Good contemporary music

[BDC]

Anyone know any? I'm drowing in a sea of American rock-pop at the moment.

I've run out of Led Zep and Pink Floyd albums to get too.

[Geoffrey S]

Eels. Modest Mouse. Mogwai. Godspeed You Black Emperor. Porcupine Tree.
Those are some of me current favourites. What kind of music be yer looking for? (Damned pirate topic!)

[Sjakihata]

Bob Dylan & Bikstok Røgsystem

[King Henry V]

Pleae tell me where I can find it.

[BDC]

Eels. Modest Mouse. Mogwai. Godspeed You Black Emperor. Porcupine Tree.
Those are some of me current favourites. What kind of music be yer looking for? (Damned pirate topic!)

Y'argh matey!

Classic rock through to Radiohead-style alternative is good. Lots of fast screaming and depression has its place, but an entire album is too much. Slower, more talented is better.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Anyone know any? I'm drowing in a sea of American rock-pop at the moment.

Try some Zappa. After that you could so to fussion. There you will find the best musicians in the world. Stuff like Chic Correa and Return to Forever. The Mahavisnu(sp) Orchestra. Stanley White, Jean Luc Ponty, Jeff Beck and the Becker brothers to name a few.

[Mikeus Caesar]

Try Franz Ferdinand. They're quite good, and are realising a new album soon. But i don't like them now that they've become popular, but i can proudly say that i got their first album ages before they became popular, when they were one of the many obscure bands that the music channel 'The Amp' would show.

[Reverend Joe]

"Good"? "Contemporary"? Those two words do not mix for me.

Come to me or Steppe Merc (or Gawain) when you are ready to go back to the 60s and 70s.

[Big_John]

Classic rock through to Radiohead-style alternative is good. Lots of fast screaming and depression has its place, but an entire album is too much. Slower, more talented is better.

hmm, hard to say what your tastes are, but Geoffory S gave some good ideas for contemporary "alternative" rock. in addition, you might want to look at these bands that i usually like (alphabetized, no less!):

built to spill
death cab for cutie
cornelius
elf power
elliott smith
flaming lips
grandaddy
interpol
iron & wine
kings of convenience
low
magnetic fields
mercury rev
notwist
postal service
sigur ros
sparklehorse
stereolab
super furry animals
ween
yo la tengo

i should note that i am much more a fan of floyd than zeppelin. also, the styles and sounds of that group vary wildly (e.g. low sounds nothing like cornelius), so you might like some but absolutely hate others. finally, several of those bands above can be more pop-ish than rock-ish.. but certainly "alternative" in their respective approaches.

for classic-rock era stuff, i don't listen to much, but i'll second zappa. though he can be hard for the uninitiated to grasp.. be careful.

[BDC]

"Good"? "Contemporary"? Those two words do not mix for me.

Come to me or Steppe Merc (or Gawain) when you are ready to go back to the 60s and 70s.

You wouldn't believe how much Led Zeppelin and the like I have. My girlfriend's Dad is in the music industry and I get loads of those big book album thingys all the time.

And I agree that good and contemporary are a pretty rare combination.

Franz Ferdinand are pretty good. Maybe a bit repetitive though. Hope their new album is more varied...

[Cygnus X-1]

built to spill
death cab for cutie
elliott smith
flaming lips
grandaddy
interpol

for classic-rock era stuff, i don't listen to much, but i'll second zappa. though he can be hard for the uninitiated to grasp.. be careful.

All of the above are really great indie bands. I'd also like to add Rilo Kiley.

If you're going for something heavier, i've been listening to alot of Tool and Dream Theater lately and i can't recommend them enough.

[Big_John]

bdc, if you're not adverse to some "IDM" (i.e. non-awful-dance-trash techno), try out:

boards of canada
cex
four tet
and the venerable aphex twin, of course.

[Kaiser of Arabia]

Rammstein, Die Toten Hosen, In Extremo are good

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Rammstein

Good pick. Du Hast

[JimBob]

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers Awesome band from Tempe, the vocalist/guitarist/songwriter and drummer from The Refreshments (you've never heard of them but they wrote the King of The Hill theme, and that song from the 90's Banditos). Plus a bassist and the guitarist from Dead Hot Workshop. Think Santana-Mellancamp-Earle-Springsteen who hangs out with Dylan.

Don't forget legal and free bootlegs! Viva la Roger Clyne!

[Strike For The South]

some country or bluegrass give it a chance

[Alexanderofmacedon]

some country or bluegrass give it a chance

Never!!!

