guitar, drums, singing, jamming, listening, reading, talking, drinking, dancing, protesting, shooting, jumping, kicking, playing, fucking, fishing, eating, climbing, hiking, poking, farting, smiling, blushing, tasting, arguing, demonstrating, discussing, elaborating, pontificating, arousing, performing, cooking, chatting, resting, relaxing, loving, exercising, masturbating, procrastinating, reacting browsing, surfing, swashbuckling, swimming, resisting, focusing, creating, hating, destroying...tearing it down, brick by brick.
Heathens, Intellectuals, Rebels (with or without cause), Vagrants, Queers, Know-it-alls, Librarians, Professors, Travelers, Revelers, Musicians, Writers, Philosophers, Revolutionaries, Visionaries, and anyone who's unsatisfied with the status quo.
This video changed my life.
And this speech reminded me of what I'm all about
I know what I like when I hear it. I usually hear it at little clubs, living rooms, parties and XPN.
Why is it that there are so few mainstream bands that I can think of at the moment with any imagination. Why aren't the Pixies as popular as all the bands they influenced? what has happened with the world when I can ask high schoolers if they know who John Lennon or Kurt Cobain were and they look at me with complete bewilderment? Why do people recognize Puffy but not Sting? Why doesn't The Source put Dead Prez on their cover? Why does Rolling Stone put Lindsay Lohan on theirs? I dunno, maybe people have just run out of ideas.
Anyways, that said, here's a list of some artists I enjoy. It might get long though so I warn you :P
In no particular order (cause I'm just going through my music folders so it'll be quasi alphabetical by genre):
Jam (and some Reggae/Dub):
Ani Difranco, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Ben Harper, Ben Folds Five, Ben Kweller, Bob Marley, Dave Matthews (old stuff), Dispatch, Family Groove Company, Galactic, Gov't Mule, Grateful Dead (or any incarnation thereof), Jack Johnson, Jazz Mandolin Project, Jewel (old stuff), Keller Williams, Lake Trout, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Leo Kottke, Matisyahu, Michael Franti and Spearhead, moe, Nick Drake, Norah Jones, Particle, Peter Tosh, Phish, Primus, Quagmire Swim Team, Robert Randolph, Rusted Root, Ryan Adams, Steve Earle, Sublime, Susan Tedeschi, The Disco Buscuits, The Flaming Lips, The String Cheese Incident, Theivery Corporation, Umphrey's McGee, Victor Wooten, Widespread Panic, Xavier Rudd, Yellowman, Yonder Mountain String Band
Classic Rock:
.38 Special, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Allman Bros, Arlo Guthrie, BTO, Bad Company, Beatles, Black Sabbath, BOC, Bob Dylan, Boston, Buffalo Springfield, Byrds, Canned Heat, Cat Stevens, Cheap Trick, Country Joe and the Fish, CCR, CSNY, David Bowie, Deep Purple, Devo, Eagles, Edgar Winter, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Foghat, Frank Zappa, George Clinton and P-Funk, George Thurogood, Guess Who, G'n'R, Iron Butterfly, Jackson Browne, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Jett, Joe Cocker, Joe Walsh, John Mellencamp, Joni Mithchell, Kansas, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynrd, MC5, Neil Young, New York Dolls, Peter Frampton, Pink Floyd, Prince, Queen, Richie Havens, Rush, Santana, Simon and Garfunkel, Sly and the Family Stone, Steely Dan, Steppenwolfe, Steve Miller, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Styx, The Animals, The Band, The Cars, The Doors, The Kinks, The Police, The Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, The Who, Thin Lizzy, Tom Petty, U2, Van Morrison, Violent Femmes, WAR, Yes, ZZ Top
Modern Rock/Alternative:
Alice In Chains, Alien Ant Farm, At The Drive In, Beck, Better Than Ezra, Björk, Black Crowes, Blind Melon, Blur, Bo Bim, Bright Eyes, Bush, Butthole Surfers, Cake, Candlebox, Cat Power, Coldplay, Cold War Kids, Collective Soul, Counting Crows, Cranberries, Damien Rice, Deathcab for Cutie, Deep Blue Something, Dishwalla, Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple, Foo Fighters, Fuel, Garbage, Gin Blossoms, Gorillaz, Green Jelly, Harvery Danger, Head Automatica, Hole, Incubus, Jane's Addiction, Jeff Buckley, Jet, Jose Gonzales, Joss Stone, L7, Le Tigre, Lemonhead, Live (old), Mana, Marcy Playground, Modest Mouse, Mudhoney, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Nirvana, Oasis, Our Lady Peace, Pavement, Pearl Jam, Phyber Glass, Pixies, Porno for Pyros, Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Regina Spektor, REM, Sheryl Crow, Silverchair, Smashing Pumpkins, Sneaker Pimps, Snow Patrol, Sonic Youth, Soul Coughing, Sound Garden, STP, Temple of the Dog, The Arcade Fire, The Bravery, The Dandy Warhols, The Darkness, The Killers, The Postal Service, The Presidents of the United States Of America, The Shins The Smiths, The Strokes, The Wallflowers, The White Stripes, Toadies, Veruca Salt, Weezer, Wheatus, Wilco, Zwan
Hard Rock/Metal:
A Perfect Circle, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Cirrhosis, Coal Chamber, Danzig, Deftones, Faith No More, Korn (old), Limp Bizkit (first album), Marilyn Manson, Mastodon, Megadeath, Meshuggah, Metallica (old), Ministry, Motorhead, NIN, Orgy, Pig Destroyer, PM5K, Rage Against The Machine, Rob Zombie, Sevendust, Skinless, Storm Troopers Of Death, System Of A Down, Tool.
