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Share your favorite musicians/bands! I want to discover some new music.
My favorite band is Caamp. If you like American Folk, definitely check them out. I’d recommend these:
- Vagabond (most popular)
- No Sleep
- 26
- Lavender Girl
- Strawberries (slow/sad song)
I’m looking for new music so I want to hear what everyone else listens to. Here are some more musicians/bands I love: The Lumineers, Jack Johnson, Tyler Childers, Eric Clapton, John Mayer, and Greta Van Fleet.
I'm a huge fan of The Smashing Pumpkins. I've listened to their music almost constantly for nearly two decades and still get hyped about upcoming releases.
If you're not a fan you might not realise the absolute breadth and scope of the Pumpkins library, Billy Corgan is an incredibly prolific songwriter.
So I'll put a list of songs below that you may enjoy outside of their most well known like Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Tonight Tonight, Today, Disarm, Cherub Rock, and 1979. I've placed them all in release order as well to give you an idea of the bands evolution from 1991-present.
I could list a hundred more no doubt but I've specifically chosen songs outside of their most well known singles to try and illustrate why I love this band so much.
Edit: Added "Untitled"
I too love The Smashing Pumpkins, they are still probably a top 5 artist for me, but I haven't liked much of their newer material (ATUM, Cyr, Shiny and oh so bright)
Some highlights for me are:
I definitely get the newer material not being to your liking, I still don't like a huge amount of Shiny or Cyr but I'm actually kind of digging Atum, some really cool stuff on it in my opinion.
Really good list, Age of Innocence is a great song, one of my favourites on Machina and Geek USA shreds, just unbelievable musicianship from Billy and Jimmy.
I contemplated putting Song for a Son on my list but settled for Freak instead which is by far my favourite off TbK.
Were you a member of /r/SmashingPumpkins or the o-board in the mid-late 00's?
I think too many people do not know how good these guys play because most of what plays on the radio barely touches their actual talent.
Never been on reddit. I was on the smashing pumpkins official forum for a couple years I think after Zeitgeist before Oceania. I believe that forum also linked to a few of their bootleg sites that had hundreds of full live shows that I was also a part of. Really happy they are a band that supports the free bootleg community.
Absolutely agreed, Billy is an incredible guitarist, up there with the best in my opinion and Jimmy is absolutely one of the best drummers to live.
I used to browse and post heavily on the forum during the same period, went under the name afroguy10 so we may have spoken back then. It did, used to link to lots of bootleg sites, other SP fan sites and their collection on archive.org which was I believe one of the largest bands on the site with hundreds and hundreds of live shows available to listen to.
Its always been a huge positive that Billy abd the rest of the band have been happy for fans to document their live shows and distribute them freely.
I've always been a casual fan, but seeing them open up for TOOL a few years ago really impressed me.
Thanks for the suggestions. I like If We We’re Vampires by Jason Isbell, I need to check out the rest of his stuff
Big fan of Sleep Token. Really enjoyed the new album.
I enjoy Kara Jackson first album : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBH5s9zzsAE
In American folk, I like Wovenhand : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tMYNxJEf0A
Kara Jackson's album is incredible. I don't usually listen to singer/songwriter music like that, but Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love is chock full of beautiful storytelling and surprisingly interesting production. Haven't been able to stop listening to it for weeks
Perfume Genius is my go-to when recommending music to folks that are open to anything new. His music and vocal talents are both superb, both working so well to deliver songs that have genuine meaning and thought behind them. Let me know what you think (On the Floor is my personal recommendation from that album specifically).
Hands down my favorite artist has become Elder over the last 5 years. I first sampled and bought their album "Lore" and took nearly a year before I actually put it on my mp3 player to hear it. As soon as it started popping up on that I looked into all of the rest of their work and at that time they had 4 releases that I rate 10/10 (Dead Roots Stirring, Release/Spires Burn, Lore, Reflections of a Floating World) and since then I've absolutely loved everything they've put out as Elder, found their old project "Gold and Silver", new project from Nick "delving" and another new project coming in about a month "Weite" that I'm excited to hear.
