| Author | Message | ||
     Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.164.67.73 |
The extensive music knowledge of the board members is currently being displayed in the music quiz thread so I thought I would call on you for help. I like to read (I know surprising isn't it) only trouble is I have a house with two teenagers and a soap addict wife. In order to shut out this cacophony I generally hide in a corner with a pair of earphones and some music to read. I can't listen to lyrics though and even something classical rarely matches my reading mood, so what would you suggest? My current favourite is Steve Roach, huge ambient (but not twee) soundscapes but I would welcome any other suggestions. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 98.220.97.79 |
If you like Steve Roach, try Robert Rich. Along similar lines, you could try Tangerine Dream, Soft Machine, or Eno for 70s ambient. For (slightly) more recent fare, you could try Harold Budd, Global Communications, Orbital, FSOL or a host of 90s ambient artists. If you like jazz (I do), you might try Miles Davis's "In a Silent Way" or the classic "Kind of Blue"; Bill Laswell's Miles Davis remixes "Panthalassa"; Nik Bartsch's Ronin (anything); 70s Don Cherry (for a world-music kind of vibe); or The Necks (anything). | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.164.67.73 |
Thanks Chris..can't handle Jazz don't know why. I have some Eno but find him very variable. Tangerine Dream I like some of but find the older stuff sounds like dodgy film background music. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
I'm probably going to get laughed off the board here but when I want just music rather than anything with lyrics I always go for Sky. *skulks off and hides in a corner, ashamed* | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Oh, just to clarify, I don't mean Sky TV - I mean the guys who do strange things to classical music. John Williams and co. By the way, I saw them perform live many years ago and the drummer - Tristian Fry, I think he was called? - is amazing. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.230.177 |
David Sylvian's "Plight and Premonition" and "Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities". Robert Fripp's soundscape albums: http://www.dgmlive.com/archive.htm?artist=14&show=925 Some of them are readily available in record shops, others aren't. Some of this music is so soothing you'll catch yourself falling asleep if you're not careful, but with Fripp's noodlings there's always an underlying sense of danger. | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.164.67.73 |
I remember Sky, all brilliant musicians in their own right, they even had a bit of a disco hit with Bach's Tocatta, didn't they? Even that though is slightly too tuneful for reading. I need something more, well, monotonous! | ||
| Nathaniel Tapley (Natt) Username: Natt Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 78.149.238.109 |
Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble make a nice, involving but non-distracting noise... | ||
| Des (Des) Username: Des Registered: 06-2008 Posted From: 217.43.29.197 |
Iannis Xenakis. His music will send you madder than the book you're reading.  | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.164.67.73 |
Just listened to him on lastFM Des http://www.last.fm/music/Iannis+Xenakis/_/Antimatter?autostart I like it, thanks. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
>>I remember Sky, all brilliant musicians in their own right, they even had a bit of a disco hit with Bach's Tocatta, didn't they?<< They did indeed!  I know what you mean about too tuneful for reading though - I tend to hum along to them when I'm driving myself. I have to have complete silence for reading I'm afraid, so can't really offer any help there. Of the ones mentioned so far Tangerine Dream are nice - saw them live once too. | ||
| Clive (Clive) Username: Clive Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 81.104.165.168 |
>>Iannis Xenakis. His music will send you madder than the book you're reading. << Yes indeed. I love Xenakis. Others i'd recommend... Nurse With Wound, Bohren & der Club of Gore, Ulver, Deaf Center, Steve Reich, Dirty Three, Earth, John Zorn, Matmos, Lustmord, Mono, Mono & Worlds End Girlfriend, Moondog, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis's film soundtracks, Raison d'Etre, Sun 0))), Some of that is quite ambient stuff, some quite discordant and some quite beautiful and melodic. Depends what mood you're in. Actually, a friend of a friend runs a free download record label that do some fantastic stuff. This Plague Of Dreaming. You could download some to try out.... http://www.archive.org/details/tpod For weird and spooky ambient i'd definitely recommend Sublinear, particularly the 'Masque Of The Red Death' album. I also like Nagual Art and Goghst, Plenty of good stuff there. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
