Today I’m gonna put training on the back burner and discuss my other biggest passion in life which is music. The state of music today can be quite dismal at first glance. Every Tuesday when new albums are released I log onto iTunes and buy at least 30-50 new songs. I check the new releases, grab some stuff there and then end up spending a half hour searching out other stuff that somehow makes its way into my account. When I look at the top ten charts though, I’m usually sickened. T-Pain? Colby Calliat? Souljah Boy? Baby Bash? Fergie? Good Charlotte? BRITNEY SPEARS????
People, this is NOT good music. Nas was almost 100% on the money when he said hip hop is dead. As someone who grew up listening to real hip hop and has the Public Enemy logo tattooed on his arm, it pains me to listen to some of the crap that is out there today. Luckily there are a few artists still making real hip hop including Nas, Talib Kweli, Common, and my good friend E-Reece.
Fortunately, the state of rock is not as bad as the current state of hip hop. Sure when you look at the pop charts (or worse yet, listen) you need to do all you can to hold your lunch down, but if you dig deeper you will see that there are plenty of great bands making real rock & roll.
Without further adieu here is a list of some stuff that, while you won’t ever see them selling a million records, is on high rotation on my iPod and definitely worth checking out. Especially if you can’t stand the sight or sound of Daughtry or Carrie Underwood ever again.
Note: This is NOT music to train to. That’s a different topic for a different time. While I love hearing Slayer in the gym; it’s the last thing I want to hear at home or driving in my car.
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-Kings of Leon
-State Radio
-Pete Yorn
-The Beautiful Girls
-Built To Spill
-Xavier Rudd
-Silversun Pickups
-Matthew Good
-The Shins
-Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
-Pete Francis
-LCD Soundsystem (not really rock but good stuff, especially live)
-Deathcab For Cutie
-Keane
-Sea Wolf
-The Fratellis
-Tokyo Police Club
-The Black Keys
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At the Big Seminar, someone asked Jim Wendler what five CD’s he would buy if he only had $100. Later that night, my friend Keith asked me the same question and (for anyone who’s interested) here’s my answer, although it is a brutally tough decision:
1) Vs.- Pearl Jam
2) Ten- Pearl Jam
3) It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back- Public Enemy
4) Us Against The Crown (w/ Bonus Tracks)- State Radio
5) The Low End Theory- A Tribe Called Quest
Runner up- Because of the Times- Kings of Leon (absolutely amazing album from start to finish)
11. Jul, 2009
at 5:28 pm #
“while you won’t ever see them selling a million records”. Keane and The Kings of Leon have done pretty well for themselves!
Good choices. There is good music kicking about, it just takes a little digging.
12. Jul, 2009
at 7:20 am #
Haha. They certainly have. I never would have predicted that when I was rocking out to the first KOL album years ago.
13. Jul, 2009
at 3:56 am #
It was quite a sudden rise to stardom! I’m pleased they have gained the success they deserve.
11. Dec, 2009
at 12:41 pm #
I am a big music guy and a lot of these bands I hadn’t heard of. I checked them out and they’re KILLER!!! Great music for chilling out after a hard training session.
If you have any other favorites along these lines keep posting them Jay. This is good stuff.
-Chris