Whats playing on your system today?

A buddy of mine gave me a CD of an album called Re-Inventions: Best of the Vanguard Years by Sandy Bull. My friend said it was he was one of the first 'World Music' artists. Just amazing music. I listened to the first track, "Blend" and immediately thought of The Doors "The End."

There was a track on it called Carmina Burana Fantasy that had a familiar melody. That led to a whole afternoon listening to Carl Orff's Carmine Burana by the LSO, among others. 

So Sandy Bull stays on the rotation for awhile. 

Right now, Massive Attack's Mezzanine. I needed the groove.

But @ghosthouse planted the Jean Luc Ponty seed so I'll queue up Tidal's Enigmatic Oceans next.

And @nutty had to mention Steely Dan and I thought it's been a couple weeks since that awful voice and amazing music came through my speakers so maybe Fagen's The Nightfly will suffice.

My Roon/HQPlayer/Tidal hookup hiccuped and my queue went away as track and track attempted to play and disappeared. Had to Force Quit Roon and restart the MacMini. I took this to mean the audio gods felt that Steely Dan had been played enough on my system. (It is also atypical for my setup; Roon w/ Tidal are consistently reliable players for me. But HQPlayer upsampling to DSD can use alot - ALOT! - of CPU resources.)

So I listened to Steve Gunn’s Time Off and the few tracks from his new album via Tidal, an EP called Ancient Jules. Under-acclaimed guitarist-songwriter in my opinion.

@ghosthouse I found Don "Sugarcane" Harris on Tidal but most of his work is embargoed for me here in USA. Thank goodness for YouTube and the HDMI output of my MacMini so I was able to listen to "Liz Pineapple Wonderful", "Sugarcane’s Got The Blues", "Song For My Father", and some others whose names fell off the screen. Wow. Time to research acquiring my own copies of his music. At certain moments, I had this weird expectation the song would transition into "Orange Blossom Special" but that’s just me conceptualizing the unfamiliar into the familiar. Thanks for the heads up on this artist.

@ghosthouse I have to followup and say that Don "Sugarcane" Harris' version of Eleanor Rigby simply rocks it. Tidal has his "Essential Blues Masters" album and I forgot it was still in my Roon queue. There are songs that simply deserve to not be any shorter than 11:52. His Eleanor Rigby is one. Thanks again.

I've been reripping my CD library. Yesterday I finished the Ms. I ran across a CD called Soul's Core by Shawn Mullins. Didn't remember buying it. (Remembering how, when, and why I buy music is a not insignificant part of the listening experience. For me.)  So I listened to the album with Roon and enjoyed it. Okay. Maybe pretty good in parts.

He covered Kristofferson's Sunday Morning Comin' Down and I enjoyed that song so much I dived into Tidal to hear the original and other covers. Then I left it on random and heard "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and remembered Sammi Smith's version of that song, how she turned it around. So I found that version and...

I can't wait for the opportunity to play that song for my girlfriend. I'm just saying....

Today. it's the Cocteau Twins queued up in Roon...

Heaven or Las Vegas (1990)
Treasure (1984)
Head Over Heels (1983)

This is a discovery project. For the last year Roon and Tidal have been reporting that the Cocteau Twins are similar to artists I've listened to. 

So far, I've heard similarities: The Sundays, Dead Can Dance, The Cure, Kate Bush, Everything But The Girl. I like what I'm hearing... 

...so I'll keep listening until I veer off in another direction. 

I just renewed my Roon subscription for another year. Roon and Tidal are either the best thing that's ever happened to my music listening or negatively impacting my already too short attention span. 

Watched "At Close Range" last night. Got an earworm from the soundtrack.

Listening to Madonna's True Blue now. 

Listening inspired by AK and JAF. :)

Shopping for the rusty box set...

Found this on Tidal:

The Complete Bill Evans On Verve

18 CDs, 21 Hours.

Looks like my January listening plans are all set. 

Wonderful stuff. 

@jafant 

Pat Metheny a long, long time favorite. Have his vinyl from the 70s, purchased during my first brush with Hifi.  

ECM, his label, embargoes the US on streaming via Tidal. This has forced me to buy his later recordings. Sonsab@&$hes.   :)

The soundtrack from the new motion picture "Motherless Brooklyn" via Tidal. 

Evocative, noirish. 

(I love soundtrack music.)