OK rock-stars, convert me

[malthumb]

Help me find some current rock artists that I might actually enjoy listening to.

I grew up with R&B and funk. Earth Wind & Fire, Gap Band, Cameo, Parliament/Funkadelic, Bootsy's Rubber Band, Kool & The Gang, The Ohio Players, The Isley Brothers, Brothers Johnson, Rick James, Prince, The Time, Chic, Commodores, Luther Vandross, Anita Baker, AWB, Doobie Brothers, Patrice Rushen, Quincy Jones, classic Motown, Donny Hathaway

Added a little bit of Fusion. Stanley Clarke, Return To Forever, Weather Report, Jeff Lorber

I got into Rap / Hip Hop back in the early days when it was fun or delivered a message. When people weren't cussin' about who they screwed and or killed. Kool Moe D, KRS-1, Heavy D, Sugar Hill Gang, Grand Master Flash & The Furious 5

I dabbled a bit into Pop. Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, TLC, No Doubt, Madonna, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Babyface, Destiny's Child

Got pretty much into Contemporary Jazz. Fourplay, David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Dave Koz, Richard Elliot, Incognito, Spyro Gyra, Boney James, Rick Braun, Chuck Loeb, Diana Krall, Grover Washington Jr, Gerald Albright, Gerald Veasley, Joe Sample, Kenny G (yes, Kenny G), Wayman Tisdale, Pieces Of A Dream.

The only contemporary artists that I currently listen to AT ALL are Black-Eyed Peas, Keisha Cole, Alicia Keys, India Arie, Joe, and Rihanna or Usher on a very good day.

All the stuff I've listed above is what you would be listening to if you were to borrow my iPod.

The only Rock that I have on my iPod would be like RHCP, Steely Dan, Chicago, Eagles, a little bit of Joe Cocker, Elvis Costello, and Eric Clapton and a couple Bruce Hornsby tunes.

I find lately that I don't have a lot of tolerance for what passes as R&B on the radio these days. Funk appears to be all but dead, and I cannot stomach today's versions of Hip Hop. I've tried tuning in a few Rock stations but I wind up just plugging in my iPod and going with the tried and true.

What should I be listening to if I want to give Rock a chance? Are there any XM stations that I should be listening to? Please DO NOT suggest anything like Death Metal or Hard Metal. I'm just not a fan. Otherwise, I'm open to listening. Suggest some artists / songs and maybe XM stations that would give me a decent perspective.

Peace,

James

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by malthumb

The only contemporary artists that I currently listen to AT ALL are Black-Eyed Peas, Keisha Cole, Alicia Keys, India Arie, Joe, and Rihanna or Usher on a very good day.

[...snip...]

I find lately that I don't have a lot of tolerance for what passes as R&B on the radio these days.

Dude, you just listed seven more contemporary R&B artists you tolerate than I possibly could! Sounds like your tolerance level is pretty adequate.

[TallLankyBastyd]

Dude... you're quite obviously ready for the experience of Hannah Montana...

...the movie.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by malthumb

Help me find some current rock artists that I might actually enjoy listening to.

I grew up with R&B and funk. Earth Wind & Fire, Gap Band, Cameo, Parliament/Funkadelic, Bootsy's Rubber Band, Kool & The Gang, The Ohio Players, The Isley Brothers, Brothers Johnson, Rick James, Prince, The Time, Chic, Commodores, Luther Vandross, Anita Baker, AWB, Doobie Brothers, Patrice Rushen, Quincy Jones, classic Motown, Donny Hathaway

Added a little bit of Fusion. Stanley Clarke, Return To Forever, Weather Report, Jeff Lorber

I got into Rap / Hip Hop back in the early days when it was fun or delivered a message. When people weren't cussin' about who they screwed and or killed. Kool Moe D, KRS-1, Heavy D, Sugar Hill Gang, Grand Master Flash & The Furious 5

I dabbled a bit into Pop. Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, TLC, No Doubt, Madonna, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Babyface, Destiny's Child

Got pretty much into Contemporary Jazz. Fourplay, David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Dave Koz, Richard Elliot, Incognito, Spyro Gyra, Boney James, Rick Braun, Chuck Loeb, Diana Krall, Grover Washington Jr, Gerald Albright, Gerald Veasley, Joe Sample, Kenny G (yes, Kenny G), Wayman Tisdale, Pieces Of A Dream.

