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beardo · « **Reply #240 on:** October 18, 2015, 01:41:13 PM »

Why is this man so great?

beardo · « **Reply #241 on:** October 18, 2015, 01:47:51 PM »

Foxbox · « **Reply #242 on:** October 19, 2015, 12:40:43 AM »

markjo · « **Reply #243 on:** October 23, 2015, 03:57:31 AM »

xasop · « **Reply #244 on:** December 02, 2015, 02:18:47 PM »

I just got done listening to Boudewijn de Groot's first two studio albums, Boudewijn de Groot and Voor de Overlevenden. Being folk rock straight out of the mid-1960s, it's very similar in style to a lot of American and English bands from that era, although the lyrics are entirely in the Dutch language. I'm familiarising myself with Dutch language material in the hope of improving my Dutch prior to moving to Amsterdam.

I can't understand enough of the words yet to know what the music is about, with the exception of the translated English songs, such as "Het Geluid van Stilte" ("The Sound of Silence"). However, I have been picking up on random words I know throughout each song, sometimes enough to piece together a snippet of meaning somewhere.

Musically, it isn't especially interesting, although it's not bad. I probably wouldn't be listening to this by choice if it were in English, but it does have the appeal of using a lot of basic Dutch words, so it should be easy to gain an understanding of these lyrics fairly soon.

lolwut? · « **Reply #245 on:** December 02, 2015, 04:17:52 PM »

I listened to Jeeper's Jumbo today and it sucked.

xasop · « **Reply #246 on:** December 03, 2015, 02:41:52 PM »

Today I listened to Picknick, another Dutch language album by Boudewijn de Groot. This one, from 1968, is very heavily inspired by the success of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper. In addition to the psychedelic influence, though, there's a lot more stylistic variety than on his prior albums, including a timid foray into the world of jazz on side B.

There are lots of nice tracks here, and this will definitely bear repeated listening in the future, hopefully as I improve my understanding of Dutch so I can figure out what the fuck it's about.

xasop · « **Reply #247 on:** December 04, 2015, 06:29:36 PM »

Boudewijn de Groot - Nacht en Ontij (1969)

If Picknick was Boudewijn's Sgt. Pepper, this is his Thick as a Brick. While not quite as masterfully crafted as that record, there does seem to be some kind of fantasy narrative here, and I'm sure I'll gain a greater understanding of what it is as my Dutch improves.

Most of this album is taken up by the 25-minute epic "Heksensabbath", which actually consists of lots of fairly short parts, some with very little musical content. At times, it's just Boudewijn delivering a monologue to the sound of a thunderstorm or a beating drum. At others, multiple clashing melodies are mixed together in odd ways. Wikipedia says this album was inspired by an LSD trip, and I'm inclined to believe that.

The other tracks are "Babylon", which started the album on the original vinyl, and "Wie Kan Me Nog Vertellen"/"Aeneas Nu", which made up a separate single back in 1969 and were grafted onto the start of this album for the CD release. They're all enjoyable, but nothing to write home about.

The one thing all of these pieces have in common is that they are significantly darker than de Groot's previous work. It seems like he was making a conscious effort to leave behind the hippy image he had crafted for himself with his popular protest song "Welterusten Mijnheer de President" and Picknick, and create something more musically serious. In any case, I'm rapidly learning that Boudewijn is not a one-trick pony as his debut album would suggest, and that each new album contains new surprises. I'm looking forward to his '70s work.

rooster · « **Reply #248 on:** December 04, 2015, 06:37:37 PM »

I love these people.

xasop · « **Reply #249 on:** December 05, 2015, 09:16:48 PM »

Boudewijn de Groot - Hoe Sterk is de Eenzame Fietser (1973)

Appropriately entitled "How Strong is the Lonesome Cyclist", this is a fantastic collection of Dutch pop rock songs that I could easily see becoming a favourite of mine. It's a little slow to start, but the second half is just full of catchy beats and melodies, with lyrics that I can even come close to understanding some of the time.

