The Thread Of Complete Randomness

  • So even though this is Genesis related, it's pretty random.


    I was faffing around online and stumbled across a secondhand copy of Genesis Archives 1967-75 for sale on a Japanese Website.


    The listed tracks are hilarious. The Ram Rise Down on Broadway?? Was it someone using an dictation tool? If so, how did generate Here Comes To The Super Natural : Setti??


  • 'Ram Rise'.... perhaps a reference to the way Japanese people pronounce the letter L? If that is a horrible stereotype I apologise.

    Indeed. I'm really not sure how it came about. I remember buying bootleg DVDs (in China more than in Japan to be fair) and the blurb on the back would often be completely garbled. As would the subtitles (I vividly remember some scene in Pirates of the Caribbean with the subtitles "her microwave is broken", "great, we'll never hear the end of it" or something along those lines. Needless to say it was completely divorced from whatever was happening on screen). And sometimes there would be quotes from reviews on the cover, but instead of the usual glowing 5 star tributes they would pick the worst statements from reviews where they absolutely panned the movie in question. Quite funny really.


    Anyway, as to this alternate version of The Lamb, I'm curious as to how Carpet Drawers sounds, and even more so "the Chainbar of 32 the Doors"!

  • I like that The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging, surely rich with mis-translation potential, got through intact.


    My favourite is Silent Solo In Empty Bates. Two lovely things about it: the concept of a silent solo is blowing my mind, and the idea of the name 'Empty Bates'. I don't know who Empty would be, possibly a late 70s new wave artist? Or it also has the ring of an army nickname, a character in a WWI or WWII book, film or play.

    Abandon all reason

  • Too bad they forgot those seminal Genesis songs:

    - Twilight Air Mouse

    - Tappy The Mad

    - Saucer Of The Skies (Singer Variant)

    - Going Out To Gadget

    - Dust (Demo Verizon)

    - Let Us Now Make Laugh

    - Chef Beard


    You really can't beat Patriotic Shea though. My fave in that list.

  • I noticed a new vape shop is opening in Inverness. What a relief, there's only about 20 f***ing thousand already there so we do desperately need another one. Phew! Panic over.

    Abandon all reason

  • I noticed a new vape shop is opening in Inverness. What a relief, there's only about 20 f***ing thousand already there so we do desperately need another one. Phew! Panic over.

    I agree Backdrifter. I live in a really nice colonial, upscale village outside of Philly and they opened one those. It reminded me of Trespass' cover - like slicing a knife across a beautiful painting.....

  • Charles LeClerc wins again this season at the Australian GP


    1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari Winner!....... 🏎....🏁


    2 Sergio Perez Red Bull
    3 George Russell Mercedes


    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes

    5 Lando Norris McLaren

    6 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren

    7 Esteban Ocon Alpine

    8 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo

    9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri

    10 Alexander Albon Williams


    Max Verstappen retires once again :D.... Not a Red Bull fan, but I do like Sergio Perez


    The McLaren boys lost form in the first 2 races did well with a 5th and 6th bringing them valuable constructors points. This track suited their car here.


    Valtteri Bottas who was dropped by Mercedes has had an amazing start to this season for his new team Alpha Romeo scoring strong points in the first 3 races so far.


    Alex Albon who now replaced George Russell scores the final point for Williams.

  • I sat into my car today, and the local university radio station which I love to listen to was about 5 minutes into Pink Floyd's 'Dogs'. Confirming to me that I love the station. But also, I haven't heard that track through in years and I loved rediscovering it. Gilmour's guitar is very very close to Firth of Fifth quality expressiveness and Waters' venom has just the right pitch that it cuts to the bone without being sour. The epic denouement is as close as Floyd got to Supper's Ready and it's bloody close for being spine tingling.


    The track was followed by Dazed and Confused by Zeppelin.


    It struck me how closely aligned the elements of these songs were. It's all the same classic rock bits, grizzled vocals, heavy rhythm. Any deep learning/artificial intelligence based recommendation algorithm would be completely justified putting one after the other. They could hardly be closer.


    Here's the thing: I *love* one, and have *zero* interest in the other. Like none. I'd never put 10 minutes of my life aside to listen to Dazed and Confused. It's not that I can't abide it, but I almost can't. I hear or feel something more creative and exploratory and just aligned with me in Dogs than I do in the colorless drudge of D&C.


    The whole thing got me thinking how strange neurochemistry is. What neurotransmitters are being released when and why? What combination of sounds in music I love makes me as an individual so happy and how is that phenomenon effected? Why do i dislike music that is so similar to music I love?


    Maybe music preferences are like a brain's fingerprint.

  • ^ That is exactly my problem with all the people who keep telling me "if you like this music then you really should listen to this!" It doesn't work that way.

    No, it really doesn't. Sometimes I wonder if someone saying those very words to me activates some neural pathway that sets me up so that I'm blocked from liking what has been recommended. It's all well and good to say "just listen with an open mind" but how much in our control are these things?


    Another vacuous pearl one could offer is "there's no rhyme or reason to it". I think there are both, we just don't understand them.


    This whole Dogs vs Dazed and Confused thing has really set me riffing on the mysteries of the brain!

  • I sometimes find the "if you like that try this" thing works but where it really doesn't is with bands deemed similar to Genesis. Most people I know don't like anything proggy and to be honest there's not much of it I do like. But because I like some, there's an assumption (by some people) I must like most of it but it largely leaves me cold. I've dipped into some of the stuff on the 'what are you listening to' thread which features a fair bit of prog stuff I don't know and I've never found anything palatable. There's quite a bit of newer prog stuff around which is bands blatantly trying to colour from a Genesis palette and it's invariably terrible. I'm reminded of Pete Townshend's comment, "Genesis are the best of all those Genesis-type bands".


    It is indeed fascinating how the brain processes music and the reactions we each have as a result. It's one thing being moved by a song's words but how do notes and chords have such a strong effect on us? Witchita Lineman is one of the most moving songs ever. There's obvious yearning in the words but the music and its changes have a tangible pull on the heart. How does music do that? It's so remarkable. And it's possibly the most abstract art form as well. With visual arts there are tangible things there - images, paintings, sculpture etc. Music is just vibrating air molecules. Molecules are moving about in the air all around us all the time. How the fuck do these particular molecules, moving in those particular ways, bring such emotional impact with them?

    Abandon all reason

  • Have you watched The Wrecking Crew documentary about the studio musicians who performed on many of the classic hits of the 60s, including Wichita Lineman? Fascinating insight into the music biz in its heyday.

  • Have you watched The Wrecking Crew documentary about the studio musicians who performed on many of the classic hits of the 60s, including Wichita Lineman? Fascinating insight into the music biz in its heyday.

    Glenn Campbell was a member of the Wrecking Crew and appeared on many Beach Boys hits in the '60s. He was an incredible guitarist, which many people don't realize. Same with Muscle Shoals "Swampers". To quote Lynyrd Skynyrd, "now, Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers". They played on everything, including Aretha Franklin hits.

  • I am also a devotee of Glen Campbell but I prefer Galveston to Wichita Lineman, magnificent though that song it. There are certain songs for me which just seem to be part of my soul as Backdrifter says above, and I've never been able to explain why.


    I subscribe to Prog magazine & they used to have free CDs featuring the best new prog artists. I dilgently listened to some of these for a while but never found anything that even came close to 'classic prog' (and even there I know far less about the genre than most people on this forum).


    Regarding Dazed & Confused it was of its time as Mr FIC is fond of saying. I like it, but it isn't really one of my favourite Zeppelin songs.