Some song recommendations please?
 

I've watched nearly an entire season of Veronica Mars and it only dawned on me today, that the theme song wasn't original. Something made up just for the opening credits, that is. I'm that dense and that is why I need some help, but I found the song "We Used To Be Friends" by the Dandy Warhols and I'm totally in love with it. The whole song is just great! Like the show!

I don't listen to very much radio and usually listen to what I already know, so could people list any songs/bands that I might also like that might be in the same type of genre as this song? I never would have heard of it or listened to the Dandy Warhols had it not been for the show.

Thanks.

Oh - a convert! :) I absolutely love The Dandy Warhols - my favorite album of theirs is 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia. Indie music is definitely my favorite of all the current forms of music - check out:

The Killers
The Apples in Stereo
Ivy
Beulah
Belle and Sebastian
The New Pornographers
The Ropers
The Aislers Set
Irving
Calla
American Analog Set
Dogs Die in Hot Cars
Death Cab for Cutie
Rooney
The Boo Radleys
The Shins
Flake Music
Track Star
Saturday Looks Good to Me
Kasabian
Mates of State
The Stills
The Magnetic Fields
Franz Ferdinand

to start. :D Have fun!!!!!

(not all of these bands still exist, but they're all fantastic, trust me - I keep adding bands because they're all so damn good I can't leave any off :))

Wow, that's a lot of bands. Any chance you would list 2 or 3 of your favorite songs by some of them, so that I can start there before buying cd after cd of music from bands that I've never even heard of? Thanks.

:) Sure. Here are some songs to get you started (try amazon's listening option, it's a godsend to listen before buying - beware - songs tend to sound tinny and not nearly as good as they do on the cds). Also, emusic.com has a free trial for 50 downloads within 2 weeks of signup - they have a lot of indie bands so I would assume you can download some (or maybe a lot) of these songs from them. In no particular order, other than what occurred to me off the top of my head, and songs specifically chosen to give you a good idea of why I think you'll like these bands:

Dandy Warhols
-13 Tales from Urban Bohemia
--Bohemian Like You
--Get Off
--Horse Pills
-Come Down
--Cool as Kim Deal
--Boys Better
--Everyday Should be a Holiday

Beulah
-The Coast is Never Clear
--What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades
--Popular Mechanics for Lovers
--Good Man is Easy to Kill
-Yoko
--You’re Only King Once
--My Side of the City
--Don’t Forget to Breathe

The Shins
-Chutes Too Narrow
--So Says I
--Turn a Square
--Kissing the Lipless
-Oh Inverted World
--Know Your Onion!
--Caring is Creepy
--Girl Inform Me

The Magnetic Fields
-Get Lost
--Famous
--You and Me and the Moon
--Why I Cry

Franz Ferdinand
-Franz Ferdinand
--Jacqueline
--Tell Her Tonight
--Take Me Out

Dogs Die in Hot Cars
-Please Describe Yourself
--I Love You Cause I Have To
--Modern Woman
--Apples and Oranges

Ivy
-Long Distance
--Edge of the Ocean
--Let’s Stay Inside
--Lucy Doesn’t Love You
-Apartment Life
--Get Out of the City
--I’ve Got a Feeling
--I Get the Message

Irving
-Good Morning Beautiful
--L-O-V-E
--Did I Ever Tell You I’m in Love with Your Girlfriend
--Eyes Adjust to Light
-I Hope You’re Feeling Better Now
Whole EP kicks ass :)

The Aislers Set
-The Last Match
--Red Door
--Way to Market Station
--One Half Laughing
-Terrible Things Happen
--California
--I’ve Been Mistreated
--Long Division

Track Star
-Lion Destroyed the Whole World
--One We Play
--Green to Gold
--Something to Do

Flake Music
-When You Land Here It’s Time to Return (Flake Music is the precursor to The Shins)
--Spanway Hits
--Deluca
--Structo

The New Pornographers
-Electric Version
--Electric Version
--Chump Change
--The Laws Have Changed

Mates of State
-Team Boo
--Fluke
--Kissaway
--Middle is Gold

The Apples in Stereo
-Fun Trick Noisemaker
--Tidal Wave
--Winter Must be Cold
--Lucky Charm

Death Cab for Cutie
-Transatlanticism
--The New Year
--Title and Registration
--Expo 86

When you're done with those, let me know and I'll do the rest of the bands. :)

Let me get three bands in on this too...

