OT - Music Genre

[Doginaus]

Oops. The format changed and it put 2 artist on each line, sorry about that.

 

[TRest]

Love the atmosphere these bands create.

Saw the Bunnymen at the Agora Ballroom in West Hartford.

for the OP, if you like modern alternative rock, you might want to look at the Britpop bands of the 90's. I only discovered Blur a couple of years ago, when they've been around for 20 years.

 

[TasteofUConn]

. . . Sum 41 and Blink 182 . . . The Offspring would be my favorite punk and/or pop punk band.

Throw in Weezer and you'd have about 5-8 hours of music I could listen to.
I call these bands "lifting bands," because - ehem - in my heyday - I always had the best workouts with songs blasting from these bands. I think Dexter Holland, Rivers Cuomo, Tom DeLonge, Doug Hopkins, and Cobain are/were incredibly gifted songwriters. Would loved to have heard what Hopkins and Cobain could have done with a few more years.

 

[Phorcys]

Thankfully, the off-season will soon end.

Until then: “Yalla, Yalla.”

(I have no idea what that means.)

 

[junglehusky]

Back in the day (late 80's / early 90's) you could (maybe) impress people by saying "Yeah I have varied musical tastes - I listen to Slayer AND Toad the Wet Sprocket AND EPMD AND Dizzy Gillespie" or something along those lines. But for the past decade, everybody is an omnivore, you could get into a micro-genre like South African electro and the person you're talking to has already checked it out.

And maybe it's a bummer, or maybe it's cool that music coming out now doesn't have an immediately identifiable era to it. You hear a song from the 90's, 80's, 70's... going all the way back to the 20's, and you associate that song with the time it came out in like, 3 seconds. I think it's kind of cool that there are bands reviving a sound like late 80's thrash-hardore punk-metal crossover, and breathing new life into it:

 

[UconnFanNVa]

Really into Neo Soul, but Musiq Soulchild fan, Dwele, Bilal. 90's R&B, Dru Hill, Black Street..... (yup stuck in the past). Still like 90's - early 2000's rap. Big into old school Jazz, Coltrane, C Parker, Paul Desmond, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Dave Drubeck (Quartet), Stan Getz, Monk, ect.... Thats about it for me, i'm pretty limited and selective. Been listening to so older reaggae lately Toots, Marley, and been listening to some fela kuti (partial to yellow fever and Zombie). Other than that i'll hear other stuff when people play it and i'm there.... I hear Sesames streets nice selection of songs more than i'd like, Zouk music, and old school R&B (marvin gaye type stuff).

 

[Kembacity]

Growing up I loved almost everything. But reggae was always the consistent #1 joy. British band Steel Pulse is my all time fave band.

There is a reggae band out of Hawaii who I think should be grammy worthy. amazing. If you ever get a chance to see The Green please do.



Definitely a lovers vibe throughout their songs.

I too love the reggae, one of the genres that sometimes while listening I think "I don't understand how anyone couldn't love listening to this song", so I will be perusing the Green's catalog while I work today. It sounds like you're far more well-versed in the reggae genre, so you're probably well aware, but if you haven't heard of Gentleman, a German reggae artist, you should check him out. Some of my faves are "Rumors" and "Superior"

 

[JimHurley]

I did. Great trip. Free Springsteen concert + UConn winning the national championship

I was there too. That was an unforgettable weekend.

 

[8893]

Thread convergence: Yogi Berra explains Jazz:

Interviewer: What do you expect is in store for the future of jazz trumpet?

Yogi: I'm thinkin' there'll be a group of guys who've never met talkin' about it all the time...

Interviewer: Can you explain jazz?

Yogi: I can't, but I will. 90% of all jazz is half improvisation. The other half is the part people play while others are playing something they never played with anyone who played that part. So if you play the wrong part, its right. If you play the right part, it might be right if you play it wrong enough. But if you play it too right, it's wrong.

Interviewer: I don't understand.

