How Do I Get Into X?

[MalaCloudy Black]

I came into this topic to say that listening to Los Angeles would be enough to get you into X

What a fool I look :/

Damnit, I was going to do this.

[VerbalPuke]

Cloudy, you could be really clever and say Wild Gift.

Or you could be really really clever and say Aspirations and At Home With You by the band X (another punk band from the same time frame) from Australia who were actually a bit better than the L.A. version.

[SRN]

metalman, don't listen to Five Finger Death Punch. You won't like them.

Listen to Carcass.

I approve this message. And while we are on the Michael Amott train, go find Carnage's 'Dark Recollections' album as well.

[METALMAN]

no. Odd good songs here and there on Rockin The Suburbs but it's still a bit guff.

Still fighting it is brilliant though. Came on shuffle just there.

[Bigal]

Van Morrison, beyond Astral Weeks. I seriously have no idea where to jump on. The guy's got dozens of albums.

[METALMAN]

Veedon Fleece or Moondance

[Bigal]

The blues. Seriously. I go to the same bar every Thursday night which has a live Blues band, and it's fucking awesome, but I have literally no idea where to start. Names that spring to mind are guys like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, but I'd also like some modern blues too.

And I bought some Van Morrison albums, five to be exact. Shall get listening soon!

[METALMAN]

For Blues I'd recommend Robert Johnson as an obvious one. Blind Lemon Jefferson is excellent too.

For Muddy Waters you should get the Live At Newport album.

My favourite modern blues musician is possibly CW Stoneking. Get Jungle Blues.

I don't know if this is likely to interest you at all but there is a lot of really good African, particularly Malian, music with very strong parallells to the blues; most notably Ali Farka Touré and Tinariwen.

Dr Feelgood are kind of a hybrid between Blues and Pub Rock. I love those guys.

[The Future]

Nine Inch Nails?

I love "Hurt" but I really haven't listened to them as much as i want to.

[New Damage]

Nine Inch Nails?

I love "Hurt" but I really haven't listened to them as much as i want to.

I personally am NOT a fan of NIN, but I will say this: "The Hand That Feeds". Love that tune. Also "Only" is ok too, and a better video. Both of them are from the With Teeth album which I gave a go and wasn't too fussed. Also, the album "The Slip" is free from their website, I've yet to give it a go however.

[livid]

Nine Inch Nails?

I love "Hurt" but I really haven't listened to them as much as i want to.

Year Zero, pretty much. Awesome, awesome album.

[VerbalPuke]

For the man looking into the Blues, also check out Elmore James, the King of the Slide Guitar. He was beyond awesome, really cool sound, pretty rocking for his time.

John Lee Hooker is also bad ass.

[Sousa]

The blues. Seriously. I go to the same bar every Thursday night which has a live Blues band, and it's fucking awesome, but I have literally no idea where to start. Names that spring to mind are guys like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, but I'd also like some modern blues too.

Pick up Wolf's collection from Chess Records, called His Best. It's in two volumes; get the first one. It's a fantastic primer to Wolf with most of his best songs on it ("Evil," "How Many More Years," "Wang Dang Doodle," "Spoonful," "Killing Floor," "Sitting on Top of the World," "I Ain't Superstitious," etc.). Wolf is what got me into the blues--his songs are catchy, and while the musicianship is straightforward without a lot of the B.B. King-esque technical finagling, I would argue that he's the best performer of the last 50-60 years.

I think that's the key to getting into the blues: you've got to start with the best performers. To that end, pick up a Wolf compilation and one from Koko Taylor, who's also incredible.

[KevinStorm]

Nine Inch Nails?

I love "Hurt" but I really haven't listened to them as much as i want to.

If you prefer the more ambient, mellow kind of industrial, go with the newer stuff like With Teeth, Year Zero, or The Slip.

If you want the down-and-dirty industrial metal stuff, The Downward Spiral and Broken.

THe Fragile is also good, but may not be a good starting point as it's a double album.

My own personal favorite NIN songs are probably "Wish," "The Fragile," and "Survivalism."

--------

Now, for me: Queens of the Stone Age. I enjoy Go With The Flow, but that's all I've really heard.

