where's the music?

[willywoody]

And I assume you know about Uncle Tupelo?

for certain, i've pretty much run the gamut with alt-country.

the single off of the soundtrack eddie vedder released a few weeks back is real good. is the rest of the soundtrack as good?

[wilson]

for certain, i've pretty much run the gamut with alt-country.

the single off of the soundtrack eddie vedder released a few weeks back is real good. is the rest of the soundtrack as good?

My brother loves Pearl Jam and all things Eddie Vedder, so he gave it a solid review. I've not heard much of it though.
In a similar vein, check out the new Allison Krauss/Robert Plant album-fantastic. Also the not so new Mark Knopfler/Emmylou Harris album.
As for alt-country (definitely more toward the twangy end of things): the Old 97s and the Derailers.

[DevilCastDownfromDurham]

With all the talk about folk/rock/country I'm surprised no one has mentioned the new Iron & Wine (The Shepherd's Dog) or Mountain Goats (Get Lonely). Those have been going nonstop on my computer. I'll also plug Okkervil River (The Stage Names) and Midlake (The Trials of Van Occupanther), and the new Cat Power (The Greatest). It's been a very good year for this kind of music, IMO.

[DevilAlumna]

Perhaps a little more folksy than rock for the people on this thread, but I just listened to the new Robert Plant/Alison Krause collaboration album and thought it was purchase-worthy.

[merry]

Perhaps a little more folksy than rock for the people on this thread, but I just listened to the new Robert Plant/Alison Krause collaboration album and thought it was purchase-worthy.

I got two new CDs this weekend and almost got that one but hadn't heard any of it yet and decided to wait.

What I did get was the soundtrack from the movie Once (I haven't actually seen the movie though) and I know I'm a few years behind the times on this one but just got White Stripes "Elephant".

[DevilAlumna]

Does anyone here do anything like share playlists or listening patterns, a la last.fm or pandora or Zune Social?

I can be found at http://social.zune.net/member/TruBluDevil

I'm looking for matching music suggestions, so anyone who ranges from DMB to Chopin to Willie Nelson, They Might Be Giants, John Prine and/or Band of Horses, feel free to befriend me!

[SouthgateWindsor]

I've been listening to the following:

New Mastersounds
LCD Soundsystem
K-OS
and for a blast from the past, Tricky (I've got christiansands on heavy rotation)

[billybreen]

They Might Be Giants

Ooh, I concur heartily on that one, but I don't think I can bring myself to hit Teh Social. :-)

[wilson]

The Flaming Lips-love 'em. Especially Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

[rockymtn devil]

Lots of good discussion in this thread, so I'll just jump right in. New Band of Horses is excellent. The reference point for that album is probably My Morning Jacket meets The Shins, with its southern rock meets NW indie. "The General Specific" is one of the best songs of the year, IMO.

Sky Blue Sky is just okay for me. The current Wilco lineup should be its best, but that album just doesn't ever open up for me. Perhaps Wilco has fallen victim to its own success. A Ghost is Born was very solid (even if it tried too hard to be a Neil Young album) and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the best album of the decade. I'm not sure any band could've followed those up with something satisfying. The same can be said for the newest Bright Eyes album, Cassadega, which doesn't have the replay value of 2005's I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (probably my second favorite album of the decade).

What I've been listening to most lately is the new Ryan Adams EP, Follow the Lights. It's essentially a couple of castoffs from Easy Tiger (although they should've been on that LP), and a few re-dos of some earlier work mixed in with an Alice in Chains cover. An enjoyable 30-minute disc.

[willywoody]

the new iron and wine shepherd's dog album is very good. for those who don't know iron and wine it's basically sam beam with help from his sister and a somewhat rotating band after that. very folky low key sound, with somewhat obscure lyrics ala early REM. it really rewards repeat listenings.

the ep he did with calexico last year or so is also great, called In The Reins. i haven't checked out the earlier releases.

and answering another post, i too highly recommend cat power's the greatest cd (not a greateset hits but it sure plays like one) and midlake's Trials of Van Occupanther (reminds me some of the moody blues, melodic but kinda spooky at the same time). these both came out in '06 but i still regularly play them so they have staying power.

[pfrduke]

For those who like Iron & Wine, you may also want to check out Jose Gonzalez. He has two albums, Veneer and In Our Nature. Like Iron & Wine, he sings kind of breathy folk songs - he actually sounds a little bit like James Taylor, particularly on In Our Nature.

[willywoody]

For those who like Iron & Wine, you may also want to check out Jose Gonzalez. He has two albums, Veneer and In Our Nature. Like Iron & Wine, he sings kind of breathy folk songs - he actually sounds a little bit like James Taylor, particularly on In Our Nature.

i've liked a few of his singles i've heard and his work on the last Zero 7 cd. although i'm not so certain about the James Taylor comparison, maybe a little, but if you don't like JT don't overlook Gonzalez.

and another singer to add to this list is Josh Ritter. all of y'all digging wilco and iron and wine need to check him out. i especially like his cd The Animal Years but the new cd is not bad, just not as well recorded. he fits under the Americana/alt-country unbrella and writes some great songs.

[pfrduke]

i've liked a few of his singles i've heard and his work on the last Zero 7 cd. although i'm not so certain about the James Taylor comparison, maybe a little, but if you don't like JT don't overlook Gonzalez.

and another singer to add to this list is Josh Ritter. all of y'all digging wilco and iron and wine need to check him out. i especially like his cd The Animal Years but the new cd is not bad, just not as well recorded. he fits under the Americana/alt-country unbrella and writes some great songs.

