Music is a very big part of my life, and although I'm not able to explore music far from the mainstream very well, I do take it very seriously. I'm not a musician - at that, I'm pretty much a bust, but I do know what I like and, of course, what I don't.
INDICE: Favorite Bands - Hatorite Music - CDs I Own - About Music Videos - Top Ten Lists - Back to Index
| My favorite band at the time of writing this is definitely
MAZZY STAR...
It took me awhile, but now I am in love with Hope Sandoval's tranquil and
tortured voice, and the acoustic guitar work is just amazing in the album
So Tonight That I Might See, which has what could be
one of my all-time favorite songs, "Into Dust". Even though the lyrical meanings get
vague, the feeling of the song always comes through thanks to Ms. Sandoval's
voice and the production of guitarist Mr. David Roback.
I desperately hope to obtain Mazzy
Star's other two albums as soon as possible.
There are good Mazzy Star websites, but I have yet to find one that's updated a lot... so check back here in awhile. Next to Mazzy Star, I got to say that my favorite male-headed band is RADIOHEAD. Yeah, I only have one album by them, The Bends, but it's an amazing record and all the songs on it are awesome. My favorite song by Radiohead is most definitely (nice dream), a mostly acoustic tune with an amazing electric guitar solo towards the end. Thom Yorke's voice is surprisingly adept and he has a lot of range (if you don't believe me listen to "Street Spirit") and let's not forget Jonny Greenwood's guitars. Oof. uselesshead - despite what the webmaster says I love the design on this site. Check it out. POLLY JEAN HARVEY - an amazing artist on her own, but personally I enjoy more the work of the three-piece band known as PJ Harvey... evident on Rid of Me, a blazing album of guitar, yowl and soul. Words fail me to describe Polly's voice - besides, well, amazing - and her music speaks more to my angry side (yeah, I have one.) My favorite song by PJ? No, not "50 Ft. Queenie" (but I do love that tune) - it's "Rub 'Til It Bleeds". Owww!!! 50 ft queenie - a site run by Jennie Abisalic. It's my favorite website for PJ stuff. |
Ever since I heard "Bitter Sweet Symphony" I knew that THE VERVE was worth my time to listen to.
The craft of the music and the soul of Richard Ashcroft speaks more to my
sad and lonely side (argh, don't get me all weepy). My one album (hey, I'm
not rich) Urban Hymns is the most listened to next
to the Mazzy album. My favorite song? I'm usually the underdog type, but
this time I cannot lie - "The
Drugs Don't Work" makes me cry every time.
For a band like The Verve I am amazed at the lack of decent websites! I'll keep up the hunt, though, and get back to you... Man, what a depressing guy. I'd hate to hear his CD collection, you must be thinking. Well, think again... I can be happy too. That's why I enjoy the music of JAMIROQUAI - I do like funk, when tastefully done (not when it's all sex and alcohol like a certain red hot band) and I like all of Jamiroquai's stuff. Not "Virtual Insanity", people! And Jamiroquai is not a one-man band, even though Jay Kay tends to hog the spotlight. Songs like "Stillness In Time" couldn't be done without the bass of Stuart Zender or the drumwork of Derrick McKenzie, among the many talented members. Jamiroquai - The Funkin Site, the best Jamiroquai site there will ever be. My admiration for THE SMASHING PUMPKINS is not what it used to be. I used to love Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Billy Corgan's voice, but now I know it just doesn't work for many of the songs on Adore. Nevertheless it is their most ambitious album to date and although I always enjoy the better crafted Siamese Dream, this is my favorite Pumpkins record. Among the many very good songs on this album are the always saddening tribute "For Martha" and my favorite, the final track "Blank Page". The Smashing Pumpkins Collection. There's nothing better for the Pumpkins fan. |
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Oh, where to begin. There's so much that is bad. Okay, well, I will name some music stuff that I hate, I'll just rattle it off as it comes to my head.
| My least favorite forms of music? Well, let me break it down to the
top three for ya. ADULT
CONTEMPORARY never fails to get on my nerves - the hackneyed music
with hackneyed voices just irritate me fully. If I hear "My Heart Will Go
On" one more time... well, wait, if I hear someone say why "My Heart Will
Go On" is a beautiful song one more time... argh. R&B - what the hell happened? It all
sounds the same now. Of course, it all sounded the same back in the day
as well, at least to me. I can tolerate Monica about as much as I can
tolerate Aretha Franklin, which is not much at all... Last and definitely
least is COUNTRY
music, which besides being all twangy guitars and the woes of dead dogs
and lost lovers, all sounds like the same mind bogglingly mundane song.
