in response to some people named, i recommend as starting points for the follow bands:

earth - earth 2
bad brains - self-titled
residents - the commercial album
pere ubu - the modern dance
squarepusher - feed me weird things
magma - kohntarkosz
meshuggah - destroy, erase, improve (or if you can handle long songs, the I ep)
70s king crimson - red (or maybe, starless and bible black)
80s king crimson (basically a different band) - discipline

as far as i know, john fahey doesn't sing, unlike the other two folkies you named. he fingerpicks beautifully, usually simple graceful tunes but also occasionally odd dissonant stuff.

the fall is a revolving cast of bands who usually play repetitive riffs in a wide variety of styles, always behind a speaker/singer issuing surly drunken-sounding diatribes with an absurd drawl-uh. influenced many, including (to my ears) the swans, what with their repetitive dirges and gira's very fall-ish delivery.

pere ubu is a revolving cast of bands always behind a singer whose voice is strange, warbly, frog-like and impossible to imitate. what's arguably their classic album, the modern dance, was sort of like rock with punk and surf influences, plus the weird vocals and some weird synth noises. it's really good.

the residents are probably my favorite band. anonymous, theatrical, perverted pop concept albums. very dark humor. i recommend duck stab, animal lover, wormwood, god in three persons, etc.

magma is prog/fusion done with incredible originality and intensity and weirdness that manages to be intensely serious, humorous, familiar, alien, so many things at the same time.

bad brains is the only hardcore band i care about, pretty much. they play outrageous high energy punk a long time ago, they played reggae tunes too, they later went in a more pop-metal direction which they legitimately pulled off for a while before getting kinda corny.

squarepusher combines aphex twin's style of electronic music with jaco pastorius style fusion bass virtuosity. the electronic stuff is arguably better than aphex -- the crazy stuff is crazier, the pretty stuff is prettier.

meshuggah plays metal riffs juxtaposing very complex rhythms against straight back beats. they are masters of this, it's ruthless. the lead guitarist also plays spacey solos he admittedly derived from fusion guy allan holdsworth.

i admit i have no idea about scratch acid, faust, and a ton of other stuff, but these days i really don't check out much music.

Time to show myself up.

Mission of Burma
Jesus and Mary Chain
Melvins
Beefheart
Scratch Acid
The Fall (heard one song and it fucking sucks - eat yourself thinner or some such bullshit)
The Ramones
Joy Division
PIL
Pere Ubu
Swans
US Maple (saw them live, didn't get it)
Sigur Ros
Stevie Wonder
Stereolab
Brick Layer Cake
The Didjits (sp?)

Fuck this, I could go on all night.

Oh and Bowie. Am I supposed to listen to Bowie?

Dinosaur Jr.

Bands people love but who I've never really listened to:

Dinosaur Jr: Never really heard any of their stuff, but I went over to their MySpace page once and really liked some of those songs.

Foetus: People have said this guy's a genius, and based on the little I've heard (what I downloaded last night), I gotta agree. I am definitely checking out more of his stuff.

Alice Cooper: I know "School's Out" but that's it.

Throbbing Gristle: I downloaded Second Annual Report last night and didn't like it too much. In fact, I didn't like it much at all, which was strange for me, since I generally like pretty abrasive music. I guess it has to sink in a little or something. I did enjoy Chris Carter's grinding synth noise, but it never really cohered into anything close to a melody. Maybe Chris Carter should have joined Pere Ubu after Allan Ravenstine left, cause that would have been pretty interesting.

Van Der Graaf Generator: Some people I know who are into prog love these guys, but I don't know. Admittedly, I know nothing about them, but they look kind of like the worst tendencies of early King Crimson come to life.

Genesis: Again, know nothing about them, haven't had the time to listen. Another reason is that Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins' solo stuff have given me a bad taste in my mouth, so I've kind of avoided them. Plus the keyboards are supposed to be really annoying.

Negative Approach: I know nothing about these guys other that some guy named John Brannon used to sing for them and that apparently he had a really nasty bellow. Don't know how he could outdo Michael Gira, say, but I may listen.

Killdozer: I know two of their songs, "King of Sex" and "Hi There," and while the first one was funny/catchy/sarcastic, the second one left me feeling kind of weird, uneasy, and nervous. Don't know if I'll check them out.

Die Kruezen: Another hardcore band I know squat about.

Bad Brains: Here's a big one - outside of two versions of "Pay to Cum" and "I Luv I Jah," I really have not listened to anything they've ever done, which is pretty bad, as they're supposed to be gods of hardcore and all and I like hardcore.

