en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/elvor/journal The Last.fm journal for elvor. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/elvor/journal/2009/02/22/2iaute_top_11_artists_you_might_don%27t_know Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:01:59 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/elvor/journal/2009/02/22/2iaute_top_11_artists_you_might_don%27t_know Because it is a boring Sunday evening, I thought I'd write something. So today I bring you my Top 11 Artists You Might Don't Know, a list of some of my favourite musical artists you probably haven't heard of. Why Top 11? Because I like to go one step beyond. So, let's get started.

(And yes, the title and top 11 thing are shamelessly stolen from thatguywiththeglasses.com. Very funny site, check it out. Also these really don't have any order, just as they come into my head)

11. Animal Alpha
Stand-Out Tracks:
Catch Me
Trøbbel
Bundy
A Norwegian rock band, with a very impressive female singer (who happens to dress as a clown, so yeah.) Her vocal performance on Catch Me is amazing, and a little scary. Instrumentally, a pretty solid band, with some catchy tunes, especially Trøbbel, which you should YouTube straight away

10. The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
Stand-Out Tracks:
Cultists On Board
No Way
Ride The Flying Polyp
American geek rock, based almost entirely on the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, creator of Cthulhu and all manner of horrible beasties. I've just got their most recent album, The Shadow Out Of Tim, and it's a really addictive listen. A modern day retelling of one of Lovecraft's stories, it has catchy melodies and very cool lyrics, including one track sung in Middle Egyptian!

9.That Handsome Devil
Stand-Out Tracks:
Rob the Prez-O-Dent
Viva Discordia
Dating Tips (which is probably offensive, but still damn funny)
A band I discovered due to Guitar Hero II, these guys are pretty unique, and have a really cool, almost jazzy sound. Their singer, Godforbid, uses a mixture of lounge style vocals, rap, and a load of other styles, and has the second coolest voice I have heard in music. They have a definite sense of humour in their songs, and are very much worth a listen.

8. Tom Waits
Stand-Out Tracks:
Alice
Lucky Day
Earth Died Screaming
Not terribly obscure, but I only know one other person who listens to him, Tom Waits has been going on for many years, started as a lounge singer, but developed a unique, stripped down sound using very odd instrumentation. He also has the coolest voice in music, and is a genuinely funny guy. He's also done a few collaborations with...

7.Primus
Stand-Out Tracks:
Tommy The Cat
My Name Is Mud
To Defy The Laws Of Tradition
A three piece band that defies genre discriptions, but has been described as 'Thrash Funk', Primus has pretty much the most talented bass player around these days, Les Claypool. Most tracks are bass-led, with amazing drumming and guitar noodling backing it up. This is a band that doesn't take itself too seriously, their catchphrase for many years was 'Primus Sucks'! The atonality of most of the songs and Claypool's strangled vocals may put people off, but this a band to check out.

6.Buckethead
Stand-Out Tracks:
Nottingham Lace
Gory Head Stump 2006: The Pageant of the Slunks
Soothsayer
The strangest artist on this list, and pretty well known, Buckethead is an enigmatic character who always wears a white mask and a KFC bucket while performing. He never gives interviews, and uses nunchucks on stage. He's also the most technically skilled guitarist currently playing. He can do pretty much anything invovling a guitar, and evoke intense emotion without singing a word. He's also worked with many other artists, including Gun's N' Roses, Les Claypool and Serj Tankian. Prolific, experimental and frikkin' weird, you should definitely look him up.

5.Emilie Autumn
Stand-Out Tracks:
Second Hand Faith
Opheliac
Gothic Lolita
A solo artist and multi-instrumentalist, playing the violin, piano and probably a few others, Autumn started out with classical violin songs, moved onto her own poppy numbers, and has recently settled on a sort of 'Industrial Violin' sound, using electronics mixed with her own intruments and singing. Highly unusual, but suprisingly awesome.

4. Between the Buried and Me
Stand-Out Tracks:
Sun of Nothing
Ants of the Sky
Prequel to the Sequel
I only have their newest album, but this Progressive Death Metal group really impressed me with it. The singing is largely death grunts, but has suprising melodic sections as well. The musical talent is very much on display here, with shifting melodies, odd time signatures, and unusual arrangements, including an accordian break in Prequel to the Sequel and a Mr. Bungle-esque breakdown in Sun of Nothing. If you like death metal, check 'em out.

3.The Parlor Mob
Stand-Out Tracks:
Can't Keep No Good Boy Down
The Kids
Tide Of Tears
Very Led Zeppelin inspired Blues Rock, with one album out now. Features catchy tracks, cool lyrics and a wailing vocalist. What more could you want?

2. Murder by Death
Stand-Out Tracks:
Those Who Left
Brother
The Devil In Mexico
A fantastic band, featuring a cello player and a singer with about 20 different voices in him. Started out with a very etherial, keyboard based sound, before moving on to a very much old-school rock n' roll style. Some very emotional stuff here as well, especially in their earlier stuff.

1.The Dresden Dolls/Amanda Palmer
Stand-Out Tracks:
Girl Anachronism
Gravity
Mandy Goes to Med School
Leeds United
Guitar Hero
Ampersand

The Dresden Dolls are a two piece 'Punk Cabaret' act featuring Amanda Palmer on Piano and Vocals, and Brian Viglione on Drums. Can go from highly energetic to melodramtic and soulfull very quickly, but always entertaining, they also put on a spectacular live show featuring circus performers, living statues and other wonders. Amanda recently put out a solo album, which is also really damn good.

