12 months of music for 2016
December 31, 2015 5:02 AM Subscribe
Somewhere along the line, I've stopped listening to music altogether, and now have no idea what music I like, or even what music exists. I'd like to fix that - please help?
In the past few years, burdened with work and combined with having turned into the kind of person who can't listen to any music while she works, I have stopped listening to music altogether. So, at times when I want to unwind and not read or look at a screen, I've been completely stumped for what music to listen to. I realize I don't even know the basics of most music genres, e.g. I don't think I have ever knowingly heard anything by Bob Marley. Yes, I'm a musical basket case, and this is pretty tragic. I'm pretty musical and play the piano, but I feel like I did all my music listening before the age of 25 or so, and since then have stagnated completely.
I've decided that for 2016 I'd like to focus on one music genre a month, and listen to the best examples of those genres, to get a sense ultimately of what I do and don't like. A somewhat idiosyncratic categorization as follows:
1. Opera
2. Rock & roll
3. Blues & Jazz
4. Folk & Country
5. Chamber music
6. Choral (classical)
7. Acoustic
8. World music
9. Electronic/synth
10. Reggae
11. Film soundtracks
12. [last category: open to suggestions]
What I would love: your recommendations of the "best of" in any of these categories. I will undertake to collate all of these and provide you with my Basket-Case Remedial Music List 2016, probably linked on an open Google doc at the end of this question.
I'd be so grateful! PS. I also have Spotify and will do my own digging into their pre-fab lists in these genres, but it'd be nice to have some bespoke flags from a community whose opinions I really respect.
In the past few years, burdened with work and combined with having turned into the kind of person who can't listen to any music while she works, I have stopped listening to music altogether. So, at times when I want to unwind and not read or look at a screen, I've been completely stumped for what music to listen to. I realize I don't even know the basics of most music genres, e.g. I don't think I have ever knowingly heard anything by Bob Marley. Yes, I'm a musical basket case, and this is pretty tragic. I'm pretty musical and play the piano, but I feel like I did all my music listening before the age of 25 or so, and since then have stagnated completely.
I've decided that for 2016 I'd like to focus on one music genre a month, and listen to the best examples of those genres, to get a sense ultimately of what I do and don't like. A somewhat idiosyncratic categorization as follows:
1. Opera
2. Rock & roll
3. Blues & Jazz
4. Folk & Country
5. Chamber music
6. Choral (classical)
7. Acoustic
8. World music
9. Electronic/synth
10. Reggae
11. Film soundtracks
12. [last category: open to suggestions]
What I would love: your recommendations of the "best of" in any of these categories. I will undertake to collate all of these and provide you with my Basket-Case Remedial Music List 2016, probably linked on an open Google doc at the end of this question.
I'd be so grateful! PS. I also have Spotify and will do my own digging into their pre-fab lists in these genres, but it'd be nice to have some bespoke flags from a community whose opinions I really respect.
Best answer: I'm just curious: what kind of music did you listen to before you stopped listening to music? Can you remember what you liked best? Anyway, here are a few of my recommendations:
2. Rock & roll - Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
3. Blues & Jazz - John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
4. Folk & Country - VA - O Brother, Where Art Thou? OST (Bonus - This is also a film soundtrack!)
7. Acoustic - Leo Kottke - 6 and 12 String Guitar
8. World music - Extra Golden - Thank You Very Quickly
9. Electronic/synth - Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express
11. Film soundtracks - John Williams - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Been digging this a lot lately.)
12. I'll recommend a hip-hop classic - Nas - Illmatic
posted by zchyrs at 5:32 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
2. Rock & roll - Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
3. Blues & Jazz - John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
4. Folk & Country - VA - O Brother, Where Art Thou? OST (Bonus - This is also a film soundtrack!)
7. Acoustic - Leo Kottke - 6 and 12 String Guitar
8. World music - Extra Golden - Thank You Very Quickly
9. Electronic/synth - Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express
11. Film soundtracks - John Williams - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Been digging this a lot lately.)
12. I'll recommend a hip-hop classic - Nas - Illmatic
posted by zchyrs at 5:32 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: To clarify: I meant best of all time, but I'm really open to personal favourites, just generally thrilled "I can't believe you haven't heard this" recommendations of anything (because given my past 5+ years, chances are, I probably won't have heard it).
Quick eamples of things I used to listen to before:
- Simon & Garfunkel, other kinds of acoustic-y guitar music - Schuyler Fisk
- Bach, Ravel
- Seedy Seeds
posted by starcrust at 5:34 AM on December 31, 2015
Quick eamples of things I used to listen to before:
- Simon & Garfunkel, other kinds of acoustic-y guitar music - Schuyler Fisk
- Bach, Ravel
- Seedy Seeds
posted by starcrust at 5:34 AM on December 31, 2015
Yeah, I wouldn't call my list above "best of all time," (I don't even know how I'd determine that), just some individual albums that I think are pretty great.
posted by zchyrs at 5:35 AM on December 31, 2015
posted by zchyrs at 5:35 AM on December 31, 2015
Best answer: best of all time for jazz, you could compare + contrast
relaxin'
kind of blue
bitches brew
(all miles davis)
posted by andrewcooke at 5:40 AM on December 31, 2015
relaxin'
kind of blue
bitches brew
(all miles davis)
posted by andrewcooke at 5:40 AM on December 31, 2015
Best answer: Could possibly be added to a Classical and/or Opera category. Very haunting and beautiful (music was also in the James Bond movie "Spectre"): Vivaldi's Cum Dederit by Sandrine Piau.
Soundtracks that I have fallen in love with: Robin Hood (w/ Russell Crowe), Assassination of Jesse James (beautiful movie, as well, IMO), Transformers (yes, that one) Arrival to Earth is awesome, My Name is Lincoln from The Island, game soundtrack Elder Scrolls - Nerevar Rising, Kerry Muzzey Palladio... I could go on with this one.
