let's see..
Been on a Magma kick again lately and that's gonna branch out into my other more 'different' prog I have like Island. I wish there were some Magma remasters with nice booklets, the only CD copies seem to be the first Seventh Records printings, from back in 1993. Magma is sort of like King Crimson mixed with John Coltrane mixed with Klingon opera (and oddly enough, that's not the lone Trek reference this post will have).
Bought 'Dandelion Gum' by Black Moth Super Rainbow from AQ and aside from the lame packaging I've been very much getting into the album. It literally sounds like drugs, candy, summer, and trees, but without being strictly gimmick. It's hard to explain.. you'll either catch the vibe or you won't. The songs are short and yet feel very completed and full of feeling, and the album seems to flow just how it should, without being too short. I also love all the old crazy analog keyboard and programming equipment used on it.
Used my Christmas Best Buy gift card to get Arcade Fire - Neon Bible and William Shatner - Has Been... I had only heard one song off the later and decided to be adventerous.. pretty good stuff... I can hear more potential than what is there, but there is a lot of good stuff there. Sort of indie rock mixed with chamber music mixed with American folk-rock..sort of. The male vocals are irritating on one or two songs and I wish there were some more extended instrumentals, but I highly enjoy most of the songs on there now.
The William Shatner album is also very good...it does contain the joking quality one would expect in a few songs, but also has some very serious ones, there is a lot of balance in mood and style on the album. It's very diverse in ways, but usually stays within the realm of hipster rock yet without the usual pretentiousness (because it's the Shat..any pretentiousness is goodness in that context). I hate Ben Folds and yet I enjoyed his production and writing on this album. Henry Rollins is on one song and it's slightly epic.