"Indie Music" or "Tell Seil What To Listen To!"

[Seil]

So, based on the recommendations of my brother, I've been listening to The Decemberists, The Flaming Lips, Arcade Fire and a few other "indie bands," and I'm liking what I'm hearing. Anyone got any other recommendations?

'Cause The Decemberists do a song about a guy revenging on his step-father inside a whale, while the adorable Karen O can totally be a frog. We might have to stage an intervention for Arcade Fire, though.

[Viridis]

Originally Posted by Seil

'Cause The Decemberists do a song about a guy revenging on his step-father inside a whale,

I've heard that and have it in my collection.

That song is awesome and terrifying and reminds me in some strange way of Voltaire's Accordion Player.

[Satan's Onion]

SO HERE I AM TELLING YOU ABOUT THE FLAMING LIPS WOOOOOOO

Really, if you want to get into the Flaming Lips, I for one would recommend the strategy that was recommended to me when I was just getting started: Try either The Soft Bulletin or Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Both these albums are, in my own opinion, absolute masterpieces and some of the best work they've ever done.

Mind you, they have a lot of good work out there. The album Embryonic (from which you got "I Can Be A Frog", not a personal favorite but it's a matter of taste) is excellent, I think, but other people aren't big on its sheer volume (it's extremely loud) and its general atmosphere of tension. I also absolutely adore Clouds Taste Metallic, even though it's quite a different animal to Embryonic, Yoshimi and Bulletin--it's bright and simple and joyous with slight overtones of country music and the Beach Boys, and has lyrics about lightning striking postmen and lovers separated by a mission to space. (Also, watermelon guns.) Transmissions from the Satellite Heart, one of their earlier albums (possibly their first with a major label, if I'm remembering it properly, and I may not be) also has some bright spots, even though stylistically it's a great deal less well-defined than, say, Clouds; nevertheless it still has some great tracks, like "Turn It On" and their Big Radio Hit, "She Don't Use Jelly".

(Incidentally, you may want to avoid At War With The Mystics. I found most of the album either boring or irritating, and most of the lyrics are distinctly below the Lips' usual high quality.)

I hope my long-winded blather is at least somewhat helpful to you.

TL;DR version: You just can't go wrong with Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots or The Soft Bulletin. They also did some other good stuff, but I say to start with those two and move on to the other stuff if you like what you hear.

[Seil]

Justice is totally A.W.E.S.O.M.E!