Soft Bulletin is really when they matured as a band, and is definitely considered their "masterpiece," but they were around for 15 years before that. If you truly want to get an overview of them I would almost start with "Transmissions From the Satellite Heart" and "Clouds Taste Metallic." These records were their last two guitar-based records before they started moving into more ornate and subtle arrangements. Those albums were loud and fun, and the creativity of the sounds were on a level usually only explored by darker and more avant-garde bands. I think listening to those two albums first really gives you context of how something like the "Soft Bulletin" comes into being and may even make you appreciate it more. Zaireeka is an experimental album that kind of bridged the gap, but it's a difficult listen (literally). So yeah, my order would be: 1.) Transmission 2.) Clouds Taste Metallic 3.) Soft Bulletin 4.) Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots If you don't love them by the time you hear "Do You Realize" off of Yoshimi, then there's no hope for you. =p
Radiohead Spoon Black Keys White Stripes Raconteurs Kanyeezy Flaming Lips (minus the diarrhea on their last album) Cake Beck 311 No order.
No one has love for trance? 1. Gareth Emery 2. Armin Van Buuren 3. Tiesto 4. Kaskade 5. Benny Benassi 6. Swedish House Mafia 7. Above & Beyond 8. Afrojack 9. Markus Schulz 10. Nadia Ali 11. Tritonal 12. Laidback Luke 13. Ferry Corsten 14. Andy Moor 15. Deadmau5
I don't know much about the Flaming Lips before the Soft Bulletin. Embryonic is terrible and deserves death. Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi, and At War with the Mystics are awesome, with the last two probably being the most accessible. That doesn't take anything away from Soft Bulletin, its just not as easy a listen the first time through.
I have gone through phases in my life where all of these artists were my favorite. All are still frequently heard on my ipod. Pixies Prince Pink Floyd Bob Marley Mountain Goats Velvet Underground John Lee Hooker BB King Deer Tick Charles Mingus
No particular order: 1) Marvin Gaye 2) The Clash 3) Kanye West 4) John Mayer 5) The Beatles 6) Led Zeppelin 7) Justice 8) Bob Marley 9) Incubus 10) Jay-Z Actually, 10 is just not enough. I like all these artist equally. The Police, Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, OutKast, Kid Cudi, Radiohead, Oasis, way too many good artists.
Yeah, it's like the people who react that way usually don't know more than 4 songs from them: I Want You to Want Me, Dream Police, Surrender, and The Flame. Then, you start diving into their catalog, and you start coming up with great song after great song. The first 3 CDs are often referred to as classics, the best of power pop. The last 5 are amazing considering they're technically past their prime. And they're a true musicians band- all 4 are recognized as among the best with their respective instruments. It's the same with a group like Roxy Music- ask the average listener how many songs they know from them and they'll say Love Is The Drug, More Than This, and maybe Avalon. Or The Church- people will say, "Oh, that 1-hit wonder group that did Under The Milky Way?" There are just some all-time great groups that fly under the radar- my personal favorites in this category are The Smithereens, Cheap Trick, The Replacements, Buffalo Springfield, The O'Jays, and Midnight Oil. Most are known for a few hits, most are not categorized up there with groups like U2, Zeppelin, Floyd, Rush, Pearl Jam- and all have highly overlooked discographies. In Cheap Trick's case, they've never fit neatly into any category. Their first album was really punk in spirit and tone (Joey Ramone admitted that he borrowed the riff for "The KKK Took My Baby Away" from CT's "He's A w****"), yet they didn't look punk. The 2nd and 3rd CDs are pure power pop, yet they were categorized as New Wave. Dream Police is nearly heavy metal on stuff like Gonna Raise Hell and Need Your Love, yet they didn't "look" metal. People don't know what to make of them- they kind of defy categorization- and it's a blessing and a curse. Most frequently, they are lumped in with groups like Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Loverboy, etc. as corporate rock- and they're so far from that in 95% of their music that it's just silly. Out of the thousands of artists I've listened to in my lifetime, very few offer the kind of driving/uplifting music as CT at their best.
I saw you list The Church & thought it was a cool choice. I think "Reptile" is an absolutely brilliant song & one of my all time favorites of that era...makes me want to buy a Rickenbocker. I'd agree that they are underated <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GWhV2l9QPxw" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>
My introduction to Cheap Trick (along with a lot of other great music) was watching the movie Over The Edge on cable back in the early 80's. 2 different CT songs in the first 4 minutes. Fast forward to 3:30 and tell me if it doesn't instantly make you want to go smoke a joint and vandalize your old high school: <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AiOM1BTzsxk" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>
Beatles The Cure Depeche Mode Pink Floyd The Strokes Led Zeppelin Daft Punk Wu-Tang Clan Radiohead Peter Gabriel
i don't have a top ten favorite groups. i usually have a greatest song in the history of the universe after a few too many beers but i roll with my mood. anyways, thinking about underrated bands after reading this thread. here's a couple of truly unsung groups: <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/L7EpGVB7-kk" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe> <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-rRIMY3nHRg" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>
Jethro Tull Little Willie John Marillion Rush Black Sabbath Judas Priest Iron Maiden AC/DC Fleetwood Mac Heart
ARRRGGGH, just look at my #1 choice, they are the best band of the last 30 years, yeah for a sec in the 90's it got really shakey but for my vote they are it. And don't think of them as an 80's band because let me tell you, most of their 90's and all of their 00's output is even better than that 80's stuff. And don't just listen to the lp's, live they are just amazing. The band that made me want to start playing my own music. Going to NYC in Feb. to see them do 3 lp's, start to finish! And f-it, here is a live show I taped in Denver June 18 2009; http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YQE0QXP0
