Music recs

[oyceter]

So! I somehow ended up with a $25 gift card to iTunes. I have not bought music in forever because I never know what to get.

Clearly, I need advice!

I go for both singles and albums, although right now, I'm leaning a little more toward albums, as I get lots of singles and never really get a chance to know artists better.

I generally like obnoxiously bouncy and peppy music and loud rock/alt country/rock-pop, since I usually listen to music while driving. Current favorites are the White Stripes' "Hotel Yorba," pretty much everything vonnie_k has recced ever, "30/90" from Tick, Tick, Boom, and Thea Gilmore's "This Girl Is Taking Bets," among many.

Or! Something sexy and gravelly like Leonard Cohen's "I'm Your Man" or something slow and deep and bittersweet and still singable like the cover of "The Queen and the Soldier."

Comments

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

(Shh, I'm not here.)

My favorite Thea Gilmore albums are Avalache and Rules for Jokers. Oh, and Songs in the Gutter, but it's odder and stranger and more for the intense fan. Not where I'd recommend starting.

The Kate Rusby & Katheryn Roberts cover of The Queen and the Soldier is from their self-titled album, but there's only one other song on it I like as much.

Right now my favorite energetic active album is The Fratellis (self-titled debut).

Right now I'm listening to a lot of Heather Nova again (rich and seductive and different), mostly Siren and Oyster.

PS

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

And if you decide to try a Hole album, make it Live through This.

Re: PS

[oyceter]

(I will pretend I don't see you here.)

Thea Gilmore! I should check to see what songs of hers I have and which albums they map to.

Also, I am listening to some Hole songs now and trying to see what I think!

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

I just fell hard for the Scissor Sisters courtesy of Doctor Who: Try "I Can't Decide" from the current album and see what you think. Obnoxiously bouncy and peppy and funny ("I can't decide / Whether you should live or die /Though you'll prob'ly go to Heaven/Please don't hang your head and cry/"

I played the whole album on the way here and it was just right for noisy in the car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSdE9x5bvjU

[oyceter]

That's such a cute song! I must check out more!

[wemblee.livejournal.com]

That whole album is GENIUS.

[ericcoleman]

I don't know if they are on I-Tunes, but anything from The Backsliders CD Throwing Rocks At The Moon is great.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Bouncy/Peppy:

The Proclaimers' "500 Miles."

Green Day's Dookie

Sexy and gravelly:

Tom Waits' Rain Dogs-- the whole album is great and funny, but if you want to try out a single, get "Downtown Train." Also Mule Variations-- try "Come On Up to the House."

Leonard Cohen's Various Positions"-- try "Dance Me to the End of Love" or "More Best Of."

Steve Earle's Copperhead Road; Transcendental Blues; I Feel Alright.

Johnny Cash: Any of the "American" albums (there are five). Try "Rusty Cage."

Bruce Springsteen: Anything, really, but you might start with Born in the USA. The title song is actually a protest against the Vietnam war as pointless and racist, and the lousy treatment of veterans, not the mindless patriotic anthem that some people who apparently only listened to the chorus thought it was. Also get "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run."

For female sexy and gravelly, you cannot go wrong with Lucinda Williams. Try Car Wheels on a Gravel Road or Essence.

[oyceter]

"500 Miles"! Much love, and I even have an appropriate icon!

Oh, Tom Waits! I think I may try that; I have a few of his songs and love his voice. Ditto with Lucinda Williams -- I've got Essence but not her others.

[rilina.livejournal.com]

I also especially like Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.

[gloss]

For Tom Waits, some of my favorites are on his earlier albums, especially Blue Valentine and Heartattack and Vine.

[ckd]

I'll second the general recommendation for The Proclaimers, noting that "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" may be their big US hit, but they've had a lot of good tracks besides that one. Try "Act of Remembrance" or "Letter From America" for some things more in the bittersweet zone.

