What's your favourite headphone music?

[MrB (Simon)]

This thread got me wondering how many people still listen to music with good quality headphones.. the big ugly 1980's style ear-muff sized ones, not the crappy ipod/walkman style inserts. There are things in music that you just can't hear without headphones.

About two decades ago, a Perth radio station(96FM) had a weekly programme called 'Especially For Headphones' hosted by Bob Stewart, which dared play all sorts of unusual material like the Alan Parsons Project and Jean Michel Jarre, Rick Wakeman and a whole pile of other stuff I've since forgotten.

I still lay there some nights on the bed in a semi-sleep state with the headphones on, very calming and relaxing, but I have to provide my own material.

Not all music is good thru headphones, but off the top of my head can think of:
Tubular Bells(original 70's)
allways listening to the Massive Attack albums (they love playing with strange sounds and stereo imaging)
some of the quieter Chemical Brothers stuff
a couple of tracks from Tool, Dire Straits, Moby, Sneaker Pimps, Aphex Twin.
some Björk tracks, Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx
etc....
Usually the tracks that at first, you don't like, but grow on you and become favourites.

But about 90% of the time I'm listening to Massive Attack, So in an attempt to broaden my catalogue.... what is your favourite headphone music?

[bindibadgi]

I've got some nice big Beyerdynamic DT-990s being pumped through an old NAD amplifier at home, and I just love anything by Yes. I just zone out when Starship Trooper comes on.

I agree on the Mike Oldfield as well. Other than that, Jethro Tull, Camel, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen and strangely Kate Bush are on my list. Many others too, but they are usually great with the phones.

[Dog Star (Phil)]

Try anything by The Orb. Ozric Tentacles aren't bad either.

[Ric]

I have a lovely set of stereo headphones from 1978 in fashionable burnt orange and they still kick out a brilliant sound with the vinyl.

My favourite albums would be "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Space Ritual"

Cheers

[reddiablo (Andrew)]

It's strange but I love to listen to vinyl on headphones.

24carat Purple-Deep Purple
LA Woman-The Doors [It sounds better than the DVD-Audio version I have]
Rolled Gold- The Rolling Stones
The Who- Well.....
Kiss Dynasty
Live after Death-Iron Maiden

Looking at that list it may have something to do with the fact my wife hates these albums

Dark Side of the Moon on SACD is awesome through the 5.1 amp subbys and speakers though!

[duncan]

Definately Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon.

[MrB (Simon)]

Cheers for the feedback, got some downloading to do
Keep 'em coming...

[Dog Star (Phil)]

G'day Ric
Aaahhh, Space Ritual! Nice to know someone else out there likes this psychedelic proto punk mind twist. A truly classic album from a truly classic band. (Hawkwind, for the non-initiated) Hard to believe that the buggers are still going too! Who said drugs were bad for you?

[Suzy_A]

Originally Posted by MrB

About two decades ago, a Perth radio station(96FM) had a weekly programme called 'Especially For Headphones'...

Argh! Them wuz the daze!

96FM was the ONLY station worth listening to! I use to listen to their '96 hours of four-play' - three days solid of nothing but four back-to-back tracks. Or they'd play complete David Bowie or Dire Straits concerts from start to finish. You'd go to a party and nobody would bother with any LPs or tapes as you would just turn on 96FM!

I was amazed when I went to Melbourne and discovered that all the stations there were absolute crap!

Then I went to Europe for a few years (usual thing a girl does after uni) and when I came back, it was '96FM Rocks no more...' as they had been bought by someone that thought they could make more money by not playing music.

Now I listen to classicFM... At least they don't have 15 minutes of ads followed by 30 seconds of trash music with some idiot talker all the way over it....

Unfortunately, these daze people are into quantity, not quality. "Hey! My new iPog can hold 50,000,000 songs on it (when compressed it to a 1kbs stream...)"

[gman (Grant)]

Mine would have to be

Pink Floyd - Animals , The Wall & Dark Side of the Moon
Enigma - The Cross of Changes
Jean Michael Jarre - Oxygene
Endreas Vollenweider - The White Winds

[MrB (Simon)]

Originally Posted by Suzy_A

Argh! Them wuz the daze!