So, to the 3 people who've read this, hope it was at least vaguely interesting, and not too badly spelled. Seeya around the web!]]> http://www.last.fm/user/elvor/journal/2008/02/11/4l7gl_test_thingie Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:28:24 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/elvor/journal/2008/02/11/4l7gl_test_thingie Yep, I'm bored, so I thought I'd do this test that I found here: http://www.last.fm/user/UnforgivenIII/journal/2008/02/11/645586/

1. How did you get into 31? - Foo Fighters
Hell, how does anyone get into Foo Fighters? I think the first of their CD's that I properly got into was In Your Honor.

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22? - Muse/Incubus
Muse I think was Plug In Baby (Amazing Riff). Incubus was probably Anna Molly, which got my interest quite effectively.

3. What's your favourite lyric by 25? - The Answer/Nightwish
Under The Sky - Under the sky I cry for you, Under the sky I crawl, Under the sky I'd die for you, you are the reason why I fall away.
The Islander - This is for long-forgotten, Light at the end of the world

4. What is your favourite album by 49? - Franz Ferdinand/Panic! At the Disco
Well Franz Ferdinand would be You Could Have It So Much Better. And Panic! only have one album...

5. How many albums by 13 do you own? - The Horrors
Just the one album, as they only have one. :P

6. What is your favourite song by 50? - Franz Ferdinand/Panic! At the Disco
The Fallen and Build God, Then We'll Talk respectively.

7. Is there a song by 4 that makes you sad? - Murder by Death
Oh, so many of them. Lots of their songs can really send a chill down your spine. Shiola, Raw Deal, The Big Sleep and Pillars Of Salt stand out.

8. What is your favourite song by 15? - Bright Eyes
Four Winds, hands down.

9. What is your favourite song by 5? - Buckethead
It's a tie between Nottingham Lace and Gory Head Stump 2006: The Pageant of the Slunks

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy? - Nine Inch Nails
Not really. :D NIN don't tend to go for the happy songs, although the breakdown in The Great Destroyer can usually bring a chuckle.

11. What is your favourite album by 40? - The Feeling
Just the one album, Twelve Stops & Home.

12. What is your favourite song by 10? - Rammstein
Probably Keine Lust, although Links 234 I find really cool.

13. What is a good memory you have involving 33? - My Chemical Romance
Ummm... none? MCR kind of annoy me now.

14. What is your favourite song by 37? - P.O.D.
Youth Of The Nation.

15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy? - Tool
The Pot sort of makes a nice vocal change from the rest of their songs.

16. How many times have you seen 24 live? - The Answer/Nightwish
None, although I'm going to see Nightwish pretty soon. Should be great.

17. What is the first song you ever heard by 23? - Disturbed
Stricken, I saw the video on TV.

18. What is your favourite album by 11? - Red Hot Chili Peppers
By The Way. Again, most of their stuff irritates me now.

19. Who is the favourite member of 1? - Dream Theater
So hard to choose! They're all so excellent! If I was forced to pick, it would be John Myung, mainly because I also play bass. :P

20. Have you ever seen 14 live? - Placebo
Nope. I don't go to live shows much.

21. What is a good memory involving 45? - Stratovarius
First hearing them, it made me quite happy for some reason to hear some cheesy power metal.

22. What is your favourite song by 16? - Serj Tankian
Lie Lie Lie. It just has some damn excellent vocals.

23. What is the first song you ever heard by 47? - Deftones
Minerva, I think. Music video on Scuzz.

24. What is your favourite album by 21? - Incubus/Muse
Light Grenades, and Origin of Symmetry.

25. What is your favourite song by 18? - Rage Against the Machine
Sleep Now In The Fire just has an awesome riff.

26. What is the first song you ever heard by 38? Maximo Park
Apply Some Pressure. Yet another music video on MTV2. I was addicted to this song for a while.

27. What is your favourite lyric by 3? - Coheed and Cambria
The screamy bit in The End Complete: III - The End Complete. Very cool.

28. What is your favourite song by 2? - Primus
Tommy The Cat. Every single part of this song impresses the hell out of me. It has the coolest bass riff evers!

30. What is your favourite song by 8? - System of a Down
A tie between ATWA and Aerials.

31. How many times have you seen 17 live? - Korn
Nevers!

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy? - Priestess
Lay Down. Cheers me up no end.

33. What is your favourite album by 12? - Queens of the Stone Age
Era Vulgaris. I really like the feel of this album.

34. What is the worst song by 46? - Stone Sour
Omega, as it's not a song! It's a bit of poetry.

35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34? - Lordi
Hard Rock Hallelujah! The best Eurovision ever.

36. What is you favourite album by 42? - The Prize Fighter Inferno
Ummm... The Prize Fighter Inferno. His only album.

37. How many times have you seen 39 live? - SOiL
Never!

38. What is your favourite album by 9? - Rush
2112 hands down. Mainly for the song 2112.

39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28? - Flight of the Conchords
Albi The Racist Dragon. Made me laugh so much.

40. What is your favourite album by 7? - The Mars Volta
Well it WAS De-Loused in the Comatorium, but The Bedlam in Goliath is pretty damn awesome!

So there ya go!]]>