EventsMelon
I suppose you could call Melon stoner rock or sludge, but there’s just too much going on to pigeon hole these guys. They’re certainly Obnoxious Listeners and have an even wider range of musical tastes than myself. There are very few people I’ve met that know more bands than me and also typically knows every band I throw at them. Melon has a couple members that fit this description, so you can imagine how wide the influences are for the band.
Prisma
This Swiss hard rock band, who is sometimes evocative of Tool, has toured and collaborated with Indukti.
The Cancer Conspiracy
The Cancer Conspiracy is from a rather unlikely place, Burlington, VT. Let’s be honest, Burlington has a lot going on for itself… for example, it’s “the smallest U.S. city that is the largest city in its state” and it is THE place to get your teddy bears. But it’s not exactly where I’d expect to find a progressive rock band of this caliber.
B-Side Players
Let’s come right out and say it: that whole fad for sloppily mashing together several musical genres—heavy-metal-meets-hip-hop-cum-jazz funk, aboriginal-throat-gurgling-with-a-dash-of-sweet-swiss-mountain-yodeling indie pop, or, in sum, Limp Bizkit—looked a lot better (with all its hyphens) than it ever sounded. Assuming you can attract more listeners by repackaging every thinkable genre into some audio-Frankenstein is just as effective as McCain was in trying to gain votes by adding a nubile hillbilly to his Presidential ticket. Which is to say, not very.
The Tones
The Bay Area is truly representing here at Obnoxious Listeners. First we let you know about George Watsky, then Dahlak Brathwaite, and now we’re keying you into our next big find - The Tones. I don’t know what magic hip hop fairy dust is being spread over that area, but the talent-level is excessively high. It reminds me of the recent outburst of artists from Chi-town a few years ago - Kanye West, Common, Lupe Fiasco, etc. That was some good times …
Parhelia
I just love the feeling of getting the inspiration to write a review before even finishing my first listen of an album.
Miles’ First Great Quintet
Miles’ first great quintet released six albums together, and four of these were all recorded during the same two marathon sessions in 1956. And there were no second takes. This is raw 50’s post-Bird jazz at its best.
Adam Tensta
The man is of Norwegian descent and is making a true mark in the hip hop world. Especially in Europe. He’s been nominated for Best Swedish Act at the European MTV Awards, his album “It’s A Tensta Thing” was awarded the Swedish equivalent to the Grammy’s for best Hip Hop and Soul album, and his single “My Cool” has been a chart topping single around the hip hop scene.
Gov’t Mule
I have a feeling this won’t be my first post on Gov’t Mule. I only have their self-titled (1995) and Dose (1998). They didn’t stop there. They have several studio and live albums, and they have released a studio album as recently as this year, i.e. The Haunted Holy House (2008). Gov’t Mule was originally a side project with two members from The Allman Brothers Band. As far as I’m concerned, the rest is history. Sometimes it’s nice to know the history of a band, but quite frankly, I’m much more interested in the music itself.
MotherJane
The last time we wrote about a band from the sub-continent of India, I told you I couldn’t understand a word they were saying lyrically, but I loved their music. That was Avial. This time I write about another band from India in which I can understand everything they are saying, and I love their music!