Matter of fact, I could go on all day, but have to work. Maybe will add some later on!
and just saw your follow up, yeah, these are not best of all time for everyone, but best of all time for me :) Hope you like.
posted by foxhat10 at 5:52 AM on December 31, 2015
Soundtracks that I have fallen in love with: Robin Hood (w/ Russell Crowe), Assassination of Jesse James (beautiful movie, as well, IMO), Transformers (yes, that one) Arrival to Earth is awesome, My Name is Lincoln from The Island, game soundtrack Elder Scrolls - Nerevar Rising, Kerry Muzzey Palladio... I could go on with this one.
Matter of fact, I could go on all day, but have to work. Maybe will add some later on!
and just saw your follow up, yeah, these are not best of all time for everyone, but best of all time for me :) Hope you like.
posted by foxhat10 at 5:52 AM on December 31, 2015
Best answer: 4. Folk & Country: Pete Seeger, American Ballads I-IV. Seeger sings a lot of traditional American folk songs, but he cleans them up a bit to make them a bit clearer, and it's a good intro to older American folk music. Also: Johnny Cash (he's the one who convinced me I might like country music after all), Patty Griffin (folk singer/songwriter, writes gorgeous songs without lots of bells and whistles), Doc Watson (classic old country singer, plays both guitar and banjo), href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbgfQ48hWuY">Alison Krauss (youngish country singer with amazing voice), and Judy Collins (classically trained folk musician from the '60's)..
3. Jazz: Nina Simone (amazing voice); Miles Davis (iconic trumpet player), Charles Mingus (double bassist) Theolonious Monk (eccentric and amazing piano player). Blues: Leadbelly (amazing entertainer), Mississippi John Hurt (gentle-sounding man with a sense of humor), Blind Willie Johnson (has a deep rich gravelly voice)
6. Choral Music - The Messiah by Handel; Mozart's Requiem in D Minor
8. World Music - Oliver Mtukudzi - he's a Zimbabwean musician and very famous in many places in Africa, less well-known in the U.S.
posted by colfax at 5:57 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
3. Jazz: Nina Simone (amazing voice); Miles Davis (iconic trumpet player), Charles Mingus (double bassist) Theolonious Monk (eccentric and amazing piano player). Blues: Leadbelly (amazing entertainer), Mississippi John Hurt (gentle-sounding man with a sense of humor), Blind Willie Johnson (has a deep rich gravelly voice)
6. Choral Music - The Messiah by Handel; Mozart's Requiem in D Minor
8. World Music - Oliver Mtukudzi - he's a Zimbabwean musician and very famous in many places in Africa, less well-known in the U.S.
posted by colfax at 5:57 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: >5. Chamber Music
Start with late 18th century to 19th century string quartets. Haydn wrote a lot in this form, and though it's not correct to say that he invented it, he did more than any other composer to make it into the classic form. The sound I think of when I think of stereotypical classical music, the background music to the bourgeois mingling in a private dining room, that to me is Haydn.
However, for just one piece to start with, I'd pick Schubert's "Death and the Maiden". Very dynamic, interesting, gripping, it's a masterpiece of chamber music.
A more modern composer who is known for string quartets is the 20th century Soviet composer Shostakovich.
Then there's piano music, quintets, sonatas, and many other forms. While a string quartet is a quintessential type of chamber music, chamber music isn't just that. It's just any type of classical music that's for small groups, that is, not a symphony and doesn't require a stage.
posted by cotterpin at 6:00 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Start with late 18th century to 19th century string quartets. Haydn wrote a lot in this form, and though it's not correct to say that he invented it, he did more than any other composer to make it into the classic form. The sound I think of when I think of stereotypical classical music, the background music to the bourgeois mingling in a private dining room, that to me is Haydn.
However, for just one piece to start with, I'd pick Schubert's "Death and the Maiden". Very dynamic, interesting, gripping, it's a masterpiece of chamber music.
A more modern composer who is known for string quartets is the 20th century Soviet composer Shostakovich.
Then there's piano music, quintets, sonatas, and many other forms. While a string quartet is a quintessential type of chamber music, chamber music isn't just that. It's just any type of classical music that's for small groups, that is, not a symphony and doesn't require a stage.
posted by cotterpin at 6:00 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Hamilton Broadway musical soundtrack. It is fantastic and smart and funny and heartbreaking.
posted by jillithd at 6:28 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by jillithd at 6:28 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Some random personal favorites:
1. Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot. Pavarotti is best. Also the Flower Duet from Lakme.
2. You'll probably need to narrow it down. There are 60 years of ever-increasing subgenres. Even narrowing down to a decade will get you better recommendations. I'll do one each: 50s - Buddy Holly. 60s - Nuggets compilation. 70s: David Bowie. 80s: Pixies. 90s: Guided by Voices or Pavement. 00s - I still like the Strokes, especially Room on Fire. 10s - The Suburbs by Arcade Fire.
3. Miles Davis. Just spanning his career will give you a good overview of jazz history. I'll also throw in a recommendation for Thelonious Monk's Thelonious Alone in San Francisco.
5. Trout Quintet by Schubert.
8. I've found the Rough Guide series helpful.
10. Marley's Legend is the classic introduction. Starbucks had a Trojan Records sampler a few years ago. Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, the Skatalites. These are all ska artists, but I like ska better than reggae, and it's helpful to know the history...
11. This is too broad of a category, but the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack is pretty famous, justifiably. I also remember liking the King's Speech soundtrack.
12. I've been listening to a lot of French music lately. Both older stuff, like Tony Murena and Gus Viseur (accordion music), and contemporary stuff like Albin de la Simone.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:39 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
1. Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot. Pavarotti is best. Also the Flower Duet from Lakme.
