Recently, I have had a couple of old friends who had fallen away from the light, e-mail me and ask me, "Oh great musical guru, prophet of sound salvation, please save us from the evils of main stream radio and the mind numbing drivel that they force feed us!"
Of course once you accept the burden of becoming a guide, this is the sort of request that can not be denied. So I sent them a list of everything that was on my iPhone. I have decided to post said list of suggested listening here for all to read. This is guaranteed to bring you back into the light.
Keep in mind that this list is by no means an exhaustive collection. There are a lot of really great tunes and bands in my collection that are not represented here. I change the music on my phone fairly regularly so this is truly a snap shot. Ok here we go and keep in mind where as some of this stuff may be old news to you, for my friends this was all new info (except the much older bands).
Arcade Fire - a Canadian band via Houston. More of a troupe really I think they put more folks on stage than Oingo Boingo did. Start with this URL and work your way back. (this is pretty cool html5 stuff works best in the google chrome browser) www.thewildernessdowntown.com
Architecture in Helsinki - A quirky yet fun band from Australia. Again there are a lot of these guys. Check out "That Beep" or "Heart it Races" on YouTube.
Arctic Monkeys - Young, Brash and British. Kind of a refined garage rock sound. The drummer is devastating and the lead singer can really write a tune. Lyrics mostly reflect life in London (sort of) One of my faves.
Arkarna - These guys actually broke up or went on hiatus some years back. Again from England. Pretty cool electric synth driven rock. Start with the album "Fresh Meat".
Bronze - Formed from the ashes of one of my favorite bands from the turn of the century called "The Deatchment Kit". I think you can still download their new (and 1st) EP from bandcamp.com for FREE.
Cage the Elephant - Sounds like the unholy product of a union between the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Rolling Stones. Good stuff. It's all about the attitude.
Call Me Lightning - Took their name from an old Who song but thankfully sound nothing like them. I don't know what Genre these guys belong in. Not quite punk, not quite dischord. Listen and judge for yourself.
Cut Copy - Very dancey new wave disco from down under.
Day for Night - Brooklyn NY trio. Two guys and a girl. Drums, guitar and this chick has a one of a kind voice.
Dead Kids - Loud synth noise band from London. Lead singer sometimes sounds like Iggy Pop some times like Mark E. Smith from The Fall.
The Dears - True indie pop but very orchestral in sound. From Montreal. Music to chill by.
The Detachment Kit - Mentioned these guys before. Moving from Chicago to New York, they produced 3 full albums and a handful of EPs before calling it quits. Lots of Pixies influence on the first disc. This stuff may be a little hard to find. But it is worth the search.
The Distillers - You may have heard of this group. They were led by a fiery Aussie chick until they disbanded. They were a true punk band and very good. She was married to Tim Armstrong of Rancid fame for a while. Broke up with him as well. Married Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age had a kid and started a new band later in the list.
Earl Greyhound - Again a band from Brooklyn. This trio consists of one of the biggest blackest drummers I have ever seen, a fine looking, fro wearing mulatto chick on base and vocals and a skinny long haired white dude shredding the lead guitar. Throw back seventies rock with a twist.
Editors - Probably to easy to call them the British Interpol but that is kinda what they sound like. The problem is, these days there are a bunch of bands doing the dreary post punk/new wave Joy Division thing. Editors are still very good tho (I guess maybe it's not a problem. I like most of it). They have a little more Echo and the Bunnymen happening than the rest.
Ex Models - Very mathy noise rock. Their first record (also my favorite) sounded like Devo if Devo had been a hard core punk band. Devo by the way has a new disc out and it is very good!
Fever Ray - Experimental, ambient. Weird and spacey song structures with vocals reminiscent of Bjork or maybe a higher pitched Kate Bush. From Sweden I believe.
Forward Russia! - Now defunct English dance punk band with more than a little Gang of Four influence but with a female backing vocalist. Good fun!
The French Kicks - Straight up indie pop. Great for a date. The first EP and the following two albums are great. After that they start to lose their way a bit in my opinion.
