No.11: favs

Yesterday Greg asked me what favorite bands still in active existence were. It’s actually a really hard question, considering most of the music I listen to was made in the 70s, 80s and 90s but ah well. So I’ve been thinking about it and I think it goes like this:

* Animal Collective: Merriweather Post really clinched this band for me. I liked Feels a lot but “Summertime Clothes” and “Brother Sport” are really solid songs and of course you’ve got “My Girls” for your dance-around-like-an-idiot song. You could describe my attitude towards the show on the 11th as “Stupidly excited”.

* Andrew Bird: Not technically a “band” but whatever. He’s my favorite. It’s the whistling I think. But from Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs to Noble Beast, he never ceases to delight and surprise me. “Anonanimal” is really really beautiful and as Greg always says, he made the album for “Not a Robot, but  Ghost”.

* Modest Mouse: My favorite modern band of all time. GDub and I agreed that their next album has to be absurdly good b/c We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank set the bar pretty high. Yes, it’s poppy but it’s GREAT pop. It’s not Moon and Antarctica, it’s not Sad Sappy Sucker but man, it’s good. “Missed the Boat”, “Steam Engenius”, “Spitting Venom” are you kidding?! And for your more mellow moods, “Little Hotel”. Yes please. Isaac, wow us away.

*Radiohead: Just because In Rainbows came to me at a really important moment of transition. And then I got to go back in and re-explore OK Computer and The Bends. Gregs and I decided that Radiohead is somewhat comparable to Led Zeppelin for our age, in that each member of the band has a demi-following, their albums are huge and they have an almost disdain for media. Also they’re amazing.

*Wilco: although I would argue that they haven’t put out a super solid album since Yankee, Hotel Foxtrot, no matter how much anyone wants to back A Ghost is Born. Sky Blue Sky lacks oomph and I was disappointed in most of the songs excluding “Hate it Here” and “Impossible Germany” (“gorgeous and alone/face to face”) which are, to be fair, really really great ( I think Joe Martin put that on his mix for best songs of last year). I can’t decide if Tweedy needs to stay away from the drugs or go back to them.

* Broken Social Scene: Broken Social Scene came out in 2005 and then Kevin Drew went all “Look at me! Look at me!” Whatever. They’re still awesome and that’s one of my favorite albums of all time. “Swimmers” and “7/4 (Shoreline)” are you serious! So gorgeous. And what indie-movie director didn’t listen to You Forgot it in People and go “I want ‘Anthem for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl’ in my transition scene!”? “Looks Just Like the Sun” is still one of my favorite songs. dBeehives has “Marketfresh”, Feel Good Lost has “Love and Mathematics” and “Guilty Cubicles” (always good for morning coffee). They’re an incredibly solid band and it seems weird to me that I used to actively hate them.

*Band of Horses: I know, I know, I know– in twenty years, no one will know who they are. My Morning Jacket has an edge on them and Fleet Foxes are newer (and Carlos and Greg would say better, though I think that’s crap). Still, the opening notes to “Is There a Ghost” just DO it for me! And “Ode to the LRC” is a totally solid song. In fact, “Cease to Begin” is a solid album.

* Arcade Fire: This is a recent addition. I could really not give a hoot about them at all until about a month ago. Gregs and C-Lo forced me to download Neon Bible and ok, I get it. “Keep the Car Running” was the song that made me love them though, closely followed by “Wake Up” but maybe only because of the A Take Away Video that they did in the crowd. Very neat. There’s just so many people in that band! It’s kind of ridiculous. But then again, they sound awesome and I couldn’t find an instrument I wouldn’t want there.

So I think that’s about it. Honorable mention for frequent listening: Spoon, Beirut, DeVotchKa, Aesop Rock, The Cool Kids, My Morning Jacket, Vampire Weekend.

Spring Fair starts today. Weeee!

hs