introductions

Posted over 3 years ago

What song would you choose to introduce someone to your favorite band? The other day I was listening to Secret Machines, as I often do, and Faded Lines came on, and it struck me that if I was trying to convince one of my friends to listen to them this would probably be the song I'd send them first. It's not my favorite song they've done, not even my favorite song on the album, but I think it's one that would bring someone in and convince them to listen to more.So that got me thinking, what songs would I choose from my other favorites, say my top 5 bands. It's hard. Most of them aren't my favorite song, but they are songs, I guess, that I feel like are more accessible or something. But I did come up with the following:The Academy Is... - The Fever (but it'd have to be the rock and roll version, not the EP version)Pete Yorn - Strange Condition (I could also use For Nancy, I guess.)The Junior Varsity - Mad for MedusaThe Format - If Work Permits (that actually is my fave Format song)So what songs would you pick for this, to convince someone to listen to the bands you listen to?

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zero2ecstasy says i'd not go safe @ all: gustavo cerati - _ahí vamos_ (2006) - "mediúm." "lago en cielo" i think is the most accessible, radio-friendly track, but nah...

Permalink posted 10/11/2006
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sielwolf says I've been making mixes for friends recently and have had the same problem: how to introduce a band who's style might turn someone off if they heard the consensus "best" songs? This is especially true for groups with much harder pedigrees (grindcore, post-metal, IDM, dubstep). Some I've thought of: Godflesh - "Xnoybis" (Starts off with the high arcing guitar, elegant vocals with just a sense of the feedback and bass that defines their sound. When Godflesh went defunct and then Justin started up Jesu, you can hear the progression in songs like this) Deadboy & the Elephantmen - "Kissed by Lightning" (Straight up blues/rock combo jam. Dax Riggs sings with a metal vibrato which makes sense since he comes from the Southern deathmetal act Acidbath but for those not accustomed their shields go up for it sounding too contrived) Boxcutter - "Sunshine VIP" (Composed around a flute loop. Like crossing later Beastie Boys with the Amen break. You don't get the doomy wierdness of the more straight dubstep tracks here or the IDM style fiddling. Doesn't sound like an electronic/house/techno song) Arpanet - "P2101V" (A Detroit electro masterpiece that has no defined beat. The whole Dataphysix catalog is all over the place, can be a bit opaque, shocking or just dismissed as generic. Hearing a track like this tunes folks ears in). Interesting post BTW :)

Permalink posted 10/11/2006
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highanddry says This is a really interesting idea. I enjoy it thoroughly. Elliott Smith - Pictures of Me (Depressing, but not horrifically so and it has a great rock jam feel to it. It's in Elliott's style, but only hints at where the style peaks. Doesn't have a lot of the features of Elliott that people tend to dislike.) Radiohead - Airbag (It worries me if any of my friends haven't heard Radiohead, but if they hadn't this would be the song I'd play them. It's the perfect opening song for anything. I like to pretend this was playing when I was born.) The Jesus & Mary Chain - The Living End (This song just ROCKS. Anyone who doesn't fall in love with its Scottish surf rock feel and the line about "leather boots" just doesn't have a soul.) The Long Winters - Blue Diamonds (Kind of deviates from their normal style, but it's just a great jam. The opening chords on the Rhodes are just mesmerizing. Plus, it's a great song to check out John Roderick's unbelievable voice.) The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now (Definitely not my favorite, but one of their more cohesive tunes. It contains a lot of snippets of what make them so incredible and it's a good song to here both Pete and Carl.)

Permalink posted 10/11/2006
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Dale says I think this is something that requires considerable thought, and I don't know, for instance, that the Placebo song that I recommend to one person would be the one I'd recommend to another. I'd have to know someone well to recommend music like that, because I've had experiences where I've done it wrong, and the person didn't like a band I recommended. That hurts. BTW, highanddry, I love that you picked "The Living End" as the song to recommend for JAMC. That song rocks for sure. I've tried "Upside Down", and it didn't go well.

Permalink posted 10/11/2006