I definitely think it's worth checking their whole discography just to see how they've progressed as musicians and moved from Sludge metal to Stoner Doom to Heavy Psych to Progressive Heavy Psych. I definitely think their latest material is more appealing to a wider audience than what they started as.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy0XghYMttI&ab_channel=ELDER
I just got into Elder recently. I haven't made it through their whole disco yet. But I love stoner/doom and especially when it blends with psych, I am excited to keep moving through the albums.
Their most recent album, Innate Passage, is a masterpiece of prog rock/metal. There are still hints of the psychedelic and stoner metal in there but they've really progressed enormously. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jhmxHLJ1XU
For those who like the more traditional progrock sound, they did a joint album a couple of years ago with Kadavar, called Eldovar - check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ8irXtVhtE
Do you want music like you already like, or are you branching out?
Either, I listen to a lot more than what I listed as well. I also like jazz, oldies, classic rock, rap, lofi, and classical. I’m up for whatever.
Anything? Cool.
Daikanjo.
It’s 4:43am and I’m 15 hours into a 16 hour shift, you somehow gave me the perfect music to fit my mood. Also: is that an Ocarina?
Yes!!
Drums, guitar, ocarina, piano, male vocals.
Glad my random rec hit the sweet spot.
If you’re up for whatever and haven’t checked them out, I highly suggest Snarky Puppy.
https://youtu.be/L_XJ_s5IsQc
The Decline of Stupid Fucking Western Civilization by Jordaan Mason. Indie rock with some hints of post-rock. Extremely passionate, emotional and esoteric(?) lyrics. I love this album and have listened to it so so many times. Something about how Jordaan sings makes me want to sing/scream/whine along every time.
Jordaan Mason has another album that is much well known than this one called Divorce Lawyers I Shaved My Head (by Jordaan Mason & The Horse Museum), but I enjoy Decline even more and it's strange to me how underappreciated it is!
Love me some Jordan Mason and fully agree on your preference for Decline. He has that ability to make being off-key work for the sound he’s created and it just makes it that much more emotional. He fills a niche that bridges the gap between folk-inspired artists like Phil Elverum, David Thomas Broughton, and Songs: Ohia and emo-inspired groups like Foxing, The Speed of Sound in Seawater, and Pianos Become the Teeth. Great recommendation.
I love anything Yunomi and anything Neko Hacker.
A couple suggestions, they're all very different so you might find something new you like altogether.
Watchhouse (aka Mandolin Orange)
Cannons
Andrew Bird
Emancipator
Capyac
FKJ
Flamingosis
Rufus Du Sol
Goth Babe
Spoon
Literally just shotgunning out artists I enjoy. I intentionally didn't list their genre, but if you have time and access to something like Spotify I'd try looking them up individually and play a song or two from their top songs list.
If you find something you like you can then use the related artists and playlists feature to find even more stuff you might like on your own!
Hope you find something good!
Haven't checked in on him in years but I liked everything I heard from him.
Some recent plays from me, I am a bit all over the place:
Elder - Innate Passage album (progrock/metal, and as I already commented elsewhere in this thread)
Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest (electronic, downtempo, ambient, IDM) - it's the 10 year anniversary of this release today!
Ne Obliviscaris - Exul (new album, death metal with progressive and classical elements, violins, prog rock interludes)
Sleep Token - Take me Back to Eden (released just a few weeks ago - postrock, djent, alternative rock, even indie in there)
Covenant - Skyshaper (EBM / electronic / techno, overlooked album from wonderful band of the genre)
Given what you posted, this stuff is probably the polar opposite of what you want... BUT:
If anybody but me on here is into Drum & Bass / Jungle, there's SO MUCH GREAT STUFF out there right now. Here's my current / historical top 10, in no particular order:
Culture Shock
Stripped down, no nonsense peak-hour dancefloor goodness. Dark, driving and highly addictive. Been a fan for years. "Rise" is a great example of the bittersweet but uptempo energy he always brings to his work.
Camo & Krooked
Their recent smash Sientelo marked a big step forward from their usually brash, hyperactive earlier work. While still some high-energy stuff, C&K's more mature direction is keeping them in my crates on the regular.
