bands you admit you know nothing about
203I don't download music, my only means of hearing stuff is really by buying LPs, I go to about four live shows a year because I live in the middle of nowhere so I'm not in touch with anything really. A band I've been meaning to get into for ages but know nothing about is The Hafler Trio.
Where's the best place to start with them?
Where's the best place to start with them?
coffin or new guy
bands you admit you know nothing about
204I'd get the LP Bang! An Open Letter
That one's pretty interesting as I remember, and I believe it's also pretty easy to find.
That one's pretty interesting as I remember, and I believe it's also pretty easy to find.
bands you admit you know nothing about
205Colonel Panic wrote:I'd get the LP Bang! An Open Letter
That one's pretty interesting as I remember, and I believe it's also pretty easy to find.
I would also recommend, Walk Gently Through The Gates Of Joy. The Hafler Trio is getting into Sun Ra and Psychic TV territory when it comes to sheer number of releases. I suspect that they can be pretty hit or miss with their quality.
bands you admit you know nothing about
206I've only heard the newer Hafler Trio stuff and it's been really ambient to the point that you gotta crank it to hear anything.
Rift Canyon Dreamspwalshj wrote:I have offered you sausage.
bands you admit you know nothing about
207Billy "Crash" Craddock - don't know why that sprang to mind the other day, but it's a name I've heard all my life and I've not (knowingly) heard a single note.
bands you admit you know nothing about
208Funkadelic, which is sad because I love Parliament.
Other bands:
- Throbbing Gristle
- Cop Shoot Cop
I swear there are more, but those are the only ones I can think of at the moment.
Other bands:
- Throbbing Gristle
- Cop Shoot Cop
I swear there are more, but those are the only ones I can think of at the moment.
bands you admit you know nothing about
209I know a lot of people here are down on the less than ideal quality of the AAC/MP3/iTunes formats but for people who don't have 20$ - 30$ to drop per album to decide whether or not you're going to love or hate a band like Magma I'd seriously consider buying it from iTunes. For 6-7$ a pop you can buy all of their records and as a result of this I am now very into a band I otherwise would have put off learning more about for a long time. Same goes for Faust and Tangerine Dream, you can pick up all of their great stuff for super cheap to get an idea about whether or not you'll like it. It's pretty amazing what kind of stuff you can buy on iTunes now so I'd suggest anyone strapped for cash to check there first if your wallet can't handle it otherwise.
To reply to some other curious people on bands they wanted to know more about with some specific suggestions, I know some of these posts are old but some people may still be curious:
The Beatles - I am sure I'll be lampooned for saying this but they made the blueprint for most modern rock and are absolutely amazing. The White Album is personally my favorite but for people looking for when they started to rock a little more and diverge from the Hold Your Hand stuff check out Help!, Rubber Soul, and Revolver. Sgt. Peppers is good but the White Album for me is really the peak of the band although there are some excellent songs on Abbey Road and Let It Be.
Big Black - Atomizer is my favorite release although Songs About Fucking is great as well. I'd pick up the CD comp for the Rich Mans Eight Track Tape (Atomizer LP, Headache EP, and Heartbeat 7") if I was trying to get someone into them as Kerosene seems to be the proverbial hook in the mouth for new fans. Good song but Passing Complexion/Fists of Love/Jordan Minnesota really deliver for me.
Black Dice - I really do not like this band. They were bad when they tried to be artcore or whatever the fuck it was and now they are trying to be dub or IDM or whatever it is they are trying to do it's terrible. I saw them open for Godspeed You! Black Emperor on their last tour and I almost left it was so bad.
Blonde Redhead - I love this band and own everything they've ever released. If you like their more angular and less pop-oriented later stuff check out In Expression of the Inexpressible or Fake Can Be Just as Good as Real. Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons and Misery is a Butterfly are more of a departure to pop oriented stuff that's less angular/rocked out than the older stuff and the new record, 23, is even a further departure from those. All great.
