I'm tired of rock music.

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saturnine ...Andrew Bird...

whoa, hey, wow...
my brother played bass for Bowl of Fire.

 

[iancraig10]

Try the California Guitar Trio or the Scottish Guitar Quartet. I love them both for different reasons. Really good headphone listening music.

Ian

 

[fante7]

Hmm, I'm going to recommend something in the other direction. Have you ever listened to the Ozric Tentacles?

 

[en480c4]

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven from Godspeed You Black Emperor. It's a hell of an album, and a little more accessible than f#a# (infinity symbol). It's big, with guitars, strings, and everything in between. I'm partial to f#a# as an experience, but Lift... is more musical.

 

[rextrade]

Sufjian Stevens.

 

[vherub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rextrade Sufjian Stevens.

and his more popular brother sufjan stevens

also: wolf parade, magnetic fields

 

[proglife]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vherub also: wolf parade, magnetic fields

Isn't this guy asking for upbeat music without electric guitar?

 

[Davey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trains are bad I'd like you to recommend me some music that is catchy in the rock music sort of way yet uses something besides just electric guitar. I wouldn't rule out upbeat jazz or electronic music.

I'm always tossing out Laika when someone wants to mix it up a little, especially their Silver Apples of the Moon. Over 10 years ago now but still seems visionary. Knocked me for a real loop when I first heard it because it seemed so fresh and vital (even though I later learned that Margaret was doing similar work with Moonshake before this). Effortlessly melding hip hop, dub, jungle, acid-jazz and electronica with an organic rock foundation, and that juxtapostion between Margaret's feathery vocals and the jittery, and sometimes even menacing rhythms. Never quite been duplicated, except on their next album, Sounds of the Satellites.

How about some Stereolab? One of my all time favorite albums and easily one of the best of the 90s is their Emperor Tomato Ketchup. Vintage Farsifa and Vox organs, Moog synthesizers, late 60s bachelor pad mod sounds of Burt Bacharach combined with krautrockers Neu! and Can as well as some Ornette Coleman like avant-garde sax. Lovely vocals by Laetitia Sadier about an array of ism's, including humanism and Marxism, sometimes in English and other times in French. This is modern pop at its finest by a band that can rock too. Pearl Jam even covered the driving, guitar dominated "The Noise of Carpet". Beautiful production throughout, about half done in London with Paul Tipler and half in Chicago with John McEntire (Tortoise).

Maybe some Dead Can Dance. Into the Labyrinth or one of the collections, or my personal fave in Within the Realm of a Dying Sun. Good stuff. A little gothy, but not angst ridden.

 

[iancraig10]

Stop it you lot.

I've bought four albums now!!

Ian

 

[BodiesOfLight]

Boards of Canada - all albums
Minus the Bear - all albums (has electric guitar but it's used unqiuely)

My 2 cents.

 

[astaireboy]

My recommendations (slightly rock-ish, but definitely interesting instrumentation) would be:

The Books - Lost and Safe: Very unique sound... a little bit of Pinback, Sea and Cake, interesting rhythmic sections.

Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny... already recommended. One of the best Post-Rock (if you like that term) albums ever made. Unbelievable.

Tortoise - Standards: Can't go wrong with them.

The Polyphonic Spree - The Beginning Stages Of - You'll either love 'em or hate 'em, but they have use every instrument under the sun... create groovy music that you can lay in the sun and listen to.

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - More conventional than the above, they are still a fun group that's worked for years with little recognition. Probably has something to do with the name...

Enjoy!

 

[kwitel]

The Mars Volta
surprised no one else has mentioned it already...
and I will third Dredg's "El Cielo", killer album.

 

[Relayer71]

Another vote here for Godspeed You Black Emperor!'s Lift Your SKinny... amazing album. Also their latest, "Yanqui U.X.O.".

Also:

Tortoise's "TNT" album or their first self titled one.
Trans Am's "The Red Line".
Explosions In The Sky's "The World Is Not A Cold Dead Place"
Mogwai's "Songs For Happy People" or "Come On Die Young"
Mono's "Walking Cloud And Deep Red Sky..."
Radiohead's "Kid A" or "Amnesiac"
Stereolab's "Mars Audiac Quintet" or "Cobra And Phases Group Play..."

I'm also listening a lot to the 1st 2 Death Cab For Cutie albums, "Something about Airplanes" and "We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes". Not exactly progressive or experimental, just great catchy tunes.

 

[VicAjax]

i'll be the third to suggest Tortoise, but my recommendation is to get their 2nd album: Millions Now Living Will Never Die

the opening 20 minute track alone (Djed) is worth the purchase price.

and definitely pick up Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup

 

[gratefulshrink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax and definitely pick up Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup

YES YES YES YES YES on the Stereolab.

That recent thread got me listening to my entire Stereolab collection.