[QUOTE]
Originally posted by beefymeg:
**minlokwat: Hey! I’ve just sort of discovered Steely Dan in the past week. Any essential recordings you’d recommend?
“Katy Lied” and “Royal Scam” are particularly strong.
“Aja” however still remains the top of the class.
I would begin my collection with that one.
Also, new album, “Two Against Nature” to be released on Feb 29.
It’s getting good buzz and the clips on their web page sound great.
Hope this helps.
Clutch is an awesome band…anyone heard of 'em. Oh yeah…Stuck Mojo too…If I am not mistaken Bones, the lead singer, is cousins with the lead singer of Sevendust…Unfortunately, Sevendust is the one we hear on the radio CONSTANTLY!!!
-Christina
The Fun Boy Three! A very overlooked band that was one of my favorites in my early teens. It was actually their song, “The More I See The Less I Believe” that got me interested in the Troubles.
Some earlier posters beat me to the punch on ** Tragically Hip **. They are awesome, and why they are hugely popular in Canada and Northern Tier U.S. locales like Detroit and Buffalo but nowhere else is a big mystery to me.
If you want to check them out, their latest album [yes, they’ll always be albums to me] “Phantom Power” is fantastic.
In the oldies category, anybody remember the band ** Sweet **? “Desolation Boulevard” is one of my all-time favorite rock albums. Every song on it just smokes.
“You should tell the truth, expose the lies and live in the moment.” - Bill Hicks
Clutch and Stuck Mojo? C’mon, if you want metal there are plenty of other bands out there that can actually play their instruments. Try:
Iced Earth (from FL)
Pain of Salvation (Sweden)
All Too Human (TX)
Clockwork
Spiral Architect (Norway)
Cynic (US)
Opeth (Sweden)
Power of Omens (TX)
Ocean Machine (US)
Gordian Knot (US)
Aghora (US)
Digital Ruin
Dream Theater (NY)
Spastic Ink (US)
Watchtower (US)
The Gathering (Holland)
Death (US)
In Flames (Sweden)
James Murphy (US)
Vitalij Kuprij
The Velvet Underground… I love The Velvet Underground.
o/~ Shiny shiny shiny boots of leather… o/~
Okay, they seem to have been gaining a sort of a cult-like following recently and many bands like Nirvana and Sonic Youth name them as an influence but they were hardly popular in their time…
``Beware of elaborate telescopic meat; it will find its way back to the forest.’’
– William S. Burroughs, Tom Waits
Hi. My name is “I like bands no one has ever heard of so I can list them and be cool”
No one ever said anything about Clutch and Stuck Mojo being “heavy” metal. I said I liked them…key words…“I LIKE” not you like or anyone else like. However, I value your opinion…really.
-Christina
Ben Harper is amazing… i just got into him, and luckily he’s playing here soon. im going to go … also ordering Fight for your Mind soon 
Phish is really great too… i havent seen them live yet but plan to, i only have the story of the ghost though.
Chief’s Domain - http://www.seas.ucla.edu/~ravi
i also like dream theater and velvet underground … talented bands!
Chief’s Domain - http://www.seas.ucla.edu/~ravi
juliana hatfield . .
the turtles . .
the fleshtones . .
I like New Orleans band Cowboy Mouth. They scored a modest hit a couple years ago with “Jenny Says.” They’re an upbeat band whose live shows have crazy amounts of energy.
I was going to mention Tom Waits but he just got nominated for another Grammy…
``Beware of elaborate telescopic meat; it will find its way back to the forest.’’
– William S. Burroughs, Tom Waits
Dream Theater…Mike Portnoy is amazing.
