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The Album Subscription Project
For some time I've had the creeping feeling that I'm stuck with a couple of bands I love, and very little new bands find their way into my horizon. To remedy this I've come up with a small project for myself. I'm going to obtain one album of an artist I have only passing or no familiarity with each week, and this artist and the album will be determined by you guys.
Now you are going to say "why not just go to last.fm or buy a bunch of samplers and listen to whatever" and there are two reasons for that. One is that sites like last.fm (at least as far as I can tell) only cater to your established musical taste, but the goal here is to cover breadth and maybe wander into genres I am not very well versed in. The second is that I am big fan of albums in themselves, as they are supposed to be one coherent unit, rather than just a collection of songs. Though some bands have trended much more to the later, certain albums like for example "David Comes To Life" by Fucked Up only make complete sense as a unit and I would like to have that experience as well.
So what are the rules?
Each and every week you can nominate an album by a band or second a nomination by someone else. You may also switch your nomination in that week if you want to support another nomination. At the end of the week, I will tally up and post the collected nominations, then get that album which got the most votes (or choose one if multiple albums are tied). The nominations of the people whose album was not picked will carry over to the next week, and the people whose album was chosen can nominate something new or support an already established nomination.
I would prefer if all nominations are either available for free on the artists website, or available on the Amazon mp3 store in my region (germany/austria), since I want to keep this mostly legit. Language of the songs is also not really a problem, so bring on your J-Rock, Ska-P and what have you. I myself will retain some limited veto power so I can filter out some joke nominations since I'm not eager to spend money on something that was a joke. I will also tell you guys if I already own an album, which is not a valid nomination. Albums of bands which were already picked in this project are also invalid, unless the album in question was released after I listened to the previously nominated album. Two people nominating different albums by the same band in the same week is fine though.
After I listened to the album a couple of times I will try to let you guys know what I thought of it. If you want to join in in the project, feel free to do so.
I know, eventually this thing will peter out at some point, but I will try to keep this up for at least 50 weeks, so let's have a fun time.
Now you are going to say "why not just go to last.fm or buy a bunch of samplers and listen to whatever" and there are two reasons for that. One is that sites like last.fm (at least as far as I can tell) only cater to your established musical taste, but the goal here is to cover breadth and maybe wander into genres I am not very well versed in. The second is that I am big fan of albums in themselves, as they are supposed to be one coherent unit, rather than just a collection of songs. Though some bands have trended much more to the later, certain albums like for example "David Comes To Life" by Fucked Up only make complete sense as a unit and I would like to have that experience as well.
So what are the rules?
Each and every week you can nominate an album by a band or second a nomination by someone else. You may also switch your nomination in that week if you want to support another nomination. At the end of the week, I will tally up and post the collected nominations, then get that album which got the most votes (or choose one if multiple albums are tied). The nominations of the people whose album was not picked will carry over to the next week, and the people whose album was chosen can nominate something new or support an already established nomination.
I would prefer if all nominations are either available for free on the artists website, or available on the Amazon mp3 store in my region (germany/austria), since I want to keep this mostly legit. Language of the songs is also not really a problem, so bring on your J-Rock, Ska-P and what have you. I myself will retain some limited veto power so I can filter out some joke nominations since I'm not eager to spend money on something that was a joke. I will also tell you guys if I already own an album, which is not a valid nomination. Albums of bands which were already picked in this project are also invalid, unless the album in question was released after I listened to the previously nominated album. Two people nominating different albums by the same band in the same week is fine though.
After I listened to the album a couple of times I will try to let you guys know what I thought of it. If you want to join in in the project, feel free to do so.
I know, eventually this thing will peter out at some point, but I will try to keep this up for at least 50 weeks, so let's have a fun time.
Comments
One of the last things put out by my favorite artist before he was taken too early by brain cancer. Though, that statement is not at all representative of his work, which is fun, light, and very silly. His family put up all but his last two albums for free after he passed. I put in the link to the whole archive, but the specific album I'm recommending is at the bottom of the list.
Not free, but you can listen on Spotify.
Really awesome band, their front-man-dolinist just won a MacArthur Fellowship for being a mandolin genius. Amazing harmonies and musical talent that defies the stereotype of bluegrass instruments. Great stage presence as well, touring the UK & N. Europe this coming month.
They just released this song (it's not on that album, so it's not cheating to listen, is it?). (and i just switched the video with one of him soloing, because it's ridiculous)
"Who's Feeling Young Now" by Punch Brothers as suggested by no fun girl
Other suggestions which carry over to next week are:
"The Mini-Album of Luv" by Logan Whitehurst & The Junior Science Club (P_TOG)
"Catamaran" by Bear Vs Shark (Ampersand)
"American Beauty" by The Gratefule Dead (Hitman Hart)
"Hospice" by The Antlers (La Petit Mort)
However, I could not find the Whitehirst or the Bear vs. Shark album at my usual mp3 retailer, but other albums by the same people. Maybe these could be changed. Not sure.
The days of Grays by Sonata Arctica
"Hospice" by The Antlers (La Petit Mort)
Remaining in the pool:
"The Mini-Album of Luv" by Logan Whitehurst & The Junior Science Club (P_TOG)
"Catamaran" by Bear Vs Shark (Ampersand)
"American Beauty" by The Grateful Dead (Hitman Hart)
"The Days of Grays" by Sonata Arctica (Bronzdragon)
"The Everafter" by Witness (Locutus of Nine)