Linkin Park is Linkin Park, but not even Linkin Park is douchey enough to don masks. Then again, Disturbed aren't either. Both are miles ahead of Slipknot. Nu-Metal Crash Course 1. Hybrid Theory - Linkin Park 2. Toxicity - System of a Down (debatably pure metal, but whatever) 3. The Sickness - Disturbed
Though I'd do my nerdly duty and bolster the few prog mentions that have already been made. I've been delving more and more into Procol Harum's work over the past couple years. Most know them by their most popular song, and most think that was pretty much the limit of their output when they actually produced an immense amount of phenomenal work. My favorite album of theirs is probably considered by many to be their masterpiece - A Salty Dog, a borderline concept album, but at most half the album has a consistent theme. One of my favorite tracks is The Devil Came From Kansas Rush got a mention, so it's worthwhile to mention probably their best album - Moving Pictures The Camera Eye is easily one of my favorite of their 10+ min tracks and proof that while they were going with shorter songs they could still do an epic piece. Signals and Permanent Waves are probably my next faves after Moving Pictures And finally, not to cause trouble for my now new best friend mad5427, I offer up Close to the Edge by Yes. Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge probably rank as the best works in Yes' discography, but Close to the Edge wins out, for me, due to And You and I. I think I may love Squire's bass line at 7:10 more than my own family.
Great selection, but it's too east coast centered. Granted, this is the sound that prevailed with bands like Bane and Comeback kid dominating hardcore punk, it had to have bands like TSOL and their west coast ilk to keep it just accessible enough that a broader audience could be drawn to the genre and then be lead to the unvarnished, raw catharsis of these other bands. That's just me though, Personally I go for the post punk stuff (and these are mostly east coast too, but chapel hill was integral to post punk far more so than the modish, shoe gaze bands that came from out west.) My top three post punk bands are: Rites of Spring Cap'n jazz Owls I chose these three because this is where you begin to see the transition from all the brash violence of hardcore punk, into the introspective analysis of post punk.
I would venture to say that 80's Alternative and New Wave are/were two separate animals. Alternative gets its name because it was true alternative to what you would hear on a commercial radio station (and usually played on college stations). Earlier in the thread Costello posted three bands that were a key part of the alternative scene: Husker Du (insert omlauts please), The Replacements, and The Minutemen. New Wave was the style of music that came after punk. Bands like:Blondie (Call Me), The Cars (Just What I Needed, My Best Friend's Girl, Shake it Up). It was back to a more pop sound and everybody was adding synths to the mix. Duran Duran being a very pop example of New Wave. To me the Cars are the quintessential representation of New Wave to me. Aside from Costello's suggestions when I think of 80s alternative i think of Joy Division: Joy Division were the forefathers of the Goth movement and actually became New Order, who led to synthpop. The Smiths were another of my favorite groups from the eighties. You could even consider Johnny Marr to be a guitar god of this genre. He doesn't solo though, it's more about arranging the guitar parts to come up with a cool song.
Garage Rock: Compulsive Gamblers Great combination of rhythm & blues and garage rock. I also recommend the song Two Thieves. The Sonics Quintessential garage rock. Possibly one of the earliest 'punk' songs (1965).This song has been covered by The Cramps, Thee Headcoats, and many more. Jay Reatard He has a very large catalog and his style can include elements of new wave, punk, noise, synth, etc. You can listen to his entire last album here: http://www.jayreatard.com/2009/08/buy-watch-me-fall-now-from-jayreatard-com/
Death Metal: Dying Fetus 3 vocalists. Terrorizer Influential death metal / grindcore. Cryptopsy Amazing technical death metal.
This is probably my favorite thread on this board. I'd love to know what the best country songs are for college kids who are just starting to get into the genre. IMHO best rap songs of all time:
I'm adding my picks for Texas/alt. country. If you're talking about TX country you can't leave out Pat Green's "Three Days". This is before he sold out and started writing the shittiest music to ever hit country radio. This album is classic and goes with me on every road trip. If I'm driving to Austin there's a 99% chance I'm listening to this once I get out of city limits. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MiJmrc4yk4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MiJmrc4yk4</a> *Note: I do not know this family/group. This is the only decent clip I could find of "Carry On". Also, I love the Old 97's. Their album "Too Far to Care" is one of my Top 10 CDs where I don't feel the need to skip tracks while listening. They're from Dallas, so I've been to at least a dozen shows since high school. I can authentically say there is NOBODY like the lead singer, Rhett Miller. Witty songwriting, slightly country sound, and they kick ass live. Also, they write songs about necrophiliacs. What's not to love? <a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAdbzNz6W4M" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAdbzNz6W4M</a> Also, check out Reckless Kelly's "Crazy Eddie's Last Hurrah". Lovely.
Here is some old, and I mean really old, industrial. Enjoy. These were 12 inch singles played in clubs in the mid to late eighties. I think the Headhunter may have been a little later. First Cut - My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult (hit the play button) http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?...albums&artistid=5967013&ap=0&albumid=14037453 Bigod 20 - Body to Body http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk7-25YRN9s Front 242 - Headhunter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSJzA74fxbg MCL - New York http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSJzA74fxbg Beat Ass - Bomb the Bass http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNuFFnw077M&feature=related
Here is the correct URL for Headhunter Front 242 - Headhunter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPpUFBVSyWs
I'm not going to out and out disagree with Tim here, the bands he mentioned surely have a place in any discussion regarding the 80's, but if we're talking New Wave then I'd definitly go in a different direction. The term itself originated in mid 70's Britain to describe an off shoot of the punk movement that broke with the Sex Pistols type of performance but still played the same scene. These bands did know how to play their instruments and fused punk with mod elements and the artsy stuff coming out of New York at the time. It's difficult to select a single group and say, here, this is New Wave, but some you just can't pass over. The Jam's 82 release The Gift is an incredible example of the british new wave as it came out of the punk and pub scene. Below, Town Called Malice. The CBGB in NYC became a focal point for alot of the punk and new wave acts in the US and hosted gigs for a ton of influential acts such as The Ramones, The Misfits, The Cramps, Blondie, and above all when talking new wave, Television. Their Marquee Moon from '77 is an excellent example of weird elements coming together to form something absolutely amazing. Below, Elevation. Another band you can't help but mention is of course Talking Heads, by many regarded as the purest form of this early 80's new wave. I first came into contact with them when I heard a Chemical Brothers cover of the song Once In A Lifetime. The problem with new wave was that is we come up on the mid 80's, basically anything with a synthesizer in it was lumped into the concept, in short it became almost indistinguishable from main stream pop. New wave is still around as a concept but the iterations are getting retarded like the New Wave of New Wave or New New Wave. Many newer bands like The Strokes and The Killers show heavy new wave influences and I personally like The Sounds for a modern take with a pop lean (except for their last album which blew chunks).