# Favorite Electronic Music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2002, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925 "2002-09-04T06:22:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/1 "2002-09-04T06:22:14Z")
I feel like Electronic music gets underrepresented here. Maybe I just miss the right weeks for it, but I thought I’d do my own poll as electronic music is hear to stay and is taking over mainstream culture as surely as rock and roll did in the 60s. So the rules of this poll are basically that the band has to use electronic instrumentation as a staple. Therefore bands like Placebo, Ministry, Radiohead or Pink Floyd are all reasonable even though they are basically rock bands. However, I want to stay away from bands that noodled with electronic instruments once or twice. Or who just throw a little electronics into their songs. I mean something that the electronic instruments really change the sound. Let’s go with albums, rather than songs and limit it to ten. Here are my picks. Hallucinogen - Twisted Amon Tobin - Out, From Out Where Snog - Dear Valued Customer Skinny Puppy - Last Rites Violet Vision - First Sign of Communication Speedy J - A Shocking Hobby Nine Inch Nails - Downward Spiral Clint Mansell - Requiem for a Dream sdtrk Pierrepoint - Technoid Beats for a Paradox Movement Pig - Sinsation Erek ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/2 "2002-09-04T06:36:24Z")
I think I might have an idea why electronic music is “underrepresented” here; if the rest of the board is like me they can only tell the band name from the album name on about 8 of those! But still, god forbid I read a thread without responding to it: Popcorn - Hot Butter. (Or is it vice versa? Yes, I know it really doesn’t count in terms of the OP but damn that song is catchy.) Chemical Bros - Dig Your Own Hole Art of Noise - In No Sense? Nonsense! Pizzicato Five - Happy End of the World Wendy Carlos - Tales of Heaven and Hell Peter Gabriel - Passion ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/3 "2002-09-04T06:44:23Z")
heh, anyone that lists Art of Noise and Wendy Carlos can’t claim to be completely ignorant of electronic music. 😉 I know that there is an electronic music contingent on the boards. I’ve talked to a lot of em. Erek ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/4 "2002-09-04T07:28:57Z")
The Avalanches _ **Since I Left You** _. Great Aussie album. Perfect for summer listening. One of my all time faves. Gerling _ **When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun** _. Gerling are another fantastic Australian act. Unfortunately, this album was planned for release about the same time as the 9-11 attacks, so it never received the publicity it deserved. (Trivia: my version of the album has a (great) song “High Jacker’s Manual”, which is now understandably referred to as “Jack’s Manual”.) In a similar vein, Saint Germain _ **Tourist** _. Jazz and electronic music were meant to be together. 🙂 The “French Touch” movement kicked off by Saint Germain continued with… …Air’s _ **Moon Safari** _ and _ **Premiers Symptomes** _. These two albums belong together. Another two of my favourite albums to listen to the whole way through. Beck _ **Midnite Vultures** _. Beck isn’t exactly an electronic artist per se, but there’s enough computer wizardry in this one to qualify, I think. Chemical Brothers _ **Surrender** _. I can’t get enough of “Let Forever Be”. Some great videos for the singles off this album too. FatBoy Slim _ **You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby** _. This album deserves all the publicity it received. Daft Punk _ **Discovery** _. Pure ironic pop. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/5 "2002-09-04T09:43:38Z")
All I’ve got is a burn copy, so I’m not sure of any of the song titles, but everything on my **Man, or Astroman** CD fucking rocks! ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/6 "2002-09-04T09:53:21Z")
Air, Daft Punk and Pizzicato Five are all excellent groups already mentioned. **Red Elvis** , Man or Astroman started out as surf rock, I think they have recorded two electronic albums- Eniac and A Spectrum of Infinite Sound. Of those I have A Spectrum of Infinite Sound. If the album you have features a track based on the sound of a dot-matrix printer (the track title is \*A Simple Text File) the album you’ve got is A Spectrum of Infinite Sound. My favorite artist not yet mentioned is Cornelius. His latest stuff is very electronic, but he has worked in many styles. ---
