2 with ten – the letter g
ok, before we start i think a quick recap of the 2 with ten rules is in order. in a perfect world i would like u to post no more than 2 artists from the letter in question. ideally these bands are found within your own personal itunes library. i would prefer more recent artists but again that’s tough given the limits of the library in question. (if there isnt much to choose from in your library this might be a reminder to stay current and not get complacent with your music.). now post one song link from each artist be it a youtube or myspace link. that’s it. pretty simple. if you want to list just one band/link and ask a question then do that as it will take this blog to even stranger places.
grizzly bear. gb is an indie band from ny that debuted in 04. they are my first g but it’s not because of their most recent and popular record veckatimest that everyone seems to think is so amazing. it’s actually because of their second record yellow house which i think is much better. yellow house came out on warp records in 06. i think that as a whole, from start to finish, it’s a very complete record – it flows extremely well with warm, dreamy, psychedelic, folky, unique and timeless elements to all of it. i don’t even remember how i got this record but i think i got it from amy. the track i picked was called knife.
gabin. this was an easy choice for a few reasons. i discovered gabin when we were signed to astralwerks as they were fellow labelmates…but from italy. gabin is the electro lounge duo of fillippo cary and max bottini. they are both great musicians with a defined style- bottini happens to be a well known jazz bassist in his own right. so here’s the story, before i took a trip to rome in 04 i had my a&r guy get me in touch with their manager. i set up a time to meet with them at their studio and played them our then unreleased debut cd off of a little digital camera that i had it on. they immediately took a liking to the song hollywood and eventually remixed the track. to date it’s one of the most radically interpreted remixes we have ever had made. this track still gets played on chillout stations and appears on our first remix ep which is actually tough to find in print.
About The Author
Francis Ten
Other posts byFrancis Ten
Author his web sitehttps://www.facebook.com/francisten
Wow! I am thin on G’s.
The best G I’ve got is Gustov Holst. The Planets in its entirety is a must have. I first heard this at age 10 or 11 when my sister was in our H.S. marching band. It still sends chills down my spine. Here are two of my favorite selections:
Mars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0bcRCCg01I&feature=related
Jupiter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6NopU9K_8M&feature=PlayList&p=601FE4742AECFD00&index=0&playnext=1
The other notable would be
G Love and Special Sauce – Milk and Cereal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UAZu0vF618&feature=related
Please ignore the annoying video, this video seemed to have the best sound quality.
So I was just going to leave it at Holst, but I got sucked into the youtube space time vortex and found that I’m really digging some of the more bluesier (yeah that IS a word!) GL&SS stuff. Got to love the sound of the stand up bass in someinem vids.
cheers
Aha! You just wanted one link per artist! For Graham Collier, just play Conversations and you’ll get the idea. I may lay out for H – not much to offer – but I’m ready with I, J, and K. – Nick
I like that question from Z. There is no doubt that watching video puts images in your brain which shapes your feelings toward the music. Just look at the video for “Aw Yeah” that I posted… When ever I hear that song, I picture Patience (the lead singer) prancing around in gold spandex and getting put into a coffin. IMO just seeing what the band/singers looks like could change the way I feel about the music… If you truly want to just judge music for music, a music stream is the only way to go… Groove Shark is a site the might be our best bet for just music streams… Their catalog is huge, you do not have be a member, and you can stream any given track unlimited times (which is probably illegal, but they’re still kickin). Good question though.
Hi Fran ! I’m back with the letter G. Good shit. I have 2… the first one i’m embarassed to admit but i love one particular song i’d hear at the bowling alley in the cosmic lites :)nonetheless…. Good Charlotte love his voice and how he pushes it. very energetic song and positive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_mhpRz0liA
My other G is for the gangsta in me….. living on hip hop for decades now… on top of my metal/ industrial other influences. G is for Geto Boys… this particular song reminds me of Ice Cube’s song Thought It was A Good Day except geto boys did their song first. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KutXyPEEbQs
Feel Free To Disagree 😉
I know you’re not much of a hip-hop fan- Fran… but I gotta mention hip-hop pioneers Gang Starr cos they’re just dope. “Full Clip”..”Mass Appeal”..and “Skills” are my favorite. An old DJ friend of mine used to spin their records all the time way back- before iTunes was around.. haha 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gVKy01juX0&feature=related
Someone made me a mixed trip-hop/electronica cd a few years ago with songs I’ve never heard of before including this song- Epoca by Gotan Project. I never knew the name of the song until I heard it on Pandora recently. The music is catchy and different.. to me at least.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-7nJ4V57Ww&feature=PlayList&p=C852E948CA2B0F45&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=32
Since Goldfrapp and Glasvegas have already been mentioned, I”m forced to introduce another one of my bands from Japan– Guniw Tools, a techno-goth-rock band from the mid to late 90’s. The singer, who goes by the name Full, is part Robert Smith, part Tim Burton but even weirder. He owns his own independent music label and creates his own videos and album covers for his various music projects. DADA is the first song and video I heard from them and made me become a fan. I saw it on a late night Japanese music show on the International Channel. Their look is a type of style used by Japanese rock bands called Visual Kei and there’s fans that get dressed up like that and parade around Tokyo. The other song is called Drop an Oar and shows their more normal side.
DADA– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R03-bQEbGUo&feature=related
Drop an Oar– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c35-QHYTdvA
That song, “Knife” (by Grizzly Bear) was VERY cool. A bit similar to psychedelic/moody sounds we’ve heard from WIG. Good stuff!
