Arg, matey. I needs some music.
So, having had pirates on the brain as of late, the train of thought naturally led to the fact that it is time for me to do my periodic request for music suggestions.
Yes, naturally.
So, what hot new (or old but still good) music is the subject of your enthusiasm these days? What should I be listening to that I may not already know about? Clue me in, please.
Personally, I would like to deliver a belated plug for Rooney. They opened for OKGO and The Donnas when I saw them in Lawrence this past February and were delightful. Their happy sort of pop rock that always hits the spot, much like OKGO but perhaps a bit more shallow. Perhaps. So I’m seeing them on MTV2 and elsewhere, and I would just like to officially claim that I knew them before they got fabulously famous.
So there, that’s my suggestion. Can you return the favor?
And if anyone says Barenaked Ladies again, I’ll shot you all. Obvious answers are no help.
Katie,
Ok…I won’t say BNL, but another Canadian band I caught this spring in Boston was Tegan and Sara (teganandsara.com). Two sisters from British Columbia (I think).
They were absolutely excellent. I can’t recommend them enough.
“If It Was You” is a great album.
Hope you like them.
Comment by Paul — 7/29/2003 @ 9:57 pm
Poe
Guster
L’Arc~en~Ciel - Japanese band
t.A.T.u
Stephen Lynch - comedic songs
Modest Mouse
Some local bands to check out:
http://www.distancetoempty.com
http://www.moaninglisa.com
http://www.fullfeaturemusic.com (actually, they disbanded a week or two ago… but they still rool the WORLD)
http://www.thekeybwebsite.com
Not so local for US, but still good:
http://www.coreproject.net
http://www.karmaband.com
I live in KC, by the way. So local for me, is pretty much local for you too. Wow… the list of bands/singers I gave you is a pretty wide variety of styles. Some SOMEthing should suit you. I hope so anyway.
Comment by Blythe — 7/29/2003 @ 11:07 pm
I would make a fresh mix of:
Tosca - Suziki in dub
The Detroit Experiment
Llorca - New Comer
Richard Dorfmeister presents a different drummer selection
Or, if you want to go the Belgian way (I’m from Belgium as might have noticed already), I can recommend:
Cinerex - CX
Sven Van Hees - Gemini
Styrofoam - I’m What’s There To Show That Something’s Missing
Comment by Pieter Claerhout — 7/30/2003 @ 1:16 am
architecture in helsinki
anatone
you am i
frente
um…thats all i can think of for now
Comment by carly — 7/30/2003 @ 2:00 am
Tegan and Sara are good, I saw them in concert, they played at a festival with Great Big Sea and The Arrogant Worms.
Arrogant Worms are silly and fun (and very Canadian).
If you like Great Big Sea, you might want to check out The Fables, they have some good songs. I don’t know if you like ska/punk - Eve 6, Reel Big Fish.
And Wilco. You must look at Wilco (http://www.wilcoworld.net/).
Comment by Rachael — 7/30/2003 @ 1:09 pm
You guys are fabulous. Thank you! (Keep ‘em coming.)
Comment by Katie — 7/30/2003 @ 1:15 pm
at the risk of sounding not nearly as obscure or quirky as the rest of the commenters, I’ll suggest the following:
The Entire Soundtrack from Pulp Fiction
Old school Bob Dylan or Willie Nelson
Anything by Ben Folds
and finally, my most favoriest band in the world, 2 Skinnee J’s
Comment by Kyle — 7/30/2003 @ 2:27 pm
A rousing hazaa for Kyle and the 2 Skinnee Js push. It’s so sad that they’re not playing together anymore. One of my friends scored a ticket to thier last show at BB King’s, and you’d have thought his family had died from the way that he was moping around afterward.
My personal recommendation is for a DC band called The Dismemberment Plan. Very kooky in that Clem Snide/They Might Be Giants sort of way and very definitely worth listening to. “Time Bomb” was their big hit, “You are Invited” is a personal favorite.
Also check out Peter Cincotti. He’s a friend of a friend of a friend, a sophomore at Columbia. He sings and plays jazz piano and is goooorgeous (http://www.concordrecords.com/petercincotti/movie.html).
Comment by rachl — 7/30/2003 @ 10:20 pm
Whoo for Tegan and Sara.
Elvis Costello is, in my mind, the greatest singer/songwriter of all time. He’s witty and smart and not afraid to make a statement and his songs are catchy and he’s just damned amazing. Check out his albums This Years Model and Armed Forces. If you want individual songs and not albums, just ask.0
Oh yeah. Barenaked Ladies.
C’mon. You were asking for it.
Comment by Ben (The one from the TMBG concert oh so long ago) — 7/30/2003 @ 11:38 pm
hummmm…. try RX Bandits (Analog Boy its a cool song). sort of a mixture of detroit styles, punk rock, dunno, a whole lot of stuff.
