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Who is moving music forward today?

#181
I enjoyed the discussion on Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra etc. I listen to both of them and a whole lot more free jazz musicians regularly. Man, if people like Ornette, Ra and Cecil Taylor didn't move music forward, I don't know who did. I can't buy in to the 'it's not music, it's noise' argument. What is bird song? Is Buddhist chant music if those chanting don't regard it as such, even though it contains rhythm, harmony, melody etc? You could try to define music for your whole life and you'll get nowhere. Who is moving music forward for me? That's hard to answer because in order to noticeably move music forward they would have to be of the mainstream. Somewhat at least. MF DOOM for example. Probably one of the greatest rappers in history, in my opinion. He's tearing up the underground circuit, but you put on the top 40 and you'll hear the most useless rap ever created. Pitbull? What is that? For all DOOM's merits, music hasn't progressed because of him. Same goes for Mos Def and even Q-Tip's recent work has gone largely unnoticed, and not many people who know their hip hop need reminding of his influence with Tribe.
 
#182
Forgive me if I missed a post, but 13 pages with no mention of:

Elliott Smith
Jeff Buckley
Autolux
Pavement
Skinny Puppy
My Bloody Valentine

Is crazy! Lol. Sure, some of the above mentioned is defunct (or deceased), but the legacy is immeasurable. I stumbled on Autolux by accident when they opened for a few bands. Live, I was blown away! I'm not certain whether it's bureaucracy or Failure or whatever, but as a three piece live, holy cow!!

Elliott Smith, don't even get me started. Sure, it might be overhyped pretentious Left Banke/Beatles inspired crap to some, but I adore his work. There are a million Bright Eyes types packing acoustics and emotions due to him. Remember, Bob Dylan really launched into consciousness clinging pretty high on Woody Guthrie's coattails.

Skinny Puppy for certain inspired the likes of Nine Inch Nails (Dig It vs. The Down In It singles come to mind). Likewise, NIN spawned Stabbing Westward, Gravity Kills, Filter, etc.

Not a supermassive fan of Manring and I think the hyperbass belongs in orbit with the hubble, but Hedges was ridiculous!

How about The Flaming Lips? Most of the entire scene in OKC/Austin seems to be a relative of them.

My Bloody Valentine - along with Nirvana, pulled the Fender Jaguar/Jazzmaster out of $250 pawn shop regulars into the main axe of every shogazer/Nelson Cline 'indie' artist since. That has to count for something.

The New York no wave scene was resurrected into just about every band signed to Matador the last decade.

Radiohead is a given and they have a tremendous amount of torch carrying for Joy Division, Pink Floyd and Can.

Anyone remember Aphex Twin? Those sliced, stretched unquantized beats have been all over everything and commercialized in the form of Timbaland.

Nearly all of pop music, and consequently, crossover county, is a variation on themes of Michael Jackson, Patsy Cline/Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder and the other icons that had vast talent. People that made genres. Kraftwerk is massively influential, yet remain fairly obscure, for example.

This might be a tenuous connection and I am slightly biased, but I've noticed a paradigm between bands with a great rhythmic foundation, despite genre, tend to steer the trends for good music. What do The Who, Tool and DMB have in common artistically? Not much. But the Entwistle/Moon, Carey/Chancellor and Beauford/Lessard marriages are very similar.

Just a sidenote. Interesting thread!
 
#183
Clark Dark said:
Janelle Monae is doing something different than her contemporaries.
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She's a very talented lady, no doubt about it. She's obviously influenced by James Brown and Prince in a big way. I don't get it tho'. She's missing something. Tunes, I think. There are too many ideas going-on and none of 'em are special enough to reel you in.

I know, who am I to judge this super-talented lady? Just sayin', thats all..

:hiding:
 
#184
I think the Sheepdogs are moving music forward in a semi-backward way.

They have a great classic rockish feel, but at the same time sound very current and modern. They write great hooks, and are bringing back harmonies, guitar solos, fun live shows, long hair, beards, and grooves.
Not to mention, they are really cool guys.

I highly recommend checking out the songs (in the following order) The Contenders, The One You Belong To, Please Don't Lead Me On, I Don't Know, Southern Dreaming.

They have lots of other great songs, but their latest album can be found on Grooveshark, so I only really posted songs from that.

They are in the Rolling Stones cover contest right now, and I am really hoping they make it big and their sound becomes popular.

*edit*
Just remembered you can download their second album for free from their website
Invalid Link Removed
 
#187
c0nsilience said:
I really dig Eric Avery's album Help Wanted. Very brooding, atmospheric & honest. Stellar solo effort!
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Glad to see someone else bought that album too!:D

I actually threw it in my car again a month ago and have listened to it pretty steadily since. Just took it out today, only to listen to one of my band's live recordings. It goes back in tomorrow. It's great.
 
