EWB's Favourite 102 Artists for 2009!

[GoGo Yubari]

Yeah, I discovered "Danger! High Voltage" through that being one of Brian Kendrick's themes on the indies. And then "Gay Bar" was basically beaten over my head by people and I couldn't stand it after a certain point.

[livid]

I'm more surprised by the fact that he hasn't heard of Jimmy Eat World. Though I imagine he would probably recognize them if he heard "The Middle".

[NobBe Nobbs]

Care not about the last five aside from the Clan being nothing to fuck with, the joke being arguably my favourite thing from Mock the Week and liking a handful of Blink (which sounds like a decent name for a cover band)

[LittleDaniel]

I have no idea who the Electric Six, Crystal Method, Peaches, or Devildriver are. I've never heard any songs by Deftones, Steely Dan, My Bloody Valentine, or the Clan. In fact, the only performer on the list that I like so far is Regina Spektor...and I voted for her...

[YI]

A bit of a rubbish update sorry (just how the numbers work out), hopefully another tonight, depends if I'm in or not;

85.

84. BOARDS OF CANADA (16pts - 7 | 1)

PLACE LAST YEAR: n/a

COUNTRY: Scotland

STUDIO ALBUMS: 10

TRACKS ON MY COMPUTER?: 220, strangely the artist I have the most material by

84. THE MARS VOLTA (16pts - 7 | 1)

PLACE LAST YEAR: n/a

COUNTRY: United States

STUDIO ALBUMS: 5

WHAT DOES CEDRIC KEEP IN HIS HAIR?: a) Smack, b) Squirrels, c) Pink Floyd CD's, d) A Door

83. DIZZEE RASCAL (18pts - 6 | 3)

PLACE LAST YEAR: n/a

COUNTRY: England

STUDIO ALBUMS: 4

TALLY OF ARTISTS THAT MY DAD LIKES: 1

82.

81.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Boards of Canada is a beautiful thing

Mike Reid is not

[YI]

It's uncanny.

[Skummy]

Boards Of Canada...one of those bands I know, and have plenty by, and think are probably quite good...but I couldn't name a bloody thing they've done. And thus, I'm always (pleasantly) surprised when I meet people who are big fans. Surprised they make it up here.

The Mars Volta. They'll do. Indulgent and all that, but Televators was nice enough. I always forget they exist. At The Drive-In were better. Good hair.

Dizzee Rascal. Can't stand him, was disappointed when he won the Mercury, he hasn't improved much since. Just a bit naff.

[Dynamite]

Mika > Chlo.

I'm not really into the majority of bands on this list but Wu Tang are my favourites so far. I suppose being someone who listens predominately to hip-hop, I won't see too many bands I listen to much at all but this list is giving me a lot of new music to look up on Youtube. (Y)

[GoGo Yubari]

84. Boards of Canada - Nooooo clue. Seriously, no idea, which makes the fact that they seem to be very prolific that much more amusing to me. This is the first time I've even heard of them. Now I know how the rest of EWB feels when I manage to get the pillows into these lists.

84. The Mars Volta - has always struck me as one of those indie darling bands I'm "supposed" to enjoy but I don't. I don't think they suck or anything, I have a friend who actually went up to Canada to see them a couple years back, but they're just not for me.

83. Dizzee Rascal - Um, okay, I guess. I know like two songs by him and they're alright, but I have no desire to listen to anything else.

[YI]

80. DE LA SOUL (18pts - 7 | 2)

PLACE LAST YEAR: n/a

COUNTRY: United States

STUDIO ALBUMS: 7

ON AVERAGE THE TIMES DAILY I WHISTLE THE INTO TO "KEEPIN THE FAITH" TO MYSELF?: 1.8

80. LED ZEPPELIN (18pts - 7 | 2)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #13

COUNTRY: England

STUDIO ALBUMS: 9

TALLY OF ARTISTS THAT MY DAD LIKES: 2

80. SPARKS (18pts - 7 | 2)

PLACE LAST YEAR: n/a

COUNTRY: United States

STUDIO ALBUMS: 22

NUMBER OF SONGS I ACTUALLY KNOW: 2 (and to be honest, I had to wiki them to realise these did them)............22 ALBUMS!?!?!

79. LINKIN PARK (18pts - 8 | 1)

PLACE LAST YEAR: n/a

COUNTRY: United States

STUDIO ALBUMS: 3

HOW MUCH; a) LUCK? b) SKILL? c) CONCENTRATED POWER OF WILL? d) PLEASURE? e) PAIN? f) REASON TO REMEMBER THE NAME?: Answers on a postcard

78. THE WEAKERTHANS (20pts - 5 | 5)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #29

COUNTRY: Canada

STUDIO ALBUMS: 4

SONGS FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A CAT?: 2

77. TOOL (20pts - 6 | 4)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #61

COUNTRY: United States

STUDIO ALBUMS: 4

THIS WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY OUR SPONSOR - http://whythefuckdoyouhaveakid.com :

76. SOUNDGARDEN (20pts - 7 | 3)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #47

COUNTRY: United States

STUDIO ALBUMS: 5

LENGTH OF TIME I CAN KEEP "BLACK HOLE SUN" ON BEFORE REALISING IT'S DULL AS FUCK: 1:32

[METALMAN]

I generally realise Black Hole Sun is dull as fuck after about 5 seconds. Shame. They've got some corkers too.

