Any rock recommendation? Preferably w/ good drummer?

[Bol]

So here I am a new resident of Austin, TX. Indie rock is all the rage here, and the local record store (Waterloo) seems to stock only about a dozen jazz titles. So, I am thinking that I should go the Roman route and get into a little bit of rock. Any recommendations? I haven't listened to rock music since the 1980s. I still like a bit of U2 and a bit of REM. My favorite I guess is the Police -- I went to 3 concerts during their recent reunion tour! I like Stewart Copeland's drumming especially, and Andy Summers's transparent guitar-playing, and Sting is not bad as a singer. Here are some of my criteria for what I think I would like. If you think that there is something out there that fits or approximates, please let me know.

(1) Quartet or smaller. Don't want a lot of instruments or a lot of processing (i.e. heavy production). Would like a basic rock outfit.

(2) Good instrumentals, esp. good drumming. Preferably no cheesy guitar solos.

(3) Preferably no embarrassing or cringe-inducing lyrics (like Sting!).

(4) Preferably something recent. Don't care for psychedelic stuff.

(5) Preferably not a group heavily into pastiche or postmodern approach of combining different styles to show that they have done homework and are clever.

(6) I like clarity of sound. I find some of REM and most of Sonic Youth frustrating to listen to because of the murky sound.

Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

Edited November 21, 2009 by Bol

[Shrdlu]

Glad u also like Stewie Copeland and The Police. Rock is a dreary world, and that group is about the best of it.

Try some electro house and trance, in the local clubs, that is, if Austin has any that play it. Nearly all of that can be downloaded for free. For example, lots of DJs have free mix sets on their Myspace.

[Norm]

So here I am a new resident of Austin, TX. Indie rock is all the rage here, and the local record store (Waterloo) seems to stock only about a dozen jazz titles. So, I am thinking that I should go the Roman route and get into a little bit of rock. Any recommendations? I haven't listened to rock music since the 1980s. I still like a bit of U2 and a bit of REM. My favorite I guess is the Police -- I went to 3 concerts during their recent reunion tour! I like Stewart Copeland's drumming especially, and Andy Summers's transparent guitar-playing, and Sting is not bad as a singer. Here are some of my criteria for what I think I would like. If you think that there is something out there that fits or approximates, please let me know.

(1) Quartet or smaller. Don't want a lot of instruments or a lot of processing (i.e. heavy production). Would like a basic rock outfit.

(2) Good instrumentals, esp. good drumming. Preferably no cheesy guitar solos.

(3) Preferably no embarrassing or cringe-inducing lyrics (like Sting!).

(4) Preferably something recent. Don't care for psychedelic stuff.

(5) Preferably not a group heavily into pastiche or postmodern approach of combining different styles to show that they have done homework and are clever.

(6) I like clarity of sound. I find some of REM and most of Sonic Youth frustrating to listen to because of the murky sound.

Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

Wilco

http://www.wilcoworld.net/

Click on the Roadcase link and you can sample some stuff archived from their recent concerts.

They're based in Chicago, and have been around for 15 years, but couldn't write a commercial hit if they tried (not sure if they do). But I consider their lead man, Jeff Tweedy, to be the Bob Dylan-Neil Young singer-songwriter of this generation. They draw on an electic mix of 70s rock and country rock, and helped introduce the term alt-country to the lexicon of modern music in the 1990s, though they have been trying to elude this label ever since. But most important they have their own unique sound. And they rock, and rock particularly well in concert. (As an aside, Peter Buck from R.E.M. was particularly fond of the sound of Wilco's previous incarnation, Uncle Tupelo,, and produced an album of Uncle Tupelo's in March 1992 at Buck's beachside condo in S.C., I believe...U.T. split up in 1995, splintering into Wilco under Tweedy and the group Son Volt under Jay Farrar).

Another favorite of mine happens to be based in your newly adopted city: Spoon. They too have been around since the 1990s but they matured much with their recent albums. I saw them open for Beck last year.

Finally, The Shins.

These are really the only three bands making music these days that I really keep up with, with anticipation.

