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Post by Eva Yojimbo on May 11, 2020 23:15:36 GMT
In the XTC thread I mentioned to stefancrosscoe that King's X is another band that, like XTC, I feel is criminally underrated, so I was wondering if there were any fans here. Here's what I wrote about them in the other thread: "I dare say most people haven't heard of King's X. They kinda got stuck in that limbo between 80s metal and 90s alternative rock, without ever fitting neatly into either mold. Perhaps my best description of them would be if you took the instrumental virtuosity and compositional complexity of Rush and combined it with a Beatles-esque melodic and harmonic sensibility. They were never as flashy or showy as Rush or Dream Theater, but they didn't quite fit in with the commercial music of the times either, so they kinda fell through the cracks but amassed a niche, but very passionate, fanbase. I remember an older poster around here, TerrapinStation, who's one of the few people I can safely say had heard more music than myself, said King's X was his favorite band." Here's some of my favorite King's X songs:
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Jokers_Wilde
Junior Member
@jokerswilde
Posts: 1,295
Likes: 682
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Post by Jokers_Wilde on May 12, 2020 0:02:25 GMT
Agreed. I honestly don't think they got the recognition they deserve.
LOVE the song "Summerland".
As well, they did a very good version of "Here Comes The Sun" - originally done by The Beatles. Here's the link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmfnpQVwpO8
Joker's Wilde
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Post by stefancrosscoe on May 12, 2020 10:28:44 GMT
"They kinda got stuck in that limbo between 80s metal and 90s alternative rock, That kind of sums up what I feel after hearing several of these songs, and it is certainly not a "bad" thing, as I guess many others at that time just fell "through" on both sides, never really fit into the whole metal scene nor the upcoming arrival of grunge/alternative rock either, and that sadly, could be pretty tough, specially when MTV and the music press put so much attention towards both of these genres at their height of popularity. After giving each of the songs a listen, I am probably not gonna become a sudden "convert" over the night, and even though the vocals and lyrics did not sit all too well with me, I sure felt more "connected" towards the music part, and where the track Dogman musically stood out the most, and I guess it is one of their earlier releases, and if so, maybe I should try out a few more cuts from that period of time or album. Anyway, thanks for putting these videos up, and I will try to come back a little later on, after maybe digging a bit further more into some of their albums or songs and then return to write or say a few words. Beside Dogman, I thought also Goldilox were quite a solid tune, maybe not as hard hitting, but it has a certain feel-good sound to it, and that is rarely a negative thing when it comes to music, or so I believe.
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King's X
May 12, 2020 16:14:02 GMT
via mobile
Post by FrankSobotka1514 on May 12, 2020 16:14:02 GMT
Great band. My favorite song by them is “Moanjam”.
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Post by Eva Yojimbo on May 12, 2020 22:33:49 GMT
"They kinda got stuck in that limbo between 80s metal and 90s alternative rock, That kind of sums up what I feel after hearing several of these songs, and it is certainly not a "bad" thing, as I guess many others at that time just fell "through" on both sides, never really fit into the whole metal scene nor the upcoming arrival of grunge/alternative rock either, and that sadly, could be pretty tough, specially when MTV and the music press put so much attention towards both of these genres at their height of popularity. After giving each of the songs a listen, I am probably not gonna become a sudden "convert" over the night, and even though the vocals and lyrics did not sit all too well with me, I sure felt more "connected" towards the music part, and where the track Dogman musically stood out the most, and I guess it is one of their earlier releases, and if so, maybe I should try out a few more cuts from that period of time or album. Anyway, thanks for putting these videos up, and I will try to come back a little later on, after maybe digging a bit further more into some of their albums or songs and then return to write or say a few words. Beside Dogman, I thought also Goldilox were quite a solid tune, maybe not as hard hitting, but it has a certain feel-good sound to it, and that is rarely a negative thing when it comes to music, or so I believe. Thanks for giving them a listen. Just out of curiosity, what didn't you like about the lyrics and vocals? They have two different vocalists, btw: Doug Pinnick, their bassist, is the lead singer heard on most of the tracks, but Ty Tabor sings many songs too, like Life Going By. Dogman is definitely one of their harder edged tracks. It's actually from what I'd call their second period, after they started being influenced by alternative