The Great New Rock Band Hunt
Still reeling from the amazing success of the mid 90's thread, I decided to take a chance and reveal a little bit more of my musical taste to the world for the purposes of expanding it.
Now, I was actually pretty delighted that the last music thread had absolutely zero negative waves about this band or that. Another thread like that would be the cat's pajamas.
So here we go. I call it New Rock just for my own grouping purposes. It's probably Pop Rock, or more than likely something I haven't even heard of. Either way it's the generation after the grunge and the alternative of the ripped jeans era.
Here's what I have so far, if you don't care for some of the groups, feel free to point out that the band might be misplaced on the list, just don't be a tool and start ranting that "not as good as" crap. I've heard it, a lot.
Queens of the Stone Age: Rated R, Songs for the Deaf, Lullabies to Paralyze, Era Vulgaris
Kasabian: Kasabian, Empire
The Killers: Hot Stuff, Sam's Town, Sawdust
The Bravery: The Bravery
Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand, You Could Have It So Much Better
The Music: Welcome to the North
Priestess: Hello Master
Muse: Absolution, Black Holes and Revelations
MSI: You'll Rebel Against Anything, Bitches, FGWSSS
The Strokes: Is This It, Room Is On Fire
Arctic Monkeys: Favourite Worst Nightmare
Interpol: Antics
I technically have Weezer grouped into New Rock in my own collection but it's tough to categorize a band that's been around for a while and who's style has changed with the time.
I figure what I'm missing from the list are at least The Strokes, The White Stripes, and Wolfmother. I have a few singles by all of them but no albums, which I plan on remedying.
I don't mind some newer rock like Autopilot Off, Seether, or Three Days Grace, but they have to be in small doses.
I'm starting with a much smaller base than the 90's alternative so I'm hoping to get some obscure ones to fill it out.
For point of reference my favorite band on that list is QotSA, because they are one of my favorite bands of all time.
*Edit: I was thinking about Kasabian being up there and I think that opens the door for groups like The Transplants or Dub Pistols or any other kind of mixed genre kind of music like that. If you think they are too far off the mark for the list let me know and we'll get it down a little purer. Have another list for that kind of synth heavy lyrical style.
Suggestions:
Stars
Keane
Death Cab
Postal Service
The Shins
Sigur Ros
Interpol
Modest Mouse
Mew
Fair to Midland
Dredg
Porcupine Tree
Atomic Bitchwax
Croutonic's mellow picks:
My Morning Jacket
Arcade Fire (start with Funeral)
TV on the Radio (start with Return to Cookie Mountain)
Silversun Pickups (Carnavas)
A. C. Newman (The Slow Wonder)
Jonnypolite's stack of possibilies:
Lali Puna
The New Pornographers
Destroyer
Deerhoof
Animal Collective
Broken Social Scene
Califone
Iron & Wine
Xiu Xiu
Death From Above 1979
Grandaddy
Architecture in Helsinki
Of Montreal
Comets on Fire
Boards of Canada
Calvin, Don't Jump!
On!Air!Library!
The Handsome Family
The Decemberists
Lee Savy Fav
The Thermals
Cat Power
Sort of in the same vaguely neo-prog lineage of Muse:
Dredg
Mew
Fair to Midland
Porcupine Tree
Man, just looking up those bands on MySpace has put me in a good mood.
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baggachipz: Who cares about Japan, let them have their silly pointless dog games and countless re-hashes of anime-based dragon princess super lucky crapitty crap.
Well, I'm afraid that here I'm going to be a lot less help. First off, I don't keep very current on music (other than what Luna picks up and plays for me). Secondly, my tastes these days tend much more towards mellow, melodic, and/or electronic. Must of the stuff I do enjoy that I think you would too is already on your list (Muse, for example). It is possible that you might enjoy some of the following, who are the bands that I listen to most often these days that have even the slightest chance of appealing to you.
Stars
Keane
Death Cab
Postal Service
The Shins
Sigur Ros
Oh, and I'm not terribly familiar with their stuff, but Modest Mouse and Interpol both seem to fit in on your list nicely.