Comment by eltotoX — 7/31/2003 @ 12:07 am
Modest Mouse (already mentioned): Either you love em or you hate em (probably because Isaac Brock’s voice can throw you off, at first). Personally, I can’t wait for thier next release.
Tegan and Sara (already mentioned): I’ve only heard them a couple of times, and although I can’t remember what they sound like, I made the effort to write down thier names on my personal “to look for” list.
Jay Farrar: If you’ve followed Wilco, then you know that Jeff Tweedy (prior to forming Wilco) was in Uncle Tupelo (Jay Farrar was the other half of the driving force). His new album is entitled ‘Terrior Blues’.
King Black Acid: Currently my favorite even though, thier last album ‘Loves a Long Song’ was released in 2000. You can find some free downloads on thier site(www.kingblackacid.com). But be warned, many of the them are edits of the album version and have been trimmed down, which diminishes from the overall beauty(On this album, thier songs average around 8-9 minuets, with thier longest going over 12).
The Polyphonic Spree: I discovered this group because of my infatuation with ‘Tripping Daisy’. However, they are nothing like Tripping Daisy, and although they are very uplifting (Have gotten me out of many a depressed mood), are more of a ‘chorral symphonic pop band’(I got that description from thier website). Currently however, thier only album (They have a few remix type cd’s available) ‘The Beginning Stages of…’ is short. The first 9 songs/sections just go over 30 minuets, with the last song (section 10) lasting a prolonged amount of time, and consisting primarily of backgroung/filler noise. All in all it has been one of my best ‘on the spot’ impulse buys.
Rilo Kiley: I don’t know what to call this, Alt Country maybe (I’ve heard it called that anyway)(I don’t know much about genre classifications). For some reason I like it. The shining star behind this group is perhaps “Jenny Lewis”. You may have heard of her from her afilliation with the Postal Service.
Eleven: I recently tracked down thier last album ‘avantgaredog’ (released in 2000). I was even better than I had hoped. From what I have seen on thier website they will be releasing a new album sometime soon. Thier website (www.elevenworld.com) also has a few streaming songs which are due to come out with thier next album.
On a side note: Both King black Acid and Eleven may be hard to find (I spent months looking for thier albums) at your local record stores.
Comment by garrett — 7/31/2003 @ 2:49 am
Under the “not really new, but not widely heard in America” caregory:
Matthew Good (solo) - Matt used to be have a band, so a bunch of his earlier stuff in under “Matthew Good Band.”
Dayna Manning
Shawn Colvin
P.S. Tegan and Sara are from Alberta. Specifically Calgary, Alberta.
Comment by Chad — 7/31/2003 @ 8:53 am
Fiction Plane. I don’t know if they are still obscure or not. I think “Everything will never be ok” is their debut album.
Comment by Justin — 7/31/2003 @ 11:00 pm
I concur with Fiction Plane. They were excellent live. Seems to take after his dad…
Comment by Paul — 8/1/2003 @ 9:56 am
Hello, Katie. Hello.
TISM, all right? TISM, TISM, TISM.
Thank me later. I’d also like to point out that Barenaked Ladies are shit, and Devo would have made a much better example of an obvious suggestion. I’m assuming you listen to Devo already. Katie, tell me you listen to Devo.
You Am I are crap, too. You know what? Don’t listen to anyone’s advice except mine. These other people are just idiots, except where their opinions overlap my own.
Ooh! Ooh! You know what else? Queen. You should really get into Queen.
I can appreciate that TISM CDs are probably hard to come by in that godforsaken country of yours, and even if I were to make you that TISM mix tape you can ask me for if you want one, many of the songs would be so flooded with references to Australiana that their meanings would elude you. But who gives a fuck? You need TISM. Allow me, Katie, to provide you with TISM.
Comment by Patrick — 8/2/2003 @ 10:15 am
Well, then, obviously my life is meaningless without TISM.
You know what? Their website won’t let me in. It says my browser is too old. Well, my browser’s only a week old. The only problem is that it’s Firebird and not IE like they expect. I find this to be very narrowminded of them. I expect I will soon forgive it, though.
So, uh, when are you going to provide me with TISM?
Comment by Katie — 8/2/2003 @ 11:23 am
if your looking for something generally up-beat, may i suggest sondre lerche? he is cute and norweigan (though he signs in english) and fun.
Comment by emily joy — 8/6/2003 @ 10:41 am
PolyPhonic Spree, love em
Tripping Daisy was once part of my religion
Best Jam Bands: Phish, Moe, Moses Guest
Love of my life: PotRoast (Houston’s single greatest Jam Band)
http://www.potroast.net
Comment by Nothingman — 1/10/2004 @ 11:05 pm