[Soundgarden9]

Nine Inch Nails?

I love "Hurt" but I really haven't listened to them as much as i want to.

If you prefer the more ambient, mellow kind of industrial, go with the newer stuff like With Teeth, Year Zero, or The Slip.

If you want the down-and-dirty industrial metal stuff, The Downward Spiral and Broken.

THe Fragile is also good, but may not be a good starting point as it's a double album.

My own personal favorite NIN songs are probably "Wish," "The Fragile," and "Survivalism."

--------

Now, for me: Queens of the Stone Age. I enjoy Go With The Flow, but that's all I've really heard.

For Queens, if you're into Songs for the Deaf (Go With the Flow, as you say) I would go with Rated R, it's very similar sounding and has a wide variety of songs to get into. Or you could always just start with Songs for the Deaf, as that's arguably their best album.

I've been getting into The Brian Jonestown Massacre recently, any good albums I should start out with? I've heard Methodrone is good to start with, but I'm liking some songs from "Thank God for Mental Illness" and "Take It From The Man!"

EDIT: For the guy looking into blues, if you're looking for electric blues, I would throw in Buddy Guy and Albert King. If you're looking for delta blues my personal favorites are John Lee Hooker (as mentioned), Lightning Hopkins, Skip James, and Mississippi John Hurt. I listen to a shit load of blues, so it all depends on what you're looking for. I gots tons of recommendations.

Edited October 9, 2010 by Soundgarden9

[KevinStorm]

For Bigal: if you want modern blues, Kenny Wayne Shepherd's album "Ledbetter Heights" album is amazing. To go a little older, Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Texas Flood" album is also incredible.

[Skummy]

"Thank God For Mental Illness" is probably your best bet as far as BJM albums go. I'd definitely stick with stuff from around that time period for now, as their more recent stuff is a lot different, and harder to get into - the last couple of albums take a few listens to get your head around, and are really nothing like what they're known for - I'm assuming you've seen Dig!, right? They don't really sound like they did in that film any more, unfortunately. "Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?" is a good album, but much closer in sound to something like Spacemen 3 or My Bloody Valentine than the kind of stuff Jonestown are more known for.

As for individual songs, personal favourites are "Stars", "Not If You Were The Last Dandy", "That Girl Suicide", "(David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six" and "Open Heart Surgery",

[Soundgarden9]

"Thank God For Mental Illness" is probably your best bet as far as BJM albums go. I'd definitely stick with stuff from around that time period for now, as their more recent stuff is a lot different, and harder to get into - the last couple of albums take a few listens to get your head around, and are really nothing like what they're known for - I'm assuming you've seen Dig!, right? They don't really sound like they did in that film any more, unfortunately. "Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?" is a good album, but much closer in sound to something like Spacemen 3 or My Bloody Valentine than the kind of stuff Jonestown are more known for.

As for individual songs, personal favourites are "Stars", "Not If You Were The Last Dandy", "That Girl Suicide", "(David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six" and "Open Heart Surgery",

Yeah, all that I've heard from them is their early-mid 90's work. The only part I've seen from Dig! is when they get into that fight, but whatever. So you're saying that their recent stuff is more shoegaze sounding then psychadelic?

[BuddyAwesome]

For Bigal regarding the blues...

Like the people mentioned already, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker are all great choices to check out. If you want some real good, old school blues, I'd lean towards Robert Johnson, Son House, and my personal favorite of the era Charley Patton. As for more current artists, you of course can't go wrong with BB King, but Jonny Lang is also pretty damn good and without question I would have to suggest to you Buddy Guy who I consider the greatest guitarist to ever live, and he just released a new CD. Another good suggestion would be Ike Turner's two CD's from the past ten years before he died. "Here and Now" is really good and "Risin with the Blues" is wonderful as well. If you're looking for something with a bit of rock to it, I suggest Y&T singer Dave Meniketti's solo band Meniketti. He released an album called "On The Blue Side" and it's one of my favorite CD's hands down.

Top 3 CD's I Reccomend: Buddy Guy's "Sweet Tea," Ike Turner's "Here and Now," and Meniketti's "On The Blue Side."

Hope this helps

[=BK=]

How about Type O Negative?