Also, I know they were on the 90's list, but Ben Folds, Beck, and the Counting Crows are all still around and producing new music, and are all still brilliant. Like I said before, there is never a bad time to pick up the Counting Crows.
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Spore: zeroKFE
I honestly didn't know Counting Crows were still making music. I only own one album of theirs. I can't even tell you the name without looking it up, but there's always a time for mellow and thoughtful music. It's just that my main taste tends toward high energy, passionate, and percussion heavy, with a good amount of bass to fill out the drums.
Even the slow songs I like tend to be the faster slow songs.
Letters to the Internet
Yup, Counting Crows just put out a new album (Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings) a couple months ago, although I haven't listened to it all that much. I can vouch for their other four albums (August and Everything After, Recovering the Satellites, This Desert Life, and Hard Candy). Hard Candy, which was from 2002, is probably the weakest of the lot, but it is still very good -- just slightly less thoughtful and a tad more poppy. However, all four of those albums are the kind of album where you listen to every song and think, "wow, I wonder if this was a single," and indeed for that that very reason you've probably heard most of them at one point or another as background music in a TV show or movie. They're much like Moby in that way, although perhaps not quite to that extreme.
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Spore: zeroKFE
I have August and Everything After. Christ, did that come out when I was in the 5th grade?
Letters to the Internet
They may be a bit too hard for what's listed here, but i recommend 10 years.
Edit: doh! Zero beat me to it, but Modest Mouse is a good pick. They've been around for awhile, but just now making it big.
Gamer Tag: Rantyr
Hard is good as long as it doesn't tip over the line into noise.
I know I've heard stuff by Modest Mouse I just can't think of it. Mighty Internet! Show me what I do not know!
Letters to the Internet
My Morning Jacket is what you are looking for. Start with their album, Z.
Also, Arcade Fire (start with Funeral) and TV on the Radio (start with Return to Cookie Mountain)
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Bacon is like monkeys - it makes everything better. - Bagga
Oh! I just thought of one other band you should check out: Slagsmålsklubben, sometimes just known as SMK. They don't fit at all with your list other than that they are a group currently producing music, but their unique brand of quirky, melodic, cheerful electronic pop might serve as a nice counter the the more traditional music you are gathering here.
Luna discovered them listening to the British gaming podcast One Life Left, who are fans of "chip" music (music where many or all of the instruments are samples from or products of the sort of low-fi sound chips you would have found in 80s era computers and game systems), but SMK really just uses that genre as a baseline and works from there to produce some of the most infectious and emotionally evocative "instrumental" music I heard in recent years. They are a Swedish band, though, and thus it might be hard to get ahold of their music, but Luna should be able to point you in the right direction.
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Spore: zeroKFE
A few more:
Arctic Monkeys (Favourite Worst Nightmare)
Silversun Pickups (Carnavas)
A. C. Newman (The Slow Wonder)
XBox Live: Croutonic | Bungie.net: Croutonic
Bacon is like monkeys - it makes everything better. - Bagga
I'm pretty out of it modern music wise, but I'd suggest:
System of a Down : Mezmerize, Toxicity
Modest Mouse: Good News for People Who Love Bad News, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank and The Moon & Antarctica
Atomic Bitchwax -- This actually is older, but just learned about them last year.
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Atomic Bitchwax is actually pretty close to what I was looking for.
I'm going to note all of Crouton's suggestions and save them for when I feel like mellowing out. They aren't what I'm looking for at the moment but they are grouped together so well it feels wrong to discard them.
Letters to the Internet
ooo good one!
here's another:
Blue October
Gamer Tag: Rantyr
I do like Elliot Smith now that you all have me thinking about it. Maybe I should split that list into two parts.
Letters to the Internet
Rock Band could use some good jazz.
We shall grapple with the ineffable, and see if we may not eff it after all.
I liked Muse album Showbiz as much as Absolution.
I'd add Martin Grech- Open Heart Zoo
The Hoosiers - The Trick to Life
Admittedly, Grech is more of an evolution of synth-pop (i think) but he has rock-y leanings - especially in his second album. He's also increadibly dark.