David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World, Low, Lodger, Heroes, Hunky Dory, man oh man... His old stuff is so amazing and some of his later and more recent stuff have some real gems on them too.
Built to Spill - I have There's Nothing Wrong With Love, Perfect From Now On, and Keep It Like a Secret which I really like. If you don't like the earlier Modest Mouse stuff (This is a Long Drive... and the Lonesome Crowded West) you probably won't dig this too much. If you haven't heard Modest Mouse the best I can compare it to is like Neil Young trying to play indie rock.
The Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician is great but after the whole Touch & Go lawsuit deal I really have absolutely no respect for these guys and wouldn't purchase a record of theirs unless I found it used/cut out somewhere.
Can - Future Days got me into this band and I love the song Bel Air. I'd definitely recommend this record for anyone trying to ease themselves into the band and then move on to Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi, Monster Movie, etc.
Chrome - I love Helios Creed and I really think anything they did without Helios Creed and Damon Edge just doesn't hold up. Alien Soundtracks and Half Machine Lip Moves are a great starting place.
Death Cab for Cutie - The first two records (Something About Airplanes and We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes) are solid catchy pop records with some good song crafting but everything after that just sounds like poorly performed derivatives of the same formula used on the first two records less inspired with slick production. I'd not recommend anything after the first two LPs. I was a huge fan but I just can't stand the stuff after the first two records.
Depeche Mode - My wife is a HUGE Depeche Mode fan. I was never really than into them before I met her but constant spinning of their old stuff really got me into them. For starters I'd recommend checking out the two Singles discs to get a feel from them. There are some really solid songs on those two comps.
Don Caballero - I find myself listening to What Burns and American Don the most. It seems like everyone I talk to has a different favorite. The only thing I don't really dig is the Singles Breaking Up comp. Even though there are a few great songs on it I don't think it really stands up on it's own compared to any of their other releases.
Einsturzende Neubauten - Get Strategies Against Architecture to decide whether or not you like them. If you do check out Haus Der Luge, Halber Mensch, and Tabula Rasa.
Gang of Four - Buy Entertainment! or the comp A Brief History of the 20th Century if you haven't heard anything. I consider Entertainment! to be an indispensable part of my collection.
Girls Against Boys - Kind of dirty lounge rock music with two bassists! The only two LPs I have are Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby and House of GVSB but I like them both tremendously.
Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes have some of my favorites songs of theirs on them. Short 2-2.5 minute rock songs from some middle aged guys who listened to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the Who way too much.
Hawkwind - I have Space Ritual and Doremi Fasol Latido. The Space Ritual I have is a two disc live show from 1972 and is excellent. I'd recommend this record first to anyone interested in the band as a first purchase or listening experience. Doremi Fasol Latido is also very good. I didn't purchase anything else by them after these two releases because I was working in a music store at the time and frequently found myself distracted/interested in other things.
Heavy Vegetable - If you dig Rob Crowe's stuff check out Thingy. They are a lot like Heavy Vegetable and I definitely prefer the second Thingy record to everything else I've heard from him.
Interpol - Nothing special here, kind of a rehash of the whole Joy Division/Factory records sparse post punk stuff
The Jesus Lizard - Goat and then Liar or Head/Pure. Goat should definitely be first. If Goat can't convert you to the church of the Lizard then "no one else will"
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Psychocandy is incredible and the B-Sides/Singles comp Barbed Wire Kisses is very good too. If you dig those check out Automatic.
Mars Volta - I love their first EP (Tremulant) and have to say Concertina is an incredible song but they basically pull off all of their tricks on this one EP better than they do on any of their LPs afterwards and I find every song on all of their LPs completely uninspired crap compared to what they did with the EP. Good for this one EP and one EP only. I have subsequently bought and sold every single one of their LPs up to Francis the Mute and then gave up on them ever putting out anything else comparable to Tremulant.