The only contemporary artists that I currently listen to AT ALL are Black-Eyed Peas, Keisha Cole, Alicia Keys, India Arie, Joe, and Rihanna or Usher on a very good day.

All the stuff I've listed above is what you would be listening to if you were to borrow my iPod.

The only Rock that I have on my iPod would be like RHCP, Steely Dan, Chicago, Eagles, a little bit of Joe Cocker, Elvis Costello, and Eric Clapton and a couple Bruce Hornsby tunes.

I find lately that I don't have a lot of tolerance for what passes as R&B on the radio these days. Funk appears to be all but dead, and I cannot stomach today's versions of Hip Hop. I've tried tuning in a few Rock stations but I wind up just plugging in my iPod and going with the tried and true.

What should I be listening to if I want to give Rock a chance? Are there any XM stations that I should be listening to? Please DO NOT suggest anything like Death Metal or Hard Metal. I'm just not a fan. Otherwise, I'm open to listening. Suggest some artists / songs and maybe XM stations that would give me a decent perspective.

Peace,

James

try and catch bob dylan's and tom petty's shows on sat radio......they go in lots of directions and mine a lot of areas one might miss

instead of lightweights like kenny g,spyro gyra,try mingus,monk,coltrane,miles......read the liner notes and follow the guys they played with....

most of the guys on your rock pod ,same deal....clapton>blind faith>delaney and bonnie>duane allman.....

most of what they call contemporary r&b are singers who attempt to be soulful by cramming every phrase with a million notes.......wanna see how it's done....aretha franklin,staple singers,gladys knight,levi stubbs, isleys,mayfield,and on and on......i've got an early record of aretha singing gospel when she was in high school....forget how they look......most of the current crop is all show,no go

[P. Aaron]

How about starting out with some intersting and challenging playing too?


These guys aren't all current but it recognizeable and 'classic'.

YES: Fragile, The Yes Album
Any RUSH recordings

For 2-5 minute songs try:

The Rolling Stones: Emotional Resuce, Exile on Main St.
The Beatles: anything will do
The Police: Regatta de Blanc, Ghost in the Machine

Stuff like that.

[Kwesi]

Lol, it looks like we took completely opposite roads through music. I started with metal and right now I'm listening to a lot of pop and hip-hop. Still love jazz and fusion stuff though.

As far as getting into rock I think the best route would be to go through genres that have somethings in common with what you already listen to. I'd say check out some ska and contemporary country. They've both got groove but get you a bit closer to rock without going all the wBay. For the Country-ish stuff check out Shake 'em Down by The Bridge, Black and White by String Cheese Incident. Ska gives you soooo many options but my favorite is Reel Big Fish. Check out their songs The Set Up (You Need This), We Hate It, and She Has Girlfriend Now.

I think you'll find something that'll open a whole world of rock up to you . Maybe you'll be able to get into the heavier stuff. That's where some REALLY interesting musical things start happening. If that ever happens we should talk

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

try and catch bob dylan's and tom petty's shows on sat radio......they go in lots of directions and mine a lot of areas one might miss

instead of lightweights like kenny g,spyro gyra,try mingus,monk,coltrane,miles......read the liner notes and follow the guys they played with....

most of the guys on your rock pod ,same deal....clapton>blind faith>delaney and bonnie>duane allman.....

most of what they call contemporary r&b are singers who attempt to be soulful by cramming every phrase with a million notes.......wanna see how it's done....aretha franklin,staple singers,gladys knight,levi stubbs, isleys,mayfield,and on and on......i've got an early record of aretha singing gospel when she was in high school....forget how they look......most of the current crop is all show,no go

With all due respect, he asking for recommendations not a criticism of what currently listens to.

[Jim Nazium]

Here's a few albums I recommend you check out:

The Joshua Tree, by U2
This was their breakthrough album, the one that made them superstars. Thoughtful writing and beautiful production.

Life's Rich Pageant by REM
College-rock faves of the 80s and 90s. Great writing.

Ten by Pearl Jam
Hair metal died a sudden death when grunge appeared, because where hair metal was commercial, calculated, and fake, grunge was honest, authentic, and real. This is one of the seminal grunge albums.

Going back further, the Who, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin are all worth exploring. Have fun!

[jrthebassguy]

Since you're into hip hop, definitely check out the album "Alopecia" by a band called Why?


It's part indie rock, and part hip hop. It sounds like a weird combination, but they mash together so well it's in my all-time five favorite albums, no exaggeration.

