend.
Tommy by The Who is an even better comparison. It's a musical that was intended to be performed on stage, but most of the tracks still stand alone as songs. I bet less than half the people who know the song Pinball Wizard know the story of Tommy.
It's a tough thing to pull off the concept album that has standalone pieces. Once you get into prog metal territory, the focus tends to shift towards whole-album composition, because you have a tendency to have a more highly invested audience who is willing to put up with what amounts to a single 45 minute song.
Ayreon and Iced Earth spring to mind as two contemporary groups who can actually pull it off.
But I think the cohesiveness in Z2 is a musical one, not a lyrical one. Independent of the narration, the music itself flows and evolves over the course of the story, and evokes the mood of each stage. That's part of the reason I want the narrative-free version - if enough of that narration comes out, I'm betting the songs will stand better on their own.
Yeah, I think Deathray can stand alone pretty well without the narration. But if you notice whenever the narration comes in the music has a pause. Those pauses might become awkward gaps.
I've been digging on Ihsahn's latest release. If you're unfamiliar with the man, he's the frontman from Emperor who went on after the dissolution of the band to do solo stuff. He's been slowly incorporating more jazz elements, to the point where his last album had pretty straight-up jazz fusion going on.
Well, now he's taken it in Interesting Directions.
So this got me paying attention to two other things: Starofash (the project by his wife Ihriel) and Leprous (a Norwegian prog metal band with whom he collaborates extensively). Starofash isn't metal, really (more like minimalist electronic indie pop-rock), but it may be of interest to some:
Been listening to some ragtime piano today. Is there ragtime metal? The googles aren't helping me really.
Ragtime is a precursor to jazz or an early form of jazz (opinions vary as to the origins of jazz), so you're bound to find something in jazz metal or prog metal.
I want to say that BtBaM has made of use of ragtime-esque composition in some songs somewhere. Who the fuck knows with them, they go all over the place.
A friend recommended Fidlar after hearing some Red Fang. Pretty stellar couple of songs with Cocaine being a favourite. Nothing to do with Rock Offerman.
So Enslaved has completed their transformation into black metal Opeth. Except they do it better than Opeth has ever done it.
RIITIIR was the prelude to In Times. Now their ideas are fully realized and substantially more cohesive. Excellent flow.
Listen to these two in order. The entire album evolves into this, but these last two songs are really the culmination of the album. "Daylight" takes it home beautifully.
Comments
"Underground" doesn't even really exist anymore. It's just a show these days. You have to go well out of your way to keep people from hearing about you.
/rant
I get that some people don't agree with the spotify model/pricing structure and, whatever, good for you. I'll find your song on YouTube or something if I really need to hear it.
Only band that comes to mind where I was looking for a song and couldn't find it, is Placebo. Not metal related or anything.
Unrelated but for some reason I was under the impression that Facebook owned Spotify. I think because Zuckerberg has talked up Spotify a lot in the past. Apparently they are still a privately held company.
It's alright. Not great, not terrible. Z2 isn't quite the followup to Ziltoid I was hoping for - I guess he's not really interested in making that kind of music these days. It's got some of the aggression and savagery of the first album, but it's set against some of the more recent atmospheric and choir-drive pop-metal he's been doing recently. Or rather revisiting. And there are places where it sounds like he's pulling punches.
Also, the narration is a bit much. It's supposed to be ham-fisted, but I think it distracts from the music. I might try tracking down the narration-free version and see if it's better.
Sky Blue is nice, a good continuation of Epicloud, but a little samey.
Sky Blue is very samey with Epicloud. BUT I'm not going to complain about that. I see it as a positive. I'll happily take more Epicloud, especially when it includes tracks like "Universal Flame" and "Silent Militia."
It is always somewhat lame when you have a band, no matter how awesome, where every album sounds mostly the same *cough*Machinae Supremacy*cough*. But I think Townsend of all people is definitely not one to repeat himself more than once. I'm pretty confident that the next we hear from him it will be something new.
At the same time, there are people that never repeat themselves. I mean, there's nothing I'd like more than Daft Punk to release something like "Rediscovery." But they aren't doing it! I think Sky Blue being Epicloud 2 is a little less exciting because he gave it to us right away instead of making us wait many years and start pining for more of that. But in the long run I'll be thankful these 12 tracks exist.
And if you want different, try Casualties of Cool. It's not at all like anything else he's ever done.
I think the music would actually tell the story absent the ham-fisted narration. Dev does a lot of goofy things, and I get the impression he was attempting to take Ziltoid as over-the-top as possible. It succeeded in a way - it's pretty much a space opera.
Part of the difference is that the first Ziltoid wasn't really trying to tell a story so much as express Devin's state of mind at the time and in the few years prior. He released it not too long after killing SYL and before re-embarking on the DTP. As a result, the "story" on the first album is less coherent and cohesive, and it's an obvious metaphor for Devin at the time.
This time around, he went out of his way to create a standalone character and create a story arc tied to the music, which might be part of the reason it seems to dominate so much.
Let's compare that to legends of old. The Beatles had "the walrus." But it's subtle. You could listen and not even know about it, or any of their other legends. Every Beatles Song stands alone. Only Beatles nerds know about their legend, which is what makes it a legend.
Tommy by The Who is an even better comparison. It's a musical that was intended to be performed on stage, but most of the tracks still stand alone as songs. I bet less than half the people who know the song Pinball Wizard know the story of Tommy.
Ayreon and Iced Earth spring to mind as two contemporary groups who can actually pull it off.
But I think the cohesiveness in Z2 is a musical one, not a lyrical one. Independent of the narration, the music itself flows and evolves over the course of the story, and evokes the mood of each stage. That's part of the reason I want the narrative-free version - if enough of that narration comes out, I'm betting the songs will stand better on their own.
I've been digging on Ihsahn's latest release. If you're unfamiliar with the man, he's the frontman from Emperor who went on after the dissolution of the band to do solo stuff. He's been slowly incorporating more jazz elements, to the point where his last album had pretty straight-up jazz fusion going on.
Well, now he's taken it in Interesting Directions.
So this got me paying attention to two other things: Starofash (the project by his wife Ihriel) and Leprous (a Norwegian prog metal band with whom he collaborates extensively). Starofash isn't metal, really (more like minimalist electronic indie pop-rock), but it may be of interest to some:
https://soundcloud.com/starofash
Leprous is an excellent prog metal outfit with a bit of a power metal streak. You should listen to them. This is from their 2011 album:
http://cloudkickermusic.com/album/live-with-intronaut
I want to say that BtBaM has made of use of ragtime-esque composition in some songs somewhere. Who the fuck knows with them, they go all over the place.
This is my favorite Leprous track, although I hate how the singer pushes the upper boundaries of his range, I would like him to stick to lower ranges.
Also, new Cloudkicker EP announced for December 1st, one in which he finally releases Signal/Noise. 8D
On other metal:
This shit is currently destroying me.
RIITIIR was the prelude to In Times. Now their ideas are fully realized and substantially more cohesive. Excellent flow.
Listen to these two in order. The entire album evolves into this, but these last two songs are really the culmination of the album. "Daylight" takes it home beautifully.