Hoosiers are great. Very light, fun band and reminiscent of the Beatles in some of the later tracks on the album.
Of - power - insessantly
Plagued - by - malefisense
Doomed - to - insidious -
Death - is - he - who - breaks
this - monument - i - prophesy
My two favorite new rock acts right now are Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Howl is a masterpiece), and The Black Keys. While most of the Black Keys is that muddy mississippi blues stomp, their latest release is just freaking amazing. They were hired by Danger Mouse to write songs for a new Ike Turner album, but when Turner passed away, they released it themselves as Attack and Release, and it is simply amazing.
BRMC are kind of a modern Jesus and Mary Chain, and have some pretty cool stuff out. Howl stems from a point in time when they were unsigned, and about to disintegrate. It's not an acoustic album, per say, but it has loads of them, as well pianos, horns and harmonica. It really invigorated the band, and their latest release, Baby 81 really benefits from it.
As you can tell from my links, I am pretty impressed with last.fm and they way they help you find more cool music. Click on my link to my last.fm page. I have some links to other Goodjers as well, but I would love to find some more of you guys on here.
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last.fm: JayhawkerGWJ
That's kind of you. However, the Arctic Monkeys are pretty up-tempo (especially the first half of the album) and have a Killers/Franz Ferdinand feel to them.
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Bacon is like monkeys - it makes everything better. - Bagga
See, they I didn't listen to samples of because I was sure I had heard them before. I'll go back and run through the albums.
Letters to the Internet
My musical list will be harder than what is listed above.
Project 86 - SoCal emo-metal. Check out "Songs to burn your bridges by" or "Drawing black Lines" DBL changed my life.
Stavesacre - Album Speakeasy is their best work.
Disturbed - Believe is my favorite so far.
Chevelle - This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)
Taproot - A bit to emo for me on the latest disc but their second disc Welcome was enjoyable.
And now for something completely different:
Mindless Self Indulgence - I am not 100% sure how to describe them, get yourself Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy And listen to tracks 1-4 non-stop while just listening. You will never be the same again... You will thank me later.
Pharacon wrote:
I have Mindless Self Indulgence. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to put them on that list. I love to listen to them.
*edit: Molly was the first track of theirs I ever heard and I was hooked.
Letters to the Internet
Did you get Z?
I just got it last night and was on repeat on last night while playing AoC.
Pharacon wrote:
Aw, Crouton, the Arctic Monkeys are great.
Letters to the Internet
Z by MSI? I don't recognize that.
Letters to the Internet
How the hell did I turn "if" into z?
Pharacon wrote:
Aw, totally bro. J&MC is my absolutely favorite band ever.
and I remember seeing BRMC like, 8 yrs ago, and thinking that 'yep, this is the new Messiah.'
They got the whole schtick down, from the haircut, to the backlit stage presence, to the aloof nonchalant persona. They also make pretty good music.
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I have no idea who most of these groups are! I think the only group I recognize is Weezer.
I guess I should get out more and stop playing so many games
"Do. Or do not. There is no try." - Yoda
I don't have If. I have You'll Rebel, Bitches, and Frankenstein Girls. Considering how the past week or so has shown that you and I have extremely similar taste I'll probably grab it.
Letters to the Internet
If you are on Zune it is on there.
Pharacon wrote:
Miser
A friend turned me on to this group, they're from Dallas, TX. Cover of Zombie is not to be missed.
The Red West
Saw this group open at a Dave Matthews concert. Was weird because they really weren't anything like DMB. I ended up buying their CD at the concert before I left. Not sure what happened to them, their website has disappeared. (Hence, amazon link)
Avenged Sevenfold
So glad to have to songs off their new album in Rock Band this week.
Default
I've listened to Default ever since having seen them live and really enjoyed the show.
Oh, and I love me some Weezer. Though I'm still having to let the new album grow on me a little bit.
XBox Live Gamertag: Lancejt | Zune | SteamID
PSN ID: Lancejt