Top 5 Artists / Bands in Your Playlist + Discussion
BlindPanzer has this to say:
Ok, so name your top 5 bands / artists in your “playlist” right now and what’s so good about them.
They don’t have to be your “Top 5” bands, just w/e you have been listening to lately.
Remember to explain what you like about them~
Top Comments
The Funk Mistress comments:
First of all, I’m not going to post them in any order. I’m just listing the top 5 in general.
Second of all, none of these are my favorite band of all time, which would be
the now defunct Ben Folds Five (but Ben Folds solo can f’ off).
First of all, she has an AMAZING voice, unlike a lot of popular female vocalists today who are popular/successful based on their marketability or who DO have good voices but are so over the top in other areas that they overshadow it.
I also like the fact that her songs are often off the wall. One of my favorite songs of hers, “Samson”, I hated at first, but after subsequent listens, it just clicked.
Sometimes you just have to listen. She’s not just a singer, she’s a poet, so her songs are often filled with symbolism and you have to sift through it to find the deeper meaning. Finally, I love her because a lot of her songs are just weird; she isn’t afraid to do weird ass stuff that people might not get or like.
It’s about her music and her art, not what people like.
What I mean by “variety” is that all of their songs (especially on their newest album) are slightly different, utilizing different instruments, sounds, and methods but they all still sound distinctly like Snow Patrol.
I consistently hear their music and love it without knowing it’s them until later. It’s a very relaxing sound and no matter what mood you’re in, you can take something from their music.
Regina Spektor
There are a few reasons I like her so much.First of all, she has an AMAZING voice, unlike a lot of popular female vocalists today who are popular/successful based on their marketability or who DO have good voices but are so over the top in other areas that they overshadow it.
I also like the fact that her songs are often off the wall. One of my favorite songs of hers, “Samson”, I hated at first, but after subsequent listens, it just clicked.
Sometimes you just have to listen. She’s not just a singer, she’s a poet, so her songs are often filled with symbolism and you have to sift through it to find the deeper meaning. Finally, I love her because a lot of her songs are just weird; she isn’t afraid to do weird ass stuff that people might not get or like.
It’s about her music and her art, not what people like.
Snow Patrol
What I love about Snow Patrol is their variety.What I mean by “variety” is that all of their songs (especially on their newest album) are slightly different, utilizing different instruments, sounds, and methods but they all still sound distinctly like Snow Patrol.
I consistently hear their music and love it without knowing it’s them until later. It’s a very relaxing sound and no matter what mood you’re in, you can take something from their music.
Zeromancer
TornadoChaser sent me two of their songs awhile back and I liked them, but
never really listened to any of their other stuff for awhile after that.
I just happen to be listening to them a lot right now.
They sound very different from a lot of the other stuff I listen to and maybe that’s their appeal. As with most of the stuff I tend to really like, I can’t really figure out WHY I like them.
The lead singer (Hayley Williams) is the kind of girl I usually see fronting a band and roll my eyes at, but she really has a good voice. Not as good as Regina Spektor and not the range, but she has a very distinct sound and I can’t say I don’t enjoy it.
The band itself is good too, but nothing that stands out in my mind. I judge stuff more on vocal merit first, then lyrics, and then band* so maybe that’s why I like this group so much: the singer’s unique voice.
*I’m not saying the lyrics or the band are less important than the vocals by any means. I’m just saying that’s the order I happen to take things in. I’m more apt to listen to songs by a group with a bad band but good lyrics/vocals than to listen to a bad singer or sh*tty lyrics with an outstanding band.
I really only cared about the theme and never really gave them a second thought. But due to a recent DL binge, I went and got more of their stuff.
Some of their songs are just recordings of people talking placed over music and I’m not really too much into that.
But their other stuff is very breathy and dreamy and sometimes I’m just in the mood for escapist songs. Stuff I can put on and zone out and not have to think too much.
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) comments:
I know I’m not contributing, but damn. Snow Patrol is a wacky name.
TornadoChaser comments:
They are my favourite band.
But to answer what I like about them without saying “everything” and that being that, I would say that I like the sound (particularly of the self-titled album), the live shows, and the fanbase. It goes beyond what I hear off the albums with them.
What do I like? I like the music - especially driving to it - as well as the lyrics. However, these guys I first experienced live, so it was their energy in that atmosphere that made me like them in the first place, and that’s where I enjoy them most.
Warped Tour ho!!!
I also love that I fell in love with the music before ever seeing any visual representation of them.
Also, they are also great fun to drive to in the car.
They sound very different from a lot of the other stuff I listen to and maybe that’s their appeal. As with most of the stuff I tend to really like, I can’t really figure out WHY I like them.