[Geoffrey S]

Big_John: Excellent taste. Salutations!

[English assassin]

What sort of contemporary music have you got already? There are some big name obvious choices like Kings of Leon, QOTSA, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, White Stripes etc that people probably think are too obvious to mention but if you haven't checked them out, do.

I also like Madrugada, and Hammerfall sound so much like Saxon crossed with Iron Maiden its not true. And if you think a band that sound like Sisters of Mercy crossed with the White Stripes might be your thing check out The Kills.

[Lemur]

Nobody's mentioned:

American Analog Set
Giant Sand
Mike Doughty

[Big_John]

Big_John: Excellent taste. Salutations!

right back atchya.


BDC, we expect some after action reports.

[BDC]

right back atchya.


BDC, we expect some after action reports.

The pressure!

I'm not that rich...

[Mikeus Caesar]

built to spill
death cab for cutie
cornelius
elf power
elliott smith
flaming lips
grandaddy
interpol
iron & wine
kings of convenience
low
magnetic fields
mercury rev
notwist
postal service
sigur ros
sparklehorse
stereolab
super furry animals
ween
yo la tengo

You have good taste, dear boy. They are quite good, if a bit slow and depressing.

[Big_John]

Nobody's mentioned:

American Analog Set
Giant Sand
Mike Doughty

yes, the little bit of AAS that i've heard, i've liked. never heard any giant squid, and i don't like mike doughty...

interpol

You have good taste, dear boy. They are quite good, if a bit slow and depressing.

yeah, they're a bit of a one-trick pony, though. if you like that one trick, it's good.. but, a little interpol goes a long way.

The pressure!

I'm not that rich...

try looking for official sites or fansites of the bands mentioned. often, there will be legal bootlegs of live shows to download. i generally much prefer studio work to recorded live shows, but it's a good way to sample the music.

also, you might want to look around for webradio stations playing any of these bands. i can think of two off the top of my head that, sometimes at least, play fairly good contemporary pop/rock:

hipster.org - http://www.hipster.org:8010/
weirdenergy - http://209.98.88.40:8007/

[Gawain of Orkeny]

If you like olser music theres plenty I havent seen mentioned here. John Mayall and the Blues Breakers. the Strawbs, Yes, The Kinks, the Animals, Jefferson Airplane and Johnny Winters to name a few.

[Steppe Merc]

I know a bunch of good current bands, mainly in the jam band scene, and my favorites are from the South.
Jam Bands
My Morning Jacket - Spacey, but not as spacey as say Pink Floyd. Jammy, but not as jammy as the Dead. Still quite good. New CD coming out in October.
Widespread Panic - Excellent band, great songwriters.
Gov't Mule - Allman Brothers blues rocking. Has Warren Haynes, one of the Allman's current guitarists.
Drive by Truckers An awesome band. Love it or hate them, mainly due to their very Southern style of singing (not Nashville fake accents, mind). Great mix of aucostic and rocking songs. Remides me and my Dad of Neil Young Crazy Horse.

Oh, and I love White Stripes and Ryan Adams and the Cardinal's latest albums. Really good rootsy bluesy stuff. Ryan Adam's new double album Cold Roses is almost sort of like the Dead's American Beauty, same sort of style (though not nearly as good, obviously).

Son Volt, Wilco, String Cheese Incident and moe. are also bands worth checking out.

"Good"? "Contemporary"? Those two words do not mix for me.

Come to me or Steppe Merc (or Gawain) when you are ready to go back to the 60s and 70s.

A few months ago I'd agree. However, I got into some really sweet current bands. There are some really good bands around if you know where to look.
Of course the best are from the 60s and 70s, but there are some good contemorary bands.

[JAG]

and Hammerfall sound so much like Saxon crossed with Iron Maiden its not true.

My friend, not only do you have a brilliant music taste but you are bang on, that is pretty much how I would state Hammerfall's sound. They are also a brilliant band and everyone should check them out.

Looking at the bands you listen to BDC, you could even try some Muse, Dream Theater or Lacuna Coil. Probably Dream Theater out of those three would appeal most to you, awesome musicians.

[BDC]

I got Keep On Your Mean Side by The Kills. Pretty good stuff. Nice and bluesy.

[Reverend Joe]

The 1812 overture? Come on...

*starts listening to Wagner's "Siegfried's Funeral March"*

[Kaiser of Arabia]

The 1812 overture? Come on...

*starts listening to Wagner's "Siegfried's Funeral March"*

Wagner>All