# What kind of music do I listen to? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2001, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594 "2001-10-10T16:22:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/1 "2001-10-10T16:22:06Z")
Every time somebody asks me what kind of music I listen to I am at a loss for words. When I start naming bands, most people haven’t a clue. It’s not Alternative, as few alternative stations would or have ever played any of the bands I like. I don’t like any of the music that the alternative stations would actually play. I have found others who listen to the same music I do, and the band names are usually the same. So perhaps someone here would be able to help me answer the question, “What kind of music do you listen to”, the next time someone asks me. Here are some bands I listen to: Pavement Belle and Sebastian Elliot Smith The Flamming Lips Sebadoe Grandaddy Built to Spill Apples in Stereo Mercury Rev ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/2 "2001-10-10T17:18:10Z")
Good music? 😃 ::is listening to Deserter’s Songs. again. was listening to Tigermilk earlier:: I wish I could help you with a label. Heck, I wish I could find a label for myself. Maybe we could work on it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/3 "2001-10-10T17:28:22Z")
What’s wrong with “indie rock”? ---
**Author:** ![Skijumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Skijumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skijumper)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/4 "2001-10-10T17:53:26Z")
Folk rock? Acoustic rock? (is there such a thing?) A blend of acoustic sounds, lo-fi distortions and good lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/5 "2001-10-10T18:11:06Z")
I agree with **Mouthbreather**. All those bands would be indie rock bands. Sebadoh and pavement are two of my favorite bands. My taste vary from **indie rock** (pixies, pavement etc), to **punk** (dk, swiz, circkle jerks), to **jazz** (miles davis, john coltrane), to **emo** (hot water music, get up kids, cursive). **Classical?** Yup. Basically I like ALL music with the following exceptions; **Led Zeplin** - Too much “BABY BABY BABY!!!” **Lynrd Skynrd** - I don’t even have to justify this one. also, Skijumper: check out sebadoh. They are exactly the kind of music you are describing. ---
**Author:** ![Skijumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Skijumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skijumper)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/6 "2001-10-10T18:37:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pezpunk \* > \*\*Skijumper: check out sebadoh. They are exactly the kind of music you are describing. \*\* I’ve always wanted to. I’ve heard some of Lou Barlow’s solo works. Pretty cool. Which album do you recommend? If you like The Pixies and Pavement, you might like to check out British bands like Blur (‘Blur’, ‘13’), Suede (‘Dog Man Star’) and The Verve (‘No Come Down’). ---
**Author:** ![rinsemusic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@rinsemusic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinsemusic)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/7 "2001-10-10T19:16:17Z")
“If you like The Pixies and Pavement, you might like to check out British bands like Blur (‘Blur’, ‘13’), Suede (‘Dog Man Star’) and The Verve (‘No Come Down’).”… err, no don’t… all these Brit bands, except on occasion Blur, are shite and will never be as essential as Pixies or Pavement. ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/8 "2001-10-10T20:06:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skijumper \* > I’ve always wanted to. I’ve heard some of Lou Barlow’s solo works. Pretty cool. Which album do you recommend? Anything up to Bakesale. Bakesale is a GREAT album and good place to start. Then bubble and scrape. Smash your head on the punk rock kicks ass too. The earlier stuff is a lot more underproduced and noisy. > [@](#): > > If you like The Pixies and Pavement, you might like to check out British bands like Blur (‘Blur’, ‘13’), Suede (‘Dog Man Star’) and The Verve (‘No Come Down’). \*\* Is there anyone who doesn’t like blur? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/9 "2001-10-10T22:01:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Christopher \* > \*\*Here are some bands I listen to: > > Pavement > Belle and Sebastian > Elliot Smith > The Flamming Lips > Sebadoe > Grandaddy > Built to Spill > Apples in Stereo > Mercury Rev \*\* I just recommended the **Flaming Lips** in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1700564#post1700564). **Pavement** and **Elliott Smith** are great too. I think I might have to check out the rest of your list. Well, except for **Belle and Sebastian**. I find them a little too…how do the British put it?.._Twee_. If you like **Elliott Smith** , be sure to check out **Michael Penn** and **Aimee Mann**. Both of them are superb singer/songwriters (married, too). Hodge ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/10 "2001-10-10T22:15:08Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Hodge \* > **Michael Penn** and **Aimee Mann**. Both of them are superb singer/songwriters (married, too)._\* To each other? I’ll be danmed, never knew that. ---
