[Kvitne]

We've had topics on this forum before where we posted what we were currently listening to, or discussed a concert that one of our members went to, but this is different. This is just a topic about music, plain and simple. At least, that's where it's starting off at. Whatever it evolves, or devolves, into is up to the community. I just wanted to talk about music, because even though I don't play any instruments or do any singing of my own, I'm very passionate about it.

My top 5 favorite artists/groups are:

1. Paul Simon
2. Frightened Rabbit
3. Simon and Garfunkel
4. Will Hoge
5. She & Him

All of these artists and groups have more of a rock/folk feel to their music, which I know is a far cry from what a lot of you like (I'm looking at all you Shmeckie-loving metalheads out there). However I urge you to listen to music from each of these 5. They may not have the same hardcore feel that you like listening to, but listen to Paul Simon's lyrics, listen to Frightened Rabbit's lyrics. You can't deny that what they say with their music is, simply put, brilliantly and articulately stated. The imagery Simon and Garfunkel convey with songs like Bleecker Street and The Sound of Silence is simply breathtaking. Will Hoge's songs speak directly to the heart, and She & Him is a group comprised of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. So it's got a hot chick and a brilliant musician, and that must be worth something.

In addition to this I'd like to point out Frightened Rabbit (who Sway introduced me to) has a new single on iTunes. It's called Swim Until You Can't See Land and is my favorite song of this year, if not this decade.

So go ahead and post about the music you like. I'm always looking for new music to discover. In addition, I'd love to hear your input if you listen to any of the groups I posted above, like them or hate them.

[???????]

I'm strange in that most of the things I listen are from videogames or are melodies. Most of the time, it falls under both. Given what you just said, I won't have much to contribute since whatever I talk about will be way off from what everyone else is.

[Kvitne]

I like listening to game music as well. You're more than welcome to talk about your favorite kind of music, whatever that is. That's the point of this topic.

[Mr. Retro]

As a music lover, I have some strange tastes. I'm a big fan of Voltaire due to the amount of emotion he can put into his songs, and then he can rebound and do something utterly hilarious like "Zombie Prostitute". I also love Rod Stewart, because his songs are just so true most of the time, and they're all very catchy. Tom Waits is a big favourite because I'm into the blues, jazz, and that and he just does it perfectly. Listen to "Blue Valentines" and "swordfishtrombones" and you'll see what I mean. Bob Dylan is practically my hero, and his songs really speak out for a generation in my opinion. He was one of the first pre-me artists I listened to, and his music really made an impression on me. I'm also into Elton John, since I like love songs, and "Rocket Man" kicks so much ass it is unbelievable. My favourite, though? I'd have to say Rammstein, because they can mix hard, powerful rythyms with meaningful lyrics, or the Killers. I don't know why I like the Killers, I just do.

[Red]

My favorite band of all time is They Might Be Giants. I started listening to them mid-last year, and I haven't stopped since. They're just so weird and quirky, and in a strange way I kind of relate to it. They've been around for a quite a long time, and have stayed consistently good. That's not to say that their first five albums, which are godly and perfect, aren't way better than their new stuff, though. Their new stuff is still good, is what I'm saying, even if it isn't AS good. They touch a lot of qualities, but always maintain their quirkiness. I love so many of their songs(and boy do they have a lot of songs--my playlist on Foobar has around 700 songs, and that doesn't include some of the other rarities I haven't found yet, or their three kids' albums[they have four, but I usually include their first, "No!" in my playlist) that I could never pick my absolute favorite of the bunch.

Now, my favorite artist of all time is David Bowie. GOD I love Bowie. I just started listening to him since the end of summer, and I've fallen completely in love with his works. I'd say my favorite album of his is The Man Who Sold the World.
The Man Who Sold the World marks Bowie's moving away from his older folk sound into a harder-rock sound. I have to admit I usually skip over The Width of a Circle and She Shook Me Cold, although they've been growing more and more on me as of late. Now, the second track on the album, All The Madmen, was the third song I heard from Bowie(after Space Oddity and Starmen; too other songs I completely love). One of my favorite things about TMWSTW is how haunting all of the tracks sound, and this is no exception. Then you have Black Country Rock, not a very remarkable song, but boy do I love the guitar in it; the riff tends to get stuck in my head a lot. Next is After All, equally as melodramatic as All The Madmen, and probably the "softest" sounding song on the record.

Then their is Running Gun Blues, a deceptively cheery song, all about a soldier who decides to go on a killing spree after a war is over. This is another great example of Bowie's unique vocals that I love oh so much. Then comes my absolute favorite track on the album, Saviour Machine. It's just so different compared to the other songs, and I haven't heard anything quite like it before. It's a very underrated track in my opinion. The lyrics are a great example of what I meant by this album being "haunting" as well. At track eight, you have the title-track. Another dramatic sounding song with a unique twist, with its Latin sound mixed in. Closing with The Supermen, another, even more haunting track show casing once again Bowie's awesome voice. This, like Saviour Machine, is one of my tracks on the album, because they stand out so much.

