Get Ya Freak On.

[Yeahduff]

I really should give Andrew Bird an honest listen one day. Always hear that name thrown around but have never sat down with him.

Los Campesinos! seem like a lot of fun. You! Me! Dancing! is a jam.

Man, I really should've gotten this Missy record years ago.

[Keffria]

I really should give Andrew Bird an honest listen one day. Always hear that name thrown around but have never sat down with him.

For some reason, I have a hard time convincing people to like him. I think maybe it's because he (like Yann Tiersen, another of my study-time-music favourites) often gets grouped with "Easy Listening Doctor's Office Garbage," which is unfortunate but not entirely unfair...

Start with "The Mysterious Production of Eggs" (I'm especially fond of "Skin Is, My," The Naming of Things," and "Sovay"). If you like that, move forward to "Armchair Apocrypha," and after that, try "Weather Systems." Although the latter is the weakest offering of the three, it's still cool because it contains some early versions of tracks that show up on subsequent albums -- it feels like a "work in progress," and it's hard to appreciate without knowing about the final products (that being said, "Lull," the title track, and other songs are good). He has a bunch of EPs, too, but I'm only familiar with "Soldier On." I hope someday to own his complete works, haha.

I know he was in a band prior to going solo - Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire - but I have yet to check any of their releases out.

Oh, for those who use Last.fm, has anyone figured out how to get the official client to scrobble in the latest version of OS X? I've had to switch to iScrobbler, and I can't always force it to like my iPod.

[McDuffies]

Does anyone else check this out?

Sadly, I am not indie enough to know who many of those names are, but I always appreciate recommendations.

Noone is. One of the most interesting things about that list is, you'll find some things you'd never hear from anywhere else, ever. My sis and me follow the list annually ever since "Bobbins" days (ever since he put "Kid A" in 1st place I guess) though we usually end up being bored by more than half of it.
It's actually reviews that he puts in comic form at the end of each year that are priceless.

[McDuffies]

If this thread dies, where am I gonna get my music reccomendations?

[Keffria]

I didn't want to bump the thread, lest I grow tiresome like I do with people in real life with my fangirly recommendations...

It's actually reviews that he puts in comic form at the end of each year that are priceless.

I just looked those up, and they're both wacky and spot-on, haha. But man, 2005 was an awesome year for music. Five of those albums still see frequent play for me. (<3) The John Allison Hipster~er-Than-Thou Obscure Music Recommendation Page brings a point to mind, though -- where do you people go for your music recommendations?

Also, listening to Caribou's "Andorra" again. I could probably listen to the first track on an endless loop all day.

[Yeahduff]

I should probably check out Andorra. Melody Day's a fucking jam.

I have various avenues. Sound Opinions is a radio show based in Chicago but is syndicated on NPR. Their weekly shows are available as podcasts.

A local station (WXRT for other Chicago area spacers) has a show called the Big Beat that plays all sorts of hipster-friendly music every Moday night at 10. MTV2 has a similar thing on Sunday nights, I always forget if it's at 11 or midnight. It's called Subteranean, and they play some good stuff for an hour.

I feel like I should read Pitchfork, but I don't.

[McDuffies]

I didn't like Pitchfork. Review for first The Decemberists album says that they sound very similar to Neutral Milk Hotel... review for their second album says "now they don't sound that similar to Neutral Milk Hotel". Review to third album says "wow, now they don't sound anything like Neutral Milk Hotel", and the fourth says "we'll try to write this article without comparing them to Neutral Milk Hotel". So fast forward to year 2050, the review of 26th album of "Decemberists" is probably going to say "now they sound less than ever like that group that's been active for a few years in 90ies!" And the worst thing is, I can't see very much similarity between those two.
But joke aside, from what I read, their reviews seem like bad writing, unarguemented and somehow juvenile. Following what new groups pop out and what mark they get is probably worth something, but browsing through lists of their "top 20 or 50" albums, I found as many completely uninteresting albums, as good ones.

