What should I listen to?

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

This thread will have some rules. You are to make recommendations for others to listen to. Either the whole board or a small subsection thereof. Posts that simply say "The Gorillaz" are unacceptable. You *must* post a description of the music and at least one reason why someone should listen to it (or I will delete your post). Reactions, further explanation, and commentary are satisfactory and expected. You may recommend a band, an album, or a song.

Now. Tell me what music I should be listening to.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I'll go first, to show how it's done.

I'm going to go ahead and recommend everyone give my favorite band a try: The Kinks. Over the last 40-something years the Kinks have released thirty-something albums of varying styles. Their early British Invasion/Frat Rock music you've heard: The songs "You've Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" have been covered by everyone from punk rockers to the Cure to Van Halen, and were number one hits in their own right. This early stage stuff is heavily influenced by the R&B movement, as well as other Mod rockers like The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

You've also probably heard some of their introspective story-telling tunes: "Lola" was also a number one chart topper and "Picture Book" is being used in all those printer/camera commercials. Their music in this period (roughly 67-78ish) was a lot mellower, taking inspiration from early 20th century music, country, and other sources to make a unique sound. More often than not, singer Ray Davies croons a nostalgia for a Victorian glory Britain he never took part in. Dave Davies wrote "Death of a Clown" in this period, and it's a haunting song using some unusual vocals and brilliant musical and lyrical imagery to convey the story.

In the 80s they moved a lot closer to the mainstream again without actually hitting it. Albums like "Word of Mouth" and "Misfit" addressed the themes of the pop rock culture and its punk sister (and not missing its opportunities to mock the Yuppies) without actually taking part. Part satire, part sympathetic analysis, the songs still manage to work in some nostalgia, but now more often looking at modern times and their own childhood ("Come Dancing" being their magnum opus of the time). The music has progressions that clearly recall the era they were written in, and feature Keyboards, Guitar, and vocals in competition for the driving force of the tunes.

A mature Ray Davies sometimes embraces, and sometimes shuns entirely the experimentation he used so frequently earlier in his career. It could be said that "UK Jive" is The Kinks's worst album ever, but 1992, the year they longed for previously, sees the release of "Phobia," which, while not their best ever, recaptures the spirit of the Kinks and shows that they're not going to take this all lying down. Much more guitar, but still with a flair for lyrical storytelling. 1995's "To the Bone" shows that they still know how to vary their approach and make the old seem new. A huge variety of styles, from calypso to what Ray calls "Bavarian" to power rock are here.

For the Kinks newbie, I'd recommend starting with collections: The Kink Kronikles is a two disc set with most of the best from the first 10-15 years of their career. "One for the Road" is a live album which shows that they were never locked into a style, even when they recorded a song with it. It catches you up to 1980 with a lot of energy and aggressive (and fast) music. Find a copy of "Come Dancing With the Kinks." It covers their years with the Arista label and hits some of their best stuff. While they weren't all that original musically in the 80s, they still had some brilliant songs, and several of them are here. Finally, "To The Bone" is probably the best collection of their best songs, even though they made it with the idea of including the less heard songs.

If I had to narrow it down to just one, I'd recomend starting with "One for the Road." it's the first Kinks album I ever bought and it's the reason why I bouth thirty some-odd more over the next 5 years.

*note: you don't have to be this long, keep it short and concise if that's your style, I just ahve a lot to say about the Kinks*

[Fellfrosch]

One of my favorite artists is Shakira--not so much the modern gringo albums, but the original Columbian stuff.

She's gone through several phases in her career, with varying success; the first we may as well call the "teen idol" phase, because her first two albums were produced while she was still in high school. Neither is especially fabulous, as they have the standard manufactured feel of every other latin teen pop star. You can safely ignore them, though they're kind of fun.

Shakira's real strength is in her lyrics, all of which she writes herself, and when it came time for her third album she exerted more control and made a stark stylistic change, beginning what I call the "Alanis Morisette" phase of her career, and by far the best phase. The first album here is "Pies Descalzos," made famous by the singles "Estoy Aqui" and "Un Poco de Amor," but featuring several other awesome tracks including "Antologia," "Quiero," and "Te Necesito." This album is marked by a very literate, introspective style; many of the songs are self-referential, and she has an obvious love for words and poetry. I would especially point out the song "Te Espero Sentada," which creates an entire situation and mindset through very judicious and minimalist lyrics. She wanders quite a bit musically, experimenting with different styles and latin traditions, even tossing in some American influences such as jazz and Beat.

"Pies Descalzos" is great, but her next, "Donde Estan Los Ladrones?," is one of my favorite albums of all time. It maintains a similar lyrical style, and the same penchant for musical experimentation, but raises it to a level of polish and artistry that make "Pies Descalzos" look like a training run--which, technically, is what it was. The big radio hits were again the upbeat tracks, including "Ciega, Sordomuda" and "Ojos Asi," which became her first international megahit. The former is distinctly Mexican in flavor, while the latter draws heavily on her Lebanese heritage. For me, though, it keeps coming back to the lyrics and the poetry--songs like "Si Te Vas," "Inevitable," and "Moscas en la Casa." My favorite on the album is possibly "Tu," a sad ballad that blends latin pop with very subtle elements of classic Country music. Trust me, it works, and this is from someone who doesn't like Country. This is far and away her best album, and shows her at her most personal and inventive.

An interesting side note running through both of these albums is the sense of "We Are the World" social consciousness, which Americans got out of our systems in the 80s but which latin artists remain very concerned with. "Se Quiere, Se Mata," about teen pregnancy and abortion, was huge in Latin America, as was the title track of "Donde Estan Los Ladrones?" The song "Octavo Dia" straddles the line between the social songs and poetic ballads, and shows more of her love for playing with words.

After these two albums she acheived enough international popularity that she began doing songs directly for the english-speaking market, including an MTV unplugged album that featured translations of her earlier hits, and her first original english album "Laundry Service." These were well received, due in large part to her blonde eye candy makeover that made her look (and sound, unfortunately) like another Britney Spears/Christina Aguilera clone. Most Americans know her in this capacity, which is sad, because this album had a bland, manufactured feel and her english lyrics are nowhere near as accomplished as her spanish ones. We'll call this her "selling out" phase, because I'm feeling snarky today. Still, "Laundry Service" included four spanish-language songs that harkened back to her glory days, and I highly recommend both "Te Aviso, Te Anuncio" and "Te Dejo Madrid." The former is another in her line of upbeat hits, and the latter is one of the introspective ballads she does so well.

Her next two albums are already a year old, but I was admitedly so turned off by "Laundry Service" that I haven't bothered to check them out yet. The good news is she released a spanish version first, "Fijacion Oral Vol. 1," so I have hopes that it could be a blend of her new sound and her older, more accomplished themes and lyrics. the second came out in english, as "Oral Fixation Vol 2.," so I don't know what to think.

The point is, go check out "Pies Descalzos" and "Donde Estan Los Ladrones?" They're absolutely awesome. Those of you who don't speak Spanish, sorry. Learn.