Paramore
This is a band I’ve only really been listening to recently, but I do like them
a lot.The lead singer (Hayley Williams) is the kind of girl I usually see fronting a band and roll my eyes at, but she really has a good voice. Not as good as Regina Spektor and not the range, but she has a very distinct sound and I can’t say I don’t enjoy it.
The band itself is good too, but nothing that stands out in my mind. I judge stuff more on vocal merit first, then lyrics, and then band* so maybe that’s why I like this group so much: the singer’s unique voice.
*I’m not saying the lyrics or the band are less important than the vocals by any means. I’m just saying that’s the order I happen to take things in. I’m more apt to listen to songs by a group with a bad band but good lyrics/vocals than to listen to a bad singer or sh*tty lyrics with an outstanding band.
Psapp
I was introduced to this band when I downloaded the theme song to the show
Grey’s Anatomy.I really only cared about the theme and never really gave them a second thought. But due to a recent DL binge, I went and got more of their stuff.
Some of their songs are just recordings of people talking placed over music and I’m not really too much into that.
But their other stuff is very breathy and dreamy and sometimes I’m just in the mood for escapist songs. Stuff I can put on and zone out and not have to think too much.
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) comments:
I know I’m not contributing, but damn. Snow Patrol is a wacky name.
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30 Seconds to Mars
(as if you couldn’t see this one coming a mile away)
They are my favourite band.
But to answer what I like about them without saying “everything” and that being that, I would say that I like the sound (particularly of the self-titled album), the live shows, and the fanbase. It goes beyond what I hear off the albums with them.
Aiden
These guys are like my guilty pleasure.What do I like? I like the music - especially driving to it - as well as the lyrics. However, these guys I first experienced live, so it was their energy in that atmosphere that made me like them in the first place, and that’s where I enjoy them most.
Warped Tour ho!!!
Coheed and Cambria
I like that they, like 30, have built a whole mythology around themselves, but
in a different way. I also love that I fell in love with the music before ever seeing any visual representation of them.
Also, they are also great fun to drive to in the car.
Nightwish
About the only female voice I tolerate, and that makes them special. There’s
something about them that I really enjoy, and I can’t quite quantify it.
Celldweller
It’s high energy music, and - you guessed it - good for driving (I realise
this is about the third time I say “it’s good for driving”, but I guess that’s
when I most realise it ’cause I pick particular things for long drives. This
is one of them...)
TornadoChaser comments again:
Honourable mention: The Carmina Burana
I know, not an artist OR a band, hence the honourable mention. As one of my
friends put, it’s “music to conquer worlds by”. The Funk Mistress responds:
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) wrote:
I know I’m not contributing, but damn. Snow Patrol is a wacky name.
I know I’m not contributing, but damn. Snow Patrol is a wacky name.
How is it wacky? They patrol snow. It’s perfectly normal.
TornadoChaser: Dude, you barely beat me to the post where I make fun of you and go, “TornadoChaser’s top two are gonna be 30 Seconds to Mars and Aiden. Also, probably Nightwish.”
TornadoChaser responds:
Mwahaha! I win again!
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) comments:
BlindPanzer comments:
Let’s try to keep this about the thread topic only, please. You have countless other threads you can procrastinate in.
The Funk Mistress comments:
Well, I guess we can’t heat the place up with some dirty deeds, cause that would melt all the snow.
Also, in relation to the whole music industry / downloading debate: I went to Best Buy today to get my dad his birthday present (The Professional on DVD) and his Father’s Day present (still pending) and decided to try and get some CDs for myself to support artists.
TornadoChaser: Dude, you barely beat me to the post where I make fun of you and go, “TornadoChaser’s top two are gonna be 30 Seconds to Mars and Aiden. Also, probably Nightwish.”
TornadoChaser responds:
Mwahaha! I win again!
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) comments:
“Hey. I found some snow acting up over there, but I got it under
control.”
“Oh. It’s beeen a pretty slow day for me. Only a few lost snowflakes.”
“Guys, remember to keep the temperature down, otherwise we won’t have
anything to patrol.”
BlindPanzer comments:
Let’s try to keep this about the thread topic only, please. You have countless other threads you can procrastinate in.
The Funk Mistress comments:
Well, I guess we can’t heat the place up with some dirty deeds, cause that would melt all the snow.
Also, in relation to the whole music industry / downloading debate: I went to Best Buy today to get my dad his birthday present (The Professional on DVD) and his Father’s Day present (still pending) and decided to try and get some CDs for myself to support artists.
However, they didn’t have the CD I wanted and I only had 20 dollars to my
name. I decided that for right now I needed the money more than Opeth.
*edit - I know my post was off topic, too. But at least it was related to music.
DJ Hadoken Exlamparaaghis comments:
Speaking of Snow Patrol, they are playing at The Warfield by my school soon.. I just saw them posted up when I was walking by.
