What music would you recommend given that I like the following:

Okay, I need your help, please.

You see, it’s about time I got hold of some more music. In fact, with a few exceptions, it seems like it’s been ages since I’ve “discovered” a new band, or even a terrific album. And, when I say “new”, I mean ‘new’ to me. Makes no difference to my ears whether the band’s been around for six months or twenty-six years.

So, I’m asking you to recommend stuff to me.

Now, to help you know what I like, what I really like, I thought it would be helpful (and fun) to present to you the last playlist I made using only what I consider to be “five star” tracks. While it doesn’t capture all my likes and tastes, it does provide a good sense of the type of music I enjoy and thus should be able to guide you to guide me!

In no particular order (the list below was ‘shuffled’), here’s what I think are nothing but outstanding tracks.



Band/Artist                              Track                                     Album
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Radiohead	                        The Tourist                             OK Computer
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart        Anne With An E                          Belong
Lotus Plaza				Eveningness				Spooky Action at a Distance
Sigur Ros 				Hoppipolla 				Takk
Brian Eno 				Some of Them Are Old 			Here Come the Warm Jets
PJ Harvey 				The Words That Maketh Murder 	        Let England Shake
Elbow 					Weather to Fly 				The Seldom Seen Kid
Hoyt Axton 				Billy’s Theme
Other Lives 				Paper Cities 				Other Lives
Radiohead 				Dollars & Cents 			Amnesiac
Cristina Dona 				Goccia (with Robert Wyatt) 		Cristina Dona
Beach House 				Wishes 					Bloom
Doves 					Pounding 				The Last Broadcast
The Cinematic Orchestra 		To Build A Home	 		        Ma Fleur
Other Lives 				Dust Bowl III 				Tamer Animals
Local Natives 				Airplanes 				Gorilla Manor
Bjork 					All is Full of Love 			Stigmata Soundtrack
The Pernice Brothers 			Baby in Two 				Yours, Mine, and Ours
Fang Island 				Daisy 					Fang Island
James 					One of the Three 			Laid
Thom Yorke 				Analyse 				The Eraser
Deerhunter 				Slow Swords 				Microcastle/Weird Era
Beach House 				Myth 					Bloom
Bjork 					Bachelorette 21st 			Greatest Hits
Doves 					Words 					The Last Broadcast
Fripp and Eno 				Wind on Water 				Evening Star
Joe Cocker 				Darling Be Home Soon 			Hit Collection
Moby 					Love Theme 				I Like to Score
Ivy 					Edge of the Ocean 			Long Distance
Bjork & Thom Yorke 			Dancer in the Dark 			Dancer in the Dark
Thom Yorke 				The Eraser 				The Eraser
Kate Bush 				Running Up That Hill 			The Whole Story
Santana 				Samba Pa Ti 				The Essential
Atlas Sound 				My Angel is Broken 			Parallax
Jane Siberry 				Calling All Angels 			When I Was A Boy
Lotus Plaza 				Jet Out of the Tundra 			Spooky Action at a Distance
Interpol 				Pioneer to the Falls 			Our Love to Admire
DIIV 					Home 					Oshin
Karen O and Trent Reznor 		Immigrant Song 			        Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
David Sylvian 				Orpheus 				Secrets of the Beehive
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross 		Hand Covers Bruise 			The Social Network
Blonde Redhead 			        Messenger 				Misery is a Butterfly
Manic Street Preachers 			The Everlasting 			This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
Freelance Whales			Generator 2nd Floor			Weathervanes


Thanks to everyone in advance! I’m looking forward to having my ears opened!

Chromatics are my favorite current band and the album Kill for Love is by far the best album I have heard this year.

I am not familiar with all of the songs on your list, but some are well-known to me.
Basing on those I know, I think you might like some of the following:

On Your Shore. CD by Charlotte Martin (2004).
(Caution: do not buy the original 2004 CD. It is one of the CDs that Sony secretly stuck a rootkit on that installs itself on your computer if you try to rip the CD – a very unfortunate thing to do to such a brilliant CD. MP3 downloads are safe.)
Charlotte Martin channels the spirits of Kate Bush, Tori Amos, and Liz Fraser (Cocteau Twins) onto this CD. (To clarify, none of these people are dead.)

Wild Horses sounds a bit like what The Rolling Stones’ song would sound like if performed in the style of Jane Siberry’s Calling All Angels.
Limits of Our Love is definitely in the style of Kate Bush.
And Haunted is Tori Amos with intelligible lyrics.

Going further into the past, are you familiar with early Cocteau Twins?
I think Treasure (1984) was their most brilliant album. It should be listened to in its entirety in order because of how they build themes from one song to the next.
Donimo is the final track on the album and summarizes the themes of the album.

Back to the future, Disconnect from Desire is the 2010 album with the haunting sounds of School of Seven Bells. It’s an alternative rock sort of sound, but without the grunge.