D.R.I.: Know nothing about these dudes other than Mark Prindle really likes them.

Creedence Clearwater Revival: This one's practically heresy, but I've never really listened to anything of theirs, aside from the stuff that comes on classic rock radio whenever I listen to classic rock radio. I like what I've heard a lot, though, so I should probably check them out.

Ween: I have never listened to note one of any Ween song ever. They're supposed to be really good. Maybe I should check 'em out.

Kraftwerk: I have liked the occasional song I've heard from them, but never really felt compelled to listen to their albums.

How's that for a good and solid list of ignorance?

SecondEdition wrote:


Killdozer:...kind of weird, uneasy, and nervous...

precisely what i love about them.

Scratch Acid

Worth your while getting that "Greatest Gift" CD. No, really, it's worth it.

PIL and Swans for the first couple albums, but that's just my opinion.

Jesus and Mary Chain? Havn't heard them? You lucky bastard.

Jeremy wrote:

SecondEdition wrote:


Killdozer:...kind of weird, uneasy, and nervous...

precisely what i love about them.

See, I usually like that kind of feeling too...but I felt like they - or rather, the singer - was sneering and laughing at me the entire time, and I just didn't like the feeling. I know that's a weird feeling to get because it's pretty much an exchange of dialogue between two characters, but it's true.

Rotten Tanx wrote:Time to show myself up.

Mission of Burma
The Fall (heard one song and it fucking sucks - eat yourself thinner or some such bullshit)
PIL

1) You should work on that. They were (are) truly great.
VS. might be a good start.
2) Eat Y'self Fitter.
That song is for true Fall fans. You have to get the joke before you enjoy that song. It's like hearing the punchline, but no joke.
Try the songs "Kicker Conspiracy," "Jerusalem," and "Spoilt Victorian Child."
If it doesn't make sense after that, there is no hope, but congratulations, you're normal
3) Suffer from quality control issues. Try Metal Box (also known as Second Edition). Don't expect anything. Hearing them 20 years after the fact may be too late. I love them, but I heard them when nothing else sounded like them.

All you Krautrock deficient people.
Get to work.
Can - Tago Mago
Faust - Faust IV
Either of the first 2 Neu! records.
Many, many bands you like will be exposed as plagerists.


Now my turn. I do not know US Maple.
You folks talk about them like they shit out platinum bricks. I'm guessing that I'm missing something, big time.
Help
Me

-A

alex maiolo wrote:

Rotten Tanx wrote:Time to show myself up.

Mission of Burma
The Fall (heard one song and it fucking sucks - eat yourself thinner or some such bullshit)
PIL

1) You should work on that. They were (are) truly great.
VS. might be a good start.
2) Eat Y'self Fitter.
That song is for true Fall fans. You have to get the joke before you enjoy that song. It's like hearing the punchline, but no joke.
Try the songs "Kicker Conspiracy," "Jerusalem," and "Spoilt Victorian Child."
If it doesn't make sense after that, there is no hope, but congratulations, you're normal
3) Suffer from quality control issues. Try Metal Box (also known as Second Edition). Don't expect anything. Hearing them 20 years after the fact may be too late. I love them, but I heard them when nothing else sounded like them.

All you Krautrock deficient people.
Get to work.
Can - Tago Mago
Faust - Faust IV
Either of the first 2 Neu! records.
Many, many bands you like will be exposed as plagerists.


Now my turn. I do not know US Maple.
You folks talk about them like they shit out platinum bricks. I'm guessing that I'm missing something, big time.
Help
Me

-A

Aren't Ege Bamyasi and Future Days better starting places for Can? Going into something like Tago Mago blind could turn people off to Can - the likes of "Aumgn" and "Peking O," the latter of which I still haven't completely come around to, could really scare off first-time listeners, which would really suck. The highs on Tago Mago, though, exceed anything that the group ever did. Halleluwah man...oh damn, I'm going crosseyed just thinking about it. The first Neu! record, to me, is two UNBELIEVABLE tracks surrounded by four good-to-middling pieces. Well, you know what songs I'm thinking of (Hallogallo, Negativland).

I haven't heard anything from US Maple, either. Well, I did see a video they made on YouTube which was pretty funny - the guy just made bird noises while the guitars played a really good Beefheart-esque catchy melody. Guess I should listen to them sometime.

Faust? Damn, another band I need to listen to! Another band everyone drools over who I have never heard: the Silver Apples.

This is really helpful - thanks guys!