My New Favorite Band

Have you ever hard a band for the first time and instantly thought “Oh my god, this is one of my favorite bands and I’ve never heard them.” That’s sorta the way I felt last week when I saw Belle and Sebastian at the Hollywood Bowl. Since then I’ve listened to them non-stop. I gave them an obligatory listen a few years back and concluded that they were just another sad-bastard band. My bad. They’re more like a perfect mix off Love, the Left Banke, and the Zombies.




What great music have I been missing out on?


posted by greg on July 16, 2006 @ 1:04 pm

14 comments »

  1. The Dears are a similiar group you might enjoy.

    Comment by jim marquis — July 16, 2006 @ 1:18 pm

  2. I first heard Belle and Sebastian because (good God, was it eight years ago?) the Brit mag Q gave them (as well as Radiohead and Ben Folds Five) a review which piqued my interest. I had pretty much the same reaction as you. The music grows on you, though.

    I’m pretty clueless about anything recent, but from about the same timeframe there came an album by Tindersticks called “Curtains” which was damn good (not impressed by much else of theirs, go figure), and remains so.

    Comment by cavjam — July 16, 2006 @ 1:33 pm

  3. Go try Camera Obscura’s latest _Let’s Get Out of This Country_. “Tears for Affairs” has a similar retropop irresisibility. Or, maybe the Pernice Brothers _Yours, Mine, and Ours_. Both test the bounds of miserablism, but I don’t think they’re beyond the B&S line.

    Comment by Chasseur — July 16, 2006 @ 2:29 pm

  4. I stop by http://www.3hive.cm for a daily dose of good indie – and free – music.

    Comment by Jason — July 16, 2006 @ 4:12 pm

  5. You were there too? Fantastic show, great band.

    B&S are one of the most unique and addictive bands I’ve ever heard. It seems like you’d get tired of them after a very short time, but somehow a line you hadn’t caught before, a clever hook, a particularly nice live version sucks you right back in.

    No, I don’t have any recommendations–at least of that caliber–nobody else I’ve heard quite measures up. But Camera Obscura is reasonably close.

    Comment by Justin — July 16, 2006 @ 4:35 pm

  6. Yet another in the countless hundred things I’ve recommended to you but that you had to find out for yourself later at your own pace (I believe punk rock and Herge were the first two).

    If you like Belle and Sebastian, you should probably get Nick Drake’s “Bryter Layter” and maybe explore Donovan’s catalog if you haven’t done so already. You already have most of their other influences.

    I’ve seen B&S twice live, and both times they were pretty great and did rad covers.

    Comment by dAnimal — July 16, 2006 @ 11:36 pm

  7. Check out 75 minutes for a great indie podcast. Impress your friends with obsure music knowledge.

    Comment by Cgizza — July 17, 2006 @ 11:09 am

  8. I don’t get it. Why are they good? I’ve tried to understand many times, but I just don’t see their genius; just seems needlessly cloying to me.

    Comment by saurabh — July 17, 2006 @ 11:49 am

  9. I first heard Belle and Sebastian in 1997, when my friend James was listening to If You’re Feeling Sinister. Since then, that lucky bastard has actually gotten to open for them.

    On that note, Greg, you should listen to The Shins.

    Comment by Cris — July 18, 2006 @ 8:26 am

  10. the new pornographers, a canadian power pop band, opened up for belle & sebastian last time i saw them. the new pornographers’ melodies are catchy as hell and their hooks infectious. their choruses always pop into my head at random times and they make me smile.

    Comment by chris — July 18, 2006 @ 11:05 am

  11. “if you’re feeling sinister” is easily one of the best 5 or so albums ever. when murdoch lets other people write songs the band dips somewhat, but they are definitely one of the great bands of the 90s (and perhaps they’re coming back)

    Comment by james — July 18, 2006 @ 10:59 pm

  12. 90’s? Dear Catastrophe Waitress has a bunch of good stuff on it. Too bad he’s all Christian now.

    Comment by dAnimal — July 19, 2006 @ 11:01 am

  13. B&S are pretty great; I haven’t heard a song by them I didn’t like. This does prove one eternal truth about music, or movies, or really any sort of art: Whether or not it strikes a chord with you depends heavily on you, the viewer, and not just the quality (or lack thereof) of the art itself.

    I’ve long been stumping for a band called the Heartless Bastards; I dig the shit out of them. Their singer’s voice is awesome; she’s got this controlled but extremely intense sound that I can’t get enough of. Plus they rock. You can buy it off iTunes.

    Comment by briantologist — July 20, 2006 @ 8:11 am

  14. Yeah, what about The Shins? I also think the first Pinback album and EP are pretty amazing, but that’s another style, I guess.

    Comment by Joe — July 20, 2006 @ 12:10 pm

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