2. You'll probably need to narrow it down. There are 60 years of ever-increasing subgenres. Even narrowing down to a decade will get you better recommendations. I'll do one each: 50s - Buddy Holly. 60s - Nuggets compilation. 70s: David Bowie. 80s: Pixies. 90s: Guided by Voices or Pavement. 00s - I still like the Strokes, especially Room on Fire. 10s - The Suburbs by Arcade Fire.
3. Miles Davis. Just spanning his career will give you a good overview of jazz history. I'll also throw in a recommendation for Thelonious Monk's Thelonious Alone in San Francisco.
5. Trout Quintet by Schubert.
8. I've found the Rough Guide series helpful.
10. Marley's Legend is the classic introduction. Starbucks had a Trojan Records sampler a few years ago. Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, the Skatalites. These are all ska artists, but I like ska better than reggae, and it's helpful to know the history...
11. This is too broad of a category, but the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack is pretty famous, justifiably. I also remember liking the King's Speech soundtrack.
12. I've been listening to a lot of French music lately. Both older stuff, like Tony Murena and Gus Viseur (accordion music), and contemporary stuff like Albin de la Simone.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:39 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Jazz - you would be grossly remiss if you didn't listen to some free jazz:
John Coltrane, for instance. Now, I am not a jazz expert and haven't even heard all the major Coltrane recordings. A lot of people recommend A Love Supreme and Giant Steps as starting points, but what really got me into Coltrane was Kulu Se Mama, which remains my favorite.
My favorite free jazz guy is Don Cherry, and my favorite Don Cherry is Symphony for Improvisers. But you should also give a listen to this 1986 thing, I Walk. It's not like anything else he did, especially, but it's really neat.
Also Sun Ra. I personally choose to believe that Sun Ra really was sent to us by benevolent but largely helpless aliens who couldn't do anything else to better our lot. People start with Space Is The Place, usually.
Neneh Cherry, the adopted daughter of Don Cherry and a pop sensation in her own right, has done some quite interesting work. I like her early stuff with Rip Rig and Panic (Don Cherry plays on some tracks). Storm the reality asylum is just about my favorite - it really builds up. She did some nice work with The Thing. Honestly, hearing all this stuff gave me more appreciation for her pop music.
Bjork's...uh...jazz album [?] Gling-Glo is very good, I think. (Basically I'm recommending things that I like that I think are really good - would I say that Gling Glo is better and more important than Bitches Brew? Not at all - but it's awfully good for this kind of thing.)
In re Miles Davis: you should certainly hear music from his "electric" period. People trash talk this music, but it's really good - my most musically fancy friend turned me on to it. Try Panthalassa. You will like it.
Maybe have an eclectic last month? I'm not sure what "rock and roll" encompasses - is that going to include, like, Janelle Monae, the Clash, everything that's "popular"? But it seems like there's a lot of stuff that is hard to categorize but very fine. Also, does "world music" mean "fusion" or "music from outside the American/European mainstream"?
Also also: you should listen to some prog. It has a bad reputation because a lot of what was successful was bloated and blah, but there's some good stuff in there.
Some very fine songs:
Janelle Monae Tightrope This may actually be my favorite song in all the world. The way she says "do you mind".
Art Bears The Song of Investment Capital Overseas. Art Bears are a bit difficult, but I thing well worth listening to.
Attila the Stockbroker This is Free Europe - it's a punk song from the the early 2000s about the then-new rise of the fascist right. I find it very mobilizing. I like Attila the Stockbroker, although his gender politics are sometimes a little "feminism of 1985".
Communards Never Can Say Goodbye. I just like this one.
In terms of world music, how aboutSpoek Mathambo? His cover of Control, to my mind, makes it say a lot more than the original.
Arthur Russell is very important. How about That's Us/Wild Combination. What a cellist! Let his croaking voice grow on you.
PJ Harvey's Let England Shake album is really, really good and really sad. I have to skip about half of it or it's all hysterical weeping about the first World War. She made these videos that I am not wild about where people speak some of the lyrics before the song starts, but try On Battleship Hill.
posted by Frowner at 6:49 AM on December 31, 2015 [6 favorites]
John Coltrane, for instance. Now, I am not a jazz expert and haven't even heard all the major Coltrane recordings. A lot of people recommend A Love Supreme and Giant Steps as starting points, but what really got me into Coltrane was Kulu Se Mama, which remains my favorite.
My favorite free jazz guy is Don Cherry, and my favorite Don Cherry is Symphony for Improvisers. But you should also give a listen to this 1986 thing, I Walk. It's not like anything else he did, especially, but it's really neat.
Also Sun Ra. I personally choose to believe that Sun Ra really was sent to us by benevolent but largely helpless aliens who couldn't do anything else to better our lot. People start with Space Is The Place, usually.
Neneh Cherry, the adopted daughter of Don Cherry and a pop sensation in her own right, has done some quite interesting work. I like her early stuff with Rip Rig and Panic (Don Cherry plays on some tracks). Storm the reality asylum is just about my favorite - it really builds up. She did some nice work with The Thing. Honestly, hearing all this stuff gave me more appreciation for her pop music.
Bjork's...uh...jazz album [?] Gling-Glo is very good, I think. (Basically I'm recommending things that I like that I think are really good - would I say that Gling Glo is better and more important than Bitches Brew? Not at all - but it's awfully good for this kind of thing.)
In re Miles Davis: you should certainly hear music from his "electric" period. People trash talk this music, but it's really good - my most musically fancy friend turned me on to it. Try Panthalassa. You will like it.
