So like wtf happened to music i actually want to listen to?

[Blake_T]

nothing makes me feel older than realizing i haven't bought a decent cd/record in like 4 years. like... stuff that really makes you get excited and glad you still listen to new music rather than just fall back to the same old crap you've had for a decade.

so like... independent music seemed to polarize around 10 years ago and led to two musical pathways, neither of which i am very fond of. i didn't mind so much "as it was happening" since there were still bands i like out there making music i like... but they have all broken up or gotten shitty and it seems:
1. we're artsy fartsy and pretentious but CMJ/pitchfork/whatever popular review site is around now blew us for kicking so much artsy ass. sure, it may be "interesting and cerebral," but that doesn't make it fun to listen to. there is, in fact interesting and cerebral music that is still a good time.
2. we're so raw and rock the f out, we completely ignored any musical evolution over the past 20 years and reverted back to 3-chord rock but with a raw early 70's sound.

it's sort of like... they took all the good of independent music and separated it into two parts that suck by themselves.

i really started to form my own musical opinion in around 1989-1990 and i got to watch music evolve from then onward along the "alternative" vein. things grew... noticeably over the years. but somewhere around 1999-2000 evolution just sort of halted and that's when the divide started.

it seems like any bands still around from my hey day have songwriters who are so bogged down by the weight of their own genius that they've grown completely stale and committed to a niche that shows no progression beyond when they were first noticed as being talented.

"hybrid genre" bands went from what i saw as being a potential savior to being some mish-mash of bs, leading to basic A/B/A song structures and just alternating genres per section rather than integrating everything into a cohesive sound.

this past week i stopped by a record store that i frequent and asked one of the guys for some recommendations and he asked me what was the last album that really got me excited. that was a tough question. i dug into the memory banks and had 3 albums that came to mind over the past decade. cursive - the ugly organ (2003). the north atlantic - wires in the walls (2005). hot cross - risk revival (2007). the last cd i bought that i really enjoyed was probably owen with new leaves in 2009... but enjoy vs. makes me grateful that i listen to music are two different things. i've got links to samples below:

the north atlantic - wires in the walls:
http://www.myspace.com/thenorthatlantic ... s-28208001
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PEwX5WjRb8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9hXexd6A-Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL1rcc2coMs

cursive - the ugly organ:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQQoi_DRAyU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW6GJIdznVM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JcFgL2qO9Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wix_6ZGpiU0

hot cross - risk revival:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89PkzgQYsog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSI2OakJwfs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIPjSSjo-DU

owen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CedeLJlokM4

so my point with all this... based upon these samples can anyone out there give a recommendation of a band that still exists, still kicks ass, and i'll like a whole lot? (i realize these sample sets are kind of homogenous, but they sort of culminate my own musical taste evolution from the pixies to present).

[MDP]

You might like:

The National (might try their Alligator album)
Cold War Kids
White Rabbits

[Blake_T]

thanks for the recommendations. i checked those out... and it makes me wonder if you listened to any of the stuff i posted links to... and if so, how did you get from what i posted to what you listed?


really searching for something that will make me rock out with my roc out

[Lithicon]

/goes through a pile of old cd's on a shelf at the store and finds a Blink 182 cd... /takes a poop on it and hands it to Blake..

Here, you might like this!

[jsun3thousand]

the more you musically box yourself in, the more unenjoyable it becomes. i have an amazing luxury of living in lawrence, ks and have seen so many great bands in the almost four years i have been here. some local, some pretty big, some gonna be big. just off the top of my head bands that i have seen that were really good: baths, gifts from enola, a sunny day in glasgow, now, now every children, russian circles, a place to bury strangers, we are hex - i had a slumber with them, we watched my so called life and they just got signed by jack white's label, true widow, vivian girls, apple seed cast, cowboy indian bear, mouthbreathers- these guys are local and are making a lot of noise, the life and times, autolux, the the raveonettes, unwed sailor, xiu-xiu. just saw a great danish punk band iceage. i have also walked out on a lot of crap like real estate, minus the bear, murder by death, woods, big pink, and plenty more. bands that i wish i could see, could have seen, or haven't seen a long time lolla jesus, tv on the radio, explosions in the sky, sigur ros, ride, mogwai pelican, godspeed you! black emperor, death cab for cutie. there is always great bands out there. i get along with music nerds so i get to learn about way more great bands than i could find on my own.

