Your Twenty Favorite Artists

[gilpdawg]

Dream Theater
Rush
Iron Maiden
Pantera
Nightwish
Lamb of God
Queensryche
Savatage and related projects
Kamelot
Megadeth
Machine Head
Overkill
Slayer
Anthrax
Testament
Judas Priest
The Who
Steely Dan
Black Sabbath/Ozzy
Dio/Rainbow/Dio era Sabbath

[Tornon]

Switchfoot
Breaking Benjamin
Anberlin
Skillet
R.E.M.
Queen
CCR
Red
Everyday Sunday
Green Day
Rise Against
The Who
Capital Lights
Blink-182
All Star United
The Killers
MxPx
Thousand Foot Krutch
Relient K
Elton John

[Will M]

Originally Posted by Revering4Blue

Bah.

Phil Collins performed the Gabriel era Genesis tracks live without missing a figurative beat in concert.

IMHO, the loss of guitarist Steve Hackett was a much bigger blow to Genesis than the loss of Gabriel.

As for the original topic, there's no way I can narrow it down to five, much less twenty, so I'll bow out of this thread gracefully. But you can rest assured that Rush, is in my top 5, even though I may be in the minority here.

Genesis made a couple of really good albums just after Gabriel left (Trick of the Tail & Wind and Wuthering). In concert they added a 2nd drummer so Phil could be front & center when he sang. And Then There Were Three, Duke & Abacab were good and recorded after Hackett left (I think). But by the time of the album Genesis (1983) they had become very pop oriented as opposed to 'art rock'.

I always though Phil's pop sensibilities began to dominate after losing both Gabriel & Hackett. But maybe it was just creative drain. Gabriel hasn't done much since ~1986. Lots of artists seem to dry up at about age 35-45.

[*BaseClogger*]

I didn't realize there are so many Genesis fans out there haha. I don't think anybody in my generation likes them?

[Revering4Blue]

Originally Posted by Will M

Genesis made a couple of really good albums just after Gabriel left (Trick of the Tail & Wind and Wuthering). In concert they added a 2nd drummer so Phil could be front & center when he sang. And Then There Were Three, Duke & Abacab were good and recorded after Hackett left (I think). But by the time of the album Genesis (1983) they had become very pop oriented as opposed to 'art rock'.

I always though Phil's pop sensibilities began to dominate after losing both Gabriel & Hackett. But maybe it was just creative drain. Gabriel hasn't done much since ~1986. Lots of artists seem to dry up at about age 35-45.

In addition to Chester Thompson on drums, as you noted, Daryl Steurmer,a fine guitarist in his own right, also toured with the band.

Hackett left in '77, so the aforementioned ATTWT, Duke and Abacab were indeed recorded following Hackett's departure.

Perhaps it's due to radio overplay, but I never particularly cared for Peter Gabriel's solo work--excluding Live albums--following his Security album. I still much prefer Collins' solo work, excluding the era in which he unfortunately tried to re-invent himself as the next Celine Deon.

[gilpdawg]

I love Trick of the Tail. Collins is singing but Banks/Rutherford/Hackett were still writing stuff that sounded like the Gabriel era. It's probably my favorite Genesis record besides the Lamb. Dance on a Volcano rules.

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by Redhook

Going to see them play at Taft Saturday. Should be a good time.

Here Come the Mummies were awesome in their funky, freaky, dirty kind of . way. They put on one heckuva show and the lead singer, Cass Mummy, is one of the best singers I've ever heard. 2 thumbs up!

[camisadelgolf]

Speaking of mummies, anyone else enjoy The Mummies? I've heard some legendary stories told about their live shows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpPaeBloCXY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr0StuubuaM

[Johnny Footstool]

Originally Posted by *BaseClogger*

What are your favorite albums for these three bands?

Dino Jr - "Green Mind." The first DJ song I ever heard was their cover of "Just Like Heaven" (thank you, 120 Minutes), so I went to the CD shop and tried to track it down. It wasn't available, but Green Mind had just come out, so I bought it instead. I heard "The Wagon," and suddenly I was a different person. That's still one of my top 10 favorite songs.

