What are you listening to right now? II

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Various Bela Bartok piano pieces, all of which are too short to bother searching for on YouTube.

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Ben Folds Five- Alice Childress

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Einojuhani Rautavaara- Piano Concerto #1

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John Adams- Violin Concerto

A perennial favorite.  My pick for best classical composition written in the past 50 years, and probably one of my all-time favorites regardless of era.

[traininthedistance]

(I have this cover, rather than the stampeding elephants.  For better or worse.  Eh, probably better, since it came with a bonus CD of live tracks and outtakes and such.)

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Maurice Ravel- Le Tombeau de Couperin

[traininthedistance]

I don't always listen to jazz, but when I do I listen to Miles Davis- Spanish Key.

(/Dos Equis)

[traininthedistance]

Andrew Norman- Music in Circles (performed by yMusic)

Link is, unfortunately, to the abridged "single version" which is not something that I thought contemporary classical chamber ensembles did!  But I can't seem to find the full piece on the web, so there you go.

[traininthedistance]

Listening to a Spoon cover of Paul Simon's "Peace Like A River".  Can't find a link, sorry.

Pretty much a textbook example of "two great tastes that taste great together".  Wonderful stuff.

[traininthedistance]

Cake- Carbon Monoxide

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Eels- Love Of The Loveless

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Genesis- Duke (full album)

This is supposed to be the weird album where they had one foot in the world of prog, and the other in the world of pop.  I think it might be their best: while I do have a soft spot for prog in general, their early stuff doesn't do a whole lot for me.  And of course neither does the 80's smash hits version of Genesis.  But this strikes a pretty cool balance that's better than the sum of its styles.

[traininthedistance]

Taraf de Haidouks - Turceasca

These guys are the giants of Romani music and probably one of the greatest instrumental ensembles ever. (I thought you had to sell your soul to the devil to play a violin like that!)

Genesis- Duke (full album)

This is supposed to be the weird album where they had one foot in the world of prog, and the other in the world of pop.  I think it might be their best: while I do have a soft spot for prog in general, their early stuff doesn't do a whole lot for me.  And of course neither does the 80's smash hits version of Genesis.  But this strikes a pretty cool balance that's better than the sum of its styles.

It's worth listening to just for the spectacular, triumphant intro to "Behind the Lines"! Some terrific, imaginative songs here, especially "Man of Our Times". However, having worked in a supermarket that played SUPER SOUNDS OF THE EIGHTIES nonstop, I don't think I'll ever want to hear "Misunderstanding" again. And I can't forgive the use of the drum machine. What on Earth were they paying Phil for anyway?

How do you like A Trick of the Tail? Not as cohesive as "Duke" as an entire album, to be sure, but I don't think Tony Banks has ever written songs as moving as "Ripples..." and "Entangled".

Not a huge fan, TBH. I don't know, I just don't find the material all that interesting. De gustibus non est disputandum, etc.

You're right about "Misunderstanding" though, it's along with "Heathaze" (which just feels aimless to my ears) the album's weak link.  The other radio-friendly track ("Turn It On Again") is much better.

[traininthedistance]

Simon and Garfunkel- Keep The Customer Satisfied

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Josh Ritter- Hopeful

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Sufjan Stevens- The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!