General Music Discussion Thread (a.k.a. indie lovefest)

[nath]

Here's what I learned this last month...

-the new LCD Soundsystem disc is really good.
-the new Ted Leo disc is also quite good.
-Of Montreal kicked ass live, again.
-Saw Jana Hunter last night on a friend's recommendation. She has an incredible voice. Very Grace Slick. Unfortunately, I missed her solo set (she opened for her band, which I think was called Jacula, and which was not good. Their efforts consisted mostly of trying to drown out her voice with noise).

Ummmm....I feel like I've gotten more than that recently, but I can't remember what else. I'll think about it.

[Claunchy]

Explosions in the Sky and the Paper Chase are playing in Dallas tommorow; tickets are sold out and I can't find any through brokers on the internet.

WTF kinda world are we living in where someone with money to burn can't get tickets to an indie show? Should I just go, and see if people are scalping? This is like an hour drive, so I'd be pissed if I went out there for nothing.

I am bummed.

[SL__72]

New Music Recommendation:

Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times



This is the third album by Kings Of Leon. The band is made up of three brothers and their cousin. They have a very unique sound that I would describe as upbeat, indie/jam rock with a bit of a southern twist. Their first two albums (which are also both awesome imo) received moderate critical acclaim scoring 79 and 73, respectively, on metacritic.com. So far this one is doing even better sitting at 82/100 (#9 overall so far this year).

I know Pitchfork gave their first two albums pretty bad scores, but I think they really missed the mark both times (which seems pretty common for them, even if they rarely make the opposite mistake).

From what I've seen (on TV sadly) these guys also put on a really good live show.

You can check out the first single "On Call" on their
myspace page. "On Call" is a lot slower then most of their music though, so to get a better idea of what they sound like you might check out some of the older songs on their myspace page like "The Bucket" or "Four Kicks."

This is really fun music... they have had a number of songs used on Entourage!

[theblackkeys]

The Black Keys.

If you like hard, dirty, bluesy, freakout, riff-heavy rock n roll, you'll like them. The band is a two-piece, ala the White Stripes. Dan Auerbach's (guitar, vocals) fingerstyle guitar playing lends itself well to filling the bass parts simultaneously with melody. It gives the music a bit of a haunting, droning sound, borrowed from fellow label mates and mississippi hill country bluesmen Junior Kimbrough and RL Burnside. The difference is Pat Carney's frantic, loud drumming and Dan's great voice.

I'll provide live clips because this is where the band really shines.
Stack Shot Billy (live on letterman)
Set You Free (live in austin)
Everywhere I Go
Heavy Soul

Here's some music videos:
Your Touch
10 A.M. Automatic

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

I might not call the Kings of Leon's sound unique, but I do like the new album. Pitchfork didn't give it such a good review, either.

[SL__72]

[ QUOTE ]
I might not call the Kings of Leon's sound unique, but I do like the new album. Pitchfork didn't give it such a good review, either.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah Pitchfork really doesn't like them. Their reviews are always full of backhanded compliments...

[effang]

to people who use metacrtici, is metacritic advice/rankings typically sufficient or to be listened to?

thanks

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

I just looked and it seems pretty good. The fact that an avg. of all scores puts Eluvium's Copia a record in 5th best of 2007 makes me like it even more since that's a record I love and nobody's talking about it. Sound of Silver and Person Pitch are both supposed to be really good too (although I don't get Sound of Silver and Person Pitch I haven't listened to yet). Neon Bible is good too, as well. So out of their top 5, yeah, I would say the albums I've heard of should at least be listened to. (Everything below that is pretty good as well...)

[effang]

i just spent the night trying to get all of these songs, and i must say...maybe i'm too "mainstream" indy to enjoy some of these artists/albumns.

i was able to obtain

the fratellis - costello music
panda bear - person pitch
LCD soundsystem- sound of silver
arcade fire - neon bible

on my first run through, nothing seems to be really popping up at me.

what i really like is
the postal service
death cab for cutie
rooney
the killers
the decemberists (some)

am i too "mainstream" indy to enjoy these "gems" you guys have listed? and if so, any more the killers/rooney type recommendations?

thanks

[private joker]

[ QUOTE ]


i was able to obtain

....

LCD soundsystem- sound of silver
...

on my first run through, nothing seems to be really popping up at me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nothing this year has popped out at me MORE than "North American Scum" off that LCD album. I think it's the song of the year and it'll be tough for any band, until R.E.M. and Radiohead release their new records, to top it.