I own about four W&C albums, and I love them. Part of (I believe) a chicago-based scene that includes the perhaps superior (but less productive) Grimble Grumble. Definitely space/drone rock, and I'd say not much in common with Galaxie 500, other than mood and probably a lot of beer consumption. Dirty Three -- I love them too, but I find their rhythmic sloppiness tiring. If you like a tight sound, even for a slow band, these guys are not your guys. Sometimes it's so bad that they sound like they're playing with each other via skype or something. GB -- just got my first album after enjoying them on pandora, but I've been really disappointed. I just don't get it and may be too old. It's just very bland and pop-like to me. Maybe I got the wrong album (latest one I think.) Swans -- lord how I used to love these guys. Were once "industrial" in the truest sense, as they sounded like machines with droning scary vocals all the time. Children of God was a well-produced masterpiece for some, or a repetitive exercise in pretension for others. (I loved it.) I would have to look up some album covers, but I loved the first album where they went more "musical," The Burning World. I still listen to that one.
I type them all out carefully from my Macbook which I use openly in my favorite, local underground Cafe while eating an organic brownie. I do so under the pretense that I am crafting a screenplay or writing the great American Novel. The beret usually helps accentuate this stereotype, but my "**** Starbucks" shirt, certainly doesn't hurt either. My creativity shall not be stifled by the corporate machine.
I tried listening to one of their albums once in the mid-90s, but couldn't. Couldn't because the high pitched sounds hurt my ears too much. Funnily, I didn't have that problem when I heard a song of theirs initially.
From your list, I'm familiar with Animal Collective, TV on the Radio, and Grizzly bear. I've actually seen all 3 of them live. Animal Collective was a huge disappointment. I wasn't all that big into their earlier music beforehand, as it can be pretty out there. I do like their latest album Merriweather Post Pavilion though, just like a lot of people. Their live show was just very dull and has made me lose quite a bit of interest in them. TV on the Radio has great energy and I think all of their albums are solid. Their music is just fun. Check out their latest effort, Dear Science. I think you'll like it. It's good from top to bottom. Now of all of these, Grizzly Bear is my favorite band. You'll see their album Veckatimist listed at the top of many album of the year lists, and rightfully so. It takes a couple of listens to really get it, but man once the light bulb goes off you realize what an incredible piece of music it is. I saw them live for the first time just a few weeks ago in Austin, and it was one of the top 5 live shows I've ever seen. The musicianship of this band just blew me away. You really should give them a chance. You won't be disappointed. And I have to post this video just because it's so creepy awesome. <object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tjecYugTbIQ&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tjecYugTbIQ&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>
Really? I could see someone classifying Animal Collective as a bunch of noise, but I've never gotten that from Grizzly Bear. The complaint I've heard from a few people when I've tried to get them into Grizzly Bear is that it's not enough noise.
My type of thread. Anyways, I'll start with my favorite of all these bands. Grizzly Bear. I consider them experimental more than anything. They put on the most exquisite of live shows. Yellow House was a great album. One of the year's best in 2006. They recently toured with Radiohead as well. Their new release, Veckatamist has some outstanding hits as well. There was a video recently of Jay Z and Beyonce at one of Grizzly Bear concerts. I listened to some of their pre-released tracks like a year ago before their formal release, and thought the whole album would be that good. About half the tracks are amazing and other half are somewhat average. But start with Yellow House though. TV on the Radio is also experimental. I am one of the few kids who didn't seem to like their new release Dear Science. Most of the music critics and most other people I talked to said this new release was better than Return to Cookie Mountain. Their live shows are also pretty good. I like them because they tend to tour to random places as well. Not just the hipster centers of America. Animal Collective, I've never really been into. The new release Merriweather Post Pavillion has been regarded by most indie critics as the hands down best album of the year. Most of AnCo's previous 7 works has been filled with bizarre instrumentation and has been quite inaccessible even to people like me who will take time to listen and get to like anything. I feel like Pitchfork Media has hyped up Animal Collective to such a high regard, alot of people feel the necessity to like the band even if they don't. Every one of their 7 releases or so has had a higher rating then their previous release with their new one at 9.6/10 rating. I like the indie experimental genre alot. Its one of my most favorite of indie genre's. It seems the whole epicenter of this scene is radiating from Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I would suggest two other great experimental bands as well. Yeasayer and Menomena. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AOdtcUHLpyk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AOdtcUHLpyk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2iqg3LVx2Ws&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2iqg3LVx2Ws&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
how come i don't consider any of the bands in this thread, save animal collective, to be experimental?
It all depends on your definition of "experimental". To me experimental is anything that isn't mainstream and takes multiple listens to even understand. A great example of this is "Trout Mask Replica" by Captain Beefheart. Other artists that I would consider experimental include Henry Cow, Pere Ubu, The Residents, early PIL, and John Zorn to name a few.
for me, experimental refers to more "challenging" music. grizzly bear, for example, is pretty easy on the ears. anyway, i'm not a big fan of labels.
no way! yall were really good - i had a few ep's and 7''s and saw a couple shows. if you want to maintain your anonymity thats cool, but what instrument did you play? is inner lights a beatles tribute band? im in austin - do yall play up here? actually i got robbed back in 98 and all my 7''s were stolen so if you have any still id be interested in getting ahold of one in particular that had a song called i think 'now you're a star'? - that one had the girl singing and the other had the guy - both really good songs. that and mike gunn's durban poison/hemp for victory are two h-town records i still want to replace.