DJ Hadoken Exlamparaaghis comments again:
I think I lose interest too quickly to care that much.. plus I don’t listen to entire albums at a time. Just a bunch of random songs. Which I know is exactly what BlindPanzer hates.
The only bands I’ve listened to consistently lately are Lordi and Under 17... But I have no real reason other than that’s what happened to be on my playlist and I’m too lazy to load other albums onto my playlist.
BlindPanzer comments:
Although it’s not flashy, the band is incredibly musical because they know just the right notes, and chord progressions to play to really take a song to the next level. This is leaps and bounds superior to any music out there right now, including metal.
Recommended song to listen: “So Did We”.
Another band that just touches upon the listener’s emotions, but as opposed to Isis’s uncertainty as to where the song is going to go, with Riverside you can almost predict where the song leads.
It isn’t so much that it is predictable, as much as it is wishful thinking come true. You know that solo you always thought would make that song perfect? It’s in there. How about that reprise that would bring the song full circle and make it one of the best listening experiences you’ve heard? It’s in there too. It flows so well, and it just hits you.
Recommended songs: “Conceiving You” or “Second Life Syndrome” if you want to hear something longer (15 minutes of pure musical bliss).
*edit - I know my post was off topic, too. But at least it was related to music.
DJ Hadoken Exlamparaaghis comments:
Speaking of Snow Patrol, they are playing at The Warfield by my school soon.. I just saw them posted up when I was walking by.
DJ Hadoken Exlamparaaghis comments again:
I think I lose interest too quickly to care that much.. plus I don’t listen to entire albums at a time. Just a bunch of random songs. Which I know is exactly what BlindPanzer hates.
The only bands I’ve listened to consistently lately are Lordi and Under 17... But I have no real reason other than that’s what happened to be on my playlist and I’m too lazy to load other albums onto my playlist.
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Isis
A brilliant mix of both post-rock ambiance and sludge metal heaviness. Their
albums hit me emotionally, and that’s just from the music, not the subject.
Although it’s not flashy, the band is incredibly musical because they know just the right notes, and chord progressions to play to really take a song to the next level. This is leaps and bounds superior to any music out there right now, including metal.
Recommended song to listen: “So Did We”.
Riverside
Take the best elements from Opeth’s mellower side, add a bit more of a Pink
Floyd influence, and impeccable songwriting... what do you get? Well, seeing
as you already saw what band I’m talking about, it’d be a bit redundant to
answer that.Another band that just touches upon the listener’s emotions, but as opposed to Isis’s uncertainty as to where the song is going to go, with Riverside you can almost predict where the song leads.
It isn’t so much that it is predictable, as much as it is wishful thinking come true. You know that solo you always thought would make that song perfect? It’s in there. How about that reprise that would bring the song full circle and make it one of the best listening experiences you’ve heard? It’s in there too. It flows so well, and it just hits you.
Recommended songs: “Conceiving You” or “Second Life Syndrome” if you want to hear something longer (15 minutes of pure musical bliss).
Death
Someone once told me in a forum that Death was the best metal band, bar
none.After many months of listening to them almost endlessly, I think I might agree... or at the very least concur. They are DEATH metal, but at the same time so much more... jazz influenced, meaningful social lyrics, incredible use of dissonance, impeccable musicianship in any song you listen to.
Dragonforce sounds like they don’t know how to play instruments compared to this band.... And I don’t mean to say this because I hold Dragonforce in any sort of high position in metal (quite the opposite). It’s more to piss off DJ Hadoken and show what real musicianship is.
Recommended songs: “Crystal Mountain” (if you want to hear a ’catchy’ song), “Spirit Crusher” (for sheer technicality... just hear that drumming!).
Jeff Buckley
I probably haven’t heard a better voice in rock (that’s including a certain
Freddie Mercury).Although he died with just one album in his catalogue, that album has stood the test of time and is still one of the best rock albums I’ve heard.
Haven’t heard of Jeff Buckley? Go buy his album, Grace, and you’ll see what the fuss was/is about.
Recommended song: “Grace”. They have a live performance in YouTube. It’s not heavy, just go see the damn thing, the song is like 4 minutes long.
Just make sure to watch it till the end (how hard is that?!).
That last third of the song has a jaw dropping vocal performance (or if you want to skip, just skip to 04:02 and on, which is just about a minute before the end).
Wastefall
They are influenced by a little known band called Pain of Salvation, but these
guys are heavier and focus more on being technical.Great lyrics and awesome guys. I chat with the guitarist almost on a day to day basis about the band, politics, and such.
Yeah, that’s right... that’s me bragging. And with their new album (came out on Tuesday) officially in the mail with its destination being my hand, I’m officially crazy with excitement.
Their last two albums were definitely something to write home about, and I expect the same level of awesomeness as their other releases. I’m seeing these guys live in September... go Greek metal!
