Anyone remember the old trance track "Universal Nation" by Push? It came on when I was switching back and forth between my AT-M50s and some other headphones I was testing, and while it helped renew my appreciation for my M50s, I noticed how good the song sounded in-general. I have been listening to a lot of older tracks, some hold up really well, some don't, but they are mostly a stark contrast to how music is often (over)produced today. Perhaps because I grew up in the heyday of electronic music... I like to seek out old singles that I could never find back then and play fantasy DJ.
I digress...
Dub seems to be really in right now, so for those interested, the instrumetal half of Pinch - Underwater Dancehall is just plain fun on both my systems. The track "One of Us" by Kryptic Minds is absolutely epic... I actually really like dub minimal too, but dubstep is pretty fun. I know less about dubstep actually... I guess I started with tech minimal, then dub minimal, and eventually began to dig dubstep too.
The Horrors new record Skying sounds great... its production really lends it well with headphones for anyone that likes a good, as well interesting, rock record.
I was listening to a lot of Power Noise and also EBM, obviously vastly different genres, but similar in that it is getting much harder to find new examples of either that are worth listening to. A few good records out there from the last few years but not that many. I like to use these kinds of genres to test headphones because they can easily cause fatigue over minor SQ issues.
Almost anything by Autechre (I dig pretty much all their work up through "Confield", After that, it becomes more of an endurance test) They can, and do, drop my jaw with the right system/cans. IDM/Glitch lovers should snag "Clicks n Cuts" Vol. 1-4. I am not usually a fan of IDM comps, usually because it is so hard to encapsulate the genre, but there is a HUGE amount of sonically interesting material here.
If you like dance music and are looking for some really decent modern mix records, the last two in the "Balance" series have been stellar: Nick Warren for #18 and Henry Saiz for #19 (Balance:Henry Saiz is probably one of the best mix albums in a few years) I just rediscovered "Painting on Silence" by Parks & Wilson. It's unique in that it's 4/4 dance but interestingly slow. Chugging along with an interesting track list, the two discs are about one of the better examples of proggy dance mixing right before everything went automatic in studios and on laptops.
Any of the live Songs: Ohia records are stellar, as well the live Justin Molina record "Pyramid Electric Co". I could list 1000 good rock records new and old, but I always thought that Krautrock sounded really good on headphones. I don't know if it was being done on purpose, but even closed headphones sound massively open with certain krautrock albums.
It is hard to whiddle the list down, so I guess this is my interests, well, today... tomorrow might be cavernously different, I suppose.