OK Go
--------------------
Get Over It
There's a Fire
The Fix is In
1000 Miles Per Hour

The Decemberists
--------------------
Billy Liar
Red Right Ankle
Oceanside
16 by 32 (if you can find it, it'll be on their next release.)

Louis XIV
--------------------
Illegal Tender
Finding Out True Love is Blind
Louis XIV

Thank you both for those great suggestions!

However, it may be a few weeks before I can come back and dig up this thread and report back to you about what I liked and what I didn't, because that is a WHOLE lot of music!

I am VERY much looking forward to checking them out and hope to be blown away by something like the way I was by the Dandy Warhols.

Again, thanks a lot! I would never have heard of these bands if not for you help and certainly would have had a lot of work ahead of me without some of the specific song suggestions to begin with.

Ps-Triple S, I'm moving from Tucson to Scottsdale around late summer or early fall, so maybe you can lend me some cds. ;)

Cool! I already have the decemberists - neglected to include them in my list - but had never heard of Louis XIV or OK Go - listened to them on amazon and they're fantastic! Thanks for the recommendations, and I'll definitely add these to my wish list.

I've gotten a chance to listen to about 7 songs so far. My favorite so far is "I Love You Cause I Have To." I like the New Pornographers. I can't put my finger on why, but I don't really seem to be able to get into the Franz Ferdinand. Death Cab For Cutie is very good, but I haven't heard that one song that really blew me away yet. Strangely, the singer reminds me a lot of a band that probably no one else on earth remembers besides me-The Judybats-and I really loved that band.

PS-Just heard "The Laws Have Changed" and it's jumped WAY up above the others as my favorite so far! What a great song!

"No One Will Ever Love You" by the Magnetic Fields....WOW!

:D I'm glad you're enjoying my suggested bands!!! (funny that the songs I picked aren't your favorites, but I'll take what I can get ;) )

Franz ferdinand grows on you - and I always end up listening to the whole album - it's harder to pick out a favorite for me. Just joyous, raucus fun from beginning to end. :)

Thanks for all the great music. Can I get some song suggestions for these other bands when you get the time? Also, could you put a star next to any of the songs that have female vocals or maybe suggest one band with a female singer if none of these other bands have one? Thanks again!

The Killers
Belle and Sebastian
The Ropers
Calla
American Analog Set
Rooney
The Boo Radleys
Saturday Looks Good to Me
Kasabian
The Stills

Don't have much time at the moment, but Ivy is always a female singer, and The Aislers Set and Irving have both male and female lead singers.

Go to epitonic.com for free and legal downloads of some songs from some of these bands. amazon sometimes has free downloads.

If you like female singers I'd recommend dressy bessy, the softies, marine research, talulah gosh, darling buds, the primitives, cocteau twins, lush, Heavenly (beware, there's a metal band with the same name, truly), All Girl Summer Fun Band, Tiger Trap, Rainer Maria...some of these are twee pop, some dream pop, some indie pop, some shoegazer, some lo-fi, some a combo of the styles mentioned... I love them all but ymmv. :)

and I'll give you more song recommendations in a day or so. :)

Oh, and one of my favorite sites is insound.com - great place to get free (and legal) mp3's and to buy indie music. Auralgasms is also a great site.

The first five tracks off of 'Hot Fuss' are pretty good:

Jenny was a Friend of Mine
Mr. Brightside
Smile Like You Mean It
Somebody Told Me
All The Things That I've Done

Mr. Brightside and Somebody Told Me are the only ones that get radio play.

"Change Your Mind" is a good listen too. It's currently the background song on a commercial for CBS' Amazing Race 7 is you've run across it.

Don't worry about when you get back with some more songs. I'm going on instinct here, but I really think I'm gonna like Rainer Maria, so let me know a few of their better songs in your opinion. I just want a few more songs with female vocals because about 75% of the songs have been male singers and I just want to balance it out. Some of the best songs actually have female vocals. All For Swinging You Around!