The Taylor comparison comes out more in the second album - particularly on a song like "Fold." (actually, listening to "Fold" at work is what prompted me to come on and promote his work). It's certainly not a perfect match, but more like it's a song that I could easily hear James Taylor singing. And it's not every song either - "Heartbeats" (my personal favorite) doesn't really inspire the comparison for me.

Josh Ritter is another excellent suggestion. The second album (The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter) has been very well received critically.

[willywoody]

Josh Ritter is another excellent suggestion. The second album (The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter) has been very well received critically.

oh the historical conquests... would have been a decent album if they didn't screw up the recording and mastering of it, few things most critics would recognize. in fact, most music fans i haven't even noticed it but i find it nearly unlistenable compared to the beautiful sounding the animal years.

and how about Ray La Montagne? i bought his last cd under the guise of giving it to my wife but secretly i got it cause i know its something we both like to listen to. more singer-songwriter stuff not too unlike josh ritter or what i've heard from gonzalez.

[Mal]

In the past, I've been a huge Americana, Alt-Country guy - No Depression subscriber, one of my biggest star moments was meeting Gary Louris, and I could debate Farrar/Tweedy for hours - but I've drifted from the genre of late. Since a number of you are on the subject, though, let me throw in a couple recs. for more obscure bands from the town that brought you the 'Hawks: The Honeydogs and Romantica. The Honeydogs sort of split their time between smart pop rock and twangy alt-country (trending more toward the former in later albums). Songwriter and singer Adam Levy knows his way around a catchy hook for sure. Check out Seen a Ghost for a flavor. Romantica sounds like Whiskeytown-era Ryan Adams with a slightly longer attention span. They're led by an Irish songwriter who ended up in Minneapolis and put together a small band.

For those of you in this thread favoring The Shins, Spoon and the like, I'll put in a few slightly further afield recommendations, though if you're indie enough to be listening to Iron & Wine and Okkervil River and other acts I've seen named here, you've certainly heard them already. First, The Hold Steady. I think Boys And Girls in America rocks - it's Springsteen meets The Replacements. Second, perhaps you tried it and didn't like it, but go back and listen to Come on Feel The Illinoise from Sufjan Stevens. I just rediscovered this album (I know, it's only 2 years old, how can I have lost it and rediscovered it so quickly?), which I enjoyed on the first listening or two but then got distracted and didn't really dig into it enough to fully appreciate it until recently. Anyway, it's sheer genius.

[pfrduke]

First, The Hold Steady. I think Boys And Girls in America rocks - it's Springsteen meets The Replacements. Second, perhaps you tried it and didn't like it, but go back and listen to Come on Feel The Illinoise from Sufjan Stevens. I just rediscovered this album (I know, it's only 2 years old, how can I have lost it and rediscovered it so quickly?), which I enjoyed on the first listening or two but then got distracted and didn't really dig into it enough to fully appreciate it until recently. Anyway, it's sheer genius.

I cannot tell you how much I love these two recommendations. Separation Sunday was my entree to the Hold Steady (I think it's superior to Boys & Girls) - it has great riffs and hooks, and the narrative in the lyrics in superb - all sorts of drugs and Catholic guilt. Moreover, Separation Sunday is actually envisioned as an album - it tells a story (more or less) with recurring characters, and the songs are meant to be heard in order, culminating with a resurrection in the final song. The Hold Steady is one of my two or three favorite bands, and has been since I first heard them. Also, I saw them in concert a couple weeks ago, and they played a couple of new songs (both of which were solid), so I think they've been doing some studio work and will have a new album in spring/summer '08.

Illinoise! is another terrific album, and Sufjan Stevens is another terrific story-teller. I'm not necessarily a fan of his entire vision, but some of the songs he puts out are truly excellent on a stand alone basis. "The Man From Metropolis Steals Our Hearts" is probably my favorite, but "Jacksonville," the two part "Chicago" song, and several others are also great. As an aside, he did a Christmas album last year - if you like Christmas music and like Sufjan, it's a great holiday listen.

[willywoody]

In the past, I've been a huge Americana, Alt-Country guy - No Depression subscriber.

i just dropped my no depression subscription this year. just wasn't finding anything of much interest in there but they do have a great magazine. pretty much just read pitchfork online and mojo magazine now.

i concur about separation sunday, it's one of my top ten of the decade. and you're spot on with the replacements meet springsteen, even without all the twin city setttings.

[DevilAlumna]

Okay, the playlist I put together from this thread is pretty solid (really liking the Jayhawks and John Ritter!), but by the end of the day was just too darned mellow. I had to rock out in preparation for fighting traffic.

I found myself pulling my favorite rock songs into a thread and came up with a few that include:

Streets have no name (u2)
Anna Molly (Incubus)
3AM (Matchbox 20)
Orange Crush (R.E.M.)
When You Were Young (The Killers)

Given these songs as a starter, what other bands would you include?

[rockymtn devil]

Okay, the playlist I put together from this thread is pretty solid (really liking the Jayhawks and John Ritter!), but by the end of the day was just too darned mellow. I had to rock out in preparation for fighting traffic.

I found myself pulling my favorite rock songs into a thread and came up with a few that include:

Streets have no name (u2)
Anna Molly (Incubus)
3AM (Matchbox 20)
Orange Crush (R.E.M.)
When You Were Young (The Killers)

Given these songs as a starter, what other bands would you include?

Here's some that, if you haven't checked out, I'd suggest

Arcade Fire, "Keep the Car Running"
My Morning Jacket, "One Big Holiday"
M. Ward, "To Go Home"
The Decemberists, "The Perfect Crime #2"