Finally, as you probably already know, I think Austin (or a nearby city) is host to the South-by-Southwest music festival every year. I think it usually takes place in January or February so maybe you can attend some of that.

Edited November 21, 2009 by Norm

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Try "Shake rattle & roll" by Joe Turner - with Connie Kay on drums. Now THERE'S a Rock drummer!

MG

[jazzbo]

Yes, all my recommendations would be OLD, I've not found a yen for new rock stuff. But I wanted to say welcome to Austin Bol!

[Jazzmoose]

Well, since you're in Texas, might as well try Blue October or Fair to Midland.

[Brad]

I don't know if this is your speed but the metal drummers are really good technically.

[Bol]

Thanks, everyone. And thanks to Lon for the welcome. I've just listened to some sound clips. And the Shins and Spoon sound really good. I will try them next time I'm at Waterloo.

One thing I've noticed about the recent pop music. It seems that the squeaky, girlish singing among female vocalists is really quite popular. I thought we had left that behind some time in the 1930s. Even Shelby Lynn, who has this throaty, earthy, wonderful voice when she performs live sounds girlish on studio tracks. What gives?

[BruceH]

Well, I like both Fountains of Wayne and Sloan, though I suppose both could be considered kind of retro. But in a good way, I think.

I've also gotten into Yo La Tengo in recent months. Excellent group, with a sort of friendly bohemian/indie vibe.

[Noj]

It's difficult to nail down exactly what you're looking for, considering the different sounds of U2, REM, and The Police/Sting. I like a wide variety of rock, but lyrics are not my biggest concern. The Clash come to mind. I'd suggest Radiohead but the singer's voice is a bit of an acquired taste. Norm mentioned Beck, but his lyrics are purposely silly. Same with Primus and all of Les Claypool's projects, the lyrics are just sort of fun and limerick-ish, nothing serious (Les worked with Stuart Copeland on Oysterhead, but that really comes off as a Claypool project). Wilco is a great suggestion. Rage Against The Machine might work, but they're probably too close to rap for your tastes even though the guitar and drum work are top notch.

Other suggestions:

Calexico

The White Stripes (maybe too whitewashed bluesy for you)

Porcupine Tree

Arcade Fire

Talking Heads

Tortoise

Whitest Boy Alive

Jack Johnson (too corny?)

Mazzy Star

Dangermouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of The Soul (interesting project featuring a bunch of different artists)

Sufjan Stevens (check out Illinoise, some really nice folksy tunes)

Some stuff to explore, at least. Might be fun to hear why you like or dislike any number of them.

[Aggie87]

So here I am a new resident of Austin, TX. Indie rock is all the rage here, and the local record store (Waterloo) seems to stock only about a dozen jazz titles.

Welcome to Austin, I think you'll like the city!

Waterloo has ALOT more jazz than what you noted, it's just that they don't categorize their music - it's all lumped together with rock, R&B, rap, etc, alphabetically.

[Joe]

Other (fairly recent) TX bands worth auditioning: Bedhead (and the later New Year; very intricate guitar work, a bit too much loud-soft-loud, vocals may strike you as too drab) and The American Analog Set (drone-pop).

Wilderness, a contemporary band out of Baltimore, has, over the course of three albums, done some really great work extending post-punk tropes into the new millenium. Declamatory vocals. Great rhythm section.

Finally, Stereolab. Wide-ranging (from The Velvets to The Beach Boys to Sun Ra to Tropicalia), "groovy"... maybe a bit too many electronics and a smidgen too much studio gimmickry as per your criteria, but the earlier records (TRANSIENT RANDOM NOISE BURSTS, MARS AUDIAC QUINTET) are more guitar-based than not.

[BFrank]

I don't think they're currently together (they've broken up more than once), but the Posies might work for you. I think "Frosting on the Beater" is their best.

