Topic: The 'Must Have' List (Read 21182 times)

JJMitchell · « **on:** 09 Jun 2005, 11:00 »

So, being a complete indy n00b, was wondering if there is a list somewhere that people would recommend for listening.

I'm cheap and don't like buying CDs, so I'm looking just for those albums that people would definitely recommend.

Now I know that there is no definitive list, but if enough people say 'You HAVE to listen to this' I'll do it.

Also, isn't this totally not indy? I shoot! I score!

ASturge · « **Reply #1 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 11:11 »

There is a big button saying

'Recommended Listening'

On the main page

Mikendher · « **Reply #2 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 11:16 »

recommended listening is indeed a good place to look. of those i think arcade fire-funeral is one of the best

JJMitchell · « **Reply #3 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 11:25 »

Dang how did I miss that?

Probably distracted by the sweet comic today.

*slap* :)

blindsuperhero · « **Reply #4 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 11:30 »

I'm not sure that they're at all the same thing. I don't consider the Recommended Listening page as a list of the essential indie albums that everyone should have heard, especially as I think all of the records on there were released in the last 5 or so years

JJMitchell · « **Reply #5 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 11:31 »

Hmm, okay how about the older albums?

blindsuperhero · « **Reply #6 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 11:32 »

Give me a few minutes, and I'll get back to you

blindsuperhero · « **Reply #7 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 11:55 »

Actually there are far too many good albums, and in any case I don't know anything about indie music.

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #8 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 15:24 »

Mission of Burma - Signals, Calls And Marches
Slint - Spiderland
The Jesus And Mary Chain - Psychocandy
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
The Replacements - Let It Be
Mudhoney - Superfuzz Bigmuff

All those are considered fairly essential 'indie' albums by a lot of people, and as good a place to start as any other.

Merkava · « **Reply #9 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 15:31 »

Keep it Like a Secret - Built to Spill
Emergency & I - The Dismemberment Plan
Source Tags & Codes - And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - Pavement
The Moon and Antarctica - Modest Mouse
Funeral - Arcade Fire
Mind is Not Brain - Mock Orange
Something About Airplanes - Death Cab for Cutie
Turn on the Bright Lights - Interpol
Mellow Gold - Beck
Relationship for Command - At the Drive-In
Deloused in the Commatorium - The Mars Volta

I'd recommend Frances the Mute (TMV), but it might be too much for someone just starting out.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #10 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 15:40 »

Don't listen to them! Follow your own path! USE THE FORCE LUKE!

Merkava · « **Reply #11 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 15:46 »

The extreme irony in your post arouses me.

dangerouswhenawesome · « **Reply #12 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 16:00 »

I second the recommendation of psychocandy and crooked rain, crooked rain...pure awesomeness. Also the following:

Air - Moon Safari
The Decemberists - Picaresque
The Dresden Dolls- S/t
Elliott Smith - Either/Or
Any album by The Mountain Goats
Any other Pavement album

sp2 · « **Reply #13 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 16:03 »

Quote from: blindsuperhero

I don't consider the Recommended Listening page as a list of the essential indie albums that everyone should have heard, especially as I think all of the records on there were released in the last 5 or so years

Agreed. Not only that, but also it is biased by Jeph's personal tastes. Not to say his personal tastes are bad, but he does leave off some stuff I'd consider essential.

A good example would be the Velvet Underground. There is no excuse for liking indie music and not listening to VU at least once or twice. NO excuse. AT ALL. WHATSOEVER. VU are brilliant, they are catchy, and they pretty much set the stage for everyone, everyone, EVERYONE in the entire genre. Jeph's excuse that he "doesn't listen to anything more than 10 years old because there's so much good stuff out now already" doesn't really cut it in my book. I still listen to stuff like Coltrane and the Duke and various classical (especially the Russian composers...Tchaikovsky brought the rock more than most indie bands, for example) and that's definitely older than a decade. There's nothing wrong with going out and picking up a classic album like Piper at the Gates of Dawn or Velvet Underground and Nico just because it came out more than a decade ago. Please. Songs about gnomes and heroin and bikes are all the rage...why not go back and listen to the masters?