Thanks DJBrown! I will check them out tonight. Jenny was a friend of mine... she was... so that songs kind of sticks out as something I want to check out.

ok here's more recommendations: (my keyboard shift key is crap at work, so forgive any mistakes)

(you should know that many of the band members are the same in Talulah Gosh, Marine Research and Heavenly - due to deaths, changes, etc. - so similar sounds. Also, Rose Melberg (who has solo stuff as well) is/was in The Softies, Tiger Trap and Go Sailor, so they have a common element as well - although the last two bands have more of a rock/punk vibe.)

Rainer Maria
-Better Version of Me
--Thought I Was
--Artificial Light
--Hell and High Water

The Softies
-Holiday in Rhode Island
--Holiday in Rhode Island
--Places we Go
-It's Love
--I Love You More
--I Can't Get No Satisfaction, Thank God

Heavenly
-Decline and Fall of Heavenly
--Modestic
--Itchy Chin
-Le Jardin de Heavenly
--Starshy
--C is the Heavenly Option

Marine Research
-Sounds from the Gulf Stream
--Parallel Horizontal
--Queen B

Belle and Sebastian
-Dear Catastophe Waitress (getting airplay - the newest album)
--Step into my Office Baby
--If She Wants Me
--I'm a cuckoo
-If You're Feeling Sinister
--Seeing Other People
--Me and the Major

The Darling Buds
-Crawdaddy (I have all of their stuff - this album is my favorite - I love every single song)
--Crystal Clear
--Tiny Machine
--End of the Beginning
-Erotica
--If
--Off My Mind
--Sure Thing

The Primitives
-Pure
--Secrets
--Way Behind Me
--All the Way Down (beat version)
-Lovely
--Crash
--Thru the Flowers
--Stop Killing Me
--I'll Stick with You

Cocteau Twins (ephemeral sound - best listened to beginning to end)
-Heaven or Las Vegas
--Hey Hey Helen
--Heaven or Las Vegas
--Iceblink Luck

Calla
-Televise - really must be listened to as a whole - haunting sound

The Ropers
-All the Time
--Revolver
--You Have a Light
--Blind

The Boo Radleys
-Everything's Alright Forever
--I Feel Nothing
--Paradise
--Smile Fades Fast

American Analog Set
-Know by Heart
--The Only ONe
--Gone to Earth
--Choir Vandals

Rooney
-Rooney
--Blueside
--I'm a Terrible Person
--If It WEre Up to Me

Saturday Looks Good to Me (female singer at times)
-all Your Summer Songs
--Meet me by the Water
--Underwater Heartbeat
--You Work all Weekend

The STills
-Logic will Break Your Heart
--Still in Love Song
--Lola Stars and Stripes
--Changes are No Good

Kasabian
-Kasabian
--Processed Beats
--LSF
--Club Foot

whew! if I missed any, let me know and I'll try to find the time to give more recommendations. I'd also suggest exploring on those sites I listed - that's how I found out about a lot of these bands.

WarriorPrincess:

OMGHI2U!

You like The Venture Brothers AND The Stills? Sweeeet

DolphinBoy:

Try Earlimart - Treble and Tremble

This is going to take a while because music is my life, but if you end up listening to or liking and of these, that's enough for me.

Air
- All I Need
- Alone in Kyoto
- Playground Love
- Sexy Boy
- The Vagabond
- You Make It Easy

Alias
- Watching Water

Ambulance LTD
- Sugar Pill

Archers of Loaf
- Bathroom
- Chumming the Ocean
- Web in Front

At the Drive-In
- Heliotrope
- Hourglass
- Metronome Arthritis
- Napolean Solo
- Pattern Against User
- Rascuache
- Ticklish
- Ursa Minor

Badly Drawn Boy
- Another Devil Dies
- Everybody's Stalking
- Once around the Block

Björk
- All Is Full of Love
- Army of Me
- Bachelorette
- Big Time Sensuality
- Crying
- Hidden Place
- Human Behaviour
- Hunter
- Hyper-Ballad
- I Miss You
- I've Seen It All
- It's in Our Hands
- It's Oh So Quiet
- Jóga
- Oceania
- Pagan Poetry
- Triumph of a Heart
- Unison