One thing I love about them is there is absolutely no sampling - Their pianist is really that damn good, as is their bassist and guitarist. Also, their frontman, Yoni Wolf, is a brilliant lyricist. Very personal, introspective lyrics.

Youtube quality really does not do this band justice at all, but here's some clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLGXJ0k1I34

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQi7Dm2hfxE

[jrthebassguy]

Originally Posted by Jim Nazium

Here's a few albums I recommend you check out:

The Joshua Tree, by U2
This was their breakthrough album, the one that made them superstars. Thoughtful writing and beautiful production.

Life's Rich Pageant by REM
College-rock faves of the 80s and 90s. Great writing.

Ten by Pearl Jam
Hair metal died a sudden death when grunge appeared, because where hair metal was commercial, calculated, and fake, grunge was honest, authentic, and real. This is one of the seminal grunge albums.

Going back further, the Who, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin are all worth exploring. Have fun!

A big ol' +1 to this post. Ten is an amazing album, I don't care how many times they overplay(ed) "Alive" and "Jeremy" on the radio.

[oldno7]

RAMONES

[DigMe]

Check out The Decemberists latest album - The Hazards of Love. Looking at the diverse stuff you mentioned you might enjoy the diverse elements of their stuff. Fave tune on that album is The Wanting Comes in Waves. It's indie rock with just a tad of metal, some soulful female accompanying vox, a dab of prog and of course a harpsichord intro.

Also check out Pela.

bc

[Raven2k360]

Steve Miller Band
Bad Company
The Eagles
Foregner
The Cars
Stevie Ray Vaughan (More bluesy/southern)
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Journey
Boston
The Doors
ZZ Top
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3 Doors Down
Black Sabbath
Def Leppard
Blue Oyster Cult
Iron Maiden
Faith No More



I'll stop there for now...

[burk48237]

James, you suffer from the same conundrum that I do. Unfortunately much of todays Rock music is utterly soulless. When I grew up even groups like Stones had black Gospel guys singing background and most of the earlier rock and roll that you and I grew up on still had it's roots in the blues. Todays rock artist act as if a syncopated beat or a bass line with a ghost note is of the devil. The result with much of it is cookie cutter music with no dynamics and bass lines that are either quarter notes or whole notes exactly ON the beat. So my Itunes looks a lot like yours.

First thing the rock artist you missed from the seventies would be well worth checking out:

Led Zeppelin (especially their later stuff which gets more daring rhythmically) Humble Pie (their live stuff) Faces
Early Rod Stewart Allman Brothers (the first Jam band), Blood Sweet and Tears The Band Bad Company Doobie Brothers Yes (Fragile)

From the 80's (the era when MTV ruined music):
The Police (the CD's Aaron recommended) U2: Rattle and Hum would be my choice

Todays music: John Mayer band, Continuum (not really rock but really good pop)

[metallicafan18]

Check out Cage the Elephant.


They are very new rock band that just kills! I love the music. They have so much feeling in their music.

Listen to the song "Ain't no Rest for the Wicked"
A good bass song of theirs is "Lotus"

[hrodbert696]

This is tricky -- it would be easy enough to run off my own faves list, but the challenge is to figure out what MalThumb might like. It seems to me he would be happiest with stuff that had some funk or R&B influence. What about the Spin Doctors, "Pocket Full of Kryptonite"? Smash Mouth? Barenaked Ladies, as far as the funner tunes on "Stunt?" David Bowie before he went all techno (Suffragette City, Fame, Young Americans?) Weezer's Red Album?

[Raven2k360]

Man, I forgot about Spin Doctors -- I used to listen to the hell out of them growing up!

[KrisH]

I don't think this is on XM or anything, but I listen a lot to "Technicolor Web of Sound" on iTunes radio. Lots of psychedelic 60s-type stuff, some of it pop, some of it prog-roots.

[KeithBMI]

Why not start with the rock giants?

Led Zeppelin
The Who
The Kinks
Jimi Hendrix

...just to name a few.

[malthumb]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

...

As far as getting into rock I think the best route would be to go through genres that have somethings in common with what you already listen to. I'd say check out some ska and contemporary country. They've both got groove but get you a bit closer to rock without going all the way. ...

Thanks for that! You've captured the reason I posted the "what's on my iPod" info. I like that stuff, and can and will continue to listen to it. I'm just trying to figure out where the NEW stuff that I listen will come from. It sure will not be today's pop / psuedo-R&B / hip hop offerings.

I'll check out your suggestions.