Scotch Sampler
- Thread starter scotchandcigar
- Start date
sadchild
Dude
Kinda reminds me of Devo and The Vapors (and other new wave punkish alt bands from that era)
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
On this 2nd go-around of my favorites lists, I get to feature bands that I really like, but that I wouldn't call a "favorite", because then I'd have too many favorites. Here's a perfect example. Hailing from Portland OR (like geosync), The Decemberists are an alternative band featuring front man Colin Meloy. I've liked a lot of their music over the years, but I'm not ready to die for them. Their music is mostly AC friendly, folky-rock, with a lot of story-songs and interesting lyrics and instrumentation. But they do have many hits where, if you actually pay attention to the lyrics, you're like "wait - what?".
The first hit I'm familiar with is this one from 2005
The Decemberists - 16 Military Wives (live)
A year later, they scored another hit with O Valencia!, plus this groovy tune
The Decemberists - The Perfect Crime #2 (live on Leno)
and then in 2008, the song Valerie Plame got some airplay. But this next hit from 2009 is just a jaw-dropper. It tells a story, and here they perform it awesomely live, with honesty and intensity; qualities that made it a cult favorite
The Decemberists - The Rake’s Song (live)
This next tune, from 2010, is a much more pleasant, folksy number
The Decemberists - Down by the Water (live)
The first hit I'm familiar with is this one from 2005
The Decemberists - 16 Military Wives (live)
A year later, they scored another hit with O Valencia!, plus this groovy tune
The Decemberists - The Perfect Crime #2 (live on Leno)
and then in 2008, the song Valerie Plame got some airplay. But this next hit from 2009 is just a jaw-dropper. It tells a story, and here they perform it awesomely live, with honesty and intensity; qualities that made it a cult favorite
The Decemberists - The Rake’s Song (live)
This next tune, from 2010, is a much more pleasant, folksy number
The Decemberists - Down by the Water (live)
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
Moving on to 2012, this was a popular toe-tapping folk-rocker
The Decemberists - Calamity Song (live)
Then in 2012, they put out this hit ballad. But the video is really something, featuring an odd Nick Offerman character
The Decemberists - Make You Better
This 2015 ballad was probably a really popular wedding song that year
The Decemberists - Why Would I Now
And finally, this more recent hit goes back to an alt-rock foundation
The Decemberists – Severed (live on Kimmel)
The Decemberists - Calamity Song (live)
Then in 2012, they put out this hit ballad. But the video is really something, featuring an odd Nick Offerman character
The Decemberists - Make You Better
This 2015 ballad was probably a really popular wedding song that year
The Decemberists - Why Would I Now
And finally, this more recent hit goes back to an alt-rock foundation
The Decemberists – Severed (live on Kimmel)
HecticArt
Administrator
On paper, they are a band I shouldn't really like with the folky hipster stuff, but I kinda do.
The video for Severed from Kimmel the singer is playing a Reverend guitar. One of their other guys plays a Reverend sometimes too.
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
I'm surprised to mostly hear crickets on my last several artists, since they feature a bunch of mainstream acts. But whatever. Guess I'll just move on to one-offs, and do some clean-up.
