Things You Should Listen To

Yep. So here we go.

I can already tell this one is going to be a doozy.

First, a recap for those of you not paying attention. After TJ stopped by and commented on Dredg, I decided to call her bluff about the proverbial throw down. She answered with authority, and as such I really have no choice but to respond, with an equal amount of (insert your favorite choice of playful bantering words here).

So yeah, this post is definitely going to be a little chunky. For those of you who prefer to not read verbose ramblings of psychotic lunatics, may I direct you to the news(but most certinaly not their competition...everyone knows they're a bunch of right wing fascists).

I'm going to shamelessly jack something that TJ said, because it's appropriate.

Prepare to be excessively You Tubed. Those of you who can’t see videos at work, well… er, sorry? I don’t know how else to do this! And as for the You Tube links - a lot of the songs I will talk about have the actual videos up on You Tube, and some, instead, just have the songs used as background in other, people-made videos. I’ll embed videos only for the actual real ones, and provide links for listening only purposes to the others - I take no responsibility for the actual VISUAL parts of the videos that are just linked. Damn kids.

And away we go!

These songs are in absolutely no order, and they are pretty much coming up in whatever format pops into my head. I'm a huge fan of High Fidelity(John Cusack is my hero), and totally follow the philosophy that making a good compliation tape is an artform. But, for a situation like this, I'm excercising my right to throw the rules out the window and say "Screw you, you'll take it how I give it to you, and you'll like it."

Oh, and forgive the stream of consciousness explanations here. Again, you'll take it, and you'll like it. I'm also resisting the urge to post up my tried and true favorites, Coheed and Cambria, and 30 Seconds to Mars, & Tool because I'm sure I'll be whoring those bands out enough here as is.

First up? Easy peasey. I couldn't even tell you where I picked this guy up at. I've always been a huge fan of Seal. I'm a big fan of electronic music, techno, trance, drum and bass, whatever you want to call it, and I think this track plays into it a lot. Add to the fact that the man has an amazing voice.

My first induction into the Hall of Music? Seal - Crazy.






Next up on the list? Well, when I was in grade school, I was always in jazz band. Playing old school jazz & swing music gave me a huge appreciation for a time when music was a lot more simple and meaningful. There's something about music that is just...big...that moves me. Large orchestras, huge band sounds, stadium rock of the 80's, that whole vibe of an enormous sound always drove me crazy. In a good way of course. I'm already crazy in a bad way.

As such, this guy is like a modern incarnation of the Rat Pack of old age. He's a modern day Frank Sinatra, with just as much swagger.

Enter... Michael Bublé - Feeling Good






Moving on, a couple of years ago, I had heard about this band that did covers of Metallica tracks. Big shocker, whoopty do, who cares, right? Everyone does Metallica, AC/DC, Rush, blah blah blah, next! The twist with this one is the band was a quartet of cellos.

Stop. Go back. Read that last sentence again.

Yes, I said cellos. Those big stringed instruments that look like violins but could crush a large gnome. Again, this goes back to my thing about orchestral music. I'm a big fan of modernized retro. I guess. Hearing an instrument that was normally reserved for Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, so on, and hearing it being used in a metal environment was enormous. Yeah yeah, I know Metallica did the S&M thing a long time ago, but it's an entirely different bag of tricks when the orchestra is background emphasis, instead of this group where the music is up front and is the pure focus.

With that in mind, I present... Apocalyptica - Path






The next one is an easy jump. Check out that last video again. The thing about Apocalyptica, is the chick singing isn't part of the band. They're an instrumental group, and occasionally they have people step in to add a little something to the music. Sandra Nasic was the lead in that one. Through hearing that track, I found about her band. Another one of my quirks is I love hard rock and metal groups that have female leads. I hate black metal with a passion. Despise. I'm a singer, and I want to be able to actually hear someone singing, not gutteral brooding or whatever you want to call it. Having female leads keeps that rough hard rock vibe that I love, but gives me the vocals that I enjoy hearing. It's like the best of both worlds.

So anyways, I present to you... Guano Apes - You Can't Stop Me






Next? Well, TJ had to throw up some Get Up Kids, so I retort her Kids with some stuff from their keyboardist's side project. I mainly adore this song for the video, a sad story about Nessie's(yes, the same Nessie from Loch Ness) divorce aftermath. It's adorable, and the song itself is just fabulous.

I submit for the record... Reggie and the Full Effect - Get Well Soon





Hmmm...where to go from here. Ah yeah. I'm sure you guys know of a little band called Rage Against the Machine. I mean, not too many people know about them I think, but you guys might. Well, they've got this overzealous political activist message. That's awesome, but I've got this little band that does the same thing, but in my opinion, I think they do it a little better. The message may not be as clear as Rage, but for me, the music is a lot more intense, and a lot more meaningful.

The lead singer has an incredible voice, powerful, and never wavers. The only downfall to this band is that they broke up this year, which makes me very sad.

In memory... Boysetsfire - Requiem





So who here remembers a song back in the 90's called "Counting Blue Cars"? Well, the song itself was great, but sadly radio and MTV killed it, like most really good music falls victim to. For anyone who actually made it past that one track, and tried out the band, you'd find some very beautiful music spanning a long career. Yeah, they're still around, and still putting out music to this day.

Give it a try, listen to it, and stop letting pop culture tell you what's good.

For your pleasure... Dishwalla - 40 Stories





Yeah, I like my metal, and for anyone who says this band is a "safe bet"...bleh, music is pure opinion. I like what I like, regardless of whether it's "easy" or not..

So here's my easy choice.

Enjoy some heavy ear beatdowns... Avenged Sevenfold - Almost Easy





We're in the home stretch kiddies. The next group, I picked up on when I first started playing The Matrix Online. There was an online radio station that was roleplayed as in-game. They spread a lot of information as part of the Resistance, and also played some damned nice music. Also, this stuff is kind of anti-social and pisses off a lot of people, but it amuses the hell out of me.

Add to the fact that this video is directed by the same guy who made Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Invader Zim. That in itself is worth the price of admission.

All I can say is enjoy!... Mindless Self Indulgence - Shut Me Up





Wow. So, I posted this, and totally forgot to slip one more band in here. Sure it makes it 11, but deal with it.

This is odd, given most of the music I listen to, but on the other hand, it'll fit perfectly...given most of the music I listen to. Yes, it's 70's music, but it's classic, and I listen to a good amount of classic stuff, simply because it's stuff I picked up when I was a kid, and it stuck. This one came from an album that I listened to day in and day out when I was little. Even still, I pick it up now and again and wear the hell out of it.

So here you go. A small jaunt back to my childhood... Electric Light Orchestra - Last Train to London



Last, but certainly not least, we have a phenomenal band, probably in my top 5 all-time favorites. I find most of my music through friends or through compliations or soundtracks. This one was no exception. It came off the An American Werewolf in Paris soundtrack. A little ditty about a guy strangling his girlfriend because she asked him to. After hearing that, I tracked down the band's album, and have been listening to it ever since. At the time it came out, I was going through a lot of crud in my life, and something about the album just sang to all of my problems, and I related to every single facet of it. It's probably one fo the few albums that I've ever listened to that I can truly say I love every track.

To close.. Caroline's Spine - Nothing to Prove




So there you have it. My short, but diverse, list.

Maybe someday in the future I'll go more in depth and talk a little bit about the other bands I mentioned above.

Your turn.