Randomly Crap Out Your Opinions Thread

[clashcityrocker10]

If I wanted to start someone with indie rock, I'd probably give them a copy of Icky Mettle.

[Gowienczyk]

Anybody that has steam accounts let me know, just now setting up a HOR-related community group.

[LoopyChew]

So I went to the closing day of the Montreux Jazz Festival (last Saturday), where my ticket was for Kimbra (of "Somebody That I Used to Know" fame), Emeli Sandé, and Janelle Monáe (whom you SHOULD know for her solo work, but most people know because of "We Are Young"). I really didn't know Kimbra (at all; I knew the Gotye song but never paid attention to the feature) or Emeli Sandé, but they were both fantastic musicians.

The order presented (as listed above) got progressively more awesome. Kimbra started out a little off but got into the swing of things really quickly (she does a gorgeous cover of Nina Simone's "Plain Gold Ring"). Apparently she's coming back our way in November, so I might be interested in watching that.

Emeli Sandé blew me away from the very beginning. I hadn't heard any of her stuff before this performance, and I was totally not expecting her music to sound so lush. She spent the time in between songs talking to the audience about the songs and what they meant to her when she was writing it, and did a good job establishing a connection with the audience despite her speaking English to presumably a primarily Francophone audience. She also did a cover of "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" that totally made me think, "I think GNF would love this," particularly since she got the audience to sing the guitar line.

Janelle Monáe was even more than I had expected from her--I'd heard she put on a great stage performance, but I've never experienced anything like it in my life. The energy, the eccentricity (painting a picture in the middle of Mushrooms & Roses--which she then gave away at the end of the show!): I loved all the music, including the songs from her EP that I hadn't heard before, and a brilliant cover of "I Want You Back," but the sheer spectacle was something I would have enjoyed even if Yakety Sax were the only thing playing (to be fair, Yakety Sax would be awesome anywhere). Just watching the entire orchestra at work was mesmerizing, but her command over EVERYTHING was incredible--at one point she had the audience so enraptured she managed to convince the entire crowd to sit down on the floor (in the middle of a call-response segment, natch).

Because we live in a wonderful future where albums can be purchased even when physical merchandise is limited in your area, I used my remaining iTunes credit to purchase Emeli Sandé's album ("Our Version of Events") and Janelle Monáe's first EP ("Metropolis: the Chase Suite", which is Suite I to "The ArchAndroid's" Suits II and III). Kimbra's first album will be mine the next time I can buy iTunes credit.

Because we also live in a wonderful future where people can use their phones to record high-resolution videos of musical performances and share them with people worlds away, I managed to snag a few full-song performances. So, for your viewing pleasure:

Kimbra - (Love Is a) Two-Way Street
Emeli Sandé - My Kind of Love
Janelle Monáe - Sincerely, Jane.
Janelle Monáe - Cold War

[Lowlander2]

Yeah, I saw part of the Kimbra video you posted on Facebook, and it was pretty cool.

[LoopyChew]

Thanks! I'll probably be adding more later on, since I'll be attending a week-long music festival. Saw Franz Ferdinand last night, will be seeing The Cure, Bon Iver, and Justice tonight, and Caravan Palace, Sting, Lenny Kravitz, Garbage, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Bloc Party later, too. Already have two videos I can post from last night, but the upload got cut while I was asleep. Probably get them later.

[a21schizoidman]

i saw Janelle Monae open for Snoop Dogg back in 2010 down at Purdue, she was phenomenal

[SuperTigerMario]

Has anyone here seen The Who? They're going on tour again and I'm wondering if it's worth it.

[RosaFloydGuy]

Has anyone here seen The Who? They're going on tour again and I'm wondering if it's worth it.

I just saw that too. I'm somewhat skeptical about it due to Roger Daltrey's sub-par performance at the Super Bowl a couple years back.

[SuperTigerMario]

Yeah I'm on the edge that's why I was asking.

No Keith or John really makes me think maybe I won't considering they are my favorite half of the band.

[instantdeath999]

RO: The main riff to New Order's "Age of Consent" may be one of the most hypnotic ever written. No matter what's piled on to it, I'm listening to that damn riff.

I just saw that too. I'm somewhat skeptical about it due to Roger Daltrey's sub-par performance at the Super Bowl a couple years back.

For what it's worth, I saw him a while back, and he did a great job (sounds much better in person). I may be biased though, since he did a few Quadrophenia tracks (including "The Real Me"). I could practically forgive him croaking those.