wed.feb.04. 5:04:50pm
Auditory therapy
It's been a while since I've been to a decent concert (Hieroglyphics being the last one I really went to), and it hasnt been since summer of 2002 that I actually went to a real rock concert (Warped Tour 2002). Radiostar playing at CRC doesn't really count. Ever since last summer, when I found out about bittorrent, I've sampled a ridiculously insane amount of music genres. A year ago, I wouldn't have half a fuckin clue that %90 of the music I've listened to since then even EXISTED, let alone played good music.
I don't mean to name-drop like OH-SO many "hipster" fucks like to do out in HXC, scenester "indy-land," but I think it's worth mentioning (at least to me, personally) all the bands and performers I've genuinely listened to and seriously enjoyed. And no, not the kind of "oh, I like these guys because it's what the cool kids listen to." Most of the band names the "cool kids" drop are usually lukewarm at best with me.

112
Possibly my most favored R&B group, they've come back after many years of nothing. A must-listen, considering they're GREAT sexin' music.

311
The very beginnings of all things rock for me. I first heard their debut album back in middle school, when a classmate let me borrow the CD. Seeing as how they've endured since I had my first listen, I just had to indulge myself and finally get their From Chaos album.

Aesop Rock
This man is smooth. The lyrical content, the flow patterns, the vocal delivery. One man wrecking crew of the hip-hop world. When he finally catches on with the rest of the deluded fuckers, I'll smile from ear-to-ear as mainstream is shown, "what's really good." Plus, he's white, so fuck Eminem, hahah.

Atmosphere
Another cool emcee, with more of an angsty edge about him. The only album I have of him, God Loves Ugly, deals a lot with romantic rejection and shit. Still pretty cool.

Belle & Sebastian
A scottish indy/folk rock band I keep reading about online. I decided to give them a try and downloaded a bundle of all their EPs combined. Not bad, not bad at all. The vibe coming from them is totally serene and holistic, and has a slight calming effect on me. Good enough!

Blackalicious
South Sac represent! Actually, I've known about these two for a while, it's just that I was able to get a hold of their A to Z EP recently. Gift of Gab is monstrously great.

The Blood Brothers
Gah, I actually have "Rey" to thank for once in my life. I mean, I respect him, but not hanging all over his nuts like the majority tends to do. But whatever, moving on! This band is crazy. Like some kind of primal scream music, where I'm enthralled for an unexplained reason. It's hard to find their music on the net, as I believe that their quite "underground" that rarely will anyone have a complete discography. Which explains why my compilation is highly incomplete. From what I've heard so far, Burn, Piano Island, Burn and March On! Electric Children rock me hard. "Siamese Gun," and "Cecilia and the Silhouette Saloon" are tracks I find myself singing to uncontrollably.

Brand New
Oh shit, this is THE band. Not quite "underground," not quite "mainstream," this is the sound that made me love punk rock again. Deja Entendu is a solid album, but it's Your Favorite Weapon that got me hooked. I'm just missing one song from their Safety In Numbers split LP. "Mix Tape" is actually starting to sound awesome to me lately.

The Clash
I suck, but they DEFINITELY do not. I think you deserve to kick me in the face for being a true punk-rock poseur by not having listened to The Clash earlier.

Cursive
I liked Domestica most, and generally a hodgepodge of selections from Ugly Organ, Storms of Early Summer, Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes, and Burst and Bloom. Have yet to fully hear The Disruption EP and the 8 Teeth to Eat You split LP. This Saddle Creek band has probably been the mainstay of my playlist ever since I caught on to them via Ryan of defuser, whereas I will generally burn a CD or send my iPod and wipe its presence from my hard drive. "The Night I Lost the Will to Fight" and "Art Is Hard" are particular favorites. I titled an English 301 essay after the song "The Game of Who Needs Who the Worst." Heh. I'm not particularly fond of their Saddle Creek counterpart, Bright Eyes, though. I don't really see what other people like about them. That voice, man, that voice. I'd rather listen to a bitch-made crooner like Chris Carraba than Conor Oberst. Personal pref, don't hate.