Try I L U for the melancholy sounds of a lost love or Windstorm for a more active sound.

I think you’ll like all of the above, but please let me know if I have failed to hit the mark.

Here are some songs whose styles are not really reflected in your list, but if you want to look in a new direction, they are worthy of your time:

Secret from Sirens of the Sea by Oceanlab.
Run Away from Follow Me Down by Sarah Jarosz.
Euphoria (Firefly) from Karma by Delerium.

Again, comments welcome.

Looking at your list. For new music I recommend the Seattle band Tokyoidaho.
They have just released their debut album Neon Sigh.
Google them for samples. I think you will like them.

music-map.com/ is a fun way to find stuff similar to things you already like. I have found lots of artists unknown to me by using it.

Alphabetically, here’s what I have that you may like. I recommend heading over to iTunes and listening to the first 30 seconds of the highest rated tracks, but I’ll give my favorite tracks:

Apples in Stereo - 7 stars
Architecture in Helsinki - Hold Music
Beck - Gamma Ray
Beta Band - Assessment
Broken Bells - The High Road (I think this’ll be in your wheelhouse)
Caribou - Sun (Same with these guys)
Coldplay - Clocks
Depeche Mode - John the Revelator
Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
General Public - Tenderness
Goldfrapp - Strict Machine
Interpol - PDA
Janelle Monae - Many Moons
Joy Formidable - Whirring
LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great
Magenetic Fields - I Think I Need a New Heart
Morcheeba - Big Calm (I think you’ll like these guys. They’ve broken up, however)
Naked Eyes - Always Something There to Remind Me
Okkervil River - Our Love is Not a Movie
Phoenix - 1901 (Probably another good bet)
Polyphonic Spree (Hanging Around the Day (One more good one)
Royksopp - So Easy
Shins - New Slang
Thievery Corporation - So Com Voce
Yo La Tengo - Autumn Sweater

Hope you find something you enjoy!

I’m not familiar with any of those songs except the original of Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin, and only recognize the names of about a fifth of the artists. Thus my suggestions are not really based on understanding what you tend to like, but hey, you’re looking for something new and possibly different, right? Maybe some of these will grab you:

Goodnight Moon by Shivaree.

If it Hadn’t Been for Love by the Steeldrivers (also done by Adele).

Sleepwalk by Santo and Johnny.

Girl Don’t Come by Sandie Shaw.

Blood of the Lamb by Derek Webb (also done by Billy Bragg and Wilco).

I Hate Myself for Loving You by Joan Jett.

Four Strong Winds by Ian and Sylvia. Also by them, the original Someday Soon (Judy Collins and everyone after her changed some lyrics).

That’s a list steeped in alter. I’d offer the following as I think it’s in a general direction:

Metric - www.ilovemetric.com
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - www.yeahyeahyeahs.com
Arcade Fire - www.arcadefire.com
David Byrne & St vincent - www.lovethisgiant.com
The Kills - www.thekills.tv

You guys are great! Thanks to everyone who’s posted to this point.

Obviously it’s gonna take me a while to check out your suggestions, but I will be back to let you know what I think.

In the meantime, THANKS!

Maybe you’d like Fever Ray.

I love Fever Ray.

So far the only downside to your (amazing) suggestions is that it’s tough for me to find time (especially time that’s private, uninterrupted, etc.) to listen to them. That said, here are some of my first impressions:

tomcar:
The Chromatics (Kill for Love) is/are definitely my type of sound. Overall a very enjoyable track although not ‘spectacular’ (<=== not a criticism). Highlights included the lead guitar work.

Alley Dweller:
I had never heard, or even heard of, Charlotte Martin before. She is terrific! What an amazing voice! I like all of her tracks that you suggested/listed and am definitely going to get a whole lot more of her stuff. As an aside, and as one of the YouTube commenters wrote regarding the ‘Limits of Our Love’ video, she does sound like Kate Bush (sometimes).

I am familiar with, and like very much, the Cocteau Twins, or at least those things I’ve heard from them such as ‘Moon and the Melodies’. But, by and large, I do not know them well at all. Not well at all. I was not aware of their Treasure album and most definitely had never heard the magnificent Donimo before. It is wonderful!

School of Seven Bells was totally new to me. I L U was right up my alley and I enjoyed it a lot. Windstorm, not so much. Secret from Oceanlab was just awesome! What a track! Very, very nice!

I loved the music in Sarah Jarosz’s Runaway. Exquisite picking in particular. I’m sorry to say, though, that I didn’t much care for her voice. I think I need to hear more from her. If only I had more time . . .

Euphoria was outstanding. And, like virtually every other band/artist you’ve mentioned, I had not heard of Delerium before either. Outstanding!! By the way, some of the scenes in the video looked like they may well have been filmed right here in Toronto (i.e. Union Station, for one). Am I right? Do you know if it was filmed in good old T.O.?

