so the other day i slung together a playlist of stuff by the various bands of jeff rosenstock, because it’s hard to explain to someone why he’s good if they just start going through the back catalogue: there’s a lot of average between the absolutely amazing. Same with Bazan.
So I figured this would be a good idea for a thread. what have you always wanted to get into but felt unsure how to approach, band-wise?
For me, it’s Deerhoof. There’s so fucking much. Are there eras of their music? Which are worth getting into. I refuse to believe it’s ‘all of it’.
Anyone who can help: thank you. But also, declare your own similar hang-ups!
I had this with Ty Segall, but this place helped me crack on from the stuff I already liked, and now I have a very decent playlist of my favourite bits and generally love everything he’s done.
thanks for this - i found the listening club one but i guess to me that felt quite overwhelming only because it was obv for people who were already in deep. but yes that where to start with is exactly what i’m after
I think it’s more the sense of duty that comes with it that puts me off. If I like one Ty Seagall album does that mean I have to listen to the rest? When am I going to find time to do that? What if I’m not really in the mood?
This is such a great idea for a thread. Thanks @xylo. I’ll be following with interest as I do often find if a band has a huge back catalogue etc i’m a little bit put off/overwhelmed as I never know where the best place to start is.
With Deerhoof, I’d say the easiest ones to get into are the ones with more straight-up rock production. So albums like ‘Offend Maggie’ and ‘La Isla Bonita’ especially (the latter was my first, and the former is probably my favourite). Their other albums are great too, but the more electronics and that can make them tougher to get into as an introduction, I’d say.
‘The Runner’s Four’ would be a good intro too, though it’s also their longest by a long way
It’s what I don’t really like about surprise releases. I like to plan a little bit in advance what I’m going to buy / listen to these days, so surprise releases tend to throw me for a loop. It’s a big part of why I’ve dropped off Four Tet a bit cause he’s just so nonchalant about dropping stuff now
I have a slightly different angle on the excessively prolific thing, because so much of my listening belongs to the experimental / noise / etc. world, where it is much more common for people to put out loads and loads of stuff.
On that note, if anyone would be interested in a primer on e.g. Kevin Drumm or Jim O’Rourke, or maybe some other noisy types, I would be happy to provide!