I'm not listening to music anymore (aka dopamine and distraction)

[0XI0]

I just crave the days I’d find an album and become obsessed with it

u ever heard of He is Legend? Spotify glassjaw search recommended them, found Endless Hallway, blew my fuckin head off like a meshuggah clown car demolition derby, then fell into White Bat and Few, which for some reason couldn't stop playing them for a month straight. come to realize, Nolly G mixed them. both. oh that's why. then dug into the older records, It Hates You, Heavy Fruit. this shit



just saying it here to say I hadn't got hooked on a single band this hard this fast since uhhh. ever. cause Karnivool only had one back album to find when Goliath donky punched me in 2010.

 

[TubeStack]

Good to hear!

Oops, this was supposed to be in @DrewJD82 ’s dog thread, sorry.

 

[DrewJD82]

u ever heard of He is Legend? Spotify glassjaw search recommended them, found Endless Hallway, blew my fuckin head off like a meshuggah clown car demolition derby, then fell into White Bat and Few, which for some reason couldn't stop playing them for a month straight. come to realize, Nolly G mixed them. both. oh that's why. then dug into the older records, It Hates You, Heavy Fruit. this shit



just saying it here to say I hadn't got hooked on a single band this hard this fast since uhhh. ever. cause Karnivool only had one back album to find when Goliath donky punched me in 2010.

This is cool stuff, I’ll definitely check out more of this! Thanks!

 

[JiveTurkey]

u ever heard of He is Legend? Spotify glassjaw search recommended them, found Endless Hallway, blew my fuckin head off like a meshuggah clown car demolition derby, then fell into White Bat and Few, which for some reason couldn't stop playing them for a month straight. come to realize, Nolly G mixed them. both. oh that's why. then dug into the older records, It Hates You, Heavy Fruit. this shit



just saying it here to say I hadn't got hooked on a single band this hard this fast since uhhh. ever. cause Karnivool only had one back album to find when Goliath donky punched me in 2010.

Glassjaw is

 

[mbenigni]

I can relate with the OP so much. For me, listening slowed down significantly when I met my wife. Spending more time in someone else's company meant listening could often be antisocial or exclusionary - especially if I wanted to listen to something heavy or challenging. At the same time I was going through a sort of existential crisis as a student of music, to the point where I was questioning my validity as a player (still often do) and even the purpose of music itself.

Somewhere in here a sleeping baby happened :) and listening at home became even less frequent. I'd still been listening to plenty of music in the car, but then I took a job with a shorter commute. And a few years later the political scene in the US went apeshit, and I got addicted to listening to news, etc. on the radio. (Ironic: I can still remember throwing temper tantrums as a teen whenever I heard talk radio, insisting that "radios are for music!" LOL.)

So... at this point my listening time is absurdly minimal, especially for a "musician". For the most part, the only time I listen to a song or album is when I want to learn how to play it. I'm a pretty slow learner (and inclined to obsess over details), so this can mean listening to the same few songs A LOT. Like, sometimes for months and months at a time. And it usually means fixating on the same collection of song/ albums I'd already been obsessed with in my teens or twenties, rather than exposing myself to anything newer or more diverse. It's all just part of this very specialized, and perhaps arbitrary, craft process. I joke with people that when I'm playing guitar in my basement, I might as well be doing needlepoint, or collecting stamps, or whatever.

 

[Jarick]

u ever heard of He is Legend? Spotify glassjaw search recommended them, found Endless Hallway, blew my fuckin head off like a meshuggah clown car demolition derby, then fell into White Bat and Few, which for some reason couldn't stop playing them for a month straight. come to realize, Nolly G mixed them. both. oh that's why. then dug into the older records, It Hates You, Heavy Fruit. this shit



just saying it here to say I hadn't got hooked on a single band this hard this fast since uhhh. ever. cause Karnivool only had one back album to find when Goliath donky punched me in 2010.

He Is Legend is amazing!

I heard them for the first time in 2005 when a friend popped this CD in the car and it was like HOLY FUCK this is PERFECT. Immediately bought the CD and was obsessed. Saw them later that year for the I Am Hollywood tour which was awesome. Then saw them earlier this year with my best friend from them and now, for the 20th anniversary tour (where we dragged our non-metal wives out). Was awesome!

Highly recommended songs:



Their jazzy side:



And then they just got fucking NASTY on the next album. Listen to this one through to the breakdown, just southern sludge metal:

 

[mbenigni]

He Is Legend is amazing!

I heard them for the first time in 2005 when a friend popped this CD in the car and it was like HOLY FUCK this is PERFECT. Immediately bought the CD and was obsessed. Saw them later that year for the I Am Hollywood tour which was awesome. Then saw them earlier this year with my best friend from them and now, for the 20th anniversary tour (where we dragged our non-metal wives out). Was awesome!

Highly recommended songs:



Their jazzy side:



And then they just got fucking NASTY on the next album. Listen to this one through to the breakdown, just southern sludge metal:

The old cliché by now is to complain about "cookie monster" vocals. I don't mind the cookie monster thing (when it fits), but I do take issue with the "I just took a big bite of a fluffernutter sandwich with extra marshmallow and would like to buy a consonant" mush mouth vocals. "MOI MWAME OOIS MWWWAAAAAAHHCC!!!" It crops up everywhere from Def Leppard to here, and points between, and it just sound ridiculous to me.

(P.S. Good stuff otherwise.)

 

[Jarick]

The old cliché by now is to complain about "cookie monster" vocals. I don't mind the cookie monster thing (when it fits), but I do take issue with the "I just took a big bite of a fluffernutter sandwich with extra marshmallow and would like to buy a consonant" mush mouth vocals. "MOI MWAME OOIS MWWWAAAAAAHHCC!!!" It crops up everywhere from Def Leppard to here, and points between, and it just sound ridiculous to me.