I also like the original Waits version of "Downtown Train", even though most people probably think of it as a Rod Stewart song. My favorite version is the Everything But The Girl version off of Acoustic; annoyingly, the iTunes Store has exactly one track off that album, and that's not the one.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Bouncy:
"Pon De Replay," Rihanna
"Fa-Fa-Fa," Datarock

A couple favorite Thea Gilmore you might already have: "Mainstream" and "The Resurrection Man."

Generally bouncy: Spoon. Pink Martini. Smashmouth. Pink. Ozomatli. Michelle Shocked. Queen. En Vogue.

Rich, deep voices: Jubilant Sykes. Madeleine Peyroux. Fiona Apple. Johnny Cash.

[ckd]

Whose cover of "The Queen and the Soldier" are you referring to? I only have Suzanne Vega's version(s)[1] of it.

[1] The one from Suzanne Vega, the live version on Retrospective, and another live version from Live at the Stephen Talkhouse.

[oyceter]

*points at coffeeandink's comment* I think it's Kate Rusby & Katheryn Roberts... I actually like it better partly because a) I heard it first, and b) I like the lower voices and the deep slowness of it.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Rusby and Roberts is a very nice one.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

http://download.yousendit.com/F80463E171587516

Rusby and Roberts

[ckd]

Many thanks!

[cofax7]

Bouncy fun folk/pop: the Kennedys (Pete and Maura, not Dead), "Life is Large". Oh, and the Dixie Chicks, bouncy fun country/pop "Taking the Long Way", which has that awesome track "Not Gonna Make Nice".

[oyceter]

DIXIE CHICKS LOVE!

I will not buy that one since, uh, I already have all of theirs ;). But will look up the Kennedys when I get home!

[cofax7]

I have big love for The Kennedys. Pete and Maura used to be on Nancy Griffith's backup band, the Blue Moon Band.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Eva Cassidy? She did jazz arrangements:
http://download.yousendit.com/E00F38EC1F6683C9 "Wade in the Water"

[ponygirl2000.livejournal.com]

Sexy and gravelly: Twilight Singers' first album Twilight is as sultry as a New Orleans night, which is when and where it was recorded. Isobel Campbell has a sweet ethereal voice but her collaboration with the very gravelly Mark Lanegan on Ballad of Broken Seas brings her down to earth. Mike Doughty has a twangy kind of voice but he can also be quite peppy and is a great lyricist.

Bouncy: The Go! Team literally sounds like a cheerleading squad that's formed a band. Ohbijou is sweet and perky and not afraid to soar.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Ooh, Twilight Singers sounds nice...[puts on list]

[ponygirl2000.livejournal.com]

I took two friends who had never heard of the band to a concert and they ended up buying CDs. It's great music for business time if you know what I mean.

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

Belle and Sebastian: 'If You're Feeling Sinister'
This is my favourite song from the album Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying (http://www.box.net/shared/rr1mdxeuzy)

Vienna Teng: Waking Hour
Gravity (http://www.box.net/shared/fgmgd1uxhj)

MC solaar: Mach 6
La vie est belle (http://www.box.net/shared/4dlm4a2ac4)

[keilexandra]

I always recommend E.S. Posthumas/their album Unearthed. Samples here:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/esposthumus

[loligo.livejournal.com]

Two compilations of various artists, which are collectively the PEPPIEST ROCK SONGS EVER. They have unwieldly names, though: D.I.Y.: Teenage Kicks: U.K. Pop (1976-1979), and its sequel, D.I.Y.: Starry Eyes: UK Pop II.

Sometimes when I have to do our radio show by myself and I'm feeling lazy, I just put one of those on and I always get people calling to say "Great show!" And I never tell them that I didn't do any work. *g*

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Heartily seconding the recs for Johnny Cash, Madeline Peyroux, Pink Martini, Hole, the Proclaimers, Tom Waits, and Steve Earle! And for a few of my other favorites that I don't think I've seen mentioned yet...

