Recommendation Megathread

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No Music Discussion > Recommendation Megathread

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Turd Nelson posted:

I'm looking for weird music. Maybe that's not the right word for it, but I'm looking for any kind of song that is somewhat obscure and catchy.

Here are a few examples of some songs i would call weird:

The Cramps - Human Fly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPOVmWzeqEo

The Cramps are one of my favorite bands. I don't know if you're familiar with a lot of their stuff, but if not I would recommend checking out the albums A Date with Elvis, Look Mom No Head (I especially like the track "Bend Over I'll Drive") and Fiends of Dope Island.

Turd Nelson posted:

Patti Smith - Rock n' Roll friend of the family
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLIkM4wvcC8

Can anyone recommend me some songs?

For some Patti Smith goodness mixed with Blue Oyster Cult goodness, check out "Revenge of Vera Gemini" on the BOC album Agents of Fortune. Now, this is the album that has the misfortune of including "Don't Fear the Reaper" -- not that I'm saying it's a bad song (it's not), but in my experience it's horribly overplayed to the point where I get numb when I hear it. But it has a number of other great tracks. For a catchy guitar riff on a song that's sort-of obscure, you can't beat "ETI."

I'm also going to suggest some Zappa: Joe's Garage ("Crew Slut," "Stick It Out," "Keep it Greasy"), Sheik Yerbouti ("Wild Love," "City of Tiny Lites," "Tryin to Grow a Chin"), Over-Nite Sensation (the whole drat thing), Apostrope ("Yellow Snow" suite) and maybe One Size Fits All.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2009 04:08

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 11:42

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Big Bad Voodoo Lou posted:

I haven't heard One Size Fits All, but you just named four of my favorite Zappa albums of all time. I also like Studio Tan for the cartoonish psychedelia of "The Adventures of Greggory Peccary" and "Lemme Take You To the Beach" and Cruisin' With Ruben and the Jets for Zappa's semi-ironic homage to the doo-wop he loved so much.

Well, most of Zappa is great, but naming my favorite pieces would lean toward things like "King Kong" and "Pound for a Brown" (numerous live versions), the "non-doo-wop" tracks on Burnt Weenie Sandwich and things of that nature. Throw in The Grand Wazoo or Hot Rats to shake things up a bit.

Having said that, I think that if you like the other albums I mentioned earlier, One Size Fits All should find a comfortable place in your collection. Overall, it has much the same kind of "Zappa does his version of rock'n'roll" feel that the others have. Very underrated album. Check it out.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2009 16:01

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

OrganicRobot posted:

I'm looking for some really good guitar albums because I've recently got into King Crimson's Lark's Tongue in Aspic and Red. I love the guitar on both of those albums, but mostly in the split title track of Lark and the first song of Red. I'm not real interested in the cliche guitar-rock of Led Zeppelin and company, as I am in the lesser-known and less common stuff like Television's Marquee Moon. Any help would be appreciated.

You might want to try out a pair of Swedish bands, Anglagard and Anekdoten. Both have been compared to the Larks' Tongues/Starless/Red period of King Crimson, and it won't take you long to see why.

You'll also want to give a listen to a Japanese band called Happy Family.

# ¿ Nov 19, 2009 03:30

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Vannaroth posted:

Can any recommend me some artists along the lines of Tom Waits and Nick Cave? I'm mainly after stuff resembling Waits' spooky, experimental kind of style but any recommendations in this general area at all would be appreciated.

Try some Johnny Dowd. I particularly like Pictures from Life's Other Side, Temporary Shelter and Wrong Side of Memphis.

# ¿ Dec 13, 2009 06:07

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

JehovahsWetness posted:

Maggot Brain's special, sorry.

I think there are other pieces in the same general neighborhood. If you want to say none of them approach the greatness of Maggot Brain, you could be right--but they still might be of interest. I'm going to mention Watermelon in Easter Hay and Black Napkins, both by Frank Zappa.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2010 17:08

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Little Treasure posted:

I have two Frank Zappa albums: Apostrophe and The Grand Wazoo. I would like to get into more of his stuff, but his incredibly large body of work has me baffled. Going off of the two albums I have, what do you recommend I listen to next?

I'm going to agree with the already-recommended Over-Nite Sensation as a companion piece for Apostrophe, and toss in a mention of One Size Fits All as well.

From Grand Wazoo, you'll also want to check out Waka/Jawaka and Hot Rats.