Also, there are albums Jeph just doesn't like that he doesn't include. At the Drive In's Relationship of Command and The Mars Volta's Deloused in the Comatorium are both what I would consider essential even if you don't like that sort of thing. I would probably have to include the Decemberists or The Postal Service on an essentials list even though I don't really like either band. Similarly, ATDI and TMV are essential parts of the current music scene even if you don't like them (well, ATDI less so, now that they broke up, but certainly TMV).

sp2 · « **Reply #14 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 16:07 »

Also, I dunno how big they are in the indie acene, but I've been hearing a lot about the Black Keys lately, from folks who are pretty involved in the scene. Also, I think they're awesome. So, definitely...

The Black Keys - Rubber Factory

If you like rock or you like blues or you like any combination of the two, you will love these guys. They bring the sex like Hendrix did once upon a time.

Merkava · « **Reply #15 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 16:25 »

Quote from: sp2

Quote from: blindsuperhero
I don't consider the Recommended Listening page as a list of the essential indie albums that everyone should have heard, especially as I think all of the records on there were released in the last 5 or so years

Agreed. Not only that, but also it is biased by Jeph's personal tastes. Not to say his personal tastes are bad, but he does leave off some stuff I'd consider essential.

A good example would be the Velvet Underground. There is no excuse for liking indie music and not listening to VU at least once or twice. NO excuse. AT ALL. WHATSOEVER. VU are brilliant, they are catchy, and they pretty much set the stage for everyone, everyone, EVERYONE in the entire genre. Jeph's excuse that he "doesn't listen to anything more than 10 years old because there's so much good stuff out now already" doesn't really cut it in my book. I still listen to stuff like Coltrane and the Duke and various classical (especially the Russian composers...Tchaikovsky brought the rock more than most indie bands, for example) and that's definitely older than a decade. There's nothing wrong with going out and picking up a classic album like Piper at the Gates of Dawn or Velvet Underground and Nico just because it came out more than a decade ago. Please. Songs about gnomes and heroin and bikes are all the rage...why not go back and listen to the masters?

Also, there are albums Jeph just doesn't like that he doesn't include. At the Drive In's Relationship of Command and The Mars Volta's Deloused in the Comatorium are both what I would consider essential even if you don't like that sort of thing. I would probably have to include the Decemberists or The Postal Service on an essentials list even though I don't really like either band. Similarly, ATDI and TMV are essential parts of the current music scene even if you don't like them (well, ATDI less so, now that they broke up, but certainly TMV).

*high-fives for intense awesomeness*

VU is essential to EVERYONE. It's a shame that so many people don't know of them. "OMG IS TAT VELVET REVOLVER?"

*SMACK* - 99999 damage, bitch.

Anyway, I would have picked those two, but since he was just starting out...

sp2 · « **Reply #16 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 16:33 »

Also, just FYI. Piper at the Gates of Dawn is early Pink Floyd (prior to when Syd Barret left and recorded his solo stuff, then turned into an orange). Piper and Ummamagumma are great. Also, so is Barret's solo stuff, like Saucerful of Secrets.

Just FYI, you know.

happybirthdaygelatin · « **Reply #17 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 16:35 »

Meh, listen to VU and never saw what the big deal was. Now Mission to Burma I'd say is more essential listening then anything to do with ol' cadaver Lou.

Merkava · « **Reply #18 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 16:35 »

I like Piper, but Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon were brilliant albums. No matter how "overrated" people may say DSotM is, it's still great.

I never liked Syd barrett.

"I HAVE A BIKE
I RUN IT UP A PIKE"

Lame.

Jooooosh · « **Reply #19 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 16:37 »

Pink floyd is awesome, but i wouldnt call them indie. they also came out with some good stuff after Roger Waters left.

Merkava · « **Reply #20 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 16:41 »

Yeah, I wouldn't say they were indie either. They were too popular.

sp2 · « **Reply #21 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 16:44 »

Quote from: pintsizeshomie

Pink floyd is awesome, but i wouldnt call them indie. they also came out with some good stuff after Roger Waters left.

Their early stuff is pretty much identical to a lot of current indie stuff. They became epic psychadelic only with Meddle.

Also, every Pink Floyd album after The Wall pretty much sucked. Whether the Wall sucked is debatable, but I'd have to argue that it probably did.

Their best album was Animals, hands down.

But, back to indie essentials...

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #22 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 17:21 »

Quote from: happybirthdaygelatin

Meh, listen to VU and never saw what the big deal was. Now Mission to Burma I'd say is more essential listening then anything to do with ol' cadaver Lou.

I'd say they're pretty essential listening given their influence, whether or not you actually like them. Personally I don't really rate Psychocandy, but it is something of an indie classic and a very influential record, so I thought I'd include it as a recommendation.

