Calling all indie rockers...

The first thing that comes to my mind is just about anything from Sonic Youth.

1.Air The French Band[All] 2.Sigur Ros-() also 3.Porcupine Tree-All except perhaps last release. 4.Mercury Rev 5.Peace Orchestra ,also Kruder & Dorfmeister 6.The Larry's-Oxymorons [For Frank Zappa fans]Great Music and Hilarious!Hard to find.[larrys.com] Frank would love this! Seems the best and most interesting music for a while is Electronic and now reviving Psychedelica.Ravenettes anyone?JD

Anything by the FALL...Mark E Smith is god...I have coined them "abstract rock"...whatever that means...start with Bend Sinister, This Nations Saving Grace, or the Wonderful and Frightening world of the Fall....

Also...late Aussie band the Swell Maps...

I bought This Nation's Saving Grace and really wanted to like it, but it hasn't grabbed me like I thought it would. Is it one of those albums that you had to hear against its own era, or do I just need to give it some more time?

Well..if you dont like Saving Grace chances are you probably wont like anything else by the FALL...it is one of their more "commerical" records...and features Brix on guitar...

OK...keeping in line with the time period defined and sticking with the theme of 'rock', thus leaving out electronica and some of the more pop-oriented material, here's some pretty great indie stuff of recent years. This is by no means intended to be a 'best of' list...just a bunch of cool sounds.

1) Califone: 'Roomsound' + 'Califone (EP)'
2) Yo La Tengo: 'Painful' + 'I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One'
3) The Walkabouts: 'Train Leaves at Eight' + 'Satisfied Mind'
4) Giant Sand: 'Chore of Enchantment'
5) Edith Frost: 'Calling Over Time' + 'Wonder Wonder'
6) David Kilgour: 'Feather in the Engine'
7) Calexico: 'The Black Light'
8) Do Make Say Think: 'Goodbye Enemy Airship, the Landlord is Dead'
9) The Beta Band: 'Three EP's'
10) The Brian Jonestown Massacre: 'Take it From the Man'
11) Brother J.T.: 'Rainy Day Fun'
12) Cul De Sac: 'Crashes to Light, Minutes to it's Fall'
13) Eleventh Dream Day: 'Eighth' + 'Ursa Major'
14) Neutral Milk Hotel: 'On Avery Island' + 'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea'
15) Low: 'Things We Lost in the Fire'
16) Songs Ohia: 'Didn't It Rain' + 'Electric Magnolia Co.'
17) Stereolab: 'Transient Random Noise Bursts with Announcements' - cheating a bit on this one, since it did come out on a major label on these shores
18) Neu!: (reissues) - yeah, I'm cheating on this too (early '70's recordings), but I felt like I gotta mention it
19) Dirty Three: (many recordings)

I could probably add some to this already too long list(and delete a couple), but there's my rambling list of the moment. This is of course all IMHO and YMMV, etc.

The Powerpuff Girls "Heroes and Villians." No, I'm serious! This stuff isn't for kids (not that it's inappropriate; it's "safe."). Selections come from bands like Biz, Dressy Bessy, Komeda, Devo, The Apples in Stereo, and others. It's a really fun collection, and the recordings ain't bad. Definitely worth a listen.

Centurymantra,

How's the new Califone album? I have roomsound and it's got some great stuff on it. Just picked up the new YLT album; not a rocking song on the thing. But that doesn't mean that it won't still be good. For my money though, Painful and I can hear the heart are their best.

Anybody into GYBE! or modest mouse?

Nicko...

I haven't fully digested the new Califone disc, but I can conclusively say that it's another excellent Califone recording. It does see them developing towards an expanded sound. The more melodic aspects of the songwriting are a little more upfront, yet solidly mixed with the more abstract backdrops they have been developing in the soundtrack recordings they have been getting into as of late.

I have not really soaked up much of the GYBE recordings, although I do appreciate what I've heard in passing. The new one is supposed to be a pretty great one. That aside, the GYBE 'vibe' hasn't quite grabbed me as much as what their label-mate bands Do Make Say Think (recommended above) and Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra have been doing. I do need to pick up on some of their material and dig a little further into the music though...I was planning on snagging that new one that was recorded with Steve Albini sometime soon.

There's a Califone side-project BTW that I'd suggest you make a point of checking out. It's a band called Secret Machines that includes two of the guys from Califone and their producer and is very, very cool stuff. I seem to remember reading a review at www.pitchforkmedia.com at one point that you could check out for a more eloquent summary.

Happy listening~

Yeah, Pitchfork is great! If I could make a living writing for them I'd change my career. Thanks for the info!