rock. I'd say their first three albums (Out of the Silent Planet, Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, Faith Hope Love) were their 80s rock/prog period. The Self-Titled and Dogman is where the alternative rock influence started. Then Ear Candy was a bit of a throwback, slightly more bright, colorful and poppy. Then Tapehead continued the dark, groovy, alternative rock vibe. Then they got weird and experimental on Welcome Home Mr. Bulbous and Manic Moonlight. Then they kinda went back to rock with Ogre Tones and XV. I only posted a pretty small sampling from their first 6 albums, which I think are their best. My favorite is Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, which is one of my favorite albums ever, but Dogman is great too and you may dig it more if you like the sound of that track. Goldilox is one of my absolute favorite songs. There's just a bittersweet longing and yearning to that song. It's utterly gorgeous, but it's also quite sad. I just love how the gentleness of the verse leads into that ebb-and-flow, push-pull guitar riff of the pre-chorus, and then into those soaring harmonies in the chorus. I think King's X does that whole "bittersweet" aesthetic/tone about as well as any band ever, where you get such a mix of beauty but sadness. Life Going By is similar, and it may be the best representation of mono no aware I've ever heard in music. Here's a few more favorite tracks from some of the albums I missed:
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Post by Eva Yojimbo on May 12, 2020 22:37:17 GMT
Great band. My favorite song by them is “Moanjam”. Moanjam is awesome live. Unfortunately, all the live versions I could find on YT are pretty terrible quality. This is probably the best available:
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Post by stefancrosscoe on May 13, 2020 8:58:14 GMT
Thanks for giving them a listen. Just out of curiosity, what didn't you like about the lyrics and vocals? They have two different vocalists, btw: Doug Pinnick, their bassist, is the lead singer heard on most of the tracks, but Ty Tabor sings many songs too, like Life Going By. Dogman is definitely one of their harder edged tracks. It's actually from what I'd call their second period, after they started being influenced by alternative rock. I'd say their first three albums (Out of the Silent Planet, Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, Faith Hope Love) were their 80s rock/prog period. The Self-Titled and Dogman is where the alternative rock influence started. Then Ear Candy was a bit of a throwback, slightly more bright, colorful and poppy. Then Tapehead continued the dark, groovy, alternative rock vibe. Then they got weird and experimental on Welcome Home Mr. Bulbous and Manic Moonlight. Then they kinda went back to rock with Ogre Tones and XV. I only posted a pretty small sampling from their first 6 albums, which I think are their best. My favorite is Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, which is one of my favorite albums ever, but Dogman is great too and you may dig it more if you like the sound of that track. Goldilox is one of my absolute favorite songs. There's just a bittersweet longing and yearning to that song. It's utterly gorgeous, but it's also quite sad. I just love how the gentleness of the verse leads into that ebb-and-flow, push-pull guitar riff of the pre-chorus, and then into those soaring harmonies in the chorus. I think King's X does that whole "bittersweet" aesthetic/tone about as well as any band ever, where you get such a mix of beauty but sadness. Life Going By is similar, and it may be the best representation of mono no aware I've ever heard in music. I actually did not take notice of that there were two different vocalists or so I think?, as I tend to be a bit of a "slow learner" when it comes to listening to certain new or unheard music/bands through just a few listens, but with that in mind, I guess my ears just need a little time to "adjust" to their music and sound. Which is also a constant reminder of how much I miss these days, of just going out to different stores, looking up new (or old but unheard/unseen) CDs, DVDs and books and so on, then picking out the ones who looks the most interesting or that could be a potential keeper, and give them a go. I had a pretty good run earlier this winter, with Scritti Politti, The Pogues and Pulp, but then this "break" happened, and well, I do have still much more impulse buys from that period to go through, so I will just have to take one day at a time. But I sure miss the feeling of finding a potential new favorite band or album, that I have never heard before, through that of doing a bit of "impulse" shopping. Anyway, thanks for the bringing up such a tight and well written information of several of their releases, and hopefully when some of the regular music and movie stores will maybe re-open up again, over the next few weeks, I sure will be on the look out for maybe a King's X release, or two. By the way, out of the 4-5 songs you posted up next, I do have to say that the rather playful and very catchy Believe might just stand out as the one I have enjoyed the most of theirs, as of now that is.
