Music Appreciation Post

I was meeping in the Tool thread and I thought I should share some music that I like. I included various genres and stuff, so if there's any kind of a response I can add a lot more. Download them all -- it's free and you might like one or more of the songs.

NOTE: As far as I know, this is all more or less indie music and the RIAA will not RAPECILL because none of these artists bring in enough money if they're even on major labels. Plus these are totally like samples to entice you to buy the albums and meep.


Mission of Burma - Academy Fight Song
Old punk-type rock. Great band.

Dalek - Culture for Dollars
Has been described as "rap for people that like Massive Attack." Has harder electronic music. On label Ipecac.

Two Gallants - Drive My Car
Santa Cruz band that's had some attention lately, lead singer plays guitar and harmonica at the same time. Named after a Joyce story. Irish-folk undertones.

At the Drive in - Quarantined (Lamacq Version)
This is a hard to find version of a song off of their Ivalid Litter Department single, and you can hear the type of music that The Mars Volta would lean towards on their first album.

Handome Boy Modeling School ft. the RZA, the Mars Volta, and AG - A Day in the Life
Dan the Automator Nakamura and Prince Paul, two of the best producers around, are Handsome Boy Modeling School. This is off their album called White People.

Brakestra - Showbiz
I don't have a lot of funk per se (except JB Live at the Apollo), but this is from a Peanut meeper Wolf (Stones Throw Label) compilation. Besides some of the best producers, they have some great old jazz and funk on their label.

Plastillina Mosh - Afroman
Name means something like "play-doh mosh pit." Mexican band that plays a whole myriad of styles; here they play sort of a funk-rap.

Hangar18 - Boombox Apocalypse
White rappers (who are good) rapping about actual life-changing events (including Sept. 11th). I swear it's good.

Hangar18 - Beat Slope (El-P Remix)
More Hangar18 with better production. El-P is a great hip hop producer and rapper. Also a white guy.

El-P - Stupid Robot
This track by white rapper/producer/label founder (Def Jux) was only released on an esoteric compilation. Later, he remade the track for a compilation called Urban Renewal: PROGRAM. This track is a little less polished than the redone version.

MURS - County Blues
Def Jux labelmate to El-P, MURS (Manifesting Underground Raw meep -- he won't explain the name in interviews) did a short, personal LP called Varsity Blues. This track is one of the more confessional, about him calling his mom after getting locked up "not for drunk drivin, drugs or no gun meep, mom they locked me in a jail cell for..." You'll just have to listen.

Glassjaw - Pretty Lush
Tool fans should like this :) Some well-crafted but pissed-off rock.

Head Automatica - Everything You Wanted to Know About Straight Edge
Glass jaw lead singer's side project. Collaboration with Dan The Automator, a less serious album for the guy.

The Wrens - Everyone Choose Sides (Live at WOXY)
The Wrens (NJ band) have been toiling away for years writing some of the best unrecognized music around. They had a minor hit with The Meadowlands a couple years back, and this is a live version of a song off that album that they did for internet radio WOXY. This album took forever to find.

The Wrens - The Seventh Stranger
The Wrens cover The Seventh Stranger, originally by Duran Duran. Definitely better than the original.

Sparta - Trapeze (Buddyhead Demo version)
Sparta is "emo." OK meep YOU THEN. They're an offshoot of At the Drive in, who also spawned Mars Volta. This is off a demo they cut before their first album, and download this if you hate emo because this might change your mind about some of it.

Gary Wilson - Electric Depression
Weird meep. Off Stones Throw, a totally bizarre artist in music and in life. This is one of the more listenable tracks off his album Mary Had Brown Hair.

Nephilim - Untitled track
Weird meep. It's a rapper named Nephilim who raps about drugs, conspiracies, revolution, and religion. This one has some George Bush samples, believe it or not.

Orko tha Sykotic Alien - Abortion
Weird meep. Ever hear a rap song that debates abortion?

Restiform Bodies - Track 8
Weird meep. White guys with dreads kinda rap kinda sing about hot air balloons. Better than it sounds. Part of the very weird but very cool Oakland-based Anticon record label.

Why? - Afterschool America
Weird meep. Why? is a jew who writes some strange music. In this song, he manages to introduce more themes in one minute than most writers can do over a song three times that length. Also part of Anticon.

Xiu Xiu - I luv the valley OH!
Weird meep. Xiu Xiu (pronounced shoo-shoo) is the creation of one Jamie Stewart. A meep man with some obvious demons, his music is so emotional and intense that it borders on silly at times. Of course, that's the intention. It seems like you either love Xiu Xiu or you think it's pretentious horse meep. This song is good though. It's about his struggle with depression.

Ok, so if any one actually cares about the fact that I threw this together, I can add more from any of these bands and/or jazz, hip hop, funk, weird meep, rock, whatever.