make me some music suggestions

Cafe Society
1

Okay, I’ve been in kind of a musical rut lately. I need some new stuff that gets me going. I’m going to list some stuff right off the top of my head that I like, and if anyone likes something on the list of and finds one of their other interests to be in the same league, please tell me.

My interests are very divers, and I can narrow it down to anyone I feel has talent and a unique sound. I like exceptional lyricists.

I should mention also that I don’t really care what language it’s in. In fact, I’d like to hear some stuff that I’d never hear anywhere else. Whether it be in Spanish, French, etc. is little concern to me.

Okay, here goes.

The lighter side:

Iron & Wine
Beth Orton
Ben Harper
Rufus Wainwright
Jeff Buckley
Wilco
Cocorosie
A little louder:

The Mars Volta
Gov’t Mule
TV on the Radio
Muse
Radiohead
Rage Against the Machine
Tool
90s grundge (Alice in Chains, Soundgarden [Superunknown], Pearl Jam, etc.)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Explosions in the Sky
Orchestral-ish/big band/instrumental:

Emir Kusturica & the No Smoking Orchestra
Thomas Newman*
Yann Tiersen
Bach
Rokia Traore
Rap/Hip-hop:

Blackalicious
Jurassic Five
For those of you who listen to French music:

Camille (but, mostly her most recent album Le Fil)
La Rue Ketanou
Tryo
Christophe Mali
George Brassens
Pauline Croze
(some) Mickey 3D (“Je m’appelle Jane” and “Les Hommes Raisonables” type stuff)
This is by far not all, but it’s all I can think of right off the top of my head.

In closing, I would really like traditional music from around the world. Old field/slave chants from the South, African music, Russian, whatever. I just want stuff that’s got the juice. Moreover, I’ve been looking for some Indian percussion music. I know a lot of trip-/hip-hop groups loop Indian beats – but I don’t who – I’m looking for either new or old.

If anyone can suggest good technics for finding new music too, I’d appreciate it. I’ve tried Pandora (though, not recently) and Amazon related seraches (looking at the “those who bought this album also bought”)

Also, more generally, if there’s anything that people feel is good to have on in the background while you’re writing or painting, or whatever it is you do, I’m interested.

Thanks.

  • I would REALLY like someone who writes music like Newman. Nearly anything by him gets my going.
2

I assume you already know of KEXP?

3

No I don’t, actually. I’ll check it out!

4

[ul]
[li]Quincy Coleman (every music fan should be a Quincy Coleman fan)[/li][li]AM great songwriter with the added talent that he knows how to direct a band and put together beautiful arrangements[/li][li]Geoff Pearlman wonderful lyrics, also he shares your esteem for Jeff Buckley[/li][li]Jim Bianco another great songwriter who also knows how to direct a band[/li][/ul]

[ul]
[li]Breech knows that loud songs have to be just as well written as soft songs (only one song on the linked page, not their loudest of songs but it gives you an idea)[/li][li]Saucy Monky more of a guitar heavy pop band rather than a hard rock or grunge band like those you listed. Still there’s lots of loud guitars. Also of note, there are two lead singers who each write their own songs- adds a nice bit of variety from song to song[/li][*]Dead Rock West These guys are big fans of X, and they’re really tight as a band[/ul]

5

Kaizers Orchestra - Ompa Til Du Dör.
Norwegian band, singing in Norwegian, with a very unique sound. They use oil barrels, accordions, etc, and they still rock.

Burzum - Filosofem
Also a Norwegian band, singing in Norwegian. This might be too heavy for your tastes, but the sound is a great, unique form of ambient dark metal
I don’t know anything about traditional music. You could pick up Paul Simon’s Graceland, good album.

6

Lighter Side:

Camera Obscura: can’t say this enough - they’re great. Nice charming female vocals (Scots accent) and classic country-sounding band. Best songs are Happy New Year and Teenager.

Broken Social Scene: Another great female voice, plus great use of horn sections. Best songs are Swimmers and 7/4 (Shoreline,) and possibly Anthems for a 17 Year Old Girl.

Grandaddy: not for everyone - if you used to be a Weezer fan and then went to engineering school, this is your music. Best songs: The Crystal Lake, Volvo in G, The Warming Sun, Fentry, The Go In The Go-For-It. (I remember lying in my room several years ago totally stoned and being completely blown away by these songs, I’m talking about deep emotional connections which have not left me and in many ways are responsible for me taking the pursuit of music more seriously.) Grandaddy has a huge amount of obscure singles which are all amazing. Some of their songs, like Nebraska and Chartsengrafs, fall into the “a little louder” category as well.

Joseph Arthur: great deep voice, nice instrumental arrangements. Evocative lyrics as well. Best songs are Echo Park and Shadows Will Remain.

M. Ward: one of the most unique voices around. Can’t quite describe it - breathy and reverby, with a seductive feel. I think one of the reasons he never gained the popularity he deserves is because he isn’t very handsome. But his music is amazing. Good guitar playing too. Best songs are Hi-Fi, Big Boat, and Poor Boy, Minor Key.