But for something I do love, let's delve a little into the side of hardcore that was most influential on indie rock:
Fugazi - Red Medicine
Shellac - At Action Park
Big Black - Songs About Fucking
Minutemen - Double Nickels On The Dime

Revenge_Therapist · « **Reply #23 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 18:18 »

Here's what I recommend. Pick up as many label samplers and odd compliations you can find. You'll find cool bands that way. Don't worry about genere and some wil indeed suck, but at least then you found it all on your own. Either that or listen to apackofwolves.

La Creme · « **Reply #24 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 19:40 »

A bit of a change-up:

Eels - Electro-shock Blues
Radiohead - O.K. Computer (not indy, just amazing)
The Sugarplastic - Bang, The Earth Is Round
The New Pornographers - Electric Version
Ambulance Ltd. - Ambualnce Ltd.
Spoon - Telephono (extremely rare, but it's the first album of it's type of brash, staticy post rock that a helluva lotta bands have started ripping off)
Pinback - Blue Screen Life
The Violent Femmes - The Violent Femmes

Many more... but these are all terrific.

Kai · « **Reply #25 on:** 09 Jun 2005, 19:45 »

The Residents - Meet The Residents, Third Reich N' Roll, Eskimo, Not Available, Fingerprince, Commercial Album, Freak Show, Wormwood, Animal Lover.

Frank Zappa - Apostrophe* is a good place to start.

Captain Beefheart - Anything but Bluejeans and Moonbeams and Unconditionally Guarenteed.

Not indie, but it's better than all indie music combined and multiplied by 6.

Also:

http://forums.questionablecontent.net/viewtopic.php?t=5784

We already had this, and it's not that far away.

Coonstar · « **Reply #26 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 01:31 »

I'd definitely say go with The Dismemberment Plan's Emergency & I. First indie album I had ever listened to, and just got HOOKED. It has such amazing lasting value. It's catchy lively enough to get into and still quite different than what would one find on the radio. Hmm how would one call them? "Emo?" =P They have that ocassional self-pitying lyric but they are not like RAWR I AM DEPRESSED, and have more upbeat music. I can't describe it well, there's just something so fascinating about them like they have the essence of a 20 something year old's life encapsulated into a little disc full of the dejection, the excitement, the lust, and the wonders of it all. It's gorgeous.

Tracks to check out from that album: You Are Invited, Spider in the Snow, A Life of Possibilities.

Tago Mago · « **Reply #27 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 05:21 »

Buy these, in this order:

1. The Velvet Underground & Nico
2. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
3. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
4. Can - Tago Mago
5. The Stooges - Fun House
6. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
7. David Bowie - Hunky Dory
8. Scott Walker - Scott 4
9. Faust - Faust/So Far
10. Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance

KharBevNor · « **Reply #28 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 06:57 »

Slayer - Reign in Blood
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Judas Priest - British Steel
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath
Venom - Black Metal
Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Entombed - Left Hand Path

Oh wait! That's not an indie li...

Kai · « **Reply #29 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 06:59 »

Shh! maybe they won't notice!

Personally I prefer Sabbath's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath over anything they did. Although Powerslave rocks my socks.

JJMitchell · « **Reply #30 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 07:01 »

Holy crap thats alot.

Thanks for the input folks.

Keep em coming!

I've actually heard some from some of those bands but I'd love to expand my experience more.

deborah · « **Reply #31 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 07:26 »

don't forget the GBV. indie kids love that drunken bastard, bob pollard.
"Under the Bushes, Under the Stars" was a pretty damn cool album.

the first time i saw guided by voices, there were cases of budweiser snaking their way through the crowd to be delivered to the band. i think bob was responsible for at least one of those cases being drunk during the set.

MilkmanDan · « **Reply #32 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 07:34 »

Phill Niblock - Young Person's Guide to Phill Niblock
Masonna - Frequency LSD
Autechre - Gantz Graf
William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops
Kneale.Francis.Milton - Hiss Methodologies
Sunn 0))) - White-1

That's all accessible, entry-level, upbeat sing-along indie pop. All of it.
Seriously.

Not really. Instead, I second (thrid?) At the Drive-in - Relationship of Command. Jeph hates it, but that's because sometimes Jeph is a bad, bad man.
I'd do more, but i figure if I just plug one, there's more chance you'll check it out. Big lists are very intimidating.

amok · « **Reply #33 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 08:10 »

Quote from: KharBevNor

Slayer - Reign in Blood
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Judas Priest - British Steel
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath
Venom - Black Metal
Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Entombed - Left Hand Path

No Priest?