[hackerjack]

Your Dad likes Dizzee Rascal?

And I now officially hate you for Frank Butcher nightmares.

So far it's a whole load of blah for me. Pink Floyd and REM obviously have a legendary status but outside of the Wall and Everybody Hurts does anyone really play their stuff regularly anymore?

Coldpaly have a couple of decent tracks, and all their other tracks sund exactly like cover bands playing their decent tracks. badly.

Foo Fighters are OK, but nothing special.

Blink 182, I also never got them, never stood out for me at all.

Wu tangs, overrated talking.

My Bloody Valentine, the only band on the list so far I would pay to go and see for what they do now.

[New Damage]

Damn me and making Soundgarden slip a few places in my list for over the past year. I do quite like/can stomach the majority of that last group though. My knowledge of De La Soul is basically "3 Feet High" but it's an amazing album, I can put up with some Tool (awesome pic by the way) and Zepplin tracks. I hate Linkin Park as a band, especially their most recent bordering on Foo Fighters level of blandess stuff, but some early stuff was good. Never heard of Sparks or Weakerthans though.

[Lowerdeck]

I'm more surprised by the fact that he hasn't heard of Jimmy Eat World. Though I imagine he would probably recognize them if he heard "The Middle".

Alright, yeah. I've heard this song before - plenty of times. I just never knew who did it or what it was called.

As for Electric Six... nope. Gay Bar only sounds familiar cause I heard a cover of it twice. Everything else, nope.

The new three posted: no strong opinion on any of them

[YI]

Okay, my thoughts;

Blink 182 - I love Blink. It's weird, I did love them when younger, then went off them rather massively (as I started liking more punk-rock and became a cuntish 'snob'...eugh...I was an even bigger cunt when I started getting into prog-rock)...I still got dragged to see them on their last tour over here before splitting, happy I did, cos it was pretty fun. Last couple of years I've really embraced them again, "Enema Of The State" is honestly one of the most perfect albums I've ever heard, it does its 'job' outstandingly.

Staind - Eugh...I think I like that one song...but I'm not sure if it's actually by them...I made a topic about it not that long ago, I dunno.

Steely Dan - A band I should check out, because I think I'd really like them, but never get round to it...and whenever anyone mentions the name I seem to think of Deacon Blue...which, I have no idea why.

My Blood Valentine - Metalman can hush, Bilinda Butcher was fit...yes she looked like an elf on heroin...but that's fucking fit. Only have "Loveless" and some EP's, but what I've heard I really like.

Wu-Tang Clan - I miss being young, where like 5 of us would go round a friends house after school, alternate between one of the old Smackdown games and some game on the PC where you were a drug dealer whilst listening to Eminem, Wu-Tang Clan, Dr Dre, N.W.A etc...then one time this lad brought some Slipknot and we tortured him for listening to "GOFF MUSIC!"...oh the simpler times.

Boards Of Canada - I'm with Skummy here. They're a band I have a lot of material by, I like it, but it's basically background music, with occasionally something jumping out at you as awesome ("Turqoise Hexagonal Sun", "Dayvan Cowboy", "Julie & Candy" etc.). First came across them with a video with a surfer on, got a bunch of their stuff, then as background music to the tremendous "Monkey Dust", and the majority of their discography has been passed from computer/computer I've had since then.

The Mars Volta - One of the worst, not even disappointing, seriously, one of the worst live acts I've seen. The first 2 albums are absolutely outstanding. "De-Loused..." is full of absolutely fantastic songs, you can pick one at random and chances are it's going to be unreal. "Frances..." is a breathtaking structure, just as an entity it's glorious. Since then, they've put out two terribly mediocre albums (for totally different reasons) and the last one was a bit of an improvement, but since losing it earlier in the year, I've not been arsed to re-aquire it, so clearly, not that good.

Dizzee Rascal - Yes my dad likes Dizzee Rascal, I mean he's never going to sit down and listen to a Dizzee album, but he doesn't do that with any other artist either. It all stems back to "Dream", which he thought was hilarious. And since then, he's been making notes of his singles, and if he hears them he quite likes them. Plus, it gives him street cred with the kids he teaches ()...and he calls me an idiot for never seeing him live (missed him like 4-times) because he's "quite good". As for me...I preferred him before his now "Make everything sound like a cheesy Calvin Harris song shit", it was fine with "Dance Wiv Me", I liked "Bonkers" as well, but "Holiday" got on my tits.

De La Soul - I only really know odd songs. I like what I hear, but I've never really searced out anymore.

Led Zeppelin - I don't mind Led Zeppelin, purely for their classic tracks they deserve respect. Shocked they've dropped this low down.

Sparks - I only know "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us" and "The Number 1 Song In Heaven", both are fabulous.

Linking Park - Fort Minor was epic. Also, "Points Of Authority" on that remix album/single, was mint. Everything else. Eugh.