Misfits/Samhain/Danzig - I really dig the Misfits and Samhain but I just can't get into Danzig past I and II and I wouldn't recommend anyone buy any Danzig records other than I and then II if you really liked the first one. As far as the Misfits are concerned I definitely like all of their stuff but Legacy of Brutality and Collection I cover what I consider the high points of the band. I'd class all the Samhain stuff head and shoulders above any of Danzig's solo stuff and better than the Misfits attempt at being a hardcore band which IMO falls short of all of the other stuff that was happening at the same time. Both LPs and the EP are a good in between period that is reminiscent of the older Misfits stuff if it was better recorded and not as hokey as the later Danzig stuff.
Mission of Burma - I haven't listened to any of their new stuff but Vs. is excellent.
Mogwai - Ten Rapid and Young Team are really good. Their other stuff past this just all seems to be more of the same and not necessarily as good as these two records.
Nation of Ulysses - BUY IT ALL! This band did not release a bad record!
Red House Painters - Ocean Beach is the best starting point I could recommend for a record or Retrospective for a good all around compilation
Scratch Acid - Buy the Greatest Gift - excellent although definitely draws heavily on the Birthday Party. I prefer it to the Birthday Party probably as a result of being exposed to it long before I ever heard or knew of Nick Cave.
The Sea and Cake - Another great pop band with solid catchy hooks and great songwriting. The Fawn and The Biz are excellent and if you like those then check out Sam Prekop's self-titled release.
Shellac - I love the first two 7"s (The Rude Gesture: A Pictorial History and Uranus) and At Action Park and would suggest those for anyone trying to get into the band.
Siouxsie & the Banshees - For anyone who thinks they are too melodramatic/over the top check out the Peel Sessions. They were playing real stripped down punk stuff then and there is a great cover of Helter Skelter on there. The Scream has most of the songs in studio version and is also quite good.
The Smiths - If you don't like Morrissey I don't think it's possible for you to like The Smiths. If you want to give it a try anyway I would suggest trying to track down the Very Best of the Smiths that was released in Europe. It still has some crap on it but every single one of their releases has some songs that are just pure self indulgent Morrissey shit. The best you could really do is get a friend you generally trust when it comes to taste in music and have them make you a compilation. I'd burn anyone a copy of the CD-R I made for the car with some of my more favorite Smiths / Morrissey songs that I think are fairly well pruned of most of the ungodly and untolerable Morrissey 15 year old notebook croonings.
Sonic Youth - See them live if you can and if not get Sister, EVOL, and Daydream Nation. Great band.
SWANS - I love it all but the older more brutal and punishing stuff is what most people seem to dig on so check out COP, Young God, Greed, and Holy Money if you're into that. If you want the more mellowed out later stuff check out the Great Annihilator, Soundtracks for the Blind, and Various Failures (compilation of EPs/Singles/etc. from that period). Gira eventually ended the SWANS because they had become so associated and restricted in his mind by their earlier work that he couldn't really move away from that under the moniker SWANS so he started Angels of Light. I like the Angels of Light releases a lot but I do find myself wincing from time to time at some of his lyrical stylings from the Angels of Light stuff.
Three Mile Pilot - Another Desert, Another Sea and Songs from an Old Town We Once Knew are probably my favorite of all of their releases.
Throbbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats and Greatest Hits are good places to get started with this band.
Throwing Muses - House Tornado and Hunkpapa are great records and In a Doghouse is a good comp covering a lot of their earlier output.
As for stuff I have always wanted to get into but have never gotten around to:
Arcwelder
Ash Ra Tempel
Bardo Pond
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
Breaking Circus
Captain Beefheart
Colossamite
The Cows
Crime and the City Solution
The Dazzling Killmen
Die Kreuzen
Dinosaur Jr. (I tried to get into the when I was like 15-16 and bought Where You Been? which I hated and sold. What is the essential release that makes them so great?)
