Top 50: Part II

40:Artist: Moonbabies
Learned About 'em: Probably on eMusic.
Ideas!: My favorite album is Moonbabies at the ballroom, really cool stuff. I haven't heard about them ever from somebody else so I'm assuming they're not terribly popular, but what do I know? They use keyboards and organs and glockenspiels all over the place, who could ask for more!
Chicka-dee-dee-dee: War on Sound is a very solid track, let's all listen to it now.
39:Artist: Coldplay
Learned About 'em: How does one learn about Coldplay?
Ideas!: There's not much to say about them, they became extremely popular after releasing Parachutes (which included the song Yellow. They've since gone on to sell out stadiums across the world and make oodles of money playing their brand of indie-rock. I'm still upset with Viva La Vida or whatever the album is actually called, plagiarism is wrong! Didn't they go to, oh I don't know, middle school!?!
Chicka-dee-dee-dee: Some solid stuff, though I actually prefer some covers by the Vitamin String Quartet more than the originals.
38:Artist: The Format
Learned About 'em: Through a friend, Ms. Andersen.
Ideas!: This was the first band I ever saw play in concert at the Troc in Philly. They're named after the idea of bands today being “cookie-cutter” formatted, and while this band isn't in the same vein as stuff like Nickelback and whatever else is popular it isn't exactly cutting edge.
Chicka-dee-dee-dee: The lead singer Nate Reuss has since gone on to found the band FUN, which is aslo, ok.
37:Artist: Spoon
Learned About 'em: EMU, SICK!
Ideas!: Very catchy bouncy stuff, I Turn My Camera On was featured in the Simpsons as well as a very amusing video of a bouncing green blob. Gimme Fiction is my favorite album, though to be fair I never got around to listening to Ga Ga Ga Ga... You would really be hard pressed not to start jivin' when Spoon comes on the stereo.
Chicka-dee-dee-dee: Good family entertainment.
36:Artist: Camera Obscura
Learned About 'em: eMusic.
Ideas!: Lot's of sorta catchy stuff, in fact I sometimes mistake them for Spoon and vice-versa. I'm still not super sure what a camera obscura is, although from what I can gather it is some sort of pinhole camera (apparently there is a gallery in Denver!). I would recommend them to anyone who also likes spoon, they're a bit more happy sorta stuff (sometimes).
Chicka-dee-dee-dee: Let's get out of this country...
34:Artist: Pela
Learned About 'em: eMusic
Ideas!: Personally I was always a big fan of Pela. They only really had one record as far as I can tell, Anytown Graffiti. They have sort of raspy vocals and big instruments along with very abstract lyrics. I was hanging around Albums on the Hill and saw them in the bargain bin which made me sad, somebody listen to them! They disbanded in 2009.
Chicka-dee-dee-dee: Again, somebody listen to them!
34:Artist: Andy Stewart
Learned About 'em: Gabe.
Ideas!: Hmmmm, not much to say about this one... Irish folk singer.
Chicka-dee-dee-dee: Ahhh freedom is like gold, freedom is like gold.
33:Artist: Bishop Allen
Learned About 'em: AQ's Daffodils
Ideas!: I'm on my way to moving past The Broken String, I just haven't pressed the download button yet. He has a really adorable song called Butterfly Nets which I always equated with someone going off to college (It's all about someone leaving for greener pastures but having a place to come home to if they should falter). It took probably a year before I decided to pull the trigger and get some more and so I downloaded The Broken String, It begins with a neat song about the Monitor vs. the Merrimack and continues to be a pretty good record for the whole first half of the CD. It sort of tapers off after the 5th or 6th song to be sure well worth a listen though.
Chicka-dee-dee-dee: One of my favorite lines! “If it's ever gonna get any better, it's gotta get worse for a day.” -Rain
32:Artist: Simon and Garfunkel
Learned About 'em: This is a Return to Castle Wolfenstein band if there ever was one.
Ideas!: I'm not going to pretend to know a lot of their songs but the ones I do know I really love, (I am a Rock, The Sound of Silence, Bridge Over Troubled Water...). If you haven't yet heard these gems, it's never too late to start. Art Garfunkel also appeared on Flight of the Conchords for an episode, it was quite hilarious.
Chicka-dee-dee-dee: Peaceful stuff you can reflect with.
31:Artist: TV On the Radio
Learned About 'em: Nate
Ideas!: What a romantic sort of place Cookie Mountain sounds like. I listened to Staring at the Sun on repeat once for an entire day as Nate can attest to, regardless it's an excellent song. Wolf Like Me seems to be their most popular track, which is understandable because it rocks. Really an overall good band to rock out to, recommended.
Chicka-dee-dee-dee: If they were a fruit they would be a strawberry.
30:Artist: The Magnetic Fields
Learned About 'em: eMusic
Ideas!: What is not to love about Stephen Merrit? He amassed an album called 69 Love Songs which is indeed, 69 love songs. I began to download them off of eMusic but really 69 songs is quite a few so I turn to alternative means. I've always, always, always been a huge fan of Book of Love and so should the world (Hi Fig!), other gems include Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side, Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits and others.
Chicka-dee-dee-dee: So long as you like kinky cool sounds and whack lyrics, let's get magnetic!