Modern pop makes me want to rock out
December 30, 2009 4:10 AM Subscribe
Help me make a compilation cd/ mp3 file CD for my fourteen year old nephew.
I grew up, as he is, in a town where crappy chart dance music rules, and liking anything with guitars is Really Fucking Weird. John Peel had to be my cool older relative to introduce me to the old and the weird - I think he deserves the same, even if I don't have a beard.
The only trouble is that I'm finding it hard to strike the right balance - my musical tastes have gone from Blur and Pulp at his age to dub, Japanese dance, twee, outsider music and things picked up from here and there (my favourite band, if you made me pick one, would be The Fall - many of my favourite albums came from the 1980s). I was pretty rockist at his age, and I don't want to put him off by putting things that sound a bit too weird for him. I was too young for The Smiths then - you need to have a decent dose of teen angst in your veins to ensure Morrissey doesn't just sound like a moaning old man - and, like The Catcher In The Rye, try them too late and it seems like it's passed you by. I'm looking at the songs that made me feel listened-to, understood, a bit bigger, and wondering whether they're not too 'old sounding' or twee - will someone born in 1995 dig the '70s kitsch references in Pulp or Belle and Sebastian?
His favourite bands are The Raconteurs, The White Stripes, Keane, Coldplay and Gorillaz. I'm already thinking Jawbone, Bloc Party, Black Keys and Pixies - any other suggestions? He's also into art and playing the guitar, and, unlike me at that age, has a girlfriend. No Smiths until they break up, I reckon.
I grew up, as he is, in a town where crappy chart dance music rules, and liking anything with guitars is Really Fucking Weird. John Peel had to be my cool older relative to introduce me to the old and the weird - I think he deserves the same, even if I don't have a beard.
The only trouble is that I'm finding it hard to strike the right balance - my musical tastes have gone from Blur and Pulp at his age to dub, Japanese dance, twee, outsider music and things picked up from here and there (my favourite band, if you made me pick one, would be The Fall - many of my favourite albums came from the 1980s). I was pretty rockist at his age, and I don't want to put him off by putting things that sound a bit too weird for him. I was too young for The Smiths then - you need to have a decent dose of teen angst in your veins to ensure Morrissey doesn't just sound like a moaning old man - and, like The Catcher In The Rye, try them too late and it seems like it's passed you by. I'm looking at the songs that made me feel listened-to, understood, a bit bigger, and wondering whether they're not too 'old sounding' or twee - will someone born in 1995 dig the '70s kitsch references in Pulp or Belle and Sebastian?
His favourite bands are The Raconteurs, The White Stripes, Keane, Coldplay and Gorillaz. I'm already thinking Jawbone, Bloc Party, Black Keys and Pixies - any other suggestions? He's also into art and playing the guitar, and, unlike me at that age, has a girlfriend. No Smiths until they break up, I reckon.
Hate to be cliché, but you should include something from Loveless. Hell, I would probably just burn the whole album.
posted by milarepa at 4:57 AM on December 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by milarepa at 4:57 AM on December 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
will someone born in 1995 dig the '70s kitsch references in Pulp or Belle and Sebastian?
This person born in 1986 will never forget the first time she heard a Belle and Sebastian song, at age 13. Seriously, that band was my best friend for a couple of years (I was obviously a really cool and popular kid). Obscure references aside, nobody else captures what it's like to be a bookish kid utterly bored by everything.
posted by oinopaponton at 5:19 AM on December 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
This person born in 1986 will never forget the first time she heard a Belle and Sebastian song, at age 13. Seriously, that band was my best friend for a couple of years (I was obviously a really cool and popular kid). Obscure references aside, nobody else captures what it's like to be a bookish kid utterly bored by everything.