Bob Dylan (I hate his voice but he does write some great lyrics/songs)
Echo and the Bunnymen
The Ex (I have the first Touch & Go LP but I haven't really been able to figure out what else to get, this band seems to be a bit like Crass as in you don't always get what you may expect)
The Fall (I have the A-Sides comp and just can't get into it. This band is too fucking prolific. I can't figure out what to buy...)
Ganger
Gong
Killdozer
The Laughing Hyenas (Have heard they are amazing, I have Crawl and it never hooked me - everyone says their earlier material shreds)
Modern Lovers
The Necros (I had a live record that I am pretty sure was a bootleg that was absolutely terrible. Is there anything available by them now that's in print?)
Negative Approach
Pere Ubu
Popol Vuh
Pylon
Qui
The Residents
Rifle Sport
Rudimentary Peni
Silkworm
Silver Apples
Spacemen 3
Tar (Again I have Toast on picture disc but it's warped and sounds like shit so I probably am not 'getting it')
Television / Tom Verlaine (I love Marquee Moon but never got anything else by this band or Tom Verlaine's solo stuff - suggestions?)
Tomahawk
USSA
Voivod
The Wedding Present
To reply to some other curious people on bands they wanted to know more about with some specific suggestions, I know some of these posts are old but some people may still be curious:
The Beatles - I am sure I'll be lampooned for saying this but they made the blueprint for most modern rock and are absolutely amazing. The White Album is personally my favorite but for people looking for when they started to rock a little more and diverge from the Hold Your Hand stuff check out Help!, Rubber Soul, and Revolver. Sgt. Peppers is good but the White Album for me is really the peak of the band although there are some excellent songs on Abbey Road and Let It Be.
Big Black - Atomizer is my favorite release although Songs About Fucking is great as well. I'd pick up the CD comp for the Rich Mans Eight Track Tape (Atomizer LP, Headache EP, and Heartbeat 7") if I was trying to get someone into them as Kerosene seems to be the proverbial hook in the mouth for new fans. Good song but Passing Complexion/Fists of Love/Jordan Minnesota really deliver for me.
Black Dice - I really do not like this band. They were bad when they tried to be artcore or whatever the fuck it was and now they are trying to be dub or IDM or whatever it is they are trying to do it's terrible. I saw them open for Godspeed You! Black Emperor on their last tour and I almost left it was so bad.
Blonde Redhead - I love this band and own everything they've ever released. If you like their more angular and less pop-oriented later stuff check out In Expression of the Inexpressible or Fake Can Be Just as Good as Real. Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons and Misery is a Butterfly are more of a departure to pop oriented stuff that's less angular/rocked out than the older stuff and the new record, 23, is even a further departure from those. All great.
David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World, Low, Lodger, Heroes, Hunky Dory, man oh man... His old stuff is so amazing and some of his later and more recent stuff have some real gems on them too.
Built to Spill - I have There's Nothing Wrong With Love, Perfect From Now On, and Keep It Like a Secret which I really like. If you don't like the earlier Modest Mouse stuff (This is a Long Drive... and the Lonesome Crowded West) you probably won't dig this too much. If you haven't heard Modest Mouse the best I can compare it to is like Neil Young trying to play indie rock.
The Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician is great but after the whole Touch & Go lawsuit deal I really have absolutely no respect for these guys and wouldn't purchase a record of theirs unless I found it used/cut out somewhere.
Can - Future Days got me into this band and I love the song Bel Air. I'd definitely recommend this record for anyone trying to ease themselves into the band and then move on to Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi, Monster Movie, etc.
Chrome - I love Helios Creed and I really think anything they did without Helios Creed and Damon Edge just doesn't hold up. Alien Soundtracks and Half Machine Lip Moves are a great starting place.
Death Cab for Cutie - The first two records (Something About Airplanes and We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes) are solid catchy pop records with some good song crafting but everything after that just sounds like poorly performed derivatives of the same formula used on the first two records less inspired with slick production. I'd not recommend anything after the first two LPs. I was a huge fan but I just can't stand the stuff after the first two records.