[.:.impossible]

So here I am a new resident of Austin, TX. Indie rock is all the rage here, and the local record store (Waterloo) seems to stock only about a dozen jazz titles. So, I am thinking that I should go the Roman route and get into a little bit of rock. Any recommendations? I haven't listened to rock music since the 1980s. I still like a bit of U2 and a bit of REM. My favorite I guess is the Police -- I went to 3 concerts during their recent reunion tour! I like Stewart Copeland's drumming especially, and Andy Summers's transparent guitar-playing, and Sting is not bad as a singer. Here are some of my criteria for what I think I would like. If you think that there is something out there that fits or approximates, please let me know.

(1) Quartet or smaller. Don't want a lot of instruments or a lot of processing (i.e. heavy production). Would like a basic rock outfit.

(2) Good instrumentals, esp. good drumming. Preferably no cheesy guitar solos.

(3) Preferably no embarrassing or cringe-inducing lyrics (like Sting!).

(4) Preferably something recent. Don't care for psychedelic stuff.

(5) Preferably not a group heavily into pastiche or postmodern approach of combining different styles to show that they have done homework and are clever.

(6) I like clarity of sound. I find some of REM and most of Sonic Youth frustrating to listen to because of the murky sound.

Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

Wilco

http://www.wilcoworld.net/

Click on the Roadcase link and you can sample some stuff archived from their recent concerts.

They're based in Chicago, and have been around for 15 years, but couldn't write a commercial hit if they tried (not sure if they do). But I consider their lead man, Jeff Tweedy, to be the Bob Dylan-Neil Young singer-songwriter of this generation. They draw on an electic mix of 70s rock and country rock, and helped introduce the term alt-country to the lexicon of modern music in the 1990s, though they have been trying to elude this label ever since. But most important they have their own unique sound. And they rock, and rock particularly well in concert. (As an aside, Peter Buck from R.E.M. was particularly fond of the sound of Wilco's previous incarnation, Uncle Tupelo,, and produced an album of Uncle Tupelo's in March 1992 at Buck's beachside condo in S.C., I believe...U.T. split up in 1995, splintering into Wilco under Tweedy and the group Son Volt under Jay Farrar).

Another favorite of mine happens to be based in your newly adopted city: Spoon. They too have been around since the 1990s but they matured much with their recent albums. I saw them open for Beck last year.

Finally, The Shins.

These are really the only three bands making music these days that I really keep up with, with anticipation.

Finally, as you probably already know, I think Austin (or a nearby city) is host to the South-by-Southwest music festival every year. I think it usually takes place in January or February so maybe you can attend some of that.

Norm,

Based on this post, I'd have figured you were still following Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth as well?

[.:.impossible]

Tough to recommend contemporary rock groups based on The Police, U2, and REM, but I think Fountains of Wayne was a good recommendation for you. Probably Coldplay, Brendan Benson, Arctic Monkeys, The Decemberists, Conor Oberst (not Bright Eyes though), Rilo Kiley (and even Jenny Lewis' first solo possibly), Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, etc.

Over the past year, multiple jazz musicians have recommended to me The Dirty Projectors. I like it.

[Noj]

Just realized I have three Spoon LPs and an EP, and a Shins album. When did that happen? I'm going to put them on my iPod and check them out.

[BFrank]

Just realized I have three Spoon LPs and an EP, and a Shins album. When did that happen? I'm going to put them on my iPod and check them out.

Good move!

[AndrewHill]

I'll take a stab at it, based on your criteria. Maybe Rush, beginning with 2112 and ending with maybe Signals or so. Also, perhaps The The up to Mind Bomb, or The Replacements up to about Please to Meet Me or Tim. All opinion of course.

[Bol]

OK, folks. I already have more recommendations than I can handle. Thanks though. I've just gotten copies of a Shins CD and a Spoon CD. Spoon seems like I may like it. I'm a bit down on the Shins -- a bit too tepid on the vocals. There is a distinct possibility that one necessary criterion for me is nostalgia! I may be unable to really get into pop music that I didn't go to high school with. (By the way, it is Sting's first solo album that initially got me into jazz. But then I didn't listen to jazz again until grad school.)

I like the drummer for Rush, but I find the songs a bit dated -- too seventies. And the singer is a bit too shrill for me. And I find Cold Play really annoying. I think the Guardian calls them the "Mope Squad", and that seems apt. My animosity may be partly based on jealousy though -- I've always had a thing for Gwyneth Paltrow.

