liars - drum's not dead
billy bragg - back to basics
ex models - zoo psychology
the gaslight anthem - sink or swim
clouddead - clouddead
i'm actually going to expand/fix this now that i have more time
in no particular order, and i can't do 5 so i'm doing 10
Liars - Drum's Not Dead
liars is a band i honestly hated for quite awhile, but then upon actually giving them a chance, fell in love with. this album is phenominal. great, atmospheric music with a really tribal feel to it. stylistically quite different from their other albums, and though i love concept albums about witches, i think this is better than 'they were wrong so we drowned'. their self-titled album is great too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwhiXr7Xr_Y is just beautiful.
Billy Bragg - Back to Basics
i don't know where i'd be with billy bragg. i grew up with this guy and fell in love with everything he's ever done. he's a british folk singer from the 80s who favours the electric guitar and sings some damned wonderful ballads. powerful love songs, empowering political songs, and an iconic voice. most likely my favourite artist of all time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgwU4zCEJtY
i saw two shooting stars last night
i wished on them, but they were only satellites
is it wrong to wish on space hardware?
i wish i wish i wish you'd care
get all of his albums. seriously get them all now.
Ex Models - Zoo Psychology
holy fuck this album blew my mind. out of control from beginning to end, the most warped and funky songs about fucking you'll ever hear. from 2003, it's extremely ahead of its time. much more exciting than their first album, there's something i prefer about it over their third album as well, though that might just be because i heard this one first!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K61Paua48yc
The Gaslight Anthem - Sink or Swim
life-changing album right here. they took everything i loved about against me! and threw in even more soul, and i got hooked. one of the few bands whose newfound mainstream success i'm actually happy about, as they're still producing great albums. get this album, get the 59 sound, rediscover music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL8lBPtpmP8
the best live recording of any song i've ever seen without question.
Against Me! - The Disco Before The Breakdown
this band changed my life more than any other band. tom gabel's voice gave me direction. i made a thread about against me! a couple years ago so i'll try to dig it up. you listen to albums like this and then wonder how the fuck their latest album even exists.
this is the purest form of music i've ever heard. slightly more accessible than their older albums due to the introduction of electric guitar and whatever else, but still perfect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7sZpebvcFw
i know they're going to laugh at us when they see us out together holding hands like this
they wouldn't understand it if we told them all the reasons
not that i think this deserves any kind of explanation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47v8Cz1w_u8
with your thought in mind
i walk the streets down to the shores
and i sink into the pacific
candidate for my favourite song of all time, no question.
Against Me! - Crime as Forgiven by Against Me!
one of the earliest releases by AM!, close to ten years ago, back when it was just tom gabel on acoustic guitar and a drummer. the addition of a drummer was a good thing, but i still love the even older stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKLiO_AUKTc
this song reminds me of going to their shows years ago and knowing that in that big, crowded room, every single person will scream their fucking lungs out to every single lyric of every single song, and that it was where i belonged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBGgRioaRGk&feature=related
the second incarnation of this song, and in my opinion, the best. the video is wrong, this is the crime version, the vivada vis version is the first version and is much, much rougher.
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
i can't kid myself, this is one of my favourite albums if only because 'i'll believe in anything' is one of the best songs i've ever heard, and still sends shivers down my spine more than three years later. both the vocalists are extremely talented but krug's voice is just so fucking weird and haunting that it stands out like no other.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZgwW-RzD30
give me your eyes
i need sunshine
The Books - Lost and Safe
the books revolutionized music for me. this was the first album by them that i heard, and it's probably also their most accessible, since it actually has vocals in it. it's a cellist and a guitarist making sweet atmospheric music with lots of creepy/funny/sad samples from a wide variety of sources. i think i like this album more than 'the lemon of pink' due to it being a bit more electronica-oriented, but it's still a very close call.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xPN1LExu3k&feature=related
you are something that the whole world is doing
this album does just as well as background music as it does when you give it your full attention, and that's something that makes the books as a band really stand out.
The Futureheads - The Futureheads
i remember seeing this band a good four years ago when they played with hot hot heat (i didnt even like hot hot heat then, i think i went because a really hot girl invited me) and i nearly shit myself at how good their live stuff was. i'm a sucker for multiple vocalists, and this album is so peppy and wonderful, it never ceases to put a smile on my face. apparently they're (or were, i dunno) pretty big in britain, confirm/deny british smogoners! they didn't make much of a splash over here unfortunately.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkQertCoxl0
sweet live recording of the song man ray, song starts at like 0:35.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amh8V-MopUI
cover of a kate bush song. i like it more than the original i think, but kate bush is the queen of melodrama so i'm not entirely sure!!
Why? - Elephant Eyelash
i am confident that i liked why/clouddead/anticon. in general much before everyone else on this forum did -____-
i like this album more than alopecia, straight up. im not gonna dissect the album/band cause now everybody loves yoni UGH
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbDqN0qYbk4
rubber traits rules and this video is fucking excellent
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUHw3mYQYTg&feature=related
our faces reflected in seperate windshields
and all our body hair pricked up; an elephant eyelash
edit: and if i could do 11 the 11th would be noah's ark by cocorosie!!!