Neutral Milk Hotel - definitely "indie" something, but definitely not "indie pop". Sometimes they're semi-generic acoustic guitar and lite-rock vocals, sometimes strings, sometimes oddly instrumented hard that makes even thejlink raise an eyebrow. I think they get bored easily, and that's fine with me. Oh yeah, they have songs like "She Did A Lot of Acid" and "Two-Headed Boy" slipped in there, too.
Nine Inch Nails - rip me to shreds, I like NIN. The guy (don't forget, the actual "band" is Trent Reznor on everything; live performances are Reznor plus a different set of random pawns each tour) is endlessly creative/skilled with music, lyrics, and even marketing. Yes, he's a bit of a tool as a person, but oh well. This project is about music, not sociology.
I have all sorts of stories about NIN, but just like most of their/his songs, they are far from fam-friendly. I can include a quote from the bro Tim, though, that takes a satirical stab at the gradual change of focus for each album: we were talking about how the early albums like Pretty Hate Machine were very raw, and Tim says, "oh, back when he was actually angry!"
Only fans will get that, most likely, and they'll no doubt not appreciate it. Shucks.
Nirvana - I talk about grunge quite a bit, and Nirvana is the root of all that evil. Nirvana is the definition of grunge, plain and simple. Maybe I'm a little obsessed.
Nevermind was the first album, on tape of course, that was actually "mine". I remember listening to it over and over while mowing the lawn - the best time for good music, right? To summarize my appreciation, I need only point out that the tape stopped working long, long ago.
No Doubt - ha ha, if you're mocking me for liking Nine Inch Nails, eat this one up! I prefer her solo work, but this pop(!) garbage works in a pinch. Ah, I might as well confess to liking Garbage while I'm at it. I don't have anything cogent to contribute to the No Doubt discussion.
Notorious B.I.G. - Biggie Biggie Biggie, can't you see? On the minus side, he helped turn rap into a giant bragfest, but on the plus side, he was pretty good at it.
Further on the plus side, "Big Poppa" was featured in one of the Robert Goulet skits on SNL, providing me with laughs every time I've ever heard the song.
(and he's almost as awesome as the notorious JKL)
---
Half done! That was the easy half... Share some stories.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It seems the only jazz/jazz-ish music I like is by artists whose names start with N:
ReplyDeleteNina Simone. Old school, I love her voice and her music.
Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole. I love their songs for some reason, shamefully I like Natalie's renditions more than Nat's
Norah Jones. I know she's not really jazz, but she passes for it in the mainstream. Sometimes you just need some mellow tunes.
Aw, thanks for the shout-out! I, of course, cannot wait to see Notorious whenever it comes out on DVD (and I skipped it in theaters because you know it sucked).
ReplyDeleteI am learning a lot about music and your eclectic taste!
NNNNot much to add...
ReplyDeleteNeil Young needs no introduction, though he's best singing "Four Strong Winds," which he didn't even write. Canada :-/
Nas is pretty alright. Or so these broadminded music critics tell me. Actually I like him, but I haven't really listened to much.