coldcut
06-21-2005, 08:06 PM
Been getting some good music the last few months. Some of this stuff isn't going to be new to some of yas, but since I had a friend of mine tell me that he had no idea who Kanye West was, I don't assume much of anything about what people are listening to in the real world.
The Arcade Fire-Funeral. I think I actually saw a video of theirs on VH-1, so maybe everyone knows about them. Hard to describe what exactly they sound like. They're still definitely rock, but there's something vaguely orchestral about it; between the driving rhythms and a sort of background ambient guitar it sounds like there's more than five people in the band. (There are, but one of them is just a guy who dances around with a bass drum. Supposedly it's much cooler than it sounds.) Best I can do is to call them a less electronic Radiohead, which isn't even close. There's a smidge of Franz Ferdinand in there.
Common-Be: Kanye West's bud from Chicago. Really cool soulful hip-hop with a positive message. There's a lot of gospel influence and Common's flow is probably a bit slower than what folks are used to, but I think it's every bit College Dropout's equal. Then again, I'm not much of a hip-hop head at all.
Copeland-In Motion: I'd probably get made fun of in certain circles for liking this, but there's just something very likable about it. It's basically emo, from the slightly whiny voice to the cliched relationship lyrics to the acoustic B-sides. But inspite of all this, it's got so many cool little hooks and riffs that you can't help but like it. Give it a listen even if emo turns you off. (I don't like emo myself, but I really like this group.)
The Minibosses: You may have remembered me posting a link to their website a while back. They've only released one album, and it's not a real album, but all their songs are available for download from their website. The premise is that they take old Nintendo music and play it with drums and electric guitars. Strangely enough, it ends up sounding a lot like Led Zeppelin. Very cool stuff and great "zoning out" music.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-Shake the Sheets. I think I actually liked Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead a little better, but this is really about the same kind of album. It's just good straight rock and roll. There's a very 80's-hard rock feel to some of this stuff, even though you wouldn't notice it on first listen.
The Arcade Fire-Funeral. I think I actually saw a video of theirs on VH-1, so maybe everyone knows about them. Hard to describe what exactly they sound like. They're still definitely rock, but there's something vaguely orchestral about it; between the driving rhythms and a sort of background ambient guitar it sounds like there's more than five people in the band. (There are, but one of them is just a guy who dances around with a bass drum. Supposedly it's much cooler than it sounds.) Best I can do is to call them a less electronic Radiohead, which isn't even close. There's a smidge of Franz Ferdinand in there.
Common-Be: Kanye West's bud from Chicago. Really cool soulful hip-hop with a positive message. There's a lot of gospel influence and Common's flow is probably a bit slower than what folks are used to, but I think it's every bit College Dropout's equal. Then again, I'm not much of a hip-hop head at all.
Copeland-In Motion: I'd probably get made fun of in certain circles for liking this, but there's just something very likable about it. It's basically emo, from the slightly whiny voice to the cliched relationship lyrics to the acoustic B-sides. But inspite of all this, it's got so many cool little hooks and riffs that you can't help but like it. Give it a listen even if emo turns you off. (I don't like emo myself, but I really like this group.)
The Minibosses: You may have remembered me posting a link to their website a while back. They've only released one album, and it's not a real album, but all their songs are available for download from their website. The premise is that they take old Nintendo music and play it with drums and electric guitars. Strangely enough, it ends up sounding a lot like Led Zeppelin. Very cool stuff and great "zoning out" music.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-Shake the Sheets. I think I actually liked Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead a little better, but this is really about the same kind of album. It's just good straight rock and roll. There's a very 80's-hard rock feel to some of this stuff, even though you wouldn't notice it on first listen.