Recommend one artist

[microwaved]

While hardly a no name band, I'd like to recommend one of my favorite bands, Pitchshifter. Wikipedia calls them british industrial, but I wouldn't really know how to classify them. I just like love them for their high energy style of music.

My favorite album by them is www.pitchshifter.com, and here are a few of my favorite tracks off of that album:

W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G.
Genius
Microwaved (hey that's my name)

[fjafjan]

Oh why did this have to degenerate from a very useful "hey listen to this song" to the standard useless "hey here is a list of fourty artists I like, listen to all their songs and see if there is something you like".

Anyway, here is my songs, I am posting two because you all broke against the rules anyway
First
Silverbullit, since they don't have any Youtube videos out (that I could find) you just have to listen from their home page, and I recommend Citizen Bird - Joy.[alternatively Arclight - Run]

Second
Bear Quartet - Ask me don't Axe me

[parkaboy]

Capercaillie

i was going to put them in "bands no one knows" but that might be an assumption of my limited American exposure. *shrugs*

[davef]

Yup, they're fairly popular in these parts.

[Sneds]

J-LIve

If you enjoy hip-hop from the 80s/early 90s but aren't into 50cent etc, check out this guy.

[OmegaLord]

I am sorry and officially UNRECOMMEND every previous recommended band by me to recommend the Decemberists. OK. My work here is done.

[Enneract]

The Arrogant Worms.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8FbV4zT_ZTY

(the live videos of them on youtube are poor, that will have to do :\)

That, or the Pogues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27qKcply96M

[Klye]

Underground Orchestra

Fairly unheard of Latin-Based Instrumental group. Very good.

[Gaz]

Butterfingers - Brisbane hip-hop. Songs like I Love Work, FIGJAM and Jesus I Was Evil are pretty awesome.

Cog - In Cog we trust. Slightly progressive rock. Pretty much every song is awesome.

Goyte - uhh....I dunno. He broke massive in Australia last year and for good reason, his album was pretty damn cool.

Grinspoon - Well-known rock band, but Chemical Heart is one of my favourite songs ever.

John Butler Trio - Blues/roots band, pretty mainstream. Putting them up because I have no idea how they fare overseas. Zebra, Used To Get High, No Excuse, Daniella and Better Than are pretty much what you expect on their albums.

Thats some Aussie artists off the top of my head. Some are mainstream but I'm curious about how well known they are overseas.

[RedWolf]

Do Make Say Think

Favorite songs:
Auberge le Mouton Noir, Horns of a Rabbit

I would link to a youtube video or something, but after a quick 10 second search, I can't find any decent/not-live ones

[Adalwolf]

Hmm, well, there are tons of great metal bands I could recommend, but here is one:

Artist: Iuvenes (great black metal band from Poland)
Song: Glory to the War
Link:
[url]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWEzr0xOSLs[/url]

Other metal bands I like, and you may like: Windir, Falkenbach, Ensiferum, Turisas, Immortal, Emperor, Darkthrone, Dark Forest, Gorgoroth, Carpathian Forest, Korpiklaani, Marduk, Hammerfall, Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, Nile, Summoning, and many, many more!

[Enneract]

Oh yes! I can't believe I'd forgotten

Vanessa-Mae

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nQ798THmR5Y

[Slice84]

The Cat Empire, they're pretty immense in Australia but have been steadily gaining fans everywhere, as they should, they deserve it. They sold out several venues here in the US early last year, before their American debut album even dropped... Kinda latin/funk/ska/happygoodtimes music. Enjoy

http://www.last.fm/music/The+Cat+Empire

I'd start with Two Shoes on the last.fm page, they've got a ton of great material deeper in their albums though.

[Gaz]

The Cat Empire, they're pretty immense in Australia but have been steadily gaining fans everywhere, as they should, they deserve it. They sold out several venues here in the US early last year, before their American debut album even dropped... Kinda latin/funk/ska/happygoodtimes music. Enjoy

Wicked band. They deserve to take off internationally.

