MUSIC I LIKE RIGHT NOW:..
1-4-2007
I am currently in love with this band Lucero. Lemme tell you the story of how I finally listened to this band... I've heard of this band for years, but always associated with the dreaded "Alt-Country" or some other ridiculous label that turns me off right away. But then I got an email from Seth Wood (I had asked his what Chris Carroll's phone number was, so I could call him up and surprise him, but back to the story) and he told me that he had just gotten back from a great show where a band called Lucero played. What? One of the most punk, heavy metal, hardcore dudes I know likes this supposedly "Alt-Country" band? I had to check it out and you should too. I want to say they are more influenced by the Boss, but that's not really right. Sure, they've got the raspy vocals and (every now and then) the gospel-sounding keyboards, but I would sum them up with a description including this, "incredibly catchy rock music" (it's "rock music" ok, not "alt-country". I don't know where anyone gets that. Maybe I made it up.). My favorite is the "That Much Further West" LP, but they're all good.
Next, we are on to the letter "M" and that means MASTODON. Holy, holy, holy, this band is the best thing I've heard in many years and (maybe just by chance) is also a band suggested to me by Seth Wood. They had an album released last year that was on nearly every top 10 list for "Best Metal" album of the year. But wait all you Metal haters! I'm not a humongous fan of "metal," but I do love tough music without guitar solos. If you're a fan of From Ashes Rise, you will be a fan of Mastodon. The latest album is Blood Mountain (how is that for a metal name--the cartoon-metal band Dethklok (from the show Metalocalypse) has a song/movie called Blood Ocean, I wonder if they are related? By the way, you should check out Dethklok on MySpace--they rock) and it is just a notch down from their last release Leviathan (an epic series of pounding metal based on Melville's Moby Dick). They have some older albums that also rock much harder than most anything else, so check them out.
I usually don't recommend or comment on bands that are well-known, but I have to say that the Muse album that came out last year (Black Holes and Revelations) is really friggin' good. The first song released to the radio-waves was the most rocking thing I've heard on the radio in a long time. There were several times when I sat in the car after I had arrived at my destination and felt the rock surge through my body. Brian Herron was visiting last summer and we literally had a "moment" with this song--we were waiting for someone to get some food at Vons and we sat in the car... just... feeling... it... There is something about the use of Queen-type anthemic songs that we've been missing on the radio for some time. The first song appears to be a really good rip at the stupid president of our country (I'll let these Aussies slide with this as I would do the same if I were in their place--stupid president). Some of the songs on the album are duds, but it's all made up for by the other amazing rock n' roll rockers.
Sigur Ros had a new album come out last year, it's just like all the others--amazing. Nothing new to report here, just go ahead and buy it if you love the movie-theme-type music (I do). Sung in Icelandic (I think), but it doesn't matter. You might know their music from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (the incredibly moving song when they finally found the "Jaguar Shark"). I'm thinking about you Brian Herron when I say this.
Oh man, I'm sorry, but hardly any of these bands are anything new. Oh well, it's what is in my I Tunes right now, so here it goes...
Sufjan Stevens is amazing--the music perfectly fits my life right now... happy, quirky, uplifting. There are horns, strings, weird lyrics. My mom would like it--it's friendly. This is a short description for music that's a big part of my life right now, but oh well. It fits. Check out Come On Feel the Illinoise (he's planning on doing an album about each U.S. state).
The Thermals have this album called The Body, The Blood, The Machine that I listened to until my MP3s were fragmented (ha! that's a play on the old, "I played that record until the grooves were worn out" duh.) It's punk and it's good.
Here we go with some more metal, The Sword play psychedlic chugga-chugga, metal-metal music. If you like Mastodon, you'd like The Sword.
Now, this is breaking from the trend I started with (you know, alphabetical order and what not), but the Blood Brothers put out a new album called Young Machetes. It's just as abrasive/sweet as their previous efforts and I love it. My mom would definitely not love this--she would hate it and most of my friends do too.
Sorry, these bands are not really anything too new. I have other stuff to write up... I'll get to it in another year...
MUSIC I LIKE RIGHT NOW:..
11-21-2006
Hey, who cares if it's beeen almost a year since I update this--just flow with it.
Right now, the Itunes library has the following bands listed as the "hot bands I listen to right now":
I have several different albums of RJD2 (like the mix tapes and the one with the rapper Aceyalone), but none are as good as the "Since We Last Spoke" album.
Going down the list, I found some of the Arcade Fire demos (two to be exact the "Demo EP" and the "Demo 2001") that are pretty good if you really like the Arcade Fire. If you haven't listened to them yet, please pick up their full length album "Funeral". There are songs from this album in a movie that my friend scott worked on called "The Secret Machine."
This other band called the Archie Bronson Outfit I didn't really like at first, but I was too lazy to delete the songs so my Itunes would periodically cycle through the "Derdang Derdang" album. I'm starting to dig these dirge-y type songs--slow and dirty. I really like the song "How I Sang Dang," which always makes me think about Davis McIver, 'cause he's a big fan of the word, "Dang."