We'll start with an indie oldie. MBV has been around since the 80's, and they've pioneered the shoegaze sound. Here's their only US charting single, from the grunge era of 1992
My Bloody Valentine – Only Shallow
The British band Doves have put out a bunch of stuff, but by far, this 2000 hit is their most recognizable song in the US, and it's a very catchy tune
Doves – Catch the Sun (live on Conan)
This next group got attention when this melodic 2002 song got onto the soundtrack for About a Boy
Badly Drawn Boy – Something to Talk About
These guys were first noticed by the band U2, and joined their tour in the early 2000's. The original band consisted of two brothers, one of whom left to join School of Seven Bells (featured elsewhere). They put out the prog-rock styled album Now Here Is Nowhere in 2004, and this song got some radio airplay
Secret Machines – Sad and Lonely
And finally, we all know the Ryan Adams song New York, New York - the video for which was filmed in front of the WTC on the weekend before 9/11 - and subsequently became an anthem for the city. Well, Adams has put out a number of popular tunes, including a cover of Wonderwall. And in 2007, as he was splitting from Mandy Moore, he released the album Easy Tiger, with some heartfelt songs that reminded me of Tom Petty. Here's one of them
Ryan Adams – Everybody Knows (live on Letterman)
We'll start with an indie oldie. MBV has been around since the 80's, and they've pioneered the shoegaze sound. Here's their only US charting single, from the grunge era of 1992
My Bloody Valentine – Only Shallow
The British band Doves have put out a bunch of stuff, but by far, this 2000 hit is their most recognizable song in the US, and it's a very catchy tune
Doves – Catch the Sun (live on Conan)
This next group got attention when this melodic 2002 song got onto the soundtrack for About a Boy
Badly Drawn Boy – Something to Talk About
These guys were first noticed by the band U2, and joined their tour in the early 2000's. The original band consisted of two brothers, one of whom left to join School of Seven Bells (featured elsewhere). They put out the prog-rock styled album Now Here Is Nowhere in 2004, and this song got some radio airplay
Secret Machines – Sad and Lonely
And finally, we all know the Ryan Adams song New York, New York - the video for which was filmed in front of the WTC on the weekend before 9/11 - and subsequently became an anthem for the city. Well, Adams has put out a number of popular tunes, including a cover of Wonderwall. And in 2007, as he was splitting from Mandy Moore, he released the album Easy Tiger, with some heartfelt songs that reminded me of Tom Petty. Here's one of them
Ryan Adams – Everybody Knows (live on Letterman)
sadchild
Dude
I want to get into their good lyrics but the singer throws me off. Can't get into his voice. Reminds me of someone else, but I can't put my finger on it...
Welcome to my life!
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
I'm going to pause the 2nd pass of my favorites chronology for a bit - but don't forget to check-out the one-offs above! - so that I can bring you this "very special episode" of Scotch Sampler, where I present my summary of the SiriusXMU indie top 41 of 2021.
First, a few disclaimers and clarifications. I originally captured the top 41 list from xmplaylist.com, as there exists no actual written list anywhere. But I noticed that a few of the later-in-the-year songs, as well as a few songs first previewed in late 2020, didn't make the list. Also, the ordering seemed to reflect their current (like now) rotation, instead of ranking by popularity or significance for the year. So I threw-out the order, and grouped them in a way that works better for presenting here.
I made 3 lists:
- Songs from established bands that made the list;
- Songs from new bands that made the list;
- Songs I like the most from the list, that I'm featuring here.
Here we go.
List 1:
Courtney Barnett – Nameless, Faceless
Band of Horses - Crutch
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – That Life
Sleigh Bells – Locust Laced
Beach House – Once Twice Melody
Tune-yards – hold yourself.
Fruit Bats – The Balcony
Jose Gonzalez – El Invento
Radiohead – If You Say the Word (They reissued some albums and added this non-album track)
War On Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore
Sharon Van Etten/Angel Olsen – Like I Used To
Wavves – Sinking Feeling
Blood Cultures – Set it on Fire
DARKSIDE – Liberty Bell
Rostam – 4Runner
List 2:
Starting with the most hyped -
girl in red - Serotonin
Snail Mail - Valentine
KALI – I Just Wanna
Clairo – Amoeba
Japanese Breakfast - Be Sweet
Beach Bunny - Oxygen
Linda Lindas – Oh!
Cherry Glazerr – Rabbit Hole
Pawpaw Rod – Glass House
Jelani Aryeh – From These Heights
Life In Sweatpants – Good 2 Yourself (@sadchild 's favorite band name)
Big Red Machine – Phoenix (this has Justin Vernon from Bon Iver, and it sounds like it)
List 3 - Part A:
I thought @sadchild would be interested in this one
Noname – Rainforest (rapper from Chicago)
This group reached #1 on the adult alternative chart
The Marías – Hush (live) – from LA, with Maria Zardoya, who sings in both Spanish & English
This band is listed as having 2 guys as founding members, but they perform with a bunch of people
Jungle – All of the Time (live) – from London
This is a 2 girl group, nice bass line
Bachelor – Anything at All
The video has some interesting guitar chord scribblings
Horsegirl – Ballroom Dance Scene – from Chicago
First, a few disclaimers and clarifications. I originally captured the top 41 list from xmplaylist.com, as there exists no actual written list anywhere. But I noticed that a few of the later-in-the-year songs, as well as a few songs first previewed in late 2020, didn't make the list. Also, the ordering seemed to reflect their current (like now) rotation, instead of ranking by popularity or significance for the year. So I threw-out the order, and grouped them in a way that works better for presenting here.