(P.S. Good stuff otherwise.)

Well this was 2004-05 when it was first coming out.

There's three things about He Is Legend that set them apart:

1. Really good songs, should be obvious but most bands write bad songs that wouldn't pass the "acoustic guitar" test. A lot of their stuff would actually translate "Unplugged".

2. Great playing, lots of talent that goes beyond most generic post-hardcore bands, and drawing from a broader well of influence as well.

3. They don't take themselves too seriously, I mean the entire breakdown of China White is lyrics from Blind Melon's No Rain, and live they switched it to Madonna's Like A Prayer. For their second album they name checked Korn as an influence, back in 2007 when that was the least cool thing to do. And just look at the cover of It Hates You...

 

[mbenigni]

Well this was 2004-05 when it was first coming out.

There's three things about He Is Legend that set them apart:

1. Really good songs, should be obvious but most bands write bad songs that wouldn't pass the "acoustic guitar" test. A lot of their stuff would actually translate "Unplugged".

2. Great playing, lots of talent that goes beyond most generic post-hardcore bands, and drawing from a broader well of influence as well.

3. They don't take themselves too seriously, I mean the entire breakdown of China White is lyrics from Blind Melon's No Rain, and live they switched it to Madonna's Like A Prayer. For their second album they name checked Korn as an influence, back in 2007 when that was the least cool thing to do. And just look at the cover of It Hates You...

Not discounting the talent at all. Just...

 

[Jarick]

Not discounting the talent at all. Just...

I mean if screaming is a hard stop for you, then it's a hard stop. It's the entire genre of post-hardcore and most modern metal.

Personally I can't stand rapping, or fake country accents, or autotuned pop vocals. That's a hard stop for me and why I don't listen to any rap, country, or pop music.

 

[Devin]

I basically only listen to music in my car

 

[0XI0]

I basically only listen to music in my car

when they send you to town

 

[mbenigni]

I mean if screaming is a hard stop for you, then it's a hard stop. It's the entire genre of post-hardcore and most modern metal.

Personally I can't stand rapping, or fake country accents, or autotuned pop vocals. That's a hard stop for me and why I don't listen to any rap, country, or pop music.

I don't mind the cookie monster thing (when it fits), but I do take issue with the "I just took a big bite of a fluffernutter sandwich with extra marshmallow and would like to buy a consonant" mush mouth vocals.

Not the same thing.

100% with you on the fake cowboy shit. I'd sooner fill my ears with actual Marshmallow Fluff than listen to that dreck.

 

[SonVolt]

"Alexa, open the Jazz Groove"

That's about all I listen to these days too. Sad isn't it.

 

[Jarick]

Not the same thing.

100% with you on the fake cowboy shit. I'd sooner fill my ears with actual Marshmallow Fluff than listen to that dreck.

So is that like a barking dog kind of screaming?

I don't ever listen to music that doesn't have actual singing in it at least some of the time. Call me cliche but I don't mind the metal-core screaming verses and singing choruses thing. Or trading verses with the singer and screamer. I was in one of those bands for a minute when it was cool...lots of cute girls were into it which helped.

The 100% screaming and growling all the time is a no go though, including stuff like Lamb Of God. Just boring as hell.

 

[mbenigni]

So is that like a barking dog kind of screaming?

Nope. It doesn't actually have anything to do with screaming vs. not screaming. It's an affected pronunciation of words, like a speech impediment. Or possibly a stroke. You hear it in a lot of punk and hardcore (both screamed and sung), a bit in pop punk e.g. Greenday... and most egregiously in Def Leppard. (When Joe Elliot finally passes away, they should run a panel of blood tests to be sure he didn't OD on Fluff.) It's just one of those things - like fake accents - where once you hear it you can't unhear it.

Or maybe I'm just out of my mind. I mean, out oov moowhy moowind.

 

[the swede]

For me it’s like I have to try and detach myself from the favorite music i listen to the most. Because I tend to instinctively dial in the same sounds and play in the same way. Then I realize im about to play a “cover”. So when I have my intensive listening to music periods, I need to clear my head for a day or two, not listening to anything, then pick up the guitar and then my own “style” seems to come through better. But I’m not always happy with that.

One thing that disappoints me with myself and my instinctual playing is that I want my introverted deep side and melancholy to shine through my playing, but somehow there’s always to much “happy” notes/chords involved

Maybe my playing is trying to compensate…

 

[duzie]

I’ve read about a couple artists who don’t listen to music so it doesn’t influence how they play.
Inarticulate statement here lol
But you should get the jist of what I’m trying to say
Need more coffee lol

 

[newpedals]

For me it’s like I have to try and detach myself from the favorite music i listen to the most. Because I tend to instinctively dial in the same sounds and play in the same way. Then I realize im about to play a “cover”. So when I have my intensive listening to music periods, I need to clear my head for a day or two, not listening to anything, then pick up the guitar and then my own “style” seems to come through better. But I’m not always happy with that.

One thing that disappoints me with myself and my instinctual playing is that I want my introverted deep side and melancholy to shine through my playing, but somehow there’s always to much “happy” notes/chords involved

Maybe my playing is trying to compensate…

I am also not exactly an extrovert and coincidentally, if I am supposed to cover a song- I also don't listen to it atleast for a day on purpose so that I can "change" it in ways which suits my limited abilities as a musician. Of course, I am always conscious of my performance and never satisfied with the outcome.

I thought that I was weird in following this ritual. But it seems many of us somehow end up doing the same. There must be some subconscious reason or logic why I behave this way. But I am no shrink to understand or interpret it.

 

[DrewJD82]

The 100% screaming and growling all the time is a no go though, including stuff like Lamb Of God. Just boring as hell.