OT: New Music?

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:14 pm

Good point Pk. I guess it's easy enough to go by cd recommendations and check it out on ITunes.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:15 pm

sportdan30 wrote:I didn't want to create a separate thread, but I'm interested in adding new music to my mp3 player. However, here's my dilema. I generally only like a few songs from a band or singer. Thus, I have a lot of singles on my Ipod.

So, as an idea of keeping this thread alive, can some of you suggest your favorite singles from bands you enjoy listening to?

I should preface by saying I don't necessarily have a favorite genre, but have never really gotten in to rap or heavy metal. Other than that, I'll listen to anything.

Thanks.

SD, here are 15 recent songs on my iPod I would recommend. I think they fit your criteria:

Bloc Party, "Helicopter"
The Decemberists, "Sixteen Military Wives"
Devin Davis, "Iron Woman"
Drive By Truckers, "The Day John Henry Died"
Guided By Voices, "Glad Girls" (one of my top 5 bands)
Interpol, "PDA"
Iron & Wine, "Naked as We Came" (a real "it's getting dusty in here" bittersweet song)
The Killers, "Mr. Brightside"
My Morning Jacket, "Gideon"
The New Pornographers, "Use It"
The Postal Service, "Such Great Heights"
Sigur Ros, "Svefn-G-Englar" (maybe the most beautiful song of the last 10 years)
Stars, "Ageless Beauty"
Ted Leo and Pharmacists, "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone"
The Wrens, "Happy"

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:22 pm

Brando70 wrote:
sportdan30 wrote:I didn't want to create a separate thread, but I'm interested in adding new music to my mp3 player. However, here's my dilema. I generally only like a few songs from a band or singer. Thus, I have a lot of singles on my Ipod.

So, as an idea of keeping this thread alive, can some of you suggest your favorite singles from bands you enjoy listening to?

I should preface by saying I don't necessarily have a favorite genre, but have never really gotten in to rap or heavy metal. Other than that, I'll listen to anything.

Thanks.
SD, here are 15 recent songs on my iPod I would recommend. I think they fit your criteria:

Bloc Party, "Helicopter"
The Decemberists, "Sixteen Military Wives"
Devin Davis, "Iron Woman"
Drive By Truckers, "The Day John Henry Died"
Guided By Voices, "Glad Girls" (one of my top 5 bands)
Interpol, "PDA"
Iron & Wine, "Naked as We Came" (a real "it's getting dusty in here" bittersweet song)
The Killers, "Mr. Brightside"
My Morning Jacket, "Gideon"
The New Pornographers, "Use It"
The Postal Service, "Such Great Heights"
Sigur Ros, "Svefn-G-Englar" (maybe the most beautiful song of the last 10 years)
Stars, "Ageless Beauty"
Ted Leo and Pharmacists, "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone"
The Wrens, "Happy"

Thanks Brando. I've already got Mr. Brightside on the Ipod. Good song.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:24 pm

sportdan30 wrote:Good point Pk. I guess it's easy enough to go by cd recommendations and check it out on ITunes.

Well, that's not what I mean by "obtaining" music, but if that works for you ...

Take care,
PK

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:25 pm

Spooky wrote:I've been dabbling in some Guided By Voices lately but I really don't 'get' their 'lo-fi' stuff.

Just out of curiosity, what albums have you been checking out? Bee Thousand is one of my favorite records of all time. Propeller is really amazing, too, and those two have less of a pop-gems-to-weird-s*** ratio than their other early CDs, although Alien Lanes has about a dozen great songs along with 30 second bursts of drunken oddities.

Badger_Fan · Post by **Badger_Fan** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:25 pm

Allow me to echo the support for the New Pornographers. They are just wonderful and put out some great pop music. And they lead for a nice segue into...Neko Case. I'm with you PK, she is outstanding. I haven't heard her new one yet, but she has an amazing voice and good lyrical depth. It doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes either.

Anybody heard Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? I keep hearing that they're very good but haven't heard anything yet. Same with the Go Team.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:34 pm

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is OK, but I put them in the category of critical darling because they made a record and distributed it themselves.

