Tom's Top Ten Bands Other Than U2

U2's place at the top of my music collection is undeniable. However, I spend most of my listening hours enjoying the music of countless other bands. The following is a list of my current ten favorite non-U2 bands.

"Been around the world and found that only stupid people are breeding.
The creatons cloning and feeding, and I don't even own a TV
Put me in the hospital for nerves and then they had to commit me.
You told them all I was crazy.
They cut off my legs now I'm an amputee."
-- "Flagpole Sitta"

Harvey Danger -- #10

Tell me the picture of the lead singer holding a Sebadoh album on the inside of their first release isn't the missing link to pinning down this newcomer on the Indie/Alterantive scene. Blunt lyrics built into a building presentation. Mixing the sonic dysfunctionalism of Sebadoh with witty lyrics, alternative guitars, and bitter passion, this new band is a welcome refugee for the anonymity of the Indie-Rock scene.

Official Harvey Danger Site

"Holy visions had ceased to come
My tongue was numb and I was feeling tired.
Crying out in a wordless howl
Screeching off to the underground."
-- "Superslomotion"

Grant Lee Buffalo -- #9

Perhaps their only radio release to date, "Truely, Truely, Truely" is a bit too pop, but there was something in that sound that caught my attention: clear accustic guitars mixed sparingly with electric, a touch of organs, and skillful building of the piece. I listened to the CD five separate times at a Tower Listening center before finally giving in and paying the exorbitant $16.99 for Jubilee. Have not regretted the purchase once. The album has an abundance of excellent tunes, enough to encourage my pursuit of their prior albums.

Grant Lee Buffalo Home Page

"I've been drifing along in the same stale shoes
Loosen ends tied in a noose in the back of my mind
If you thought that you were making your way
To where the puzzles and pagans lay I'll put it together.
It's a strange invitation."
-- "Jack-Ass"

Beck -- #8

I've always liked Beck, but have never thought of him as one of my favorite artists. Sure, I picked up Mellow Gold and memorized the lyrics to "Loser" ... and sure, I was one of the first to buy Odelay on faith that it would perform up to Beck's previous release. And, it's no surprise, that Beck's albums have always remained in my CD wallet, even long after new bands came and went. It just seems odd to think that the a fringe Rap artist would hold a high place in my collection. The man has a sense of collaboration, his music patchwork pieces are from somewhere beyond left field, and even with the hissing feedback, purposefully scratcy samples, and exceptionally inclusive style of song making; the music is good. It's really good. It's catchy, danceable, and hip; even years after the initial release.

Beck's Home Page

"Now I'm not looking for absolution"
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes."
-- "Walking In My Shoes"

Depeche Mode -- #7

Nearly two decades of music with a host of excellent albums. Depeche Mode ruled the 80s, amassing a wealth of songs that made Music for the Masses and 101 a necessary part of anyone's music collection. Their electronic sound was revamped slightly as they came into the 90s with darker loops, more jarring guitars, and longer instrumental interludes. Gore's song writing ability is nothing short of brilliant and is testified by a string of hits that continues with their latest album, Ultra. My favorite from their many albums: definately Songs of Faith and Devotion, there are songs on there than can be described as nothing other than sheer works of art.

Depeche Mode Home Page

"I know we're dying and there's no sign of a parachute.
In this chapel, this little chapel of love
Can't we get a little grace and some elegance?
No, we scream in cathedrals. Why can't it be beautiful?
Why does there gotta be a sacrifice?"
-- "Iiee"

Tori Amos -- #6

Tori has so many truely devoted fans that I almost feel unworthy to mention her as a part of my top ten. But the woman's songs haunt me at times. Her songwriting is truely inspired, as is her ability to make extremely rich and glorious songs with nothing more than a piano and her enchanting voice. She, like The Cure, has slipped into my late night music roation, filling the midnight hours with music for thought and reflection. Seeing this woman live only reinforced her talent as a musician and a performer. Tori completely engrosses herself in the performance, opening herself up and pouring out her essence into the all-too-real music. It's an experience you have to witness to truely understand.

Tori Amos Connections

I was tired again, I tried again
And now my heart is full.
And I just can't explain
So I won't even try to
-- Now My Heart Is Full

Morrissey -- #5

"Moz" was a big addiction of several friends of mine, and a musician that slowly grew on me. Once I began to enjoy his very unique voice and wailings, I truely appreciated the music. His music is inspired, colorful, and moving. Catchy riffs and basslines, mixed over with some of the most touching, depressing lyrics of any of the artists I currently enjoy. One gets the impression that Morrissey enjoys being miserable, poking fun at himself, perhaps. There's stinging sarcasm and pessimistic undertones to much of his work, but sometimes, well, we all can empathize with the lad.

A Moz Page

And if I don't know who to love, I'll love them all
And if I don't know who to trust, I'll trust them all
And if I don't know who to kill,
I may kill myself instead.
-- Brothers Unaware

Live -- #4

Few bands can make songs that build to the emotional and sonic intensity with the skill that Live has. I have been extremely impressed by each of their three albumns to date, have thoroughly enjoyed this band in concert (I've seen Live live?), and have turned to their music for an added release of tension, or just to feel truely passionate about something. They have a complex sound, that typically begins simply and builds into something much greater than what four individuals can create. While their rise to fame came with Throwing Copper I strongly recommend their debut albumn, Mental Jewelery.

Live's Home Page

"We're too young to fall asleep, to cynical to speak
We are losing it can't you tell?
We scratch our eternal itch, a twentieth century bitch
And we are grateful for our iron lung"
--"My Iron Lung"

Radiohead -- #3

Bringing texture to sound, these British musicians bring to life a style of music and a way of living that mixes together the best of today's edgy guitar riffs with gentle keyboards, a throbing bass and a hell of a lot of emotion. While not much for album covers (the band also loves to include random doodles in their album booklets) their use of sound subtlty and explosion, as well as their ability to craft very original pieces, has earned them a place of esteem in my collection. Each of their albums is worth the purchase, but if you're not sure, try their most accessable,The Bends, out for a listen. But really listen to it, don't just hear it. The beauty of Radiohead's work comes through when you pay attention.

Radiohead Home Page

This has been my prison
Got no high. Got no low.
This has been religion
Took my heart. Killed my soul.
-- Hole

The Jesus and Mary Chain -- #2

A band that became one of my music staples after I featured it in the soundtrack to my Adventures of Plungerman movie -- not that this should reflect on the band in any way, shape, or form. Their music has a repetative sound that (in rare cases) annoys, but generally builds the songs into powerful pieces. The best music is the later half of their work -- their first few albums had less intensity and less strong, powerful pieces. The last three are some of my "most listened to" CDs. Automatic and Honey's Dead are strongly recommend for steady rhythm with slightly dissonent guitar rifts over a pulsing bass guitar.

Jesus & Mary Chain Page

I leave you with photographs, pictures of trickery
Stains on the carpet and stains on the memory
Song about happiness murmured in dreams
when we, both of us, knew how the ending would be
-- Disintegration

The Cure -- #1

Twisted emotions and tortured devotion. Their music is rich, thick, and choral; entirely original and spellbinding. Even their "bouncy" early songs, cute happy hymns, or long instrumental lead-ins have something distinctly likeable about them, but it's their more drawn out, soul wrenching, lyric laiden pieces that bring them to promience in my music library and have won my deepest respect. Have seen them live only once, which was incomparable to the many times I sat up, alone, in the depth of night and just listened to the sounds, empathized with the words, and truely enjoyed it.

The Cure Home Page

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