Exceelent Music You've Heard Lately

[swampdragon]

I was a fan of XTC in college. There were some fans that really really liked them and hoarded bootleg records and tapes and talked about certian shows with reverence.

I liked No Thugs in Our House best.

There actually are more songs that I rememebr than I thought

[Mithrandir]

[Erik]

Living Through Another Cuba FTW.

IMO XTC got a lot less interesting after they stopped playing live in 1982, and original drummer Terry Chambers -- who was awesome -- quit. They became completely boring rhythmically and never approached the quality of Drums & Wires, Black Sea and English Settlement again.

[The Dane]

XTC was my favorite band for many many years. I think Black Sea and Skylarking are their best. My favorite song EVER, by any band, is Burning with Optimism's Flames from Black Sea.

Strangely, the song that brought them their biggest success, Dear God, wasn't even on the original release of Skylarking. There was a song called Mermaid Smiled instead. It was released as a B-side to the Grass single and got airplay.

The later stuff is still genius, in my opinion, but not as lively. One they stopped performing live, they gained something, and lost something else. Most people, I find, prefer one incarnation over the other. They're just different, to me.

[Erik]

Todd Rundgren, who produced Skylarking, hated Dear God and convinced them not to put it on the album. He was right.

[The Dane]

Todd Rundgren, who produced Skylarking, hated Dear God and convinced them not to put it on the album. He was right.

Of course, at the time, the band and Todd hated each other. They hated the way he produced Skylarking. Recently, Andy did a radio interview where he essentially said Todd was right about everything and it was the best-produced album they ever did. As for him being right about Dear God... well, that song, well-suited or not, brought them in loads of cash, which is -I assume- one of the main jobs of the producer. I like the song, but it isn't even close to their best work. There are five or six tunes on Skylarking alone that are better.

[swampdragon]

Like I said - there are more people with passion and knowledge about XTC then you would expect.

back to newer stuff - there are some great live shows to be heard here

At abour 44:00 minutes - WHOA - Blood Bank starts up - the whole show has really captivated me.

Listen without too much distraction


http://www.npr.org/event/music/13889...ver-in-concert

[Mithrandir]

I would be surprised if anyone here will like this song. I love this song and the video cracks me up:

[Mithrandir]

[Mithrandir]

F**KING SABBATH!!

[johnnya24]

Great tune from the recent past:

[overkill94]

For those who like a little soul in their rock 'n roll, may I present to you...The Alabama Shakes (the first song's catchier, the second one's got a double dose of Aretha soul)

[johnnya24]

Sounds very like the early Kings of Leon ... especially Youth and Young Manhood.

[BuckyBuckner]

Anyone ever listen to Drive Like Jehu? Great band from the 1990s:



In related music, here's Rocket From the Crypt.




Neither band is nearly as hardcore as the stuff I usually listen to, so don't get all scared.

They are great, though there are much much better songs from RFTC. How about the Hot Snakes? Same family.



Here's a good live clip of them right at the tail end of them being amazing, a great old song.



Here's an old live clip of an old classic. I'll be very impressed if anyone can tell me who is singing backup and playing the tambourine in this one.

[Lucky]

I was just about to mention Alabama Shakes, but overkill beat me to it. Everything I've heard by them is excellent. I'm afraid Alabama Shakes will never be as big as they should be, because they don't come anywhere near fitting an MTV image. The singer is a large woman, with frizzy hair, playing an old SG. The bass player and guitarist are not attractive men, or at least they are not photogenic. Too bad. Maybe they'll prove me wrong. They did appear on Conan.

My nomination is for the band Steel Wheels. They're from Virginia, but for some reason made a tour stop right here in Magnolia, Arkansas. Their latest album can only be purchased at their shows, at least for the time being. Odd marketing strategy, but it didn't drop until this year, so it may have been only a couple of weeks old when they were here.

Their Wiki entry does a pretty good job of describing them: The Steel Wheels are a roots and Americana band, writing and playing music in the closely related but unique styles of blues, bluegrass, old-time music, and fiddle music. Their music respects the past but lives in the present, and layers musical textures with a modern edge to create a new sound.

They are more bluesy that I thought they would be. They write their stuff, and the lead singer is very strong. You can tell they were raised on classic rock by hearing it in their music. The lead singer reminded me of a very young Leon Russell.

An old bluegrass guy from here went to the show, but left soon after it started. He thought it was "too modern", and I cannot disagree. The instruments (guitar, fiddle, mandolin, upright bass and a small drum kit) are definitely blue grass, but they expand the genre into several different areas.

I recommend them if they appear anywhere near you. They may be hard to find, but anyone in the Virginia area should be able to search them out.