**Author:** ![Ich\_Bin\_s](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Ich\_Bin\_s](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ich_Bin_s)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/11 "2001-10-10T22:26:40Z")
If you like Elliot Smith and Built to Spill, check out **Rufus Wainwright**. He writes perfect, complex pop songs. Though they’re now defunct, **Shudder to Think** is practically required reading. Pony Express Record is my favorite **Smog** is like the Lips in slow-mo I think the indie-rock label works pretty well ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/12 "2001-10-10T23:25:20Z")
If you like Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips, be sure to check out Good Morning Spider by Sparklehorse. And indie rock works fine as a label, or, as Angel Of The Lord said: “good music”. ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/13 "2001-10-10T23:40:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ich Bin’s \* > \*\* > Though they’re now defunct, **Shudder to Think** is practically required reading. Pony Express Record is my favorite > \*\* YOW!!! Shudder used to be one of my favorite bands, but pony express!?!?! I would pick any album BUT pony express. Tenspot, funeral at the movies, and especially get your goat. Actually the band I previously mentioned, swiz, featured a bassist that later became shudder to thinks guitarist. And I am may I say, I had no clue that Michael Penn and Amiee Mann were married. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/14 "2001-10-10T23:51:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mouthbreather \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by Hodge \* > > **Michael Penn** and **Aimee Mann**. Both of them are superb singer/songwriters (married, too)._\* > > To each other? I’ll be danmed, never knew that. \*\* Yep. They even did a little mini-tour together a couple of years ago. It slipped under most people’s radar. Hodge ---
**Author:** ![hegel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cab0a1/32.png) [@hegel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hegel)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/15 "2001-10-10T23:59:20Z")
I like the university kid who tells you the name of his/her “favorite” band, and then rejoices when you haven’t heard of them. i think some people choose to follow obscure bands just for the sake of “ownership.” there is good music that receives airplay. get a life, kiddies. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/16 "2001-10-11T00:24:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hegel \* > \*\*I like the university kid who tells you the name of his/her “favorite” band, and then rejoices when you haven’t heard of them. i think some people choose to follow obscure bands just for the sake of “ownership.” there is good music that receives airplay. get a life, kiddies. \*\* **hegel** , just because you can’t be bothered to look past what gets played on the air to find some interesting, independent artists who are making music that doesn’t fit into the current radio playlists, don’t belittle those who do. I spend a lot of time tracking down bands that really, honestly speak to me, personally, because my taste is different than most people’s. That’s how personal tastes are; they vary. Coming into a thread and denigrating people for appreciating music you’ve never heard of is petty and smacks of enormous insecurity. And to the rest of the thread… **Wheat Jets To Brazil Clem Snide Red House Painters Lullaby for the Working Class** There’s some amazing music going on out there these days. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/17 "2001-10-11T00:56:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hegel \* > **there is good music that receives airplay** Site, please. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/18 "2001-10-11T01:07:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hegel \* > \*\*I like the university kid who tells you the name of his/her “favorite” band, and then rejoices when you haven’t heard of them. i think some people choose to follow obscure bands just for the sake of “ownership.” there is good music that receives airplay. get a life, kiddies. \*\* Sure, there’s some good music that gets airplay, but we’ve already heard it. I’d never begrudge **Tool** their mainstream success because, dammit, they’re talented. By the same token, nobody will ever convince me that **Creed** is anything more than mullet-headed grunge-lite. However, there’s a far greater variety of good music that doesn’t fit onto radio’s increasingly restrictive teeny-bopper/classic rock playlists. A big part of the joy of music is discovering something new and turning others onto it. In fact, we are “sharing” _not_ claiming “ownership”. Hodge ---
**Author:** ![hegel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cab0a1/32.png) [@hegel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hegel)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/19 "2001-10-11T01:44:20Z")
Insecurity over music choices? Please. I never labeled the whole indie scene as worthless or lacking in musician-ship. Rather, I shared my beef with some university students. Nice straw man there, MrVisible . . . are you always that artistic? ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594/20 "2001-10-11T02:00:09Z")
**Hegel** , so you just popped into a thread where people are discussing some pretty mainstream music[sub]hell, Ive heard of these bands. And I’m not exactly the heppest cat around daddio[/sub], in order to complain about a totally unrelated “university student.” Whatever. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-music-do-i-listen-to/86594.md?page=2)