Some Bands Tom 7 Likes

Then
95%

Now
30% They Might Be Giants
Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Particle Man, Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Birdhouse In Your Soul, Snail Shell, Ana Ng
First, if you've heard only some of their sillier songs (say, Particle Man or Istanbul), then you may be missing the fact that they are actually really excellent musicians. Give them a chance!
They Might Be Giants is made of two guys named John, and more recently, a rather unspectacular Rock Band. Before they turned into a "Nazi Rock Band" (those who haven't heard the Kitten Intro will not get that one), they were really quite innovative; a wonderful fusion of electronic pop, guitar and accordian music, and masterful lyrics. Now they are a total sell-out boring ska band, which is one of the saddest things I know.
Favorite Album: Lincoln
Favorite Song: Where Your Eyes Don't Go (Lincoln)

Then
90%

Now
40% Pink Floyd
Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Comfortably Numb, Another Brick In The Wall (Part II), Money (And probably the rest of Dark Side Of The Moon).
Dark Side Of The Moon was (and may still be) the third best-selling album of all time, and it is not that incredible. Supposedly it is most often the soundtrack for sex and surgery in the United States.
Pink Floyd used to be just wonderful. Fortunately, they made loads and loads of music while they were still wonderful, and as long as you don't bother with the new stuff, there is plenty of excellent music of theirs to buy. I could probably most easily classify them as "classic rock", but they produce a very diverse and eclectic battery of music. (I still think that Animals sounds like a video game at times!)
Favorite Album: Wish You Were Here
Favorite Song: Summer '68 (Atom Heart Mother)

Then
80%

Now
70% Pavement
Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Cut Your Hair, Stereo.
Pavement hit a real rut with Wowee Zowee, but I really have to give them credit for rebounding with the poppy but good Brighten The Corners, which I do not hate. The '70%' at left is provisional of them continuing on their improving trend and making a Crooked-quality or better album next.
Pavement has a lot of people in it, and when I saw them live I couldn't quite understand what they were all doing there. Their best albums are Slanted And Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Generally their instrumentation is not very radical, and though you will hear some funny sounds in there on occasion, they are pretty much a traditional guitar rock band. One thing which might make you hate Pavement is the singer's voice; it never seems to grow on some people (I like it).
Favorite Album: Slanted And Enchanted
Favorite Song: Gold Sounds (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain)

Then
80%

Now
75% Superchunk
Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Precision Auto, The Question Is How Fast. (Doubt it)
Superchunk has gotten only negligibly worse, only because their On The Mouth album was the best, and it is not their most recent. A pretty consistent band!
I heard this band for the first time when I saw them on the Second Stage at Lollapalooza (they were probably the best show there). A great band, I think they are considered "Punk", but I'm not sure, and they are truly excellent live.
Favorite Album: On The Mouth
Favorite Song: Precision Auto (On The Mouth)

Then
85%
Now
N/A Pixies
Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Boxcar
The Pixies are now defunct, and during their careers they only really disappointed with Bossa Nova (and then, just barely so).
The Pixies were wonderful. Their albums (this does not include Bossa Nova) worked really well, and each had a different feel to it. The cover and booklet art is absolutely the best other than the cover to They Might Be Giant's Miscellaneous T. They have an eclectic guitar-rock/punk sound that I can't adequately describe.
Favorite Album: Tromp Le Monde
Favorite Song: Holiday Song (Come On Pilgrim EP)

Then
95%

Now
50% R.E.M.
Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Everybody Hurts, Nightswimming, Losing My Religion, Electrolyte, etc. etc.
REM is has really gone downhill and they are probably not coming back.
But again, as with Pink Floyd, they created a vast amount of great music during the period in which they were good. In their earlier years they produced many excellent albums and songs, each album with a different taste, but altogether very good. Almost everyone can find some REM that they like (and some that they hate!)
Murmur is the best album to program to.
Favorite Album: Murmur
Favorite Song: Wolves, Lower (Chronic Town EP)

Then
87%

Now
85% Tori Amos
Songs of hers that you may have heard: Cornflake Girl, Caught A Lite Sneeze, Crucify
Tori Amos is a wonderful artist, and she still makes good music. The only problem with her recently is that she seems to be making only singles from her most recent Boys For Pele; my local record store sports at least 10.
Tori Amos makes a lot of really emotional music, which makes some girls cry. I am not a girl, so I don't cry, but still she writes excellent music. I tend to prefer her more Rocking songs like Caught A Lite Sneeze or Happy Phantom. I can also vouch for her prowess as a live performer!
Favorite Album: Little Eartquakes
Favorite Song: Caught A Lite Sneeze (Boys For Pele)

