Since the “lack of anything good today” is being bemoaned in another thread, and since I like to sample (I do pirate music, I have no illusions about this, but I also do buy what I really like) I thought I’d ask for some of this board’s readers musical selections. The more obscure the better.
I’ll go first:
I’ve been digging The White Stripes and Interpol, what little I’ve heard anyway. I know that’s trendy and all but…
I like Bowie’s new one Heathen quite a bit. (This one I bought)
I’d never really listened to anything by Elvis Costello before. I like it.+
I’ve grown a small crush on Cibo Matto’s Miho Hatori, this was unexpected, I even bought both discs because of it.
Maybe due to Black Hawk Down I’ve been on an Arabian and Middle Eastern music kick. Some traditional and even some pop. Cheb Mami is a favorite.
I’ve been downloading a lot of Edith Piaf for some reason.
Anyway, I’m particularly interested in interesting foreign stuff. Suggestions?
I think white stripes always sounds too sloppy. For a really tight ugly two man band, look for flat duo jets.
Check out amon tobin. Look for the tracks slowly or sorid - all of his stuff is great but most people can latch on to those two before the check out the rest of his stuff.
I really went through a period of female singers. Ends up I like Lisa Germano, hooverphonic (those of you with adelphia cable, they used one of their songs for the video on demand commercial), emilana torrini (some of her stuff really, really sucks, other stuff is really good), i suggest “weird friendless kid”.
Another foreign band (or person I have no idea) Kid Loco look for Youpi. I also like the band Air (both of these are french, i think).
And if you have never heard of them, check out chrome - almost all of their songs are available online. look for “Meet you in the subway”
Forgot to add - if you want music that fits really hot ugly weather, get son house . Look for the Complete Library Of Congress Sessions. His later produced stuff is not nearly as good. you can tell if there is another instrument besides the guitar, it isn’t the right recording.
Any of the recent ‘Rough Guide’ releases on World Music Network are worth buying,and aren’t hard to find-I would particularly recommend the ‘Rough Guide to Franco’,‘Rough Guide to Haiti’,and ‘Rough Guide to Cumbia’.I’m certain the reggae release is good also,but I think I already have all of the tracks on that one,so I skipped it.
Very good samplers,and some of the stuff on them is hard to find independently,to boot.
Ah, I don’t know nothin’ from nothin’ anymore. But my brother, who runs a small studio, thinks he does. He says the stuff to watch for is Icelandic and Swedish pop. I have a CD he gave me by a band called Lokomotiv which sounds like a cross between XTC and Jesus Jones. (I think I may have posted about them before). It’s quite good - but it’s not mindbendingly original though I did catch them live in Richmond and they’ve certainly got stage presence. A happy bunch of very odd Viking new wavers indeed.
Someone just gave me a pop rap/rock CD buy Quarashi. They are pretty catchy and the Icelandic. They had a song on the Orange County soundtrack: “Stick 'em Up”.
I have been listening to Rammstein’s Mutter for the last couple of weeks. There is something totally disgusting but totally addictive about Rammstein’s music.
Some favourite tracks include : Mutter, Ich Will, Zwitter, Böse, Links 234, and Sonne.
I am definitely plugging these tracks into my GTA3 radio station.
The Flaming Lips, gentlemen (and Sparky).
An awesomely weird band, with a new CD–Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots–coming out any day, I think. You can hear it online now, already. But if you don’t own THe Soft Bulletin, that’s the one you want to start with. Kinda like ELO meets the Butthole Surfers.
Also, thanks to young Thierry Nguyen, I’ve been listening to Deltron 3000, and am now determined to pick up everything produced/masterminded by Dan the Automator, cuz ay caramba do his records rule.
I’ve been digging the Hives (a friend recommended Veni Vidi Vicious, and I borrowed Robert Coffey’s copy), in addition to other trendy bands like White Stripes and Strokes. I also still have Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot spinning in my player.
Got introduced to the Flaming Lips via the online stream of the new album. Gonna pick up that and DJ Shadow’s The Private Press.
Icelandic-wise, I picked up Sigur Ros’ Agaetis Byrjun in summer of 2000, well before they became trendy in Rolling Stone write-ups, Cameron Crowe movies, and episodes of CSI. This is the sole “I been listening to these guys before they hit it big” anecdote I have, as I tend to discover bands well past their trendiness quotient (I only discovered the Pixies after freakin’ Fight Club).
Other Dan The Automator albums:
Gorillaz
Deltron 3030
Dr. Octagonecologyst
Handsome Boy Modeling School
Lovage
Wanna Buy A Monkey? (have not listened to)
A Much Better Tomorrow (haven’t heard this one either)
Maybe I’m just old, but this new generation of garage bands is not exactly bowling me over right now. I like The White Stripes, cuz that guy seems like a genuine smartass, but The Strokes and The Hives…I dunno. Actually, I need to hear the Hives more–only heard it once, but it just didn’t seem to be anything that The Ramones weren’t doing 25 years ago (and get off my lawn!). I can’t tell if they’d be popular at all right now if it weren’t for the novelty of them being Swedish. The Strokes–I dug that CD at first, but now its derivitaveness is really annoying me.
I was off the Wilco wagon for awhile, but am back on board with Yankee Foxtrot Hotel, which is just awesome. Makes me think I gotta go get Summer Teeth now.
Thanks everyone, I’ve liked almost everything suggested. I agree with Jeff about the Stripes being better than the Strokes n’ Hives and I’ll just steal his reasoning as to why.
Anyone check out Tom Wait’s latest (or one of his latest) Alice? I liked what I downloaded so I’m having Amazon send me the disc. Sounds like whiskey/insomnia music to me.
I love White Stripes, but The Hives and Strokes just seem really overrated to me. The Veni Vidi Vicious just sounds like a very produced New Bomb Turks–that’s nice but I don’t understand all the press they’re getting.
I agree wholeheartedly, though I am not quite as old and decrepit as yourself. I am, however, still old and decrepit enough to be listening to the same Van Halen album over and over again instead of listening to anything new. Wait – I liked the new Rush album, does that count?
Glitter; funky video projections of topless kickboxers, scenes from classic movies, and Bernstein conducting nuclear bomb explosions; big balloons filled with glitter bouncing round the crowd; monkey glove puppets; most of the band dressed in animal suits; big fuck-off glitterballs; a Kylie cover; and much, much fun…
