I need new music but have no specific area I tend to like. Recommend some excellent music please.

June 23, 2004 7:20 AM

I need new music. What I like doesn't follow any rule of thumb. I generally will not find indie cruft interesting, but hey, you never know. More or less what I'm looking for is what you think is better than good, not just better than "sucks".
posted by angry modem to media & arts (48 comments total)

Can you toss us a bone? Maybe name three or four bands or albums you do like...? Or are you trying to go a whole new direction here? I am listening to this now: Stairwell Sisters [bluegrass standards], Holy Modal Rounders [bluegrass-ish weirdness], Crooked Jades [indie alt.country], The Bothy Band [irish/gaelic], Natalie McMaster [Cape Breton fiddle] and the Jurassic Five [hip hop]. I think each band is extraordinary in its genre, but if you hate the whole genre, I can't help you.
posted by jessamyn at 7:32 AM on June 23, 2004

I'm really into the new CD by Rasputina, even though I was never a huge fan of their other stuff.

You might love it or hate it, but it is certainly "different". (Samples can be found on the linked Amazon page.)
posted by JoanArkham at 7:34 AM on June 23, 2004

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds "The Boatman's Call" is truly great.

Beck's "Sea Change" is also exceptional.

The Waterboys "This is the Sea" is very good.

Have been listening to Bic Runga lately and loving here though she may be a bit mainstream for your tastes.

Am too lazy to look for links lest they go unclicked. Sorry.
posted by kenaman at 7:51 AM on June 23, 2004

i've started listening to jazz. if you're curious, but have no idea where to start, try "kind of blue" by miles davis (apologies to jazz oficianandos - i realize i'm saying something incredibly vague here)
posted by andrew cooke at 7:59 AM on June 23, 2004

No bones, just dump what you like. Have some fun with it! :-) The more, the better. Don't be self-conscious. I'll be mining through it and sampling tracks off of soulseek.
posted by angry modem at 8:13 AM on June 23, 2004

I know this puts me about 8 months behind the cool-curve, but I've really been in to some mash-ups recently. I can't get enough of "Encore" off the slack album. And Miss Frenchie always spins the stax of wax that funk up your backs (side). It's all out there, just search for "mash-up" or "bastard-pop".
posted by Capn at 8:18 AM on June 23, 2004

Oh, and how could I not mention what I was listening to while I wrote the above? The Silverhearts Woo! Southern Ontario!!! Represent!!!
posted by Capn at 8:22 AM on June 23, 2004

I tell everyone I know about Eddie From Ohio. They call themselves Folk, but I see them more of an acoustic rock/comedy act. The most amazing percussionist I've ever seen, and a lead vocalist who can belt out just about any style (listen to 'Great Day' to really hear her at work).
posted by bondcliff at 8:32 AM on June 23, 2004

Okay, random ...

I've really been enjoying Al Stewart's 1976 album, The Year of The Cat -- particularly "Lord Grenville" and the title track. Something about it finds a home in my brain. For my birthday, my fiance bought me a newish folk-blues-gospel album by Ollabelle. When payday comes, I'm buying Cannonball Adderley's album of songs from Fiddler on the Roof -- I heard the track "Do You Love Me?" the other day and couldn't stop smiling.
posted by grabbingsand at 8:34 AM on June 23, 2004

I've been going through a mid-90s Brit electronica phase. Try Goldie's Timeless, Portishead's Portishead, Tricky's Maxinquaye and Massive Attack's Mezzanine.
posted by bonaldi at 8:43 AM on June 23, 2004

Groove Armada's "Vertigo" and Royksopp's "Melody A.M.". The first two albums that come to mind where I like every single track.
posted by ralawrence at 8:47 AM on June 23, 2004

If you're looking for diverse new music, one of the best things in the world right now is the blossoming movement of mp3bloggers. Dozens of blogs, posting several mp3s a day - it's a motley bag of wonderful proportions.

Mine is called Said the Gramophone (folk, indie pop, hip-hop, and more.)

Some favourites:
Music for Robots (a group-blog with everything from microhouse to singer-songwriter; with an indie bent.)

Fluxblog (dance, pop, and joycore rock.)

Tofu Hut (vintage bluegrass/r&b/blues, with lots of new soulful things as well.)

Soul Sides (old soul and r&b.)

Cocaine Blunts (classic hip-hop.)

