Music I Liked in 2018 Week 3

I got sidetracked from researching the music of Terrorfest last week, mostly because I was trying to decide which concert to attend in February to fulfill my resolution. So I still got to listen to some pretty good music.

The Cranberries

Early in the week, I was saddened to hear about the death of Dolores O-Riordan, lead singer of the Cranberries. Their debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? was my soundtrack for 1993. I didn’t really stick with the band on later releases, but 25 years later (gasp) I still remember every word on that album. Between KEXP and my own library, it got quite a few plays last week.

Then I tried to decide which concert to attend in February.

Corrosion of Conformity

Corrosion of Conformity is opening for Black Label Society at Showbox on February 19, with my preferred line-up. I saw them at Moe’s in my wasted youth, and it was one of those shows that leave a person permanently changed. A couple of their albums helped construct my inner landscape. I haven’t followed their reconstitution very closely, and I’m almost afraid to spoil the memory. But they still sound pretty damn good.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is playing Showbox February 20. It would make a wonderful late Valentine’s Day show. They are one of my husband’s favorite bands, and they’re playing in the background of most of my memories of the last 15 years.

Septic Flesh

Septic Flesh is playing Studio Seven with Dark Funeral on February 27. Truth be told, I’ve listened to Septic Flesh more in the past couple years than the other two bands. Although I felt like it was a little too long, their last album was really good, and I know they would put on a good show.

Aargh. I can’t decide.

Mozart

I am a huge fan of opera, but I rarely listen to recordings. The sound quality is usually bad, the recitativo is annoying outside of the context of performance, and without the spectacle of the full performance, I have a hard time getting lost in most of the music. The exception is right after I’ve seen a performance, I always want to revisit it for a few days. I listen for reference while I blog about it, and replay my favorite arias to remember what I liked about them. This month I saw Cosi fan Tutte at Seattle Opera, and I listened to it a couple times at home later. It really is some of the most beautiful music in opera. I even love the tenor.