Dead Prez
I want to be a militant black panther because of their Let's Get Free album. Too late now, I should have bought this album years ago.

Death Cab For Cutie
Whoa. So I said I couldn't stand Bright Eyes' vocals, but somehow Death Cab's vocalist gets to me in a good way. Which explains why I dig The Postal Service as well. From their latest album, I like "Passenger Seat" most, for personal reaons.
Death Cab's other albums are really good as well, and I'm especially liking the sound of You Can Play These Songs With Chords!

The December Drive
Actually, they kind of suck. I like one track O.K., but the rest doesn't jibe well with me (yes, I said JIBE). Well, it's not as bad as listening to Against Me! and that new album As The Eternal Cowboy. That was weird, Jaime even attests to it. Unless I downloaded the wrong album...? But yeah, December Drive is pretty whack, but still a lesson in music sampling.

Deltron3030
I'm slow on music, and I hate myself for never grasping the greatness of this album. I need to upgrade my grey matter.

Electric Six
Where have you been all my life? These guys are crazy-badass. All their songs are highly danceable, like the disco version of Hot Hot Heat. VERY good. Their album Fire is the hotness to the max. I'm glad this kid, Devin, mentioned them. And I think they're playing at COACHELLA!$*#. HOTDAMN!*%@

God Speed You! Black Emperor
Another great blend of rock stylings and another music genre. Something like an experimental fusion of symphonic sound with that "indy" rock edge. And there's no vocals, so it's perfect soundtrack music for meditation and shit. GENIUS. There are more albums in their repertoire, but I was only able to listen to Yanqui U.X.O. I have no idea what the album title even means. I think Bobby recommended this band once. Danke!

GORILLAZ
Old school, I know, but I was finally able to listen to their whole album. M1-A1!

HIM
His Infernal Majesty, a cool Finnish rock band. They've got this hard rock sound to them, but in fact, their album Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights is really about sappy love. Which is good. Their symbol is the heartagram, a great perversion of the pentagram. Their kind of music is dubbed, "Love Metal." Hah, awesome. These guys are great, reminds me of 80's hair bands and their monster ballads.

Hot Hot Heat
HHH is RADNESS in a paper-bag. Retarded analogy aside, the band is great. The lead vocal, Steve Bays, rocks the keyboard like no ones business. "Talk To Me, Dance With Me," is the FUCKIN song. If I could, I would not hesitate to seduce "Ms. B" with this song. Alex knows who I'm referring to. This artista chick, Elysse caught me onto them, despite the fact I would have heard about them on the radio and tv anyway.

Incubus
I've been a more serious fan ever since their Morning View tour came to my town (and I scored two free tickets) and they rocked the fuck out of that arena. I never knew the intensity of "Circles" and "Privilege" could cause the pit to transform into a human wave of gyrating bodies. At the Pennywise show during Warped Tour 2001, I was literally lifted off the ground for a mere second or so, but during this concert I SWEAR I didnt feel the floor for at least 2 minutes. That was rad. I consider "Drive" to be one of my favorite songs ever. A Crow Left To The Murder is sounding really good, too, and I'm glad I was able to get it the night before it was officially released. A megalomaniac is one psychopathologically afflicted with delusions of grandeur and omnipotence.

Interpol
Another great band debuting with a major release album. I had heard of them before, but as usual, had no idea what their sound was like. Now that I've heard it, I love it. It's mellow with tracks like "Untitled and "NYC," but doesn't hesitate to break your neck with "Say Hello To Angels" and "Roland." They've been around the scene, but I was far too ignorant of the music in those days to have been able to embrace this.

Jay-Z
Greatest rapper alive, eh? The point can be argued until the Annunaki come, but the point that is irrefutable is that The Black Album is fucking grand. He pulled out all the stops and went out with the perfect bang. Aside from singles, "Change Clothes" and "The Threat," I truly dig "Lucifer" and "My Name Is Hov."

