The music topic!

[DicedeadParticipant Karma: 3 pts]

Hello! So, firstly, I wanna wish you a happy new year 2016, full of joy, success and you know, all that stuff. 😛

I’ve decided to make this topic to share good artists and bands with you who make great alternative and progressive music. I’ll go more in depth for each genre.

##Jazz:##
The “king of styles”, as they say. Don’t go “uh jazz I only listen to rock boi”. You’d be surprised how good and new some jazz artists sound nowadays.

~Ibrahim Maalouf: He’s an innovant Lebanese trumpet player. My jazz idol, like seriously, just listen to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vBoRGdn17I Actually that track is more pop than jazz, but the orchestration and the trumpet solo give you a good idea of what his global style is.
Beirut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpg8jBFaj3c Arguably his best track for jazz peeps like me.
True Sorry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXzv7P7qGdM
Unfaithful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZmKGWMm2EE (yep, Beyonce’s song, remixed)
Run the world (girls): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgQfX21xP2o Title sounds familiar?

~St Germain: I’m listening to his work as I’m writing this. You’ve heard of him without knowing it was him. He mixes the conventional accoustic jazz with house drum beats and bass lines, and it’s smooooth. His new album “Africa” just rocks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf-W9YkWISU .
Also, two more musts of his 2000′ album, “Tourist”:
Latin note: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcj0JxuJv64
So Flute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7YZqD7dZcQ

~Masaa: This jazz quartet takes normal jazz and.. throws it away with sick drums, deep piano, smooth trumpet and very melodic Arabic lyrics.
Freedom Dance:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHJLciDXccU

~Snarky Puppy: Latin nu jazz. You’ll see, their music is pretty cool. Nothing like Ibrahim Maalouf but still.
Shofukan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk0WRHV_vt8

##Metal:
You might go like “what, metal right after jazz?”.. Yep, absolutely. 😉 I know it’s very hard to just say “Metal” nowadays, with all the sub genres, but let’s just ignore that.

~KorN: A lot of you probably know them. They’re the inventors in some sort of the nu metal.
Counting on Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjTR9S3APkE I’m only sharing this one because you can find lots of other songs easily on youtube.

~TesseracT: A progessive rhytmic metal band. Well, okay, a djent band, but not like any other one.It’s not easy-to-do angry metal, their sound is very clean and.. Well, you’ll see.
Nocturne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=get0cXOsSXg
Eden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4h0rlWX5lM
Survival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO_Cp-Qlg5E
Nascent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grwmUTrO180

~Breaking Benjamin: I’m sure you’ve heard of them, if you’re not a fan. Some would call it “lyric metal”: Strong guitars riffs and drum parts against Benjamin’s melodic vocals. From their latest album:
Failure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B8bXYXTb-o

~Animals As Leaders: I won’t say anything, except that they’re super awesome.
CAFO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmfzWpp0hMc
Physical Education: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jpOBd949O4

~Tool: Tool is between rock, alternative and metal. Again, I won’t say anything more.
The Pot:’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2F_hGwD26g
The Grudge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiR1hmpk-x4
Rosetta Stoned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uytWxYKSupI
Right in two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj-10lIrboM

##Rock:##
Aha. There we are. Some very famous bands are gonna be listed below.

~Porcupine Tree: They’ve reinveted themselves with every album. I hope they come back, their last two records, “The Incident” and “Fear of a blank planet” (actually all their albums and EPs) were perfect. They make progressive rock since 2002, with some very heavy bridges and breakdowns. Seriously, you gotta listen to them.
Bonnie the cat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJxP0AkTa2s
Anesthetize: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSEQZ8reJA4
Deadwing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMEwM3YHiME

~The Dead Weather: Have you ever heard about the White Stripes? Their world famous guitarist Jack White sings, plays drums and probably composes in that band. Expect garage alternative rock.
Buzz kill(er): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62S0HB7vwVg
Treat me like your mother: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7QSkI6My1g

~The Kills: This band is unique. The singer from Dead Weather is also there (Alison Mosshart). They play garage and indie rock guitar over electronic drums. I have no comment for the vocals.
Future Starts Slow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwudqTCkBis
Cheap and cheerful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlrb6wOW6e0

~Muse: Hehee. Do I have to introduce them? Each of their albums is unique. They go from Indie Rock to Pop Rock then to some alternative and even dubstep. Now, I know, don’t go screaming below “but their new albums are rubbish”. Their new albums are indeed very different than “Origin of Symetry”, their best album by far, “Showbiz” and “Hullabaloo”, but they are, in my opinion, worth listening to.
Survival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKFhS0cQLE8
Psycho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqLRqzTp6Rk
Time is running out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2IuJPh6h_A
Micro cuts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlAPkNpS-O8
Uprising: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8KQmps-Sog
Uno: https://vimeo.com/114970664 (yup vimeo)

~Pink Floyd: Sounds familiar, eh? 😛 The list isn’t worth publishing without mentioning them. They were the one of the only bands I listened to as a child, and Nick Mason’s drumming was the reason I was pushed into drums. Enjoy!
Money: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0kcet4aPpQ
The Gunner’s Dream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIJN6WWf3Rg
High hopes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jMlFXouPk8
Aaaaand..
Another brick in the wall part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrxX9TBj2zY

##Electronica:##
Electronic music (or “Electronica”) is probably the genre that counts the most sub genres. You have Techno, Dubstep, drum’n’bass, trap,.. And these sub genres are divided again. For instance, drum’n’bass goes in many ways: liquid d’n’b, jungle, roots jungle, neurofunk, dark d’n’b, accoustic jazzy d’n’b, funk d’n’b..

