My trends in music

Today happens to be my 365-day non-death anniversary, so in honor I'll share some of the various new things I've been listening to a lot lately. Generally, I like to plunge myself into another world of music until I really, fully understand it, and consequently, enjoy it to the fullest.

So right now I've been listening to a lot of math rock/DJ entstep, pop and punk from the 90s, and American folk music from the fifties.
The first is a fast paced genre based on metric modulation, complex harmonic structure, and death metal. Often involving algorithm-based drum patterns, it's a very cool genre to me because it combines the pop-like qualities of regular progressive rock with a Bach-like precision that makes it very fun to listen to. I recommend bands Uneven Structure, Chimp Spanner, The Algorithm, and Circles.

The next is sort of a nostalgia trip for me, but I've been attempting to remove the music from nostalgia and see what it's all really about. Specifically, I've been listening to Aaron Carter, Blink-182, Simple Plan, and N*sync, as well as a few other similar such musicians.

And the last is really just things from this page http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/2691/folkessential1.jpg (thanks /mu/ essentials). My favorite has got to be Odetta, a black woman with an amazing voice. Just listen.

Special Features - You and Me (House)

Just another solid house track, comin atcha. Special Features is a London-based house and electro producer who has somewhat recently started pumping out tracks. I like this one in particular because I think that house tracks with a female-vocal lead are somewhat overdone, and this one replaces that standard, if it can be called such, with a groovy synth solo. You just can't go wrong with something this simple.



You can also download it here by giving him a like on Facebook

Star Wars: Main Theme - Dave Matthews (Funk/Soundtrack)

The funkiest hunk of junk in the galaxy, this track is seriously one of the coolest and funkiest things I've ever heard - and it isn't funky just because that's the genre, funk, but because it's also an extremely unique and odd rework of John Williams' Star Wars: Main Theme. It's almost an homage to Williams, demonstrating how strong of a backbeat he incorporated into the original classical version that only needed a little encouraging to reach this god-like funk level. In addition to just being mesmerizingly well done, it also has one of my favorite drummers, Steve Gadd, keeping time and just rocking out as well as keyboardist and arranger David Matthews (no, not Dave Matthews) who also worked with artists like Nina Simone and Ron Carter in the 70s. All around it's simply an all star team doing a lot of justice to one of my favorite soundtracks and I just had to share it.

Bela Bartok - 27 Two and Three Part Choruses, for Children's and Female Voices (Choral/Classical)

Bela Bartok is an extremely interesting Hungarian composer who is considered to be one of the most important composers of the 20th century. He was invested in folk music, which I think is very cool and beneficial in any musician, and although I know him more for his full Orchestral works, he actually also wrote a BUNCH of two and three part choruses for children and female vocals and they're pretty cool. I expected them to be somewhat atonal or harmonically unconventional, but surprisingly they have a sort of classical feel to them. Try listening to just one: Bolyongas, and if you like it you can find a pretty good recording of the rest here on Grooveshark.