My music tastes are stuck in 2004. Find me new music to love!
June 23, 2016 4:47 PM Subscribe
I used to really love being up on new music, but I got old, got boring, had a kid, and got out of touch. I'm getting kind of sick of my music collection and would love to find some new tunes.
My music tastes are largely a former indie kid cliche. Neutral Milk Hotel, the Mountain Goats, Bright Eyes, Ben Folds, the White Stripes, the Weakerthans, Arcade Fire, The Shins, Hefner, the Postal Service, Belle and Sebastian. When I was twelve I was obsessed with the Beatles (I'm a John fan, if that matters) and I'm still a sucker for British music--I really like Badly Drawn Boy and Queen and Frank Turner and David Bowie. On the other hand, my favorite band ever is Tullycraft. I prefer music with a punk or glam or folk edge that isn't overproduced, and I like upbeat-sounding music. Pretty much every song I've ever given a thumbs up to on pandora is in a major key tonality. I really love concept albums (Band of Horses, Janelle Monae), have a soft spot for Andrew WK and love smart, tricky, intricate lyrics. I like the kind of stuff that's played on Little Steven's Underground Garage, usually. The last band I got obsessed with was the Thermals, but that was at least four years ago and I have no idea what's happening with music now. I tried listening to google play's summer 2016 indie playlist and was bored senseless.
Tell me what to add to my summer mixed tape, metafilter! Help me fall in love with some new music.
My music tastes are largely a former indie kid cliche. Neutral Milk Hotel, the Mountain Goats, Bright Eyes, Ben Folds, the White Stripes, the Weakerthans, Arcade Fire, The Shins, Hefner, the Postal Service, Belle and Sebastian. When I was twelve I was obsessed with the Beatles (I'm a John fan, if that matters) and I'm still a sucker for British music--I really like Badly Drawn Boy and Queen and Frank Turner and David Bowie. On the other hand, my favorite band ever is Tullycraft. I prefer music with a punk or glam or folk edge that isn't overproduced, and I like upbeat-sounding music. Pretty much every song I've ever given a thumbs up to on pandora is in a major key tonality. I really love concept albums (Band of Horses, Janelle Monae), have a soft spot for Andrew WK and love smart, tricky, intricate lyrics. I like the kind of stuff that's played on Little Steven's Underground Garage, usually. The last band I got obsessed with was the Thermals, but that was at least four years ago and I have no idea what's happening with music now. I tried listening to google play's summer 2016 indie playlist and was bored senseless.
Tell me what to add to my summer mixed tape, metafilter! Help me fall in love with some new music.
Best answer: Self-serving link in my profile. I do a weekly podcast of which about 50-60% is typically indie fare. Tullycraft is a major fav of mine and just played new stuff from Darren hayman of Hefner. I also post 10 new streaming recommendations each week.
posted by noloveforned at 5:00 PM on June 23, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by noloveforned at 5:00 PM on June 23, 2016 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: (Of course now I realize that when I said Band of Horses I was thinking of Rock Plaza Central's Are We Not Horses? and you can take away my indie rock cred card now.)
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:01 PM on June 23, 2016
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:01 PM on June 23, 2016
Best answer: As for specific band recommendations (all either twee, clever or garagey)-boat, math and physics club, this many boyfriends, dangerous ponies, royal headache, bed wetting bad boys, quarterbacks
posted by noloveforned at 5:12 PM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by noloveforned at 5:12 PM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
Pinback (Loro 2001, Non Photo-Blue 2004, Walters 2007)
Fiona Apple (Get Gone 1999, Tymps 2005, Hot Knife 2013)
Ghostland Observatory (Sad Sad City 2006, No Place For Me 2008, Give Me The Beat 2010)
Phantogram (You Are The Ocean And I'm Good At Drowning 2009, Don't Move 2011, Never Going Home 2013)
posted by meemzi at 6:08 PM on June 23, 2016
Fiona Apple (Get Gone 1999, Tymps 2005, Hot Knife 2013)
Ghostland Observatory (Sad Sad City 2006, No Place For Me 2008, Give Me The Beat 2010)
Phantogram (You Are The Ocean And I'm Good At Drowning 2009, Don't Move 2011, Never Going Home 2013)
posted by meemzi at 6:08 PM on June 23, 2016
WXPN out of Philadelphia streams online; here's their playlist page.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:13 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:13 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You need to define "new" by a precise year otherwise you'll get a bunch of 90s crap. Anywayz, here's a Spotify playlist of stuff from this year like Tacocat, Andy Shauf, Big Thief and the Fruitbats, just to name a few.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:43 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:43 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Thee oh sees
No age
Magik Markers
None of these bands are new but if new to you they're worth checking out.
posted by blairsyprofane at 8:21 PM on June 23, 2016
No age
Magik Markers
None of these bands are new but if new to you they're worth checking out.
posted by blairsyprofane at 8:21 PM on June 23, 2016
To hear new music, I listen to BBC 6 Music at work. My favorite of the DJs is Steve Lamacq.