I made 3 lists:
- Songs from established bands that made the list;
- Songs from new bands that made the list;
- Songs I like the most from the list, that I'm featuring here.
Here we go.
List 1:
Courtney Barnett – Nameless, Faceless
Band of Horses - Crutch
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – That Life
Sleigh Bells – Locust Laced
Beach House – Once Twice Melody
Tune-yards – hold yourself.
Fruit Bats – The Balcony
Jose Gonzalez – El Invento
Radiohead – If You Say the Word (They reissued some albums and added this non-album track)
War On Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore
Sharon Van Etten/Angel Olsen – Like I Used To
Wavves – Sinking Feeling
Blood Cultures – Set it on Fire
DARKSIDE – Liberty Bell
Rostam – 4Runner
List 2:
Starting with the most hyped -
girl in red - Serotonin
Snail Mail - Valentine
KALI – I Just Wanna
Clairo – Amoeba
Japanese Breakfast - Be Sweet
Beach Bunny - Oxygen
Linda Lindas – Oh!
Cherry Glazerr – Rabbit Hole
Pawpaw Rod – Glass House
Jelani Aryeh – From These Heights
Life In Sweatpants – Good 2 Yourself (@sadchild 's favorite band name)
Big Red Machine – Phoenix (this has Justin Vernon from Bon Iver, and it sounds like it)
List 3 - Part A:
I thought @sadchild would be interested in this one
Noname – Rainforest (rapper from Chicago)
This group reached #1 on the adult alternative chart
The Marías – Hush (live) – from LA, with Maria Zardoya, who sings in both Spanish & English
This band is listed as having 2 guys as founding members, but they perform with a bunch of people
Jungle – All of the Time (live) – from London
This is a 2 girl group, nice bass line
Bachelor – Anything at All
The video has some interesting guitar chord scribblings
Horsegirl – Ballroom Dance Scene – from Chicago
Last edited:
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
Part B
Another hyped name, but I like her songs. She did a project with Phoebe Bridgers called boygenius
Lucy Dacus – Hot & Heavy (live) – from Philly
She keeps getting better and better. I featured her in this thread
Mitski – Working for the Knife
They mostly put together projects with guest artists, and provide the samples
Avalanches/MGMT/Johnny Marr – The Divine Chord (2020) – From Australia
She has been in the duo Chairlift, as well as many other collaborations. Great bass on this
Caroline Polachek – Bunny is a Rider – From NYC
Another hyped name, but I like her songs. She did a project with Phoebe Bridgers called boygenius
Lucy Dacus – Hot & Heavy (live) – from Philly
She keeps getting better and better. I featured her in this thread
Mitski – Working for the Knife
They mostly put together projects with guest artists, and provide the samples
Avalanches/MGMT/Johnny Marr – The Divine Chord (2020) – From Australia
She has been in the duo Chairlift, as well as many other collaborations. Great bass on this
Caroline Polachek – Bunny is a Rider – From NYC
Last edited:
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
Part C
Here's the new songs I like from veteran artists
Modest Mouse – We Are Between (live)
Sufjan Stevens/Angelo De Augustine – Back to Oz
CHVRCHES/Robert Smith – How Not to Drown
Jack White – Taking Me Back
Spoon – The Hardest Cut (live)
And these songs I like, have been featured here already, or in the other music threads
Wet Leg – Chaise Longue
Parquet Courts – Walking at a Downtown Pace
Ty Segall – Whisper
St. Vincent – Down
Here's the new songs I like from veteran artists
Modest Mouse – We Are Between (live)
Sufjan Stevens/Angelo De Augustine – Back to Oz
CHVRCHES/Robert Smith – How Not to Drown
Jack White – Taking Me Back
Spoon – The Hardest Cut (live)
And these songs I like, have been featured here already, or in the other music threads
Wet Leg – Chaise Longue
Parquet Courts – Walking at a Downtown Pace
Ty Segall – Whisper
St. Vincent – Down
Last edited:
sadchild
Dude
First things first
www.theguardian.com
Shogazey!