Thanks a million!

More to follow . . . when, I don’t know . . .

A couple of suggestions:

  1. Hit Youtube. Find those songs you like, and then look over to the side; there will be other recommended videos. And sometimes they’re really great!

  2. Try plugging some songs into Pandora and see what it recommends for you. I have heard it’s not a bad way to get more recommendations.

I was going to recommend a few things, but based on KG’s playlist, I see he does not like rock n’ roll. :frowning:

Would you believe that the next cut I listened to was The Black Keys’ Lonely Boy - now, for sure, that rocks. (eh?)

It seems like you like sort of melodic, ambient music that isn’t too electronic or “trip-hoppy”. Based on that, I’d go with the following suggestions:

deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon
Digitalism - Just Gazin’
Explosions in the Sky - Your Hand In Mine
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx - I’ll Take Care Of U (original, not the Drake and Rihanna remix)
Jacques Greene - Another Girl
JJ - We Can’t Stop (feat Ne-Yo)
Johann Johannsson - Fordlandia
Keep Shelly In Athens - Cremonia Memories
LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge
La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream’s Let’s Get Ravey remix)
M83 - Outro
Placebo - Running Up That Hill (I didn’t realize it was a cover of the Kate Bush song you listed)
Radiohead - Reckoner
Spencer & Antfood - Trek
The xx - Islands
Yo La Tengo - Autumn Sweater

I think you need to quit your day job so you can devote more time to music appreciation! Thank-you for your comments on my post. I like hearing feedback on my selections.

I actually hadn’t listened to Charlotte Martin in a long time. But when I saw your list, she immediately popped into my head. I enjoyed listening to her again, too!

I think Treasure is the epitome of the Cocteau Twins’ work. I also love Head Over Heels, which came before Treasure. It has a much harder edge to it.
For example, In the Gold Dust Rush. If you liked Moon and the Melodies, you might also want to check out their Victorialand album which was their ambient experiment before collaborating with Harold Budd. Lazy Calm is the first track. (It was hard to choose just one!)

Delerium is the duo of Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, two Canadian producers who (reportedly) wrote the music and then sent it out to various guests to write and perform the lyrics. They record for Canadian label Nettwerk. So, while I don’t know they story of the video, I’d say there is a good chance that it was shot somewhere in Canada.

Karma was a real direction-changer in my musical tastes. If you like Karma, you should also consider their next album, Poem.
Check out Aria featuring the Mediaeval Babes. (No, I can’t explain why she is taking a bath fully clothed with apples.)

Rhys Fulber of Delerium also has a side project called Conjure One which operates on the same principle. Two really great albums I can recommend:
The first is the self-titled Conjure One. Check out Tears from the Moon featuring Sinead O’Connor and Sleep featuring Chemda.
The second is Extraordinary Ways.
Check out the poetic Endless Dream featuring Poe.

A new suggestion: If swirling ambient sounds with layered pure vocals interest you, try Love Spirals Downwards. My favorite album is Ardor.
Two tracks for your consideration:
Will You Fade
and
Depression Glass

Now, go quit your job and start listening.

A few more I’ll float out…

Venus Hum - Brilliant “Bjork-ish” tech pop
Lykke Li - Dreamy with good rhythms
Luscious Jackson - Short-lived in the 90’s predecessor to trip-hop
Miho Hatori - Originally of Cibo Matto, but solo with a more Moby-like vibe

Mmm, if you like the Cocteau Twins, you might like some other 4AD bands, even though the selection is diverse:
Dead Can Dance: Not as poppy, but cool. Here’s Black Sun and Cantara (which takes a while to break - like, 2 minutes - but when it does…)
This Mortal Coil (the “house band” with fluid membership): Song To The Siren has Liz from Cocteaus, very Budd-ish ambience. Late Night has Caroline Crawley from the way under-appreciated Shelleyan Orphan.
Lush: much poppier, lovely guitar, not ambient at all: De-Luxe and Sweetness & Light
Frazier Chorus (lead singer is Martin Freeman’s brother!): Dream Kitchen and Typical - perfect pop.
Of course, lots of great bands were all on 4AD at some point: Pixies. Breeders. Throwing Muses. Bauhaus. Birthday Party. Pale Saints. His Name is Alive. Red House Painters…M.A.R.R.S.

Ave Maria: Schubert/Liszt/Lisitsa/Bösendorfer
Transcendent composition, transcription, pianist and instrument…no matter what genre of music you’re into, beautiful music of this type should be on your playlist.

Or, Kick it up a notch with
Totentanz: Liszt/Lisitsa/Bösendorfer

Valentina is sublime.

Somehow I think everyone’s going to have some new music to check out. All I’ve ever heard from Rhys Fulber is the production work on some stuff by The Tea Party.