Punk:
311, Bad Religion, Black Flag, Blink 182 (old), Bloodhound Gang, Dead Kennedys, Descendents, Dropkick Murphys, Fishbone, Flogging Molly, Fugazi, Goldfinger, Green Day (old), Iggy Pop, Minor Threat, NOFX, Offspring, Operation Ivy, Pennywise, Ramones, Rancid, Save Ferris, Sex Pistols, Social D, The Clash, The Dead Milkmen, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Vandals.
Rap and Hip-Hop:
7L and Esoteric, Aesop Rock, Arrested Development, Atmosphere, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Beatnuts, Blackalicious, Blackstar, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Citizen Cope, Common, Control Machete, Cypress Hill, DangerDOOM, Dead Prez, De La Soul, Del the Funky Homosapien/Deltron3030, Dialated Peoples, Dizzy Rascal, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Geto Boys, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Ice Cube, Immortal Technique, Jay-Z, Jedi Mind Tricks, Jurassic 5, KRS-One, Last Emperor, Ludacris, Mobb Deep, Mos Def, Mr. Lif, Murs, NERD, Nas, Naughty By Nature, Non Phixion, Notorious BIG, NWA, Outkast, Pharcyde, P.O.S., Prefuse 73, Public Enemy, Sage Francis, Snoop Dogg, Talib Kweli, The Fugees, The Roots, The Streets, Tupac, Warren G, Wu-Tang, Wyclef Jean, Zion I
Soul, R&B, and MoTown:
Al Green, Anthony Hamilton, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Erika Badu, Four Tops, James Brown, John Legend, Lauren Hill, Macy Gray, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone, Ottis Redding, Stevie Wonder
Electronica:
Aphex Twin, ATB, Basement Jaxx, Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method, Daft Punk, Darude, Dieselboy, DJ Keoki, DJ Skribble, Fatboy Slim, Inferno Brothers, Joy Division, Lenny Dee, Mindless Self Indulgence, Moby, Omar Santana, Paul Okenfold, Prodigy, Rob Gee, Stereolab...
Also a shout out to the locals: DJ Helix, Silverstarr, DJ Quantum and DJ Namaste. Keep the beats rockin in CPA!
There's other music I listen to like early rock/country (Johnny Cash, Wylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Buddy Holly) and classical music of all sorts, not to mention a lot of spanish language music, but you get the picture.
The Dreamers, Amorres Perros, Babel, Hero, Pulp Fiction, The Motorcycle Diaries, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Monty Python, Fargo, Super Troopers, Good Night and Good Luck, V for Vendetta, Star Wars, Clerks, Empire Records, High Fidelity, Yellow Submarine, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, El Crimen Del Padre Amaru, The Life Aquatic, Lolita, Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, Dr Strangelove, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I Heart Huckabees, Little Miss Sunshine, Edward Scissorhands, Waking Life, The Godfather, The Beach, Everything Is Illuminated, What Dreams May Come...This could go on for hours.
Whatever my roomies have on.and when it's my choice, usually something from the History or Discovery Channel. Adult Swim is pretty kick ass and Comedy Central has some goodness.
Wherever shall I begin? Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" should be taught in high school, as should anything by Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Wolfe (especially the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test), Ray Bradbury, or Aldous Huxley. Also, make sure you read Abbie Hoffman's "Steal This Book" and Jerry Rubin's "Do It!". I'm a big fan or everything I've ever read by Nick Hornby. I have also resolved to read all of Tom Robbin's works as part of my New Years Resolution.
I read a lot of political analysis (Molly Ivins or anything by Noam Chomsky) although I tend towards the liberal end of the spectrum. Sorry, but I tried reading Ayn Coulter once and just felt and overwhelming homicidal urge.
I do have a soft spot for a good love story. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera" is an amazing book and if you haven't read it yet, go get it today.
"Reefer Madness" and "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser were amazing.
Malcolm X's autobiography put a lot of things in perspective for me, maybe it would do the same for you.
The complete works of Che Guevara is a good read as is some good ole Karl Marx ("Das Kapital" or "The Communist Manifesto).
I'm always looking for literary suggestions, so lemme know if you've got something you think I might like.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Ken Kesey, my parents, my grandfather and John Lennon.