Well, if you know me at all, you're certainly aware that music means a lot to me and is my primary non-academic interest. Unfortunately, I've been neglecting my musical interests in favor of reading and school lately, but I still think I have a couple things to showcase here.
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| The Legendary Pink Dots have been, all things considered, my favorite band since about 1993 -- and I first heard them only in 1992, so they climbed up the ladder very quickly. For whatever reason, be it marketing or deliberate obscurity, they don't have widespread recognition, but all in all I'm quite happy with their publicity level. With an eclectic and diverse fan base, the Pink Dots' musical styles range from post-60s psychedelic and 1970s prog rock to electronic mania with new wave, industrial, and/or gothic overtones.
While I'm certainly appreciative of the Dots' musical variety, I can't say I'm entirely pleased with the direction their later records have taken: starting with 1994's 9 Lives to Wonder, the manic and offbeat style of their youthful adventurism has faded to a mellower hippy-like quality that doesn't appeal as much to me, personally. My favorite albums would have to be the amazing Maria Dimension, the quirky and rather amateurish first album Brighter Now, and, despite my above statement about overall development, the completely masterful From Here You'll Watch the World Go By.
It's always hard to pinpoint what it is about the Dots that draws me in. Above all, I think, it's the sense of humor and tongue-in-cheek faux pretension. Dada-esque titles like "The Day She Thought About Leaving and Fell into the Duck Pond" stand side-by-side with dark and heartfelt outpourings such as "Fate's Faithful Punchline" (both links are MP3 snippets from the LPD Official Discography linked below). But perhaps the most important aspect of the Dots' musical output that appeals to me is the lyrics themselves. Edward tends to write what I would consider excellent poetry, with a dark, ironic, and sometimes violent sense of humor. (For lack of a better description, I'd say it's like combining 1920's expressionist poetry with a broad slash of puns and humor, and toss in some LSD.) Edward's impressive vocal deliveries range from true singing to his more common semi-spoken recitation in which he always appears to be on the verge of losing control. An excellent example of this vocal mania is "Premonition 13" from the Legendary Pink Box compilation, which I would have to say ranks as my number-one favorite LPD song. Unfortunately there's no MP3 snippet of it available, but do seek out the song if you feel so inclined!
Legendary Pink Dots Links:
• LPD Central, a wonderful compendium of all Dots-related projects
• Terminal Kaleidoscope, the Dots' record label and official homepage
• LPD Dotsography, with samples of some songs online
• Legendary Pink Dots at Myspace, with samples from the new album
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| Other bands that I'm extremely fond of include a number of prototypical gothic, industrial and neofolk artists but also many post-punk bands, such as:
In addition, I very much enjoy a number of German bands; you can find more about my German music on my teaching materials page, so here I'll just list:
Finally, in recent years I've been rediscovering my youthful love of many folk and folk-rock artists, as well as traditional favorites and stand-bys. A few highlights:
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 | A list of the albums I currently own is online. Be warned that it's a very large page, since there are over 2700 titles listed. In addition, it may be out of date, since I only update it in my spare time, and that has been precious of late. This list is just my personal library, and although it's amusing to get email requests for CD-R copies or purchase inquiries, I really don't intend to copy or sell any of my CDs. |
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