My main source of information is, well, listening to people. My sister, her boyfriend, forumers and rl friends to whose taste I trust, or just about anyone who seems passionate about the music he listens.
Other than that I used to follow a review few blogs that seemed to have really good reviews. Sure since they are good writers they could make any album sound interesting, but they are also very descriptive, and give you a good picture of what the album sounds like. Sadly lost of blogs I followed died along the way - you can guess why.
John Allison's lists are very interesting to me, maybe not too much as reccomendation source, but because it's his own thing and because he puts the most blatantly commercial and the most obscure things together. List is highly personal and if he puts some Beatles sound-alikes album higher on list than OK Computer, that seems ok because he never approaches with the attitude "I'm right, you're wrong". If he had a music blog (specially if it was in comic form) I'd prolly follow it religiously. But there's really only one group I "discovered" from him, any other group from his list, I've listened previously.
Since I'm hungry for information, I usually read a lot of articles about the group I listen to currently, and whenever during the reading some new name pops out, I check it out too. Wikipedia is good for this, since you can start with one group and branch it into hundred directions. I rely a lot on textual description of the music before I listen to it because - hey, who has time and money to try out everything that someone reccoments?
Finding about new bands in Serbian music, I usually rely on people who know people who knoe people, to get me information on new bands worth checking, bootlegs, demos, etc. It's all really interesting, actually.
I also check R'N'R encyclopedias because I like "discovering" some oldie from time to time.

I don't listen to radio much, otherwise I would probably hear good music more often than I do on tv. I'm too lazy to tamper with last.fm, though I probably should. I don't actually have any "regular" source of information, I leave it pretty much to chance, and I generally think that there's too many good music for one man's life, so either way you can't be at loss.

I just looked those up, and they're both wacky and spot-on, haha. But man, 2005 was an awesome year for music. Five of those albums still see frequent play for me. (<3) The John Allison Hipster~er-Than-Thou Obscure Music Recommendation Page brings a point to mind, though -- where do you people go for your music recommendations?

2004 is more for me: Franz Ferdinand's debut, Arcade Fire's debut, The Go-team's debut... But it may not be telling so much about the year, as about list-maker's state of mind. I sometimes have a feeling that on particular years he listened to more cheerful or more emo music than on other years...

[Yeahduff]

Yeah, tales of juvenile writing and hipster pretention have kept me away from Pitchfork, but everyone reads it, and it is a good way to learn about new stuff. I'll probably keep not reading it.

Six months later, independent of the delivery system, what do we think of In Rainbows?

[McDuffies]

Well it's Radiohead. It's one of those bands that I'll listen to when they're in their 60ies and cranking out things just for the sake of new tour.

It's a wonderful album with a lot of wonderful songs (specially if you get a bonus CD, it gives a full picture). It's better than decidedly unfocused Thief, but it's not musically groundbreaking.
I can never see Radiohead albums out of the context of their career, which to me seems like a carefully painted canvas, as they'll never record two similar albums and always made sure than a new album evolves from the concept of last ones.
At first I had a feeling, with return to guitars and less avanguarde songwriting, that they gave in and said "everyone's been expecting a new OK Computer for years, let's give it to them" and sent Yorke to record a full-electronics solo album to spend out his electronics ambitions and record this one undistracted... which is what most of reviews and comments I read after release pretty much thought: "Yeeey! Radiohead returned to rock! We can't decide whether this album is more similar to OK Computer or Bands!". But after some listening, I see a lot of experiments in new direction too, and it's more likely a continuation of "Hail to the Thief". Perhaps more gentle and intimate, flimsy nighties type of new direction.
For the record I do enjoy listening to "Eraser" more, it gives an intimate, "one man alone with a bunch of computer gangets, so whatever comes out of his throat" feeling... or it might just be that "Eraser" was free from all expectations.

So, I hear that Ringo Starr's got a new album. Anyone interested?

[Phact0rri]

I'm old fashioned... most of my music discovery is either at rock shows, or from my friends. Then there's the accidental stumble...

The accidental stumble is always my favourite way. I love it when there's something new and original you somehow find yourself at. Its like fate, and you find your whole world changed, and new musical avenues open up. Ideas start coming to the surface like "why wasn't I doing this... this is amazing and I NEEDS more."

Sure McDuffies can understand this one.

[Yeahduff]

Accidental discoveries are great. It's just you can't rely on them.

Really expected Radiohead discussion to bring more people out. Not as polarizing a force as on some other boards.