Yogi: Anyone who understands jazz knows that you can't understand it. It's too complicated. That's whats so simple about it.

Interviewer: Do you understand it?

Yogi: No. That's why I can explain it. If I understood it, I wouldn't know anything about it.

Interviewer: Are there any great jazz players alive today?

Yogi: No. All the great jazz players alive today are dead. Except for the ones that are still alive. But so many of them are dead, that the ones that are still alive are dying to be like the ones that are dead. Some would kill for it.

Interviewer: What is syncopation?

Yogi: That's when the note that you should hear now happens either before or after you hear it. In jazz, you don't hear notes when they happen because that would be some other type of music. Other types of music can be jazz, but only if they're the same as something different from those other kinds.

Interviewer: Now I really don't understand.

Yogi: I haven't taught you enough for you to not understand jazz that well.

 

[storrsroars]

I go to maybe one show a year these days. The last three have been Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Black 47's farewell tour, and just last week, Of Monsters and Men. The only major tour I've paid top dollar to see this century was Prince's "Musicology", and it was well worth the price.

Always been a fan of good power pop, melodies and harmonies. Despite that, the CDs in my car changer right now include Physical Graffiti and Yo-Yo Ma doing Ennio Morricone. Probably 15% of my CD/vinyl repository is classical, 10% jazz, 2% hip-hop, 1% C&W and of the remainder, the largest representation is from the Kinks, REM, Blur, Replacements, Waterboys, World Party, Springsteen, Be-Bop Deluxe/Bill Nelson and Beatles. My favorite album/CD of the past 20 years is Black Grape's "It's Great to Be Straight" and I like "The Bends" more than any other Radiohead. And I think Lyle Lovett has the best live band in the world

Make of that what you will.

 

[Waquoit]

A genre previously new to me that I've been enjoying lately is Afrobeat, for lack of a better term. It sounds like a mix of reggae, funk, jazz. I've seen a few shows at Infinity with Seun Kuti and also the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars that were really good. There are some nice albums from 70's Nigeria that are worth a listen. I also stumbled across an album called "Who is William Onyeabor?" that is just plain cool. Sometimes I need a break from classic rock.

Although I must admit I have rediscoved Jethro Tull lately, listening to entire albums instead of just the radio hits. I missed a lot when I was a kid.

 

[junglehusky]

Really into Neo Soul, but Musiq Soulchild fan, Dwele, Bilal. 90's R&B, Dru Hill, Black Street..... (yup stuck in the past). Still like 90's - early 2000's rap. Big into old school Jazz, Coltrane, C Parker, Paul Desmond, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Dave Drubeck (Quartet), Stan Getz, Monk, ect.... Thats about it for me, i'm pretty limited and selective. Been listening to so older reaggae lately Toots, Marley, and been listening to some fela kuti (partial to yellow fever and Zombie). Other than that i'll hear other stuff when people play it and i'm there.... I hear Sesames streets nice selection of songs more than i'd like, Zouk music, and old school R&B (marvin gaye type stuff).

You should check out Hiatus Kaiyote then.

 

[David 76]

Outstanding Concert experiences anyone?

I guess I'd have to start with the free ticket to Springsteen at MSG, lost my wallet and got it back (minus the cash) and none of that took anything away from the amazing performance.

Sneaking in to the New Haven Arena to see James Brown was a musical and cultural experience for our little band of white boys.

Elton John at the final concert at the NH Arena, when he was still, for me, at his best

And my first concert ever was at Yale Bowl (yes, that used to happen) was Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Co. with Gordon Lightfoot as the warm-up

 

[Revrat]

Saw the Bunnymen at the Agora Ballroom in West Hartford.

for the OP, if you like modern alternative rock, you might want to look at the Britpop bands of the 90's. I only discovered Blur a couple of years ago, when they've been around for 20 years.

Big Bunneymen fan myself and saw them at least once at the old Agora as well. I remember seeing nothing but his lit cigarette for much of the show because of the massive smoke machines.