Nick The Lot
Big, cheeky, dumb in the best way jump-up and dance-floor Drum & Bass that takes me back to the warehouse rave era when you just needed a funny sample and a filthy bassline to get the room moving. His remix of Refracta's 'PARIS' is a great place to start.
Drumsound & Bassline Smith
Veterans of the DNB community, these dudes keep dropping a wide range of music in the genre, staying true to their roots in Jungle while pushing the Technique recordings sound forward with each new release, some are breakbeat bangers, others more minimal moody affairs. Lots of range and a DEEP catalog to dig into.
Amoss
Nowwww we're gettin' Deeeeeep. While Amoss' productions are definitely in the darker, more minimal end of the Drum & Bass spectrum, they never drift into a slumber of repetition and over-preciseness. Definitely stuff for the heads, but with soul and flavour to spare. His recent 'Pico De Gailo' EP is a great tour through his sound.
Dunk
Let's go even deeper: Brazilian artist Dunk, formerly 1/2 of Jam Thieves, has struck out on his own and is hitting the scene HARD with stripped down floortools like 'Drama' and 'Deep Tek'. Definitely best enjoyed with heavy bass and something herbal in your system. Takes me back ot the "b-side" days on 12" records where things would get WEIRD.
Mel
Long time KISS FM DJ Mel finally dipped her toes into the production pool in 2021 with the smashing "Protagonist" on UKF, following up with the shredding "Telekinisis" and her latest track 'Exonerate' on Ram. SUPER high energy, heavy and highly percussive DNB that is very close to my own work.. so naturally a bit biased on her stuff, ha! with lots of drama, drama, DRAMA.
Pizza Hotline
Total throwback, PlayStation 1 Jungle vibes from Pizza Hotline. This stuff takes me back to a simpler time of memory cards, mixtapes and suburban summers. If you dig the old-school, atmospheric vibes of LTJ or Big Bud, this stuff will hit, and if you love Video Game Music and classic Japanese electronica, it'll scratch that itch too.
Lens
Definitely a recent fave, her tunes blend the best of Old-school RNB flavoured jungle with new school production made for the modern dancefloor. Plus she mixes records like a BEAST. "Feels Like" is definitely an eternal summertime anthem (And the Workforce remix is CRAAAZY)
Noisia
Can't not include what could be the greatest group of DNB producers of all time. Noisia's work is genre-defining, genre-destroying stuff that pushed everyone light years ahead in sound design, songwriting and emotional impact in electronic music. Even though they're now sadly "defunct", I still keep coming back to their work over and over and over. Still listen to their remix of 'Hold Your Colour' at least twice a week. And 'Could this Be' might be the greatest "I'm not crying you're crying" DNB song of all time.
I've been listening to a lot of Hippo Campus and I can't really explain why their music just hits right for me. I also enjoy some of Peach Pit's work.
I was going to tongue in cheek recommend my own music but that could theoretically doxx myself and it's also not very good - but those two are artists I'd genuinely recommend to anybody.
Also if you're into something different, the Persona 5 Royal OST has some great bops in it.
Hope you enjoy something!
I saw Hippo Campus perform at a festival a few weeks ago. They were so good! I’ve always enjoyed them, but their live performance was mind blowing!
I haven't had a chance to see them but I'd love to! I've heard the recordings from a couple of their live shows and they're awesome live!
Gerry Cinnamon is one of my absolute favourites. Indie folk with a thick Scottish accent and some very blunt/crass lyricism.
Currently on replay are the following bands and songs:
I love New Slang by The Shins.
That's a great song, too! I also listened a bit to Caamp and l find them pretty good.
Based on what you like now, I think you’d really like The Teskey Brothers, a band from australia that are currently touring Europe and either just toured or are about to tour America. Everyone I recommend them to likes them!
My husband and I recently went to watch Marcus King live. I’d never heard of him, but I’m a fan for life now. Great dude, great blues guitar player, sublime voice, incredible show!
For more of a reggae vibe we also saw L.A.B quite recently, a band from New Zealand who make fun, easy, happy reggae music - perfect listen for a sunny day in the garden
Listened to Caamp and am really enjoying it. Added to my Blues/Folk Playlist.