Recommended song: “Empty Heaven”.
I will definitely check out the recommendations made by you guys.
Thanks for sharing!
The Funk Mistress comments:
DJ Hadoken Exlamparaaghis wrote:
Speaking of snow patrol, they are playing at The Warfield by my school soon.. I just saw them posted up when I was walking by.
Speaking of snow patrol, they are playing at The Warfield by my school soon.. I just saw them posted up when I was walking by.
Yeah, but they are so awesome that it’s already sold out.
I like this “Top 5” list things we sometimes do. It introduces me to a lot of new stuff I would probably never have found on my own. Except for TornadoChaser. You can’t know TornadoChaser for more than 5 minutes without knowing about 30stm or Aiden.
And now her car is going to be a psychotic mobile ad campaign for 30stm. Psycho, volunteering to cover your car with band stuff. I love no band that much (well, maybe Ben Folds Five).
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It’s all about the ZACK ATTACK!!!
Recommended song: “Friends Forever”.
BlindPanzer comments:
Hey TornadoChaser, if you like Nightwish and Therion then you might enjoy Epica, which is sort of like the musical love child of the two.
TornadoChaser comments:
I shall Pandora them at once. I believe I have heard some of their stuff before and liked it. Thanks.
EDIT: I HAD heard them and liked them. They must have come up on my Pandora before.
BlindPanzer comments:
I’m seeing them live in September as well.
RockRanger comments:
I’ve been going through a progressive epoch lately.
Edge of Sanity
Ever since I heard their Crimson album in its entirety (beginning of
spring semester ’06), I have not been able to not hear this band on a daily
basis.They are 50% catchy , 50% heavy and 100% kick ass.
Listen to “Incantation from Crimson II” or anything from the album
Moontower.
Genesis
I still can’t get over what a good vocalist Peter Gabriel was during his time
in Genesis.Add to that incredible musicianship from the rest of the band, and you have one of the best bands I’ve heard in a while.
Check out their song, “The Musical Box” (not their best but very accessible).
Opeth
I love this band, especially how well most of their albums stand to repeated
listens.And when I say repeated, I mean on a daily basis. I go through different periods with this band, and there’s always something to hear.
Right now, I am going through a “My Arms, Your Hearse” phase with them. Check
it out.
Riverside
BlindPanzer mentioned these guys, and he can explain their grandioseness much
better than I. These guys rock.
Check out “Loose Heart” from their Out of Myself album.
Pain of Salvation
I am not as big a fan of these guys as BlindPanzer, but that does not mean I
don’t like them. I seem to always be listening to these guys.
Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of their album, Remedy Lane.
TornadoChaser comments:
I’ve been listening to quite a bit of Genesis as well, actually. I blame David Copperfield.
DJ Hadoken Exlamparaaghis comments:
Yeah, I’ve been listening to Genesis a lot lately too. I blame Dr. Robotnik.
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) comments:
Wow. I’ve been listening to a lot of Genesis lately as well. I blame Mr. Cooper.
... of Hangin’ with Mr Cooper fame.
The Funk Mistress comments:
When I was little, I had a Genesis tape. One of those tapes that only had two songs on it. I listened to “I Can’t Dance” for like three months straight.
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) responds:
Did you put it in your Teddy Ruxpin?
The Funk Mistress comments:
Nothing is scarier than Teddy Ruxpin sans lower jaw singing “I Can’t Dance.”
The Funk Mistress comments again:
Except for zombies. I cannot stress this enough.
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) responds:
Teddy Ruxpin zombie?
The Funk Mistress responds back:
Why do you have to say that sh*t? Are you TRYING to give me nightmares?
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) comments:
He’s already missing his jaw, much like many zombies.
TornadoChaser comments:
I’ve been listening to quite a bit of Genesis as well, actually. I blame David Copperfield.
DJ Hadoken Exlamparaaghis comments:
Yeah, I’ve been listening to Genesis a lot lately too. I blame Dr. Robotnik.
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) comments:
Wow. I’ve been listening to a lot of Genesis lately as well. I blame Mr. Cooper.
... of Hangin’ with Mr Cooper fame.
The Funk Mistress comments:
When I was little, I had a Genesis tape. One of those tapes that only had two songs on it. I listened to “I Can’t Dance” for like three months straight.
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) responds:
Did you put it in your Teddy Ruxpin?
The Funk Mistress comments:
Nothing is scarier than Teddy Ruxpin sans lower jaw singing “I Can’t Dance.”
The Funk Mistress comments again:
Except for zombies. I cannot stress this enough.
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) responds:
Teddy Ruxpin zombie?
The Funk Mistress responds back:
Why do you have to say that sh*t? Are you TRYING to give me nightmares?
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) comments:
He’s already missing his jaw, much like many zombies.
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