Gislain Poirier - Rebondir EP
Jesu - Silver
My Morning Jacket - Z

Listening to for the first time:

Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "Master and Everyone"
Husker Du - "Zen Arcade" and "New Day Rising" (who knew?)
Devendra Banhart - "Cripple Crow" and "Rejoicing in Hands"
Sufjan Stevens - "Seven Swans"
My Bloody Valentine - "Loveless" and "Isn't Anything"

Quite a list, eh? It just boggles my mind how much good music is out there waiting to be discovered.

So far the best new to me music this year is from a country-boogie band from the '30s through the '50s named the Maddox Brothers & Rose. I've picked up two compilations of their material plus a solo collection from Rose Maddox in the last few weeks. Their style of country has been called hillbilly and boogie but the development of what would become rockabilly clearly begins in their music. I can hear their influence on Elvis and Dylan, and on early R&B as well (I'll bet that Ray Charles must have been a fan). They should be a household name or at least well known among the country western crowd. Still, their wild brand of traditional country didn't set well with the Nashville snobs, and Rose was banned from the Grand Ole Opry for her too "revealing" clothing (good Lord, her midriff was showing!). Rose had one hellacious voice; fans of Neko Case might appreciate her singing style. In 1994, she released a very nice bluegrass album, $35 and a Dream- this after seven heart bypasses, coming out of a coma and relearning to talk. For beginners to the Maddox Family, I'd recommend the Arhoolie label comps, The America's Most Colorful Hillbilly Band: Their Original Recordings 1946-1951 vol. 1 & 2. If you dig Rose's singing and the hooting of the bros, move on to the box sets on the Bear Label.

quote:

Posted by ezkcdude
Listening to for the first time...Husker Du

Holy Hell, thats so cool that yr listening to the mighty Huskers. The US in the mid '80's was an excellent time for guitar rock.

quote:

Originally posted by Ishmaels coffin:
Holy Hell, thats so cool that yr listening to the mighty Huskers. The US in the mid '80's was an excellent time for guitar rock.

Yeah, there should be some kind of "Metacritic School" where we go to learn which "old" bands to listen to. This would certainly clue me in more to which influences certain bands have. Maybe we should start a thread on it...

I've already started one like that... check it out.

quote:

Originally posted by Jglass:
I've already started one like that... check it out.

Ahh...Brilliant! Just looking at the 2nd post, I see Husker Du.

So I finally got the balls to check out Bjork (I've heard a lot of bad things that left me feeling iffy)

I must say, her catalogue is extremely consistent and vaery good... but my favorite is actually Gling Glo (I've listened to Gling Glo thru Homogenic). I've only listened to each one once (all back to back in order) but I can def. understand the hype.

swell maps, i love swell maps. swell maps make my brain shake, concussed with love. you should all check out 'Jane in Occupied Europe'. its been on repeat for ages now and I'm still fascinated by the noise they create. a must for fans of the fall and other post-punk 80's bands

Shit. Another album I need to check out...

I just started listening to Alligator, by the National.

I like it a lot.

Yeah, Alligator is just plain filthy.

quote:

Shit. Another album I need to check out...

It never ends, right? I'd hate to know how much extra money I'd have each year if I didn't buy any albums.

Of course the flip side is that I'd hate each year if I didn't buy any new music.

quote:

I just started listening to Alligator, by the National.

Damn good album. Criminally overlooked when it came out, that's for sure.

quote:

Originally posted by less_success:

quote:

Shit. Another album I need to check out...

It never ends, right? I'd hate to know how much extra money I'd have each year if I didn't buy any albums.

Of course the flip side is that I'd hate each year if I didn't buy any new music.

quote:

I just started listening to Alligator, by the National.

Damn good album. Criminally overlooked when it came out, that's for sure.

I've got a list of about 30 albums I want to listen to. It's fun.

And yeah, I hadn't even heard of The National until I came here.

I like the National but...

I don't know. The lead singer is pretty passionless and flat some of the time. The guitars are awesome but he sings pretty emotionless sometimes.

Exceptions being "Mr. November" (my favorite) and "Abel"

quote:

Originally posted by Chamberk:
I've got a list of about 30 albums I want to listen to. It's fun.

Been there. I play music constantly and yet I never run out of new music to play. Maybe if I didn't feel so compelled to go back to old albums then I'd run out of new music. But oh well, I love going back to those albums that have memories.

quote:

Originally posted by Jglass:

quote:

Originally posted by Chamberk:
I've got a list of about 30 albums I want to listen to. It's fun.