Roxy & Elsewhere, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol 2 and Make a Jazz Noise Here are, in my opinion, the live albums you don't want to miss. Oh, and Yellow Shark, too.

# ¿ Jul 22, 2010 03:14

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

crazyfish posted:

I'm looking for more spacey late 60s/early 70s kind of psychedelic/krautrock. Think long, spacey, free-improv kind of jams. Stuff along the lines of Ash Ra Tempel, Gam, No-Neck Blues Band, and ZeN (the Turkish band, I think there might be more than one by that name). It doesn't have to be from this specific era but I included a date range to give more of an idea about what I'm looking for.

You've probably heard Can and Tangerine Dream, but I'll mention them because you didn't, and they shouldn't go unmentioned when the discussion turns to krautrock.

Also, you might want to try out some Djam Karet. Instrumental stuff, most of it composed by developing ideas from free-form improvs, as I understand it. They'll do anything from an aggressive, guitar-driven hard rock sound (Burning the Hard City) to ambient music (Suspension and Displacement) with lots of psychedelic stuff as well.

Ozrick Tentacles might also be of interest, but having heard about a half-dozen of their albums, it seems to me they have two songs: The one with the rock beat and the one with the reggae beat. So there might not be any need to find more than one album unless you like it so much you want to be able to play them nonstop all day. Someone more knowledgeable than me might disagree, though.

Also, I'll second the recommendation of Gong and Hawkwind.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2011 17:10

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

I would be open to recommendations for good, long-rear end, instrumental jams. Examples of stuff I've already been getting into would include some Djam Karet (particularly "Burning the Hard City"), Bitches Brew era Miles, Earthless, some of the jammier live Grateful Dead things (performances of Dark Star, The Other One, etc.). I'm not real keen on going to the ambient end of the spectrum; prefer something harder and/or more psychedelic and/or drummier than ambient would typically be.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2014 15:16

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

funkybottoms posted:

Boredoms from the late 90s on, Can, Major Stars, Mogwai. never heard of Djam Karet before, but it sounds like they listened to a lot of King Crimson

I'm familiar with Can and thought about mentioning them. I'll definitely check out the others. Thanks.

I don't know if the Djam Karet guys would claim to take some influence from King Crimson, but yeah, it's very easy to picture some overlap in their audiences.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2014 17:10

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

KevinHeaven posted:

Are you familiar with the Mahavishnu Orchestra? The guitarist from that band, John McLaughlin, played on some of Miles' late-60s, early-70s albums. And although their songs don't really approach 20 minutes, the music is pretty hard, very far from ambient. Then again, there is the occasional "fiddle song" on their albums, but most of the music is heavy on drums and electric guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQG7XpCiSVA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU4yAk6qYUs

Check out some of their live videos on youtube if you're into drum solos.

I have some bootlegs with the original lineup that are absolutely killer. My wife won't let me play them in the house because they melt the paint right off the walls.

Hancock and Shakti noted. I've heard of both but haven't gotten around to checking them out.

# ¿ Oct 21, 2014 00:17

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Big Bidness posted:

For Herbie Hancock, def start with Head Hunters, and if you like that, check out everything he did in the early/mid 70's- Mwandishi, Crossings, Head Hunters, Sextant, and Thrust.

You also might want to check out The Soft Machine, their first four albums are great, with the third being the most complex and noisy, and to me the most rewarding listen.

I've checked out some Hancock, Head Hunters and Mwandishi. I give him an enthusiastic thumbs-up. I'll admit that up to now, my exposure to him has consisted of "Rockit," which, although way cool in its own way, I didn't find compelling enough to put forth any effort to see what else he had done.

I'm familiar with early Soft Machine. Robert Wyatt's one of my favorite drummers.

me your dad posted:

Some Fela Kuti, but I'm not the best person to point you to a specific album.

Actually, that's a better recommendation than you may realize. I've heard a couple things of his by way of in-store play at a local indie record store I used to frequent. "What's that you have playing?" "Fela Kuti." "Oh, cool." So it impressed me enough to ask about it, but when it came time to buy something and go home, something else was a higher priority. I haven't thought about him in years, and the reminder is very much welcome.

# ¿ Oct 22, 2014 16:03

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Kvlt! posted:

Can you recommend me some epic psychedelic albums? As in the type of stuff that you'd do a bunch of acid or DMT and then put on and have a crazy journey.