Oh, and I also like The Kinks, Five Iron Frenzy, Starsailor, The Aquabats, The Pillows, Pink Floyd, Peter Bjorn and John, The Megas, Queen, The Protomen, The NESkimos, and a billion other artists/video game related music.


e: oh and Mr. Retro, Space Oddity beats Rocket Man, but I'll give you that Rocket Man does kick a lot of ass.

This post has been edited by Red: 20 November 2009 - 02:57 AM

[Kvitne]

Wow Red, you seem to have a lot of the same kinds of tastes in music that I'll do. I've kind of glossed over Bowie, which I know is a mistake. After reading all of that I'll have to rectify that soon. It sounds like some amazing stuff.

[Sway]

I really enjoy finding new music. I like it when friends of mine say they've never heard anything I'm listening to and would like my collection put on their external hard drive to peruse. I think it could be said that I have a fairly broad taste in music, but my favorite style is bluesy rock like The White Stripes.

Favorite bands, in no particular order:

The White Stripes - Probably need no introduction.

• Fell In Love With A Girl
  
• Hand Springs
  
• Clarabella Skinny Jim
  
• Isis
  
• Ball And Biscuit
  
• Seven Nation Army
  
• Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
  
• Hello Operator

The Black Keys - Another incredible two-person band, doing blues revival/rock. These guys are absolutely incredible and own so fucking hard.

• 10 A.M. Automatic
  
• Your Touch
  
• Just Got to Be
  
• All Hands Against His Own
  
• Set You Free
  
• Girl Is On My Mind
  
• Keep Me

The Vines - Nirvana mixed with The Beatles. Bad-ass psychedelic garage rock.

• Get Free
  
• Animal Machine
  
• Ride
  
• Highly Evolved
  
• Nothin's Comin'
  
• In The Jungle

The Hives - Flat-out rock. Amazing garage rock/punk rock (not pop punk, the real shit) band from Sweden that reminds me a lot of the Stones in the way they perform.

• Hate To Say I Told You So
  
• Tick Tick Boom
  
• Walk Idiot Walk
  
• Try It Again
  
• Die, All Right!
  
• Introduce The Metric System In Time

The Kills - Another awesome two-person band (see a trend?), they do really minimalist, lo-fi, thumping and rhythmic songs. Amazing.

• Fried My Little Brains
  
• No Wow
  
• Love Is A Deserter
  
• Superstition
  
• U.R.A. Fever
  
• Fuck The People

Eagles of Death Metal - Not actually a death metal band. Their videos rule. Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age is the drummer in this band and describes it as "bluegrass slide guitar mixed with stripper drum beats and Canned Heat vocals."

• I Only Want You
  
• Miss Alissa
  
• Speaking In Tongues
  
• I Want You So Hard
  
• Don't Speak (I Came To Make A Bang)
  
• Solid Gold
  
• Wannabe In LA
  
• Whorehoppin' (Shit, Goddamn)

Spoon - A great and original indie rock band that have gotten a little more recognition in recent years.

• The Way We Get By
  
• Back To The Life
  
• Don't Buy The Realistic
  
• Not Turning Off
  
• All The Negatives Have Been Destroyed

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Not as well known as the Stripes, but easily as kick-ass in the blues rock department. B.R.M.C. are the shit.

• Love Burns
  
• Took Out A Loan
  
• Berlin
  
• Weapon Of Choice
  
• Ain't No Easy Way
  
• Ha Ha High Babe
  
• Devil's Waitin'
  
• Fault Line
  
• Red Eyes And Tears
  
• US Government

More favorites (copied from my Facebook page so the above bands repeat):
The Vines, The White Stripes, The Greenhornes*, The Verve, The Black Keys*, The Dandy Warhols, Spoon*, Wolfmother, Radio Moscow, The Kills, Rock 'N' Roll Soldiers, Jet, Manchester Orchestra*, The Raconteurs, Eagles of Death Metal, Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Robert Randolph & The Family Band*, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club*, Outkast, Flight of the Concords, The Roots, Foo Fighters, The Dead Weather, Arctic Monkeys, Them Crooked Vultures, Cold War Kids, Cage The Elephant, Dax Riggs, The Fratellis, Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz, Muse, Rodrigo y Gabriella*, Stereophonics*

In terms of classics, I like The Beatles and The Stones and Dylan like everyone else, but my favorite is probably The Kinks (kudos, Red). Bowie rules also.