I agree with you about In Rainbows, McDuff, much more focused than the previous release. Though I think I like my favorites from Hail To the Thief more, I dunno. Radiohead doesn't really need to break any boundaries these days. Just hearing Bodysnatchers on the radio next to crud like Alter Bridge and Seether you hear how far ahead they are from the pack.

I still get goosebumps from that last line in Videotape.

[TheSuburbanLetdown]

Is Alter Bridge still around?

[Yeahduff]

Yep.

[TheSuburbanLetdown]

I thought they broke up and formed a new band called Daughtry.

[Phact0rri]

I thought they broke up and formed a new band called Daughtry.

this month Alter Bridge released a new single and video. I'm sure its many kinds of great.

Really expected Radiohead discussion to bring more people out. Not as polarizing a force as on some other boards.

Kinda like depeche mode on most the music boards I check on. That being said, for me personally I haven't been able to get into a Radiohead album in quite a few years. I know most people here like them and everything, I just can't really feel all the hype. I do like how they reinvent themselves over and over, and I did dig the Thom's solo record 'The Eraser' (not sure if he's done any others). Just most of the regular Radiohead, has felt a little to streamlined, and for me the soul of say Pablo Honey or The Bends hasn't really been there in some years. I however can see how people would like them. They are a talented group without a doubt. Think its more personal preference over musicianship.

[McDuffies]

What can I say, Phact, I have a kind of respect for Depeche Mode that I have for bands that I believe deserved their fame, but personally, they're not my thing.
Radiohead - well they were dealing with subjects of alienation, consumerism and technology over the years, it is normal that their albums got somewhat colder after the bends. "In rainbows" deals with those a lot less, there are even some heartfelt and love songs. (Yorke released one EP besider Eraser, btw)

I agree with you about In Rainbows, McDuff, much more focused than the previous release. Though I think I like my favorites from Hail To the Thief more, I dunno. Radiohead doesn't really need to break any boundaries these days. Just hearing Bodysnatchers on the radio next to crud like Alter Bridge and Seether you hear how far ahead they are from the pack.

I still get goosebumps from that last line in Videotape.

Hail was, I think, a statement like any other of their album, it's just that this statement was more of "you shouldn't expect us to keep making landmark records. We are just a band after all", therefore the album is looser than others. It was in a way admitting to all their directions so far: starts with guitar plugging in after two mostly electronic albums. Follows one guitar song, one electronics song, one guitar, one electronics, and gradually blurs this distinction towards the end, until "Wolf at the door", which literally blows me off and it's probably symbolic that it's different from any other song they did lately. "In Rainbows" doesn't have anything as striking as "Wolf", but it has less "meh" songs, less lagging... "Thief" had some amazing songs that slowly develop from nothing like ambient works or stream of consciousness things, while "In rainbows" goes for a bit more traditional, songwriting-oriented structures.
I think, though, that In Rainbows might have as well been a classic rock album or ambiental electronics - it's statement will always be in distribution issue (that it's a sort of guitar album with less experiments helped, because it made it one of their most undividedly acclaimed albums). They broke boundaries musically, now masses expect them to break the new ones, but noone really expected that they'd be non-musical ones. The funniest thing for me is, ever since OK Comp, they insisted that they're not doing anything planned, that things just turn out like that for them, like the Beatles who turned things upside down while claiming that they just wanted to have fun and write simple tunes. Some people just have it easy.

[Yeahduff]

Spot on analysis.

The new Portishead is supposed to be amazing. Can't tell, though, if everyone's just excited that new Portishead exists or if it's actually that good.

[McDuffies]

There's new Portishead? cool! I knew that Beth Gibbons was recording, but didn't know that they were together again.

What's next, Moloko getting back together? Cause Roisin Murphy's not as fun alone.
I saw them live while they were still live and I never knew it was possible to dance on heels that high.

[Phact0rri]

What's next, Moloko getting back together? Cause Roisin Murphy's not as fun alone.
I saw them live while they were still live and I never knew it was possible to dance on heels that high.

Moloko would be awesome, as I never got the chance to see them. I got onto that band wagon from Ms Roisin's solo record.

[Yeahduff]

Not sure about non-British Europe, but in America I think Portishead comes out today. Might hit a record store if I'm in the neighborhood.

Haven't heard of Moloko but I've quite enjoyed the Roisin Murphy I've heard.