Here is something I thought I would try. I listen to a lot, A LOT, of music. A lot of it is mainstream and well known, including some of my favorite artists, but I listen to a whole ton of stuff that an entire subculture of people knows very well but the average person on the street has never heard. Some of the bands you may have heard of, some you may have heard one or two songs, but most of what I'm going to present here is 35 bands/artists that you may have never heard before that I really enjoy and think that maybe you might too.
The only rule here is that only one song per artist. I'll do this in three parts, because it will probably take awhile and it will give me something to write about on my blog for a bit.
1: The Arcade Fire The Arcade Fire are borderline legendary status in the world of indie rock, but I think out of all my friends only one person probably knows who they are, and I'm not sure if he can name any of their songs. To the best of my knowledge, they have never been on Top 40 radio or even rock radio. Their songs are out there in the public if you know where to look, though. You may have also heard about them when they went on a pretty major promotional concert series during Barack Obama's march to the White House (but they're Canadian!)
If you like this song, find: Neighborhood #1, Wake Up, No Cars Go, Intervention
2: The Walkmen
The Walkmen have been around for many, many years. In my opinion, the band isn't for everyone. I myself only thought they were good for one or two songs per album, until they put out their last album, You & Me. The album is pretty much perfect winter music (out of season for this post - I know) and is chock full of slow, wonderful, charming songs.
If you like this song, find: Canadian Girl, The Rat, We've Been Had, New Year's Eve
3. Black Kids Oh man, proper music snobs hate HATE HATE Black Kids. They were a quintessential "blog" band that had all the hype of the internets behind them before they even released an album. As such, the backlash got so out of control that people were crapping all over them before they even had a chance. A lot of people were let down by the album, but the single got the hype for a reason. It's just such a playful innocent song that makes me think of happy things.
If you like this song, find: I've Underestimated My Charm (Again), Listen to Your Body Tonight, Hurricane Jane
4: Bishop Allen
Ok, I have to admit that I only really love this one song from the band, but they definitely fit the definition of what I'm going for here. You may have seen one of their songs briefly in the movie Nick and Norah's Inifite Playlist.
Couldn't find a studio version!
5: The Ting Tings
Only have one album, but definitely one of my favorites out there right now. The entire album is packed with fun, danceable numbers with a lot of beat and a lot of fun. I can't recommend this "band" highly enough.
If you like this song, find: Great DJ, That's Not My Name, Keep Your Head
6: Alphabeat
In the same vein as the last artist, who doesn't love crazy euro-pop? Ok, maybe a lot of people but Alphabeat are crazy infectious. It's the kind of stuff you might feel guilty about but find yourself nodding your head to later on. This band was a bit of a blog favorite last year (depending on the blog, naturally) and fits right in with my taste.
If you like this song, find: What is Happening?, Public Image, Boyfriend, Fantastic 6
7: The Cribs
I saw these guys open for Franz Ferdinand in 2006 before they were anything and I was very impressed. They've "blown up" a bit since, in the sense that any non-mainstream artist can blow up. Crazy british indie guitar rock with a little bit of swagger and just enough pop thrown in to catch some mass appeal. They have a new album coming out soon with guitar legend Johnny Marr (The Smiths and later in Modest Mouse for a bit)... so now would be a good time to check them out.
If you like this song, find: Hey Scenesters!, Mirror Kissers, Moving Pictures, Men's Needs
8: Phoenix
Ok, Phoenix you might know. They got the rare and coveted "3 song" treatment on Saturday Night Live last season. I have loved Phoenix since I was in college, so there's some staying power there... that's 5 years running. They were always a band with a few good singles on mostly forgettable albums, but that all changed on their last one out...Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, which was chocked front to back with pure gems. They are pretty close to breaking out now, if they haven't already, so check it out.
If you like this song, find: Too Young, Lasso, 1901, Everything is Everything, Consolation Prizes
9: The Format
Ok, if you fucking know me at all then you know for a fact that I love The Format more then I can demonstrate in words. They were hitting it back right before they broke up, so sad. Luckily, lead singer and awesome front man Nate Reuss has a new terrific band, fun., whose first CD drops in August. I had a chance to see fun. in May and they were very very good. But The Format is tops, probably in my top 3 favorite bands of all time (with Bloc Party and The Killers - I obviously favor a certain type of music)
If you like this song, find: The First Single, Tune Out, Let's Make this Moment a Crime, Dog Problems, Oceans, Janet, Snails, Tie the Rope, Sore Thumb, really ANYTHING by them
10: Okkervil River
Again, this is another band that's pretty famous in "indie-land", but not at all to an average person. They've had three great albums in a row, put on a killer live show (I saw them in 2008 with The New Pornographers) and definitely have everything necessary to break out and be a popular band.
If you like this song, find: Lost Coastlines, Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe, Calling and Not Calling My Ex, Blue Tulip
I'll be back with more in a few days or next week, maybe. If you're getting sick of what's around now, hopefully you can find some new music.
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