Music
(I’m updating it right now)
I’ve played bass since I was 10 years old. Find out more here.
I’m in a band called lo-boy. Find out more here.
I run a small, not for profit recording studio called The Velvet Ear. Find out more here.
And of course I listen. Below, you’ll find a list of bands/artists I like. I have it here because as I get older, I’m less “plugged in” to new artists and bands, and yet I still enjoy the singular pleasure of disovering new music. So if you like some of these bands, you might like some other bands or performers on my list. And if you know something that “goes with” one or more of the acts I’ve mentioned, I’d love to hear about it (or if you know of something that you think I might like). I’m always looking for suggestions of new music to try.
Three caveats:
1. I gave up trying to figure out what was mainstream and what wasn’t. This is just some stuff I like.2. My tastes are eclectic but not universal. Just because I like it doesn’t mean you will like it. It’s no big thing: musical taste is incredibly fragmented in our culture. Go figure.
3. Yes, I like other stuff too.
And a caveat #4 for now:
4. This page is right in the middle of being revised for the first time since like 2002. Please be patient, as I won’t finish before I leave town again.
Some People Who Play Music I Like:
Rock!
Black Sabbath
Deftones
Floor
Houston
Hum
Karate
The Life and Times (and Shiner, Great Fire of 1666, Season to Risk)
Love Cup
Queens of the Stone Age (and Kyuss, etc.)
Groove! (or not, as the case may be)
Bill Lasswell/Tabla Beat Science/His gazillion other projects
DJ Shadow; oh yeah, and U.N.K.L.E.
George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, and all associated phenomena
Kool & the Gang
Kruder & Dorfmeister (Tosca, Peace Orchestra, etc.)
Luscious Jackson
old list starts here until I finish the new one
Houston "High quality rawk" from Minneapolis. Awesome singing and walls of sound, together as you’ve always wanted them.
Shiner Truly massive Kansas City Indyrock
Aereogramme They’re pretty, then they’re loud, then they’re pretty again.
Massive Attack The sun around which all trip-hop orbits. Did I mention they have really good politics? A special bonus, since we all know good politics don’t always make for good music. Website’s a little heavy on the pop-ups, so watch out.
Dalek Underground hip hop with some really cool sounds
Bill Lasswell—Incredibly prolific dub bassist and producer who explodes genre boundaries. I don’t think he has one site, but this will at least get you somewhere. There’s a great interview with him at innerviews.org.
Soma Mestizo Groovy everything-fusion from Pittsburgh
DJ Shadow One of them new-fangled DJs!
DJ Spooky Awesome sounds, and he’s an intellectual, too
Elders of Zion Cut up, reassembled, and very interesting
Charlie Hunter 8 string guitar: he sounds like a guitarist AND a bassist all at once.
P-Funk When the Panthers started to get shot and go to jail, George Clinton and P-Funk went to outer space. THE mothership for all funk.
Prince The Artist once again known as Prince. High heels, amazing musicianship and prolific songwriting.
Mark Deutch He plays a bazantar, which is an upright bass and a sitar all in one. Yes, he owns the patent. Amazing sounds and textures.
Moloko —One part P-Funk, one part trip hop, and a touch of sugar
Radiohead Yes, of course
Ring, Cicada Instrumental rock
Mogwai —Instrumental rock
Laika and the Cosmonauts—Kooky surf rock
Los Staightjackets Surf rock and Mexican wrestling masks, together as you’ve always wanted them!
Rectangle Really original indyrock from Chambana, IL
Lake Trout Jam band + Radiohead = Pretty + Tons of Ear Candy. Outstanding live show, and I’m not a jam band kind of guy.
Mos Def—Most definitely one of the best rappers out there. Check out Black Star
The Roots Hip hop, live instruments, tasty grooves
Beam Totally improvisational hip hop/trip hop fusion with a drummer who can actually play those 1000bpm jungle beats when he wants to and a positive MC.
Man or Astroman Last time I saw them, the lit a theremin on fire and played it. Oh yeah, it’s intense surf music combined with incomprehensible space jargon. Fun!
Tortoise Slow, melodic, creative
Tribe Called Quest Hip hop that needs no introduction
Brian Eno Producer and intellectual. Godfather of ambient music. Unreachable by internet.
Teddy Duchamp’s Army Godfathers of Pittsburgh punk
Collapse Into Reason Industrial, but with a real drummer
The Butchies Melodic indyrock
Sneaker Pimps Home made trip hop. They got better once they fell off the U.S. charts, even though they were good when they hit the charts.
Kittie Three women bringing back old school heavy metal.
Amon Tobin Cool jazzy electornica. His earlier project, Cujo, also rocks.
And now, some defunct bands and artists that once rocked but rock no more:
Hum, Braid, Failure, Trip Shakespeare, Sarge, Love Cup, Archers of Loaf, Team Dresch, Christal Methodists, Hugo Largo, Beezus, Mingus Mingus Mingus, Portishead, Public Enemy, All the Quiet, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd (yes, they still release albums, but that’s another thing), Hooverphonic (same deal), Antarctica (80s synthrock, but in the 90s), and on and on.
Some More Music Links:
innerviews.org Really, really great interviews with musicians.
mp3.com They’re not particularly hip, their website is filled with annoying popups, and their revenue sharing thing is a racket. But where else can unknown artists with no resources except a recording of themselves post their music?
The Pittsburgh Area Shows List sporadically maintained, but oh so useful.
Pittsburgh City Paper—your other source for local music goings on
Mr. Roboto Project—a cool little DIY venue
WPTS —Pitt’s radio station
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