[Shazgonk]

I can't recommend The Birthday Massacre enough. After following them for about two years, I finally got to see them live on Monday when they played DC. That had to be one of the greatest shows ever. Great energy and every single one of their songs sounds unique.

[Belial]

Dancing angel and an appreciation of EBM.

My approval of you only grows.

Edit: Holy shit, I approve of you because you're Ian. Hi Ian.

[Shazgonk]

Howdy

[Celestial]

I really recommend this song for anyone that appreciate a good beat... http://youtube.com/watch?v=IusP7zQzZ6c&feature=related

[pinkgothic]

Pre-ramble disclaimer: I am an utter tool of Apollo Four Forty. Objectivity not given. Do not attempt to search for any semblance of it if you value your time.

Now that that's out the window with...

Please tell me there are other fans on this forum. I searched and only found one reference to Krupa, which left me with a painful, empty feeling inside. Given the opinion that no one in their right mind can hate this band (see above), I have faith in that, and am thus hoping the collective opinion hereabouts isn't entirely "eh, yeah, they're not bad, I guess", which would leave me heartbroken.

Unfortunately, I don't know where to start! The thing which excites me so much about Apollo Four Forty is that they are the polar opposite of samey. If you're looking for a distinctive style, other than, "Oh, this is good," you will not find anything. They've done just about anything from ethereal to metal, crossing over techno, jazz, blues, and hip-hop, angry songs, melancholic songs, funny songs...

Oh, and, don't look at their singles. You might get a "samey" impression from those. Trust me when I say their choice of singles does not do them justice.

I just spent an epic eight minutes and forty seconds rivetted to my seat by Pain In Any Language (wow, youtube has everything), which I to my shame must admit I haven't listened to it months. It prompted me to want to post here, in that frothing ramble you now see. However, that song is probably not a good choice of first listening for emo-haters. If you're in that category, I would rather recommend, say, Tears of the Gods (I retract my statement about youtube), which should cater to you more, unless you can't deal with a little misogyny (I was offended when I first heard the song, until I learnt to appreciate the humour). Of course, there's little one can do wrong with instrumental songs, so I suppose if neither of those strike a fancy, grab a hold of Altamont Superhighway Revisited (I definitely retract my statement about youtube).

I don't really know why no one finds these guys so intriguing. Maybe they're just that notch too successful to sink their roots into the indie scene they themselves so adore; and just that notch too unsuccessful to stick in anyone's minds - between a rock and a hard spot?

I would offer the challenge, "Name a genre and I'll give you a song of Apollo Four Forty's that covers it," but I know there are far more genres than Apollo Four Forty songs, so it is doomed to be met at some point and embarrass me.

Albums, in order of recommendation:

[1997] Electro Glide In Blue (jazz, blues, ethereal, drum'n'bass, some stuff I can't peg; ends like it starts and comes full circle, and is crunchy on the inside)
[1994] Millennium Fever (techno, trance, dance, metal, and a juicy dance cover of Don't Fear The Reaper fans of Blue Oyster Cult should probably steer clear from (ruined purity alert, but needless to say I prefer @440; don't stone me now); debut album, maybe a bit sloppy at the edges, but done with epic amounts of (dark) love)
[2003] Dude Descending A Staircase (...I don't know where to start! Anything and everything? Probably most like Electro Glide In Blue, in the genres spanned, but it varies greatly. Newest one, with a psychadelic cover art from Anthony Ausgang which looks like (and probably is) the result of an acid trip.)
[1999] Getting High On Your Own Supply (rock, hip-hop, trip-hop, the hard stuff... my least favourite album because that isn't my world, but good regardless)

Singles you probably know:

Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Dub. I wait for the day someone doesn't like this song (though since I've now said so, I'm sure the first response will be something like OHGODMYEARSBLEED). (on: Electro Glide In Blue)
Lost In Space. Aw, come on. You must know this one. It's a lot more awesome if you knew the original Lost In Space series, mind. (on: Getting High On Your Own Supply)
Stop The Rock. There's no escaping this one, is there?! (on: Getting High On Your Own Supply)

If you fail to recognise any of the three songs, then where on earth have you been living the past twenty years?! o.o [I may actually be tempted to join you...]

