I know almost nothing about modern music–not because I object to it, but my exposure is minimal: I mostly listen to NPR on the radio so a contemporary song will likely only appear on my radar if it shows up in a movie, trailer, commercial or TV show.
There are plenty of songs I know I liked but didn’t have the means to note who or what it was called at the moment I heard it. Some recent songs I did manage to identify (from bands otherwise completely unknown to me):
The Avett Brothers - “I and Love and You”
Fitz and the Tantrums - “The Walker”
The Head and the Heart - “Another Story”
The Lumineers - “Hey Ho”
The Shins - “Simple Song”
I am going to buy these albums where these songs appear and discover them on my road trip (2700+ miles) based on the strength of these single songs.
So, tell me a song that you like a lot (in all likelihood, it will be by someone I’m completely ignorant of) and if I like that single song enough, I’ll also buy that album sight unseen.
I like the song "Bridge to Nowhere" by Sam Roberts. He’s a Canadian rock musician. Don’t know how well-known he is outside Canada. That song’s from all the way back in 2006, though. If you’d like to hear a more recent song of his, there’s “Golden Hour” from last year’s album.
Not sure if you like modern folk music, but my friend’s mom is a folksinger-songwriter andat this link you can listen to some of the songs from her most recent album.
For a road trip, you need some Old 97s. For a beginner I would recommend “Too Far To Care”, “Grand Theater Vol I”, or their best-of album “Hit By A Train”.
Add some Black Keys to that as well. El Camino has a lot of good songs on it.
You might also like Whitehorse, they have a new album out as well that is eminently listenable.
Tommy Guerrero: Lifeboats and Follies. His stuff is used on NPR for breaks; cool Latin/urban instrumental music. Wonderfully listenable.
TV on the Radio: Dear Science. Simply amazing music. Accessible, interesting, thoughtful, electronic but with a very human feel.
Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Used in a bunch of commercials. Great songs with a post-modern feel.
Aloe Blacc - whatever album has Can I get a Dollar? R&B like Fitz and the T’s. Also strongly recommend Eli Paperboy Reed, Black Joe Louis and Kings Go Forth for great modern R&B music…
Thanks to EmilyG and journeyman_southpaw for some excellent suggestions AND following the directions of the OP!
While all the albums others listed I’m sure are fine, not providing a specific song for me to use to judge precludes any of them from consideration (I’m going to the record store tonight so needed something quick to base my decision on).
I’ll take the others under advisement for the long-term future when I have time to research, browse, etc. But today was not that day.
Just 20 minutes left before I head out, if anyone has any final recs WITH SONGS!!!
