the music issue

Okay, so my friend Rob (who has secured a permanent spot at the top of my crush chart over the years!) has requested that I do a “favorite bands” posting. I’ve been reluctant to follow through on this because I’m afraid my music knowledge has plateaued. In college I was involved in our campus radio station, first as a DJ then as the music director. I listened to a lot of bands and went to a lot of shows. I developed a fondness for nearly every band on K Records and even after moving to NYC I went to K shows religiously. But then… I don’t know. I moved to Ireland with about 50 of my favorite albums, and listened to those pretty much exclusively for the five months I lived there. (I wanted more variety, but CDs cost like one million euros there, which is the equivilent of about 600 million dollars.) At the same timemy exposure to new music was waning, my appreciation of classic American bands was skyrocketting. So with that in mind, here is a list of my current favorite bands:
*Bruce Springstein* Not just in that Indy “oh ‘Nebraska’ is a pretty cool album, I guess” way. I’m talking “Born in the USA.” I’m talking “Darkness on the Edge of Town.” The Boss truly is the voice of middle class America. He sings about driving trucks and working crap jobs, but he makes it sound noble and epic. Plus he is dead sexy. Bruce Springstein = The Boss of my heart.
*Joni Mitchell* “Blue” is one of my top five favorite albums. She lets art and romance, destruction and longing fill her to the brim, and when she lets it out it fills you too. Seductive. Reckless. Brilliant.
*Little Wings* This is a band that I mention so often when asked about favorites that I’m pretty sure everyone who is reading this has heard me expound on them ad nauseum. But that won’t stop me from doing it some more! Kyle Field, alone and in collaboration, is Little Wings. He is also a prophet, a pied piper, a potential cult leader. He is a poet. (I heart alliteration.) Each album is both sparser and richer than the one that came before. I sang his song “Faith Children” at Joey’s wedding, and I meant every word. I’ve seen Kyle play in a phony beard with a tiny guitar, and it was still one of the most honest performances I’ve witnessed.
*The Shins* I was a Jonny-come-lately when it comes to this band. My Denver and Santa Fe friends were telling me about them for ages, but I didn’t get on board until I lived in Ireland. Liz had burned me a copy of their second album, and after listening to Yo La Tengo and Modest Mouse for two or three months, I needed a break. I popped in the Shins and have been sold on them ever since. I actually saw them perform in Dublin and was blown away. They were meticulous performers. Each song sounded full and perfect.
*Bob Dylan* I don’t have to say. You know.
*Dear Nora* Full disclosure, Jake sometimes plays in this band. But it is really the child of Katy Davidson who has branded her music “Mountain Rock.” It’s great. She sings about nature, feeling uncomfortable at parties, complicated break-ups, and best friends. She is breathtakingly honest about her feelings. Some of her melodies sound like they were written by ghosts.
This is becoming a reallly long post, so I’ll wrap it up. But not before mentioning Beachwood Sparks, Otis Redding, Velvet Underground, The Ramones, The Microphones, Dirty Projectors (I couldn’t define them if I wanted to. Jake’s bro’s band defies description.), and Quasi.
This list might seem terribly obvious to some of you, and I humbly submit to your judgement.
Music is Beautiful.