**Author:** ![longjohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@longjohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longjohn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/7 "2002-09-04T12:19:58Z")
I’m with Grendel and Narrad. Some of my very favourite music there. I still love “exit planet dust” above the other chemical bros. albums, but that’s probably just because of the associations it has for me. Bonobo’s animal magic is very good. Aphex twin must get a mention, one of the most influential electronic music artists ever, whether in ambient, mutant jazz or drill’n’bass mode. The Orb’s adventures beyond the Ultraworld, total classic. Future Sound of London - dead cities and Lifeforms. Plus there are a milion other “electronic” music producers that fall into other genres - DJ Shadow, Dan the Automator, Herbaliser, DJ Krush, Mr Scruff, Portishead, etc. that fit more within the Hip-hop genre, and a load more like Badmarsh and Shri, Roni Size, LTJ Bukem, photek etc. that are more drum and bass. Coldcut - another pioneer, deserves unlimited praise. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/8 "2002-09-04T12:21:30Z")
What **longjohn** said. There’s some great stuff out there in a huge variety of subgenres. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/9 "2002-09-04T14:23:11Z")
EBN’s _Telecommunication Breakdown_ seems to be interesting, based on the couple songs and samples I’ve heard. My copy hasn’t arrived yet, though; more detail when it does. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/10 "2002-09-04T14:34:24Z")
Oooh, baby. Occasionally I get on electronic kicks that last for months. Here are some of my favorites: Air - _Moon Safari_ Arling & Cameron - _All In_ and _We Are A&C_ Astral Projection - _Dancing Galaxy_ Death in Vegas - _The Contino Sessions_ Electronic - _Raise the Pressure_ Hooverphonic - pretty much everything they’ve done Juno Reactor - _Shango_ Massive Attack - _Mezzanine_ Orbital - _Orbital 2_ And hell, I’m also going to throw in: The Communards - self titled Yaz - _Upstairs at Eric’s_ ---
**Author:** ![skot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@skot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/11 "2002-09-04T17:35:21Z")
Anything by **Gridlock** , **Autechre** , **Skinny Puppy** , **Underworld** Old **Delerium** **fluke** Risotto **meat beat manifesto** Actual sounds and Noises just to name a few… ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/12 "2002-09-04T18:29:07Z")
skot: Isn’t that “Actual Sounds and Voices”? Well, I see that the few people who weighed in on this thread really know their stuff. It warms my heart. A lot of the stuff mentioned in here is on my playlist on a regular basis for a long period of time such as Astral Projection, I just didn’t feel that they had that little something extra that made the album great. hehe skot, Autechre is at the top of my list of “Most overrated band of all time”, just above Front Line Assembly. I listened to like five of their albums and I have heard just one song that I actually liked, but people seem to adore them, and I feel like I’m missing out cuz I just honestly think they suck. I’ve been hearing about Bonobo a lot lately as they are supposed to open for Amon Tobin on this tour, but I’ve never actually heard them. What are they like? And finally, I have to give credit to Juno Reactor - Shango and Fluke - Risotto, those could very easily make a top ten list with me. I especially like the last track off of Risotto. Erek ---
**Author:** ![skot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@skot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/13 "2002-09-04T20:51:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mswas \* > **skot: Isn’t that “Actual Sounds and Voices”?** You are correct! I’m at my desk at work, no CD’s in front of me…hey, I was close! > [@](#): > > **hehe skot, Autechre is at the top of my list of “Most overrated band of all time”, just above Front Line Assembly. I listened to like five of their albums and I have heard just one song that I actually liked, but people seem to adore them, and I feel like I’m missing out cuz I just honestly think they suck.