The popular music singers I like best are Willie Nelson and Debbie Harry. Too bad they don't play with bands that have moving parts. The backing music sounds all so static. I'd love to hear Willie Nelson with . . . say, the BassDrumBone! Wouldn't that be exciting? How about Paul Motian or Han Bennink with Bill McHenry and Nate Wooley behind Debbie Harry?

And one mystery for me is why there is no jazz that really takes advantage of the country and western idiom. Bill Frisell should be interesting but he is not. All his CDs are so damn boring. I once suggested to Ab Baars that he should record a CD of Willie Nelson songs. As you may know, he recorded a really great CD of old Native American songs. Ab said he'd think about it.

[Nate Dorward]

Well, you heard Debbie Harry's work with the Jazz Passengers? Try Individually Twisted if you can find it (used to be easy to find secondhand).

For country & jazz try Buell Neidlinger.

[GA Russell]

One thing I've noticed about the recent pop music. It seems that the squeaky, girlish singing among female vocalists is really quite popular. I thought we had left that behind some time in the 1930s.

I think they're piggy backing on Britney Spears' success.

[Norm]

Just realized I have three Spoon LPs and an EP, and a Shins album. When did that happen? I'm going to put them on my iPod and check them out.

Which ones by Spoon? I think I've got everything they've done, but my favorites are their two most recent ones: Ga ga ga ga ga (2007) and Gimme Fiction (2006). "I summon you" on the latter is incredible.

As I mentioned, I saw them and another Indie band called MGMT open for Beck at the Hollywood Bowl in Sept. 2008. Though Spoon was my main motivation in going to the show, Beck blew both groups away. I'm not a huge Beck fan but he's something to see live (especially with a backing orchestra)

As for The Shins, I have Chutes Too Narrow, Wincing the Night Away and Oh, Inverted World, and like them equally. Supremely melodic stuff.

I've just gotten copies of a Shins CD and a Spoon CD. Spoon seems like I may like it. I'm a bit down on the Shins -- a bit too tepid on the vocals.

Same question. Which ones did you decide on for each?

Edited November 22, 2009 by Norm

[Norm]

Norm,

Based on this post, I'd have figured you were still following Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth as well?

Not to threadjack, but any recommendations on these? I've heard lots about these bands but haven't checked either of them out.

Lately (the past 3 months), I've been full bore into 60s/70s rock -- CCR, Floyd, Hendrix, Dylan, Marley, The Police, The Clash and of course the Beatles with the new releases. Heck, I even started listening to some older Stones...Exile on Main Street, Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed...and the latter in particular is a band that I had previously written off. Part of the problem is that I came of age musically in the 1980s, and lets just say that most 70s rock artists who were not killed or did not die of an overdose and survived into the 80s did not fare well in that decade. So, it took me about an extra 15 years to disassociate their 80s production from their earlier stuff. But I digress...

Edited November 22, 2009 by Norm

[.:.impossible]

Man, I would just go to your local shop and check the used bins. I have absolutely no problem recommending that you grab any Yo La Tengo that they have. Most of their albums from the early 1990s on will have enough of a variety to give you a good idea of what these three sound like.

As for SY, I hope some other members will chime in. I don't honestly know where I would recommend you start. You can start with the most recent albums, skip a couple fromthe late 90s, and then work your way back , or vice-versa! Rather Ripped is a recent album that I would recommend as an ideal start, though not totally representative of the rest of their music.

[Noj]

Just realized I have three Spoon LPs and an EP, and a Shins album. When did that happen? I'm going to put them on my iPod and check them out.

Which ones by Spoon? I think I've got everything they've done, but my favorites are their two most recent ones: Ga ga ga ga ga (2007) and Gimme Fiction (2006). "I summon you" on the latter is incredible.

Upon further examination I have all of the following from Spoon:

A Series Of Sneaks

Soft Effects

Telephono

Gimme Fiction

Girls Can Tell

Kill The Moonlight

Loveways

My music collection is officially out of my control.