Afghan Whigs - "Gentlemen". I loved "Congregation," but "Gentlemen" was tighter, and all the songs seemed to flow together into one beautiful story.

Superchunk - "Here's Where the Strings Come In". I was extremely late to jump on the Superchunk bus. I really only got into them in the past three years. Their older stuff was more raw and punky, but this album showed surprising maturity and songcraft. You can (and should) play tracks 1-8 without skipping a song. I should have listed this in the Top Albums thread.

[*BaseClogger*]

Originally Posted by Johnny Footstool

Dino Jr - "Green Mind." The first DJ song I ever heard was their cover of "Just Like Heaven" (thank you, 120 Minutes), so I went to the CD shop and tried to track it down. It wasn't available, but Green Mind had just come out, so I bought it instead. I heard "The Wagon," and suddenly I was a different person. That's still one of my top 10 favorite songs.

Afghan Whigs - "Gentlemen". I loved "Congregation," but "Gentlemen" was tighter, and all the songs seemed to flow together into one beautiful story.

Superchunk - "Here's Where the Strings Come In". I was extremely late to jump on the Superchunk bus. I really only got into them in the past three years. Their older stuff was more raw and punky, but this album showed surprising maturity and songcraft. You can (and should) play tracks 1-8 without skipping a song. I should have listed this in the Top Albums thread.

BTW Johnny, since you are such a big fan of Dino Jr. and Superchunk I would recommend you check out the Karl Hendricks Trio if you haven't already--they strongly remind me of both bands:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oln8yBv_q1o

[Johnny Footstool]

Originally Posted by *BaseClogger*

BTW Johnny, since you are such a big fan of Dino Jr. and Superchunk I would recommend you check out the Karl Hendricks Trio if you haven't already--they strongly remind me of both bands:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oln8yBv_q1o

I'm 30 seconds into this song, and I'm seriously digging them. Thanks!

[Dom Heffner]

Originally Posted by Ravenlord

still selling out arenas world wide. i saw him a while back (i think in March) at US Bank Arena--sold out and a surprising number of people in there late 20s or younger (i'd say about 1/3 of the crowd).

Will you get me this for Christmas? Because that rocks.

http://www.backstreet-merch.com/stor...h_alic113.html

They want 200 bucks to ship it, pass.

[improbus]

I've had a really hard time with this one. My tastes have changed so much over the last 25 years. But, here is my feeble list (in no particular order):

1) The Who: Their energy, creativity, and sense of humor are endlessly entertaining

2) Kraftwerk: Simple, elegant, melodious. Even their relatively recent Tour De France soundtrack is great.

3) Elvis Costello: I love every period of his career, even the Burt Bacharach part where he was trying to write the perfect Bond song.

4) Kanye: His beats are simply the best. Flashing Lights makes me instantly smile. He might also be one of the most honest artists I've ever listened to. In one song, he will present and glorify his arrogance and in the next song he will tell you how it is his greatest weakness.

5) Beck: I'm a sonic guy, not a lyrics guy (generally speaking). Beck is built for me. I really love Sea Changes, his super sad and beautiful breakup album.

6) The Chemical Brothers: I'm a sucker for that stuff.

7) Peter Gabriel: Someone mentioned the Last Temptation of Christ Soundtrack. A work of art.

8) Radiohead: They've got 4 or 5 albums I can play from start to finish, and that is hard to beat in this era.

9) Stevie Wonder: My dad claims that if he could only have one human being sing one song, it would be Art Garfunkel. I would pick Stevie (or Eddie Murphy's version of Stevie).

10) Wilco: I love both their more and their less ambitious stuff.

11) Air: French, Electronic, Might be responsible for Auto-tune...But, they are still wonderful.

12) A Tribe Called Quest: Way fun.

13) The Arcade Fire: Their energy is outstanding and they have 2 or 3 songs on every album that I adore.

14) The Beatles: They've got it all.

15) Bjork: The manic Icelandic lady.

16) Cut Copy: It's like the best remix of 80's New Wave possible.

17) Chopin: I have no musical talent, but if I would learn to play anything, I would want it to be his works.

18) Nick Drake: He only made three albums, but they are beautifully haunting.