Like the music but the singer loses me
I like his song "Winding Wheel". Folky! Dude had to go into therapy of that whole "Summer Of '69" incident.
Ryan Adams discusses his Summer of '69 humiliation: 'I was so angry'
Singer has written an article discussing the night he confronted a heckler who was demanding a Bryan Adams hit
www.theguardian.com
sadchild
Dude
Part A
LOL
I caught that song from a different list. Didn't grab me.
Added to my YouTube playlist. Funnky
I enjoyed that!
sadchild
Dude
Eclectic! Probably in the same way you like 1 in every 1000 metal songs, I like 1 in every 1000 XMU/quirky songs. Much respect, but not my bag.
Added to my YouTube playlist. Kinda feels like Silverstein Pickups "Dots And Dashes"!
Nice feel. Dreamy!
Five stars! Trying to decide if it's my #1 song of 2021. Definitely top 5.
Four stars! Should be in my top 50 of 2021.
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
In case you're wondering, I'm not going to be posting anything here for the next 2 weeks or so, so I'm getting this all out of the way now. Feel free to peruse at your leisure.
Going back to my 2nd-pass favorites list, here are some more one-offs covering the late 90's through the aughts.
These English guys have a long history of US radio airplay, but I like their first hit best. This is a great example of post-grunge rock
1998 Placebo – Pure Morning (live)
This NYC band has a sound as corporate as their name. And like Placebo, I like their early hit best
2002 Interpol – PDA (live)
An English guy named Matt Hales took on this unfortunate performance name, which is constantly confused with the Jethro Tull piece. But he's a real one-hit wonder with this song that was used for a movie
2003 Aqualung – Brighter Than Sunshine
Dave Letterman is a big fan of this British group
2009 The Heavy – How You Like Me Now? (live on Letterman)
Pittsburgh artist Tobacco is the man behind this synthpop psychedelia project, which created this trippin' tune
2009 Black Moth Super Rainbow – Born On a Day the Sun Didn’t Rise
Going back to my 2nd-pass favorites list, here are some more one-offs covering the late 90's through the aughts.
These English guys have a long history of US radio airplay, but I like their first hit best. This is a great example of post-grunge rock
1998 Placebo – Pure Morning (live)
This NYC band has a sound as corporate as their name. And like Placebo, I like their early hit best
2002 Interpol – PDA (live)
An English guy named Matt Hales took on this unfortunate performance name, which is constantly confused with the Jethro Tull piece. But he's a real one-hit wonder with this song that was used for a movie
2003 Aqualung – Brighter Than Sunshine
Dave Letterman is a big fan of this British group
2009 The Heavy – How You Like Me Now? (live on Letterman)
Pittsburgh artist Tobacco is the man behind this synthpop psychedelia project, which created this trippin' tune
2009 Black Moth Super Rainbow – Born On a Day the Sun Didn’t Rise
sadchild
Dude
Not only is that song great, but their new song "Beautiful James" is excellent. Gonna be in my top 10 of 2021 easily.
Love the drums at the beginning.
I've heard this song before recently. Did someone else also post this?
Exactly what I would anticipate a band with this name sounding like.
Enjoy your two weeks away!
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
Thanks, but I will only be "away" from my home office setup. To put together these lists, I need 3 browser windows, a Word doc, and a scratchpad open at the same time; plus my good headphones. And a real keyboard, mouse, and multi-monitors helps.
Since I don't plan to be sitting up there, I'll just hold off.
sadchild
Dude
Ahhhhh I gotcha. I accidentally took this as not posting on DRC for a couple weeks, not just this thread.
IdRatherBeSkiing
Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Sometimes posting here at DRC requires a lot of effort. I personally run all my posts through the Hadron Collider in Cern before posting.
scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
Is that where the extra u's get added?