Vol. 4 is probably as good as Paranoid too, worth a listen.

Kai · « **Reply #34 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 08:23 »

And I'm probably alone on this, but I really liked Master of Reality. Every sabbath fan I've met has either A. Never listened to it or B. Hates it with a passion. I don't know why.

Spencer · « **Reply #35 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 08:24 »

***CAUTION - DANGER - EMO ALERT***

The Getup Kids - 4 Minute Mile

This is the pinnicale of "emotional hardcore" ala "Emo", and dispite whatever labels you want to apply to it, it is an all around incredible album.

I will say nothing of the rest of their catolog.

/end Emo

zekterellium · « **Reply #36 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 08:56 »

anything by cursive, far or rival schools will kill all music you've ever heard before. completely and utterly awesome. also slowdive, swervedriver, eels, appleseed cast and sounds like violence make beauitul music in one way or another.

Kai · « **Reply #37 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 08:59 »

The Getup Kids are playing their final show about ten minutes from my home. Bastards.

Spencer · « **Reply #38 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 09:00 »

Quote from: zekterellium

anything by cursive, far or rival schools will kill all music you've ever heard before. completely and utterly awesome. also slowdive, swervedriver, eels, appleseed cast and sounds like violence make beauitul music in one way or another.

I echo the sentiments about Cursive.

Rival Schools is also fun.

I wish to vastly expand the recommendation of Far to "Anything Jonah Matranga has ever done". Check out Far, New End Original, onelinedrawing, and his new (and super awesome) project, Gratitude.

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #39 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 09:12 »

Quote from: Spencer

***CAUTION - DANGER - EMO ALERT***

The Getup Kids - 4 Minute Mile

This is the pinnicale of "emotional hardcore" ala "Emo", and dispite whatever labels you want to apply to it, it is an all around incredible album.

I will say nothing of the rest of their catolog.

/end Emo

Much as I do like that record and Something To Write Home About. if we're talking emo that's not the essentials. These are:
Rites of Spring - Rites of Spring
Dag Nasty - Can I Say
Moss Icon - discography
Embrace - Embrace
Track down some of The Hated if you can, I heard Troubleman might do a discog sometime but god knows when that'll surface and all their records are not only out of press but ebay gold.

Matranga has the same problem as Schreifels in that both of them have been in steadily worse bands all their lives. So Far and Gorilla Biscuits are essentials, New End Original and Project X are good but you don't need anything after that (okay, maybe Quicksand for Schreifels). Particularly not Gratitude or whatever that godawful new thing Schreifels is peddling is called. Walking Concert maybe? Whatever, they're bad, avoid. Listen to Start Today a lot instead, and remember the days when he had talent.

deborah · « **Reply #40 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 09:34 »

Quote from: zekterellium

anything by cursive, far or rival schools will kill all music you've ever heard before. completely and utterly awesome. also slowdive, swervedriver, eels, appleseed cast and sounds like violence make beauitul music in one way or another.

holy crap i forgot swervedriver even existed until i saw this. mezcal head is the album to get.

Spencer · « **Reply #41 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 10:09 »

Quote from: a pack of wolves

Matranga has the same problem as Schreifels in that both of them have been in steadily worse bands all their lives. So Far and Gorilla Biscuits are essentials, New End Original and Project X are good but you don't need anything after that (okay, maybe Quicksand for Schreifels). Particularly not Gratitude or whatever that godawful new thing Schreifels is peddling is called. Walking Concert maybe? Whatever, they're bad, avoid. Listen to Start Today a lot instead, and remember the days when he had talent.

*GASP* Allow me to disagree vehemently over the inner nets! While I will agree that New End Original isnt Jonahs best work (though a number of his best songs, including "14-41" and "Hostage" came from this period), onelinedrawing is the Pinnicle of the jonah experience, as it is just him and R2D2 on stage. If you havent seen Jonah solo, you have not lived.

BUT!