Depeche Mode - My wife is a HUGE Depeche Mode fan. I was never really than into them before I met her but constant spinning of their old stuff really got me into them. For starters I'd recommend checking out the two Singles discs to get a feel from them. There are some really solid songs on those two comps.
Don Caballero - I find myself listening to What Burns and American Don the most. It seems like everyone I talk to has a different favorite. The only thing I don't really dig is the Singles Breaking Up comp. Even though there are a few great songs on it I don't think it really stands up on it's own compared to any of their other releases.
Einsturzende Neubauten - Get Strategies Against Architecture to decide whether or not you like them. If you do check out Haus Der Luge, Halber Mensch, and Tabula Rasa.
Gang of Four - Buy Entertainment! or the comp A Brief History of the 20th Century if you haven't heard anything. I consider Entertainment! to be an indispensable part of my collection.
Girls Against Boys - Kind of dirty lounge rock music with two bassists! The only two LPs I have are Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby and House of GVSB but I like them both tremendously.
Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes have some of my favorites songs of theirs on them. Short 2-2.5 minute rock songs from some middle aged guys who listened to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the Who way too much.
Hawkwind - I have Space Ritual and Doremi Fasol Latido. The Space Ritual I have is a two disc live show from 1972 and is excellent. I'd recommend this record first to anyone interested in the band as a first purchase or listening experience. Doremi Fasol Latido is also very good. I didn't purchase anything else by them after these two releases because I was working in a music store at the time and frequently found myself distracted/interested in other things.
Heavy Vegetable - If you dig Rob Crowe's stuff check out Thingy. They are a lot like Heavy Vegetable and I definitely prefer the second Thingy record to everything else I've heard from him.
Interpol - Nothing special here, kind of a rehash of the whole Joy Division/Factory records sparse post punk stuff
The Jesus Lizard - Goat and then Liar or Head/Pure. Goat should definitely be first. If Goat can't convert you to the church of the Lizard then "no one else will"
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Psychocandy is incredible and the B-Sides/Singles comp Barbed Wire Kisses is very good too. If you dig those check out Automatic.
Mars Volta - I love their first EP (Tremulant) and have to say Concertina is an incredible song but they basically pull off all of their tricks on this one EP better than they do on any of their LPs afterwards and I find every song on all of their LPs completely uninspired crap compared to what they did with the EP. Good for this one EP and one EP only. I have subsequently bought and sold every single one of their LPs up to Francis the Mute and then gave up on them ever putting out anything else comparable to Tremulant.
Misfits/Samhain/Danzig - I really dig the Misfits and Samhain but I just can't get into Danzig past I and II and I wouldn't recommend anyone buy any Danzig records other than I and then II if you really liked the first one. As far as the Misfits are concerned I definitely like all of their stuff but Legacy of Brutality and Collection I cover what I consider the high points of the band. I'd class all the Samhain stuff head and shoulders above any of Danzig's solo stuff and better than the Misfits attempt at being a hardcore band which IMO falls short of all of the other stuff that was happening at the same time. Both LPs and the EP are a good in between period that is reminiscent of the older Misfits stuff if it was better recorded and not as hokey as the later Danzig stuff.
Mission of Burma - I haven't listened to any of their new stuff but Vs. is excellent.
Mogwai - Ten Rapid and Young Team are really good. Their other stuff past this just all seems to be more of the same and not necessarily as good as these two records.
Nation of Ulysses - BUY IT ALL! This band did not release a bad record!
Red House Painters - Ocean Beach is the best starting point I could recommend for a record or Retrospective for a good all around compilation
Scratch Acid - Buy the Greatest Gift - excellent although definitely draws heavily on the Birthday Party. I prefer it to the Birthday Party probably as a result of being exposed to it long before I ever heard or knew of Nick Cave.