Right now isn’t a typical time to listen because Glastonbury just started, though you can stream previous shows.
But that also means that right now you can listen to Glastonbury, live and recorded!!!
posted by quarterinmyshoe at 8:26 PM on June 23, 2016
Right now isn’t a typical time to listen because Glastonbury just started, though you can stream previous shows.
But that also means that right now you can listen to Glastonbury, live and recorded!!!
posted by quarterinmyshoe at 8:26 PM on June 23, 2016
Response by poster: You need to define "new" by a precise year otherwise you'll get a bunch of 90s crap. Anywayz, here's a Spotify playlist of stuff from this year like Tacocat, Andy Shauf, Big Thief and the Fruitbats, just to name a few.
Sure, let's say post-2012 or so. Like, I'm definitely aware of Pinback and Fiona Apple.
Tacocat is awesome, btw!! and noloveforned, your podcast is great and we enjoyed it during dinner tonight. Keep the suggestions coming, guys!
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:11 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Sure, let's say post-2012 or so. Like, I'm definitely aware of Pinback and Fiona Apple.
Tacocat is awesome, btw!! and noloveforned, your podcast is great and we enjoyed it during dinner tonight. Keep the suggestions coming, guys!
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:11 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
NPR's tiny desk is where we find 99% of our new music. It's awesome! Also, spotify (if you don't have it already). The interface sucks but it's really great to find new music.
posted by onecircleaday at 9:36 PM on June 23, 2016
posted by onecircleaday at 9:36 PM on June 23, 2016
I just listen to KEXP which seems exactly calibrated for someone in your situation (which sounds reasonably familiar). Good mix of "hey, my jam from lunch money days!" and stuff that came out last week. Streaming worldwide at kexp.org :)
posted by town of cats at 9:45 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by town of cats at 9:45 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Pearl & The Beard! Sadly now disbanded, but they put out a few albums over the last five years or so. Here's Prodigal Daughter
Kishi Bashi A live show
Lucius Here's Turn It Around
Bent Knee (Boston-local and fantastic) Live version of Hands Up (stick with it, it gets sunny)
posted by prewar lemonade at 10:53 PM on June 23, 2016
Kishi Bashi A live show
Lucius Here's Turn It Around
Bent Knee (Boston-local and fantastic) Live version of Hands Up (stick with it, it gets sunny)
posted by prewar lemonade at 10:53 PM on June 23, 2016
Shearwater, recent albums Animal Joy (2012) and the new Jetplane & Oxbow (2016) with a music video for "Quiet Americans"!
posted by foxfirefey at 11:50 PM on June 23, 2016
posted by foxfirefey at 11:50 PM on June 23, 2016
I dont know of these are too mild, but!
- Ben Howard
- Bon Iver
- Tame Impala
- The Grizzly Bears
- MGMT
- Allman Brown
- Hozier
- The Lumineers
- Chet Faker
- Beirut (!!!!!!)
posted by speakeasy at 4:36 AM on June 24, 2016 [3 favorites]
- Ben Howard
- Bon Iver
- Tame Impala
- The Grizzly Bears
- MGMT
- Allman Brown
- Hozier
- The Lumineers
- Chet Faker
- Beirut (!!!!!!)
posted by speakeasy at 4:36 AM on June 24, 2016 [3 favorites]
My 2 favorite albums of 2016 so far are:
1. Cardinal by Pinegrove, I think this is their 1st album
2. The 1975's 2nd album which has a really long title, their 1st album (self-titled) came out maybe 3 years ago and is good too
I guess these bands would be considered rock or alternative or indie. I don't know, I'm not good with identifying genres.
posted by glenngulia at 7:12 AM on June 24, 2016
1. Cardinal by Pinegrove, I think this is their 1st album
2. The 1975's 2nd album which has a really long title, their 1st album (self-titled) came out maybe 3 years ago and is good too
I guess these bands would be considered rock or alternative or indie. I don't know, I'm not good with identifying genres.
posted by glenngulia at 7:12 AM on June 24, 2016
Hey, I like that stuff, too!
