55 replies to this topic

[AKDeepPlay]

U2

[bflood]

Wilco

followed by Sloan, Radiohead and The National

[Circus Envy]

Pearl Jam
The Killers
Collective Soul

[fanfan]

I don't know.

It's very hard now that my two favourite artists don't record and tour anymore (David Bowie and R.E.M.). Gosh, I'm not that old.

I'm still looking for my new favourite "active" artist.

There are a couple of bands that I like a lot but very far away from what R.E.M. meant to me.

[SweetMusic]

REMCHICAGOBOY, on 12 November 2011 - 01:29 PM, said:

I based mine on "How well do I know their catalog, and how much do I follow them when they tour?..."

I obviously know R.E.M.'s catalog very, very well and followed them a ton when they toured, including the side projects, and know their personalities, etc.

Using the same criteria, I guess only Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and Midnight Oil come closest to R.E.M. in my case. Funny that you mention two of those as well.

The runners-up: Indigo Girls, Eels, Springsteen, Crowded House and U2.

Further along: Radiohead, Garbage, a-ha, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Sting (The Police), Pixies and (early) Coldplay (unsure about where they are heading now).

They all look like 'safe' options, but there's a financial reason for that. I still pay for my music and have a limited budget, so I have to carefully pick my artists. I can't waste a money on experiments. Though I do try to expand my view. Four years ago I had nothing of Radiohead, The Doors, The Police or Pink Floyd (only The Wall). Now I have nearly everything. In spite of my efforts to try new and 'other' things, I've not had the pleasure of discovering a real eye-opener like R.E.M. was 20 years ago.

[Driver Nate]

As I previously mentioned, I've always been hesitant to name a favorite but as far as R.E.M. eliciting the same response from me as they used to, that hasn't happened since New Adventures In Hi-Fi. That's not to say the anticipation of the release of a new album or an impending tour had disappeared altogether but those feelings have definitely diminished significantly over the years, especially when it came to the release of a new album. In those years since Up first appeared, I've grazed onto greener pastures whether it be the Drive-By Truckers, Whiskeytown or more recently, Mount Moriah and Megafaun. Yes, my tastes may tend towards Americana/No Depression (or whatever it's being called these days) but they're by no means defined by just that one genre. I'm fortunate to live in a place (Raleigh, NC) that's a hotbed of local music whether it be black metal, rap, folk, country, bluegrass, blues, jazz, soul or alternative (I prefer that term over "indie") so on any given night I can walk into any number of local clubs in the region (meaning Chapel Hill and Durham as well) and hear practically any kind of music. In these days where commercial radio has become a vapid wasteland, that's a tremendous asset to have. Thankfully, we have several outstanding local college stations in WUNC, WKNC, WXDU and WXYC to help fill the void. I also have a subscription to XM/Sirius which is a great way to discover music. However, in the past few years it's been the local music scene that's played the biggest part, particularly Local Band/Local Beer night at Tir na nOg in Raleigh. The event is free so there's no real excuse to stay away. Thank goodness I haven't because that's how I got turned onto my current favorite, Mount Moriah. In the two years since I first saw them they've released their debut record and have gone out on the road with Amy Ray and the Indigo Girls. No one artist will ever replace what R.E.M. means to me but these days, that feeling of the hair rising on the back of my neck at a live show or when listening to a record is still there, it's just different bands that create that response. At 49 years of age, most of my friends my age have become content with whatever the mainstream spoon feeds them. Not I. I'm sure I'll live a more settled, laidback lifestyle at some point but in the meantime I'm still out there in search of music that excites me.

[Driver Eight]

Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Radiohead, Lady Gaga, Pearl Jam, Paul McCartney, DMB, Allison Krauss and Union Station. Also like Norah Jones and Diana Krall. In the case of many of these, as it was with REM, it's more about their body of work than about their recent work.

[Dave Thomer]

The band whose next album I am most eagerly anticipating is the The National. Since I only learned about them through the '08 tour, that's a nice little hand-off of the torch.

If I throw a line back to my 90s, high school, alt-rock days (when I first discovered R.E.M.), the three members of Dada and their side projects are still pretty interesting to me.