One of the banes of my existence is BOY BANDS - Take That, New Kids On The Block, Backstreet Boys and all the other soundalikes that stir up retarded songs that alternate from ego-trips to the same old 'don't break my heart' songs. But more than the boy bands, I hate their fans - the teenyboppers who buy all the merchandise and drool over their bare chests and scream like complete idiots at the very mention of their names. (A.J. AAAHHH!!!!) Teenyboppers mess up music in general. Damn them. Are you a teenybopper? Read this now.. OLDIES piss me off. This is what passed for music back in the day? All those soundalike tunes by the Damned One known as PHIL SPECTOR, backed up by a fucking orchestra that's impossible to play live? The falsetto bullshit songs of Frankie FUCKIN' Valli and the mindless zombie Four Seasons? ELVIS PRESLEY? Elvis fans are teenyboppers to the highest degree, now! Let's not forget the Ronettes, the Shirelles and all the other dopey girl bands from back then. And the same old fucking love songs. And all those retarded novelty tunes. "Rock Around The Clock"? Oh, that is so funny. "Da Doo Ron Ron" - "His name was Bill, I was his intern." It all comes down to this - if you change the radio station to an oldies station in my presence, no jury in the world will convict me. Okay, maybe people from the South. |
The electric guitar is a wonderful instrument, but
adult contemporary musiciains should just stick to what they know, and for
God's sake, not stick in a guitar solo just to sound COOL!!!! This means you, Shania Twain.
And let's not forget two really annoying things: using gospel singers in a rock song and one of the worst things -
children singing (kill
Mike and the Mechanics)!!!
A band that must die is BUSH. This ultra-pretentious grunge band wants so desperately to be another Nirvana that it's pathetic, thanks in part to the lead singer Gavin Rossdale who always voices his off-base opinions like people give a damn. Their music is just so... well, bland at times and abrasive at other times. "Everything Zen" - I don't think so? What the fuck? And Rossdale's whole Francis Bacon obsession thing? A famous teenybopper! Bush needs to get over themselves and break all their instruments, permanently. Another band whose music I hate are THE AFGHAN WHIGS. Greg Dulli wants to suck at singing, I think, because he never even tries. He just yells a lot. And then there's his penchant for covering songs that shouldn't be covered by a rock band ("Can't Get Enough Of Your Love"? Tell me, what the hell is on your mind?) The guitars are really loud and all over the place. And every video they make has to have some kind of sexual exploitation in it! This just goes to show that I don't hate bands just because they are popular. The Afghan Whigs aren't alternative, they're just a lot of noise and screaming. My latest death wish goes to perky Mouseketeer BRITNEY SPEARS, and her masochistic Jets cover "(Hit Me) Baby One More Time". Let's see, who do I hate more - Spears, who seems to think that she actually has talent as a musician? All the little schoolgirls who love to sing this poor excuse for a jingle whenever it comes on the radio? All the guys who want to have sex with her and request the shit out of the song even though they really do hate it? Well, they're all responsible for her success, so they all must die. Die, die, everybody die. What? I know it's not a Jets cover. IT WAS A JOKE. |
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The Smashing Pumpkins - Adore One of the most underrated albums of the year. It's definitely a bust if you liked the rawk-out Siamese Dream style Pumpkins, but diehard suffering romantics (like me) definitely should give this one a listen. Hear a clip of "Blank Page". |
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Radiohead - The Bends This is probably going to be my favorite Radiohead album as I am more guitar-oriented. (It doesn't mean I want OK Computer any less.) All the songs on this album are awesome, simply put, whether it's raging guitars up the wazoo ("My Iron Lung") or lilting layers of psychedelic environment ("Planet Telex"). This is the one that established Radiohead as one of the best bands to come out of the '90s. Hear a clip of "Fake Plastic Trees". |
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Jamiroquai - Emergency On Planet Earth This is a hand-me-down from my brother (who gave it up for the British version) and the only Jami album I own. It's also a mighty fine debut album. Not as chipper as "The Return Of The Space Cowboy", but can you beat "Blow Your Mind" for sheer laid-back groove? Hear a clip of "Blow Your Mind". |
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Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards
