Briefly, I loved this article. It just mines down into the social and cultural issues at play in indie music right now.
Maybe I’m getting old or maybe the music is just stale, too riddled with classism and the subtle racism of the post-Reagan era… what’s your take?
Tag Archive: indie rock
No I haven’t found religion… but I have been very preoccupied with the changing of the seasons, especially since I’m living here in Florida, where the change is so subtle, it’s almost not noticeable. Though I hate listing things in such a way, this is my top ten of sorts of my current favorite albums to listen to invoke the spirit of falling leaves and mercury.
- The Rachel’s- Handwriting
- The Rachel’s- Music for Egon Schiele- Both of these albums really capture the introspection and beauty of the season. The Rachel’s are a modern classical outfit that I was first introduced to way back in 1997 when I was fresh out of high school and chock full of piss and vinegar. Back then, they were an austere touchstone, something that fostered an appreciation of the profundity of the here and now.
- The Black Angels- Passover- A band that I just discovered earlier this year, very stoner rock.
- Tom Waits- Rain Dogs- At the same time I was turned on to the Rachel’s, my friend Liam got me listening to some weirdo named Tom Waits. I’ve been in love ever since.
- AK-Momo- Return to N.Y.- Ethereal, Swedish electro-pop.
- Soundtrack to the Royal Tenenbaums- For some reason this album just captures the spirit of autumn and winter for me (thanks to the Charlie Brown Christmas song). Nico, The Velvet Underground, Nick Drake all complimented by short pieces by Mark Mothersbaugh. Like the movie or not, the album is a great mix.
- Pinback- Summer in Abaddon- I listened to this album constantly over one spring and summer, but it always evokes the feeling of autumn.
- The Roots- Tipping Point- This one might be due mostly to the fact that I listened to it quite a lot in the fall of 2004.
- Mahogany Throttle- Traverse- I’m not sure what happened to these guys, they were a noodly instrumental band from Milwaukee that played frequently at Circle A when I used to bartend there. I checked out their website, doesn’t look like it’s been updated in more than a year.
- Leonard Cohen- The Essential Leonard Cohen- Ah yeah, nothing more sad bastardy than Lenny. Sorry to include a “best of” album on here, but this has everything that I need. Dance Me to the End of Love, The Partisan, Famous Blue Raincoat, the melancholy can be a bit overwhelming for me, but he’s great in small doses.
