Music To My Ears

My taste in music has been described as "eclectic." It's true, I listen to just about everything with the exception of country which I just cannot stand. If I hear anything about tractors and other farm machinery I might puke. So with that one genre aside, everything else is pretty much fair game. I used to be very much a music snob, especially in those oh-so-difficult teenage years when my affiliation with a particular musical style meant everything. It was a time when I had to prove my moral and intellectual superiority by shunning anything that was too "pop-py." Hence...my musical exploits were limited to classic rock, hard rock, and alternative. Pretty narrow, huh?

Well, since then I am proud to say that I've evolved as a person and no longer feel ashamed to say that I fucking love Justin Timberlake and occasionally groove along to some old school Britney. In addition, I've branched out into more experimental type music and genre-mixing bands. Yeah, I'm secure enough with my "coolness" to realize that my liking Rihanna and Beyonce doesn't take any of it away from me.

So in the grand old tradition of list-making, here's a small list of artists currently on my ipod. You should check them out because I say so and I know what the fuck I'm talking about :)


Brazilian Girls- not Brazilian, and only 25% female. They mix quadri-lingual lyrics and funky, catchy beats. NPR favorites.
Download: "Jique," "Pussy," "Talk To The Bomb"


Orion Experience- New York City based indie pop group. They are "better than cocaine" (thnx Perez)
Download: "Obsessed With You"

Lupe Fiasco- representin Chi-town. Killer rhymes and thought-provoking lyrics (if you're sharp enough to follow), it's rap with a conscience and a social message. Oh, he's kinda cute too. Download: "Hurt Me Soul," "The Coolest," "Day Dream" (featuring Jill Scott)

VHS or Beta- St. Louis rockers that remind me of The Cure. Craig Pfunder, the lead singer, has one of the most hypnotic voices I've ever heard. Download: "Can't Believe A Single Word," "Bring On The Comets," "You Got Me"


Rihanna- love this girl!!! Good for listening to when you want something light and girl-powerish
Download: "Umbrella-ella-ella-eh" (sorry, couldn't help myself), "Take a Bow"

Elliott Smith- le sigh. Very talented singer-songwriter with lots of problems (RIP) I wouldn't recommend listening to him when it's dark and gloomy out because it will lead to a minor bout of depression.
Download: "Waltz #2," "2:45 AM," "Bottle Up and Explode"

Jeff Buckely- yet another dead singer songwriter. His version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is heart-wrenching. His stuff is generally dark. This blog is not called Angst in the City for nothing!
Download: "Hallelujah," "Despite The Tears"


Radiohead- Hail to Thome York! This man can do no wrong. I would also suggest checking out his solo album "The Eraser" which was part of the soundtrack to "A Scanner Darkly."
Download: everything

Indochine- French New Wave group. I think they split up but you can still enjoy their music.
Download: "J'ai demande a la lune"

The Killers- yeah, a little cliched but whatever. It's indie rock and roll for me! They recently released a B-Sides album which rocks, if I don't say so myself.
Download: anything from "Hot Fuss."

Amy Winehouse- girl has issues but she's GOOOOD. R&B, soul, and jazz all rolled into one fucked-up, bee-hived package. I'm eating it up!
Download: "Back to Black"

Sara Bareilles- unlike her so popular "Love Song" most of her other songs are surprisingly moody, which is just fine with me. It's rather amazing she has no formal musical training.
Download: "Gravity," "Come Round Soon"


Regina Spektor- Soviet import from Brooklyn. She plays the piano and has a really quirky style of singing. Her lyrics are very New York-centric and use a lot of typical slang (she does the accent sometimes too!)
Download: "Hotel Song," "Better"

That was just a really small sampling of my far-reaching musical tastes. I'll try to do a follow-up at some point because there's a lot more where that came from.

Happy listening!