** I love’em…up until I bought _Confield_, then they lost me. But _Amber_, _Incunabula_ and _Tri-Repatae plus+_ are all classics (that’s what I think, anyway). Front Line Assembly are formulaic, but I have a soft spot for them and the 20 spin-off bands Bill Leeb has his hand in at any given moment. They were one of the first bands that weaned me off of Death Metal in the late 80’s… ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/14 "2002-09-04T22:57:57Z")
Pretty much everything I listen to is electronic … My favorites include: **VNV Nation** _Empires_ **Mesh** \* Who Watches Over Me?\* and _The Point At Which It Falls Apart_ **Depeche Mode** _Black Celebration_ and _Violator_ **Apoptygma Berzerk** _Welcome To Earth_ **Icon of Coil** _The Soul is in the Software_ **Delerium** _Karma_ **Color Theory** _Perfect Tears_ **Anything Box** _Worth_ **Assemblage 23** _Failure_ **Skinny Puppy** _Too Dark Park_ **De/Vision** _Zehn_ …and so on. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/15 "2002-09-04T23:47:30Z")
Heh, every once in a while I forget how popular EBM/Electro is, and then threads like this remind me. Erek ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/16 "2002-09-04T23:50:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ultrafilter \* > \*\*EBN’s _Telecommunication Breakdown_ seems to be interesting, based on the couple songs and samples I’ve heard. My copy hasn’t arrived yet, though; more detail when it does. \*\* This is one of my favorite albums ever, if not my favorite. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to include it in my list up there. Brilliant, brilliant stuff – if you can find their video _Commercial Entertainment Product_, snatch it up. The music itself isn’t as good as on their album (since the album was heavily remixed by Meat Beat Manifesto and others), but it’s still brilliant. Also, the version of _Telecommunication Breakdown_ that I have has quicktime videos for three of the tracks, “Electronic Behavior Control System”, “3:7:8”, and “Paranoid Schizophrenic”. I’ve seen versions released later that don’t include the videos. Anyway, look for the videos if you can find them; the one for EBCS in particular is incredible. ---
**Author:** ![Jurhael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@Jurhael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurhael)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/17 "2002-09-05T00:30:41Z")
Just about anything by VNV Nation, Assemblage 23, Neuroticfish, Depeche Mode, Electric Skychurch, bla bla bla Recently though, I’ve gotten into some even more obscure stuff like This Morn Omina, Haus Arafna and Feindflug. I also LOVE trance. Dj Tjesto, Datura, Dj Burnz and Ferry Corsten are among my favorites. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Xploder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a183cd/32.png) [@Xploder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xploder)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/18 "2002-09-05T01:42:11Z")
**Kraftwerk** , especially Autobahn. A rather obscure one here: **Robert Fripp** , albums; **God Save The Queen** , **Under Heavy Manners** Gotta love the Frippster… ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/19 "2002-09-05T03:53:09Z")
damn, when I started this thread I thought I’d see a lot of Tiesto, Sasha, Chemical Brothers, Orbital, DJ Shadow etc… and there certainly has been a bit of that, but with people weighing in with Meat Beat Manifesto, Haus Arafna, Robert Fripp, I’m pretty impressed. So did anyone in here get any recommendations for albums that they are now checking out based on this thread? Any new favorites? Heh, as Assemblage 23 and Icon of Coil have been mentioned, I’ll just point out that I’ve met both bands. 😉 Andy from Icon of Coil is a REALLY nice guy, and Tom Shear looks like an alien. Heh, I interviewed Assemblage 23 before they put out their first album. 😉 It’s kind of cool to tell your editor “This band is gonna be big I’m gonna interview them” and then it turns out you’re right. Odd thing about it, is I don’t like Assemblage 23. ;p Erek ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925/20 "2002-09-05T14:23:32Z")
Okay, I don’t see my picks mentioned anywhere here. This makes me wonder if I know what is meant by “Electronic Music”. I would select most anything by [Evangelos O. Papathanassiou](http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/perki/Vangelis.html), [Isao Tomita](http://www.japanorama.com/tomita.html), and [Larry Fast of Synergy](http://www.eclipse.net/~synergy/), with some Tangerine Dream thrown in. I await feedback as to which boat I’ve missed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-electronic-music/126925.md?page=2)