Some select favorites from there:
Sean Rowe https://youtu.be/vd7VqA0ZA-U
Shawn James https://youtu.be/xXcKSLijghs
Ben Caplan https://youtu.be/OoJakk3LTtw
Marty O'Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra https://youtu.be/mDC4ATMjki4
I like Caamp a lot. By and By was on heavy rotation on the Sirius station I listen to during my wife and I's engagement trip, so they'll always have a place in my playlists.
I recently came across Moodring. They remind me a lot of early 00s bands like Deftones and Hoobastank.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6xKM5VYZoDt0H0mPu2Blru?si=KkRll68nQYW0n30lvi14OA
Bands/artists that come to mind are:
There's many more I could mention as well...
Fun fact that I'm sure you already know but I want shared with the class, Oingo Boingo was Danny Elfman's band. Yes, that Danny Elfman.
Something that’s similar wavelength to Caamp:
My go-to band for any occasion:
Recently been playing a lot of:
If you’re open to exploring something totally different from Caamp, I’ve had a fun time over the last few months getting into metal music and its subgenres. I feel pretty basic in that my favorites remain Metallica and Iron Maiden, and I still can’t handle much screaming or harsh vocals beyond what’s in some Mastodon, Operth, and Gojira records.
In my exploration I’ve learned that I tend to gravitate towards New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal stuff. Some of my favorite records that were released this year are:
Fauna - Haken
First Sighting - Blood Star
^^ these folks are a local band too! So I’m extra proud that they’re putting out cool stuff.
The Conquest of Time - Century
And, obligatorily, Metallica’s new record has been getting a ton of playtime from me: 72 Seasons
Hope you enjoy! Let me know if anything piques your interest. (And if anyone else sees this and wants to chat metal, or exchange suggestions, please let me know!)
\m/
Good choices in the classics such as Iron Maiden and Metallica!
For me, I am all about symphonic/gothic/prog metal -- Nighwish, Epica, Within Temptation, and Lacuna Coil consistently receive tons of airplay from my iPod Classic. :)
I'm also a fan of In This Moment (you may not enjoy; she likes to scream/growl a lot).
I will check out the links you've posted and give them a listen. Here's my current favorites from the above bands:
Nightwish - "The Siren" or Nightwish - "While Your Lips Are Still Red" for a slower one
Epica - "Serenade of Self-Destruction"
Within Temptation - "Paradise (What About Us?)"
Lacuna Coil - "Spellbound"
In This Moment - "In the Air Tonight" (an awesome Phil Collins cover)
Serenade of Self-Destruction is such a good song! The part around 5:30 is absolutely amazing. (Also the link opens up a bit loud as a quick warning for
A few of my favorite (sounds like we have similar tastes):
I've got a big FTHC tattoo on my shoulder from 8 years ago, so I'd probably be remiss if I didn't mention Frank Turner; British folk-punk singer-songwriter, has released a lot of music everywhere on the folk-punk spectrum, and just generally a cool guy.
The other band I tend to think of as one of my favorites is Enter Shikari, who are... hard to describe. They're sort of post-hardcore, sort of electronic, sort of pop, sort of rock, mostly just whatever the hell they want to be. Their music is often pretty political ("Sometimes I do wish that apples were our currency, so your hoarded millions would rot in their vault" is from their second album, and hardly the most radical thing they say in some of their songs) but they really just write songs about whatever they want (they just happen to be pretty passionate about certain things).
Aside from that, I listen to a lot of electronic music; Porter Robinson and Madeon make up a lot of that, a lot of music from the doujin circle Diverse System, Tokyo Prose is one of my go-tos for chill DnB, Grum (old and new), been listening to a lot more Dabin after seeing him earlier this year... Electronic music is probably the bulk of what I listen to, and I have a lot of it.
Orville Peck!
Its like outlaw country, similar to Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash.
He’s got two LPs out and one EP. Everything of his is great. His 2nd LP, Bronco, just came out in 2022. Some specific songs to check out to give you an idea if his music - Dead of Night, The Curse of the Blackened Eye, and C’mon Baby Cry.