[Parks]

Just give up and listen to dubstep so you can be cool.

[jsun3thousand]

glitch, son. get some ediT and glitch mob to dip your feet in.







then get yourself on google and look up low end theory.





i think dgcr has a dubstep thread that has all mainstream festival stuff like vibesquad, flying lotus, bassnectar and such. dubstep is just a board category.

[Parks]

DGCR would have a dubstep thread.

[jsun3thousand]

i think the dude with the 30ft ace started it. dgcr has a thread on pretty much everything. the most exhaustive guide to useless information. sort of the like those uncle john's bathroom readers. i like the what to do you do when you have to pee during a round thread. it is a very necessary discussion. it's got ball golf analogies and legal discussions so far. it's a couple hours from being a thread about poop. i bet mb will tell a super personal story then get all hurt when he gets made fun of.
maybe adult diapers will be the sponsor to make dg mainstream. put little facts about disc golf on them. maybe your favorite disc or disc golfer. maybe a picture of your favorite course. or blank spaces so can keep track of aces, metals, and lost, found and returned discs.

[uNicedmeMan]

Maybe Blake would like Silversun Pickups?

[Jeronimo]

Just put your Tool albums on play, sit back, and bask in it.

[bill]

nothing makes me feel older than realizing i haven't bought a decent cd/record in like 4 years. like... stuff that really makes you get excited and glad you still listen to new music rather than just fall back to the same old crap you've had for a decade

blake, it seems you like rock that teeters on the edge of punk and you like good lyrics and dont mind an effeminate voice. please, please get The Monitor by Titus Andronicus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08fqHr_KGPY
dont let the video put you off. they are rock and roll and hungry like few other bands around today.

Les Savy Fav tear crap up. Let's stay Friends is a strong rock/punk record and probably their best. and the lead is one of the strangest dudes ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITkH0i7bmwQ

Of Montreal made one hell of a record in 07 - hissing fauna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3RAI8Nt ... re=related

both of the last LCD Soundsystem records are really strong. Sound of Silver and This Is Happening. you should have them both
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0qwEA-QTe8
again, forget the vid

the national is a great freaking band that made three of the best records of the last 10 years, alligator, boxer and high violet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_yskRDrmqI

sufjan stevens sang harmony on that last tune and though it was in 2005 Illinoise came out it still needs to be bowed down to. nobody is better than him. putting a link to any song of his somehow cheapens it. both Illinoise and Greetings from Michigan are can't live without records.

anything by Yo La Tengo. i am not afraid of you and i will beat your ass came out in 06 and it's great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G9NZvebscw

you like owen so you should have no problems with Girls. Album and the ep Broken Dreams Club are greatness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5Oa6ih0kgA

but i feel your pain Blake. the last i can't get enough of/ruled my life rock records i can remember are Sufjan Stevens Illinois from 05 and yankee Hotel Foxtrot from Wilco in 2002.

if you don't like any of the other stuff just put on led zeppelin 1

[new013]

fuck cds and records... once you go live you never go back.

[Triflusal]

sufjan stevens sang harmony on that last tune and though it was in 2005 Illinoise came out it still needs to be bowed down to. nobody is better than him. putting a link to any song of his somehow cheapens it. both Illinoise and Greetings from Michigan are can't live without records.

the age of adz kicked ass in a change of pace way

[Tossin' in Memphis]

The Pixies really ended an era when they released Trompe Le Monde......I am 36 and absolutely drowned in 80's/VERY early 90's college rock/alternative. I was playing The Cure, The Smiths, The PIxies, Etc. in bands 20 years ago......BLake, you are going to have to dig deep to find bands that had the "presence" of a PIxies, Hoodoo Gurus, etc. May I humbly suggest King Crimson (Thrak, Construktion of Light). They have really melded things in a cool way for the past 15 years or so.....I still listen to Material Issue, The Sundays, and stuff like that...The best stuff has probably already been made.