Black Cat Music
- Hands in the Estuary, Torso in the Lake
- Most Perfect Day, Ever
- The Chain-Snatcher
- The Dirty Penny
- The Valentine

The Black Heart Procession
- Fingerprints
- Tropics of Love

Blonde Redhead
- (I Am Taking Out My Eurotrash) I Still Get Rocks Off
- A Cure
- Bean
- Distilled
- Loved Despite of Great Faults
- Luv Machine
- Mama Cita
- Misery Is a Butterfly
- Pink Love
- Violent Life
- Water

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
- Hard Life

Braid
- A Dozen Roses
- I'm Afraid of Everything
- Lucky to Be Alive
- Never Will Come for Us
- Please Drive Faster

Built to Spill
- Cortez the Killer (Live)
- I Would Hurt a Fly
- You Were Right

Cat Stevens
- The First Cut Is the Deepest
- The Wind

The CunninLynguists
- Dying Nation
- Mic Like a Memory
- Mindstate
- Thugged Out Since Cub Scouts

The Cure
- A Letter to Elise
- Apart
- Boys Don't Cry
- Charlotte Sometimes
- Close to Me
- Disintegration
- Doing the Unstuck
- In-Between Days
- Mint Car
- Strange Attraction
- The Lovecats
- Why Can't I Be You?

Cursive
- A Gentleman Calle
- A Little Song and Dance
- After the Movies
- Am I Not Yours?
- Art Is Hard
- Bloody Murderer
- Butcher the Song
- Excerpts from Various Notes Strewn around the Bedroom of April Connolly, Feb. 24, 1997
- Fairytales Tell Tales
- I Lost the Will to Fight
- Mothership, Mothership, Do You Read Me?
- Proposals
- Sink to the Beat
- The Casualty
- The Great Decay
- The Lament of Pretty Baby
- The Martyr
- The Recluse
- The Rhyme Scheme

Death Cab for Cutie
- 20th Century Towers
- 405
- A Movie Script Ending
- A Lack of Color
- Amputations
- Bend to Squares
- Champagne from a Paper Cup
- Company Calls
- Debate Exposes Doubt
- For What Reason
- Lightness
- Photobooth
- Sleep Spent
- Tiny Vessels
- Transatlanticism
- We Looked Like Giants
- Your Bruise

Denali
- Everybody Knows
- French Mistake
- Gunner
- Hold Your Breath
- Normal Days
- Prozac
- Surface
- The Instinct
- You File

DJ Shadow
- Fixed Income
- Give Up the Ghost
- Midnight in a Perfect World
- Organ Donor
- Stem - Long Stem

Engine Down
- And Done
- Brushes
- Demure
- Depth Perception
- Intent to Pacify
- Long Time Waiting
- Pantomime
- Retread
- Songbird

Franz Ferdinand
- Come on Home
- Michael
- The Dark of the Matinee

Interpol
- Lief Erikson
- Narc
- Not Even Jail
- Obstacle 1
- Obstacle 2
- PDA
- Say Hello to the Angels
- Specialist
- Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down
- Take You on a Cruise
- The New
- Untitled

Iron & Wine
- Bird Stealing Bread
- Fever Dream
- Love and Some Verses
- Naked as We Came
- Passing Afternoon
- Upward over the Mountain

Jesus and Mary Chain
- Just Like Honey

Jets to Brazil
- Sweet Avenue

John Vanderslice
- Heated Pool and Bar
- June July
- Promising Actress
- Up above the Sea

The Kinks
- Waterloo Sunset

The Magnetic Fields
- All My Little Words
- Epitaph for My Heart
- How Fucking Romantic
- I Think I Need a New Heart
- Nothing Matters When We're Dancing
- The Book of Love

Modest Mouse
- 3rd Planet
- All Night Diner
- Convienent Parking
- Dramamine
- Float On
- Gravity Rides Everything
- Polar Opposites
- Talking Shit about a Pretty Sunset
- The View

Plaid
- Milh

Portishead
- All Mine
- Glory Box
- It Could Be Sweet
- Mysterons
- Only You
- Roads
- Sour Times
- Undenied
- Wandering Star

The Smiths
- Asleep
- Cemetery Gates
- Frankly, Mr. Shankly
- Girlfriend in a Coma
- Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
- Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
- The Boy with the Thorn in His Side
- There Is a Light that Never Goes Out
- This Charming Man

The Walkmen
- The Rat
- Wake Up
- We've Been Had

Bah. There are so many more I'd like to add, but I have ridiculous amounts of schoolwork to attend to. Let me know if you like any of those, and maybe I'll post some more.