Now, please... some love... someone... somewhere? *fret*

[apeman5291]

Definitely one of the most under-appreciated bands of all time, in my opinion:

Nickel Creek:
When In Rome
Smoothie Song
This Side

If it helps, they were managed/produced by Alison Krauss.
They released three CDs, "Nickel Creek", "This Side", and "Why Should the Fire Die?"
They also went on their farewell tour recently.

[sleepygamer]

Now... I love Pantera, but they are kinda well known, and most of you that are into metal have probably heard of them...

Oh well, here's a video by them: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Eun24RZRJTM "5 Minutes Alone". Also, if you can, listen to Cowboys From Hell, Mouth For War, Walk, I'm Broken and Live in a Hole.

Okay, now for a less well known band, Evile. They are a British thrash metal band, and are touring with Megadeth soon. If you like Megadeth, you'll probably love Evile.

Here's their song "Enter The Grave": http://youtube.com/watch?v=TrZvBlk4PL8

The live videos of them suck because they are generally filmed on shitty cameras, and don't get their audio feed from the mixing desk. But you might find some good ones soon after the tour with Megadeth!

P.S. I know that's two, but I couldn't choose. My list would be very large if I had my way.

[Detritus]

The Cat Empire, they're pretty immense in Australia but have been steadily gaining fans everywhere, as they should, they deserve it. They sold out several venues here in the US early last year, before their American debut album even dropped... Kinda latin/funk/ska/happygoodtimes music. Enjoy

Wicked band. They deserve to take off internationally.

Yes please.

I recommend 20 Minute Loop. I think they are amazing but I don't know anyone else who listens to them. After hearing two of their songs I bought an album, then within two days of that one arriving I bought their other two. And I don't buy music on impulse.

I'm not really sure how to describe them, and I don't listen to any bands I can compare them to. Creative indie rock/pop with two vocalists (male/female) that harmonize really well together, with lots of chromatic melodic lines. Just listen to them, I guess.

Decline of Day is maybe their best album, and the other two are also great. You can download some songs here or here. I don't think those are their best but of the ones there, maybe try Our William Tell first, then Miriam Hopkins (both on the MySpace page)?

[ellummoxo]

Tough thread for a music nerd such as I, but I'll go with The Knife as they are my latest find. "Silent Shout" is a pretty overwhelming chunk of electro-awesome sauce. Is it me or is Sweden kicking some serious artistic ass these days?

[kellsbells]

Five pages and not a single mention of Arcade Fire? A tragedy! Or maybe they're too mainstream now? Well, if you don't know them, check them out immediately.

Otherwise, I recommend Andrew Bird...indie rock/folk/awesome. Fantastic musicianship and lyrics that are totally unexpected and make me laugh or cry, depending.

http://www.andrewbird.net/AV.htm has several songs off the new album (Armchair Apocrypha) available to listen.

The video for the single (Imitosis) off that album: http://youtube.com/watch?v=hnXCzFnkxtY I love that song, but there are others even better, most notably "Heretics".

[dbsmith]

Shit, i just stumbled upon this and immediately went to post Andrew Bird too....bastard!

[kellsbells]

Sorry. But high fives for knowing and liking him!

[Ebeth]

Five pages and not a single mention of Arcade Fire? A tragedy! Or maybe they're too mainstream now? Well, if you don't know them, check them out immediately.

hear, hear! arcade fire is brilliant

i'd recommend sonata arctica. they're currently my favorite metal-y band, but you don't have to like metal to like them. they're like dragonforce, but a lot better.

i would also recommend dire straits (two is more than one i know, but they are both fantastic), and if you like dire straits, then mark knopfler's solo stuff is also fantastic (although not quite as amazing...sailing to philadelphia was the only song that i absolutely loved (by which i mean it was so much better than the others, which were also great but not as incredible). dire straits is 70's, but they have a very classic rock kind of sound, and they tell a story with every song.

