Your favorite bands at the moment

[clarityat3am]

All Smiles - Jim Fairchild, formerly of Grandaddy. Not at all like Grandaddy. Very stripped down and simple.

Great Northern - Great dreamy vocals. Lots of depth. An amazing live show that really rocks. Go see them if you can!

Head of Femur - Crazy orchestral kitschy pop. Also an amazing live show.

Menomena - Hmm. It's just fun. The videos are a good time too.

And last, but not least,

Of Montreal - I just saw them for the first time at Pitchfork, here in Chicago. It was glam and pretty and weird and fun.

Who's on your list of favorites?

 

[If you shout...]

1) The Hold Steady

2) Super Furry Animals

3) Radiohead

4) The New Pornographers

5) The Ike Reilly Assassination

Head of Femur's fucking awesome, clarity. Good call. They've been around for quite a while, now, but people keep not paying attention. It's frustrating as a mo'fucker.

 

[WinnieThePoo]

police
Sting
Andy Summers
Bjork
Kasabian
Air

 

[clarityat3am]

1) The Hold Steady

2) Super Furry Animals

3) Radiohead

4) The New Pornographers

5) The Ike Reilly Assassination

Head of Femur's fucking awesome, clarity. Good call. They've been around for quite a while, now, but people keep not paying attention. It's frustrating as a mo'fucker.

OMG you've heard of Head of Femur! I just recently discovered them and they're a "local" band for me. They have a new EP coming out in October and they just found a label so I think sometime this year they'll put out a new full length cd. SO excited.

I'm going to see Candylion in September, which is Gruff Rhys from SFA. Honestly, I'm going because All Smiles is opening, but I do like his music, so it should be a good time.

 

[cobl04]

For me they're pretty unimpressive, pretty mainstream, but anyway:

U2, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, David Bowie and now Crowded House. It's been the first four for quite some time now.

 

[Axver]

1. Porcupine Tree
2. Pure Reason Revolution
3. Alcest

 

[bono_man2002]

The White Stripes
Muse
Arctic Monkeys
Sarah Blasko
Crowded House
Pink Floyd
Missy Higgins
Regina Spektor

 

[BoMac]

For me they're pretty unimpressive, pretty mainstream, but anyway:

I'm actually thankful that U2 is taking so long to come out with a new record because if they hadn't chances are I wouldn't have listened to anything else. As it is I have diversified and expanded my musical horizon beyond U2, thanks in part to Interference and my new laptop which has given me instant access to tons of music.

So for me right now it would have to be (in no particular order):

The White Stripes

Bloc Party

Kasabian

The National

Arcade Fire

Massive Attack

Snow Patrol

I have also recently really gotten into Pink Floyd and The Cure and am anxiously awaiting Lp7 and Coldplay's next offering.

 

[clarityat3am]

The National

I was told to give them a listen. I think I'll go do that now.

 

[If you shout...]

OMG you've heard of Head of Femur! I just recently discovered them and they're a "local" band for me. They have a new EP coming out in October and they just found a label so I think sometime this year they'll put out a new full length cd. SO excited.

I'm going to see Candylion in September, which is Gruff Rhys from SFA. Honestly, I'm going because All Smiles is opening, but I do like his music, so it should be a good time.

Yeah, aren't they from Chicago? (Actually, Ike Reilly and his band, my number five choice, are from the suburbs.) I originally hail from Chicago, not Japan, so I've known about them for a while, now. I once saw them play for $4, while I was going to school in Champaign. Saw Xiu Xiu, Yellow Swans, and a few others (on one bill, no less!) for the same price. God damn, were those ever the days...

If you enjoy Head of Femur, then you may do well to check out Architecture in Helsinki, old-school Fiery Furnaces (another Chicago product, whose EP and Blueberry Boat should rock your world), and one of my current favorites--the Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP by Wales-based Los Campesinos!. They recently got shout-outs from both Rolling Stone and Pitchfork, so get in on the ground floor while you can, lest you get labeled a bandwagon jumper. They show great promise, those cats.

 

[Lancemc]

As of this very second, limiting it strictly to bands (i.e. no Bjork, Bowie, etc.):

1. Arcade Fire
2. Radiohead
3. Wilco
4. The Flaming Lips
5. Talking Heads

 

[xaviMF22]

Bloc Party

and Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle

 

[BoMac]

I was told to give them a listen. I think I'll go do that now.

You should. I think Alligator and Boxer are excellent albums. I also hear they're great live and so I will check them out when they're in town on October 7.