If you like Janelle Monae, you may also like Raphael Saadiq (from 2008, but still great).
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes.
The Dead Weather with Jack White from The White Stripes.
I really enjoyed Beyonce's new Lemonade album. (I never thought I could like a pop artist - too many years as an angsty indie lover - but this isn't pop-y, and anyway, good tunes is good tunes!) And a song collaboration with Jack White!
Har Mar Superstar's last two albums (Bye Bye 17, Best Summer Ever) are fantastic. Prisoner. Youth Without Love.
Har Mar is on Cult Records, which is owned by Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. (Julian wrote that Youth Without Love song above). When he toured for Bye Bye 17, his co-headliners were the now defunct band The Virgins, also on Cult Records, and they are also fantastic. It gives me memories of the 80s Dire Straits. Flashbacks, Memories and Dreams. Definitely poke around on the videos that Cult Records posted on YouTube to find more artists/songs you might really like.
And, you know, the Hamilton Broadway Cast album is winning awards and selling out shows years in advance for good reason. Come drink that Koolaid if you haven't already!
Lizzo and Caroline Smith are both excellent on their own and together!
Dessa and Doomtree! (Bonus - Bangarang karaoke video with Har Mar - I swear, I'm not obsessed.)
I am lucky that we have an excellent independent radio station here based at the state university in town. (And they stream!) Maybe check out if your area has one, too. MPR's The Current has all the excellent new stuff, too, and it has some of the DJs from the golden 90s/00s where we still had more independent radio stations in our metro area, so you know they like the good stuff.
posted by jillithd at 7:58 AM on June 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
If you like Janelle Monae, you may also like Raphael Saadiq (from 2008, but still great).
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes.
The Dead Weather with Jack White from The White Stripes.
I really enjoyed Beyonce's new Lemonade album. (I never thought I could like a pop artist - too many years as an angsty indie lover - but this isn't pop-y, and anyway, good tunes is good tunes!) And a song collaboration with Jack White!
Har Mar Superstar's last two albums (Bye Bye 17, Best Summer Ever) are fantastic. Prisoner. Youth Without Love.
Har Mar is on Cult Records, which is owned by Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. (Julian wrote that Youth Without Love song above). When he toured for Bye Bye 17, his co-headliners were the now defunct band The Virgins, also on Cult Records, and they are also fantastic. It gives me memories of the 80s Dire Straits. Flashbacks, Memories and Dreams. Definitely poke around on the videos that Cult Records posted on YouTube to find more artists/songs you might really like.
And, you know, the Hamilton Broadway Cast album is winning awards and selling out shows years in advance for good reason. Come drink that Koolaid if you haven't already!
Lizzo and Caroline Smith are both excellent on their own and together!
Dessa and Doomtree! (Bonus - Bangarang karaoke video with Har Mar - I swear, I'm not obsessed.)
I am lucky that we have an excellent independent radio station here based at the state university in town. (And they stream!) Maybe check out if your area has one, too. MPR's The Current has all the excellent new stuff, too, and it has some of the DJs from the golden 90s/00s where we still had more independent radio stations in our metro area, so you know they like the good stuff.
posted by jillithd at 7:58 AM on June 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
Spoon's Transference blew me away. Stripped down, earnest, brash indie rock. "Out Go the Lights." "The Mystery Zone." Angel Olsen's Burn Your Fire For No Witness would be a good corollary to recommend in case you like Spoon's record and have heard it before, but are needing something recent to sink your teeth into. "Hi-Five" and "Windows" for that album.
Sufjan Stevens nailed melancholy to the wall like a pin into a butterfly with his Carrie and Lowell. If you're not in yet love with it, go for it. It's the biggest masterpiece to my ears in the past ten years. Consider yourself encouraged to really get into it and to let it under your skin. "Death With Dignity" and "Should Have Known Better" are the openers, and are two of my favorites.