[DYRE]

i'd recommend sonata arctica. they're currently my favorite metal-y band, but you don't have to like metal to like them. they're like dragonforce, but a lot better.

I was actually about to recommend them.
So... now I have nothing to recommend

[kellsbells]

Ooh ooh, can I do another? I pick Okkervil River, especially their album The Stage Names, and most especially the song "Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe". It's hard to explain it without hearing it... indie rock that is soft but involves some wonderful yelling, fantastic melodies, and the most poignant lyrics ever. The band is great, and this song is on constant repeat in my head.

[TheAmazingRando]

Ooh ooh, can I do another? I pick Okkervil River, especially their album The Stage Names, and most especially the song "Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe". It's hard to explain it without hearing it... indie rock that is soft but involves some wonderful yelling, fantastic melodies, and the most poignant lyrics ever. The band is great, and this song is on constant repeat in my head.

Seconded, along with all their other albums and songs. Definitely one of my favorite bands.

[kellsbells]

Ooh ooh, can I do another? I pick Okkervil River, especially their album The Stage Names, and most especially the song "Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe". It's hard to explain it without hearing it... indie rock that is soft but involves some wonderful yelling, fantastic melodies, and the most poignant lyrics ever. The band is great, and this song is on constant repeat in my head.

Seconded, along with all their other albums and songs. Definitely one of my favorite bands.

It's so nice to find people with similar music tastes. Most people I mention these bands to all go "Huh?"

[Zak]

No More Kings

Basically their songs are choc full of pop culture references, and they have an awesome sound, the one music video that they have out now features the entire male cast of the Karate Kid.

They have an awesome site here

I would also check out their myspace

I honestly think that these guys are going to make it big, like international big.

[Ishindri]

I'm going to say Blind Guardian. They're a German power metal group, and they are completely awesome. Their songs often have mythical themes, but rather than just singing about dragons, their allusions are a bit more specific. They did a whole concept album based on the Silmarillion.

A live performance of 'Valhalla'

Part 1 Part 2 - And Then There Was Silence

Battlefield

Punishment Divine

The Soulforged

Okay, that's enough. For now.

[Ziggy]

Coheed & Cambria. They're a bit of an acquired taste, but once you get used to Claudio Sanchez's voice (think Geddy Lee but a bit higher at times) you'll freaking love them. Here are a few of their best:
Welcome Home the music video is censored and shortened, here is the full version set to scenes from Troy.
The Suffering
Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)
The Crowing
Crossing the Frame

[Ebeth]

They did a whole concept album based on the Silmarillion.

need! that is amazing *is a sad little nerd*

[Amnesiasoft]

Voltaire.

[aaron]

i second the flaming lips. yoshimi battles the pink robots has got to be one of the more perfect albums i've heard in this past decade.


but my recommendation goes out to the manic street preachers. i don't have access to youtube as i'm on my school's computer, but try to find:

faster
yes
a design for life
your love alone is not enough
4st 7lbs


really great alternative rock. some of their earlier albums (the holy bible comes to mind) have really twisted lyrics combined with incredible melodies. basically, it's horrifying and beautiful. after their lyricist disappeared (richey james edwards), their albums got a little more britpop-ish, but it's still good stuff. highly recommended.

[jamesmcm]

Iron Maiden

Here's The Number Of The Beast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icAzyx8EsKU

The Trooper rocks too

[Ebeth]

Voltaire.

i second that! God Thinks is a song that everybody should have to listen to. And Goodnight Demonslayer is just the cutest thing ever.

[wery67564]

Future of the Left,

with seconds to Okkervil and andrew bird!