posted by oinopaponton at 5:19 AM on December 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
Catherine Wheel, LCD Soundsystem, Doves, Brendan Benson, National, Wrens, Dismemberment Plan, Nirvana
posted by backwards guitar at 5:25 AM on December 30, 2009
posted by backwards guitar at 5:25 AM on December 30, 2009
* Old Yeah Yeah Yeahs (e.g. Fever To Tell, not the new album)
* The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
* Del tha Funkee Homosapien (based on his like of Gorillaz)
* The Dead Weather (a.k.a. the other Jack White side project)
* Electric Six (if you're okay with their uh, "adult themes")
posted by transporter accident amy at 5:31 AM on December 30, 2009
* The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
* Del tha Funkee Homosapien (based on his like of Gorillaz)
* The Dead Weather (a.k.a. the other Jack White side project)
* Electric Six (if you're okay with their uh, "adult themes")
posted by transporter accident amy at 5:31 AM on December 30, 2009
Los Campesinos! might be a good bridge between The White Stripes and Belle & Sebastian. They're upbeat and fun while still being precious. They have some of the same sort of teen angst as Belle & Sebastian, but without the obsessive navel-gazing (and I do love me some Belle & Sebastian).
posted by darksong at 5:31 AM on December 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by darksong at 5:31 AM on December 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
Just stopping by because I've been listening to Warren Zevon nonstop lately, and I wished I'd had a cool uncle to introduce him to me as a teenager.
And, don't forget a heavy dose of Zeppelin. Shoot, at that age, might have to introduce some Nirvana and Alice in Chains too.
posted by General Malaise at 6:26 AM on December 30, 2009
And, don't forget a heavy dose of Zeppelin. Shoot, at that age, might have to introduce some Nirvana and Alice in Chains too.
posted by General Malaise at 6:26 AM on December 30, 2009
Response by poster:
Hate to be cliché, but you should include something from Loveless. Hell, I would probably just burn the whole album.
I couldn't care less about My Bloody Valentine - save loving You Made Me Realise - it sounded very dated to me as a teenager in the late '90s. I wonder what I'm not hearing because I know people who go crackers over it.
Good call on John Spencer - don't think I have any to hand.
NB: I was born in 1982 :) Oinopaponton, we were sisters from different misters.
posted by mippy at 6:33 AM on December 30, 2009
Hate to be cliché, but you should include something from Loveless. Hell, I would probably just burn the whole album.
I couldn't care less about My Bloody Valentine - save loving You Made Me Realise - it sounded very dated to me as a teenager in the late '90s. I wonder what I'm not hearing because I know people who go crackers over it.
Good call on John Spencer - don't think I have any to hand.
NB: I was born in 1982 :) Oinopaponton, we were sisters from different misters.
posted by mippy at 6:33 AM on December 30, 2009
Man, some great suggestions- the pixies- bossanova was the first real cd I ever owned. Wire's fantastic, especially pink flag, as well as the fall.
If you were really into the fall, pavement may be more accessible, being an american group from a later decade and all, but with the same basic concepts/sounds.
I grew up in NC so I had indie rock at my fingertips from the beginning- great starts for me:
I did listen to john spencer, but found it kind of hard to get into in highschool
Also, make sure that whatever bands you add, you can take him to some of their shows.
JAWBREAKER!!!!!
Archers of loaf
Superchunk
REM- back in the day as in everything before monster
Operation Ivy
lou barlow/ dinosaur jr (farm, their latest album's pretty amazing, their older stuff is sort of scattered and can be a little much, or way too little for someone that age)
sonic youth
And you will know us by the trail of dead
Sparta
sunny day real estate- diary, I'd stay away from their other stuff until he decides he likes them or not, it's a little more accessible.
posted by TheBones at 6:59 AM on December 30, 2009
If you were really into the fall, pavement may be more accessible, being an american group from a later decade and all, but with the same basic concepts/sounds.
I grew up in NC so I had indie rock at my fingertips from the beginning- great starts for me:
I did listen to john spencer, but found it kind of hard to get into in highschool
Also, make sure that whatever bands you add, you can take him to some of their shows.
JAWBREAKER!!!!!