I haven’t seen him concert yet, but I’ve also heard his shows are amazing.
In the vein of what you already listen to: Typhoon. Their music is the logical conclusion of early ‘10s stomp-clap-hey-core.
I discovered Zaho de Sagazan recently and I am obsessed.
The past year, I've really just been only listening to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. I didn't keep up with them for several years, and they just produce so much music that it was great to look at their disco and see so much more. They are a great band that is fluid in a lot of genres, but for as much music as they release, it's all pretty good. They have bluesy stuff, doom metal stuff, jazzy stuff, pop-y stuff, lots of psychedelic. From more relaxing easy listening to energetic, hard-driving riffs, there is pretty much something for everybody. Plus they are good musicians so the instrumentation is always fun. I especially like a lot of the micro-tonal stuff they come up with.
I've been lately obsessed with "Ummet Ozcan", specifically his song "Kayra." I don't speak Turkish and I've never listened to Mongolian throat singing before but his songs tickle my brain and I can't get enough of it.
Love caamp, check out Noah kahan, mt joy, Matt maeson if you haven't already!
Also, strawberries was the song my wife walked down the aisle to last year!
Wow, we are actually thinking of playing Strawberries at our wedding! I like Mt Joy too, I saw them live with the Lumineers. Matt Maeson, i think I only know Hallucinogenics by him. I’ll check out Noah Kahan too.
It was absolutely perfect! Also, if you're into pop punk check out Hot mulligan
I really like Lupe Fiasco's debut album 'Lupe Fiasco Presents Food & Liquor.'
The album reminds me sonically of a rap version of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Have you listened to any of his other stuff? He's quite likely the greatest lyricist in rap history, but you won't really be able to tell that from F&L, or most of his albums, honestly.
I listen to most of his stuff. I agree he's one of the best lyricist. I'll even go further and say he's the best rapper.
Why wouldn't F&L not showcase his skills? I think it's one of his best albums. I also like his pre-F&L mix tapes a lot too. I think unrefined, raw Lupe was the best. His new stuff is potent too but I resonate more with his early stuff.
You can hear that he's good on F&L, but nothing that would make you say he's top 5 or anything. A couple days ago I actually watched this interview where he explained why there was such an apparent disconnect between his early mixtapes and his debut album. It was vindicating to hear from him, because in 2006 a friend of mine was trying his best to get me into Lupe and hyped him up like he was the best thing since sliced bread, but all I knew was Kick, Push. I eventually heard F&L and thought it was good, but didn't think it made him the second coming of Jesus. It took a few more years of prodding before I listened to his mixtapes, and then my eyes opened.
I was raised in nyc on 80s-90s hip hop so lyricism was a big thing. When Lupe came out I already was expanding myself from hip hop and barely listened to the genre. A high school buddy told me to listen to him and I wrote him off based on only knowing him from Kick Push (my actual response was "that skateboarding rapper?")
Fahrenheit 1st & 15th part 1 introduced me to him. He has a track named "Knocking At The Door" which he pays homage to BIG. But he does it very skillfully by using BIG's style and takes the original track which "Kick in the door" was sampled from. If you weren't a BIG fan you wouldn't even notice what he was doing.
F&L has some of the best hip hop tracks imo. Tracks like "Hurt Me Soul" and "Daydreaming" are two of my all time favorite songs across all genres: including artists ranging from The Beatles to 2Pac. He's more refined with his talent nowadays but there's something special when someone produces something when they're still raw and uncertain if they would "make it."
From F&L you also have top level songs like "He Say She Say", "The Instrumental", "The Cool", "The Emporer's Soundtrack", and "I Gotcha" that can go toe to toe to any best-selling artist's albums/tracks.
Also F&L was also leaked and had a different track list. That version was crazy dope too. Tracks like "Hustlaz Song" and "Game Time" are tracks I still put on rotation even to this day.