96FM was the ONLY station worth listening to! I use to listen to their '96 hours of four-play' - three days solid of nothing but four back-to-back tracks. Or they'd play complete David Bowie or Dire Straits concerts from start to finish. You'd go to a party and nobody would bother with any LPs or tapes as you would just turn on 96FM!
<snipo>

Spot on! They also used to do simulcasts on Fri (or Sat?) nights with channel 7(I think..), One of the best I remember was Pink Floyd's The Wall movie on the telly and 96FM broadcasting the audio.... ahhh memories.

Ch2's Rage used to be simulcast on JJJ, not quite the same, but sadly those days are over too

[spikeface (Peter)]

hi mrB!

you've just found my favourite topic! great music! which of course, is ALWAYS best enjoyed with good headphones... i myself have some sennheiser HD555's... awesome sound. even if i do look a little ridiculous...

if you're really keen on more music with outstanding production, listen to 'year zero' and 'the fragile' by nine inch nails. there's an australian artist called Gotye whose album 'like drawing blood' is very well produced...

here are some others...

bjork - homogenic
radiohead - in rainbows (produced by english producer and all round sound wizz Nigel Godrich...all his work is immaculate)

if you'd like something heavier... 10 000 days by TOOL, or watershed by OPETH.

and if you're feeling REALLY adventurous, find "Delirium Cordia" by Fantomas... it's like a medically themed horror movie, but as one 70 minute track of weirdness... sonically fascinating! this description sounds lame... but don't dismiss this release simply due to my inability to describe it's awesomeness to you!

phew! i gots more if you needs it!

[Ric]

Originally Posted by Dog Star

G'day Ric
Aaahhh, Space Ritual! Nice to know someone else out there likes this psychedelic proto punk mind twist. A truly classic album from a truly classic band. (Hawkwind, for the non-initiated) Hard to believe that the buggers are still going too! Who said drugs were bad for you?

Onya Phil , I was wondering if anyone would pick up on that. A classic band, I have a lot of their early stuff on vinyl. A good one to deter the door knockers on a Sunday morning is "In Search of Space" they hear that and they are not quite sure what to do.

Didn't realise they were still going as well.

[MrB (Simon)]

Originally Posted by spikeface

hi mrB!

you've just found my favourite topic! great music! which of course, is ALWAYS best enjoyed with good headphones... i myself have some sennheiser HD555's... awesome sound. even if i do look a little ridiculous...

if you're really keen on more music with outstanding production, listen to 'year zero' and 'the fragile' by nine inch nails. there's an australian artist called Gotye whose album 'like drawing blood' is very well produced...

here are some others...

bjork - homogenic
radiohead - in rainbows (produced by english producer and all round sound wizz Nigel Godrich...all his work is immaculate)

if you'd like something heavier... 10 000 days by TOOL, or watershed by OPETH.

and if you're feeling REALLY adventurous, find "Delirium Cordia" by Fantomas... it's like a medically themed horror movie, but as one 70 minute track of weirdness... sonically fascinating! this description sounds lame... but don't dismiss this release simply due to my inability to describe it's awesomeness to you!

phew! i gots more if you needs it!

Hi spike, thanks for the tips,
TOOL and Björk I had already mentioned, but forgot about Radiohead, cheers.
Gotye... I've heard that name before... probably on JJJ, will search for it.
Fantomas, I went to their concert, brilliant but haven't forked out for the album yet! (You may have made the connection with my handle? MrB?)
Always open to more suggestions.

Also have Sennheiser 'phones, seem to be low on Bass, but otherwise crisp and razor sharp... still looking for perfection though.

Couple of others that I just remembered; some of the later Faith No More tracks are great thru headphones, also the last two MrBungle albums and a couple of Tomahawk tracks.
And one I almost forgot, The Cars, haven't heard anything of theirs for some time, was a fan years ago, will have to rediscover them.