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YOUR bands.

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Scuba_Steve:
Oh man, this is an easy one for me.

Elliott Smith

I don't know one person who has heard his music and said "That's horrible" sure, some people say it's not their thing but I've never heard anyone say anything horrible about him.

Back in 7th grade I was big into punk (or what I thought then was punk), somehow I found heatmiser. I'm not even sure how they got lumped into any of the bands I was trying to find, but I thought it was okay. It should be obvious that I stumbled upon elliott after that (seeing as he was the bands singer and one of the guitarists).

I first bought his album Figure 8 and oh man, I had major chills after that one. The amount of melody and feeling he put into his songs was amazing. And I continued buy any of his albums that I could find. Sure, some weren't as orchestrated as others, but they all had feeling and told a story through the melodies, even if the lyrics came short. It reminded me of beatles, who I leter found out where a HUGE influence on him.

Then after almost completely finding all of his albums I figured "man, he'd be great live" so I checked the web. That's when i found out he wasn't even alive anymore. I was absolutely crushed seeing how my favourite artist of almost 3 years (and many more to come) died before I even I heard about him, and I still feel bad to this day that there will never be a chance to see him live, there's no chance for a reunion tour like other bands... he won't be coming back.

sjbrot:
Pretty easy for me as well.

Paul Westerberg (of the Replacements)



I first heard about him from a Magnet cover story for one of his solo albums, which means I was rather late coming to the party. Still, there was something about his story that appealed to me. And his music stands out as well. There's something about an artist who makes broken music, an artist who's always in perpetual struggle, that makes me able to relate to him more than any other artist.

He's an unparalleled songwriter in my mind. His last solo album, Folker, was filled to the brims with dirty pop gems that are in near constant rotation on my iPod. "Anyway's All Right" especially. His work with the Replacements is completely ace as well. Tim and Let It Be are inescapably brilliant.

There was a quote in that Magnet article from Westerberg that went something like, "When you swing and miss, people start routing for you." That about sums it up.

Johnny C:
His touting of Westerberg is entirely justified, people.

The Eyeball Kid:
Bob Dylan's my first and only, my one and only love. Awesome lyrics, got me through tough times, influenced everybody, etc. But there are entire books about how awesome he is (and I'll probably write one someday), so I guess i'll just talk about Architecture in Helsinki.

Lemme set the scene for you. Gray day in July. I'm friendless in Australia but I've got tickets for Belle & Sebestian. I'm in the back of the arena. surrounded by people in scarves I don't know. Feeling lonely. Band gets up on stage. I haven't heard of them, but when they play, i'm just... HAPPY. I don't know why, but I'm happy. I can't remember the rest of the show. I dont' even think I enjoyed B&S. But my gig book said "check out Architecture in Helsinki", so for my first real local Aussie gig I go see them.

I'm in a converted church. New Buffalo and Sparrow Hill open and its pretty and perfect. When Architecture get on its amazing again: 8 people on stage and just freeform dancy james. HAPPINESS. This is before I can remember specific songs.

Two months later I see them again at a university. They ask everyone to act like animals and a girl bites me on the ankle as an alligator, winning the prize.

At this point they're just a live band to me. Happy, good vibes. I've downloaded a few tracks but nothing serious. A few months later, having missesd two of their shows, i buy 'In Case We Die'.

HAPPINESS
PURE HAPPINESS
Just bubbly twisting amazing twee happiness, with cute lyrics and neat twists and a million different instruments and just... happy. The album becomes essential to my existence, along with guys like The Decemberists and Dylan.
Hell, their video for 'Do the Whirlwind' http://[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXIzyquw-kcis perfect, a slice of nostalgia pixel stuff.

I love them, and they're a recorded band.
See them at Homebake. Gush about how great they are to one member and get thanked for dancing to their show.
Later I see one of the members at a record store. We talk a bit.
She supports Jens Lekman (as in backs him with some other members of AiH, not opens for him) and after the show she mentions that i'm a 'strapping young lad'. I got laid that weekend and this made me happy.

So... AiH are just HAPPY. I'm not going to claim they're great musically, though they're 8 members of pure oddness and tweeness. They're just happy: live, on stage, in person, in interviews, on LiveJournal, in videos, whatever. Happy nice yay fun loving people.


And long after I forget them i'll still be listening to Dylan

La Creme:
There are tons of bands that I enjoy. Tons. But there are only a few that I really feel are my bands. I love every goddam song by them, I love every note in every song, I love their style, and I love their everything. These few are The Sugarplastic, Mr. Bungle, and the EELS.

The Sugarplastic are first because no matter how many times I listen to them, they continue to baffle me. How can a band so incredibly poppy and catchy have songs with so much complexity and technicallity woven in? Every single one  of their songs is a pop gem, but they aren't pop. Every single one of their songs has a genius guitar part, but nobody knows Ben Eshbach's name. They are incredibly accesable, and yet utterly obscure. They can cover a huge range of music, from the childish jingle-esque "Underwater" to the utterly desolate "Mercurochrome", from the epic build of "Soft Jingo" to the subtle nuances of "Please Mr. B". They are my band, because in every song I hear the best elements of so many other bands: The Beatles, XTC, The New Pornographers, Starlight Mints, The Shins  and so many more. The Sugarplastic can always cheer me up. Unless I need a sobering, humbling moment. In which case there's always "Will", the world's saddest song without words.

Mr. Bungle are next because, despite being defunk'd for 4 years now, they're music is still ahead of our time. The blend of precise playing, perfect chaotic compositions, and an unbridled sense of humor makes them one of the most well rounded bands in... ever. Their music keeps me on my toes in that, whenever I feel like all music is full of dead ends and the same damn things recycled over and over again, Mr. Bungle remind me that music can always surprise you. They seem to have a song for every mood, and for any genre you feel an urge to listen to. If I was forced to choose 5 albums that were the only albums I could listen to for the rest of my life, all 3 Mr. Bungle albums would be on that list. I could probably listen to "California" alone for the rest of forever.

I love every single one of the 175 Eels songs in my iTunes library immensly. I cherish each one, they are my children. I love how E can transform the most simplistic chord progression into a masterpeice, which he seemsd to do in every song. The sound of the Eels is always changing, as the emotion behind it changes as well, and it's always good. No, it's always GREAT. There will never be a second in my life where I won't want to hear an EELS song.

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