I really cannot grasp how you could say Gratitude is not good. I mean really, I am dumbfounded. I am not one to argue with one about their own personal taste in music, but really the only thing i can think of is that you are a fan of Far, and not Jonah Matranga (in which case, have you checked out Shaun Lopez' new project, The Revolution Smile?). Gratitude is, in my opinion, Jonahs best work to date. Comparing Gratitude to Far musically is just stupid, cause thats like comparing Apples to Quanum Probability Theory, but in regards to Jonah and his singing and songwriting, I think he is just as good, if not better, than he was in the Far era.

zekterellium · « **Reply #42 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 10:15 »

Quote from: deborah

holy crap i forgot swervedriver even existed until i saw this. mezcal head is the album to get.

good call. and honestly, i know it's a personal thing but united by fate by rival schools is in my top five albums ever, it's completely immense and wonderful. best post-hardcore band ever.

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #43 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 10:28 »

My friend said he wanted to show me a really hideous video by some band on Launch, and that they apparently had some big emo scenester in them. The video started up, and I was just saying that whoever this guy was he could never have been in anything good to make such bad cooker-cutter pop-rock when he said it was "some guy called Jonah Matranga"... I mean, Onelinedrawing, I didn't think that was much cop but I certainly never cringed at the thought of them. But Gratitude's a whole new level of predictable and bad. Not comparable to Far in terms of style, I agree, but in terms of quality... sorry, but he's just sunk to a massive new low for me with this one.

But hey, Tin Cans With Strings To You. Not everyone gets to write a record that good, so it's not like the guy's wasted his life.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #44 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 10:37 »

Quote from: amok

Quote from: KharBevNor

Judas Priest - British Steel

No Priest?

Duuuuuuh

Master of Reality is great. Hell, Children of the Grave is probably my favourite Sabbath song with Ozzy on vocals.

Also, Jesus wept, but I don't know what you people see in Cursive. The best Cursive song I ever heard was a 6/10 in the style (Forced Listening thread on another forum. Some dude set them THREE TIMES). Not really a good band imo, but then I don't really like any of that cra...stuff.

Also, I think everyone in the world should own 'Speak English or Die' by Stormtroopers of Death. Even if they totally hate metal. And 'Chemical Invasion' by Tankard. I mean, fucking hell, the title track is a call for the purity of German Beer! What more could you want?

Kai · « **Reply #45 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 11:52 »

And the intro to Children of the Grave, Embryo, is awesome.

*Goes and looks up metal about German Beer*

happybirthdaygelatin · « **Reply #46 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 15:45 »

Quote from: a pack of wolves

I'd say they're pretty essential listening given their influence, whether or not you actually like them.

Food for thought.

Also

Quote

The Classical Greeks were not influenced by the Classical Greeks. DO NOT CIRCULATE!

sp2 · « **Reply #47 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 15:52 »

That's a nonsequitur and you know it. To understand what makes a band innovative or new or whatever, you need to know where they're coming from. Most music is just a simulacrum or a simulacrum of a simulacrum. So you should be at least familiar with the early stuff, even if you don't like it. I'm not saying it's better or worse. I'm saying that you should be familiar with it if you want to be knowledgeable about music.

And Tchaikovsky was a rock star. Dude brought cannons for the 1812 overture. Tell me that's not fucking metal right there.

happybirthdaygelatin · « **Reply #48 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 16:59 »

Or others can like what they like sans ostentation and that's okay with me and others can enjoy their ostentation and that's okay with me.

Merkava · « **Reply #49 on:** 10 Jun 2005, 17:02 »

Quote from: Coonstar

I'd definitely say go with The Dismemberment Plan's Emergency & I. First indie album I had ever listened to, and just got HOOKED. It has such amazing lasting value. It's catchy lively enough to get into and still quite different than what would one find on the radio. Hmm how would one call them? "Emo?" =P They have that ocassional self-pitying lyric but they are not like RAWR I AM DEPRESSED, and have more upbeat music. I can't describe it well, there's just something so fascinating about them like they have the essence of a 20 something year old's life encapsulated into a little disc full of the dejection, the excitement, the lust, and the wonders of it all. It's gorgeous.

Tracks to check out from that album: You Are Invited, Spider in the Snow, A Life of Possibilities.

*hugs*

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: The 'Must Have' List (Read 21182 times)

JJMitchell

ASturge

Mikendher

JJMitchell

blindsuperhero

JJMitchell

blindsuperhero

blindsuperhero

Merkava

Merkava

dangerouswhenawesome

sp2

sp2

Merkava

sp2

Merkava

Merkava

sp2

Revenge_Therapist

La Creme

Coonstar

JJMitchell

deborah

MilkmanDan

Spencer

zekterellium

Spencer

deborah

Spencer

zekterellium

sp2

Merkava