They'd never admit it, but I think reviewers are more impressed with Clap's pluck and success story despite having no label than the music itself, which is decent but nothing special.

Take care,
PK

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:43 pm

Odd, I thought I was the only Del Amitri fan in the world. There entire catalog is great, especially from the perspective of 'love' songs with a slant...

Always The Last to Know
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZSt ... 1&i=354957
Be My Downfall
What I think she sees
and my personal favorites (for the 'humor')
Empty ("at least a house when it's empty stays clean" essentially written to the boyfriend of the girl the singer is banging saying that it's not all bad that she dumped him)...
It Might as Well be You...("that I wake up to tomorrow; that tonight whispers my name...that I kiss goodbye to never see again")...

Great songs include:

This Side of the Morning
The First Rule of Love
Tell Her This (which, since people have been sharing lately...Here is my rendition of)
http://homepage.mac.com/coreyod/FileSharing14.html

and plenty more...

As for other music that's working for me right now...

GARDEN STATE SOUNDTRACK and everything from the TV show SCRUBS. Zach Braff is my musical mentor.

Especially REMY ZERO - great band.

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:44 pm

Brando70 wrote:
Spooky wrote:I've been dabbling in some Guided By Voices lately but I really don't 'get' their 'lo-fi' stuff.
Just out of curiosity, what albums have you been checking out? Bee Thousand is one of my favorite records of all time. Propeller is really amazing, too, and those two have less of a pop-gems-to-weird-s*** ratio than their other early CDs, although Alien Lanes has about a dozen great songs along with 30 second bursts of drunken oddities.

bee thousand is awesome.

and look at go back snowball

mac from superchunk did the music, bob sang

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:07 pm

pk500 wrote:Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is OK, but I put them in the category of critical darling because they made a record and distributed it themselves.

Agree. I hate the music industry more than I like the band. I'd rather listen to Talking Heads 77.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:12 pm

Badger_Fan wrote:Anybody heard Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? I keep hearing that they're very good but haven't heard anything yet. Same with the Go Team.

Yeah, I especially liked them the first time I heard them when they were called the Violent Femmes. In all seriousness their album is ok but they do sound an awful like lot the Femmes so it's hard for me to heap a bunch of praise on them.

On a side note, you guys have convinced me to relisten to the Use Your Illusion albums. When they came out I thought they were complete and utter crap. Very predictable and sell-outish. It was nowhere near the fresh, raw sound of Appetite. Maybe 10+ years will give me new perspective on it but I was a fan of GNR before they hit it big and the release of the Use Your Illusion double album left the same taste in my mouth that the 2 Load albums did with Metallica.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:01 pm

Scoop:

There are some throwaway tracks on both Use Your Illusions, no doubt. It was a classic case of a bloated double album that could have been an incredible single album.

And yeah, G 'N R was becoming what it railed against in "Appetite" -- an arena band with big rock sound. But I still think Guns was a b*tchin' rock band, the best hard rock act in the world even when the "Illusion" records were released. I think the difference between "Appetite" and the "Illusion" records is that Guns shed some of its punk influences on "Appetite" for a more sludgy, "Exile on Main Street"-like Stonesy sound on "Illusion," especially "Illusion II."

The result was that the really good tunes on "Illusion II," such as "Civil War," "Locomotive," "Pretty Tied Up," "Estranged," "Breakdown" and "You Could Be Mine," were exceptional.

I know the ballads such as "November Rain" and "Don't Cry" are well-liked, but I hate them. I can't stand ballads by hard-rock bands. Either rock or become sappy popsters, please.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:41 pm

I'll disagree on that one PK. Some of the best ballads were written by legendary rock bands such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Queen, U2 etc.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:47 pm

10spro wrote:I'll disagree on that one PK. Some of the best ballads were written by legendary rock bands such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Queen, U2 etc.

10s:

I don't think anyone would classify The Beatles, the Stones, Queen or U2 as hard rock bands like G 'N R. They were/are rock bands, not hard rock.