These days it's drone, experimental, psyche and recently getting into the whole Krautrock thing as I rebuild my LP collection. Really looking forward to the Kraftwerk show here in a couple weeks.

Best show ever? Inspiral Carpets at Toads. I don't dance much but they got me moving. And the recent Bob Mould show at the tiny 7th street club here in Minneapolis when he broke out all the Husker Du Stuff was amazing.

As a side note I just picked up a NewJohnny5 LP that was still sealed. the first band I ever snuck into a bar to see in downtown Hartford at 36 Lewis street I think it was called.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

You should check out Hiatus Kaiyote then.

That is smooth man, flows well with the stuff I like listening to. I'll have to listen some more and add some songs to my list. Good lookin out.

Also like Trumbone shorty type of stuff. Open to suggestions for anything like that that anyone might have to suggest.

 

[Dove]

I too love the reggae, one of the genres that sometimes while listening I think "I don't understand how anyone couldn't love listening to this song", so I will be perusing the Green's catalog while I work today. It sounds like you're far more well-versed in the reggae genre, so you're probably well aware, but if you haven't heard of Gentleman, a German reggae artist, you should check him out. Some of my faves are "Rumors" and "Superior"

Uhhh, never heard of German reggae but will check him out tonight. You will love The Green. Also, a Yarder turned me on to Nasio Fontaine a few years ago when I mentioned how sale my reggae collection was getting. Bought all three of his CDs that I could find back then. No regrets.

EDIT: I Googled him. With eyes closed I swear I am listening to Maxi Priest.

 

[junglehusky]

That is smooth man, flows well with the stuff I like listening to. I'll have to listen some more and add some songs to my list. Good lookin out.

Also like Trumbone shorty type of stuff. Open to suggestions for anything like that that anyone might have to suggest.

Hot 8 Brass Band... I got their first album which has an amaaaaaazing cover of Sexual healing. Thanks for the reminder, I haven't kept up with them and they actually have newer albums that I haven't checked out yet on Spotify. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, rebirth Brass Band are a couple others. If you like New Orleans music and you haven't checked out the Meters, that's some classic stuff. In another direction, Soil + "Pimp" Sessions is a crazy jazz-dance band out of Japan, very high energy... their first album is really good. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are more retro soul in the vein of Amy Winehouse or Mayer Hawthorne except Sharon Jones is actually from that era, not a youngster. That's off the top of my head...

 

[8893]

Also like Trombone shorty type of stuff. Open to suggestions for anything like that that anyone might have to suggest.

Hot 8 Brass Band... I got their first album which has an amaaaaaazing cover of Sexual healing. Thanks for the reminder, I haven't kept up with them and they actually have newer albums that I haven't checked out yet on Spotify. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, rebirth Brass Band are a couple others. If you like New Orleans music and you haven't checked out the Meters, that's some classic stuff. In another direction, Soil + "Pimp" Sessions is a crazy jazz-dance band out of Japan, very high energy... their first album is really good. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are more retro soul in the vein of Amy Winehouse or Mayer Hawthorne except Sharon Jones is actually from that era, not a youngster. That's off the top of my head...

"Trombone Shorty type of stuff" is a tough one, because there really isn't anyone who is doing exactly what he's doing for his signature sound now, which is essentially New Orleans brass with power chord heavy rock. I have been seeing him live regularly and following him for the past 20 years, since he was featured as a child prodigy in his brother James's band. His live shows now cover everything from funk to soul to trad jazz to brass to heavy power rock, and everything in between (btw he just blew the doors off College Street Music Hall in New Haven a couple months ago; I brought the whole family, ages 9 through 49, all of whom have seen and met him several times over the years--he is a great guy).

Guys like Big Sam (with Big Sam's Funky Nation) put on an engaging live show, but his recorded music doesn't touch Shorty, who simply is much more talented and has a much better band, producers, budget and guest musicians.