Then
95%

Now
97% Aphex Twin
Songs of his that you may have heard: Digeridoo, Alberto Balsalm (Not Bloody Likely!)
Wow, where to begin?
Aphex Twin (Richard D. James) under any of his million other pseudonyms makes absolutely astounding music. I never thought that I'd like something that is sometimes referred to as "techno", but I do, and he has shown no signs of waning from his consistently brilliant songs. Supposedly he is a huge influence on the Techno/Ambient music scene, which would explain why he sort-of sounds like a lot of other people, except way way better. If you have ever listened to a Techno song and thought, "Hey, this could be pretty good if it didn't suck!", try out Aphex Twin.
Here are some of his other monikers: Aphex Twin, AFX, Polygon Window, Richard D. James, Caustic Window, The Diceman
Favorite Album: ...I Care Because You Do
Favorite Song: Alberto Balsalm (...I Care Because You Do)

Then
83%
Now
N/A Beatles
Songs of theirs that you may have heard: (Um... I'll leave this one up to you.)
I feel kind of silly writing about the Beatles. I mean, everyone knows The Beatles, right?
The Beatles are one of those Older Bands which I don't find annoying. In fact, I find them quite enjoyable! I don't know what else to say. If you haven't heard The Beatles, there is something terribly wrong with you.
Favorite Album: Revolver
Favorite Song: I Am The Walrus (Magical Mystery Tour)

Then
87%

Now
74% Liz Phair
Songs of hers that you may have heard: Mesmerizing, Whip-Smart
Liz Phair is a wonderfully talented and smart songwriter and guitarist and singer. Her second album Whip-Smart is only a little bit not-as-good as her earlier masterwork Exile In Guyville. whitechocolatespaceegg has a couple of really poor songs on it, but is not a total waste. I still have not been able to get ahold of her home-spun first album Girly Sounds.
Also, I have a huge crush on Liz Phair.
Favorite Album: Exile In Guyville
Favorite Song: Stratford-On-Guy (Exile In Guyville)

Then
97%

Now
85% Guided By Voices
Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Umm... who knows!
Guided By Voices have a really unique sound which would appear to be bad if I were to describe it, so I will not. They make a lot of rather short songs, and while the songs are usually very good, their real strength comes from the way the albums work as whole pieces of music. This is definitely one of my three or four favoritest bands.
Favorite Album: Guided By Voices Box Set^*
Favorite Song: Bee Thousand (The Grand Hour)
^* I realize this isn't really an 'album', but it is so incredibly awesome that I can't bear not to call it my favorite.

Then
85%

Now
80% King Missile
Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Detachable Penis
As with They Might Be Giants, a lot of people get the impression that King Missile is a Joke Band. They do make some songs which seem to be intended purely as jokes, but they also make a lot of good music! Incidentally, it seems that a lot of people who like TMBG like King Missile, and vice versa, so if you like either band it is probably worth giving the other a shot.
Favorite Album: Happy Hour
Favorite Song: Bloodletting (King Missile)

Then
80%

Now
92% Beck!
Songs of his that you may have heard: Loser, Where It's At, The New Pollution, etc. etc.
Yes, Beck has gotten better, and no, I didn't just jump on the Beck Bandwagon.
I don't know how Beck got popular, but I hope at least this signals a turning point in Popular Music (that is, turning from Bad to Good). Beck's styles are much too difficult for me to describe, and you can pick up any 'cool' music magazine in the last few months and read paragraphs about him, so I won't bother. However, I feel I must warn that Where It's At is one of my least favorite songs on Odelay, and so if this is all you have heard of Beck, do not be misled.
Favorite Album: One Foot In The Grave
Favorite Song: Erase The Sun (Deadweight Single)

Then
87%

Now
80% The Cure
Songs of his that you may have heard: Friday I'm In Love, Fascination Street, Killing An Arab, etc.
The Cure is (was) a solidly good band, despite their propensity to dress funny sometimes. People think that it's weird, but my favorite album of theirs is Mixed Up, because it has really long and interesting versions of all of my favorite songs of theirs.
Favorite Album: Mixed Up
Favorite Song: A Forest (Remix) (Mixed Up)