You saw Tangerine Dream live too, Caroline? Where did you see them? I saw them a few times in the 'seventies and early 'eighties... Going to see them again in April at the Albert Hall, where I once saw them many years back being introduced on stage by John Peel. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.167.138 |
Dead Can Dance or any of Lisa Gerrard's solo work- lyrics are unimportant because she essentially sings in a kind of glossalalia. Also anything by Dark Sanctuary is good for this- lyrics are all in French and again, it's great 'mood music'. Oh yes, and Jan Garbarek, like someone said above. The 'Twelve Moons' album is fantastic. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
>>You saw Tangerine Dream live too, Caroline? Where did you see them? I saw them a few times in the 'seventies and early 'eighties... Going to see them again in April at the Albert Hall, where I once saw them many years back being introduced on stage by John Peel.<< Memories from those days are a bit hazy, Mick, but it would have been when I was at college in Aylesbury, Bucks in the early 70s - so 74/75 I think? And I think it was at a college/student do in Tring, Herts - though I might have got the place wrong. I'd never heard them before (think they must have been pretty new then), and my then-boyfriend who'd taken me wasn't too impressed and went off to the bar. Meanwhile I sat cross-legged on the floor listening as I was absolutely entranced. I thought they were amazing! I didn't know they were still going strong. There's some really interesting stuff being mentioned on this thread which I'd never heard of. I must check some of this music out. Thanks, folks! | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
The piano music of Chopin or Debussy goes lovely with a good read. | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.164.67.73 |
>>I must check some of this music out<< No more reading in silence Caroline Thanks for the suggestions everyone, Dark Sanctuary I have heard before but I am off to check out Jan Garbarek. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
>>I must check some of this music out<< >>>>No more reading in silence Caroline<<<< Sadly, I have to read in silence, Colin. Too many stimuli from different quarters and my brain implodes!  | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
I have to read in silence too - if I put any music on I'll just stop reading and listen. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
I find different music suits different writers. Stephen King works well when read to good heavy metal like Metallica, motorhead or (ahem) Iron Maiden. I'm tempted to finish Tide of Souls tonight to the sound of the Dead kennedys. It seems to suit the mood. Last Ramsey book I read, was largely to a backdrop of Verdi's Aida which worked well. someone like steven sherrill or Jon McGregor (who has a new book out called Even the Dogs) need something soothing like Wish you were here. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
I couldn't read to anything overly loud or raucous or with up-front vocals but quiet instrumental music (not muzak!!) works very well - mainly classical, jazz or ambient (strangely not folk). Any of these played low in the background suit the reading mood very well I find: Air, Bach, Broadcast, Berg, Berlioz, Cage, Chopin, The Cocteau Twins, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Debussy, Durutti Column, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, Hood, Janacek, Martinu, mediaeval music, Mozart, The Necks, Terry Riley, Schoenberg, Raymond Scott, Sigur Ros, Soft Machine, Stravinsky, Vivaldi, Weather Report, Webern, Robert Wyatt. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.231.1 |
Ah, another Soft Machine fan. They're hard to find these days. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
Ooh, and a fan of Schoenberg as well - not sure "A Survivor in Warsaw" would go too well with the latest Barbara Taylor Bradford though. | ||
| Des (Des) Username: Des Registered: 06-2008 Posted From: 217.43.29.197 |
My brain itches. The only thing that assuages the itch is Schoenberg or Webern or Berg. | ||
| Nathaniel Tapley (Natt) Username: Natt Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 78.149.238.109 |
I'm another silent reader and writer. Any music tends to pull me in, and out of what I'm doing. My brain lacks a fader... (Although if I could do it, it would be to the Jan Garbarek I recommended above, or something like the Naxos recording of Leonin and Perotin.) | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.164.67.73 |
I am the most easily distracted reader there is, that's why I need something to displace the extraneous noise. I find the likes of Steve Roach does that perfectly but as it's not exactly music it doesn't distract. Maybe it's just the way my mind works. Thanks again for all the suggestions. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
I can comfortably read non-fictio with music on, or in a noisy place, just not fiction. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
Ah - "Non-Fictio", the Italian author. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
