The Video Game Critic

Let's talk about music!

Gaming or not, what songs are stuck in your head these days? What do you default to when driving to work or school? Name 5 or more songs if you like!

Here's mine:

1. "Emmylou" by First Aid Kit
2. "Forgive" by Porches
3. "Stranger than Earth" by Purity Ring
4. "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver
5. "Lifespan" by Vaults

"Diamonds in the Rough" by Bonfire
"My Machine" by Trixter
"Steal The Thunder" by Loverboy
"Under The Gun" by Danger Danger
"My Way" by KISS
"Love Walks In" by Van Halen

The last few days I've been listening to an album called Guilty of Everything by a band called Nothing. A friend I know at work put it on his list of 25 favorite albums and urged me to check it out. It's one of the those records that I'll hear every once in a while that actually feels like it has added something perceptible to my existence - a few days ago I hadn't heard the album, and now that I have I can't imagine what it was like before I'd heard it. The style is shoegaze - I'd compare it to My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Hum, Dinosaur Jr and Smashing Pumpkins - but I've never heard someone do the style with so much emotional heft and pain behind it before. If you like any of the bands I mentioned you should definitely check it out.

My brother got to see Noel Gallagher the other day, so with that I mind, I've been into some old school Oasis lately. Call them what you will--arrogant, rude, etc--but those boys KNOW melody.

Also, for the last year, I've been into this kid named Brett Dennen. Has a Van Morrison vibe that I like.

I don't listen to a lot of music at all, and most of the new stuff I come across is through Saturday Night Live or Austin City Limits.

Sherman Downey and the Ambiguous Case: The Sun in Your Eyes. It's pretty much all me and my wife have listened to for 2 months. We went and saw them twice in three weeks (one acoustic and one normal show) back in December. The Right Idea, Isadora Duncan, and Thick as Thieves are particularly good tracks.

Let's see.

Contagious -Y&T
The entire Metal Health album -Quiet Riot
Sgt. Peppers Lonely hearts club band (whole album) -The Beatles
Revolver (whole album) -the Beatles
Rubbers soul (whole album) -The Beatles
Julia -The Beatles
Dear Prudence -The Beatles
Do you want to know a secret -The Beatles
Hold on to 18 -Black N' Blue
Miss Mystery -Black N' Blue
Hellraisers Ball -L.A Guns
Every single Kix album in existence (excluding the horrible show business)
Black Metal (whole album) -Venom

Steve Hackett - "Wolflight"
Blackfoot - "Tomcattin'"
Tangerine Dream - "Australia Concerts"
Robert Fripp - "Exposure"
Paul Speer/Scott Rockenfield - "Televoid"

I just noticed someone mentioned Trixter. I actually just caught them May 1st in Columbia. Killer set. Not quite as good as the Kix set later that night, but they were MILES better than the horrendous Dokken set (JUST GIVE IT UP ALREADY DOKKEN. YOU WERE BAD THEN. AND BAD NOW).

I'm starting to listen to some late 70's and early 80's post punk stuff and am currently listening to Siouxsie & the Banshees.
I can't decide if they are before their time and pretty neat and experimental or just god awful. Not for the casual listener but I like Arabian Nights and Happy House for sure. Perhaps some of the others will grow on me.

Disagreed on Dokken, I think they're a pretty good band.