Take care,
PK

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:08 pm

Badger_Fan wrote:Anybody heard Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? I keep hearing that they're very good but haven't heard anything yet. Same with the Go Team.

I bought the Clap Your Hands album a few weeks ago, based only on reviews and a 20 second clip of something or other I heard on the radio at work. It's passable, if you're feeling a bit generous, but nothing that'll make you listen more than once. Haven't got Thunder, Lightning, Strike by The Go! Team yet (and I've only had, what, 18 months to buy it?) but the few songs I've heard lead me to suggest it'd be worth a purchase, or a place in your collection through whichever means you prefer. I'll get to it, one day.

Del Amitri trivia time - they recorded the Scottish national football team anthem for the 1998 World Cup. The title? Don't Come Home Too Soon. Nothing like a bit of optimism, though since Scotland didn't make it past the group stage (capitulating in the final group match against Morocco in a way that was almost painful to watch) I suppose you couldn't blame them for lacking a bit of faith.

I've been going back and buying albums I missed years ago, which has led me to The Divine Comedy's best of, an album I regret buying only because I've barely listened to anything else since I bought it. Fantastic music, and pretty well uncategorisable at times - 'sweeping orchestral pop' is about the best I can do.

Of the newer albums released, the only one I've paid any particular attention to is the Arctic Monkeys' debut, Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not. They don't reinvent the wheel, and the hype is as unjustified as always. It's just a guitar based rock album, but it's a bloody good example of one.

Cheers,
Simo

Gman33 · Post by **Gman33** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:24 pm

Scoop/bro Cannibal Corpse? For the metalheads, I've been listening to:

In Flames - Come Clarity
Himsa - Hail Horror
Queensryche - OM2
Evergrey - Monday Morning Apocalypse

I can't say I love the new Queensryche after about six listens. I'm convinced they should have named it something else. The album is too slow and uninspired for my tastes. It doesn't help that I consider OM1 to be the top three metal albums of all time, so maybe that's it with me.

Non-metal bands:

Bloc Party
Artic Monkeys
She Wants Revenge

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 8:25 am

Spooky wrote: I've been dabbling in some Guided By Voices lately but I really don't 'get' their 'lo-fi' stuff.

I also just picked up the newest album from Archer Prewitt from The Sea & Cake fame. His solo stuff is really nice. Similar mellow vibe but with some fresh twists.

I'll pick up the new Pearl Jam and Tool albums when they come out in May for sure.

GBV - I started 'dabbling' in them after some recommendations from this crowd...unfortunately my dabbling escalated from buying the compilation 'Human Amusements...' to buying the Hardcore UFOs box set and the DVD of their final gig.

Sea and Cake - I'm always a sucker for some post-rock, so I might get this.

Pearl Jam/Tool - good calls.

Other than that, I picked up the new Mogwai ('Mr Beast') - not quite up to the standard of 'Happy Songs for Happy People', but since that is one of my all time top 5, it would be difficult. Another recent addition was the Tortoise/Bonnie Prince Billy covers album, 'The Brave and the Bold, which is definitely growing on me.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 8:58 am

Simo , i have the go team and to me it sounds a little different than the radio, not sure if its just the difference between radio and my cd player or what but it still is a great listen.
My kids hate it cos there isnt enough vocals mostly instrumentals , i actualy think they play some, and the funny thing was when my kids had just seen the vid for ladyflash i think ,they came in to my office running laughing about the people in red tracksuits shouting. And of course slagging my taste in music.
Then he asked me if i had master of puppets i told him its right next to my smiths cd and inbetween Cannibal corpse and decapitated. 2 over from death cab.

It was fun looking thru my old collection with him. We even broke out song remains the same on LP for moby Dick to which my daughter asks what are those things.