~Nerve: A New York based drum’n’bass, jungle and dubstep band. They’re not DJs, they play the parts on accoustic instruments then make some sound engineering so they sound a little more electronic. Jojo Mayer on drums, one of the best and most renowned drummers, and John Davis on bass (sounds like Skrillex got jazzy), so you have two great musicians on the two most important instruments of the band, what do I have to say more?
Loot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxMWp8QcvWI
Fauxtek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuYeWVuZCjg

~Noisia: A Netherlands based DJ band. They play innovative Neurofunk, which is heavy drum’n’bass coupled with a little bit of dubstep. Unlike most artists of the genre, you can listen to their albums over and over again, you won’t get bored. I started to like them at the first listen, and now I almost praise them lol.
Stigma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtppf3xkby4 Weird, I didn’t know they have a 6 mins version. In the album it’s only 3 mins.
Containment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV65WMG-trU
My World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L-tqhBXzMA

~Formant Cell: He’s probably the least known artist of the list. He plays nu jazzy progressive electronica. He really deserves more attention.
Gracefall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GlUuyiI1lY

##Alternative:##
It’s now considered as a style by itself. Here go all the bands and artists who can’t be classified.

~Beirut: They play pop, but it’s not anything like Bieber, Cyrus, etc. Marching drums, simple melodies on piano and accoustic guitar, melodic vocals (you’ve probably noticed I don’t listen to bands with non-melodic vocals. It’s funny when you know I’m a horrible singer. 😛 )
Vagabond: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpN2XAg2bQs

~Warpaint: Their style is part Indie, part psychedelic rock, part pop.
Biggy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZgNBSkaTQQ

##Hip Hop:##
Don’t expect Eminem raps.

~The Roots: Old-skool hip hop. Upright bass, saxophone alto, gospel-ish keyboards, and most importantly: one of the grooviest drummer in the world, Questlove! Pretty sure some of you know them.
Right On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5fuhDhKkRI
The Fire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n94URvpQOAc
Adrenaline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN_3ylqka3Q

~J Dilla: Even Justin Timberlake feels sad about Dilla’s death (he has twitted that). He was a rhythm maniac. Some of his tracks are just one steady snare hit and his raps, and that’s all it took for him to make it swingy! His best track, in my opinion (feat Dwele):
Think twice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zUFkQNBqoU

Hope you enjoyed my selection. Your turn, now! Just post music that sounds right to you.

~Drumming Dice! {DD}

[megasethParticipant Karma: 41 pts]

Most of what I listen to is:
– random Vocaloid example
– random ‘Glitch Hop’ example
– 360 example (Maybe inappropriate for younger folks)

[maxminoSParticipant Karma: 7 pts]

Well you said it, “Don’t expect Eminem raps.” So I’m not posting that. I’ll be posting some cool ones. Sure, The Roots and J Dilla. I think The Roots is not bad, but it isn’t really what I have been into. J Dilla is actually a producer, not a rapper.

But what I have been listening to is 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar, Ice Cube, and also Dr. Dre.

If you wish to open these links, I recommend not watching the videos because some might be a little inappropriate.

50 Cent – Too Rich [https://youtu.be/__s3L7yZCzc]
This rap legend who goes back with hit singles on 2003 (In da Club – https://youtu.be/5qm8PH4xAss – Song starts at about 0:45), is still one of the best rappers there is.

Kendrick Lamar – Swimming Pools [https://youtu.be/B5YNiCfWC3A]
Kendrick is also one of the newest rappers these days but is one of the best as well.

Ice Cube – Pullin’ Weight [https://youtu.be/M97sosdX-9s]
One of the most old school legendary rappers of all time, who is now a well-known actor.

Dr. Dre – Still D.R.E. [https://youtu.be/_CL6n0FJZpk]
Known as the best rap producer of all time by most, Dr. Dre was also a great rapper back with his duo collaborations with Snoop such as this and Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang [https://youtu.be/jdTWOf2Kjvo – Song starts at about 0:45]

Looking at your list of mentioned artists, you just like drums (Questlove is the drummer in The Roots).

[DicedeadParticipant Karma: 3 pts]

Dilla’s also a rapper. His album “Welcome 2 Detroit” has some bits of him rapping (The Clapper), and he laid down some raps for other hip hop artists. He’s mainly a producer though, of course.
I’ve been hearing a lot about Kendrick Lamar lately. Only had time to listen to “I” (‘This is a song about peace!’) and “Alright” till now, so far so good.
50 cent.. When I was a little kid, I used to continuously listen to one of his songs, fascinated by.. I don’t know what. 😛
Heard that one from Dre. A friend has lent me his latest album as well as Snoop Dogg’s. Listened to them once then I’ve brought them back to him. I guess we don’t have the same musical tastea..

Are you talking about my hip hop list only? In my opinion, rhythm comstitutes 75% of the feel of an old school hip hop song, and when you say “rhythm in hip hop”, two things come to mind: raps and breakbeats on drums, so that’s why I think drums are so important in hip hop.

And if you’re talking about my list as a whole, good bands are constituted of good musicians. A good drummer can make the band sound better, just like a talented bassist or anyone in it. Matt Bellamy’s incredible singing skills are a major reason of Muse’s success, so is Chris’ groovy bass lines and Dom Howard’s powerful beat-keeping. As for Porcupine Tree, Tool, Animals as Leaders and Nerve, true that each of these bands has a world-class famous drummer (in order: Gavin Harrison, Danny Carrey, Matt Garska, Jojo Mayer) but if I featured them on this list, it’s because they

make great alternative and progressive music.

I do admit I find myself rating a drummer’s fill or drum part though, yet I didn’t share, for example, Mark Guiliana’s work because it might sound boring to non-drummers.

~Drumming Dice! {DD}

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