A bit over a week ago, I posted share a link to a happy song and it seemed like fun, so how about we play again?

The “iron chef” ingredient this time is that it should be a cover song with an unusual instrument. (How you interpret that is up to you.)

Ground rules:

• One song per comment, so we can vote for them individually.
• One top-level comment per user, so pick your favorite song.
• If you want to post more than one song, reply to yourself to add more comments.

I'm curious to know what music is out there that:

• is explicitly about the world's current COVID-related situations, or
• had its recording/production significantly influenced by those situations.

Examples of the former would be Koffee's "Lockdown" or Chromeo's Quarantine Casanova, which have their influences right there on the label.

An example of the latter would be Charli XCX's How I'm Feeling Now (mildly NSFW album art), which was created in self-isolation while collaborating over Zoom with producers and fans.

I'm interested in seeing what's out there, not necessarily getting specific recommendations for music, so you don't have to consider anything you post an endorsement.

Two parts to this topic:

• What music have you grown out of? (This is music you used to love but that you now find it very hard to enjoy)

• What, if anything, caused/spurred the separation?

• What music has remained resonant throughout the years? (This is music that still speaks to you like it did when you first listened to it, years or even decades earlier).

• What do you think gives it such staying power?

"Music" can refer to specific songs, albums, artists, labels, genres, etc. -- whatever best fits the questions and your musical preferences.

Here's a couple of examples of what I mean from The Voidz' 2014 album Tyranny:
Father Electricity
Take Me In Your Army

Mainly looking for electronic and rock, but any genre from any century is welcome.

What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as well, we'd love to see your hauls :)

Feel free to give recs or discuss anything about each others' listening habits.

You can make a chart if you use last.fm:

http://www.tapmusic.net/lastfm/

Remember that linking directly to your image will update with your future listening, make sure to reupload to somewhere like imgur if you'd like it to remain what you have at the time of posting.

This is not so much an ask thread as it is a task one. The idea is simple: for any/all of the categories below, identify music from your library or experiences that fits the bill, and explain a bit about why.

You can choose any from the list, or do all if you like, but please do NOT just list items with no explanation! Your thoughts are the exciting parts of this exercise, not just the music itself, so please share!

For the purposes of this inventory, "music" can refer to a specific lyric, a song, an album, an artist, or even a concert or event -- really anything that you think fits the bill. If you want to go into multiples per category, that's fine too -- just remember to explain them!

Inventory Items

Tell me about music that:

• Is an instant mood lift
• Is emotionally devastating
• You've cried to
• Reminds you of someone you love
• Reminds you of someone you used to love
• Brings you back to a specific memorable moment/time in your life
• Helps you relax
• Amps you up
• Makes you feel safe
• Could put you to sleep (in a good way)
• Makes you feel like you're on an adventure
• Reminds you that there is beauty in this world
• Impresses you
• Makes you smile
• Makes you laugh

You don't have to do all of them -- only the ones you feel strongly about or that have interesting stories behind them. Also, feel free to add on new categories in the comments that people can also respond to.

What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as well, we'd love to see your hauls :)

Feel free to give recs or discuss anything about each others' listening habits.

You can make a chart if you use last.fm:

http://www.tapmusic.net/lastfm/

Remember that linking directly to your image will update with your future listening, make sure to reupload to somewhere like imgur if you'd like it to remain what you have at the time of posting.

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/post-human-survival-horror/1535067172
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0e1WaSNDZnoPixaxDNdWo4
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Pp4IGPebg&list=PLxA687tYuMWjFSs5uzLYbGrdHRm0srHQ0

Metalcore Bring Me the Horizon is back, baby. Awoouu (wolf Howl)

Back in 2013, Bring Me the Horizon was arguably the biggest band in metalcore. Their release that year, Sempiternal, propelled them to international stardom and mainstream success. After this, guitarist Jona Weinhofen left the band and instead of adding another guitarist, the group added a keyboardist instead. The change up in sound was very noticeable, while the band found incredible commercial success and curried the favor of some pop critics, many rock and roll fans felt a little left out in the cold by a typical change in sound by a heavy band following commercial success.

After a pair of albums and an EP in their more electronic, pop centered sound, Bring Me the Horizon have returned to that signature Sempiternal sound with POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR. The crushing guitars come roaring back on this release and Oli Sykes, one of the best unclean vocalists in the game, finally returns to his growls and guttural pit calls. While there's still a lot of electronica in here, this seems to augment the sound, like in Sempiternal, rather than guide it. The only problem with this release is that it's too short. But luckily, SURVIVAL HORROR is just the first of a planned four EP set, with the other three coming over the course of 2021.

The EP also features a lot of great, well, features. Standouts include BABYMETAL on Kingslayer bringing a late era Poppy vibe to the disk and Amy Lee's haunting appearance on the album closer.

For fans of Bad Omens, Architects and Crossfaith.