Oh yeah! The band Beirut is really great (I think I mentioned this before on the homepage). Think Polish Mariachi music. I love it.
Skipping a whole bunch of bands and getting to Grizzly Bear, which is not some death-metal band, but is actually a band that uses banjos and stays really, really mellow, but very catchy. They sound like they should be from some Appalachian back-water or maybe West Virginia, but I hear they are actually from Brooklyn, NYC. If you're going to buy something, get the "Yellow House" album--it's beautiful.
There's too much other stuff that I don't have time to write about--I promise to start updating this a little more frequently.
1-14-2006
My first recommendation is the Serena-Maneesh band--another Norwegian import that is amazing. Think about Sonic Youth-like noise structure (that's right--structure) in really great, rockin' songs. A little difficult to go further into that description unless I bring in some Husker Du references (ala Zen Arcade) with the high-end trebly goodness. A definite recommendation for anyone who likes my recommendations ("60% of the time it works all of the time").
The new Devendra Banhart album is really good, if a little bit too long--too many songs that should have been left out. Think incredibly raw, stripped down, soul-crushing/uplifting songs by a man and his acoustic guitar. I can't believe those Moonshine Conspiracy people like Scott Soens haven't used one of his songs in their movies yet... there's still time.
Unfortunately, these other bands aren't anything I'm overly proud of, but they make some damn catchy songs. Why would I be proud of a band you ask? Beats me, but these guys just aren't anyone I think needs a lot of help.. maybe because they have all signed with major labels. I'm such a 20th century-MaximumRockNRoll/HeartattaCk/PunkPlanet-reader in that way. Anyway, I mentioned all of these before, but they are the We Are Scientists (great name of course), The Arctic Monkeys, and Maximo Park. But the Damn if they don't all make some catchy music that all the the little Hot Topic shopping kids are going to think they are so "hip" when they wear their T-shirt. I'm embarrassed, but they are pretty good and you may not have heard of them yet, so now you have. I should say that the We Are Scientists took their name from a Cap'N Jazz song, so that's pretty cool.
And to keep going with the not-so-secret-bands, this band called the Futureheads is pretty catchy. I don't know where all the tough bands went, but this new-wave flashback thing is not too bad. I could use some new music/new bands that are tough. You know, what happened to the absolutely brilliant, absolutely new construction that was Cap'N Jazz? Damn, I miss those days, am I getting old and nostalgic? Remember when Hot Water Music used to make absolutely new flavors of songs and absolutely crazy live shows? Maybe the shows are still good, but man, their new records are not what I like anymore.
11-30-2005
Right now I am listening to the new Despistado album The People of and Their Verses. It is better than their first ultra-rocking LP with the Jade Tree label. You know that if it's on Jade Tree it has about a 85-90% chance of being good.
After much prodding by my friend Evan, I finally listened to this band called The Black Keys. I mean really listened to it, not just one song for a minute (like I usually do). And like usual, once I give a good band a chance to sink a hook or two into me, I'm sold. How many metaphors in that last sentence? Too many. Anyway, I've listened to some of their older albums (good, solid, dirty, dirty blues), but my favorite is the newest album Rubber Factory. Damn if it ain't dirty, fuzzy, and catchy. I guess it's a bad comparison, but you gotta compare them to the White Stripes 'cause it's a one guitar one drum kit kinda thing. And that's a good thing. I'd love to go see the Keys open for the Stripes--that would be some good, wholesome, filthy rockin'.
The new Broken Social Scene LP brings out the same clean lines as their previous albums--makes you feel like your sailing a boat with your hunny from the Galapagos to who-knows-where. I always thought they had a Sea and Cake feel with a little more kick (I guess). You might not though. And that's ok. Uhhmmm, pick this up if you're an indy-rocker who likes to sail boats (that's gotta be the first time that's been written). I should say that like their previous albums, there are songs that I absolutely love and then several ho-hum tunes.
Another one of those, "why didn't I like this the first time" moments was when I got this computer from my friend Neil. He had a bunch of music on it and I accidentally let the ITunes play some of this Billy Bragg stuff. I knew it was some singer/songwriter Brit, which made me eternally wary of how good it would be. It is good and I probably wouldn't have said that until I started enjoying some of the Ted Leo solo stuff. Check 'em both out. They are amazing personal songwriters and I will probably learn some Bragg tunes so's I can croon for my lady.
More on the Ted Leo. My sister Lauren likes Ted Leo. I think my mom would like Ted Leo. Sander Banta likes Ted Leo. He could be bigger than Michael Jackson, so you should start liking him now, so you can say, "I liked him before he was cool".
6-8-2005
As of this moment, the sounds of The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower are streaming through my headphones. The new album is called Love in a Fascist Brothel and somehow they make that bizarre theme work. I've seen this singer kiss members of the audience (they're from San Diego). It is really, really good danceable, funky, tough, rockin', and slightly erotic (?)... and better than their last album, which was pretty darn good too. Go get it, somehow. I think it is on Revelation Records, which should be easy to find.