Maybe have an eclectic last month? I'm not sure what "rock and roll" encompasses - is that going to include, like, Janelle Monae, the Clash, everything that's "popular"? But it seems like there's a lot of stuff that is hard to categorize but very fine. Also, does "world music" mean "fusion" or "music from outside the American/European mainstream"?
Also also: you should listen to some prog. It has a bad reputation because a lot of what was successful was bloated and blah, but there's some good stuff in there.
Some very fine songs:
Janelle Monae Tightrope This may actually be my favorite song in all the world. The way she says "do you mind".
Art Bears The Song of Investment Capital Overseas. Art Bears are a bit difficult, but I thing well worth listening to.
Attila the Stockbroker This is Free Europe - it's a punk song from the the early 2000s about the then-new rise of the fascist right. I find it very mobilizing. I like Attila the Stockbroker, although his gender politics are sometimes a little "feminism of 1985".
Communards Never Can Say Goodbye. I just like this one.
In terms of world music, how about
Arthur Russell is very important. How about That's Us/Wild Combination. What a cellist! Let his croaking voice grow on you.
PJ Harvey's Let England Shake album is really, really good and really sad. I have to skip about half of it or it's all hysterical weeping about the first World War. She made these videos that I am not wild about where people speak some of the lyrics before the song starts, but try On Battleship Hill.
posted by Frowner at 6:49 AM on December 31, 2015 [6 favorites]
Best answer: I love your question. Here are some of my favorites in a few of your categories:
Under folk/country, try the Steep Canyon Rangers. They won a Grammy in 2013 for best bluegrass album. Steve Martin tours with them on banjo sometimes. Some of my favorites are Knob Creek; Between Midnight and the Dawn; Rescue Me.
Bettye LaVette for blues/soul. Here she's singing Love Reign at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2008. Also, here's a mini concert on YouTube. I first heard her live at DC's Lincoln Theatre opening (opening!) for another group.
For jazz, Regina Carter on violin, here at an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and Cyrus Chestnut on piano, here playing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and Brotherhood of Man.
Not sure this counts as chamber music (I'll define that broadly), but since you like Ravel, you might also like Debussy's Premiere Rhapsodie for clarinet and piano.
posted by marguerite at 7:51 AM on December 31, 2015
Under folk/country, try the Steep Canyon Rangers. They won a Grammy in 2013 for best bluegrass album. Steve Martin tours with them on banjo sometimes. Some of my favorites are Knob Creek; Between Midnight and the Dawn; Rescue Me.
Bettye LaVette for blues/soul. Here she's singing Love Reign at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2008. Also, here's a mini concert on YouTube. I first heard her live at DC's Lincoln Theatre opening (opening!) for another group.
For jazz, Regina Carter on violin, here at an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and Cyrus Chestnut on piano, here playing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and Brotherhood of Man.
Not sure this counts as chamber music (I'll define that broadly), but since you like Ravel, you might also like Debussy's Premiere Rhapsodie for clarinet and piano.
posted by marguerite at 7:51 AM on December 31, 2015
Best answer: related to sammyo's post, there was a whole tango/electronica revival a few years back in argentina.
both violetta parra and victor jara were important voices in the nueva cancion chilena - folk / world (for you).
(and if you want s american rock, you can't go wrong with charlie garcia either).
posted by andrewcooke at 7:53 AM on December 31, 2015
both violetta parra and victor jara were important voices in the nueva cancion chilena - folk / world (for you).
(and if you want s american rock, you can't go wrong with charlie garcia either).
posted by andrewcooke at 7:53 AM on December 31, 2015
Music is a huge category. Ask your friends to share favorite albums in their favorite genres. When I need musical inspiration, I look up old Billboard charts or award winners from the Grammies, and listen to the most popular songs and artists.
I think Spotify is kind of meant for this. Tell it what you like, listen to suggestions.
I recommend some Joan Armatrading, Leonard Cohen and Nora Jones, just off the top of my head.
posted by theora55 at 8:00 AM on December 31, 2015
I think Spotify is kind of meant for this. Tell it what you like, listen to suggestions.
I recommend some Joan Armatrading, Leonard Cohen and Nora Jones, just off the top of my head.
posted by theora55 at 8:00 AM on December 31, 2015
Best answer: I love this idea! Real immersion into a style or genre really helps me appreciate what that genre has to offer. And it's wonderful to have a service like Spotify where you can easily sample music.
My suggestion for your last category is to split up blues and jazz (unless you know you don't like those genres enough for a month each).
OPERA:
I have a short playlist of (my) favorite opera arias. Most are from other albums that are collections of arias if you want to go that way.
I also have a (50 h) playlist of Instrumental Opera. These are suites, orchestral transcriptions, and excerpts. It is not arranged to listen straight through; I just select pieces from it for my queue.
Opera styles have varied significantly over its 400 year history. If you wanted to listen to a full opera a day, here's my suggestions for operas to pick. Though perhaps it might make more sense to pick 5 or 10 from this list (or other operas based on arias or other excerpts you like) and focus on them. At any rate, this is arranged chronologically:
Monteverdi - L'Orfeo
Cavalli - La Calisto
Purcell - Dido and Aeneas
Handel - Giulio Cesare
Pergolesi - La serva padrona
Gluck - Orfeo ed Eurdice
Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro
Rossini - La Cenerentola
Bellini - Norma
Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor
Meyerbeer - Les Huguenots
Verdi - Il trovatore
Offenbach - Orphée aux enfers
Berlioz - Les Troyens
Gounod - Faust
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde
Mussorgsky - Boris Godunov
Bizet - Carmen
Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin
Mascagni - Cavalleria rusticana
Puccini - Tosca
Dvořák - Rusalka
Debussy - Pelléas et Mélisande
Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier
Berg - Wozzeck
Britten - Peter Grimes
Poulenc - Dialogues des Carmélites
Penderecki - Die Teufel von Loudun
Messiaen - Saint François d'Assise
Adams - Nixon in China
Saariaho - L'amour de Loin
Benjamin - Written on Skin
Though, also, opera is theater. Some people don't connect to full audio recordings until they've seen a stage production. If you really want to immerse yourself in opera for a month I'd recommend trying to see a live production, and/or watching video. There 30 or so productions available on Amazon Prime (search for opera and/or medici.tv) and other streaming options (such as The Opera Platform). Also on January 16 Les Pêcheurs de Perles by Bizet is being broadcast live to movie theaters from the Metropolitan Opera in NYC.
posted by mountmccabe at 10:06 AM on December 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
My suggestion for your last category is to split up blues and jazz (unless you know you don't like those genres enough for a month each).
