I’m a fan of independent music, so I was pretty horrified by some of the posts in the indie music Pit thread. Later, however, the thread got hijacked into recommendations for music. Rather than continuing that hijack, I thought I’d start another thread for more recommendations. I’ll list some independent (or at least non-mainstream) music that I’m fond of, and I’d appreciate it if other folks could suggest other stuff. The items below are in no particular order.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds–Start with the Best of and the Live Seeds albums, then work in reverse chronological order from The Boatman’s Call. If you get the European version of the Best of album, there’s a bonus CD with live tracks.
Crooked Fingers–The new project from Eric Bachman of Archers of Loaf. Sounds vaguely like Nick Cave. Start with Red Devil Dawn.
Dead Can Dance–I have no good way of describing what this sounds like. Start with Toward the Within. Also check out Lisa Gerrard’s solo work (I think she did the soundtrack to Gladiator).
This Mortal Coil–Light some candles, pour some wine, and hide the razor blades.
Heather Duby–Electro-chanteuse. Get Post to Wire and Come Across the River. She has one other CD (the name of which escapes me at the moment), but it’s not very good.
The Walkabouts–The best band from Seattle that nobody’s heard of; they’re more popular in Europe than in America. Try starting with Trail of Stars, then go on to their more recent work (I like it better than their older stuff).
Transmissionary Six–Quiet and moody.
Arab Strap–Mostly quiet and moody, with a thick Scottish accent.
A Midnite Choir–Imagine the unholy offspring of Tom Waits and Spike Jones. Their one CD (You Have Been Warned) may be out of print, but is well worth seeking out. See also Circus Contraption.
The Standard–Intellectual power pop. For some reason, they remind me of Rush, even though they don’t sound like Rush. I think their first (self-titled) cd is out of print, but is worth seeking out. Their second CD (August) is also good.
Visqueen–More power pop. Their bassist was in the Fastbacks.
Alejandro Escovedo–Start with Bourbonitis Blues, then seek out a CD that includes a live version of “Five Hearts Breaking”.
Chrome–Acid industrial sci-fi paranoia. The sonic equivalent of having an ice pick slowly driven into your skull. See also Helios Creed’s solo work.
The Dusty 45s–Rockabilly etc.
Diamond-Fist Werny–Long View to the Sky is Northwest rock tinged with Tuvan throat singing. Yes, it works.
Pressurehed et al.–Okay, this gets complicated. Pressurehed was IMO the best space-rock group in America (try Explaining the Unexplained). But the members have also been involved in umpteen other projects. You may be familiar with the old rock group Hawkwind. I think they’re more interesting than they’re generally made out to be. They’ve put out a huge amount of material of varying quality. Space Ritual is the definitive space-rock album, and you should also try Love in Space. One of the members of Hawkwind, Nik Turner, split off to form his own group, which performed Hawkwind’s music; the boys from Pressurehed were part of his backing band. For this body of work, try Space Ritual 2001 and Past or Future?. <Tangent>Nik is getting a little too old for rock, so he’s now living in Wales playing big-band jazz with a group called Nik Turner’s Fantastic Allstars. Try Kubano Kickasso</tangent> Various members of the guys from Pressurehed also formed groups called The Brain (analog keyboards; try Access and Amplify), Zero Gravity (electronica; Space Does Not Care), Farflung (space-rock; 25000 Feet Per Second), and Anubian Lights (middle-eastern-influenced electronica; all of their albums are good). The Farflung lineup also backed up Damo Suzuki (from Can; Metaphysical Transfer). There’s actually more, but I think it may best best to stop for now.
Banco de Gaia–Asian-influenced electronica.
Northern State–White female Ivy League rap. Fun, fun live show.
Psychic TV–I’m not even gonna try to explain this group. Try the first release in the Origin of the Species series, or Trip Reset. See also Throbbing Gristle, Coil, and Chris & Cosey.
Mum–Very mellow stuff from Iceland.
Kultur Shock–Yugoslavian refugees come to Seattle and start a rock band. Great stuff.
The Shins–Straightforward indie pop.
Well, I guess that’s enough for a first installment. I’d like to see what other recommend.