On the somewhat gravelly-voiced, all-about-the-words vein of Leonard Cohen, how about Richard Thompson? He's not great shakes as a singer, although he's grown more relaxed with his limited vocal range over the years, but he's a brilliant songwriter and amazing guitarist, somewhere in unclassifiable folk-rock territory that's none too surprising given his start with the earliest incarnation of Fairport Convention. His songs tend to be perfect little character studies, microscopic short stories set to music, sometimes quite dark, sometimes quite funny, sometimes both. You might be better off going with either a greatest-hits compilation or just cherry-picking individual tracks here, as his albums can be a little uneven IMO; even my favorites tend to have one or two "what were you THINKING?" misfires. Beeswing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K18xQgDS3U) and 1952 Vincent Black Lightning (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxKTzwaEa2o) are a couple of my faves in his more folky-acoustic mode.

For a wee bit less gravel and more on the alt-country side of things, I utterly adore James McMurtry. I'd pretty much recommend any and all of his albums, but if I had to pick one to start with it would probably be his first, "Too Long In The Wasteland". (Alas, Youtube's only got a handful of his songs (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=james+mcmurtry&search=Search)...)

For deep haunting altos, I'm having trouble finding much in the way of online samples but Christine Collister (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvUF-0_n2os) is amazing, and I've recently fallen utterly head over heels for the (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAYhVJ0z6XI) October (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMBEk4RNXpQ) Project (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOazQQj2Nqo). (They are ALL OVER the Saiyuki FST I'm working on...this is what happens when two new obsessions feed on each other!)

Finally, if you want upbeat-bounciness, it is hard to beat South African pop, it's just incredibly infectious. I'd particularly recommend Johnny Clegg's (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=johnny+clegg&search=Search) work with Juluka and Savuka -- I think you'd find him interesting on the Third Culture Kid (http://www.johnnyclegg.com/johnnybiog.htm) side of things as well as for the fabulous music. Again I'd have to say it's all good really, but his solo albums, work with Savuka, or the later Juluka albums might be a bit more accessible as they're mixing languages and musical styles a lot more, the first few Juluka albums are more strictly hewing to Zulu musical genres; one of the compilation albums would be a good choice as you'd get a broader sampling of their diverse styles.

Richard Thompson!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Richard Thompson, by the way, happens to be my favorite singer-song-writer of all time. And I love his voice!

His albums can be a little uneven. Several have songs I love to pieces and also songs I skip every time. His range is enormous: there are funny songs, beautiful songs, extremely sad songs, little short stories; and he uses many different musical styles.

The albums I would rec to Oyce are Mirror Blue; Shoot Out the Lights; Across a Crowded Room; Hand of Kindness; You? Me? Us?.

Of individual songs, try these:

Short stories:
1954 Vincent Black Lightning ("Red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme")
Pavanne (woman assassin; unfortunately I do not rec the rest of the album, "First Light," which is otherwise a misfire)
Al Bowlly's in Heaven (heartbreak and social protest circa WWII)

Happy:
I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
Wall of Death

Funny:
Hard Luck Stories ("I run a steam ship, I don't run a mission."
Oops! I Did It Again (no, really)

Beautiful:
Beeswing
Keep Your Distance
When the Spell is Broken
Burns Supper

Re: Richard Thompson!

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

We have very similar tastes in RT, I see! (And how can anyone not love him covering Britney? People tend to focus on his doom-and-gloom side so much that they lose track of just how very funny he can be. Every time I've been lucky enough to see him live, he's had the crowds rolling in the aisles with some of his patter...and then he'll go on to do something like Beeswing and make everyone weepy.)

I'm a wee bit more inclined towards Mock Tudor, Rumour and Sigh or even Amnesia more than You? Me? Us? or Across A Crowded Room, but that's probably just a function of what I've been listening to more this month than overall quality. And! Christine Collister is all over the background of so many of his albums, too!