OPERA:
I have a short playlist of (my) favorite opera arias. Most are from other albums that are collections of arias if you want to go that way.
I also have a (50 h) playlist of Instrumental Opera. These are suites, orchestral transcriptions, and excerpts. It is not arranged to listen straight through; I just select pieces from it for my queue.
Opera styles have varied significantly over its 400 year history. If you wanted to listen to a full opera a day, here's my suggestions for operas to pick. Though perhaps it might make more sense to pick 5 or 10 from this list (or other operas based on arias or other excerpts you like) and focus on them. At any rate, this is arranged chronologically:
Monteverdi - L'Orfeo
Cavalli - La Calisto
Purcell - Dido and Aeneas
Handel - Giulio Cesare
Pergolesi - La serva padrona
Gluck - Orfeo ed Eurdice
Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro
Rossini - La Cenerentola
Bellini - Norma
Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor
Meyerbeer - Les Huguenots
Verdi - Il trovatore
Offenbach - Orphée aux enfers
Berlioz - Les Troyens
Gounod - Faust
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde
Mussorgsky - Boris Godunov
Bizet - Carmen
Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin
Mascagni - Cavalleria rusticana
Puccini - Tosca
Dvořák - Rusalka
Debussy - Pelléas et Mélisande
Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier
Berg - Wozzeck
Britten - Peter Grimes
Poulenc - Dialogues des Carmélites
Penderecki - Die Teufel von Loudun
Messiaen - Saint François d'Assise
Adams - Nixon in China
Saariaho - L'amour de Loin
Benjamin - Written on Skin
Though, also, opera is theater. Some people don't connect to full audio recordings until they've seen a stage production. If you really want to immerse yourself in opera for a month I'd recommend trying to see a live production, and/or watching video. There 30 or so productions available on Amazon Prime (search for opera and/or medici.tv) and other streaming options (such as The Opera Platform). Also on January 16 Les Pêcheurs de Perles by Bizet is being broadcast live to movie theaters from the Metropolitan Opera in NYC.
posted by mountmccabe at 10:06 AM on December 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
CHORAL
I have a few Spotify playlists I can share:
Polyphonic choral music is a CD-length playlist of choral music from around 1000 CE to the early Baroque era. All of these composers have other great music to explore. Some of it is on my best of the Renaissance playlist, which is mostly choral, though there are some instrumental compositions and solo pieces mixed in.
Beyond that I will just link to the Top 100 Recommended Choral Works at Talk Classical. Message board members voted on this a few years ago and provides a good variety of pieces, including most of what I would list as favorites (Brahm's Ein deutsches Requiem, Janáček's Glagolská mše, Britten's War Requiem, Mozart's Requiem, Stabat Maters by Schubert, Rossini, and Szymanowski, and Te Deums by Pärt and Bruckner). I haven't made a playlist from this yet (though I'm tempted).
posted by mountmccabe at 10:35 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have a few Spotify playlists I can share:
Polyphonic choral music is a CD-length playlist of choral music from around 1000 CE to the early Baroque era. All of these composers have other great music to explore. Some of it is on my best of the Renaissance playlist, which is mostly choral, though there are some instrumental compositions and solo pieces mixed in.
Beyond that I will just link to the Top 100 Recommended Choral Works at Talk Classical. Message board members voted on this a few years ago and provides a good variety of pieces, including most of what I would list as favorites (Brahm's Ein deutsches Requiem, Janáček's Glagolská mše, Britten's War Requiem, Mozart's Requiem, Stabat Maters by Schubert, Rossini, and Szymanowski, and Te Deums by Pärt and Bruckner). I haven't made a playlist from this yet (though I'm tempted).
posted by mountmccabe at 10:35 AM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks so much - this is amazing. I've decided I'm just going to make Spotify lists for each month, based on all your recommendations and throwing in a few of my own. For individual artists I've just taken the top 10 recommended on Spotify, and I'll explore as I go.
I've made them collaborative, which I think in principle means you could also add things to them if you wanted? In any case, I'm going to listen through and discard/cull ones I don't like until I'm left, at the end of each month, with my favourites. I'm thrilled to embark on this! Thanks everyone and do keep the recs coming if you have them. I'll be referring back to this thread frequently.
I also took advice above to separate out Blues & Jazz. It's all a work in progress, and these categories are going to be tried to their limit, I suspect (is Leonard Cohen folk or jazz or...??) but I guess that's what year-long experiments are for...
1. Opera
2. Rock & roll
3. Jazz
4. Folk & Country
5. Chamber music
6. Choral (classical)
7. Acoustic
8. World music
9. Electronic/synth
10. Reggae
11. Film soundtracks
12. Blues
Thank you thank you thank you all so much.
posted by starcrust at 1:30 PM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've made them collaborative, which I think in principle means you could also add things to them if you wanted? In any case, I'm going to listen through and discard/cull ones I don't like until I'm left, at the end of each month, with my favourites. I'm thrilled to embark on this! Thanks everyone and do keep the recs coming if you have them. I'll be referring back to this thread frequently.