Then 95%	Now 30%	They Might Be Giants Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Particle Man, Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Birdhouse In Your Soul, Snail Shell, Ana Ng First, if you've heard only some of their sillier songs (say, Particle Man or Istanbul), then you may be missing the fact that they are actually really excellent musicians. Give them a chance! They Might Be Giants is made of two guys named John, and more recently, a rather unspectacular Rock Band. Before they turned into a "Nazi Rock Band" (those who haven't heard the Kitten Intro will not get that one), they were really quite innovative; a wonderful fusion of electronic pop, guitar and accordian music, and masterful lyrics. Now they are a total sell-out boring ska band, which is one of the saddest things I know. Favorite Album: Lincoln Favorite Song: Where Your Eyes Don't Go (Lincoln)
Then 90%	Now 40%	Pink Floyd Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Comfortably Numb, Another Brick In The Wall (Part II), Money (And probably the rest of Dark Side Of The Moon). Dark Side Of The Moon was (and may still be) the third best-selling album of all time, and it is not that incredible. Supposedly it is most often the soundtrack for sex and surgery in the United States. Pink Floyd used to be just wonderful. Fortunately, they made loads and loads of music while they were still wonderful, and as long as you don't bother with the new stuff, there is plenty of excellent music of theirs to buy. I could probably most easily classify them as "classic rock", but they produce a very diverse and eclectic battery of music. (I still think that Animals sounds like a video game at times!) Favorite Album: Wish You Were Here Favorite Song: Summer '68 (Atom Heart Mother)
Then 80%	Now 70%	Pavement Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Cut Your Hair, Stereo. Pavement hit a real rut with Wowee Zowee, but I really have to give them credit for rebounding with the poppy but good Brighten The Corners, which I do not hate. The '70%' at left is provisional of them continuing on their improving trend and making a Crooked-quality or better album next. Pavement has a lot of people in it, and when I saw them live I couldn't quite understand what they were all doing there. Their best albums are Slanted And Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Generally their instrumentation is not very radical, and though you will hear some funny sounds in there on occasion, they are pretty much a traditional guitar rock band. One thing which might make you hate Pavement is the singer's voice; it never seems to grow on some people (I like it). Favorite Album: Slanted And Enchanted Favorite Song: Gold Sounds (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain)
Then 80%	Now 75%	Superchunk Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Precision Auto, The Question Is How Fast. (Doubt it) Superchunk has gotten only negligibly worse, only because their On The Mouth album was the best, and it is not their most recent. A pretty consistent band! I heard this band for the first time when I saw them on the Second Stage at Lollapalooza (they were probably the best show there). A great band, I think they are considered "Punk", but I'm not sure, and they are truly excellent live. Favorite Album: On The Mouth Favorite Song: Precision Auto (On The Mouth)
Then 85%	Now N/A	Pixies Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Boxcar The Pixies are now defunct, and during their careers they only really disappointed with Bossa Nova (and then, just barely so). The Pixies were wonderful. Their albums (this does not include Bossa Nova) worked really well, and each had a different feel to it. The cover and booklet art is absolutely the best other than the cover to They Might Be Giant's Miscellaneous T. They have an eclectic guitar-rock/punk sound that I can't adequately describe. Favorite Album: Tromp Le Monde Favorite Song: Holiday Song (Come On Pilgrim EP)
Then 95%	Now 50%	R.E.M. Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Everybody Hurts, Nightswimming, Losing My Religion, Electrolyte, etc. etc. REM is has really gone downhill and they are probably not coming back. But again, as with Pink Floyd, they created a vast amount of great music during the period in which they were good. In their earlier years they produced many excellent albums and songs, each album with a different taste, but altogether very good. Almost everyone can find some REM that they like (and some that they hate!) Murmur is the best album to program to. Favorite Album: Murmur Favorite Song: Wolves, Lower (Chronic Town EP)