Archers of loaf
Superchunk
REM- back in the day as in everything before monster
Operation Ivy
lou barlow/ dinosaur jr (farm, their latest album's pretty amazing, their older stuff is sort of scattered and can be a little much, or way too little for someone that age)
sonic youth
And you will know us by the trail of dead
Sparta
sunny day real estate- diary, I'd stay away from their other stuff until he decides he likes them or not, it's a little more accessible.
posted by TheBones at 6:59 AM on December 30, 2009
Music I wish I had heard/could have heard at 13, growing up in the middle of cows and country music:
posted by namewithoutwords at 6:59 AM on December 30, 2009
- Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
- Mission of Burma - Vs.
- Minor Threat - Discography
- Fugazi - In On The Kill Taker
- Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising
- Built To Spill - Perfect From Now On
- Belle & Sebastian - Tigermilk
- The Clash - The Clash
- Rancid - ...And Out Come The Wolves
- The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
- Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
- Black Sabbath - Paranoid
- Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
- The Who - Tommy
- Pink Floyd - The Wall
posted by namewithoutwords at 6:59 AM on December 30, 2009
er, "into at 13, thankfully". where's my edit window, pb?
posted by namewithoutwords at 7:00 AM on December 30, 2009
posted by namewithoutwords at 7:00 AM on December 30, 2009
Wow, this is broad. Seems like almost any good, non-obscene rock music from the past 20 years would fit.
From the '90s: the Smashing Pumpkins, the Breeders, Radiohead (any song from The Bends), the Flaming Lips ...
From the '00s: Death Cab for Cutie, the Arcade Fire, the New Pornographers, Rilo Kiley (especially their album The Execution of All Things)...
posted by Jaltcoh at 7:10 AM on December 30, 2009
From the '90s: the Smashing Pumpkins, the Breeders, Radiohead (any song from The Bends), the Flaming Lips ...
From the '00s: Death Cab for Cutie, the Arcade Fire, the New Pornographers, Rilo Kiley (especially their album The Execution of All Things)...
posted by Jaltcoh at 7:10 AM on December 30, 2009
So wish I had an uncle like you.
Might be a bit uk-centric.
guitar-wise
Something corporate, snow patrol, White lies, the killers, lush, the cribs, razorlight
add neil young, dire straights and elbow to the 17yrs old cd
dance (as some is okay)
mgmt, little boots
are worth checking out
seconding the 'take them to see gigs live' when you can. 16?
As only recently started myself, it's great way to experience music.
posted by 92_elements at 7:34 AM on December 30, 2009
Might be a bit uk-centric.
guitar-wise
Something corporate, snow patrol, White lies, the killers, lush, the cribs, razorlight
add neil young, dire straights and elbow to the 17yrs old cd
dance (as some is okay)
mgmt, little boots
are worth checking out
seconding the 'take them to see gigs live' when you can. 16?
As only recently started myself, it's great way to experience music.
posted by 92_elements at 7:34 AM on December 30, 2009
XTC
posted by WeekendJen at 7:41 AM on December 30, 2009
posted by WeekendJen at 7:41 AM on December 30, 2009
Forgot maximo park, the temper trap. so got to make this cd as a present for my teenage cousin.
posted by 92_elements at 7:45 AM on December 30, 2009
posted by 92_elements at 7:45 AM on December 30, 2009
Put the song "Marquee Moon" by Television on there. It will seriously blow his guitar-loving mind. The song immediately starts out with a sweet riff and the lyrics don't make much sense but they're great fun to sing along with and just plain interesting in their drama and epic swoop ("I rememberrrrr... when the darkness DOUBLED! I recallllll, lightning... struck ITSELLLLLF!"). Plus, the solos! The solos are absolutely phenomenal examples of guitar wizardry. And the rest of the album (also titled Marquee Moon) is pretty great, too.
posted by cobwebberies at 9:39 AM on December 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by cobwebberies at 9:39 AM on December 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
The Smiths do not require a breakup. The Smiths are a staple of late adolescence, might as well start him off early. The idea is to prepare the kids for the breakups.
Seconding Jawbreaker.
