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

[bill]

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

word. and janes addiction, mary my hope, the cult, U2's joshua tree, galaxie 500. REM, Sonic Youth, and Gish by Smashing Pumpkins was soo freakin cool.

can you believe doolittle came out in the spring of 89? i was a junior in highschool. i done got old. you're right, music was important from 85-95

[Blake_T]

the more you musically box yourself in, the more unenjoyable it becomes.

i agree. however, if you like the contents of said box, there's something that can be said for that as well.

i see my musical preferences as a culmination of accumulated experiences over the years.

i can see how i got to a band like the north atlantic or hot cross.
1990-1992: Fugazi
1993-1995: Archers of Loaf, Polvo, Jawbox, Thirty Ought Six
1996-1998: Giants Chair, Modest Mouse (teeth like god's shoe shine), the Vehicle Birth, Rainer Maria (tinfoil era)
and so on...

There's bands like the Crownhate Ruin and Crain that were also around in the earlier era, but I didn't come across them until after 1999. When you hear something... has as much of an effect on you as what you are hearing. Right now I'm mainly seeking out the evolved versions along that chain that I outlined. Stuff like These Arms are Snakes and Sparta were able to give me a nice taste of what I am seeking but not quite...

Maybe Blake would like Silversun Pickups?

I enjoy them and own several albums but they're one of those bands where I listen to 2-3 songs per album and find myself skipping the rest of the tracks.

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

I realized I was old on my 25th birthday when I refused to stand in line for 4 hours to see Cursive's 3rd Ugly Organ tour (no advanced ticket sales). Aside from that I've seen 500+ concerts but can barely stand the atmosphere anymore. I know I wasn't that annoying when I was at shows when I was 15.

blake, it seems you like rock that teeters on the edge of punk and you like good lyrics

a gold star for bill. Titus Andronicus has some promise. Does any of their stuff have 1 more testicle than the video you linked? I will check out more when I have the time.

thanks for the reminder about Les Savy Fav. I picked up the Cat and the Cobra in like 2000 and it didn't do it from me then. Listening to it now though i can remember thinking they had a lot of promise if they matured a bit as song-writers while still maintaining the same energy. i will check out let's stay friends.

Of Montreal never did it for me... and there was a time when a few of my favorite bands were on Polyvinyl so I was getting lots of of montreal promo stuff.

I have a few yo la tengo records from 10-15 years ago. they didn't do it for me then but i haven't heard anything newer than and then nothing turned itself inside out. if they changed over time i will try to hear some newer stuff. i can say that i've never been a fan of: mogwai, three mile pilot, the black heart procession, and the other similar bands that people who like those bands tend to like.

my favorite parts of owen are:
1. his guitar playing
2. his sad-bastard song content
3. his brutally honest and often cruel lyrics obviously targeted at someone

.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.

I know, but i used to dig deep all the time. every few years or so i used to find some record (or string of 2-3 records from different bands) that absolutely changed what i expected from music. they often weren't my favorite albums, but i know they affected what i looked for from music and then i would find something else that i felt "perfected" what i was looking for. i guess right now i'm looking for that next stage in the progression. it took sooooooo much work in the pre-internet era to find those next steps and while now there's a lot more content that is easily accessible there's tons and tons of homogenous stuff to dig through.

the problem is, being where i am now, after having several passes of expectation changing music, i can't pop in an old afghan whigs or unrest record and rock out unless i'm really in the mood for nostalgia. i can say that every time i thought things had hit their peak i was always able to find something that pushed things one step further.

[bill]

yo la is always yo la and if you didn't like them then you probably still wont.

there's a lot of fury throughout that titus andronicus record. but they're not all punk, they just have their moments. it's a well put together record but has a little shitkicker in it. maybe a little replacements punk than real punk.

what about Interpol? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoV4OhCqy5w

[jubuttib]

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

Would be true if there existed competent FOH mixers. On all the gigs I've been on (excepting acoustic gigs, and maybe one Meshuggah gig) the sound has ranged from barely adequate to downright godawful, and always so loud that the only way your ears can process it is with earplugs... It's gotten so bad that I've started avoiding live music. The ambiance is one thing, but I'm more interested in the actual music and sound.

[BrotherDave]

^couldn't agree more

[Jeronimo]

^couldn't agree more

Ditto.

They've blown past 11, they need to turn it back down to about 9.

[what'shisname]

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

Would be true if there existed competent FOH mixers. On all the gigs I've been on (excepting acoustic gigs, and maybe one Meshuggah gig) the sound has ranged from barely adequate to downright godawful, and always so loud that the only way your ears can process it is with earplugs... It's gotten so bad that I've started avoiding live music. The ambiance is one thing, but I'm more interested in the actual music and sound.

I find this has a lot to do with the venue as well. There's a local theater venue here that I've seen several shows at now and every one of them has sounded phenomenal. I just saw Queens of the Stone Age there last week and could hear every note.