I have a lot of obscure or not-so-obscure stuff people might like as well (but it's generally obscure): Black Horse, Datarock, The Dirtbombs, Elbow*, Elizabeth & the Catapult*, Fono*, Foreign Born*, The Galvatrons, Hawksley Workman*, The Hellacopters, Hey Rosetta!, Jape*, Joe Pug, The New Pornographers*, North Mississippi Allstars, Nujabes*, Phantom Planet, The Raveonettes*, Rise Against, Sam Sparro, Snow Patrol, Spank Rock, The Stone Roses*, Street Sweeper Social Club, The Tamborines, Thee Headcoats, TV on the Radio, Vasco Era, Weezer, Wintersleep*

Asterisked stuff is stuff I think you'll like, Kvitne, because we're sort of music traders. I didn't mark bands I remember already telling you about, bands I recall you being aware of, or bands that are already very popular. Right now I'd recommend Jape especially. After all that linking I don't really feel like finding some of his work, but I think his best songs are "Floating" and "Phil Lynott". I'm almost positive you'll like his other shit as well.

If this topic proves popular I will probably write about some lesser-known artists and bands from time to time.

[Scourgekito the hedgehog]

I don't really have any favorite bands mainly because I usually don't know them, I just know their songs. I'm a mix music lover, I'm not too big on rap or country though.I have played some instruments myself and at one time my parents were in a group with my mom's brothers(it was a gospel group so I doubt any one even knows them, They were called the 'Owens' group seeing as that was their last name).

My Favorite songs are:(not in any particular order)

Dancer in the Dark
Dota
Beautiful nightmare
She Wolf
I need a hero(I know it's an oldie)
Animal i've become
Wonderland
I don't care

And that's just off the top of my head right now. I have more I just don't have a good memory.

[Kvitne]

@Sway: Awesome man. I'm going to have to check all of that stuff out. I love Elbow, by the way. First got into them from a TV spot for Left 4 Dead. I saw them open for Coldplay this past summer. I was more excited about them than Coldplay, and was pleasantly surprised that they were the openers.

[nick_phizz]

I just smiled at the word 'devolves' in the first post.

[Sway]

So does anyone have an opinion on Owl City? I ask because the guy (Adam Young) is from Owatonna, MN, which is about 45 minutes from my hometown. I'm not really a fan, although his music is kinda interesting. Dude's blowing up huge, though.

[Kvitne]

I've been into Owl City for a while. My favorite song is Hot Air Balloon. It's just such a happy tune, you can't listen to it and not be glad.

[Rugdog]

My Brother is into Owl City. He recently played me the "song about evil dentists".. I don't know the actual title.

As For my Musical Taste I like 70's-80's Metal..Parody music, and the geeky stuff videogame music. Once in a while, if I am stressed, I like to relax to the classical music channel ...Not a big fan of Old Country/blugrass... But New Country is pretty much rock an roll with the occasional violin so it's good sometimes. I really DISLIKE Rap and most R&B..

[angelfire]

Sway, your music taste is impecable, really.
Owl City is all right, I like the songs from his EP better than his new full legnth.

As for me, my favorite artist of all time, is gotta be Andrew McMahon, from Jack's Mannequin. What can I say, he's a total beast-freak on the keys, and his lyrics are really metaphorical. Like in his song "Caves", where he compares living with leukimia and his medication to a girl, and walls falling in on him. Some other favorite songs of his are "She Paints Me Blue" and "Globes and Maps".

Four of my other top favorites(bands and artists) include Anthony Green, Mariah Wester(local artist/personal friend), Circa Survive, and Rise Against.

[Red]

I have to shamelessly announce that I legitimately own my first They Might Be Giants album, Flood, and what an album it is. It's their third and best selling album, released in 1990.

[Sway]

angelfire, on 25 November 2009 - 08:43 PM, said:

Sway, your music taste is impecable, really.

Hah, you should see my taste in movies.

Quote

As for me, my favorite artist of all time, is gotta be Andrew McMahon, from Jack's Mannequin. What can I say, he's a total beast-freak on the keys, and his lyrics are really metaphorical. Like in his song "Caves", where he compares living with leukimia and his medication to a girl, and walls falling in on him. Some other favorite songs of his are "She Paints Me Blue" and "Globes and Maps".

You'd really get along with my sisters.

[Kvitne]

Sway, I'm slowly making my way through the artists you posted. So far I'm loving Wintersleep, The Raveonettes, and Jape. I was wondering, how did you get your hands on "Phil Lynott"? I've been searching forever and can't find a way of getting it, legally or illegally, short of importing the Ritual CD.

[Sway]

I dunno, I have the album, so I'll just send it along Sunday.

[Kvitne]

Ooop, never mind. The download that I had going for it started actually moving. I got the album now. Thanks though.

I'm going to check out Foreign Born next. I'm loving all this stuff man, thanks for the suggestions. My library was starting to get kind of stale.

[Sway]

No problem, I aim to please. Just remember me if you ever come across some sweet shit that sounds like The White Stripes or The Black Keys or The Vines or something, or even just something new and cool in general. I'm always, always looking for new stuff.