[rant mode] I am so SICK of how trendy the Dave Matthews Band has become in the last two years. I mean, I’m glad that they’re selling a lot of records and everything, but as someone who picked up Under the Table and Dreaming the week it was released (on a tip from a friend) and has been a follower of the band for about 6 or 7 years now, I am just sick of all these freaking posers who won’t fucking shut up about them. And then I get attacked, because people wonder why I care what anybody else listens to, and shouldn’t I just let everybody enjoy the music? But, since these people only listen to trendy music when it’s trendy, they have no concept what it’s like to be a fan of a band for a long time, and then all of the sudden they reach mega-success, so all the teeny-boppers start running around yelling “Dave Matthews is GOD! I love him!” Plus, I’m a pretentious snob about my music, just like Mr. Gray. And if you accuse somebody of this, you know what they say? “Oh, no, I’ve been a DMB fan for SOOO long.” Yeah, right. Then ask them if they own a copy of UTTAD, or even Crash. You know how you can tell a fair-weather, Johnny-come-lately teenybopper DMB fan? They think Dave is an amazing lyricist. They write Dave lyrics (which, as anybody who likes the band for the right reasons will tell you, don’t make any sense at all) all over the place, and quote him left and right. And let me tell you another thing. Thanks to the teenyboppers and the druken fratboy Abercrombie warriors all over this nation, Dave and Tim Reynolds may never do another acoustic tour again. And, by the way, anyone who has been to a Dave show, owns any Dave bootlegs, or even owns Live at Red Rocks knows that Listener Supported is trash.[/rant mode]
Dirty Devil: I’ll contact you. I have only two Phish tapes, but they are both gems. Yeah, sure, I’ll do some trading.
Yeah, Rush is really obscure too. I wish I could be “alternative” like you. The thing is, yes, lots of people have heard of Phish. But ask someone if they’ve heard them, not heard of them.
Since the word “rock” is in the title, I think it is assumed that we are talking about music from the advent of the Dylan era on.
Awesome. Fight for Your Mind is really good…it might be my favorite of his albums.
See them soon…the crowds at their shows are starting to go south as DMB leads the teenyboppers and drunken fratboys to them. Two summers ago I saw them both at the same venue, and I was on the lawn for both shows. When Dave played, everybody was pushing and shoving and blowing smoke in other peoples’ faces and being generally obnoxious. My friend almost got robbed. Phish crowds are so much cooler. There’s an entire community of people that follow them, and the crowds are really friendly. But they are starting to get worse, so I’d advise seeing them as soon as you can if you want the “full Phish experience.” Plus, I’d suggest that the next Phish record you get be either “A Live One” or, if you want to make a worthwile investment, the new box set (Hampton Comes Alive).
“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.” -Winston Churchill
Hear! Hear! Rousseau! I’m in the same boat you are regarding DMB. I saw them open up for The Samples circa 1993 (p.s., one of my votes for underappreciated band - I recommend their album No Room(W.A.R.? records)). I was stoned out of my gourd, but knew enough at the time to plunk down some money to buy Remember Two Things and their EP Recently at the show. I saw them in NYC at a small club about a year later and can definitively state that that concert single-handedly did more damage to my eardrums than any other sonic event in my life.
The one positive thing about DMB’s earlier music is it rekindled my interest in African pop music (the interest began with Graceland). Not an artist but an album to recommend: Ultimate Beat of Soweto (Shanachie)
And I enjoyed Phish the first few times around (Picture of Nectar is one of my favorite road-trip albums), but I can’t imagine going to a show now for all the reasons you state.
As for Rockabilly, I think Scottie Moore is underappreciated by kids today.
And everyone interested in American R&B should be mandated by law to own the Stax/Volt 9-CD Singles box set, which features heavy doses of Booker T & the MGs.
This is starting to read like one of Larry King’s newspaper columns, so I’ll shut up now.
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.
Sorry, that should read: The Indestructible Beat of Soweto.
Another place to find great lost albums: next time you’re in a book store, look for Robert Christgau’s Record Guides to the '70s & '80s. They may be out of print, but every A+ album he recommended in those books that I bought was worth it.
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.