The week before though I saw Soundgarden at a big arena and the sound was mediocre at best. Seemed that the mixer just felt that LOUD as fuck = great sound.

[Blake_T]

what about Interpol?

interpol had one of the ex-member of saetia as a founding member so i was on top of them from the get go. unfortunately they have always bored the crap out of me. i heard their newest record and wasn't surprised that they sounded almost exactly the same as they did on the first record, and sadly, it still bored the crap out of me. they were one of my biggest disappointments along with members of the sleepytime trio going on to form engine down and bats and mice, both of which also bored the crap out of me.

i do find it odd that the stuff i linked would be labelled as punk now, but i guess to what is now considered indie rock, it probably is more punk than indie. i see it as being derivative of "golden age" indie rock than punk though.

yo la is always yo la and if you didn't like them then you probably still wont.

this is the kind of honest feedback i appreciate in spades.

have you heard anything by japandroids?

[rooneytunes]

Check out cage the elephant's new album "Thankyou Happy Birthday". Shake me down is my favorite on that album. Their new album reminds me of good 90's rock mixed with the chaotic disjointed style of the Pixies. Also, Detachment Kit's "They raging, quiet army" album is VERY good. I'm a little younger than you, but the Pixies shaped my musical taste and Ugly Organ may be one of the best single albums I own, but the Burst and Bloom EP is a very close second.

[Jesse B 707]

yo la is always yo la and if you didn't like them then you probably still wont.

This is true to some extent but id say that "I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass" is a way better album than a lot if their older stuff imo and someone who didnt like the older stuff would still have a pretty good chance of getting in to it, I was never a huge fan of the earlier 90's stuff but IANAOYAIWBYA gets played start to finish fairly often on my pod

[what'shisname]

yo la is always yo la and if you didn't like them then you probably still wont.

This is true to some extent but id say that "I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass" is a way better album than a lot if their older stuff imo and someone who didnt like the older stuff would still have a pretty good chance of getting in to it, I was never a huge fan of the earlier 90's stuff but IANAOYAIWBYA gets played start to finish fairly often on my pod

I'm the same way with them, not too bothered with most of their earlier stuff but absolutely love IANAOYAIWBYA. Haven't heard the newest one but have heard good things about it. I'll have to check it out.

[pietrocrespi]

Owen is my biggest inspiration for personal guitar playing/lyrical style,he definitely knows how to take a jab at someone and make it sound polite. Pretty much anything he's been involved in at any age is good(American Football,Cap N' Jazz,Joan Of Arc)

Silversun is another good choice,along with Manchester Orchestra(Especially I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child) and Bad Books

If you like owen,I'd definitely recommend Kevin Devine,he also can have that writing style,and is a pretty solid guitar player. He and Manchester Orchestra are actually Bad Books,all worth checking out.

Also,my username on here is drawn from the owen song,which was drawn from the book,so,yeah,big fan.

[Jesse B 707]

you may dig some of Caustic Resins earlier albums

[Parks]

Titus Andronicus has some promise. Does any of their stuff have 1 more testicle than the video you linked? I will check out more when I have the time.

This is definitely a band that I recommended to you a year and a half ago because I thought they were along the lines of other bands you liked :D Listen to both their albums and be happy.

You mentioned Japandroids. I don't know if you like them or not, but I could see them being a possibility. Two bands that I like better and are in a somewhat similar genre are Deerhunter and No Age. I could see you saying that they lack balls, but they are both very rewarding bands. Almost all bands that I listen to are album bands, but I'll link single songs for taste-testing tact. I haven't seen these videos, and am only linking for the music: No Age: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9n7sIOAm6A Deerhunter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oup-m8Hxx4Y

I'm guessing you'll like No Age better out of the two, if you like either at all.

I could see you maybe liking Cymbals Eat Guitars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuP4y0Dfyyk and maybe Wu Lyf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGk0byL8P-0, though I don't think you'll find either one particularly ground-breaking. They both have an "older" sound that has similarities to some bands you like.

These next two are out there and they don't sound like bands you've mentioned, but I feel they have some of the same spirit. Pretty solid girl singers, too: Crystal Castles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2FOnrFlEJY Sleigh Bells: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/115 ... he-ground/

Wolf Parade might be a decent bet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D4JJPZQ2Ic <---- produced by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse so there's probably some common ground there.

The Walkmen. They have a lot of more mellow stuff that is also very good, but this song rocks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWR1h-5EzUo


That's enough for now. I've got more if any of these pique your interest.

[Parks]

Blake, you give homework for people to improve their DG game, so here's your homework if you are serious about finding more music.

Download Spotify. It is a free and legal music streaming service that has a vast selection of music. You will need an invitation from someone on this board that has it, but it is great for checking out new bands without the hassle of tracking shit down or downloading stuff off p2p/BitTorrent. I bet someone throws you an invite within minutes of you asking.

If a linked song gets you curious (i.e. Titus Andronicus) then just type in that artist on Spotify and check out more stuff to see if they have "more than one testicle".