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| re: who else do you listen to? | |
Posted by:  |
fnord 05:05 pm UTC 06/02/12 |
| In reply to: | who else do you listen to? - Steinmania 12:00 am UTC 05/20/12 |
| > I know this has probably been asked before, but I think it > would be cool to see who else besides Jim and Meat people > around here like. Here are some arists I like. > I had a realization years ago-- and most of the people I've shared this with agree-- that the music guys listen to in high school is the music they listen to for the rest of their lives; for the ladies, it's the music they listen to in college. I decided I don't want to be that guy. While I still love Alice Cooper and Thin Lizzy, and I still listen, I don't want to be stuck with 30 year old music. There is a lot of great, new music out there, and I look for it. I don't know if it's a coincidence that I seldom buy anything on major labels any more. My favorite new artist (I don't know if "new" is the right word, since she's been making records for 10 years) is Amanda Palmer. I will even go so far as to say that Amanda is the most important songwriter working today. I do not say this because hers is the only other music that has been able to touch me the way Jim's has, but because she just earned one million dollars in pre-sales for her next album on Kickstarter. (Details here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amandapalmer/amanda-palmer-the-new-record-art-book-and-tour?ref=users) Amanda's music does not sound like Jim's, any more than, say, Alice Cooper sounds like Jim, but like our hero, she plays piano like it's a percussion instrument, not a string instrument. I should also credit Amanda's partner in her band The Dresden Dolls, Brian Viglione, who is not only one of the best drummers I have ever seen (and I've seen Neal Peart, Tommy Aldridge, Zach Starky...) but on the Dolls last tour, Brian played drums, guitar and sang at the same time. He's got a side project called Gentlemen And Assassins coming out shortly: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1051606962/shirey-viglione-khan-are-gentlemen-and-assassins-t?ref=live I've had the good fortune to meet them both and they are great, sexy people. Since I have the opportunity, I'm going to stump for a friend of mine. Her name is Unwoman (www.unwoman.com) and she is one of the most talented musicians I've ever met. She plays mostly cello, piano and electronics (plus other instruments) and composes incredibly lush and brutally honest music. She's generally categorized as steampunk, which I think she grudgingly accepts, but the music is more than that. It's not background music, it's music you have to sit and listen to. Help fund her new album: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/unwoman/the-fires-i-started-unwoman-original-album-2012?ref=live Speaking of cello, an acquaintance of mine (I don't know her well, but she and my wife went to college together) is Zoe Keating (www.zoekeating.com). She layers her cello through her computer so she can accompany herself live. I don't know how she would feel being compared to the complexity of Bach's music, so maybe I should say that her songs are like musical Escher paintings. (Both Zoe and Unwoman have played in the band Rasputina.) My other new favorite songwriter is James Grant (www.jamesgrantsongbook.com). He's from Scotland, and formerly in the band Love And Money. Beautiful voice and beautiful songs. Also an incredible guitar player. A band I discovered far too late was Cousteau. Late 90s band that only recorded 3 albums, they were the absolute perfect combination of jazz and rock. (Better than Steely Dan, and completely different.) I have often joked that if I ever lost a bet and had to get a tattoo, I would get my blood type written on my shoulder; good thing my blood type happens to be the name of another of my favorite bands: Type O Negative. (RIP Peter Steele.) | |
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| Next: | re: who else do you listen to? - Roberto 06:13 pm UTC 06/01/12 |
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