Drogas Wave is very nice. I'm not just stuck in the past with him I listen to his new stuff too but nothing invokes feelings as much as F&L to me. :)
Alright, you evidently know what's up! I also was not heavy on the contemporary hip-hop scene when F&L came out, and I think the fact it was quite different from what was popular at the time is part of why it resonated like it did with so many who go to bat for it - it was just a breath of fresh air, I guess. I tend to like harder beats than he mostly used, so I still slept a little bit until I checked out the Fahrenheits and Enemy of the State. I think F&L is maybe his 3rd or 4th-best album, personally. Tetsuo & Youth is my favorite by some distance, and I agree with him when he says that was when he finally managed to marry the hardcore lyricism, conceptual artistry, and overall pop appeal. I do wonder what would have been if F&L never leaked though... I'd have loved to hear some of that stuff properly mixed. Theme Music to a Drive-By is my jam.
I hate to put albums in rankings as "best" because they're all written and meant in their respective times. Between F&L and T&Y is almost a decade! The game, American culture, hip hop culture, everything: you and I, how we ingest content, all changed in those 10 years. I rank albums in respects to how I like them and how they stand the test of time. I would say that Lupe is a pioneer when it comes to his content. He raps about stuff that becomes mainstream 5 years after he does it. Truly ahead of his time.
But since we're here I would rank his official albums as;
That's of course not counting his mix tapes.
Favorite song probably would be a track not on his mix tapes. It's called Dedicated. Most of my favorite tracks from him would probably be pre-F&L mix tape tracks. There's a whole few albums worth of loosies that weren't on the official mixtapes. I'd be happy to share if you're interested.
Again, I know it's all subjective.
Can't believe I didn't mention Theme Music to a Drive-By. That's also my jam!
Oh yeah, obviously all subjective, so maybe I should have swapped 'best' for 'my favorite.' But I try to factor replayability and how well stuff stands the test of time into my enjoyment. Some of my favorite music came out decades before I was born, but can tower over contemporary music even without knowing or before fully understanding its context.
I know Dedicated, and like it too. I don't know if he's got a single song I could name as my favorite though, that's super tough. Go To Sleep, Deliver, Prisoner 1 & 2, Double Burger With Cheese, Say Something, Mural, all of the SLRs, WAV Files, Down, Alan Forever... that's just off the top of my head. I haven't gone to Harvard, but I'm just about a Lupe stan at this point lol. I think I've heard maybe 50% of the loosies; I found a complete list of all his releases the other day on the subreddit and was planning to look up whatever I hadn't heard yet, so maybe I'll drop you a line if there's something I really can't find.
My absolute favorite band at the moment is a group called Half Alive. I saw them in concert this year for the second time and their shoes are always extremely fun.
Social Distortion, all day. Anything from mommy’s little monster to hard times and nursery rhymes.
They go from pretty straigjtforward punk to basically their own blend of like rockabilly punk. 10/10 recommend. You’ve probably heard “Story of My Life” from their self titled album.
If you like rock music with good use of dynamics, I highly recommend Pineapple Thief. Especially this album Tightly Unwound, looks like it isn't on Youtube in full but this is most of it. The tracks missing from the playlist, "Sinners" and "Different World" are pretty great though, if you like the sound.
On the other hand, for folkier (but still rock, sorry) stuff, I'm sure you're already familiar with The Decemberists, but no one has mentioned them here yet, so I'll be the one to pick an album: The Hazards of Love
Streetlight Manifesto. They're one of those bands that, despite sounding like specific genres, can't really be described as a single genre. They definitely have their roots in Ska-Punk, but they've evolved to something different. Their album "Somewhere in the Between" is probably my favourite album of all time.
Tracks from them I love:
A Moment of Silence
The Three of Us
A Better Place, A Better Time
We Will Fall Together
Down, Down, Down to Mephisto's Cafe
Would You Be Impressed
The Receiving End of It All
With Any Sort of Certainty
Right now, my favorite band is YĪN YĪN, a psychedelic rock band from the Netherlands, heavily inspired by 60s-80s Southeast Asian music.
My favorite track is One Inch Punch, but preferably the live version.
Jamiroquai's first two (maybe three) albums are all absolute bangers from start to finish. Roll a joint and prepare for the musical ride of your life ;)