Anyone who hasn't given these tracks a listen should give 'em a try.

Pick up Belle & Sebastian's 'If You're Feeling Sinister' album. The whole thing is good.

yeesh. we've gotten this far without anybody mentioning my fave album of last year:

the Arcade Fire - Funeral

the entire album is great, but my favorite songs are: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Une Anne sans Lumiere, Neighborhood #4 (Kettles), Crown of Love, and Rebellion (Lies)

more recently i've been listening to Interpol (Antics, in particular) and at this moment i am listening to Belle & Sebastian (Tigermilk, in particular)... oops, just finished as i was typing, starting back at Dear Catastrophe Waitress (love my ipod).

if you really dig the Magnetic Fields' stuff, try out the entirety of "69 Love Songs". Merritt (the artist behind Magnetic Fields) takes a stab at an incredible diversity of genres within that one set. some of the songs already recommended for MF are from "69 Love Songs".

if you like Coldplay, give Snow Patrol a try as well. some songs: Chocolate, Spitting Games, and How to Be Dead.

also, i can't neglect to mention Mason Jennings, since i have been recommending him here for about the past 7 years or so. some songs worth checking out: Darkness Between the Fireflies, Ballad for My One True Love, California (Parts 1 & 2), Confidante. the list is long for him. a fan favorite that's never made it to official release is a song called "Joy".

-di doctor-

thought i'd add one more: Poor Rich Ones

i'm currently listening to their album "Happy Happy Happy". it's very mellow and melodic. good stuff. (heck, i'll throw in Sigur Ros [the band], whom Poor Rich Ones remind me of, although PRO aren't anywhere near as orchestral as Sigur...)
-di doctor-

Dandy Warhols
- You Were the Last High

The Wannadies :thumbsup:
- Hit
- Dying for More
- Skin

Imperial Teen
- You're One

Delgados
- Everybody Come Down

(London) Suede
- Golden Gun

Luke Haines
- Badder Meinhoff

Tripping Daisy
- Blown Away

Stellastarr*
- Jenny

Interpol
- Evil (Rosemary)

A-ha
- You Wanted More
- The Sun never shone that Day

The Boo Radleys
- Find the Answer Within
- Adieu Clo Clo

Mercury Rev
- In A Funny Way

Super Furry Animals
- God! Show Me Magic

Cinerama
- Wow

Luna
- Super Freaky Memories

Ocean Blue
- Past Future Perfect

just to name a few

Warrior Princess (or anyone else),
thanks!
i'm still working my way through your suggestions. i really like the aislers set and particularly the song "hit the snow" and i really was hoping to find the lyrics. i've googled and searched for hours and couldn't find them. do you know where i might be able to get them? a place that indie fans post that kind of question or do you have their cd The Last Match, they might be in there? i like to know what i'm singing along to, but this one is pretty tough to figure in some spots, but it's a great song. if you can help, please let me know. thanks.

Hi - so glad you love the aislers set - they are one of my absolute favorite bands, and not nearly well known enough. :) I just called my boyfriend- he's got the cd with him and is emailing me the lyrics to hit the snow - I'll post them when I get the email. If you haven't already listened to them - irving is just as great as the aislers set - I'd recommend them on a blind buy to anyone who loves the aislers set and the dandy warhols.

ok - lyrics for Hit the Snow by The Aislers Set:

I walked in a straight line went up to the New York border
Been following datelines, honey. And I hit the snow.
I found where my fate lies wrapped up like a novella
Contained by a hundred pictures all of you

surprisingly simple, no? :)

You've listed quite a few bands that I like.




The ones I didn't YES I don't really know.