I'm a little slow on the uptake here, but anyway... The first thing that comes to mind would be Gong's Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy: Flying Teapot, Angel's Egg, and You.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2014 17:34

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Henchman of Santa posted:

However, after listening to the newest Wovenhand album (which I realize is more of a heavy rock record) and seeing them live, and digging "Far From Any Road" by the Handsome Family (the True Detective theme), I think it might be worth exploring the darker side of that genre. Gothic country, I guess it's called (although I see Handsome Family is listed only as alt-country and Americana on RateYourMusic, but to me that's Wilco or My Morning Jacket). Gloomy or apocalyptic atmosphere, eclectic instrumentation, dudes with deep, foreboding voices. Any recommendations in that regard? I know 16 Horsepower is probably a must.

You might want to try some Johnny Dowd.

# ¿ Feb 17, 2015 05:46

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Franchescanado posted:

Early Zappa and the Mothers albums (also Hot Rats, Over-Nite Sensation, Sheik Yerbouti, and Apostrophe)
Butthole Surfers

These came to mind for me as well. I'll throw in One Size Fits All and Joe's Garage for Zappa. Also:

The Cramps, A Date with Elvis and/or Look Mom, No Head!.
Sonic Youth. Something in the Daydream Nation through Washing Machine run. My favorite is Goo, but I may be in the minority there.
Funkadelic, The Electric Spanking of War Babies.
Gong, Flying Teapot, Angel's Egg, and You (the "Radio Gnome Invisible" trilogy).
Soft Machine 1 and 2.

If you want to go farther "out there":
U Totem, self-titled
Thinking Plague, In This Life

# ¿ Feb 24, 2015 22:01

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Kvlt! posted:

Thank you all for the breakup reccomendations everybody, they've definitely helped a lot and I've discovered some great new music.

Any reccomendations for Southern, whiskey soaked preferably electric blues? Think stuff like "Worried Down With the Blues by Gov't Mule or Blow Away by the [b]Grateful Dead[b] with Brent on vocals. "Have you ever Seen the Rain" by [b]CCR[b] is another example of the type of stuff of what I'm looking for.

I take every opportunity to recommend the North Mississippi Allstars that comes along. I'm not sure how well they would work for you if you want to stick very close to your examples--they'll go full-tilt boogie and/or psychedelic when the mood strikes--but if you're good with that, I think you might find them worth checking out. A couple of my favorites:

Goin' Down South
Rollin' n' Tumblin'

# ¿ Feb 26, 2015 17:56

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Laverna posted:

I thought there might be a Beatles thread but I couldn't find one so I hope this is the right place to ask.

I watched Across the Universe the other day and it made me want to check out some other Beatles cover songs.
I have the I am Sam soundtrack which has some pretty great covers, but I don't really know what other good ones are out there or where to start looking (I dread the results I'd get from putting it into youtube)

So, any suggestions for great covers of The Beatles' songs?

One of my favorites, 801 Live with "Tomorrow Never Knows": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkGXUn0Kuuw.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2015 11:31

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Ibexaz posted:

Looking for sort of slow, hauntingly chill songs like these.

No guarantees, but this might just fit your requirements:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OllqNwK6eY (with cover art that might be mildly not safe for some workplaces). If you like that one, click through the rest of the tracks on that album. It's fairly consistent in mood, but everything doesn't sound the same.

# ¿ May 23, 2015 19:13

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

The rear end Stooge posted:

Recommend me some bands, preferably mostly/entirely instrumental, that exist at the intersection of indie rock and chamber music, like Clogs or Rachel's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH2c6G3tzyM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R0eIi6pqSo

Univers Zero, maybe?

# ¿ Oct 20, 2015 21:42

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Well, this is something that might be a rather specialized request, but here goes. I'd like to find a few more tracks with piano similar to the solos here:

David Bowie, Aladdin Sane (solo starts at about 2:02)
Bill Nelson's Red Noise, For Young Moderns (solo starts at about 3:36)

Any genre, artist, or period is fine. I wouldn't even limit it to piano, but I'm not sure you could get the same effect with anything else.

Also, is there a name for that style?