[king.of.comedy]

My favorites active bands are Editors and Wintersleep...
I also like Pearl Jam and early Radiohead... and italian band Elio e le Storie Tese

[e-botti]

Richard Hawley
Sigur Ros
Idlewild

[Cora]

It's difficult. I have a few bands who could be my favorite.

UB 40
Coldplay
Green Day
Razorlight
Snow Patrol

If I must choose between these bands, I think it is Coldplay.

[Remixomatosys]

The veils, athlete, radiohead, editors, pearl jam, snow patrol, aqualung, the killers, coldplay, starsailor, keane
Richard ashcroft, robbie williams

Favourite albums:
1. The runaway found by the veils
2. In rainbows by radiohead
3. In this light and on this evening by editors
4. Beyond the neighborhood by athlete
5. Final straw by snow patrol

In these days, I'm enjoying very much Backspacer by pearl jam

[space banjo]

Levellers, Crowded House and Jayhawks

[Milsean Cady]

Radiohead.

The Decemberists though I think they're kaput.

Underwold. Always. Long live Karl Hyde and Rick Smith.

Gauntlet Hair.

Fever Ray/The Knife

Sufjan Stevens

Bjork

Kristin Hersh/50 Ft. Wave/ Throwing Muses.

Tom Waits.

[Southern Gothic NC]

Driver Nate, on 13 November 2011 - 10:33 AM, said:

I'm fortunate to live in a place (Raleigh, NC) that's a hotbed of local music whether it be black metal, rap, folk, country, bluegrass, blues, jazz, soul or alternative (I prefer that term over "indie") so on any given night I can walk into any number of local clubs in the region (meaning Chapel Hill and Durham as well) and hear practically any kind of music. In these days where commercial radio has become a vapid wasteland, that's a tremendous asset to have. Thankfully, we have several outstanding local college stations in WUNC, WKNC, WXDU and WXYC to help fill the void. I also have a subscription to XM/Sirius which is a great way to discover music. However, in the past few years it's been the local music scene that's played the biggest part, particularly Local Band/Local Beer night at Tir na nOg in Raleigh. The event is free so there's no real excuse to stay away. Thank goodness I haven't because that's how I got turned onto my current favorite, Mount Moriah. In the two years since I first saw them they've released their debut record and have gone out on the road with Amy Ray and the Indigo Girls. No one artist will ever replace what R.E.M. means to me but these days, that feeling of the hair rising on the back of my neck at a live show or when listening to a record is still there, it's just different bands that create that response. At 49 years of age, most of my friends my age have become content with whatever the mainstream spoon feeds them. Not I. I'm sure I'll live a more settled, laidback lifestyle at some point but in the meantime I'm still out there in search of music that excites me.

Wow! Well said and I feel ya. Yet I need to get out more like back in the day. Central North Carolina has always had an amazing music scene.

[Driver Nate]

Southern Gothic NC, on 27 November 2011 - 08:51 AM, said:

Wow! Well said and I feel ya. Yet I need to get out more like back in the day. Central North Carolina has always had an amazing music scene.

I highly recommend seeing Mount Moriah the next time you get a chance. I absolutely love this band.

[Reverend Bill Funderburk]

A few years ago I would've said Wilco, but I'm growing bored with them. I'll go with the Decemberists.

[Southern Gothic NC]

R.E.M. is still my favorite, ever, but I also like and enjoy:

Andrew Bird

Dark Dark Dark

India.Arie

Carolina Chocolate Drops

Talkdemonic

The Cure

Louise Attaque (French)

U2

The Decemberists

Wovenhand (D.E.E. of 16 Horsepower)

some newer brass bands

some Reggae artists who are still around

Midnight (Reggae)

Just getting into Editors

....and a few local musicians

[Southern Gothic NC]

I'm really enjoying this Mount Moriah song. Thank you and I'll check them out very soon.

[Driver Nate]

Southern Gothic NC, on 27 November 2011 - 09:25 AM, said:

I'm really enjoying this Mount Moriah song. Thank you and I'll check them out very soon.

The tune I posted is so new it's not on an album yet but if you want to check out their debut (which came out this year), it's posted on Bandcamp.com.