Fat Planet (a mixed bag from around the globe.)

Gabba | Pod (dance and electronics, mostly, outta the UK.)

Moistworks (lately it's been classic rock, dance and singer-songwriter.)

Teaching the Indie Kids to Dance Again (garage, indie rock, ska.)

Moebius Rex (rare and wonderful dance/idm/hip-hop.)

There are dozens (hundreds?) more, if you browse peoples' blogrolls.

Oh - and some disparate song recommendations? Okkervil River - "Westfall"; Mia - "Galang"; Wheat - "I Met a Girl"; Nico - "These Days"; Jude - "I Do"; Clinic - "Come ino Our Room"; M83 - "America"; Hidden Cameras - "Ban Marriage"; Mirah - "Cold Cold Water"; Tom Ze - "Vai"; Divine Comedy - "Our Mutual Friend"; The Books - "The Lemon of Pink Pt. 1"; King Creosote - "Lavender Moon"; Luomo - "Tessio"; Shout Out Louds - "The Comeback"; One T and Cool T - "Magic Key"; Eamon - "Fuck It"; Jay-Z - "Heart of the City"; Bubba Sparxxx - "Nowhere"; Geoff Muldaur - "Brazil". . . We'll leave it there.
posted by Marquis at 8:56 AM on June 23, 2004

Robert Randolph and the Family Band, download anything and everything of theirs that's live. Don't bother with the studio stuff.
posted by rorycberger at 8:56 AM on June 23, 2004

The Darkness blows my mind, currently. Also see Swervedriver and My Bloody Valentine. Throw in some Chicks on Speed and sprinkle gingerly with Snake River Conspiracy.
posted by signal at 8:59 AM on June 23, 2004

Scott Walker
posted by corpse at 9:03 AM on June 23, 2004

I refer the Hounourable Member to my answers given previously. 1,2.

In fact the whole of scody's thread is a good start.
posted by i_cola at 9:03 AM on June 23, 2004

my play list lately: The Decemberists, Mia Doi Todd, PJ Harvey, Rose Polenzani (free downloads there), Dan Bern, Graham Coxon.
posted by th3ph17 at 9:06 AM on June 23, 2004

I've been finding a lot of my new music lately over at GarageBand. My favorite songs typically not at the top of the charts (which tend to be a little conformist to the stereotypes of the genre), but about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way down from the top. I've been finding a wide variety of music by some really good songwriters.

You can check out my playlist with some of my favorite songs. My list is biased towards acoustic music, but you can find plenty of hard rock, electronica or whatever you like at GarageBand, if that's your taste. Note that the "play" buttons open a RealPlayer stream, but you can follow the links to the individual songs and download MP3s.

Some of my current favorite artists on the list are Michael Heaton, Woodstock Taylor, and RathKeltair.
posted by tdismukes at 9:15 AM on June 23, 2004

My "better than good" playlist lately has been--

Dizzee Rascal--Boy in Da Corner
Oingo Boingo--Farewell
Diana Ross--diana (a two-disc set, notable for the previously unreleased Nile Rodgers mix of the original album)
Dave Holland Quintet--Extended Play Live at Birdland
posted by Prospero at 9:46 AM on June 23, 2004

Preacher Boy!

He's been a constant on my iPod for a few months now. Genre-wise, I guess he's "alt-blues" or something.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:49 AM on June 23, 2004

What is this, music week on AskMe?

Richard Thompson can do little wrong. "Pour Down Like Silver", "The Old Kit Bag", "Mock Tudor", and "Shoot Out the Lights" are all excellent. The 3CD compilation "Watching the Dark" has some excellent live tracks. He has an album called "1,000 Years of Popular Music" that starts with a round from the 11th century and ends with "Oops, I Did It Again".

I second the Decemberists and Oingo Boingo's Farewell and suggest that if you like it you should get Boingo (NOT Boi-ngo, a much different album).

(On preview: Corpse is dead-on [heh] about Scott Walker.)

I will also nominate John Cale's "Fragments of a Rainy Season", a live album with an excellent version of "The Chinese Envoy"; Tim Buckley's "Lorca" and "Happy/Sad"; Nico's "The Marble Index"; Robert Wyatt's "Rock Bottom"; The Incredible String Band's "5,000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion/Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" (you can get 'em as a twofer); David Sylvian's "Blemish", and Talk Talk's "Laughing Stock".