1) Sleater-Kinney..."One Beat"
2) Kings of Leon "Holly Roller Novocaine" EP
3) Interpol "Turn on the Bright Lights"

A few of my favorites in the past few years:

Wilco--YHF, Summerteeth
The Notwist--Neon Golden
My Morning Jacket--At Dawn
Alaska--Emotions
Badly Drawn Boy--The Hour of Bewilderbeast
Brendan Benson--Lapalco
Broken Social Scene---You Forgot It In People
Doleful Lions---The Rats Are Coming, The Werewolves Are Here
Flaming Lips---The Soft Bulletin
John Vanderslice---Life and Death of an American 4-Tracker
McLusky---McLusky Do Dallas
Microphones---The Glow Pt. 2
Modest Mouse---Lonesome Crowded West
Radiohead---Kid A, OKC
Sebadoh---III
Spoon---anything
Super Furry Animals---Rings, Phantom Power
Ted Leo---Tyranny of Distance
Unwound---Leaves Turn Inside You
Ween---anything
Wrens---Secaucus, Meadowlands

liz phair
tortoise

Suba- Sao Paulo Confessions - very good recording and something truly alternative also the tribute album to Suba is very good, but get the original first. The new Grandaddy disc is very good too.

Listening to Interpol's "Turn on the Bright Lights" as I write. At times they sound like Echo and the Bunneymen (Sheila Was A Diver And She Was Always Down) other times like Doors, and still others, like Psychedelic Furs. Clearly one of the best bands and best recordings in a long while.

Doing my part to help revive this old thread, I'll list a few--not necessarily all-decade "bests," but not yet mentioned and well worthy of notice--off the top of my head:

Freakwater (just about any of their LPs, but I'll cast my vote for Springtime)
Aislers Set--The Last Match
Pernice Brothers--The World Won't End
Iron & Wine--The Creek Drank the Cradle
Acetate Zero--Softcore Paradise
American Analog Set--The Golden Band

Ah, I could go on all night...Four tet, Múm, the Clientele, Movietone, Broadcast, the Books, the Decemberists, Tompaulin, Norfolk & Western, Camera Obscura (the Scottish one), Neko Case, Swearing at Motorists, Ladybug Transistor, the Lucksmiths, the Minders, the Twin Atlas...it's a good time to be buying music, I think.

P.S. Those of you into Interpol need to hear Joy Division if you haven't already--another definite source (along with Echo & the Bunnymen, the Psychedelic Furs, the Chameleons, etc.). I know everyone loves "Turn on the Bright Lights," but I just can't listen to it since it sounds too much like all the bands I liked back in high school.

P.P.S. Swell Maps were indeed great, but were British, not Australian.

P.P.P.S. If you haven't heard the Fall, Phasecorrect is right, they're another absolute must. Perhaps start with the old singles compilation "Palace of Swords Reversed" instead of "This Nation's Saving Grace"?

The Trash Can Sinatras will always be my favorite bands. Their best album (IMHO) was 1992's "I've Seen Everything" but their debut ("Cake") was excellent as well.

Current fav...

Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand

Rilo Kiley-The Execution Of All Things
Built To Spill-Keep It Like A Secret
The Frogs-My Daughter The Broad
Neutral Milk Hotel-In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Sleater Kinney-All Hands On The Bad One
Cat Power-You Are Free
Japancakes-Belmondo
Quasi-Field Studies
LeTigre-LeTigre
Helium/Mary Timoney
Dressy Bessy
Rainer Maria
Halo Benders
Beat Happening
Make Up
Holly Golighlty
Thee Headcoatees
the Moldy Peaches
Chicks On Speed
Dokken

Zero 7
Sondre Lerche

Good to see my old thread alive and kicking (pardon the Simple Minds reference). Synthfreek: I just recently got into that Neutral Milk Hotel album. I must admit that it took me quite a few listens to "get it," but man oh man, that's some good stuff. Now I see what everyone was talking about. Is their first album, "On Avery Island" anywhere near as good?

By the way, anyone out there into that new Walkmen album? It's fairly tasty.

I like Mayday a lot. I can't describe them without using the word "country", but I hate to come in at that angle. Its indie rock, dark, lower income class music with ahemm, country influence. Good songs.

Cibo Mato "Stereo Type A"

The new Pretty Girl Make Graves is pretty cool, Cat Power's You Are Free is one of the best albums ever, and I cant wait to hear the new Feist album. Interpol and Franz Ferdinand are good stuff too. Nice thread everyone, lots of stuff to check out.

Oh yeah and I bought In an Airplane over the Sea just this week, and its sweet too, not to mention Division of Laura Lee's Black City. Peace.

would Crystal Method be considered indie,just got [ Legion of Boom] love it

Guided by Voices
Trumans Water
Blonde Redhead

The Streets, A Grand Dont Come for Free

I'm so glad you all are here. The next person who mentions Dianna Krall to me will be limping home. On an indie note, I'm really enjoying the Shins right now. I just got the Microphones--the Glow Pt. 2, and it's awesome. My favorite recent indie purchace though has to be Elliott Smiths two releases on Kill Rock Stars. The Vinyl is 10x better than the CDs.

just heard the sissor sisters,cant show tits on the radio,good stuff

Lately I've been obsessed with The Black Keys. Both of their records are avilible on vinyl. Their first record has a great cover of The Beatles' "She Said, She Said."