But more than that, the coolest thing would be to love a few bands that still tour, and do so relatively cheaply. That is what changes your life, or leaves you wanting for lack of it.
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down have a nice pop sensibility and a really good live show. Seconding Built to Spill too, though I've never seen them live.
posted by kensington314 at 11:41 AM on December 30, 2009
Seconding Jawbreaker.
But more than that, the coolest thing would be to love a few bands that still tour, and do so relatively cheaply. That is what changes your life, or leaves you wanting for lack of it.
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down have a nice pop sensibility and a really good live show. Seconding Built to Spill too, though I've never seen them live.
posted by kensington314 at 11:41 AM on December 30, 2009
Response by poster: Don't know Jawbreaker, but have some Jawbone! I think all teenage boys need them some Buzzcocks. Cornelius might be a good one too - the remix of Tender is sublime. Hate non-Barrett Floyd, but I think it's worth being given the chance to make up one's own mind.
It took me a long time to get into Sebadoh, tho I still remember how awesome it was to see Lou Barlow go bonkers on BBC1 when Flame hit the charts.
There are no gigs near him - and the last train back is too early for seeing them in Manchester. Maybe if he visits us in London.
As a kid, everyone who didn't like dance music seemed to like Nirvana, so I'm sure he's come across them.
posted by mippy at 1:00 PM on December 30, 2009
It took me a long time to get into Sebadoh, tho I still remember how awesome it was to see Lou Barlow go bonkers on BBC1 when Flame hit the charts.
There are no gigs near him - and the last train back is too early for seeing them in Manchester. Maybe if he visits us in London.
As a kid, everyone who didn't like dance music seemed to like Nirvana, so I'm sure he's come across them.
posted by mippy at 1:00 PM on December 30, 2009
I, of course, have to chime in and agree with the recommendation for Jawbreaker. Give him "Dear You" and let him work his way backwards into their catalog.
posted by namewithoutwords at 1:27 PM on December 30, 2009
posted by namewithoutwords at 1:27 PM on December 30, 2009
I was actually coming back to say Jawbreaker, and now see that two people have. Late '80s-early '90s punk rock that sounds current even now (and better than anything else).
And, don't necessarily thing that he'll be familiar with Nirvana outside of the couple of singles they still play on the radio ("Smells Like Teen Spirit," I'm looking at you). Bleach, for example, is hardly ever played anymore, kids definitely don't know it, and is, arguably, one of their best albums.
While I'm thinking about it, for some pop spirit, could spot in some Bay City Rollers. Speaking of which, even some Ramones, which, I remember my generation rediscovering only after "I Wanna Be Sedated" prominently appeared on "My So-Called Life."
posted by General Malaise at 1:46 PM on December 30, 2009
And, don't necessarily thing that he'll be familiar with Nirvana outside of the couple of singles they still play on the radio ("Smells Like Teen Spirit," I'm looking at you). Bleach, for example, is hardly ever played anymore, kids definitely don't know it, and is, arguably, one of their best albums.
While I'm thinking about it, for some pop spirit, could spot in some Bay City Rollers. Speaking of which, even some Ramones, which, I remember my generation rediscovering only after "I Wanna Be Sedated" prominently appeared on "My So-Called Life."
posted by General Malaise at 1:46 PM on December 30, 2009
Death From Above 1979
posted by SarahElizaP at 2:08 PM on December 30, 2009
posted by SarahElizaP at 2:08 PM on December 30, 2009
Best answer: Some of what I'm about to say has been said already, I'm emphasising it. My thinking here is to work backwards from bands he likes, and try to introduce him to some of their influences and show him how we got to stuff like Keane and Coldplay (I'm concentrating on them rather than the Jack White stuff).
So I'm echoing the calls for the Smiths, Roses, and Mondays. Add in Joy Division (but only one tune, maybe 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' or 'She's Lost Control'. You're right about the Buzzcocks and obviously the Fall (go accessible - 'Hit the North'?). Oh, and definitely some New Order - 'Blue Monday' if he doesn't know it, something a bit more obscure otherwise. Maybe Echo and the Bunnymen to go with the early 80s stuff, Primal Scream to tie in to the Roses and the Mondays.