#188
I can think of a fairly lengthy list of bands doing something unique and original and are pretty fantastic and awe inspiring and are "pushing music forward"

Aphex Twin
Animal Collective
Air
Atlas Sound
Brian Eno
Boards of Canada
Black Flag
Battles
The Beach Boys
Black Sabbath
bygones
The Clash
Dan Deacon
Daughters
Deerhoof
Deerhunter
Don Caballero
Earth
El Ten Eleven
Elvis Costello
Explosions in the Sky
The Fall of Troy
The Flaming Lips
Flying Lotus
Foals
Four Tet
F*** Buttons
Fugazi
Giraffes? Giraffes!
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Grizzly Bear
The Gun Club
Hammock
Hella
Holy F***
Jaga Jazzist
James Brown
John Coltrane
Joy Division
King Khan
Lightning Bolt
Little Women
Madlib
Maps & Atlases
The Melvins
Minor Threat
Minus The Bear
The Minutemen
Mogwai
My Bloody Valentine
Neil Young
Nirvana
Nujabes
The Number Twelve Looks Like You
Nas
Outkast
Panda Bear
Pavement
Pg. 99
Pinback
The Pixies
Planets
Porcupine Tree
The Mars Volta
Primus
Radiohead
Sigur Ros
The Smashing Pumpkins
Sunn O)))
Swell Maps
Tera Melos
Thievery Corporation
This Will Destroy You
Toots & The Maytals
Tortoise
A Tribe Called Quest
tUnE-yArDs
Tyondai Braxton
Venetian Snares
Weezer
The Wipers
Yeasayer
Yo La Tengo
Zach Hill
Collections of Colonies of Bees
King Crimson
Robert Fripp
Led Zeppelin
The Beatles
The Who
David Bowie
Sun Ra
Philip Glass

Forgive me if you feel I'm just namedropping for the sake of namedropping, but after a quick scan of my iTunes I feel that these artists have a fairly one of a kind vibe about them and are touching some largely unexplored territories. A lot of these artists may not have pulled something fantastic out of the ground, but they're doing something unique. I heard this quote that went something like "it's not about reinventing the wheel, it's about taking that wheel and doing something astounding and really creative with it" and I feel that constitutes as moving music forward as much as anything else.
 
#189
c0nsilience said:
My Bloody Valentine - along with Nirvana, pulled the Fender Jaguar/Jazzmaster out of $250 pawn shop regulars into the main axe of every shogazer/Nelson Cline 'indie' artist since. That has to count for something.
Click to expand...
To me, Elvis Costello, Dinosuar Jr. and Sonic Youth had already brought the Jazzmaster back to the forefront. I guess it's a matter of perspective, though. I'm sure I'm stating the obvious when I say I think MBV owes a big debt to the latter two, but I had to say it.;)
 
#192
For me, so much begins and ends with Talk Talk's Laughing Stock. One of those records that really does take several listens to even begin to get it and it's influence only seems to grow over time. The stories of the recording sessions are pretty legendary, too. (The recording engineer Phil Brown has a chapter about it in his new book.)
 
#193
mikeoliverio said:
For me, so much begins and ends with Talk Talk's Laughing Stock. One of those records that really does take several listens to even begin to get it and it's influence only seems to grow over time. The stories of the recording sessions are pretty legendary, too. (The recording engineer Phil Brown has a chapter about it in his new book.)
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I couldn't agree more, frankly. One of my top 5 albums of all time. I still feel like I haven't plumbed the depths of it.
 
#195
Jungy said:
At the moment I can't get passed Polvo's latest albumn. That's also a grower. Built to Spill never fail to impress me with what they're doing aswell.
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I have to back that as well. Polvo stunned back in the day with "Welcome To The New Dark Age" and "Exploded Drawing". Not sure how much Built to Spill moves things forward, but damn I love them. Their song "Hindsight" on "There Is No Enemy" is perfection.
 
#196
I suppose with Built to Spill it's nothing particularly new, but they are the only band I know of that can have three guitar parts going in all directions and sound so good. It doesn't even seem overcrowded IMO.
 
#197
It's probably been mentioned, but I'll just add, Autechre.
Might not be to too many folks tastes round these parts, but they've been pushing the envelope since day 1. Last year's "Oversteps" is, IMO, as good as anything they've done previously.
 
#199
mikeoliverio said:
For me, so much begins and ends with Talk Talk's Laughing Stock. One of those records that really does take several listens to even begin to get it and it's influence only seems to grow over time. The stories of the recording sessions are pretty legendary, too. (The recording engineer Phil Brown has a chapter about it in his new book.)
Click to expand...
jmjbassplayer said:
I couldn't agree more, frankly. One of my top 5 albums of all time. I still feel like I haven't plumbed the depths of it.
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There's a name I haven't heard in years. I saw them opening up for Elvis Costello on the Imperial Bedroom tour in '82 (yes, a long long time ago) and I didn't much care for them then. Maybe I was just too geeked up about seeing EC for the first time. It could be time to reconsider them.:)
 

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