And as for the voice, I do love Thompson's singing, but given all the shelf space I've got devoted to the likes of Johnny Cash and Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave and James McMurtry, well, it's fair to say I have a weakness for voices that aren't entirely conventionally pretty. And he really has come a long way since the days of Fairport Convention or his first solo album -- put on Henry the Human Fly and then one of his recent discs, and he just sounds worlds more comfortable with himself...

Oh! And for a bit of gravelly tone with biting wit, how could I neglect to mention the late, great Warren Zevon? If all you've ever heard of him are the predictable novelty hits Lawyers, Guns and Money and Werewolves of London, you're missing out on some fabulous stuff.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Christine Collister sounds intriguing...and I second the Johnny Clegg rec. And maybe Angelique Kidjo, too? She has lots of upbeat stuff. BLACK IVORY SOUL is a good starting place.

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Oooh, yes, Angelique's stuff is yummy. And Baaba Maal, not quite as insanely bouncy as the South African stuff but still all sorts of catchy and pretty -- Nomad Soul is probably a good place to start, there's some English-language bits that help make it a bit more accessible.

Chris Collister is love, I just wish her solo stuff weren't so hard to find. Along with all the years of working with Richard Thompson, she and fellow Thompson-collaborator Clive Gregson have a bunch of albums out as a duo, and then she's done a few purely solo efforts. She's got a lovely rich resonant velvety alto, reminds me a bit of June Tabor or Mary Fahl from the October Project. (She's also got FABULOUS taste in songwriters; on The Dark Gift of Time, she covers stuff by Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Bruce Cockburn, and Billie Holiday.)

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

Yes, oh yes, to Johnny Clegg. Solo, with Juluka, or with Savuka (I must confess to a slight preference for Juluka, but it's all good).

Your mention of Thompson and Fairport Convention makes me think also of Pentangle - one of the most irrepressible songs I know, one that I can never listen to without moving my feet, waving my arms, drumming with my fingers, etc., is "A Maid That's Deep in Love" off the Cruel Sister album.

It's got good gender politics, too. ;-)

[greenapple2004.livejournal.com]

I've been listening to a combination of singles by KT Tunstall, Pink (yikes) and Gwen Stefani lately. Definitely hit the bouncy/perky in different ways. Since I like to sing along to things, I tend to go for female vocalists in my music choices, but beyond that, stylistically I'm all over the map.

Since I'm at work, you get youtube links!

KT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0j_VEs3kXA

Pink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgtOHjc2MGo

Gwen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzfb3_3gDGc

For full albums, Imogen Heap is a favorite. Not usually so perky, but definitely beautiful listening.

Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cpSv2mNhhc

[vonnie-k.livejournal.com]

I second the Fratellis's Costello Music (they are so goddamned cheerful that they should grate, but no, they are just awesome) and Scissor Sisters. For SS, get their latest, Ta-Dah, although their self-titled debut album is fab as well.

What else? Hmmm.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Baby 81. Loud indie rock and I love them. I'd uploaded a couple of songs off their album before -- "Berlin" and possibly "Weapon of Choice", but the whole album is great.

For alt country: Neko Case's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Summerteeth

I've pimped Arcade Fire enough already right? Both their albums are terrific driving music, Neon Bible in particular.

Oh! Oh! The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots! My love for that album cannot be textually rendered.

The Arctic Monkeys's Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not

Doves' The Last Broadcast is *excellent* for driving

My Chemical Romance's Welcome To The Black Parade, which I'm about 20 years too old to listen to but it is FABULOUS. It's an ultra-catchy, ferociously cheerful album that's all about death.

Pulp! I think I've uploaded pretty much every pulp song I have though. *g* AWESOME driving music.

Kanye West's Late Registration and College Dropout

If you like Thea Gilmore, you'll probably like Kirsty MacColl and KT Tunstall. Oh, and you have Poe's Haunted, yes? If not, OMG GET IT NOW.