Also, I never picked up that first remix EP of WIG’s. LOVE that bossa nova-type remix of “Hollywood” by Gabin. Incredible how someone can envision an existing song in a completely different style and then bring it to life so beautifully. 🙂
(Again, the large paragraphs of info in quotes are bios taken from websites)
1) Guster
“Guster is an American alternative rock band that is known for its live performances, humor, and cult following. Guster is often recognized for its choice of instruments during their earlier years: two members playing acoustic guitars and one member playing various percussion instruments. Brian Rosenworcel, the band’s percussionist (affectionately dubbed the Thundergod by fans), added to Guster’s unique sound with a combination of bongos, cymbals, and other drums, playing live shows using only his bare hands. Guster’s sound is recognized for its vocal harmonies, with both Miller and Gardner singing lead vocals on different songs; in songs such as “What You Wish For” and “Happier,” the two members sing different lyrics simultaneously. While Guster’s studio albums included more instrumental variety (e.g. violin, bass, drum kit), its live shows generally retained the same line-up until tours supporting its album Lost and Gone Forever, in which the band diversified by playing different instruments on some songs. At this time, Rosenworcel began introducing a more traditional drum kit into the stage and studio performances in an effort to move away from bare-hand percussion. Following the release of Keep it Together, multi-instrumentalist Joe Pisapia, who had been touring with the band, became a full-time member.”
I saw Guster in concert twice (once in 2000 and again a year later) and I absolutely love this band. Back in the day, I’d heard that because the percussionist, Brian, played hand percussion throughout each show, and attacked his drums and cymbals so aggressively, he not only had to tape his hands and fingers up for performances, he actually had to ice his hands after every single show. I’ve decided to submit a classic Guster performance for you.
Guster – Airport Song (live from Woodstock ’99)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqXECeSQCPI&fmt=18
2) Gabriela Anders
“Gabriela Anders was born into a family of musicians. The Argentinean native studied classical guitar and piano in Buenos Aires while listening closely to her father, jazz saxophonist Jorge Anders. “There were so many influences when I was growing up, and I wanted to do something with them all. My father’s concerts and studio work certainly affected me, as did the music of Brazil— it’s so harmonically rich and so interesting melodically.†After high school, Anders decided to continue her studies in New York. After a short while, she started to do studio and club work. This work lead to two recording projects with top producer Sergio George under the name Beleza. Through Sergio, she had the opportunity to sing for Grover Washington, Jr., Marc Anthony, Celia Cruz & DLG. Her ongoing exposure to music of various sensibilities and her innate ability to fuse styles and formats were abundantly revealed in a few demo tracks she made on the cheap. Shortly thereafter, the stunning beauty became one of the only artists ever signed to Warner Bros. from unsolicited material. Her first appearance on the Warner Bros. sampler JAZZ CHRISTMAS PARTY (1998) was followed by Gabriela’s 1999 debut, Wanting. Wanting is brimming with vocal subtlety; although smooth, it is anything but simple (she wrote ten of the twelve tracks). Gabriela Anders continued a journey of musical excellence and introspection with her releases, Eclectica, a collection of brazilian, rhythm’n blues and jazz- influenced songs and Latina, an all spanish adventure.”
Btw, Fran, I actually thought of Gabriela early on when you’d posted Astrud Gilberto. Not only because of the brazilian influence, but also because Gabriela covered “The Girl From Ipanema”. It’s a VERY different slowed-down version, but I like it. But give a listen though to the first track, “Fire Of Love”, from her ’99 CD, Wanting. If the track won’t play for you, let me know. Btw, a certain other person who posts here said to me a while back that Gabriela could sing the phone book to him and it would sound gorgeous. 😉
Gabriela Anders – Fire Of Love
http://www.rhapsody.com/gabriela-anders/wanting
Grizzly Bear? Really? Why not post Goo Goo Dolls or Gnarls Barkley? I really don’t get them.
I have to say, I do dig Gomez, Giant Drag (shame they haven’t produced anything in… well… quite a while now), Gus Gus, and GG Dance, I figure I’d list a few G’s in my heavy rotation, classics or current, a G’s a G.
GZA the Genius/GRANDMASTERS – always in the mix. anyone who consistently references chess gets double plays – in videos and in lyrical skills as well as music, GZA is groundbreaking and a staple in any true collection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPEf-DFKHRQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRXE1tYqIB4
Gilles Peterson – Known for having one of the most extensive and eclectic vinyl collections – Gilles also hosts Worldwide every week on BBC Radio. He creates his own works as well as mixes some of the best shows/cds/events i’ve ever witnessed. Check him out if you don’t know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NUhVII1igI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_KEIUW7hIA
~Cosby
Kudos for Jenna on mentioning Gary Numan… absolute legend even as he continues to evolve with his newer stuff. If you haven’t already heard “Haunted” through Jenna’s links I encourage everyone to do so!
(FYI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8579wjzQHEk )
OK so that didn’t count as my suggestions but here they are:
1) QUESTION: So this goes back to the timeless concept of video killed the radio star. I have noticed that up until now most of us (some exceptions noted) share our musical likes in the form of video links and not audio streams. I wonder how much the visual representation of the music influences your enjoyment/appreciation of the particular artist? In other words, for first impressions of artist that you are new/unfamiliar do you think there is a difference in your emotional response between only hearing the artist vs. watching their live performance or visual interpretation? Do you find yourself more critical of an artist when you see them perform vs. when you only hear them? Given this inquiry, do you prefer audio streams or video or it really does F-ing matter and this is a lame question ;>)
2) Great Northern: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gfV2jNknPg or http://www.myspace.com/greatnorthern
ciao’