New Music

[Aly Panic]

I'm looking to download some music off itunes.

Any recommendations?

 

[Boro_Morrissey]

Victory For The Comic Muse by The Divine Comedy it is a very very good album i just got it the other day

 

[vivaissy]

some aren't so new, but i like them all the same.

The Dears
the automatic
the organ
dirty pretty things
the arrogants
panic at the disco
boy kill boy
be your own pet
larrikin love
battle
Maximo Park
bonnie prince billy
forward russia
we are scientists
the shins
mystery jets
the subways
test icicles
elliot smith
death from above 1979
Interpol
The Decemberists
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
the arcade fire
clap your hands say yeah
Camera Obscura
modest mouse

this should get you started!

 

[veradicere]

some aren't so new, but i like them all the same.

The Dears
the automatic
the organ
dirty pretty things
the arrogants
panic at the disco
boy kill boy
be your own pet
larrikin love
battle
Maximo Park
bonnie prince billy
forward russia
we are scientists
the shins
mystery jets
the subways
test icicles
elliot smith
death from above 1979
Interpol
The Decemberists
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
the arcade fire
clap your hands say yeah
Camera Obscura
modest mouse

this should get you started!

I agree with many on the list about, but just to narrow it down a bit (in order of importance): Elliot smith, The arcade fire, the dears, the shins, Camera Obscura.

I'd also recommend Frou Frou, Jeff Buckley, and The Smoking Popes.

Also, I wasn't too impressed with the Panic! At the Disco album, so that's probably the only thing on there I wouldn't recommend. Just thought I'd mention it.

 

[vivaissy]

ar, i've heard so much slagging about panic at the disco. just what preceisly is wrong with em? i mean, they are not mind blowing or anything but likeable enough surely?

 

[deathfornoreason]

I second the Decemberists! Especially "Picaresque" - you haven't lived untill you've heard the Mariner's Revenge Song. Colin Meloy is a genius.

 

[++++++]

I second the Decemberists! Especially "Picaresque" - you haven't lived untill you've heard the Mariner's Revenge Song. Colin Meloy is a genius.

I have to agree. Wonderful songwriting, and the musical arrangements really match well with what they seem to be going for. Ther album prior to Picaresque (the name escapes me but I was listening to it at work last week) is very good as well. I don't particularly care for Meloy's vocals, but that's just me.

Also consider Antony & The Johnsons if you haven't heard them already.

 

[Aly Panic]

some aren't so new, but i like them all the same.

The Dears
the automatic
the organ
dirty pretty things
the arrogants
panic at the disco
boy kill boy
be your own pet
larrikin love
battle
Maximo Park
bonnie prince billy
forward russia
we are scientists
the shins
mystery jets
the subways
test icicles
elliot smith
death from above 1979
Interpol
The Decemberists
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
the arcade fire
clap your hands say yeah
Camera Obscura
modest mouse

this should get you started!

Thanks for the list, I've already a few of them but I'll check out the other ones.

 

[deathfornoreason]

The album prior to Picaresque (the name escapes me but I was listening to it at work last week) is very good as well.

Both albums before Picaresque - Castaways & Cutouts and Her Majesty The Decemberists - are also perfect albums, and are well worth seeking out (annoyingly, they've never been released in this country, so you'll have to seek them out via import), especially C&C, if only for the closing track California One/The Youth & Beauty Brigade.

However, Picaresque is a lot more of a fun record than the first two. C&C and Her Majesty... are both superb works, and feature light, bouncy tracks, but they are counteracted by one or two dark moments (especially C&C - see A Cautionary Tale). Picaresque, on the other hand, is much more lighthearted and a joy to listen to. It's also proof that Colin Meloy is a genius in the way he can convey a narrative - often funny, sometimes moving, always thought-provoking - in a pop/folk/"indie" song. His eye for characterisation is unparalleled in modern music (except by Moz). And you haven't lived untill you've heard The Mariner's Revenge Tale!

To discover Meloy's true genius, however, check out The Tain. It's a 20-minute long retelling of the Irish mythological epic Táin Bó Cúailnge, set to all sorts of different kinds of music - heavy metal, folk, pop, ballad, hard rock.... It's without question one of the best songs - certainly the most bizarre - I've heard in a long time.

I don't particularly care for Meloy's vocals, but that's just me.

I'm afraid I have to disagree. I think the way Meloy sings conveys so much emotion and beauty. His phrasing is perfect, and his way with words in a song is something quite special. But then again, being a huge Decemberists fan, I am biased.....

 

[beau]

One of my favorite bands that nobody remembers is Shelleyan Orphan. They were on Rough Trade in the late 80s and opened for The Cure at some point. The lead singer ended up marrying one of the original Cure members.