The Sea and Cake - Another great pop band with solid catchy hooks and great songwriting. The Fawn and The Biz are excellent and if you like those then check out Sam Prekop's self-titled release.
Shellac - I love the first two 7"s (The Rude Gesture: A Pictorial History and Uranus) and At Action Park and would suggest those for anyone trying to get into the band.
Siouxsie & the Banshees - For anyone who thinks they are too melodramatic/over the top check out the Peel Sessions. They were playing real stripped down punk stuff then and there is a great cover of Helter Skelter on there. The Scream has most of the songs in studio version and is also quite good.
The Smiths - If you don't like Morrissey I don't think it's possible for you to like The Smiths. If you want to give it a try anyway I would suggest trying to track down the Very Best of the Smiths that was released in Europe. It still has some crap on it but every single one of their releases has some songs that are just pure self indulgent Morrissey shit. The best you could really do is get a friend you generally trust when it comes to taste in music and have them make you a compilation. I'd burn anyone a copy of the CD-R I made for the car with some of my more favorite Smiths / Morrissey songs that I think are fairly well pruned of most of the ungodly and untolerable Morrissey 15 year old notebook croonings.
Sonic Youth - See them live if you can and if not get Sister, EVOL, and Daydream Nation. Great band.
SWANS - I love it all but the older more brutal and punishing stuff is what most people seem to dig on so check out COP, Young God, Greed, and Holy Money if you're into that. If you want the more mellowed out later stuff check out the Great Annihilator, Soundtracks for the Blind, and Various Failures (compilation of EPs/Singles/etc. from that period). Gira eventually ended the SWANS because they had become so associated and restricted in his mind by their earlier work that he couldn't really move away from that under the moniker SWANS so he started Angels of Light. I like the Angels of Light releases a lot but I do find myself wincing from time to time at some of his lyrical stylings from the Angels of Light stuff.
Three Mile Pilot - Another Desert, Another Sea and Songs from an Old Town We Once Knew are probably my favorite of all of their releases.
Throbbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats and Greatest Hits are good places to get started with this band.
Throwing Muses - House Tornado and Hunkpapa are great records and In a Doghouse is a good comp covering a lot of their earlier output.
As for stuff I have always wanted to get into but have never gotten around to:
Arcwelder
Ash Ra Tempel
Bardo Pond
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
Breaking Circus
Captain Beefheart
Colossamite
The Cows
Crime and the City Solution
The Dazzling Killmen
Die Kreuzen
Dinosaur Jr. (I tried to get into the when I was like 15-16 and bought Where You Been? which I hated and sold. What is the essential release that makes them so great?)
Bob Dylan (I hate his voice but he does write some great lyrics/songs)
Echo and the Bunnymen
The Ex (I have the first Touch & Go LP but I haven't really been able to figure out what else to get, this band seems to be a bit like Crass as in you don't always get what you may expect)
The Fall (I have the A-Sides comp and just can't get into it. This band is too fucking prolific. I can't figure out what to buy...)
Ganger
Gong
Killdozer
The Laughing Hyenas (Have heard they are amazing, I have Crawl and it never hooked me - everyone says their earlier material shreds)
Modern Lovers
The Necros (I had a live record that I am pretty sure was a bootleg that was absolutely terrible. Is there anything available by them now that's in print?)
Negative Approach
Pere Ubu
Popol Vuh
Pylon
Qui
The Residents
Rifle Sport
Rudimentary Peni
Silkworm
Silver Apples
Spacemen 3
Tar (Again I have Toast on picture disc but it's warped and sounds like shit so I probably am not 'getting it')
Television / Tom Verlaine (I love Marquee Moon but never got anything else by this band or Tom Verlaine's solo stuff - suggestions?)
Tomahawk
USSA
Voivod
The Wedding Present
bands you admit you know nothing about
210Dr. Geek wrote:Funkadelic, which is sad because I love Parliament.
"free your mind and your ass will follow," "self titled" and "maggotbrain." get a move on.