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Post by Eva Yojimbo on May 13, 2020 21:45:24 GMT
Thanks for giving them a listen. Just out of curiosity, what didn't you like about the lyrics and vocals? They have two different vocalists, btw: Doug Pinnick, their bassist, is the lead singer heard on most of the tracks, but Ty Tabor sings many songs too, like Life Going By. Dogman is definitely one of their harder edged tracks. It's actually from what I'd call their second period, after they started being influenced by alternative rock. I'd say their first three albums (Out of the Silent Planet, Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, Faith Hope Love) were their 80s rock/prog period. The Self-Titled and Dogman is where the alternative rock influence started. Then Ear Candy was a bit of a throwback, slightly more bright, colorful and poppy. Then Tapehead continued the dark, groovy, alternative rock vibe. Then they got weird and experimental on Welcome Home Mr. Bulbous and Manic Moonlight. Then they kinda went back to rock with Ogre Tones and XV. I only posted a pretty small sampling from their first 6 albums, which I think are their best. My favorite is Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, which is one of my favorite albums ever, but Dogman is great too and you may dig it more if you like the sound of that track. Goldilox is one of my absolute favorite songs. There's just a bittersweet longing and yearning to that song. It's utterly gorgeous, but it's also quite sad. I just love how the gentleness of the verse leads into that ebb-and-flow, push-pull guitar riff of the pre-chorus, and then into those soaring harmonies in the chorus. I think King's X does that whole "bittersweet" aesthetic/tone about as well as any band ever, where you get such a mix of beauty but sadness. Life Going By is similar, and it may be the best representation of mono no aware I've ever heard in music. I actually did not take notice of that there were two different vocalists or so I think?, as I tend to be a bit of a "slow learner" when it comes to listening to certain new or unheard music/bands through just a few listens, but with that in mind, I guess my ears just need a little time to "adjust" to their music and sound. Which is also a constant reminder of how much I miss these days, of just going out to different stores, looking up new (or old but unheard/unseen) CDs, DVDs and books and so on, then picking out the ones who looks the most interesting or that could be a potential keeper, and give them a go. I had a pretty good run earlier this winter, with Scritti Politti, The Pogues and Pulp, but then this "break" happened, and well, I do have still much more impulse buys from that period to go through, so I will just have to take one day at a time. But I sure miss the feeling of finding a potential new favorite band or album, that I have never heard before, through that of doing a bit of "impulse" shopping. Anyway, thanks for the bringing up such a tight and well written information of several of their releases, and hopefully when some of the regular music and movie stores will maybe re-open up again, over the next few weeks, I sure will be on the look out for maybe a King's X release, or two. By the way, out of the 4-5 songs you posted up next, I do have to say that the rather playful and very catchy Believe might just stand out as the one I have enjoyed the most of theirs, as of now that is. I think it's pretty common to not always recognize if there's multiple vocalists in a band. Hell, I've listened to bands with one vocalist and often thought there were two because of how different they sounded on different songs! Also curious, is there any reason you still go out to buy CDs/DVDs instead of just finding/listening to artists online? I ditched CD buying years ago and now have all my music stored digitally on my NAS, that's pretty close to full right now. It's also so much easier finding new stuff when it's free online. It's so easy to spiral down the rabbit hole of YouTube recommendations. Yeah, I dig Believe too. Really funky groove on that one. Fans didn't care much for that album (Manic Moonlight) in general, but I've come to quite like it (and Mr. Bulbous) over time. They're weird and quirky and pretty dark for them, but there's some really good/interesting stuff too.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on May 14, 2020 9:32:33 GMT
I guess it is just an old habit of mine, hard to shake off, as I have been quite a rabid collector of music and movies for the past 20 years or more, and I really enjoy browsing through albums and DVDs in used movie or music stores, as I knewer know what I will find, or "stumble" upon, and sure, there is lots of horrible purchases down the road, but also many great and new favorites as well.
I should of course use Youtube, far more frequently, specially when it comes to music, as it is just lying there, for free, and if I like it, or love it, I would maybe then go on and purchase a CD copy or two.
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean by spiraling down the rabbit hole, specially for the past few months, I have been doing so when looking up movies I have been long wanting to see, or lying around for years on my watchlist, and then suddenly they are all out there, in the open, with better sound and picture quality, totally uncut, and it is all free.
The only "problem", is that there are so many of them, that I might never come out again, and it almost becomes hard to just pick out one or two movies, as I am constantly getting "drowned" by new interesting titles, all the time.
Kind of the good old days, when entering a VHS rental store in seach for 2-3 movies to go along over the weekend, and once I am inside, I will be a very difficult customer to get rid off, as I feel like a little kid in a toy store, who can pick out any thing he wants, but that is easier said than done.
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