Then 87%	Now 85%	Tori Amos Songs of hers that you may have heard: Cornflake Girl, Caught A Lite Sneeze, Crucify Tori Amos is a wonderful artist, and she still makes good music. The only problem with her recently is that she seems to be making only singles from her most recent Boys For Pele; my local record store sports at least 10. Tori Amos makes a lot of really emotional music, which makes some girls cry. I am not a girl, so I don't cry, but still she writes excellent music. I tend to prefer her more Rocking songs like Caught A Lite Sneeze or Happy Phantom. I can also vouch for her prowess as a live performer! Favorite Album: Little Eartquakes Favorite Song: Caught A Lite Sneeze (Boys For Pele)
Then 95%	Now 97%	Aphex Twin Songs of his that you may have heard: Digeridoo, Alberto Balsalm (Not Bloody Likely!) Wow, where to begin? Aphex Twin (Richard D. James) under any of his million other pseudonyms makes absolutely astounding music. I never thought that I'd like something that is sometimes referred to as "techno", but I do, and he has shown no signs of waning from his consistently brilliant songs. Supposedly he is a huge influence on the Techno/Ambient music scene, which would explain why he sort-of sounds like a lot of other people, except way way better. If you have ever listened to a Techno song and thought, "Hey, this could be pretty good if it didn't suck!", try out Aphex Twin. Here are some of his other monikers: Aphex Twin, AFX, Polygon Window, Richard D. James, Caustic Window, The Diceman Favorite Album: ...I Care Because You Do Favorite Song: Alberto Balsalm (...I Care Because You Do)
Then 83%	Now N/A	Beatles Songs of theirs that you may have heard: (Um... I'll leave this one up to you.) I feel kind of silly writing about the Beatles. I mean, everyone knows The Beatles, right? The Beatles are one of those Older Bands which I don't find annoying. In fact, I find them quite enjoyable! I don't know what else to say. If you haven't heard The Beatles, there is something terribly wrong with you. Favorite Album: Revolver Favorite Song: I Am The Walrus (Magical Mystery Tour)
Then 87%	Now 74%	Liz Phair Songs of hers that you may have heard: Mesmerizing, Whip-Smart Liz Phair is a wonderfully talented and smart songwriter and guitarist and singer. Her second album Whip-Smart is only a little bit not-as-good as her earlier masterwork Exile In Guyville. whitechocolatespaceegg has a couple of really poor songs on it, but is not a total waste. I still have not been able to get ahold of her home-spun first album Girly Sounds. Also, I have a huge crush on Liz Phair. Favorite Album: Exile In Guyville Favorite Song: Stratford-On-Guy (Exile In Guyville)
Then 97%	Now 85%	Guided By Voices Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Umm... who knows! Guided By Voices have a really unique sound which would appear to be bad if I were to describe it, so I will not. They make a lot of rather short songs, and while the songs are usually very good, their real strength comes from the way the albums work as whole pieces of music. This is definitely one of my three or four favoritest bands. Favorite Album: Guided By Voices Box Set^* Favorite Song: Bee Thousand (The Grand Hour) ^* I realize this isn't really an 'album', but it is so incredibly awesome that I can't bear not to call it my favorite.
Then 85%	Now 80%	King Missile Songs of theirs that you may have heard: Detachable Penis As with They Might Be Giants, a lot of people get the impression that King Missile is a Joke Band. They do make some songs which seem to be intended purely as jokes, but they also make a lot of good music! Incidentally, it seems that a lot of people who like TMBG like King Missile, and vice versa, so if you like either band it is probably worth giving the other a shot. Favorite Album: Happy Hour Favorite Song: Bloodletting (King Missile)
Then 80%	Now 92%	Beck! Songs of his that you may have heard: Loser, Where It's At, The New Pollution, etc. etc. Yes, Beck has gotten better, and no, I didn't just jump on the Beck Bandwagon. I don't know how Beck got popular, but I hope at least this signals a turning point in Popular Music (that is, turning from Bad to Good). Beck's styles are much too difficult for me to describe, and you can pick up any 'cool' music magazine in the last few months and read paragraphs about him, so I won't bother. However, I feel I must warn that Where It's At is one of my least favorite songs on Odelay, and so if this is all you have heard of Beck, do not be misled. Favorite Album: One Foot In The Grave Favorite Song: Erase The Sun (Deadweight Single)
Then 87%	Now 80%	The Cure Songs of his that you may have heard: Friday I'm In Love, Fascination Street, Killing An Arab, etc. The Cure is (was) a solidly good band, despite their propensity to dress funny sometimes. People think that it's weird, but my favorite album of theirs is Mixed Up, because it has really long and interesting versions of all of my favorite songs of theirs. Favorite Album: Mixed Up Favorite Song: A Forest (Remix) (Mixed Up)