I also took advice above to separate out Blues & Jazz. It's all a work in progress, and these categories are going to be tried to their limit, I suspect (is Leonard Cohen folk or jazz or...??) but I guess that's what year-long experiments are for...
1. Opera
2. Rock & roll
3. Jazz
4. Folk & Country
5. Chamber music
6. Choral (classical)
7. Acoustic
8. World music
9. Electronic/synth
10. Reggae
11. Film soundtracks
12. Blues
Thank you thank you thank you all so much.
posted by starcrust at 1:30 PM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
You don't have a straight classical category, but in the spirit of it, my go-to is Mahler's 2nd Symphony ("Ressurection." It has a soprano-alto duet in the 3th movement and goes over the top with two choirs and soprano-alto-tenor-bass soloists and organ in the 4th. You could also look for "Carmina Burana."
As far as soundtracks go, I like to recommend Patrick Doyle's excellent score for the 1999 production of "Great Expectations" (middlin' movie, fantastic music). If you look for this, be sure to look for the "Score" album, not the "Soundtrack." It's full of quiet, sometimes jazzy, sometimes near-classical music. Similarly, the soundtrack to the Imax movie "Journey of Man," a Cirque Du Soleil production, is very good, as are all the Cirque "soundtrack" albums ("Alegria" being the most popular).
I also love Maurice Jarre's scores to "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Dr. Zhivago" (the latter especially). To me, these are the epitome of classically-inspired movie scores before John Williams came to prominence. If you greatly enjoy John Williams (which I do), look further back in time to Erich Wolfgang Korngold's scores for Hollywood films from the 1940s, available in re-recordings from Charles Gerhardt. Start with the album "The Sea Hawk," which was the first of these re-recordings and provides a nice introduction to Korngold's work. (He also wrote some fine classical music).
posted by lhauser at 7:39 PM on December 31, 2015
As far as soundtracks go, I like to recommend Patrick Doyle's excellent score for the 1999 production of "Great Expectations" (middlin' movie, fantastic music). If you look for this, be sure to look for the "Score" album, not the "Soundtrack." It's full of quiet, sometimes jazzy, sometimes near-classical music. Similarly, the soundtrack to the Imax movie "Journey of Man," a Cirque Du Soleil production, is very good, as are all the Cirque "soundtrack" albums ("Alegria" being the most popular).
I also love Maurice Jarre's scores to "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Dr. Zhivago" (the latter especially). To me, these are the epitome of classically-inspired movie scores before John Williams came to prominence. If you greatly enjoy John Williams (which I do), look further back in time to Erich Wolfgang Korngold's scores for Hollywood films from the 1940s, available in re-recordings from Charles Gerhardt. Start with the album "The Sea Hawk," which was the first of these re-recordings and provides a nice introduction to Korngold's work. (He also wrote some fine classical music).
posted by lhauser at 7:39 PM on December 31, 2015
Spotify makes you a personalised 30 song playlist every week - it's unearthly good at playing you stuff that's completely new but interestingly similar to what you already like. It's in the 'browse' section, it's called 'discover weekly'.
posted by Sebmojo at 10:04 PM on December 31, 2015
posted by Sebmojo at 10:04 PM on December 31, 2015
Lists like this can only ever be ultimately subjective, but having said that:
2: Rock & Roll
Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced
Cream, Disraeli Gears
The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground & Nico
Hawkwind, In Search of Space
Patti Smith, Horses
Joy Division, Best of ...
Primal Scream, Screamadelica
My Bloody Valentine, Loveless
Lush, Spooky
Stereolab, Mars Audiac Quintet
Radiohead, Kid A
6: Choral
Josquin des Prez, Missa Pange Lingua
Thomas Tallis, Spem In Alium
Tomas Luis de Victoria, Requiem Officium Defunctorum
Gregorio Allegri, Miserere
Various Artists, Christmas Mass in Rome
9: Electronic & Synth
The Orb, U.F.Orb
Boards of Canada, Geogaddi
posted by Sonny Jim at 6:25 AM on January 1, 2016
2: Rock & Roll
Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced
Cream, Disraeli Gears
The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground & Nico
Hawkwind, In Search of Space
Patti Smith, Horses
Joy Division, Best of ...
Primal Scream, Screamadelica
My Bloody Valentine, Loveless
Lush, Spooky
Stereolab, Mars Audiac Quintet
Radiohead, Kid A
6: Choral
Josquin des Prez, Missa Pange Lingua
Thomas Tallis, Spem In Alium
Tomas Luis de Victoria, Requiem Officium Defunctorum
Gregorio Allegri, Miserere
Various Artists, Christmas Mass in Rome
9: Electronic & Synth
The Orb, U.F.Orb
Boards of Canada, Geogaddi
posted by Sonny Jim at 6:25 AM on January 1, 2016
Music is so subjective that it is hard to know what someone is going to like or not like.
Some stuff that I think is exceptional that I find myself returning to often that isn't as well known: Some of these don't fit neatly into one genre
Talk Talk - Laughing Stock (amazing musicianship) Rock with a jazzy feel
NearLY - Reminder (rock, electronic)
Twilight Singers - Powder Burns (rock)
Jeff Buckley - Grace (rock with Soul and even Opera elements - vocally)
A Winged Victory for the Sullen - I own lots of gorgeous music, but this might be the beautiful album I own
Boards of Canada - electronic
Any of Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross' scores (start with Social Network)(film scores)
Crosses - self titled (Chino Moreno's side project. Heavy Cure "vibe"
Hans Zimmer - Interstellar (film score)
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972 (awesome electronic record with gorgeous textures)
Clint Mansell - the Fountain (film score - everyone that I ever played this for loves it)
I also think Bjork's album Vulnicura was the best album of the last year. Be forewarned, it is heart wrenching.