Been there. I play music constantly and yet I never run out of new music to play. Maybe if I didn't feel so compelled to go back to old albums then I'd run out of new music. But oh well, I love going back to those albums that have memories.

Absolutely. My friend is all about discovering new music, but I go back and listen to something like The Bends or London Calling and it gives me a rush that no new music can.

Anyone who likes dance-rock might like the album Side Effects by X-Wife. I found them through Insound, they were advertising for them on the front page.
The album isn't necessarily good as an album, (the guy's voice gets kind of annoying) but some of the songs have been stuck in my head for the last week. Listen to "When The Lights Turn Off" or "Realize".(Myspace)

Murder By Death, The Books. "The Lemon of Pink" and "Food For Thought" are both excellent!

quote:

Yeah, there should be some kind of "Metacritic School" where we go to learn which "old" bands to listen to. This would certainly clue me in more to which influences certain bands have. Maybe we should start a thread on it...

For those that have yet to check out the sixties...some essentials...

Beatles - anything, but big five are definitely Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Peppers, White Album, and Abbey Road.

Bob Dylan - Again anything, but Bringing it All Back Home, Highway 61, Blonde on Blonde, John Wesley Harding, and 70s archive release The Basement tapes the most significant.

The Rolling Stones - Aftermath, Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed.

Jimi Hendrix - All three orignial releases Are You Experienced, Axis Bold as Love, Electric Ladyland.

The Who - The Who Sing My Generation (aside from this, most of the Who's 60s albums don't hold up real well, though The Who Sell Out is interesting...Tommy is horrible, on of the most overrated pieces of work in Rock and Roll history)

The Kinks - An early Collection of their Power chord anthems, then all their Golden Ignored Era records, Funny Face, Village Green Preservation Society, and Most important, Something Else by the Kinks.

The Byrds - All of their first 6 are good to great, but for my money Mr. Tambourine Man, Fifth Dimension, and Sweetheart of the Rodeo are the top three.

Motown - Grab a greatest hits for each top artist...Temptations, Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, Supremes, Junior Walker, Early Marvin Gaye, Miracles, Stevie Wonder.

Moby Grape

Love - Forever Changes

The Velvet Underground - all four original releases are absolutely essential, each for completely different reasons...the most stylisticall varied four album stretch in the history of Rock and Roll. They are The Velvet Underground and Nico, White Light/White Heat, The Velvet Underground, and Loaded.

The Fairport Convention - Halfbricking

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River

King Crimson - Court of the Crimson King

Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow

Animals - Get a greatest hits.
Hollies - Ditto
Rascals - Ditto
Yardbirds - Ditto
Mamas and Popas - Ditto
Bobby Fuller Four - Ditto
The Amboy Dukes (Ted Nugent's 60s Band) - Ditto
Otis Redding - Ditto
Donovan - Ditto
Ten Years After - Ditto
Spencer Davis Five - Ditto
Them - Ditto
Blood, Sweat and Tears - Ditto

Volume 1 of Nuggets

Doors - Self titled Debut, after that, the quality of their work plummeted brutally...one of rocks all time most overrated artists.

Led Zepplin - One and Two and Three

Pink Floyd - Pipers at the Gates of Dawn.

Sly and the Family Stone - Stand

Santana - Self Titled Debut

Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again (this one's fantastic).

Mott The Hoople - Their Dylanesque s/t Debut

The Band - Music from the Big Pink and the amazing S/T second Album.

Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica and Safe as Milk.

Zappa - Absolutely Free, Freak Out, We're only in it for the Money.

Traffic - Mr. Fantasy and especially s/t second album

Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (absolutely essential), Moondance

Beach Boys - Pet Sounds, and a early greatest hits collection, of which Endless Summer is the easy best choice.

Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man the Way that I Love You, Lady Soul

Cream - Disreali Gears

James Brown - Live at the Apollo

Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers

The Small Faces - Ogden's Nut Gone Flakes

The Zombies - Odessy and Oracle

The Stooges - S/t Debut

Dr. John - Gris Gris

Ike and Tina Turner - River Deep/Mountain High

Phil Spector - A Christmas Gift for You

Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed

Procol Harum - S/t debut and especially A Salty Dog

Joe Cocker - With a Little Help From My Friends

Sure I forgot a few but trust me, this is a great start to most of the essentials