The strange thing is I can completely lose myself in a book and blank out all (reasonable) background noise on the bus or down the pub or outside on a nice summer day but can't listen to loud or vocal music and read... | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Hubert, I got into Soft Machine through Robert Wyatt (mad genius!) and working backwards. Also got Matching Mole and early Kevin Ayers albums and love all that stuff - even the later much maligned Soft Machine albums (have the first seven). Eccentric and wonderful music! David Byrne's collaborations with Eno and his own solo albums 'The Catherine Wheel', 'Music For The Knee Plays' and 'The Forest' are also favourites for reading/relaxing to... Catherine Wheel in particular is an unfairly neglected masterpiece imo that even tops 'My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts'. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
Stephen - I have three David Byrne solo outings, a couple of Byrne & Eno's, plus one Kevin Ayers (The Confessions of Dr Dream)... I agree, all good stuff, along with much of Eno's work too. No-one's mentioned Gavin Bryars yet - I can read whilst his music is playing! | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.231.1 |
I love the darkness on Fifth and the experimentation with tape loops on Third. You probably don't like the later, more guitar-oriented sound of Bundles and Softs, but to me these two provide endless inspiration. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts! Another favourite here, although I wouldn't recommend it for background music. The second side peters out in moody post-apocalyptic soundscapes, clicking Geiger counters, the pattering of nuclear rain, the mad dancing of mutants . . . Haven't heard the other Byrne/Eno collaborations, but I used to listen to Eno's albums quite a lot. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.231.1 |
I have a Bryars/Eno record somewhere. All my stuff is packed, so I can't look it up. Strange music indeed. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.167.138 |
Can't seem to stop listening to this right now... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQS6XQOhNh0 Or this one either: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDyi_iyQZSc&feature=related | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Did someone mention Kevin Ayres' "Confessions of Dr Dream"? That must be one of the most amazing albums ever made. I used to have it way back - played it almost non-stop - but somehow it vanished from my collection. Boy would I love to hear that again! | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Kevin Ayers late 60s-mid 70s material is sublime psychedelic whimsy on a par with the solo work of Syd Barrett or Skip Spence - all firm favourites! But my very favourite band of eccentrics from that madcap era (discounting Zappa of course) has to be The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - now there's genius!! I have their complete recorded works on 4 CDs and wouldn't part from them for love nor money... | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
Caroline - I still have my old vinyl copy of "Dr Dream" but it's available for £4.98 on CD:- http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001PRRTNS/mffindcd-21 | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.164.67.73 |
Can't imagine reading to a background of the Bonzo's. Also isn't it remarkable how times have changed, doubt this video would get many plays on MTV these days http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HeEFxgktVg | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
I couldn't read to the Bonzos either they just sort of came up lol. Got a nice selection of classical music playing in the background as I write this: some of J.S. Bach's harpsichord concertos (delicate and beautiful), Janacek's string quartets (great creepy violins that summon up visions of Transylvanian castles), Martinu's flute trios (ethereal and haunting), a selection of mediaeval Venetian lute music (gorgeous and relaxing) & Mozart's clarinet quintets (simply lovely melodies) - all 5 on shuffle creating some fantastic juxtapositions [did I ever claim to be a purist]. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Hmmm, yes... best listened to without the visuals methinks! | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
I watched that clip of the Bonzos recently when I was working my way through the Do Not Adjust Your Set DVD box, and noticed then that Neil Innes isn't wearing 'blackface' - wonder why just Neil? | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
The thing is were they taking the piss out of the Black & White Minstrel Show or really just dicking around with Neil Innes the only one savvy enough to think this might not be a good idea? Whatever, I still love their music (never fails to cheer me up) and think Vivian Stanshall was a helluva guy... his biography 'Ginger Geezer' is a hilarious and heartrending read. When will they release all the solo material that languishes in the vaults?! | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Mick - thanks for the heads up on that Kevin Ayres CD at Amazon. And that Bonzo clip - brilliant, although totally un-PC nowadays. Right, I'm off to Amazon ... | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