Good Luck
posted by kbbbo at 8:51 AM on January 1, 2016
Some stuff that I think is exceptional that I find myself returning to often that isn't as well known: Some of these don't fit neatly into one genre
Talk Talk - Laughing Stock (amazing musicianship) Rock with a jazzy feel
NearLY - Reminder (rock, electronic)
Twilight Singers - Powder Burns (rock)
Jeff Buckley - Grace (rock with Soul and even Opera elements - vocally)
A Winged Victory for the Sullen - I own lots of gorgeous music, but this might be the beautiful album I own
Boards of Canada - electronic
Any of Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross' scores (start with Social Network)(film scores)
Crosses - self titled (Chino Moreno's side project. Heavy Cure "vibe"
Hans Zimmer - Interstellar (film score)
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972 (awesome electronic record with gorgeous textures)
Clint Mansell - the Fountain (film score - everyone that I ever played this for loves it)
I also think Bjork's album Vulnicura was the best album of the last year. Be forewarned, it is heart wrenching.
Good Luck
posted by kbbbo at 8:51 AM on January 1, 2016
Oooh, please find a way to fit gospel onto your list! Specifically, old-school gospel! Think this from The Color Purple, which is what got me into it. Here's a few of my favorites in that genre:
I Must Tell Jesus - Jessie Mae Renfro
I'll Be Satisfied Then - Jessie Mae Renfro
Devil Can't Harm a Praying Man - The Dixie Hummingbirds
Strange Man - Dorothy Love Coates
Elijah - Dorothy Love Coates
Saved - Elvis
Up Above My Head - Sister Rosetta Tharpe
How I Got Over - Mahalia Jackson
Here is the definitive Mefi post on gospel (a lot of the links are broken but you can easily find them with a new search). Here's an AskMe with more recommendations.
Old-school gospel is almost good enough to make me religious.
posted by triggerfinger at 11:12 AM on January 1, 2016
I Must Tell Jesus - Jessie Mae Renfro
I'll Be Satisfied Then - Jessie Mae Renfro
Devil Can't Harm a Praying Man - The Dixie Hummingbirds
Strange Man - Dorothy Love Coates
Elijah - Dorothy Love Coates
Saved - Elvis
Up Above My Head - Sister Rosetta Tharpe
How I Got Over - Mahalia Jackson
Here is the definitive Mefi post on gospel (a lot of the links are broken but you can easily find them with a new search). Here's an AskMe with more recommendations.
Old-school gospel is almost good enough to make me religious.
posted by triggerfinger at 11:12 AM on January 1, 2016
A few suggestions for your list.
1. Opera (I'd suggest a collection of arias by a singer--my suggestion would be Maria Callas. Something like EMI's 100 Best Classics compilation for her gives you the best bits from a lot of different works as well as some standout renditions)
2. Rock & roll (Led Zeppelin IV, Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti; Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers; The Clash's The Clash, London Calling and Sandinista! would be a nice overview of amazing, varied rock from across the pond.)
3. Blues & Jazz (Robert Johnson's collected recordings fit on two CDs and are the wellspring for much transatlantic blues and rock; seconding all the Miles suggestions, I'd also suggest listening to vocal jazz/vocalese, e.g., Lambert Hendricks & Ross, Manhattan Transfer, Eddie Jefferson. And I'll add any Bill Evans piano albums you can find. Spotify has the Complete Bill Evans on Verve, and that's all gold.)
4. Folk & Country (English folk and folk/rock bands such as Fairport Convention/Fotheringay and The Pentangle can push a bunch of buttons: great vocals, instrumentalists, songs done in a blend of traditional and modern styles.)
5. Chamber music (I'm a fan of cello music, so Bach's Unaccompanied Suites is one of my absolute favorites and a great jumping-off point. I first heard the Yo-Yo Ma version, but great interpretations abound.)
8. World music (Fania was a great label for classic salsa. Starting with Rubén Blades/Willie Colon's Siembra and Celia Cruz/Willie Colon's Celia y Willie would not be a bad thing.)
9. Electronic/synth (Brian Eno has worked with, and served as a catalyst for, some of the most interesting music of the last 40 years. His ambient albums and his work with David Byrne on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts provide a nice contrast.)
11. Film soundtracks (Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota are two giants of the soundtrack world who'd be a good listen. Angelo Badalamenti's work on all of the various Twin Peaks projects is lovely, atmospheric music.)
12. The Great American Songbook - I would recommend listening to American music recorded in the '20s and '30s, when Broadway shows and, increasingly, film regularly contributed an embarrassment of riches to the nation's shared musical heritage. Lee Wiley pioneered the "songbook" approach that Ella Fitzgerald and others perfected in the '50s, but there are many others. Columbia's Art Deco series of compilations offers a nice overview of different singers and styles.
posted by the sobsister at 2:03 PM on January 1, 2016
1. Opera (I'd suggest a collection of arias by a singer--my suggestion would be Maria Callas. Something like EMI's 100 Best Classics compilation for her gives you the best bits from a lot of different works as well as some standout renditions)
2. Rock & roll (Led Zeppelin IV, Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti; Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers; The Clash's The Clash, London Calling and Sandinista! would be a nice overview of amazing, varied rock from across the pond.)
3. Blues & Jazz (Robert Johnson's collected recordings fit on two CDs and are the wellspring for much transatlantic blues and rock; seconding all the Miles suggestions, I'd also suggest listening to vocal jazz/vocalese, e.g., Lambert Hendricks & Ross, Manhattan Transfer, Eddie Jefferson. And I'll add any Bill Evans piano albums you can find. Spotify has the Complete Bill Evans on Verve, and that's all gold.)