# ¿ Jan 6, 2016 22:02

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Wheat Loaf posted:

What I'm looking for more of is a specific kind of rock music from the 1970s. I've no interest in (and in some cases actually quite dislike) prog rock, heavy metal or the whole Led Zeppelin / Budgie / Bad Company style hard rock, and I went pretty sour on AOR a couple of years back. What I am interested in finding is music that's more straightforward R&B-influenced rock and roll stuff, along the lines of Faces with Rod Stewart, the J. Geils Band, Mick Taylor era Rolling Stones, Delaney & Bonnie or maybe even "All the Young Dudes" era Mott the Hoople.

(Please don't recommend Status Quo.)

You might want to try some Dr. Feelgood:

She Does It Right
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHm7uIC84YM

Keep It Out of Sight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rn45_OO9rk

Back in the Night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ILyWFhuf3Y

And no, all their song titles don't rhyme.

# ¿ Jul 4, 2016 01:05

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

The Schwa posted:

I'm volunteering at a hostel and looking for something chill that I can play in the background of the combined reception/common area. I've been hitting the afrobeat pretty hard today but I'd be keen to mix it up. I tend towards funky or jazzy stuff but I'm not tied to that. Lyrics don't matter, just nothing too loud or distracting I guess. Hopefully that's enough information

Check out some Medeski, Martin and Wood.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2016 12:56

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

SimonChris posted:

Yeah, it's the dreamy hypnotic style I like.

The Golden Palominos' Pure is one of my all-time favorites.
Caution: cover art is possibly NSFW, depending on where you work.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2016 23:34

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Hat Thoughts posted:

I rotate the music on my phone every once in a while and the current set is: Antarctigo Vespucci, Arrogant Sons of Bitches, Bob Lind, BTMI!, Cheryl Lynn, The Clash, Crying, Dollar Signs, The Dresden Dolls ( I know), ELO, G.L.O.S.S., Jackie Lynn, Jeff Rosenstock, Judee Sill, Kero Kero Bonito, Kinks, ovlov, Pup, Ramshackle Glory, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, R��R, Solange, Stevie Wonder, They Might Be Giants, Tirolean Tape, Wire, Tamao Koike
What should I listen to? I'm down for everything but fair warning I have trouble listening to anything that's uh, slow? Low tempo? Not sure the exact words I'm looking for, I just very quickly lose interest for whatever reason, it's admittedly fail

A variety pack, off the top of my head:

Sonic Youth, Goo (alt rock / noise rock�this one might be their most straightforward rockin' album)
Earthless, From the Ages (lengthy instrumental guitar/bass/drum jams)
Jethro Tull, Benefit (early Tull)
Magma, Theusz Hamtaahk (prog rock; lyrics are in Koba�an, a language invented by the drummer/band leader, Christian Vander)
The Cramps, Look Mom, No Head! (garage rock/psychobilly)
Plasmatics, New Hope for the Wretched (punk)
Last Exit, self-titled (free jazz)
Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, Doc at the Radar Station (Not my favorite album of his, but I would hesitate to recommend my favorites to the uninitiated. This is a very solid one, one I come back to frequently, and one I feel good about recommending. I'm at a loss to describe Beefheart briefly in any meaningful way, but it's possible you've heard him already, so...)
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bayou Country (CCR�'nuff said)
Johnny Dowd, Temporary Shelter (Wikipedia describes him as "alternative country" with comparisons to Tom Waits, Nick Cave, and Captain Beefheart)
North Mississippi Allstars, Shake Hands with Shorty (blues rock)
The Bears, self-titled (pop, definitely above average in songwriting, musicianship, and wit; featuring Adrian Belew, whom you may know from his time with Frank Zappa, King Crimson, and/or David Bowie)
Phil Manzanera, Diamond Head (Roxy Music guitarist; psychedelic, mostly)
801 Live (psychedelic, featuring the aforementioned Mr. Manzanera)

# ¿ Oct 16, 2016 08:15

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Country Joe and the Fish weigh in with their weed song. Not exactly one of the subtler or more profound entries in the genre, to say the least, but...well, there's certainly no ambiguity there.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2017 19:00

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 11:42

Secret Agent X23: May 11, 2005; Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

Harminoff posted:

What else is out there like earthless? I'd like to find some more instrumental music like this. Just non stop cranked to 11 jams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byQJ9utRCWw

Earthless. Awesome stuff. love 'em. Try this Acid Mothers Temple track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSJnhpmuuhc. It's a cover of Gong's "Master Builder/Glorious Om Riff."

Secret Agent X23 fucked around with this message at 07:09 on Sep 3, 2017

# ¿ Sep 3, 2017 07:06

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