Alan's Daily Music Recommendations Thread

Sufjan Stevens · Post by **Sufjan Stevens** » 7/16/2004, 12:55 pm

Alright, I said I was going to do this yesterday, but I finally got around to it today. I'm a busy man, or something like that.

My recommendation has to be Olivia Tremor Control's "Black Foliage: Animation Music"

Here comes the reasoning. It's just an amazing pop record. After listening to two or three of the songs on this album, you can clearly tell that they were heavily influenced by The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" and Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds." Olivia Tremor Control mixes perfectly penned pop songs along with a plethora of different instruments and noises. But with all the mixing, the song doesn't get lost or lose any of its emotion. Therefore, that's why it's my suggested listening of the day.

Recommended Songs: Hideaway, A Peculiar Noise called "Train Director", I Have Been Floated, and Grass Canons.

Do yourself a favor and listen to some songs by OTC and post your comments. Thanks. [/b]

Joey · Post by **Joey** » 7/16/2004, 5:05 pm

i attempted it .. but i use winmx for downloading and it's not finding anything by them .. winmx is crappy that way

areusad831 · Post by **areusad831** » 7/16/2004, 6:56 pm

yea you are never going to find that on a normal file sharing program so either you need a link or upload a song here.

Sufjan Stevens · Post by **Sufjan Stevens** » 7/16/2004, 7:06 pm

Well, fuck. I guess you people could IM me on AIM.

I am "bleedtopleaseyou" and I will have those songs if you want them.

Or someone could tell me where I could upload them so I can provide links to great songs. Either or.

starseed_10 · Post by **starseed_10** » 7/16/2004, 8:30 pm

i just found a lot on LimeWire. i'm downloading right now.

evanw60 · Post by **evanw60** » 7/18/2004, 9:18 pm

Soulseek would probaby be your best bet to find those songs. It's generally pretty good for most semi-rare music.

Sufjan Stevens · Post by **Sufjan Stevens** » 7/18/2004, 9:51 pm

Holy shit. I've been working so much I haven't posted in my thread.

I'm going to recommend a band that is more well known that the Olivia Tremor Control, so some people here can actually find some songs and discuss.

Today's recommendation is Dismemberment Plan - Emergency & I

This album bridges the world of 90s post-punk music and popular music. This album influenced a whole generation of synth-heavy bands, such as Koufax and, more obviously, Hot Hot Heat. There's still a good amount of guitar in this album, so that keeps it in the more normal world, and even scored these guys a minor hit with "What Do You Want Me To Say" so clearly they struck a chord with the people. It's dancy, but not to the point of obnoxiousness. It's good indie music to bob your head to.

Some songs to download: What Do You Want Me To Say, Gyroscope, You Are Invited, A Life Of Possibilities.

Download and discuss, then be amazed.

clumsychild_ · Post by **clumsychild_** » 7/19/2004, 9:03 am

I downloaded Gyroscope and What Do You Want Me To Say. The latter is probably my favourite.

They're good. :nod:

I'll download some more in a bit.

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 7/20/2004, 12:07 am

*waits for What Do You Want Me To Say to download*

Henrietta · Post by **Henrietta** » 7/21/2004, 10:56 am

Alan, you should freelance write for music magazines.

Sufjan Stevens · Post by **Sufjan Stevens** » 7/21/2004, 12:09 pm

I applied to pitchforkmedia.com and that didn't work out for me, so yeah. I'd love to do that, but I'm not much of a writer anymore. I kind of gave up a while ago.

Henrietta · Post by **Henrietta** » 7/21/2004, 1:15 pm

You should start some magazine. Not very many people can analyze music like that. All I can say is "I like it". :lol:

So do most people I encounter.

miss_maida · Post by **miss_maida** » 7/21/2004, 7:08 pm

evanw60 wrote:Soulseek would probaby be your best bet to find those songs. It's generally pretty good for most semi-rare music.

i would have to agree ... i found lots of great artists who are unknown :love:

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 7/21/2004, 7:13 pm

Cass wrote:You should start some magazine. Not very many people can analyze music like that. All I can say is "I like it". So do most people I encounter.

yea i agree. reading this thread is enlightening

Sufjan Stevens · Post by **Sufjan Stevens** » 7/21/2004, 10:19 pm

So my idea for a daily update is failing. Apparently I forgot I was a senior at Best Buy when I made this thread, so yeah, I will try to update this sucker as much as I can.