19/20) Pearl Jam/Smashing Pumpkins: I'm putting them together and at the end because they both had a great impact on me when I was younger but I have lost almost all interest in either of them. Pearl Jam has almost become unlistenable to me. Maybe it is because I associate them with a younger version of myself that I don't like to delve into or maybe it is Eddie's mumbly voice. The Pumpkins have aged better for me, but not by much.

[SunDeck]

In stream of consciousness order, but what I notice about my list is that it tends toward music that leans toward the less complicated productions. There are of course exceptions, but in general my preference is for music that has a simpler sound, which is why I much prefer, say Del McCoury to the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Neither of them are on the list, but they would be if it could stretch to a hundred or so.

1) Jonathan Richman - I have a copy of "this is", very hard to come by. He may actually be my #1 among singer songwriters.
2) Loudon Wainwright III - Love his attitude, his humor, cynicism.
3) Bob Dylan - Esp. stuff he did prior to turning 25.
4) The Cure - music of my youth, I listen to them to dream about being a kid again.
5) Beatles - no explanation necessary.
6) Led Zeppelin - the beginning of heavy metal and in some ways the place it should have stopped. I blame Black Sabbath for ruining what Led Zep started.
7) Lyle Lovett - Not necessarily the large band stuff, but the front porch music.
8) Kinks - After the beatles, my favorite invasion band.
9) Ani DiFranco - love the way she beats up on the guitar and the fact that she is smart and angry and unapologetic.
10) Louis Armstrong - I once sat in the first row while Doc Severenson was doing a tribute to Armstrong. In between solos, he had to lean on the barrier between us and the stage to recover. I said, "He could play, huh?" and much to my surprise, Doc actually answered me with one of those "between you and me" looks and just said, "Oh, man could he." Armstrong may be my favorite musician of all time- he represents the capacity of music to uplift and celebrate, no matter the times, the difficulties or the circumstances. That he is a founder of American Jazz, despite the difficulties he obviously faced in the Jim Crow South is a testament to his spirit and the magnitude of his talent.
11) Nat "King" Cole - greatest voice, ever, except for my next selection.
12) Ella Fitzgerald - like a syrupy wave of sound, her voice never fails to make me stop.
13) Frank Sinatra - I don't regard him as much of a revolutionary in music, but one cannot deny the quality of his voice and his interpretations.
14) Doc Watson - Father of the father of Bluegrass
15) Benny Goodman - goosebumps are what I get whenever I hear him play.
16) Joni Mitchell - how many tunings can there possibly be?
17) Billy Bragg - His machine kills fascists, too.
18) Vince Guaraldi - unfortunately, there isn't enough of his music to play all the time.
19) Jerry Garcia - Thank you Jerry for bringing Bluegrass to the hippies.
20) Marian MacPartland - The softest touch on a piano I know. Her playing jumps out at me like no other piano player; I can pick her out almost every time. It's so light and jaunty, yet subtle.

[improbus]

Originally Posted by improbus

19/20) Pearl Jam/Smashing Pumpkins: I'm putting them together and at the end because they both had a great impact on me when I was younger but I have lost almost all interest in either of them. Pearl Jam has almost become unlistenable to me. Maybe it is because I associate them with a younger version of myself that I don't like to delve into or maybe it is Eddie's mumbly voice. The Pumpkins have aged better for me, but not by much.

After I wrote this, I started to feel some tinges of regret. So, I went back and listened to their first three albums and had some interesting and new/old observations.

1) When they and Nirvana hit, I remembering feeling that they were something totally new (I had no idea about the Pixies and others, but this was the early 90s and I only knew what was on the radio). But, they sounded much closer to many of those 80s bands they were "rebelling" against than I remember. Switch Eddie's brood for Axl's screech and those bands don't seem as different as I remember.

2) Their first two albums could just be called, "20 or so Power Ballads".

3) I can't tell if I like or hate Eddie Veddar's voice.

4) They had some legitametly great tunes. I loved hearing "Oceans", "Dissident", and "Immortalitly" again.

I think my earlier words were a little too harsh. My musical tasted have certainly changed and broadened over the years, but Pearl Jam does still have a place in my rotation.