I’m watching “The real reason algorithms are bad for art” by Digging the greats and can’t remember the last time I asked real humans for recommendations for music. At one point, he is going around asking people of artists/albums that they recommend. I thought that was a cool idea. Then I thought, what if I asked lemmy/mastodon/ect and see what you all recommend?
Who is your favorite artist and what song/album would you recommend?
I’m looking to expand my horizons a bit.
I’ll start.
There’s a local band called the red coats. I think they only have one album. I can’t find a Bandcamp link but their music is here should you like to hear them. My wife and I saw them live at tiny little shops.
Jello Biafra from the Dead Kennedys and the members of Ministry, two of my favourite bands, collaborated and made some truly amazing heavy music. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lard_(band)
Or if you’re in the mood for something a little more chilled out you can’t go wrong with Portishead. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portishead_(band)
I got really into industrial my freshman year of highschool, then I got really into punk my sophomore year. I still remember the day I discovered Lard. Went to the record store and heard Forkboy playing on the PA. I was like, that Jello, but not the Dead Kennedy’s. I asked the guy at the counter who it was and ended up leaving the store with both of their albums. They are still in my regular rotation of albums.
Yea Jello Biafra is a highly underrated musician. He’s done a lot of other varied collabs over the years.
This one from the album he made with Mojo Nixon is also amazing. Maybe use headphones if you’re out in public, especially in the USA https://youtu.be/7T7EUSQGxXY
You can never ever go wrong with the Miles Davis album, Kind of Blue.
AURORA!!
I’d recommend The Gods We Can Touch, and when you’re done with that What Happened to The Heart. If you’re wondering who she is, maybe listen runaway, you’ll probably recognize that. Hope you enjoy! :)
You might also enjoy Infections of a Different Kind and A Different Type of Human. I’m a bit of a fan :)
Hey that’s cool. I get my music from “all songs considered” (new music Friday), the NPR podcast.
Last thing I enjoyed was the new album “embers” by God is an astronaut.
If you’re into metal music, Sons of Texas is an underrated band. They’re no longer together, but they put out a couple of good albums.
Also check out Cardinal Black, it’s a blues/rock outfit, and really good.
“Sons of Texas” reminded me of this tune I enjoyed a while back from Maylene and the Sons of Disaster:
I do love me some metal. Its my walking music. Ill check them out, thanks!
Instead of my favorite, which is very well known, I’ve chosen to promote a different awesome song in an adjacent genre:
Destiny Potato - Addict
Excellent song, and the buildup + guitar solo = chefs kiss
A couple of my favorites, in no particular order…
Dessa - Mineshaft II Dessa writes some of the most evocative, lyrically dense songs I’ve ever heard.
The Gits - Guilt Within Your Head The Gits were a Seattle-based punk rock band that were poised to blow up big in the early 90s. Tragically, lead singer Mia Zapata was murdered just 4 days after they signed their first major contract.
Titus Andronicus - (I’m) Screwed A long-running and critically acclaimed hard rock band that’s avoided finding mainstream success. One of the best live acts I’ve seen.
Years back I saw Dessa open for another show. Fell in love with Skeleton Key
I’d like to add Whirlwind by The Gits to this list.
“Softly” by Gordon Lightfoot is one of my favorite songs. On the surface it appears to be about a woman but I don’t think it is. I was listening to it one time when it just popped into my head, “Holy shit. He’s talking about the moon.”
I thought about writing him to ask if I was right and I kind of regret that I didn’t while he was still alive. The man was a poet of highest caliber. If you like or can at least listen to folk music, the album “Gord’s Gold” lives up to it’s name.
My go to favourite band is AFI, and they have a great back catalogue to dig into as they’ve been going since the 90s but have changed their style with the times (although always sort of emo/punk adjacent). I flip flop on my favourite album from them, currently I’d say it’s Sing The Sorrow but sometimes it’s Decemberunderground.
My taste changes frequently though, so for something with a completely different style, I find myself constantly returning to Personal Protocol by 8485, a wonderful hyperpop EP with Drum & Bass influences.
I hope you get something out of any of this, and would love to hear what you think!
Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes is pure 90s hardcore gold. But I think Black Sails in the Sunset has to be my favorite.
Black Sails is definitely my favourite pre-STS album. Absolutely solid front to back
Porter Robinson - Nurture
Just saw him live last night, absolutely incredible concert.
One of my favourites that’s not known very much is Meg Myers. She puts raw emotion into her music.
I was listening to old punk rock and Kamala’s Too Nice by Screeching Weasel came on, which was really amusing in the current American political landscape. https://youtu.be/EjlhlqcCTjM
If you like this one you’ll probably like the whole My Brain Hurts album.
Blanco White, British artist with Spanish/Latin influence. ‘The wind rose’ from his EP is such a good song and I think it reflects his style still. https://open.spotify.com/track/2B2iGPBD6RBWJ11uxtb34t?si=GidmWC2uSoSiDvwbw8XmyQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A18WIUFEZRfWSRDhfnmO9NB
“Giordano’s dream” (both parts) are an amazing listen too. https://open.spotify.com/album/0ZiiZQCm1aez7Kt77j78QG?si=5e5wSsbETP2dNLOLlMVxhg
Choosing a favorite is hard and it changes a lot for me. This time I’ll choose Porcupine Tree and recommend their album In Absentia.
