What I Listen To

What I Listen To

the greatest bands in the free world, including Turkmenistan

Fantastic progressive rock. They have many songs up on their site in midi form with free tabs. This is a sound for the adventurous mind, but if you like it you love it. Brilliant mellotron work by Ryo Okumoto and nonpareil songwriting by Neal Morse shine through in a repertoire ranging from soothing acoustic melodies to fifteen-minute rock epics.

The Rocket Summer

Bryce Avery, who wrote some of these songs at age 14, plays all of the instruments on the recordings. This is the absolute opposite of teen angst. Catchy pop rock with hope and a smile. Sing along real loud with your windows down when you're flying through the countryside under the stars.

Junction 18

There's an awful lot of indie rock out there, and some people are getting fed up with emo. But in all my days I have never been so blissfully absorbed in pure aural honesty. To others this might sound like more of the same, but they're my personal favorite. The lyrics are sometimes more powerful than you can pick up on the first listen. Demo a couple songs at purevolume.com.

Guster

Guster is a band everyone will like. I have trouble trying to classify them, although technically they are labeled pop rock. Many of their songs use bongos instead of a drumset with a surprisingly fitting effect. Vocals to die for and guitar work that can bring you to tears or anger, whatever they play.

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OTHER BANDS I LISTEN TO [circa 2005]

This is a good long list, but by no means a full catalog of what I've got on my computer or on cd. I can't keep up with adding a band to this list every time I find a new one that I like, or changing the rankings of bands as they put out new material. Basically, there is enough on here that you'll like a bunch of it, and if you tell me what you already listen to then I can give you recommendations for similar bands of a high caliber that you should look into.

All of these are worthwhile, even Tier 3, because if you look for their music you'll probably find their best stuff on the first hit. If you're ever feeling adventurous or bored, or for any other reason or none at all, come to this list and pick a band at random. Satisfaction is guaranteed.

Furthermore, I will be glad to make you a cd demo-ing any band or bands you like. Or you can just tell me to make you a mix of good stuff you'd like, and I'll do that. I live to press this music on people.

: Tier 1 (Most of their songs are great, some are amazing)

311, The Appleseed Cast, The Beach Boys, Ben Folds, Better Than Ezra, Common Rider, The Cure, Death Cab for Cutie, Dispatch, Dream Theater, Eve 6, Fuel, Graham Colton, The Juliana Theory, Jupiter Sunrise, The Killers, Liquid Tension Experiment, Live, Mae, Matchbox 20, Nickel Creek, Nobuo Uematsu, The Offspring, Our Lady Peace, Porcupine Tree, The Postal Service, OK Go, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Reel Big Fish, Rush, The Shins, Simon and Garfunkel, The Spill Canvas, Stone Temple Pilots, Straylight Run, Stroke 9, Sublime, Switchfoot, Third Eye Blind, Tool, Treble Charger, Vanessa Carlton, Waking Ashland
: Tier 2 (Most of their songs are pretty good, some are great)

