[Methos1979]

Like many here, I'm a mid-40's guy who grew up on the guitar layden albums of Aerosmith, Zep, Tull etc. Also like many, I have a wide variety of music I enjoy, particularly the mellower stuff like Harry Chapin and Jim Croce.

There's so much 'new' stuff out there and I'm having a ball 'discovering' it for the first time - first time for me at least. Some new favorites are the latest recordings from artists like Jack Johnson, The Beautiful Girls, Katie Melua and Ben Harper. I really like the mellowish, upbeat acoustic stuff from Johnson and TBG's, and I really like the slower, mellower, sexy-voiced stuff from Melua, Kate Walsh, Vienna Teng etc.

So tell me what you're favorite CD's of this year or the past decade even, from artists in the alternative genre or whatever that genre is called. I've enjoyed other posts where people throw out their favorites but it's been mostly electronica or heavier rock stuff that I'm not as interested in. So if you like stuff like I've mentioned above throw them out here - especially the road less traveled. I've got/listened to all the 'major players' in this genre like Dave Matthews Band, David Gray, Pete Zorn, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Ted Lennon, Howie Day, Ryan Adams etc. Tell me the ones I don't know about!

For those who are in the same boat as me, here's my 'new' discoveries this year:

The Beautiful Girls - Water
Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams
James Blunt - Back To Bedlam
Katie Melua - Piece By Piece
Heather Nova - Oyster
Pink - I'm Not Dead Yet
Kate Walsh - Clocktower Park
Anna Nalick - Wreck Of The Day
Ben Harper - Welcome To The Cruel World

I know Pink doesn't fit the genre I orginally asked for, but I loved her album and never thought I'd like her stuff. I'm finding some of the new 'crossover' pop stuff that threads that needle between pop/hip-hop/rock to be quite intriguing, like Pink, Maroon 5 and stuff like that. Feel free to recommend anything along those lines too. Bascially, I'm looking anything FRESH and NEW!
Thanks,

M.

 

[Davey]

Here's three good ones you probably haven't heard before, but may like based on some of those you list ...

Paul K. & the Weathermen Love Is A Gas from 1997. It's a little reminiscent of another guy that uses only a "K" for his last name on record, Tonio K. And his sound also has ties to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground (Moe Tucker produced and played some drums along with Wilco's Glenn Kotche) and PK dedicates it to David Ruffin [Temptations] and Sterling Morrison [Velvet Underground], and comparisons have been drawn to Merle Haggard and especially Townes Van Zandt by others, and there's some of the Replacements, and also some of his musical brother, Greg Dulli from the Afghan Whigs. But K's songwriting and voice and guitar playing are still the big attractions. This is really a beautiful album of finely crafted songs with lots of guitars - highly recommended. Readily available on the used market, but also still available in both CD and inexpensive vinyl from Alias Records.

Speaking of Greg Dulli, the ex-Afghan Whigs frontman has been putting out some pretty nice records as The Twilight Singers for the last few years. I'm very partial to the first Twilight release which is nice and laidback, but the Blackberry Belle followup is harder rocking and great as well, having almost a Righteous Bros. sound at times. And the closing song "Number Nine" (actually track 11 ) which includes the lyric containing the album title, "devil - sweet talkin fly on the wall / blackberry belle of the ball / just like you told me - I'm gonna crawl", features another big favorite in Mark Lanegan as the main vocalist, with his deep, Johnny Cash-like baritone, and with Greg Dulli taking over on the chorus and singing background over some very nice music driven along by Petra Haden (now with the Decemberists) on violin, and toward the end, with her background vocals joining the others, and then all by herself crooning a bit like Clare Torry on Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig in the Sky". Very nice closer. Others credited in the notes for some or all of the album are drummer Stanton Moore from Galactic, Prince's Purple Rain lover Apollonia, guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart, and many other luminaries. Pretty nice recording too. Anyway, definitely worth listening to some clips if you like the Whigs mix of rock and soul, which I do. And of course, fans of soulful rock should already have some of those Afghan Whigs records in their collection.

Steve Wynn is another old favorite in that vein. Put out one of the classic rock albums of the early 80s in The Days of Wine and Roses with his band Dream Syndicate, and is still making some great music. Check out the double CD/LP release Here Come the Miracles. Nothing that radical or new, just good old fashioned rock and roll. It's kind of hard to explain what makes it feel so good but maybe it's just that comfort coming from the familiarity. I hear many of my old and new favorite bands in the songs - Luna, Eleventh Dream Day, Neil Young, Lou Reed, Yo La Tengo, Giant Sand, the Byrds, Bob Dylan. Nice album. Some very nice customer reviews at amazon if it sounds interesting.

 

[fishscale]

I love Pete Zorn

check out Sam Roberts, hes what Jack would sound like if got his hands on an electric

 

[PieRat]

G. love

Tristan Prettyman

Heck G. love with Tristan prettyman (the song Beautiful).

I am kind of in the same boat. I am just discovering some of these indie's myself. Though G.love and other artist like Jack Johnson have been around for awhile I never heard them till I started listening to the coffee channel (30) on Sirius radio, have also heard Katie Malua and others there as well.

 

[micaela]

John Butler Trio -- not exactly "Jack Johnsony" but very nice accoustic rock - with a little different twist. My favorite is "Sunrise over Seas".

Nils Lofgren - have only heard his accoustic album - but its wonderful & in the genre you describe - really really nice accoustic guitar work. The album is called "Accoustic Live"

 

[GlendaleViper]

-Nick Drake - an artist you may have missed back in the day. Folk, but way ahead of his time.
-Another vote for G. Love & Special Sauce
-Elliot Smith
-Apples in Stereo
-Raising Sand - Alison Kraus and Robert Plant (Get this NOW!)
-The Shins
-Sufjan Stevens (big maybe)
-Belle & Sebastien
-Ben Lee
-Ben Folds

 

[anygreg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by micaela /img/forum/go_quote.gif John Butler Trio -- not exactly "Jack Johnsony" but very nice accoustic rock - with a little different twist. My favorite is "Sunrise over Seas". Nils Lofgren - have only heard his accoustic album - but its wonderful & in the genre you describe - really really nice accoustic guitar work. The album is called "Accoustic Live"

Ditto the John Butler Trio....'Peaches & Cream' taken from the album Sunrise over seas....Listened to this whilst travelling around New Zealand and Oz...Please please take me back there and away from this miserable English weather.!!

Ooops...Happy new year !

 

[joeq70]

You might dig Matt Costa. He did some work with Jack Johnson...that one song "Let It Be Sung."

 

[Capital R]

Tyrone Wells, Marc Broussard, Rufus Wainwright, Ray LaMontagne, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Rice, Devendra Banhart (very experimental style).

For a slightly more Indie Rock feel, The Shins.

 

[Juli]

Jason Mraz (MySpace.com - Jason Mraz - San Diego, California - Christian / Industrial / Psychobilly - www.myspace.com/jasonmraz) would fit in the "Jack Johnson - Genre".

I really like him and his music.