 

[phanan]

1. Porcupine Tree
2. Pure Reason Revolution
3. Alcest

I was reading something somewhere about Jesu, and there was a mention for Alcest. It piqued my curiousity, and I went and downloaded it.

What a gorgeous piece of music.

 

[Axver]

I was reading something somewhere about Jesu, and there was a mention for Alcest. It piqued my curiousity, and I went and downloaded it.

What a gorgeous piece of music.

Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde has blown me away so much that I honestly think it's my album of 2007, ahead of Fear Of A Blank Planet. I never expected anything to top FOABP, but it's so original and intensely beautiful.

And I didn't think you would have had an interest in Jesu. That's some seriously intense stuff there. Friends Are Evil is possibly the heaviest song I have, even outdoing the Neurosis albums I own.

 

[phanan]

Well, I don't have any of the earlier stuff, so if that's heavier, I might not like it as much. But I thought Conqueror was quite good, and the Silver EP I also enjoyed.

Is the previous music heavier than those?

That's why I enjoyed Alcest. I'm not into Black Metal, but when I read it was more like a cross between metal and shoegaze, that got me interested.

 

[I'm Ready]

Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen
Radiohead
Neil Young
The Who

my favorites will probably always be the classics like those five, however several current bands are giving me hope that they can one day be as good as those such as:

Arcade Fire
The National
Wilco
The Mountain Goats
Okkervil River
The Decemberists
Broken Social Scene

 

[Axver]

Well, I don't have any of the earlier stuff, so if that's heavier, I might not like it as much. But I thought Conqueror was quite good, and the Silver EP I also enjoyed.

Is the previous music heavier than those?

That's why I enjoyed Alcest. I'm not into Black Metal, but when I read it was more like a cross between metal and shoegaze, that got me interested.

I haven't played Conqueror yet, so I can't tell you much there, but the Silver EP - especially Star - is a considerable shift in direction from the self-titled album, which is drone-y and heavy. Like I said, Friends Are Evil is the heaviest song I have and I own a lot of metal; the main riff is suffocating and destructive in a major way. I'll have to give Conqueror a listen, as it seems most Jesu fans who didn't like the Silver EP consider it a return to form, so maybe you might enjoy the debut.

And yeah, that's what I really love about Alcest. Black metal normally fails to draw me in - it's so cliche at times, and the harsh aesthetic can be quite off-putting. The Alcest methodology is like completely re-inventing how it's done and is a gigantic breath of fresh air.

 

[boosterjuice]

1. Ryan Adams
2. Stars
3. the National
4. Kasabian
5. M83

I've just discovered "Caribou" and am listening to them now. Awesome so far.

 

[cobl04]

I'm actually thankful that U2 is taking so long to come out with a new record because if they hadn't chances are I wouldn't have listened to anything else. As it is I have diversified and expanded my musical horizon beyond U2, thanks in part to Interference and my new laptop which has given me instant access to tons of music.

Yeah I agree as well, I don't mind so much. Thats whjy it was a new years' rev, to get into more music cos i knew i wouldnt have much u2 related for a while.

 

[AtomicBono]

Mostly been listening to The Fall of Troy and Muse lately.

oh yeah and Rage of course....

UNNNGHHHH YEA CMON

 

[powerhour24]

My heavy rotation right now:

U2 (really?!!)
Pearl Jam
Chris Cornell
Bloc Party
Jeff Buckley
The National
Kaiser Chiefs
Ryan Adams
The Police
R.E.M.
Muse

 

[powerhour24]

+Radiohead

 

[The OOTS]

At the moment:

Muse
Pearl Jam
White Stripes
Radiohead
Arcade Fire

U2 is still a favorite but it's been awhile since I've had a listen.

 

[Zoots]

itunes on shuffle and whatever comes up.


j/k

Lately it's been...

1. Weezer (dug out the blue album after ages!)
2. Radiohead
3. Interpol
4. Echo & The Bunnymen
5. Iron Maiden

 

[phanan]

I'll have to give Conqueror a listen, as it seems most Jesu fans who didn't like the Silver EP consider it a return to form, so maybe you might enjoy the debut.

A return to form? Really? Because Conqueror doesn't seem that heavy of an album to me, which is why I don't mind it. It has its louder moments, to be sure, but overall I find it more atmospheric than anything.

 

[Zoomerang96]

final fantasy

 

[Canadiens1131]

The National
Arcade Fire
Elvis Costello
Final Fantasy
Justice
Muse

 

[If you shout...]

final fantasy

Ugh. Too Canadian.

 

[flybabe]

I like Spiderbait and Broadcast right now
they have killer songs