And that's enough for now. (Good thing I'm returning to where I won't have internet access for a week tomorrow or I'd go crazy with the music threads.)
posted by kenko at 10:05 AM on June 23, 2004

I recently re-discovered the Beach Boys - not the "Surfin USA" style Beach Boys - but the period between Pet Sounds and Holland. If you are looking for a place to start, try Sunflower and the wonderfully depressing Surf's Up. Love it.
posted by Quartermass at 10:47 AM on June 23, 2004

Radiohead - OK Computer. Everything else by them is amazing too (except Pablo Honey, which is just good), but that's a good start.
posted by abcde at 10:54 AM on June 23, 2004

Hawksley Workman. I don't understand how he hasn't received any attention from the US yet. Every song on his first two albums (For Him and the Girls and Last Night We Were the Delicious Wolves) is on my playlist all the time.
posted by emyd at 11:02 AM on June 23, 2004

I'm crazy about The Unicorns lately.

Also been revisiting Modest Mouse's The Moon and Antarctica

Doug Martsch's cd is one that I rarely go long without, and of course, always, The Books
posted by soplerfo at 11:26 AM on June 23, 2004

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Saucepan Bach. I particularly like his song "Meaning", but I'm still exploring his other stuff.
posted by tdismukes at 11:27 AM on June 23, 2004

(to second someone from above)

My indie friends love the Decemberists, my stuck-in-the-early-90's alt. rock friends love the Decemberists, my stubborn-as-hell-classic-rock friends love the Decemberists, my top-40-is-ok-i-guess friends love the Decemberists... so.....

First album to check out: Castaways and Cut-outs
Best Songs (in order):
"Legionnaire's Lament" --> Quirky Pop Treat
"Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect" --> Sullen Intricate Musings on Life
"July, July" --> Cleverly Addictive Pop
"Leslie Anne Levine" --> Nostalgic Acoustic Folk

Overall, they mix pirates, incredible (if often antiquated) diction, a unique sense of history, Colin Meloy's stellar songwriting skills and bending voice, and varied instrumentation under the guise of straightforward pop.
posted by themadjuggler at 11:30 AM on June 23, 2004

soplerfo - I checked out your link for The Unicorns. Interesting. Not what I'd call great music, but their cheerful, low-fi cheesiness made me smile.
posted by tdismukes at 11:35 AM on June 23, 2004

tdiskmukes: Try listening to the lyrics more closely. I think their affected cheesiness hides some real depth. =)

My personal reccomendations are Broken Social Scene and Stars. The former moreso than the latter.
posted by sid at 11:45 AM on June 23, 2004

I highly recommend checking out the Unicorns' studio stuff - the live mp3s on their site don't do them justice at all - they are admittedly silly, but there's a lot more to them than that...
posted by soplerfo at 12:20 PM on June 23, 2004

Try Lightning Bolt (here's an MP3)

They sound like this:

posted by dodgygeezer at 12:54 PM on June 23, 2004

some idm:

fizzarum - monochrom plural
autechre - tri repetae, chiclisuite
arovane - tides, atol scrap
telefon tel aviv - fahrenheit fair enough, immediate action 8
posted by juv3nal at 12:56 PM on June 23, 2004

Frou Frou: (album: details) electro-pop with amazing female vocalist Imogen Heap. Her earlier solo effort I megaphone is also good.

Porcupine Tree (album: in Absentia) the Tree is my favorite at the moment. Their sound is a spacey guitar rock, with very good production and songwriting. Unlike the jaded indie phrase "I liked their earlier stuff better", I like the latest album the best.

I'll agree with the earlier poster who recommended modest mouse, and especially the song "dramamine" which I love.

My Morning Jacket: (It still moves) spacey southern american guitar rock.