3 Days Grace, Acceptance, Ace of Base, Alabama, Alkaline Trio, All-American Rejects, Alvin and the Chipmunks, America, American Analog Set, Anberlin, Amy Grant, Armor for Sleep, Arrogant Worms, The Ataris, B-52’s, Barenaked Ladies, The Beatles, Belle and Sebastian, Ben Lee, Billy Joel, Black Eyed Peas, Blessid Union of Souls, Blind Melon, Blink 182, The Blues Brothers, Blues Traveler, Bond, Boysetsfire, Brave Saint Saturn, Bush, Carbon Leaf, Catch 22, Chevelle, Chicago, Coldplay, Collective Soul, Dave Matthews Band, Default, Del Amitri, The Dissociatives, The Doobie Brothers, The Doors, Doves, The Eagles, Eminem, Evanescence, Fall Out Boy, Fastball, Five for Fighting, Fleetwood Mac, Flickerstick, Flogging Molly, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, Gatsby’s American Dream, Genesis, Goldfinger, Goo Goo Dolls, Greenday, Hammerfall, Harry Chapin, Hey Mercedes, Idlewild, Ike, Incubus, Jason Mraz, Jet, John Cougar Mellencamp, Jimmy Eat World, Johnny Cash, July for Kings, The Junior Varsity, Kansas, Kompressor, Led Zeppelin, Less Than Jake, Linkin Park, Low Millions, Mad Caddies, Madison Project, Manheim Steamroller, Manic Street Preachers, The Mercury Program, Metallica, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Millencolin, Minus the Bear, The Monkees, New Found Glory, Nirvana, No Doubt, No Motiv, NOFX, OPM, Peter Paul and Mary, Phantom Planet, Phil Collins, Placebo, Queen, Radiohead, Rage against the Machine, The Reindeer Section, Rockapella, The Reunion Show, Revis, Riddlin’ Kids, The Rolling Stones, Roper, Rx Bandits, The Servant, Seven Places, Side Walk Slam, Sister Hazel, Skillet, Smashing Pumpkins, Smile Empty Soul, SR-71, Stabbing Westward, Stephen Lynch, Stratovarius, Suburban Legends, System of a Down, They Might Be Giants, Thirteen Senses, This Day and Age, Thousand Foot Krutch, Three Dog Night, Transatlantic, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Trapt, Twothirtyeight, U2, Unwritten Law, The Urge, The Used, Vertical Horizon, The Wallflowers, The Weakerthans, Weird Al Yankovic, The Who, Yes, Zebrahead
: Tier 3 (Most of their songs are nothing special, but one or two are great)

(hed) pe, 40 Below Summer, AC DC, A-Ha, Alien Ant Farm, The Animals, Apocalyptica, Audioslave, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Beastie Boys, Beck, Ben Kweller, The Bens, Black Crowes, Blue Oyster Cult, Blur, Bodies without Organs, The Box Tops, Box Car Racer, Brutilicus Maximus, The Buoys, Butthole Surfers, The Byrds, C 12, The Cardigans, Cake, Carole King, Celldweller, The Champs, Charlie Daniels Band, Cheech and Chong, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Chumbawumba, Citizen King, The Clash, Counting Crows, Cowboy Mouth, The Cowsills, Cracker, Crash Test Dummies, Creed, Crossfade, Culture Club, Cursive, Cypress Hill, Cyrkle, Dishwalla, Distorted Penguins, Disturbed, Don McLean, Dovetail Joint, Dropkick Murphys, The Elms, Europe, Everlast, The Exies, Faith No More, Falco, Fatboy Slim, Finch, Fishbone, Five Iron Frenzy, The Flower Kings, The Frantics, Funeral for a Friend, Gin Blossoms, Godsmack, Gordon Lightfoot, Gorillaz, Green Carnation, Guns ‘N Roses, Harry Nilsson, Herman’s Hermits, The Hollies, Hoobastank, In Flames, Iron and Wine, Jane’s Addiction, Jefferson Airplane, Jets to Brazil, Jewel, Johnny Rebel, Jonathan Edwards, The June Spirit, Junior Senior, Kaiser Chiefs, Keepsake, Kraftwerk, Lagwagon, Lambchop, LCD Soundsystem, Lenny Kravitz, Leonard Nimoy, The Lindsay Diaries, Lit, Local H, Long Beach Dub Allstars, Looking Glass, Louis Armstrong, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Mammas and the Papas, Mandy Moore, Men without Hats, Mest, Midnight Oil, Mighty Joe Plumb, Mu330, Mungo Jerry, Mustard Plug, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Neil Diamond, New Kids on the Block, Newsboys, Nickleback, Oasis, Opeth, Otis Redding, Ozzie Osbourne, Papa Roach, Pearl Jam, Pietasters, Pink Floyd, The Police, Porno for Pyros, Prodigy, Queensryche, REM, Rufus Wainwright, Scars of Life, Semisonic, Sleep Station, Smashmouth, Snow Patrol, Social Distortion, Soundgarden, Spoken, Steppenwolf, Stevie Wonder, Stompin’ Tom Connors, Tree 63, Trust Company, The Strokes, Styx, Sugar Ray, Sum 41, Swirl 360, Tears for Fears, Tenacious D, Three Doors Down, Tom Petty, The Transplants, The Turtles, Vanilla Ice, Velvet Revolver, The Verve, Verve Pipe, Wilco, William Shatner, Yellowcard, Yngwie J. Malmsteen