Now, taking a look at the IPod-alicious, I have the likes of the Gorillaz new album (Demon Days), which is also much better than their last one--I didn't like that so much. Lots of groove-alicious licks and slap-happy kicks. And it is smooth, so smooth that my mom would like it. Mom, I'll burn you a copy. On a final note, I should be a gangsta rappa. One more thing, this album is everywhere and you probably already have it or have heard that one song on the radio--it plays all the time out here.
Also on the IPod is all the old Plow United albums, as I discussed earlier I'm having a dash of nostalgia for the late '90s. I don't know why, but I also want to buy an oversized chain for my wallet. All of the Plow songs are good and yes, they were not from West Chester, but somewhere in Delaware before moving to West Chester. Whatever. They came and blew everyone away in Avalon one summer, that's all I know.
More not so new, but what I'm listening to: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists--Shake the Sheets and Heart of Oak albums both have some amazing songs. I don't think every song is a 100% winner, but the good ones are just that good. Give them a try.
The Blood Brothers have finally made it onto my playlist, I had to give them a long try and now I like them. My favorite song is "Peacocks Skeleton with Broken Feathers" of the Crimes album. Try that song out and you will like it. Also a good song is the "Doctor! Doctor!" of the This Adultery is Ripe album. uhh, this music is not fit for my mom, so mom, don't download any of that. I think the devastatingly good-looking John Digenni is a fan of these guys? Something about fire and cymbals, I remember?
There's this band, I think they are becoming popular, they're called Bloc Party and the one song is really catchy "Like Eating Glass" I think it's called.
More later.
12/03/2004
Wow, been a really long time since I did this. But here it goes:
Hot Snakes - Audit in Progress (new album by the greatest band to ever come out of San Diego-I saw them a month ago and they rocked the house)
Pinback - Summer in Abaddon (new album by the second greatest band to come out of the SD-they are playing Sunday, but it is sold out)
Cave In - 4 Trax (I guess this is a new EP by Cave In? I downloaded it a month ago and it has 5 songs that are pretty damn good)
RJD2 - Dead Ringer (this is so much better than DJ Shadow--sorry, but I love DJ Shadow and this is better. And his website is freakin' awesome, with really good background music... maybe I should do that too)
North of America - all of 'em (for some reason I've renewed my love for this band--probably because they sound like the first Q and Not U album, tight and dissonant, but catchy)
Planes Mistaken for Stars - all (another moment where I have rediscovered an old band, raspy-ass vocals with the twinkly/harsh guitars)
Q and Not U - Power (newer album by one of my favorite bands--quirkier than before. Fun to see live)
that's all for now, I need to study my Matlab programming...
3/27/04
(in no order)
The Decemberists - "Acoustic Pirate Music" as Evan says. I say, "Arrr!!!! I love it!"
Stop It! - excellent screamo recommended by the excellent Ant Scrocca
Drive Like Jehu - One of the best bands to ever come out of San Diego in the '90s
The Postal Service - crazy electronic music that I swore ten years ago I would never like.
An Albatross - I don't know what to say about this stuff except that it is like a cross between Reversal of Man and the Locust. Not as good as ROM, but probably funnier.
Stuff that makes me feel like rocking.
1/09/04
(in no order)
New Statistics LP
Ms John Soda
Q and Not U - all that stuff again plus the newer 7"
Broken Social Scene - all is very good stuff
Akimbo.
From Ashes Rise - Nightmares LP
More stuff, but I just can't think of it
11/09/03
(in no order)
North of America - Brothers Sisters LP
Bob Marley - old ska songs off the Destiny (?) LP
Archers of Loaf - Vee Vee (just too great to take off this list)
Broken Social Scene - all is very good stuff
Cream Abdul Babar - What??? yes, it's true. They rock, still.
The Mercury Program - new split with Maserati
9/03/03
(in no order)
The Assistant - new album
Lick Golden Sky
Archers of Loaf - Vee Vee
Jawbreaker
Pixies - freaking everything
The Boss - you know who I'm talking about
7/17/03
(in no order)
Sparta
The Chamber Brothers
Cake
Jawbreaker
Muddy Waters (old pre-electric stuff)
First Engine Down LP
Hot Hot Heat
3/31/03
(in no order)
Devo
The Black Sea EP
James Brown
the new Elliot album
the new Radiohead
Cartola (really good guitar samba from Brasil)
The City of God soundtrack
looking for some rocking mariachi music too
3/31/03
(in no order)
North of America
Yaphet Kotto
The Kinks
the new Beck album
all the Twelve Hour Turn songs from their vinyl
the notwist
Rumbleseat
The Plot to Blow Up...(San Diego Favorites)
And I exclusively use the soulseek file sharing program (see www.slsk.org to get it). It is hands down the best way to get music, but don't forget to support those bands you like and buy their album, go to see them play, buy a t-shirt, etc.
