saut

As some of you may or may not know, Penn State University (which I attend) has a deal with Napster -- basically, all students get the service for free (well, not quite free, as there is a charge for making a song able to be burned onto a CD). The selection is decent, although missing some artists for sure, the download speeds are fast and consistant, and there's no worries of a transfer failing or being remotely queued, so downloading entire albums at a time is a fairly quick and easy thing to do. I've decided to take advantage of this and download one album from one artist for every letter of the alphabet. Maybe I'll expand my musical horizons a bit. Anyway, I'll be posting what I downloaded and a quasi-review as well, so that maybe I'll introduce someone here to new music as well.

Now, this may take a while for me to do every letter, so in order to keep this thread alive and interesting until I'm finished, I ask you all to list a band, an album or song, and maybe a brief description for every letter of the alphabet. I'll start:

Apples in Stereo - Strawberry Fire (song)
A very mellow, summertimeish feeling song with some heavy bass.

Ben Taylor Band - Island (song)
Also very mellow. Folksy.

Catherine Wheel - Sparks are Gonna Fly (song)
Cool guitar distortion

Desert Sessions - Making a Cross (song)
Kyuss/QOTSA members -- song is light and acoustic sounding.

Elvis Costello - Pump it Up (song)
I love the bass line.

Flickerstick - Coke (song)
I really wish VH1 would do a show like that again.

Guster - Airport Song (song)
Two acoustic guitars and bongo drums, what more could you ask for?

Howie Day - Stop all the World Now (album)
I can't believe the dept. store I work at plays this on the muzak.

Infected Mushroom - Bust a Move (song)
Techno with acoustic guitars

Jack Johnson - Flake (song)
Acoustic guitar and mellow singing

Kyuss - Catamaran (song)
A very mellow, groovy ass song from the fathers of stoner rock

Living Color - Cult of Personality (song)
You probably remember this song from the 90's

Michael Franti and Spearhead - Everyone Deserves Music (album)
Incredible album. Rock meets hip-hop with acoustic guitars and soulfull
singing from Franti. Many political statements.

Nick Drake - Pink Moon (album)
David Bowie meets Iggy Pop. In a way, at least.

Opeth - Damnation (album)
Very mellow album from a (usually) death metal band. I wish they made music like this all the time.

Porcupine Tree - Prodigal (song)
HEAVY Pink Floyd influence here.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (song)
Only the best sing-a-long song ever.

Rufus Wainwright - Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (song)
Piano and singing. Somewhat similar to Ben Folds.

Stonehenge - Full Moon (song)
Really cool song by this prog-metal group. I especially like the singing in the first minute or so of the song.

Travelling Wilburys - Handle with Care (song)
Group members include: Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison. That should speak for itself.

Unified Theory - California (song)
This band is the remnants of Blind Melon -- a little heavier.

Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun (song)
Very catchy. I'm getting lazy.

W- Nothing comes to mind

X- Same

Y- Yngwi J Malmsteen's Rising Force

Zuam - Merkaba (song)
Danny Carey (Tool) drums in this electonica-ish side project.



Now, for my real list: Nothing as of yet, but I'll be updating soon.

Adam Cohen - Adam Cohen
I like it. Singer-songwriter style that reminds me of artists like Jack Johnson and Howie Day. Acoustic and catchy. So far, all the songs are pretty damn good.

Recommended Song(s): Cry Ophelia, Tell Me Everything

Rating 7/10
(Would be higher if I were more into the genre of music he does)

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

FoolThemAll

All songs.

Aesop Rock - No Regrets
Intelligent, catchy rap.

Brian Vander Ark - And Then You Went Away
Acoustic rock, good songwriting in its totality, from Verve Pipe's lead singer

Chisel - 8 AM All Day
Very accessible indie rock from Ted Leo, before the Pharmacists

Dismemberment Plan - Girl O'Clock
Wildly wierd and fun post-punk, featuring stuttered vocals

Elliott Smith - Speed Trials
Mellow indie rock with beautiful vocals

Finger Eleven - Thousand Mile Wish
One of the few good nu-metal bands, the only great song off their newest

Glands - Livin' Was Easy
Indie rock with a distinct Tom Petty flavor (especially the vocals)

High Llamas - Checking In, Checking Out
Reminiscent of CSNY with its harmonies

Idlewild - You Held the World In Your Arms
Guitars and violin, somewhat lyrically repetitive yet instantly catchy

Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Classic rock, legendary riff

King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Classic prog rock, one of the genre's very best songs

Lake Trout - Bliss
Fusion of alternative rock and electronica, like an aural frieght train

Moss Icon - Gravity
Spoken vocals that manage to be hugely emotive, beautiful song
The original emo, nothing like Jimmy Eat World or Bright Eyes