This is also Boudewijn's first record to make guitar solos (and, in the case of the last track, a violin solo) a prominent feature, firmly cementing its place as a '70s dadrock classic. I suspect this would have been a hit in more places around the world if the lyrics were in English, but I'm not complaining -- it's nice to have such listenable material to familiarise myself with Dutch.

xasop · « **Reply #250 on:** December 06, 2015, 01:26:10 AM »

Boudewijn de Groot - Waar Ik Woon en Wie Ik Ben (1975)

This album, bookended by two songs titled "Waar Ik Woon" ("Where I Live") and "Wie Ik Ben" ("Who I Am"), appears (as far as my limited grasp of Dutch will allow me to infer) to be an autobiographical concept album. The instrumentation is somewhat different from his previous works, with piano and organ playing a substantially greater part, although much of the middle section (starting with the almost Lennon-esque "Moeder") is just Boudewijn singing and playing guitar.

The construction of songs is also more interesting on this album, however, with less repetitive structure (his early albums have a lot of verse/chorus/verse/chorus going on), which enabled me to appreciate it even though it's quite obviously rich in lyrical detail that I can't yet absorb. Definitely another one to come back to, methinks.

Fletcher · « **Reply #251 on:** December 06, 2015, 12:52:50 PM »

Grew up with this

xasop · « **Reply #252 on:** December 06, 2015, 06:53:32 PM »

Quote from: Fletcher on December 06, 2015, 12:52:50 PM

Grew up with this

Spreek jij Nederlands? Ik spreek enkele Nederlands, maar ik zijn muziek leuk vind.

(I probably made a few mistakes in that, but it's good practice.

)

lolwut? · « **Reply #253 on:** December 06, 2015, 10:12:12 PM »

Quote from: Parsifal on December 06, 2015, 06:53:32 PM

Quote from: Fletcher on December 06, 2015, 12:52:50 PM
Grew up with this

Spreek jij Nederlands? Ik spreek enkele Nederlands, maar ik zijn muziek leuk vind.

This is very poor Spanish Pardisfla. Also, I re-listened to Jeepers Jumbo and it's growing on me.

Fletcher · « **Reply #254 on:** December 07, 2015, 04:17:58 PM »

Quote from: Parsifal on December 06, 2015, 06:53:32 PM

Quote from: Fletcher on December 06, 2015, 12:52:50 PM
Grew up with this

Spreek jij Nederlands? Ik spreek enkele Nederlands, maar ik zijn muziek leuk vind.

(I probably made a few mistakes in that, but it's good practice. )

I do. Good effort. Keep practicing.

just making fun

Sent from my SM-P601 using Tapatalk

Jura-Glenlivet · « **Reply #255 on:** December 07, 2015, 08:34:43 PM »

@ Foxy, loved the Portishead.

xasop · « **Reply #256 on:** December 08, 2015, 12:46:19 PM »

Boudewijn de Groot - Van Een Afstand (1980)
Boudewijn de Groot - Maalstroom (1984)

I enjoyed these less than his earlier albums; they had some good songs, but seemed overall less consistent. It seems to be a trend that a lot of artists popular in the '60s and '70s got markedly worse into the '80s, regardless of country of origin. I'm not sure why.

That said, they're not bad albums, just more enjoyable as background music than anything else. I probably won't listen to these very often, since I'm more interested in Dutch language material that does hold my interest so I can listen to the words, but I'll be giving them a second go at some point.

lolwut? · « **Reply #257 on:** December 08, 2015, 05:26:42 PM »

Listening to The Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd for the billionth time and it still kicks fuckin ass.

Ghost Spaghetti · « **Reply #258 on:** December 11, 2015, 07:45:47 PM »

It's alright, Ma (I'm only bleeding) - Bob Dylan

xasop · « **Reply #259 on:** December 11, 2015, 08:02:35 PM »

Boudewijn de Groot - Een Nieuwe Herfst (1996)

Pretty much the same deal as his '80s stuff. Some good songs, but overall not nearly as good as his earlier albums.