The Golden Dogs - Another Canadian collective. Very different and cool indie rock. They cover a Paul McCartney and wings tune and do a damn fine job of giving it an update without messing around with the arrangement to much.
Guster - You may already be familiar with these guys. Actually a 90's acoustic pop band from Mass., they are still together and doing their thing.
Interpol - And then there is Interpol. It may not be accurate, but I give them credit for really kicking off the whole post punk revival thing. At least for getting it attention from main stream media outlets. The first two albums are masterful.
Julian Plenti - AKA Paul Banks the lead singer of Interpol out on his own. Very cool.
Junius - Thought provoking and yet odd shoe gazer music.
Kings of Leon - These guys just kick ass. Sort of a consortium of song writers with their manager and producer contributing. Scratchy and pained vocals over classic yet up to date indie revivalist instrumentation. Some in the press have referred to them as the next great American band.
Klaxons - More English dance punk. They sound like they are abusing instruments on loan to them from the 23rd century. Best enjoyed with the volume up.
Late of the Pier - How do you talk about late of the pier? They are musically all over the place.The first song on "Fantasy Black Channel" starts out with a glam rock, fuzzed out, stadium lifting guitar intro only to dissolve into what sounds for all the world like a RHCP rift circa 1992 and then just as suddenly turns into an instrumental jam. By the time the first verse is over your listening to a Bowie like funk only to end as if the whole time you have been listening to Gary Numan. And you would swear that they were Tubeway Army on the next song but only until the bridge. This stuff is crazy and I love it!
Les Savy Fav - These guys are the perennial god fathers of indie rock. I have seen a lot of the bands on this list live but their show was by far one of the most nutty things I have ever seen. Do a youtube search for them and you will see what I mean. Probably my favorite song by them is called "The Slip" from their album "Go Forth"
Local H - Long time indie rockers from Chi town. Just drum and guitars. Saw them at the Gypsy years ago and left with my mouth hanging open. It seems impossible for two guys to make that much racket but they do.
Matt and Kim - This is easily some of the corniest alt pop ever made. Again two people, drums and keyboards only this time it sounds like two players. Maybe one of them is molesting a toy Casio? Catchy though.
Maximo Park - Well written and well executed jangly pop from north west England. An area very close to Scotland and they sound it.
Metric - More Canadian new wave this band is very, very good. Led by songstress Emily Hayes, they are obviously a new wave band but somehow manage to sound original and brand new.
MGMT - Psychedelic alt pop from Brooklyn that to my ears sounds more like So Cal. Mainstream radio hits have been, "Time to Pretend" and "Kids"
Morningwood - Once you get over the name, they are all right. Indie alt Gurlll rock gone mainstream.
Moving Units - More dancey post punk but this time from the west coast, although I admit they sound as if they would fit right into the current Brooklyn scene. Another one of my faves.
Muse - Surely you have heard of Muse. They are only huge. If you have not, think Radiohead meets Queen. Sound strange? Not really. These guys pack a stadium and then tear it down.
Passion Pitt - Sort of new wave sort of disco. Some times with kids providing back up vocals. Pretty cool stuff.
Phoenix - French answer to the Brooklyn scene. This is currently one of my favorite bands. Excellent song structure and musicianship.
Pixies - All hail the Pixies.
The Polyphonic Spree - Remember, Tripping Daisy? Well sometime after Wes passed away and they broke up, and after Good Records became a label as well as a store, Tim Delaughter put on a choir robe and told a bunch of his friends to do the same thing. The make orchestral, psychedelic pop. Now I know that a couple of times in this list I have mentioned the size of this band or that but I think The Spree, as they are lovingly referred to by their fans, might take the cake. I think they average about 18-20 on stage and it sounds like it.
Priestess - Old school Sabath influenced stoner metal. Sounds like 1972 but its not.
The Psychedelic Furs - You remember them.
PIL - and them.
Queens of the Stone Age - The most famous of the stoner metal genre. I'll bet you have heard of them as well.