Liquorice Pizza i reply

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:41 am

Brando70 wrote:
Spooky wrote:I've been dabbling in some Guided By Voices lately but I really don't 'get' their 'lo-fi' stuff.
Just out of curiosity, what albums have you been checking out? Bee Thousand is one of my favorite records of all time. Propeller is really amazing, too, and those two have less of a pop-gems-to-weird-s*** ratio than their other early CDs, although Alien Lanes has about a dozen great songs along with 30 second bursts of drunken oddities.

I have Earthquake Glue, which I really like and the reason I wanted to expand, but then I got Alien Lanes at the reccomendation of a HUGE GBV fan and am not that inot it. Your description of it is pretty accurate. I guess I don't see the genius in a bunch of half realized ideas that aren't even really melodic or catchy that some do. There are a few interesting things on there, but the 'lo-fi' aspect of it bothers me a bit as well.

I want to try more from them, but they will probably have to be their newer, more 'hi-fi' stuff. Any suggestions?

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:49 am

You could try a couple of the later ones

Universal Truths and Cycles

Half Smiles of the Decomposed

both pretty good.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:17 am

Regarding the Arctic Monkeys, I don't get it. I really don't. I have the record, and it's a fun listen. But that's it. It's not challenging, it's not that original, it's not groundbreaking. It doesn't stick with you and scream "Play me again right now!"

It's pop-punk. Wow -- as if we haven't seen enough of those bands roll off the record companies' assembly lines the last two years. The only difference is that the AM's lyrics seem to be a bit more intelligent, wry and clever than most pop-punk bands.

But in my mind, the Arctic Monkeys are now sharing a flat with Franz Ferdinand as the most overhyped band in alternative rock. Both are derivative and not nearly as great as the music press would like us to believe. FF already has proved it with its samey-samey second record; let's see what the Monkeys do next.

If you want to hear some new alternative rock that's different, check out Antony and the Johnsons. Even Art Brut sounds more fresh than Arctic Monkeys -- plus you can't beat Art Brut's cheeky lyrics.

Take care,
PK

cootdog · Post by **cootdog** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:27 am

Re: GBV, a nice compromise between the lo-fi and hi-fi material would be 1997's Mag Earwhig! Half recorded with his new band Cobra Verde at their studio, half recorded at the decidedly mid-fi Cro-Magnon and Tobin Sprout's 8-track.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:15 am

I'm enjoying the new Nada Surf album, The Weight is a Gift.

Nothing groundbreaking, just well put together songs in my opinion.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:09 pm

Spooky wrote:
Brando70 wrote:
Spooky wrote:I've been dabbling in some Guided By Voices lately but I really don't 'get' their 'lo-fi' stuff.
Just out of curiosity, what albums have you been checking out? Bee Thousand is one of my favorite records of all time. Propeller is really amazing, too, and those two have less of a pop-gems-to-weird-s*** ratio than their other early CDs, although Alien Lanes has about a dozen great songs along with 30 second bursts of drunken oddities.
I have Earthquake Glue, which I really like and the reason I wanted to expand, but then I got Alien Lanes at the reccomendation of a HUGE GBV fan and am not that inot it. Your description of it is pretty accurate. I guess I don't see the genius in a bunch of half realized ideas that aren't even really melodic or catchy that some do. There are a few interesting things on there, but the 'lo-fi' aspect of it bothers me a bit as well.

I want to try more from them, but they will probably have to be their newer, more 'hi-fi' stuff. Any suggestions?

Start with the best of, Human Amusements at Hourly Rates. You will get 100% catchy GBV and no "I stuck a mic in my butt and sang for 27 seconds" nonsense.

But Bee Thousand is not like their other lo-fi albums. Its much more focused, and while the songs are short and blend into each other, it's still catchy. No one should ever start with Alien Lanes because half of it is just weird snippets of stuff.

Isolation Drills is also the best of the mid-to-hi fi stuff they recorded. Great jangly pop music that also has a thumping low end (unlike the basement stuff).

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:37 pm

If you're looking for new rock, pop, rap or world music, I can't recommend these two weekly podcasts enough:

New York Times Popcast
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/multimedia/podcasts.html?8qa

NPR's All Songs Considered
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_ ... Id=4819413

Take care,
PK