My recommendation for the day is: The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs

Yes, I know I'm recommending a three cd set that's over 3 hours long and costs $40, but there is a reason I dropped that much coin on the sucker. Stephin Merritt (singer/songwriter) attempts, and succeeds at writing 69 amazing songs about all different aspects of love, and it's not repetitive. Stephin goes all out on his magnum opus, bringing in six different singers to add their voices to his songs, not to mention he is the first man to be able to mix a synthesizer, drum machine, and a banjo together.

Here's some songs to check out. I will give a lot of different songs so you have a broad feel to the music.

Absolutely Cuckoo, A Chicken With its Head Cut Off, I Don't Want To Get Over You, Come Back From San Francisco, Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side, Long Forgotten Fairytale, How Fucking Romantic, Time Enough For Rocking When We're Old, Washington DC, Kiss Me Like You Mean It, Epitaph For My Heart.

Honestly though, if there's one song everyone here needs to listen to, it's "Asleep and Dreaming" off Vol. 2. It's the perfect love song I've ever heard. Ever.

Also, here's the fun part. Listen to the cd, then try to remember that Stephin Merritt is gay. It's always a pleasant shock to realize that these songs you fall in love with aren't your traditional love songs, but sound so perfect, no matter what his orientation is. It's like having Elton John syndrome, realizing that all his love songs are really about men. It's like a fun enlightenment, because no matter how homophobic one might be, Stephin can write songs so beautiful they make you cry.

In other words, listen to the songs. They're pretty fucking amazing.

Sufjan Stevens · Post by **Sufjan Stevens** » 7/21/2004, 11:06 pm

And because I won't be home for the next four days, I will make one more update to this blog of musical goodness.

My recommendation for the weekend is: Built To Spill - Keep It Like A Secret

If you like stripped down indie-rock without all that useless pretention and lots of guitar effects, then you will absolutely love Keep It Like A Secret. This album is decieving. It truly is. The chord progressions are simple. The drums are there to solely add a rhythm to the song. The bass just accompanies the basic rhythms laid out by the drums and guitar. But here's the thing, the album has a lot more to it than you'd think. The lyrics aren't pretentious, but they're not sugar-coated pop-rock bullshit. The solos that Doug Martsch plays are absolutely amazing, and his high-pitched vocals completely own Wayne Coyne's in the battle of high vocals.

Songs to download are as follows: The Plan, Center Of The Universe, Sidewalk, You Were Right, Time Trap, Else.

Just give these songs a whirl. This is probably my favorite album of all time, behind Neutral Milk Hotel's "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea."

If there's one album you need to make an investment in right now, this would be the one. It's not that expensive, most record stores have used copies of it, (for some reason, it gets returned to stores as much as "Last Splash" by the Breeders does...this is another album I'll review in the future) and it seems to be the ignored record of their amazing catalogue, which makes them the most important indie rock band of the 1990s, right up there with Pavement (you'll hear about them too) and Guided By Voices.

olpcc · Post by **olpcc** » 7/22/2004, 12:03 am

yeah built to spill is awesome good recommendation, if i ever have time i'll look into the others

Sufjan Stevens · Post by **Sufjan Stevens** » 7/27/2004, 12:54 pm

Update on a recommendation!

Today, I'm going to tell you about this chick named Mirah. She recently came out with an album called "C'mon Miracle" on the indie powerhouse label K Records.

First off, if you're enthralled with indie music, you already know about Mirah. She'd pretty well known nowadays, after her magnificent work with Microphones and her solo career. Not only that, she disproves the theory that women and indie-rock music don't mix. Mirah is like Kathleen Hanna (Le Tigre) without all the feminism that we've all grown to not love, not to mention Mirah has a better voice too.

Mirah's soft voice and sincere lyrics ease you into an amazing album ranging from songs about frustration with lovers (We're Both So Sorry) to political themes (Jerusalem). The music accompanying her voice fits perfectly, with soft drums, sparse, acoustic guitar, and a plethora of other sounds (accordian and keyboard, to name a couple) makes this album the masterpiece of her short career.

Songs to check out: Jerusalem, Light, We're Both So Sorry, Nobody Has To Stay, Dogs of B.A.

half jill · Post by **half jill** » 7/27/2004, 1:33 pm

I've listened to jerusalem and the light so far. Tis pretty good. :nod:

And now that I'm on a non shitty compter, I'll slowly check out the other bands you've posted about.

xoNoDoubt69 · Post by **xoNoDoubt69** » 7/27/2004, 2:58 pm

i just downloaded the whole album. i really like We're Both So Sorry.