Ludacris
What happened, maaaannn? You were doing great with Back For The First Time and Word Of Mouf... and then you drop this? Aside from "Stand Up," the only other track that I would find worthy of bumpin in my g-ride is "Hip Hop Quotables." Chicken and Beer is a weak album, nowhere near the sheer bumpnitude of Word of Mouf. For shame.

Mad Capsule Markets
I will make a movie and use their music as the soundtrack to my action sequences. It's going to be instupituous.

The Mars Volta
More rock goodness. The boys of At The Drive In split and would later form two new bands, Spart and this. I remember when Alex first bought their latest CD, De-Loused In A Comatorium, and he bumped it pretty loud in his apartment when we got back. The feel of their sound was unmistakable, and I knew I had to fully enjoy this album sooner or later. Thanks to a trade of music CDs between Alex and I, I was able to swap Incubus' new album, The Postal Service, and The Strokes' Room On Fire for this CD, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and a compilation cd called OM Lounge 8. Pretty fair fuckin trade. ROCK.

Muse
Another great find thanks to Elysse. At first, I thought, "Oh, another one of those bands," where I categorized them as some kind of indy rock band with lead vocals that sound whiny. After running through Absolution, I retracted that assumption, because to ASSUME is to make an ASS out of U and ME. Mostly me. I didn't hesitate to get a hold of their older albums, Showbiz and Origin of Symmetry when I had a chance.

OutKast
Ahhh shit. The fiery hotness, or rather, the ice coolness, of this duo is unmatched. THE BEST of southern stylistic cadillac playa rap, because it is more than evident that everything else sucks donkey balls (Ludacris exempt). Loved ATLiens; adored Stankonia; Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is the best double-CD delivery EVER. I want to one day do a rock cover of "Hey Ya!"

Phantom Planet
Just got a hold of this CD today, and it's sounding good to my ears. Not groundbreaking or anything, but it's still passes the test of buzzworthiness. Although I've never fully listened to their last one, The Guest; "California" was a well-received mainstream hit.

Placebo
One of the best bands to ever grace my humble ears. I have no idea how I heard about them, but I would thank whoever exposed me to this band endlessly if I could. After listening to them (as well as most of the other bands mentioned), I formally denounce The Used. Because they suck. Must find Black Market Music and their first, self-titled album. "Bulletproof Cupid" and "Second Sight" are the shit.

The Postal Service
If you've heard of them, then you should already know how great this collaborative duo are. If you haven't, you fucking better go to the goddamned record store and check this shit out. Think electronica, but with Death Cab For Cutie's vocals. Which it is. And it Rocks, capital "R." The beats are infectious, the vox permeates the groove, and voila, instant rock-your-face. "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight," "Such Great Heights" completely defines the validity of this albums ownage. The best part is that it's like listening to old school NES game music. Shitchyeah. Reminds me of Elkland, too. +++

The Strokes
FUCKFUCKFUCK. I <3 this band. Is This It? was great, Room On Fire expands on that same principle. I didn't even realize that I was jammin to this album a full month before it was even released. Thank you, bittorrent. The whole album is pure goldengoldengolden.

The Sex Pistols
More punk rock goodness. Between this and The Clash, I feel like laying waste to my previous punk rock musical tastes. Fuck Blink182, Sum41, Allister, The Starting Line, A Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, etc.

The White Stripes
Elephant is a rad album. The music is catchy, the lyrics engaging, and the overall vibe is great. The cool thing is that I can easily learn just about any song on that album, since it's so simple and effective. I've got "Seven Nation Army" and "The Hardest Button To Button" nearly understood, ready to rock & roll.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Another big thanks to Alex for letting me borrow this CD. Just by listening to their latest album, Fever To Tell, I can already say that I like this band a lot. Like other punk bands out there with female lead vocalists, this band does not dissappoint. They make me miss the good old days of Tsunami Bomb and Lucky Strike.

Hopefully, I'll be able to fully sample the sounds of Every Time I Die, Story Of The Year (maybe), The Pixies (I better!), The Shins, Boys Night Out, Aceyalone, Snow Patrol, The Darkness, Ladytron, and whatever albums or bands I've already mentioned.