Obnoxiously loud emo-tastic waily rock: Muse. Your best bet is probably their latest, Black Holes And Revelations. I love them without shame.

Old '97's: good indie rock band, cheerful and fun.

Ryan Adams -- any of his stuff, really, but Gold is proabably the most accessible.

If you want more White Stripes, I'd get either Elephant or White Blood Cells. Their latest, Icky Thump, is... err, a bit weird.

Slower but bittersweet? Hmmm. You might like Joseph Arthur. Start with Redemption's Son.

Feel free to ask me to upload samplers off any of these. *g*

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I love Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Poe's HAUNTED is one of my favorite albums EVER.

[oyceter]

*makes large blinky eyes*

Samplers would be AWESOME! I haven't had enough time to go through all the music recs yet, but I am setting tomorrow aside for music listening.

I love Ryan Adams!

Songs for Oyce!

[vonnie-k.livejournal.com]

You might have some of these already, since I think I'd uploaded a few of the songs before

Some random selection from the albums mentioned above (http://www.sendspace.com/file/tl2642) (sendspace zip file: 147 MB) If the size is too big or if you have trouble downloading, give me a holler and I'll be happy to upload the individual songs to box.net.

List of songs:

Ryan Adams: Meadowlake Street
Joseph Arthur: Honey and the Moon, Redemption's Son
The White Stripes: Seven Nations Army, Fell In Love With A Girl
Poe: Haunted, Hey, Pretty
BRMC: Berlin, Lien In Your Dreams
Kanye West: Heard'Em Say, Slow Jamz
Flaming Lips: Are You A Hypnotist, Yoshimi Battles Pink Robots
Muse: Supermassive Black Hole, Time Is Running Out
Arctic Monkeys: A Certain Romance, Mardy Bum
Arcade Fire: Keep The Car Running, No Cars Go
KT Tunstall: Black Horse And The Cherry Tree, I Want You Back
Wilco: Summerteeth, Jesus, Etc.
Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Floor
Doves: Pounding, Last Broadcast
MCR: Welcome To The Black Parade, Teenagers

Enjoy!

Re: Songs for Oyce!

[vonnie-k.livejournal.com]

Dude, I forgot to include any Fratellis or Scissor Sisters. That's not on. I'll get some samplers from them when I get home later tonight.

Re: Songs for Oyce!

[oyceter]

EEEEE! You ROCK! So excited to go home tonight and listen!

Re: Songs for Oyce!

[vonnie-k.livejournal.com]

The Fratellis:

Flathead (http://www.box.net/shared/nmif0zdcey)
Chelsea Dagger (http://www.box.net/shared/s7px7xtjhp)

Scissor Sisters:

I Don't Feel Like Dancin' (http://www.box.net/shared/ye351xl2cs)
I Can't Decide (http://www.box.net/shared/a7fay2yzif)

Re: Songs for Oyce!

[oyceter]

Yay, thank you!

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Oooh, if you like Ryan Adam and alt-countryish stuff in general, you DO already have some Whiskeytown, I hope? Or Caitlin Cary's solo work?

_{And if not...want some? *grin*}

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

For sexy and gravelly, there's not much that can beat Robbie Robertson (formerly of The Band), singing just about anything. Try anything from his self-titled debut release - I am usually overcome by "Fallen Angel," "Somewhere Down the Crazy River," "Broken Arrow," and actually, just about everything on that release.

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Oooh, yes, great stuff on that disc...although for my money, the absolute sultriest thing he's ever done is Unbound (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otUFuMo-lNo), off Contact From the Underworld of Redboy. Something about the interplay of his gravelly tones and the female backing vox, and all the swirling atmoshperic stuff around it...mmmmm.

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

Ummm, yes. I just got that CD recently, so it's not as seared into my memory as some of the other releases, but really, anything by Robertson is magic.