Add in some Pulp, Blur and Suede and maybe Elastica and James to cover the evolution of 90s British indie (he presumably knows Oasis, but you could dig out something more obscure like 'Whatever' or 'The Masterplan' or one of the album tracks from the first album). Radiohead and the Verve. If you want to take it a little more left-field, then Spiritualised (or Spacemen 3), Super Furry Animals.
Then you can go back to the roots - stuff like the Beatles (maybe 'Tomorrow Never Knows' or 'A Day in the Life' (I remember being blown away the first time I heard that) or 'For No-One'); Wire; Big Star; Velvet Underground, Stooges; Love.
Another approach: check Allmusic Guide for the bands he likes, and look at their influences (that's what made me choose Echo & the Bunnymen - Coldplay are influenced by them).
That should cover three CD's or so ;-). [I have a nephew too...]
posted by Infinite Jest at 2:31 PM on December 30, 2009
So I'm echoing the calls for the Smiths, Roses, and Mondays. Add in Joy Division (but only one tune, maybe 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' or 'She's Lost Control'. You're right about the Buzzcocks and obviously the Fall (go accessible - 'Hit the North'?). Oh, and definitely some New Order - 'Blue Monday' if he doesn't know it, something a bit more obscure otherwise. Maybe Echo and the Bunnymen to go with the early 80s stuff, Primal Scream to tie in to the Roses and the Mondays.
Add in some Pulp, Blur and Suede and maybe Elastica and James to cover the evolution of 90s British indie (he presumably knows Oasis, but you could dig out something more obscure like 'Whatever' or 'The Masterplan' or one of the album tracks from the first album). Radiohead and the Verve. If you want to take it a little more left-field, then Spiritualised (or Spacemen 3), Super Furry Animals.
Then you can go back to the roots - stuff like the Beatles (maybe 'Tomorrow Never Knows' or 'A Day in the Life' (I remember being blown away the first time I heard that) or 'For No-One'); Wire; Big Star; Velvet Underground, Stooges; Love.
Another approach: check Allmusic Guide for the bands he likes, and look at their influences (that's what made me choose Echo & the Bunnymen - Coldplay are influenced by them).
That should cover three CD's or so ;-). [I have a nephew too...]
posted by Infinite Jest at 2:31 PM on December 30, 2009
Oh: Jesus and Marychain + Glasvegas?
posted by Infinite Jest at 2:32 PM on December 30, 2009
posted by Infinite Jest at 2:32 PM on December 30, 2009
You should have some Yo La Tengo on there - definitely. Exceptionally good, and getting better.
posted by radioedit at 3:09 PM on December 30, 2009
posted by radioedit at 3:09 PM on December 30, 2009
Elastica... yes! Good call, Infinite Jest. Definitely the first Elastica album.
posted by Kattullus at 4:37 PM on December 30, 2009
posted by Kattullus at 4:37 PM on December 30, 2009
Heh, from the title, I take it Art Brut is already in the mix?
White Stripes --> Billy Childish's bands, Oblivians
Gorrilaz --> Big Audio Dynamite
The original Modern Lovers lineup, definitely.
Bikini Kill, maybe?
There's a new band called The Strange Boys that I'm liking a lot right now.
Nthing that you should take him to shows.
posted by Bigfoot Mandala at 5:22 PM on December 30, 2009
White Stripes --> Billy Childish's bands, Oblivians
Gorrilaz --> Big Audio Dynamite
The original Modern Lovers lineup, definitely.
Bikini Kill, maybe?
There's a new band called The Strange Boys that I'm liking a lot right now.
Nthing that you should take him to shows.
posted by Bigfoot Mandala at 5:22 PM on December 30, 2009
P.S. The. Breeders.
posted by General Malaise at 10:25 PM on December 30, 2009
posted by General Malaise at 10:25 PM on December 30, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Kattullus at 4:44 AM on December 30, 2009 [1 favorite]