Ask post: Spacey guitar music recommendations

I dig a lot of the same stuff being metioned on this thread, and I had a similar experience hearing some pleasant stuff playing in a bookstore recently: when I asked the clerk what was playing he said the artist was "Emeralds." (Or maybe it was "Emerald" or even "Emeril!").

I haven't yielded any results looking up any of those, but maybe if that band does exist, they could be what you're looking for as well (or just up your alley).
posted to Ask Metafilter by SmileyChewtrain at 5:49 AM on September 18, 2007

A lot of my favorite non-drum ambient guitar stuff has already been mentioned here, but you should check out Valium Aggelein; they were a side project of the band Duster, and only put out one EP in 1998 that was fairly well passed over (I don't think it's even on Allmusic, but mp3's are pretty easy to find on the the internet).

They've got drums and even occasional lyrics but it's one of the spaciest, sleepiest, most addicting albums I own and repeatedly bring out.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by SmileyChewtrain at 5:56 AM on September 18, 2007

Oh, and on the less-ambient-more-rock side, check out "Yume Bitsu," who were on K Records in the early 2000's. Lots of loopy delay pedal space rock, but with a big big post-rock sound; lots of buildups and crescendos. Similar to other stuff mentioned in this thread (like Spacemen 3, or even Galaxie 500), but not as close to what you're describing as some others. Still, you might enjoy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by SmileyChewtrain at 6:05 AM on September 18, 2007

Oh, and one more thing in mention of Valium Aggelein: My sophomore year of college I fell asleep every night listening to one of two albums- Aphex Twin's selected ambient works vol 2, or Valium Aggelein's Hier Kommt der Schwartze Mond.

So I guess you could say they're very similar in mood, while not necessarily in arrangement.
posted to Ask Metafilter by SmileyChewtrain at 6:08 AM on September 18, 2007 marked best answer

Ask post: Looking for good mystery novels/films centered around missing persons.

These are all excellent suggestions! I am excited to get to work enjoying and then dissecting each one.

Dobbs - you are right, Chinatown isn't really a "Missing Person" story; I had thought of it as an example in a slightly different context and then re-worded without changing it. A better example might be something like underrated (for understandable reasons... but underrated nonetheless) "Angel Heart," which has that bizarre shift from picayune to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by SmileyChewtrain at 10:10 PM on March 11, 2007

I am off to the bookstore to do some homework. Thanks again, everyone!

SoftRain - I do have a fondness for Angel Heart, though it definitely has some unavoidable flaws (most notably of which is the cheesy last moment of the film). It very thoroughly constructs a believable world which seems perched right on the edge of hell - down to the sweat and grime, the apocalyptic apathy, and the decaying of every little object in the ridiculously meticulous production design. I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by SmileyChewtrain at 7:30 AM on March 12, 2007

Ask post: The hunter should probably give credit where credit is due

can anybody think of another word/term as widely used that was first coined in a movie?

Not from a movie, but: "d'oh."

Though I suppose calling that a word or phrase is stretching it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by SmileyChewtrain at 6:15 AM on August 18, 2006 marked best answer

Ask post: Smoking in the bath tub?

Man, I haven't smoked in years but just the idea of smoking in a bath makes me want to do it so bad... damn.

Oh, and in Fosse's "All That Jazz" he has Roy Scheider smoking a cigarette while in the shower - it's awesome.
posted to Ask Metafilter by SmileyChewtrain at 2:55 PM on March 17, 2006