I’m slowly being introduced to this style of music, and I’m hooked. The problem is, I can’t find many bands. The most notable examples I can think of are Franz Ferdinand and !!! (ChkChkChk). Could someone help me out with more bands like this?
I always find a trip to AllMusic worthwhile. Their page on Franz Ferdinand includes artists who inspired the sound, and artists who are contemporaries. Five or six clicks, and you’re in heaven.
You might also swing by The Art of the Mix and look at what other people are putting it on mix tapes with. Music lovers are a fierce and rabid bunch, and for every one that puts Modest Mouse on a mix alongside They Might Be Giants or Willie Nelson, someone else will point out that it’s a total trucker-hat thing to do, and put Modest Mouse where it belongs: next to some Led Zeppelin off of In Through the Out Door.
And of course, Amazon has a ton of lists that include things you can buy from them, generally made by compulsive list-makers, but occasionally pretty useful. The link above connects to a list of modern rock artists similar to FF’s work, but you’ll see that there are several other links and lists on the same page. Explore!
It may take several aborted tries, and I wouldn’t go out and buy an album just on the recommendation of one or two websites. As with any purchase, you should, where possible, try before you buy. Whether that means using the record store’s listening booth, borrowing from a friend, or asking someone to make you a mix, do something to ensure that you’re not being suckered into buying something you don’t like. Be aware that links on web pages (“if you like X you’ll like Y”) are not always there for altruistic reasons, and that in any given moment, it is possible (nay, almost certain!) that you are being advertised to.
Disclaimer: Jurph does not work for Amazon, AllMusic, or Artofthemix. He just likes lots of music. Prices and participation may vary. Taxes and tags extra. May chafe sensitive skin. Produced in a factory with peanuts. Past performance is not a promise of future gains. Do not taunt Happy Fun Intarweb. Rock on!
Liars? Try “Grab a Broom.” There ealier stuff was more dancable but this is in its own right, I suppose.
The Rapture
The Faint (sort of)
Hot Hot Heat (sort of)
oh, and Radio 4
Not sure how danceable they all are, but if you like Franz Ferdinand, try the Shins, the New Pornographers, the Strokes, Hot Hot Heat, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Modest Mouse, Sahara Hotnights, the Walkmen, and the White Stripes.
You might also want to check out Stellastarr*. (Yeah, the asterisk is part of the band name.)
And I’ll repeat my perpetual recommendation of KEXP. I’m pretty certain they’ve played all of the bands mentioned so far.
My friend swears that Modest Mouse - Karma’s Payment is danceable (off of “The Fruit That Ate Itself”) but I don’t really feel it. Shins? Perhaps their freshman album. Chutes too Narrow was not dancable in the least, I would say. More of warm pop mellow rock or whatever, but very good. Hot Hot Heat has some that you could dance to if you felt inclined to (“Bandages?”). I am still trying to get a listen in on Walkmen but alas, nothing, so nothing further to add with them.
Try: Need New Body, Apples in Stereo, Ok Go, The Faint (take me to the hos-pit-al!), Flogging Molly, and maybe the new TMBG album although I have not heard many tracks from it.
I never thought of Franz Ferdinand as danceable… If you wanna dance to rock, maybe try The B-52s?
The awesome new Hives album is pretty danceable, even though it’s raw, in your face and loud as fuck three chord punk rock.
Ok, one more post. I keep remembering bands right after I post my reply. So, in no order:
Atreyu
Mars Volta
Tilly and the Wall
Postal Service
Elf Power
M83
Cars Get Crushed
The Unicorns
Soul Junk
Eh… I may add more later but my brain is pretty trashed right now.
OK Go is fun (I actually saw them open for TMBG a couple years back). I’m not “of the dancers,” so I’m never a great judge of what is danceable, but I just love the power pop of the New Pornographers and the Shins, and I figure they must make some people happy enough to dance.
Flogging Molly is terrific, but I must also recommend their contemporaries, Black 47 and the punkier/harder Dropkick Murphys, and their biggest influence, the Pogues.
Try checking out the original bands that these artists are not just indebted to, but are actively ripping off:
Gang of Four, the Tom Tom Club, Bush Tetras, James Chance and the Contortions, Public Image Ltd., Suicide, the Pop Group, Wire, Pere Ubu, etc. etc. ad infinitum
Apropos of Freejooky’s post above, I highly recommend another band currently on the front page of CS, Talking Heads - STOP MAKING SENSE. This concert film/CD is highly danceable and David Byrne is as crazy as it gets. One of my few favourites from the '80s.
Keep 'em coming, guys. I appreciate all the suggestions here. I’ve tried a few, and I’m really liking Radio 4 so far. I’ll get back tomorrow with other bands here that I’m liking.
Haha. That’s my thread :wally
Although I really do not like most of the CD, or the band, or the label, or the lyrics, well I just do not like them much, but Hellogoodbye has some really good dancing tunes.
Actualy, what do you mean by danceable? Instrumental, fringe-of-rock but more of experimentalism Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Physics? Danceable in a odd, mellow, warm and fuzy way like Tilly and the Wall? Or in a rough edge, punk sorta way like NOFX or Goldfinger?
Another off the wall suggestion would be The Breeders but I really would like to know what you dance to.
Big Bad Voodoo Lou -
First off, that had to of been a fun concert. I had no idea Ok Go opened for TMBG;was it one show or was it a tour?
Second off, very good suggestions. I was not thinking of Flogging Molly and their entire discography but rather a few songs like Salty Dog and The Likes of You. Perhaps another good, old style punk band would be The Shuttle Cocks.
Feel free to slap me - I know this is getting annoying. I just remembered what I had wanted to post in the last post but did not. When the topic of discussion I get very excited cause I really like me some music. Forgive me.
We have iluded to them but have never actually out right said it: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS!
Also, sites to help you try before you buy:
www.pitchforkmedia.com (They have completely different tastes from my own but sometimes you get some MP3 goodies)
www.epitonic.com (For browsing, not really for reviews, but free MP3s and a stream that plays them and similar artists. This site is very good for getting to know a lot of different bands fast)
www.purevolume.com
launch.yahoo.com (Sometimes they have some music you are looking for)
The Killers
The Fiery Furnaces
The Von Bondies
…and what the hell, I’ll include Weezer because I <3 them.
I’ll second The New Pornographers, The Postal Service, The Strokes, and The White Stripes.
IMO, The Fiery Furnaces are great but non-danceable-to. And the Killers are one of those bands that has one really good song, a couple of good songs, and a bunch of forgettable ones.
My further contribution (which is probably not what you’re looking for, but what the hell):
Psychic TV
Anubian Lights
Acid Mothers Temple
Chrome
The Damo Suzuki Network
You might want to try “New York Noise: Dance Music From the Underground 78-82”, a recent comp that features bands doing the new wave/no wave/punk/rock/funk/disco/whatever crossover. It includes some of the bands Freejooky mentions. There’s also another comp of British acts on the same great Soul Jazz label called “In The Beginning There Was Rhythm”, but it’s a little bit more abstract, style-wise.