The straight ahead New Orleans brass that Junglehusky recommends is certainly part of the sound, and Rebirth and Hot 8 are two of the best, but they don't incorporate the rock sound, if that's what you're looking for. Dirty Dozen Brass Band probably has the most of that as among the brass bands; check their excellent album Medicated Magic where they first started incorporating a lot of other instrumentation.

I would also recommend Bonerama and Galactic (I love their earliest albums, which are more stripped down, but their most recent album, Into the Deep, is probably closer to what you're looking for).

I don't do Pandora, but when I was at Mad Taco in Waitsfield last summer they were playing some excellent current and classic New Orleans music (all of which I owned already), and the waitress told me that it was the Trombone Shorty station on Pandora, so you might try that. Two great streaming options are wwoz.org and neworleansradio.com. There are so many directions to go if you want to trace Shorty's roots that it's probably better to listen to something like that and see what grabs you.

If you are looking for the soul and funk angle outside of New Orleans, I'd suggest Raphael Saadiq, Breakestra and Ozomatli. All great and all very different.

And for something totally different, and another great live performer, check out St. Paul and the Broken Bones.

 

[huskyhaven]

Because I'm a middle-aged, suburban white guy and I'm sure I look plenty silly busting out the Biggie, for example.

The music speaks of a life I know nothing about and often uses extremely inappropriate and offense language that I don't condone or use generally myself. So I feel a bit guilty when I'm jamming it and singing it at the top of my lungs. And I'm sure it ain't pretty.

I'm aware that some seminal artists like the Beastie Boys (whom I love) defy the stereotype, but they are the exception.

And I should clarify that what I'm talking about would be considered "old school" rap/hip-hop. I started with Blowfly on vinyl back in the day, then Sugar Hill gang. Growing up in Stratford near the Bridgeport line, I was among the minority on my Pop Warner and Little League teams as a Caucasian, and our teams would routinely sing every word on the bus, with some memorable choreography, so the seed was planted early for me to like a lot of what would follow, up through about Public Enemy, N.W.A., Run DMC, Biggie, Snoop, Beastie Boys, Dre, Wu Tang and Jurassic 5, which is probably about as recent as I get with the genre. I don't know or listen to any of the more recent hip hop or rap artists. The Backspin channel on Sirius captures most of what I'm talking about (it's a preset for me).

But the question of genre always blurs for me. Some say that Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" was one of the first rap songs; others trace it back to Gil Scott Heron--and I love them both.

Americana really does seem to capture the "roots" that cross a lot of the music I love, which can probably all be traced to the Blues. As Wynton Marsalis put it when I saw him speak at Yale, the Blues is to good music as olive oil is to good food.

And to come full circle with that, I present perhaps the best cover ever, by a great band from Austin, the Gourds. I've seen them a couple times at Rhythm & Roots, including on the day that Dr. Dre's son died, when they played this song and were remarkably respectful and irreverent at the same time, as they segued into "Amazing Grace" at the end when it mentions him, and then back into the song again:

Someone knows of Blowfly.

 

[huskyhaven]

I love anything that's played on Little Steven's Underground Garage. My favorite show is MDB'S.

 

[8893]

Someone know of Blowfly.

When I wrote that the other day I tried to think of how old I was when we were listening to "Rapp Dirty/Blowfly's Rapp" on the record player in my friend's room. Pretty sure it was 7th grade. I have no idea how we even got that record, much less how we managed to play it enough to learn every word so well that I can still recite it verbatim.

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that, after not hearing the song for decades, I actually downloaded it a few years ago so I could have it on my iPod.

 

[D-NICE]

I am a huge fan of old school hip- hop. My favorite mc's are KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, and Biggie. My favorite groups are Run-DMC, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan, EPMD, Gang Starr, and Public Enemy. Also, big fan of Matisyahu.

 

[Dove]

I am a huge fan of old school hip- hop. My favorite mc's are KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, and Biggie. My favorite groups are Run-DMC, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan, EPMD, Gang Starr, and Public Enemy. Also, big fan of Matisyahu.