4. Folk & Country (English folk and folk/rock bands such as Fairport Convention/Fotheringay and The Pentangle can push a bunch of buttons: great vocals, instrumentalists, songs done in a blend of traditional and modern styles.)
5. Chamber music (I'm a fan of cello music, so Bach's Unaccompanied Suites is one of my absolute favorites and a great jumping-off point. I first heard the Yo-Yo Ma version, but great interpretations abound.)
8. World music (Fania was a great label for classic salsa. Starting with Rubén Blades/Willie Colon's Siembra and Celia Cruz/Willie Colon's Celia y Willie would not be a bad thing.)
9. Electronic/synth (Brian Eno has worked with, and served as a catalyst for, some of the most interesting music of the last 40 years. His ambient albums and his work with David Byrne on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts provide a nice contrast.)
11. Film soundtracks (Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota are two giants of the soundtrack world who'd be a good listen. Angelo Badalamenti's work on all of the various Twin Peaks projects is lovely, atmospheric music.)
12. The Great American Songbook - I would recommend listening to American music recorded in the '20s and '30s, when Broadway shows and, increasingly, film regularly contributed an embarrassment of riches to the nation's shared musical heritage. Lee Wiley pioneered the "songbook" approach that Ella Fitzgerald and others perfected in the '50s, but there are many others. Columbia's Art Deco series of compilations offers a nice overview of different singers and styles.
posted by the sobsister at 2:03 PM on January 1, 2016
Your list of eleven genres feels weird, and it took me a minute; it's almost all backward-looking, or specific picks of things that people... don't make as much of as they used to. If you felt you stopped listening to music, look forward; whatever existed then didn't keep you listening. :-)
I'd probably add the noncommercial side of hip-hop, modern country, and pop, plus split electronic/synth into multiple months; there's an enormous diversity there, and that's likely where more and more things will be produced. Plus, electronic straddles most of the other categories these days.
Splitting a few of the categories:
- M83's soundtrack to the movie Oblivion may count as electronic, soundtrack, chamber music.
- Pendulum is a band I loved doing drum n bass (160bpm electronic) crossed with hard rock. In Silico is a good album there.
- Avicii is a producer who basically makes electronic country music that's played as pop.
- Taylor Swift deserves a mention, as the current bestselling artist, who can solidly play every instrument in the band at will, plus writes her own stuff.
- Maroon 5 is a pop band doing soul classics with a rock/electronic lean to it.
- And if you missed them, as you didn't give dates with when you stopped listening to music, Daft Punk's album Discovery managed to get the ravers, the hipsters, and pretty much everyone in between to love it. Disco, funk, soul, rock, techno, all rolled into one near-perfect hour or so.
- Other than Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga is fairly impressive musically; she's gone from electronic to 80's Madonna through country pretty effortlessly, although people often give her more notice for her Bjork-like crazy outfits and antics.
posted by talldean at 8:15 PM on January 1, 2016
I'd probably add the noncommercial side of hip-hop, modern country, and pop, plus split electronic/synth into multiple months; there's an enormous diversity there, and that's likely where more and more things will be produced. Plus, electronic straddles most of the other categories these days.
Splitting a few of the categories:
- M83's soundtrack to the movie Oblivion may count as electronic, soundtrack, chamber music.
- Pendulum is a band I loved doing drum n bass (160bpm electronic) crossed with hard rock. In Silico is a good album there.
- Avicii is a producer who basically makes electronic country music that's played as pop.
- Taylor Swift deserves a mention, as the current bestselling artist, who can solidly play every instrument in the band at will, plus writes her own stuff.
- Maroon 5 is a pop band doing soul classics with a rock/electronic lean to it.
- And if you missed them, as you didn't give dates with when you stopped listening to music, Daft Punk's album Discovery managed to get the ravers, the hipsters, and pretty much everyone in between to love it. Disco, funk, soul, rock, techno, all rolled into one near-perfect hour or so.
- Other than Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga is fairly impressive musically; she's gone from electronic to 80's Madonna through country pretty effortlessly, although people often give her more notice for her Bjork-like crazy outfits and antics.
posted by talldean at 8:15 PM on January 1, 2016
Reggae: In the same way that you'd be remiss to listen to jazz and not listen to some free stuff, you might want to include some nyabinghi and some dub.
For the former, Ras Michael's 'Nyabinghi' or Count Ossie's 'Grounation' are the standard starting points.
For the latter, I suggest 'King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown,' Lee Perry's 'Super Ape,' and 'Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires.'
posted by box at 10:44 AM on January 2, 2016
For the former, Ras Michael's 'Nyabinghi' or Count Ossie's 'Grounation' are the standard starting points.
For the latter, I suggest 'King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown,' Lee Perry's 'Super Ape,' and 'Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires.'
posted by box at 10:44 AM on January 2, 2016
Also, reggae = versions.
You need a riddim album. I suggest either 'Tree of Satta' or, if you want to get some proto-dancehall while you're at it, 'Original Stalag 17, 18 and 19.'
posted by box at 10:50 AM on January 2, 2016
You need a riddim album. I suggest either 'Tree of Satta' or, if you want to get some proto-dancehall while you're at it, 'Original Stalag 17, 18 and 19.'
posted by box at 10:50 AM on January 2, 2016
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i think the big album of the year for rap (12) that crosses over a little into jazz (3) is kendrick lamar's to pimp a butterfly. that should probably be on your list somewhere, even though i am not a fan. it seemed to be generally recognised as both good and pushing boundaries.
(personally, my favourite jazz album this year may have actually been released at the end of 2014, and was marcin wasilewski's spark of life, but that is "very ECM" so may be too easy-listening for some tastes.)
posted by andrewcooke at 5:26 AM on December 31, 2015