Music recommendations
It’s difficult to make music recommendations. If only one in ten of my recommendations come to any sort of fruition, I will have considered it a success. I don’t expect people to instantly enjoy the music that I recommend to them — for the same reason that I rarely “get” a band or album the first time. In fact, as I’ve pointed out, it may take half a decade (or longer) for me to fully appreciate albums that I acquire for myself. This slow burn is one of the reasons that I hold recorded sound in such high esteem.
I’ll purposefully skip the powerhouses that should already be in your collection: The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Johnny Cash, The Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M., Radiohead, Pink Floyd, et cetera. Here is a list that I compiled today without any premeditation:
Lost in the Woods
My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses, Midlake, Fleet Foxes, J. Tillman, Department of Eagles
Somewhat Christian but not quite
Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado, Denison Witmer, Rosie Thomas
Honky tonk and alternative country
Johnny Paycheck (especially his 1960s output), George Jones, Hank Williams Sr., Ray Price, Junior Brown, Blitzen Trapper, The Jayhawks, Neko Case (sometimes)
Indie and experimental indie
Panda Bear, Animal Collective, Of Montreal, Beck, Arcade Fire, The Verve, The White Stripes, The Shins
Scottish rock
Travis, The Trash Can Sinatras, Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura
Church music
Composers worth rediscovering: Lorenzo Allegri, J.S. Bach, Gabriel Fauré, W.A. Mozart
Choral groups: Chanticleer, The Tallis Scholars
Dance
Air (sort of), Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx, Hot Chip, The Chemical Brothers, Caribou
Pop (in its many forms)
Weezer, Bee Gees, John Denver, Electric Light Orchestra, Michael Jackson, ABBA
Abrasive
Man Man, Death From Above 1979, Black Eyes & Neckties, Neutral Milk Hotel