Also, a lot of people off the Ninja Tune label I like: bonobo, cinematic orchestra, DJ Food.
posted by spatula at 1:05 PM on June 23, 2004

In the "quiet, pretty, and acoustic" category, I'll suggest Sufjan Stevens, Seven Swans; Jolie Holland, Catalpa and Escondida; Iron & Wine, The Creek Drank the Cradle and Our Endless Numbered Days; and, of course, Nick Drake, Pink Moon.
posted by Hegemonic at 1:18 PM on June 23, 2004

I really like Badly Drawn Boy a lot. Very sweet & catchy pop music.
posted by luriete at 1:42 PM on June 23, 2004

Ivy - Guestroom;
Love Psychedelico;
Is the Flaming Lips too obvious?
posted by gramcracker at 1:51 PM on June 23, 2004

I've always liked "classic rock" retreads: Pearl Jam, Matthew Sweet. Now I'm into Stuart Davis. If you can find a better lyricist, my head will explode.
posted by goethean at 2:00 PM on June 23, 2004

Have you listened to Ozomatli? I haven't heard the new album yet (came out yesterday), but I listen to the fisrt two all the time.
posted by teo at 2:31 PM on June 23, 2004

Subscribe to Rhapsody - you'll quickly be able to trial loads of great music (including much of what's on this page) and get recommendations for other stuff - all at a very low price.
posted by skylar at 2:34 PM on June 23, 2004

I mentioned Califone in my initial post in the previously-mentioned thread. Great blend of acoustic alt-country/folky-blues with electronic atmospherics and experimental noise, all layered with Tim Rutilli's beautifully hazy-surreal lyrics. I'd recommend starting with their release from last year, Quicksands/Cradlesnakes, but frankly I think everything they've done is brilliant.
posted by scody at 3:31 PM on June 23, 2004

When you allow his music to seep into you, David Sylvian can make your life much, much better.

"Gone to Earth" and "Secrets of the Beehive" are both wonderful.
posted by davebush at 3:40 PM on June 23, 2004

Um. OK, obssession first: Eno. You could do worse than checking out everything and anything his name's connected with (almost) - Penguin Café Orchestra, David Byrne & Eno, J Peter Schwalm & Eno, Laraaji, etc.

Sainkho Namtchylak, I like: weird Tuvanese Buddhist-avant-garde-throat-singing-rock-stuff.

You could look here as well: Charlie Gillett's The Sound of the World - I love his half-hour programmes on the BBC World Service, but there's a two hour show he does for BBC London - which is available on demand by clicking on the "Saturday Night on BBC London" button and selecting "Latest show on demand" on the site.

He also has some compilation albums of the music he showcases out - the "World" series (World 2003, World 2004 ...) which I've actually just ordered from Amazon.
posted by Blue Stone at 5:10 PM on June 23, 2004

Blue Stone: there's a new Fripp & Eno album forthcoming, apparently. Fripp and Eno both seem to think it's gonna be good.
posted by kenko at 6:31 PM on June 23, 2004

They've been moving into the mainstream (I guess) but The Shins are quite good. Not something I'd want to listen to all the time, but they do suit a certain mood. I've been recomending The New Pornographers for awhile now.
Other random recommendations include: Thelonious Monk, Rockapella, and The Thrills. Amazon carries them all.
posted by Grod at 6:38 PM on June 23, 2004

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Arthur Russell. The World of Arthur Russell was quite simply my most remarkable discovery of the year.

Other things that I'm convinced everybody should hear, that haven't yet been recommended, and might have slipped through your radars:

Dave Holland Quintet - Extended Play: Live at Birdland
Jan Jelinek - Loop-finding-jazz-records
The Congos - Heart of the Congos
Jackie-O Motherfucker - Fig. 5
Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians (nonesuch recording)
posted by .kobayashi. at 8:24 PM on June 23, 2004

For me, Stockholm Sweden's, The Hellacopters the greatest band in Rock and Roll nowadays. Good, straight forward rock and roll, kids.

Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys are some most-excellent western swing with a bit of Jazz thrown in. The put on some of the best shows around too.

Mastodon is also one of my most favorites to listen to the last few years. Fantastic metal, if your into that kind of stuff.

And just to spark things up: Finland's Children of Bodom play some crazy metal like none other.
posted by punkrockrat at 8:48 PM on June 23, 2004

Thelonius Monk is drunk wandering jazz.

The Phoenix Foundation [This Charming Van - MP3] are the kind of band you'd like to stumble upon your campfire and play a few songs.

Little Things by Trinity Roots [Realvideo] is paced drum and bass reggae that everyone seems to love.

Enjoy.
posted by holloway at 8:59 PM on June 23, 2004

If you like obscure idm, I've been recommending to anyone who'll listen Takagi Masakatsu, extemely multi-talented and prolific artist.
posted by bobo123 at 12:02 AM on June 24, 2004