~ sun ra- mystical shaman of jazz. interplanetary visionary. astral wanderer. add this repertoire to your collection, and watch all your other records run and hide. these are sounds beyond words, beyond borders, beyond reality. witnessing extra-terrestrial life makes one feel insignificant, and after listening to 'altantis', i feel like a molecule in a speck of dust.
~ if you really listen you will notice an extremely emotional essence eminating from the speakers when low is playing. they play very soft and quiet music, but its not always gentle. its slo core like a japanese film in that the action is drawn out to extents, leaving the purpose to be the beauty of what's in between. it's not frilly quiet music to play for your grandmother, but quiet music for when your loud, aggro, angst ridden rock is not enough.
~ tortoise is just what i was looking for when i found it. something with a groove, but not obnoxiously funky. something with electricity, but not without soul. something with an intelligent, modern sound. something that could blend it all together using each of these styles as seperate instruments of jazz. tortoise pulls just this off perfectly. it's because of the few talented bands like tortoise that i have a newfound interest in modern music.
~ biddy biddy beng, biddy bong bong. translated: i am eek-a-mouse, and you are about to get a dollop of freshie ital reggae dancehall from a master. eek-a-mouse is 100% u-neek, but is keeping reggae alive.
~ definitely the best live jam band experience out there right now. i was fortunate enough to see some grateful dead shows before jerry died, and i can honestly say that string cheese is the band that is carrying the torch. not that the music is the same, but their shows are the only ones that posess the same magical energy. i actually prefer the string cheese experience over the dead. all comparisons beside, they are an excellent band, and can rip bluegrass, space jazz, and rock&roll, often all in the same song.
~ i know you must be wondering how fleetwood mac found its way onto my list, but let me tell you this: before stevie nicks, before the 70's, before "rhiannon", they were an absolutely superb blues band. i really wish they would have just kept playing music like i found on "then play on", but i guess cocaine and disco can really cloud the mind. at least we can still buy the albums, and wonder what might have been...