With a name like D-Nice how do you not give a prop to:

 

[superjohn]

Apathy shouting out the whole state and UConn.

 

[junglehusky]

Apathy shouting out the whole state and UConn.

That's definitely joining "CT Shhh" on the tailgate playlist.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

"Trombone Shorty type of stuff" is a tough one, because there really isn't anyone who is doing exactly what he's doing for his signature sound now, which is essentially New Orleans brass with power chord heavy rock. I have been seeing him live regularly and following him for the past 20 years, since he was featured as a child prodigy in his brother James's band. His live shows now cover everything from funk to soul to trad jazz to brass to heavy power rock, and everything in between (btw he just blew the doors off College Street Music Hall in New Haven a couple months ago; I brought the whole family, ages 9 through 49, all of whom have seen and met him several times over the years--he is a great guy).

Guys like Big Sam (with Big Sam's Funky Nation) put on an engaging live show, but his recorded music doesn't touch Shorty, who simply is much more talented and has a much better band, producers, budget and guest musicians.

The straight ahead New Orleans brass that Junglehusky recommends is certainly part of the sound, and Rebirth and Hot 8 are two of the best, but they don't incorporate the rock sound, if that's what you're looking for. Dirty Dozen Brass Band probably has the most of that as among the brass bands; check their excellent album Medicated Magic where they first started incorporating a lot of other instrumentation.

I would also recommend Bonerama and Galactic (I love their earliest albums, which are more stripped down, but their most recent album, Into the Deep, is probably closer to what you're looking for).

I don't do Pandora, but when I was at Mad Taco in Waitsfield last summer they were playing some excellent current and classic New Orleans music (all of which I owned already), and the waitress told me that it was the Trombone Shorty station on Pandora, so you might try that. Two great streaming options are wwoz.org and neworleansradio.com. There are so many directions to go if you want to trace Shorty's roots that it's probably better to listen to something like that and see what grabs you.

If you are looking for the soul and funk angle outside of New Orleans, I'd suggest Raphael Saadiq, Breakestra and Ozomatli. All great and all very different.

And for something totally different, and another great live performer, check out St. Paul and the Broken Bones.

Great stuff man. I want to branch out and start listening to some different artists, but i'm kind of OCD with my music. I listen to songs I like so intensely and so repeatedly for so long a stretch of time. Its a strange thing, but it because overwhelming listening to something new! Sucks because i know i'm missing so many other great artists and songs. Even some of my fav artists it takes me an eternity to get through their collection because 1 song could literally be stuck with me for months. You and Jungle just provided years worth of listening for me ha ha ha. Much appreciated

 

[alexd]

Cool thread. Very cool.

At the very start, I listed a huge list of Americana & Roots artists that I admire....just for the record, my "hall of fame" all time faves also include: Steely Dan, Skynyrd, Led Zep, Stones, Eagles, Pretenders, The Clash, Van the Man, Santana, The Police, U2, Aerosmith...

 

[Dove]

Cool thread. Very cool.

At the very start, I listed a huge list of Americana & Roots artists that I admire....just for the record, my "hall of fame" all time faves also include: Steely Dan, Skynyrd, Led Zep, Stones, Eagles, Pretenders, The Clash, Van the Man, Santana, The Police, U2, Aerosmith...

No Blasters?

 

[Kembacity]

Uhhh, never heard of German reggae but will check him out tonight. You will love The Green. Also, a Yarder turned me on to Nasio Fontaine a few years ago when I mentioned how sale my reggae collection was getting. Bought all three of his CDs that I could find back then. No regrets.

EDIT: I Googled him. With eyes closed I swear I am listening to Maxi Priest.

Ha! This is hilarious because after suggesting him, I checked out to see what he had done recently, didn't know about this unplugged, but put it on last night and was blown away. Such a great show, outstanding soloists on the instruments

 

[alexd]

No Blasters?

AND the Blasters. The list could go on for a while.

Funny....was just cranking them in the car last night. ;-)