The Thrills: sound like The Beach Boys with nasal Irish-accented voices. It’s actually quite good. They have an old-time sound and great vocal harmonies. Best songs are One Horse Town and Don’t Steal Our Sun.

Calexico: Combination of Mexican music and classic country with hard-driving rock. Heavy use of horns, accordions and pedal steel. I saw them live and they were amazing. Best songs are Sunken Waltz and Quatro.
A little louder:

Silversun Pickups: sound like the Smashing Pumpkins. Trebly piercing guitars heavy on the distortion, and good singers. Best songs are Kissing Families, Melatonin and Comeback Kid.

Coheed and Cambria: not for everyone. High voice similar to Rush. I like them because they have good guitar hooks. Their lyrics supposedly all tie in to a convoluted sci-fi story, and there are a lot of people who could spend hours explaining this to you but I’m not one of them.

Post-Rock:

Pele: instrumental with no lyrics. Highly orchestrated and tightly rehearsed, hard driving instrumental rock. In some ways, is similar to Tortoise and Explosions In The Sky, but is faster-moving and more rhythmically varied. Best songs are Monkey Monkey Las Vegas and Gugi.

The Sea and Cake: transparent instrumentation (very distinct bass, guitar and percussion parts.) The sound is a combination of Tortoise-style grooves (drummer David Pajo is also a member of Tortoise) and trebly guitar hooks from Archer Prewitt. A lot of interesting synth work here. Features soft vocals by Sam Prekop (always taking a backseat to the instrumental music.) Best songs are Seemingly, Sound And Vision and I Missed The Glance.

Tortoise: heavily percussion driven, featuring great guitar riffs and bass grooves. Must be heard to be believed - any verbal description would be inadequate. Best songs are TNT and Swung From The Gutters.

Vincent Gallo: uses vintage recording equipment and track layering to create a unique sound. He has an interesting voice that’s somewhere between singing and talking. Generally reverby, with sparse guitar parts. Best songs are Lonely Boy and I Wrote This Song For The Girl Paris Hilton.

STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector Nine): Driven by percussion and bass loops, STS9 has a multi-layered approach where a song begins with sparse elements and gradually builds up to more complex levels. Similar to Tortoise, but more electronic. All members of STS9 are well versed in music software and use laptops as instruments at their live shows.

European:

Jens Lekman: The M. Ward of Sweden, he has a really deep smooth voice, endearingly quirky lyrics and unique instrumentals. Best songs are A Sweet Summer Night on Hammer Hill and Black Cab.

Kings of Convenience: Hailing from Norway, they sound very similar to Simon and Garfunkel, with delicate acoustic melodies and soft vocal harmonies. Good music to seduce a girl to. Best songs are Singing Softly To Me and Misread.

Phoenix: A French group with a higher-voiced male singer and really good rhythyms. GREAT dance music. Best songs are Everything is Everything and If I Ever Feel Better.

7

Pajo ain’t in S&C. John McEntire is your man thumpin’ the tubs.

8

Whoops. Was thinking of Slint.

(Oh, and I’m not a big fan of them. I find Slint a little grating.)

9

Just wanted to say, I’m giving a listen to all these guys and I’ll get back to you once I’ve finished. Thanks, and please keep the suggestions coming!

10

The Magnetic Fields.

Stephin Merritt is the greatest living songwriter, period.

Check out “69 Love Songs Vol. 1” and you’re sold.

11

I used to listen to Broken Social Scene quite a bit in college, but I’d sort of forgotten about them. Same with STS9.

I’ve listened to Calexico, because they’ve done some work with Iron & Wine. There’s a concert on NPR’s website with the two of them.

I also heard Pheonix on NPR a while back, but I don’t remember liking them that much. I could always take another listen.

12

One of my favorite albums by one of the best lyricists I’m familiar with. I love P. Simon.

13

I like these guys.

14

A few of my favorites:

Aterciopelados, a Colombian alternative group - love Andrea Echeverri’s voice, love their lyrics

Gogol Bordello, a self-described Gypsy punk group from NYC (their live shows are not to be believed - how often do you get an accordion and a mosh pit in the same act? Throw in some Christ imagery and a lot of sweat, some backup dancers in candy-striped tights, and a heaping helping of post-Soviet alcoholic angst, and that’s Gogol Bordello).

the Rustavi Choir (Georgian a cappella polyphony; ethereally beautiful in my humble choir-geeky opinion)

Fulanito, a Latin hip-hop/merengue group from NYC

Lots more ideas where that came from. Have fun exploring!

15

I like alternative and folk rock. I’m responding because you like Beth Orton, Iron & Wine, and Radiohead:

K’s Choice - Not an Addict, Favorite Adventure, Butterflies Instead (among many others)

Matt Nathanson - Angel, Laid (although a cover of James), Bent (is it just me or does it kinda sound like Love Spit Love’s “Am I Wrong?”)

Joseph Arthur - Even Tho, In The Sun, You’re So True