Negro Problem - Lime Green Sweater
Doo wop-type classic pop (from 2002), strong lead vocals with gentle backing

Oasis - Rockin' Chair
In my mind, the most beautiful thing the band has done

Pernice Brothers - The Weakest Shade of Blue
Perfect pop music

Queens of the Stone Age - The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
Stoner rock you'll want to sing along to

Rogue Wave - Kicking the Heart Out
Elliott Smith-type vocals, incredibly catchy

Stew - The Instrument of Pain
Negro Problem's lead singer, sugary yet clever and lovely folk song

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?
Even more accessible than Chisel, with an exceptional round at the end

Unicorns - I Don't Wanna Die
A bit wierd, a bit artsy, but with its own brand of catchiness

Verve Pipe - Generations
NOT one-hit wonders. So much more. Great vocals and theme.

Wilco - Can't Stand It
Alt-country. Great lyrics and vocal passion.

XTC - Dear God
Passionate song blaming God for the world's ills

Yo LA Tengo - Stockholm Syndrome
Passive vocals, acoustic guitar, a bit folkish

Zero 7 - This World
Ethereal electronica-type music, R&B-type vocals

__________________
I wonder if we're stuck in Rome.

Manic_Skafe

I suggest you download the MIRC now - the selection of the IRC versus Napster is like comparing the amount of $ in the federal reserve to your bank account.

Looks like we might have some similar musical tastes.

A - Annal Nathrakh -
They just released a new cd which I haven't heard but have heard good reviews of. Download "The Codex Necro" and "Totally Fucking Necro" to wet your feet in the river of blood and bile. Very solid black metal.

B - Black Dahlia Murder, The (Unhallowed)
Very good death metal with light gore lyrics. Songs about the dead coming back to life and other fun subjects. These guys know how to play their instruments as well.

C - Circle Of Dead Children
The band is blast-beats galore but the vocals definetly take the cake. Without reading along with their site I didn't know a word their vocalist was saying but it's good good stuff.

D - Dilling Escape Plan, The
I'm sure you've heard of them - they're usually refered to as a crazy band with music that must be improvised but their newer album (Miss Machine) has a lot of slower parts and offers a lot more to those who aren't a fan of their grindcore-esque style.

F - Five Pointe O
A lot of people don't like their music because of their lead vocalist's stlye but he's by far, one of the most versatile vocalists I've ever heard. He can do really high screaming vocals and extremely deep growls and offer lyrics about spirituality, the state of the world....good music that stimulates your mind.

G - Glassjaw
I'm not up on the genres anymore so I'm not sure if people are still calling them emo-core but they're a good band with some very emotional songs about a lot of subjects. My favorite quote would have to be "It's a shame that our messiahs move their pawns from different mountains and we're left to dance these bodies 'round the fountain - if a leader preaches worship to the sheep within the valley, who'll be riding in a tank that says 'just married'?"

H - Haste The Day
Very good metalcore - good breakdowns and songs with actual substance. Their "Burning Bridges" cd is worth a download.

I - Impaled
They're a gore band that isn't afraid to embrace the redicioulsness of the genre. Download "Mondo Medicale" and you'll see exactly what I mean.

J - Jehst
Good rap from the UK. Much more to say than the average rapper and a lot more skill to express what he has to say.

M - Mastodon
Download Leviathan. It's an extremely diverse album that shows exactly how far a band can push the boundaries of the music they can make.

M - Mod Flanders Conspiracy
It's extremely different music..describing them would be too hard so just go to www.modflandersconspiracy.com

N - Norma Jean
Good metal core - great breakdowns and lyrics that go from spirituality to the montony of the 9-5 job.

O - One Side Zero
Just download whatever you can find.

P - Pig Destroyer
Check out my thread in this same forum.

P - Poison The Well
Good emotional hardcore.

R - Rage Against The Machine
If you haven't heard it, download "The Battle Of Los Angeles"

T - Tool
Download anything you can find - great prog stuff.

W - Walls Of Jericho
Good hard/metal core with female vocals - they don't break any new ground but they're worth a listen.

I got kinda lazy with the descriptions towards the end but it's late. Enjoy.

__________________
"Porn is a zoo of exotic animals that becomes boring upon ownership." -Nersesian

saut

Yes, the selection on Napster is rather lacking in certain areas, but it's free (for me), and very easy to just browse around at what they have on there and check it out. I've used mIRC before to download music, but it's very... finnegleish. I've only done it a couple times, and about a year ago, so I probably wouldn't remember where to start anyway. The reason I decided to do the ABCs was because of Napster's alphabetical listing of what's available, making it much easier to single out an artist for each letter.