Radiohead -and you have to know who these guys are.
The Rakes - OK I freakin love The Rakes. Some times dancey, some times punk, sometimes power pop but always great. Again from London but more street. Imagine what a Guy Richie movie would sound like if it were a band and not a movie and you've just about got it.
The Rapture- on my phone I have their first output after they decided what they were going to sound like. Turns out its Gang of Four with some Public Image thrown in for good measure.
Seafood - Very original power pop.
Sex Pistols - Again no introductions needed.
She Wants Revenge - More Joy Division style post punk but this time with a little old school Trent Reznor added. This guy loves to sing about sex.
Shiny Toy Guns - Missing Persons and Berlin resurrected.
The Slack Republic - Afro punk. There is definitely something in the water in New York.
Spinnerette - I told you about the Distillers and they broke and the Aussie chick started another band right? This is it. The Aussie chick, by the way, is Brodie Dahl. hot hot hot.
Tame Impala - 1970's style psychedelia with a little modern twist. Pretty neat. From Australia.
The Temper Trap - Another Australian band. I think these guys have the potential to be as big as INXS when the music currently being called "indie" goes mainstream.
The Ting Tings - Quirky Brit pop fronted by a girl who makes them sound kinda like Elastica and that's a good thing.
Tokyo Police Club - Canadian band not afraid to sing songs about being blown up by robots in the future.
Turn Me On Dead Man - Psychedelic Glam Metal from San Fransisco. Lead singer wears makeup and devil horns. Like I said, glam.
Tv on The Radio - With a lead singer named Babatunde Adebimpe, born in Nigeria and raised in New York, you might be expecting a certain sound from this band. Throw all preconceptions away. The closest analog I can find might be Peter Gabriel circa "Big Time" but even that's not right. Influences as disparate as a Capella, and punk, hip hop and classical inform this band. Ear Candy.
U2 - I am in love with their newest album!
Uncut - I stalk this band's blog waiting for news of their next release. After I discovered their first two discs, it was pretty much all I listened to for about a month. I would describe their sound as Jesus and The Mary Chain meets Dinosaur Jr. with the volume increased several 100 decibels.
Vampire Weekend - Chamber pop. Everybody in the band grew up on a steady diet of Paul Simon. But it is very original. Yet another band from new york, these boys are different from the rest, performing in their Izods with the collars popped up. They describe their sound as "Upper West Side Sowetto". One of my wife's very faves.
VHS or Beta - Straight up synth based disco. But don't let the "d" word dissuade you from giving this a spin. For a couple of weeks their two releases were in heavy rotation on the old mp3 player.
The XX - If you have ever wondered what a young band from London would sound like if the were heavily influenced by the sound of American surf guitar and loved to chew Quaaludes here is your answer. Remember that Olympic At&t commercial where Apollo Ohno is skating so hard he starts the ice rotating? The music in the background is the XX.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - The fact that the lead singer goes by the moniker Karen O should tell you something about her attitude. Backed by one guy playing guitar and one guy playing drums, it may sound like a familiar formula. But there really is no comparable peer for this New York garage rock band.
Whew!
Every time I approach this subject, I am reminded of the lyrics to a couple of songs. One by the "Great Elvi", Elvis Costello and one by the equally under appreciated Danny Elfman and his little band Oingo Boingo. In "Radio, Radio" Elvis wrote -
"...they say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice
'cause they think that it's treason.
So you had better do as you are told.
You better listen to the radio.
Danny always with a different approach, tries to encourage us to use our hat racks, letting us know that "the Man" assumes we've already been brain washed. In "Gray Matter" he sung -
They say that you'll buy anything
That they turn your way
That you'll listen to anything
That they decide to play
Well there you go. Although some of these bands do get quite a bit of air play, Kings of Leon and Cage the Elephant for example, a lot of the bands on this list get little to none. Even though things have gotten better, Dallas radio still sucks and don't get me started about radio where I live. So here are some alternatives to the radio that should keep you busy for a bit.
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