Ecstasy If it weren't for Mazzy Star this would be my mellow album. Many great tracks here, mostly thanks to Sarah McLachlan's enchanting voice and piano work and the marvelous production of Pierre Marchand. Be sure to check out the piano version of "Possession" at the end of the CD because it's wonderful. Hear a clip of "Wait". |
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The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite
Sadness I guess there are many people who own this album. I remember it as what introduced me to the music that I now like. I listen to it sometimes, too. Hear a clip of "Thirty-Three". |
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No Alternative A mixed bag as all collection albums go, but the great majority of tracks here are worthy listens. Many of them were written about the loss of friends to AIDS, such as the Smashing Pumpkins' "Glynis" and the American Music Club's "All Your Jeans Were Too Tight", others are covers of older songs and some like Pavement's R.E.M. tribute "Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence" are silly. Surprisingly enough, I listen to them all. Hear a clip of "Take A Walk" by Urge Overkill. |
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PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me The last album of the PJ Harvey trio has the gritty production of Steve Albini and the take-no-prisoners vocal stylings of a certain Polly Jean. She gets angry, manipulative, and frightened. Beware the guitars! Hear a clip of "Rub 'Til It Bleeds". |
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The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream One of electric guitar's magnum opuses (opi?), this lavish production has guitar layers upon layers to create an environment of despair and hope. This is not a pop production. Hear a clip of "Hummer". |
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Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See My most listened to album at the time of writing. This album introduced me to the wonderful band known as Mazzy Star, made up mostly of David Roback's neopsychedelic inclinations and Hope Sandoval's mesmerizing lyricism. My main sleep album. Hear a clip of "Fade Into You". |
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P.J. Harvey - To Bring You My Love Polly Jean's solo album has her working with the likes of John Parrish and Flood, and is very different from Rid of Me because this album is led by Harvey's commanding and chilling voice. She barks like a drill sergeant and squeals like a girl. It's a thrilling ride. Hear a clip of "Meet Ze Monsta". |
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The Verve - Urban Hymns From the beginning string echoes of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" to the final echoic chirps of "Deep Freeze", this album is a tribute to lovelorn angst and despair, and it's right up my alley. Richard Aschroft's voice aches with loss. This album is a masterpiece for people like me. Hear a clip of "The Drugs Don't Work". |
Fiona Apple: Tidal - The best of my "other albums" so far. It has the instant downer "Never Is A Promise", a song that may as well have been written for me. :-P
Catherine Wheel: Like Cats And Dogs - I gotta give these boys credit for playing damn good guitars, but the singer's voice gets on my nerves.
Portishead: Portishead - Atmospheric and moody, unfortunately Beth Gibbons takes her Shirley Bassey imitations a few steps too far and the trip-hop sounds are too quirky for my tastes.
Natalie Merchant: Tigerlily - Has a few good songs like "Carnival" and "San Andreas Fault" (which is an unusually cheerful song about mass destruction) but without the backing of the 10,000 Maniacs Merchant turns out to be yet another adult contemporary artist. She even has the "wanna be cool" electric guitar in "Seven Years" (which is otherwise touching and poignant... argh, damn all you whiners.).
U2: Achtung Baby - "Mysterious Ways" and "One" are good songs but they're the only ones I like and I have to sit through seemingly hours of monotony to get to them. I'll sell it to ya real cheap.
Nirvana: Nevermind - This could be the most overrated album in my small collection. Kurt Cobain was tortured, sure, but screaming touches my eardrums more than my heartstrings.
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Bloodsugarsexmagik - I don't dig this sex, sex, and more sex bull hockey funk murder, sorry.
Foo Fighters: The Colour And The Shape - Rock music in one of its purer forms. Too bad I don't like rock music in its pure form. "Walking After You" is a great song, though.
Metallica: Metallica - All I can say is that I was young and didn't know what I was getting to. And I still haven't got rid of this stupid album.
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