I ordered that too, Caroline - at that price and with all the stuff that isn't on my vinyl copy I'd be mad not to! | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
...plus it has "After the Show" on it - I still have the single of that somewhere... | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
Caroline - my copy of "...Dr Dream..." turned up today. I love the way a lot of the remastered CDs nowadays have the original label as the CD's design:-  | ||
| Tartarusrussell (Tartarusrussell) Username: Tartarusrussell Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.136.234.170 |
I can only listen to music with vocals (while reading or writing) if I know the words so well that they don't intrude. I've no problem with listening to The Cocteau Twins, for instance, although it does help that Liz Frazer's words are often unintelligable and her voice almost becomes another instrument. Zeit is the only Tangerine Dream album that I find I can listen to. The rest of their vast discography sounds a little silly to me :-) I'm pleased to see Des recommend Xenakis - Persepolis is a great album (though, yes, it could well drive the listener mad.) I'd recommend anything by Stars of the Lid, who create wonderfully atmospheric but unintrusive music. Labradford are also well-worth listening to. | ||
| Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
Harold Budd is perfect background music for writing. Try The White Arcades... There's also a nice Aeolian Harp track (credited to the North, South, East & West Winds) on the Penguin Cafe Orchestra album Union Cafe that might be worth putting on a loop -- alternatively you could make your own Aeolian Harp. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
Penguin Cafe Orchestra and Harold Budd - fine whilst reading, but certainly not the works of Xenakis, from what I've heard! Great to listen to, but not in the background when reading... Zeit is a good TD album - I lost interest in stuff they were doing after about 1978, so really I'm only a fan of the early stuff on Ohr, and the first two or three Virgin albums. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
I was always more of a Can fan than into Tangerine Dream. I've liked what I've heard of Harold Budd but PCO do nothing for me I'm afraid while Iannis Xenakis is one of those composers (like Conlon Nancarrow) that I've heard so much praise about from people whose musical taste I trust that I'm pretty sure I'll love his stuff when I do hear it. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
Xenakis can sound, at times, like a bunch of drunks falling over dustbins for half an hour. Can are good (but hugely different from/to TD) - I love Tago Mago and Ege Bamtasi... | ||
| Clive (Clive) Username: Clive Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 86.145.117.205 |
One of my favourite Xenakis compositions is Metastasis. Talk about tension! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2O8bMlEijg | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Can are the best group ever to come out of Germany imho with Kraftwerk a close second while anything I heard of Tangerine Dream always sounded like a poor man's Pink Floyd instrumental. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
...should have read "Ege Bamyasi" above. Stupid keyboard. | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.164.67.73 |
>>Stars of the Lid, Labradford<< Where do they get those names from, why when I was a lad....... Thanks for all the great suggestions but now I have no time to read, too busy downloading music  | ||
| Tartarusrussell (Tartarusrussell) Username: Tartarusrussell Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.136.234.170 |
>>Stars of the Lid, Labradford<< >Where do they get those names from, why when I was a lad....... < It's amazing how silly a band name sounds when you first encounter it, but after a while it becomes familiar, and perhaps, later, a thing to cherish.... ...but those two are particularly silly names, I agree | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
I saw Kraftwerk at the apollo a few years back. I've never been so bored at a concert. The Big Black cover version of The Model is fantastic though... | ||
| Clive (Clive) Username: Clive Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 81.155.149.11 |
The best way to listen to Kraftwerk, i'd say, is through Senor Coconut... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buh8YnTwppM | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
The best way to listen to Kraftwerk, I'd say, is to switch it off and put some good music on instead. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
I love a bit of imaginative electronica me... | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.156.233.165 |
Eno? Hey - where's Zed? The Fry? Donald? Gordon? Albie? I feel so old... |