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dorfsmith 
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Originally posted by Gabriel Syme
I never thought of FS as "grandiose." I suppose it is ambitious & expansive, but in an interior sort of way. That is, the focus seems to move into the interior of the sould after three very "exterior" albums.
Arrgh. That doesn't make a bit of sense. |
Actually it does make sense.
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11-15-2004 16:11 |
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Vertitron
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Location: Rochester, NY
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What a great discussion! O where to jump in...
I am also disappointed in Terry's sentiments now towards Fearful Symmetry, and I also don't what he means by "'art rock' stylings'". But if you look at what makes Fearful Symmetry unique to DA's impressive and extensive discography, it is the only album that can be categorized relatively "mellow and electronic". I think that you find people who gravitate to this album, such as myself, are attracted to its nuances in sound and its beautiful and profound lyrics. On a spiritual level, it ministers to me just as much if not more than Mr. Buechner's Dream. "Shadow Catcher" to me is a pinnacle piece of music; I once tried to write an essay on it in college, but failed to find the words, and opted instead to write the essay on "Travelog". Fearful Symmetry is a masterpiece in contemporary Christian music.
As for The Alarma Chronicles in general sounding "dated", I agree. The greatness of 80's new wave ended up being its demise--new, fresh and exciting sounds became cheesy and stale. It is probably the reason I do not favor Vox Humana as much as I once did. However, FS sounds the least "dated" to me; the sound selections coupled with the album's message were effective in transcending time.
I think my top three are now these:
1. Fearful Symmetry
2. Mr. Buechner's Dream
3. Kalhoun
Someday I will have the courage to rank a top five!
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Vertitron: 11-21-2004 12:10.
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11-21-2004 12:09 |
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dorfsmith
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Great post 
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11-21-2004 13:03 |
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Vertitron
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Thanks, dorfsmith.
I also want to point it that the synthetic sounds in Fearful Symmetry are far superior than the handful of songs with keyboards on Mr. Buechner's Dream. When they used keyboards on their last album, it sounded like they just used more "conventional" presets. I wonder what the rationale for that was. For example, in "Child on a Leash", did they desire real strings but had to settle for keyboards that sounded like strings? Likewise, it sounded like they used a brass preset in "The Staggering Gods".
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11-21-2004 16:17 |
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dennis
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Gabriel Syme
I never thought of FS as "grandiose." I suppose it is ambitious & expansive, but in an interior sort of way. That is, the focus seems to move into the interior of the sould after three very "exterior" albums.
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I agree
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11-21-2004 22:57 |
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Gabriel Syme
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Originally posted by dorfsmith
Actually it does make sense. |
Thanks, dorfsmith. I'm so used to blank stares in daily life that I forget there are people here who can understand what I'm talking about.
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11-22-2004 08:30 |
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Gabriel Syme
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Vertitron
I think that you find people who gravitate to this album, such as myself, are attracted to its nuances in sound and its beautiful and profound lyrics. On a spiritual level, it ministers to me just as much if not more than Mr. Buechner's Dream. |
While I consider Mr. Buechner's Dream to be the better album, I reach for Fearful Symmetry if I want to contemplate the goodness of life in Christ. MBD, as I understand it so far, is more widespread in the subjects addressed, while FS is more concentrated in its concern.
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| As for The Alarma Chronicles in general sounding "dated", I agree. The greatness of 80's new wave ended up being its demise--new, fresh and exciting sounds became cheesy and stale. |
The other thing that contributed to its demise, I believe, was the increased use of sampled sounds rather then programmed sounds. I know that programming synthesizers was time consuming; I certainly never was able to get the hang of it despite trying. I'm not an expert, of course, but the programmed sounds from the early '80s are still more interesting to my ears & brain that most of the synthesized sounds used today. Most of the best synthesizer work these days is used in music for the better computer games.
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11-22-2004 08:40 |
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Vertitron
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Gabriel Syme
The other thing that contributed to its demise, I believe, was the increased use of sampled sounds rather then programmed sounds. I know that programming synthesizers was time consuming; I certainly never was able to get the hang of it despite trying. I'm not an expert, of course, but the programmed sounds from the early '80s are still more interesting to my ears & brain that most of the synthesized sounds used today. Most of the best synthesizer work these days is used in music for the better computer games. |
Hmmm... interesting take that I haven't thought about before! Definitely, most of today's electronic music is comprised from near-infinite volumes of sound banks. But you can imagine the inspiration that comes to the artist as he's perusing his sound catalog. So, in that sense, he's free to be more creative for he is not restricted by his programming skills. But they could also tweak the sounds to their liking.
But I'm one who is more interested in the final product than the means by which it was created. It either sounds cool or it doesn't. And if it doesn't have any good melodies or catches, it generally won't interest me.
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11-22-2004 17:41 |
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dorfsmith
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Very interesting thoughts
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11-22-2004 17:48 |
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dennis
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What makes VH such a great album are the great songs on it!
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11-22-2004 18:48 |
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Originally posted by dennis
What makes VH such a great album are the great songs on it!
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what a concept..... 
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11-22-2004 19:12 |
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dennis
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I saw what you listen to! 
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11-22-2004 19:15 |
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11-22-2004 19:26 |
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dennis
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Maybe you should let the adults talk now!
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11-22-2004 19:37 |
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Mountain Fan
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Originally posted by dennis
What makes VH such a great album are the great songs on it!
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What makes VH an OK album are the lyrics, the music is not the best.
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11-22-2004 22:05 |
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dennis
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Mountain Fan
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Originally posted by dennis
What makes VH such a great album are the great songs on it!
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What makes VH an OK album are the lyrics, the music is not the best.
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Do you mean the production? I would love to hear a "Hats" version of this record! Guitar-Bass-Drums
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11-23-2004 05:02 |
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dennis
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| quote: |
Originally posted by dennis
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Originally posted by Mountain Fan
[quote]Originally posted by dennis
What makes VH such a great album are the great songs on it!
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What makes VH an OK album are the lyrics, the music is not the best.
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The music is great, it has lots of great hooks and melodies.
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11-23-2004 05:03 |
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Gabriel Syme
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Vertitron
But I'm one who is more interested in the final product than the means by which it was created. It either sounds cool or it doesn't. And if it doesn't have any good melodies or catches, it generally won't interest me. |
I love a good melody, but admit that I tend to be first oriented to rhythm; not necessarily fast or wierd rhythm, just the manner in which things occur in time. (It's one of the main problems everyone has had with any of the concert music I've written.)
I also like interesting sounds. After listening to an album of Tuvan throat music, I realized that any sound can be music if it's used in an artistic & expressive manner. I wouldn't object so much to the general pallid nature of synthesizer sounds these days if they were put to good use. The piece can concentrate on rhythm, melody, harmony, telling a story, creating an atmosphere, tickling your fancy, whatever, but if it's not done well & honestly, the sound bank or programming doesn't make up for that.
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11-23-2004 08:05 |
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