And then, these are slightly more produced, but I think they're worth exploring in their own right based on your tastes so far: Father John Misty's I Love You, Honeybear, an almost-contemptuous-with-romance concept album made out of chamber folk: definitely try "Holy Shit," "Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)," and "True Affection" on for size. And then there's Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala, which is beautiful baroque pop set against 50's doo-wop and 60's soul, a la The Avalanches, perhaps. Your best bets are "Sipping On the Sweet Nectar" and "Your Arms Around Me" for that one.
posted by a good beginning at 10:20 AM on June 24, 2016
Sufjan Stevens nailed melancholy to the wall like a pin into a butterfly with his Carrie and Lowell. If you're not in yet love with it, go for it. It's the biggest masterpiece to my ears in the past ten years. Consider yourself encouraged to really get into it and to let it under your skin. "Death With Dignity" and "Should Have Known Better" are the openers, and are two of my favorites.
And then, these are slightly more produced, but I think they're worth exploring in their own right based on your tastes so far: Father John Misty's I Love You, Honeybear, an almost-contemptuous-with-romance concept album made out of chamber folk: definitely try "Holy Shit," "Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)," and "True Affection" on for size. And then there's Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala, which is beautiful baroque pop set against 50's doo-wop and 60's soul, a la The Avalanches, perhaps. Your best bets are "Sipping On the Sweet Nectar" and "Your Arms Around Me" for that one.
posted by a good beginning at 10:20 AM on June 24, 2016
I suggest David Bazan (formerly of Pedro the Lion). I also suggest Damien Jurado, who is making interesting folksy/indie music. And Starflyer 59 released a new album this week that rocks.
posted by tacodave at 10:49 AM on June 24, 2016
posted by tacodave at 10:49 AM on June 24, 2016
The past few years I've been spending a lot of time hunting out new music I like and creating pretty epic Spotify playlists of songs I enjoyed from that year. The rule is any given album can only be represented by one song on the playlist, unless it's a compilation album. It's heavily indie skewed, with some pop, hip-hop and classical thrown in. Anyway, other friends have found them to be a good way to find new bands/albums they might enjoy because you can flip through lots of new stuff quickly.
2014
2015
2016
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:38 PM on June 24, 2016 [3 favorites]
2014
2015
2016
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:38 PM on June 24, 2016 [3 favorites]
I like a lot of what you like. The War on Drugs doesn't quite hit what you're asking for, but give them a listen - they're awesome.
posted by backwards guitar at 4:55 PM on June 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by backwards guitar at 4:55 PM on June 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
I just saw Summer Cannibals open for the Thermals, and they were FANTASTIC.
I'll also suggest John Vanderslice, but he's not really putting anything out right now or touring.
Seconding Thee Oh Sees (I GET TO SEE THEM IN NOVEMBER AND I AM STOKED).
The Muffs have a new album and it is SO FREAKING GOOD.
And our tastes are pretty similar, I've been super obsessed with Mikal Cronin for the last couple of years. The stuff he's doing with Ty Segall is really good, but his solo work is GORGEOUS. You'd probably like him a whole lot.
posted by bibliogrrl at 6:54 AM on June 25, 2016
I'll also suggest John Vanderslice, but he's not really putting anything out right now or touring.
Seconding Thee Oh Sees (I GET TO SEE THEM IN NOVEMBER AND I AM STOKED).
The Muffs have a new album and it is SO FREAKING GOOD.
And our tastes are pretty similar, I've been super obsessed with Mikal Cronin for the last couple of years. The stuff he's doing with Ty Segall is really good, but his solo work is GORGEOUS. You'd probably like him a whole lot.
posted by bibliogrrl at 6:54 AM on June 25, 2016
I read this to my wife last night, since you listed nearly everything she listens to that is not Fleetwood Mac or Leonard Cohen. She suggested The Suitcase Junket, who is a consensus favorite in our house (my Taylor Swift-obsessed tween can sing all his songs from memory). He manages to combine great songwriting with homemade percussion and throat singing in a way that just really works. Live shows are always a treat.
posted by SobaFett at 10:27 AM on June 25, 2016
posted by SobaFett at 10:27 AM on June 25, 2016
From the 2010's:
Folk-ish
* The Lumineers
* Local Natives
* Of Monsters and Men
* The Lone Bellow
White Stripes-ish
* Royal Blood
Punk-ish
* Savages
* Japandroids
Mountain Goats-esque:
* The Prettiots
* The Front Bottoms
posted by cnc at 12:32 PM on June 27, 2016
Folk-ish
* The Lumineers
* Local Natives
* Of Monsters and Men
* The Lone Bellow
White Stripes-ish
* Royal Blood
Punk-ish
* Savages
* Japandroids
Mountain Goats-esque:
* The Prettiots
* The Front Bottoms
posted by cnc at 12:32 PM on June 27, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by michaelh at 4:58 PM on June 23, 2016