The Weakerthans - John K Samson is one of the most amazing lyricists going. His songs tell beautiful stories. They are also far better live than they have the right to be, really turn things up a notch. I also love how their albums are alphabetically in chronological order.

Tool - Are okay, I don't really get the fuss though. Kind of like NIN.

Soundgarden - See above...only I prefer Tool.

[METALMAN]

cause Steely Dan have a song called Deacon Blues that Deacon Blue named themselves after you wazzock.

[YI]

cause Steely Dan have a song called Deacon Blues that Deacon Blue named themselves after you wazzock.

Yes...but I DON'T KNOW THAT!!! So it can't be that.

[Skummy]

De La Soul are wonderful, and incredible live. Don't own nearly enough of their stuff, but everything I've heard, I like.

I'm not a fan of Led Zeppelin...they've got one or two songs I quite like, and once upon a time I was a big fan, but went off them in a big way. I'm not a fan of twenty minute drum solos, plagiarising much better artists, or any of the "rock and roll" nonsense that comes with the whole Led Zep package, I suppose. Robert Plant has his moments of being really quite good, though. Jimmy Page is a prick.

Sparks are absolutely wonderful, one of my all-time favourites. I think they get unfairly looked at as a bit of a novelty band, but they're really in a class of their own - even their "bad" albums would be pretty good by anyone else working in the same genre, but their best material (anything before 1978, and anything after 2000, really) are the ones where they explore their own sound - and it's remarkable that they continue to make music so incredible that you instantly know couldn't have been recorded by anybody else. Utterly unique. I missed out on the opportunity to see them during their 21-night residency in London, and I'm gutted about it - only they could pull off that gig; playing the same venue twenty-one nights in a row, playing an album in its entirety, working through their entire back catalogue. Fucking genius.

Linkin Park are utter shite. When everyone I knew at school was first getting into music, this sort of thing was just popping up on Kerrang!, and I was derided for listening to "old music" like Guns & Roses and Nirvana. Ha. Thought it was dreadful then, think it's even worse now...such a dreadful period of time for music.

I know I have something by The Weakerthans, but I don't really know who they are. No opinion.

Tool...hmm...pretty much like YI, I guess. They're okay, but they're really not as dark, as edgy, or as "experimental"/"alternative"/"weird" as everyone seems to think they are. As they probably think they are. Lots of people I know are mad about them, but they're just kind of there. A good metal band, but not a fan-dabi-dozi one.

Soundgarden are good. Miles better than anything else Chris Cornell has ever touched. The soundtrack to my childhood - my older brother listened to them all the time, and we had a cockatiel that whistled "Black Hole Sun". As such, I own most of their albums, but other than playing them when I'm DJing rock and metal nights, I never really think to listen to them.

[METALMAN]

Boards of Canada are cool. that's all I've really got to say about them. they've never really been more than background music for me but they are one of the best at background music!

Mars Volta - a bit shit

De La Soul - one of those I've always meant to listen to but never have. I've heard excellent things about them.

Led Zeppelin fall into the category of "bands I've heard pretty much everything by but don't really know why". I would say that altogether I do like them. However, one thing I've considered is that I may not like them as much for their music as I do for their production. Good example of this is my favourite Led Zeppelin recording - "Living Loving Maid" from LedZepII. As a song, it's not actually that good. However, it still sounds brilliant. Just so brilliantly spaced and organic. It's for that reason that I mainly enjoy Led Zeppelin. It just sounds good, even if it might not actually be good. Other songs I like a lot by them are "Dazed & Confused", "Whole Lotta Love" and "Ramble On". However they've also had plenty of shit songs - "You Shook Me" and "Moby Dick" immediately jumping to mind - and those are from their best and most consistent two albums. FUCK OFF LEDZEP IV ISN'T THEIR BEST ALBUM YOU WAZZOCKS. Oh and Houses of the Holy had an absolutely horrendous cover. AND NO QUARTER. urgh. On balance I do like Led Zeppelin. It sounds good and they wrote some of Muddy Waters' best songs of the 70s. And reused some of his best songs of the 50s! A bit like a 70s Oasis but without being ABSOLUTE FUCKING RETARDS, yet adhering to the dickhead part. And to be fair, Led Zeppelin did have technical ability.

Sparks - I don't know. Always meant to get into them but their massive catalogue has scared me away.

Linkin Park - are fucking shite. Anyone that likes or has ever liked them should die. that would be fantastic actually. I'd have a fridge to myself.

Weakerthans - see Pink Floyd - only listened to them cause girlfriend made me. and YI I suppose. though they didn't do it together. And he has never made me listen to Pink Floyd. em...on balance they're perfectly acceptable and pleasant. By no means exceptional, not at all bad. Just an another band that don't deserve to be on the list, but don't deserve to be far off it either. Oh and their lyrics are shit. >_>

tool - for some reason I have all their albums. Never bothered to listen to any. maybe one day

Soundgarden - superunknown is a bit guff in general but badmotorfinger is good. I dont know their less famous releases. Don't really have any interest.