Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun. Seems to be a few people here who have mentioned this in the past. A good friend of mine, who first played me this rates it as his all time fav. I'd put it up there somewhere too. At times truly beautiful. Everyone should hear this at least once.
Tricky - Maxinquaye. Heard a bit of "Brand new you're retro" earlier, so put this on. Still a standard setter IMO.
Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher. Another of Warp Records finest. If only all hip hop was this good! Broken intelligent beats, crazy electro beeps. Some instrumental, some with clever and witty vocals and samples. One to get the head nodding.
Aesop Rock - Compilation. Anyone who is open to trying something new, especially those who already like hip hop, should hear his stuff. The guys delivery and content is amazing. Don't dismiss "rap" without giving this a try.
From Mars - 23. Their debut album, taking its name from the fact that it was recorded, mastered and released to listeners ears within 23 hours. I tend to find MOst recent "rock" music tedious and bland, often prefering bands to keep their guitars acoustic, or easy on the distortion pedal at least. There's a few exceptions. Seen these live countless times, and will be doing so tomorow (well I guess it's *tonight* now). They're doing a 23 date tour (the album was also recorded on the 23rd, starting at 2300 hrs) and I strongly recommend catching them if you fancy checking out a great live band. Tour dates, and loads of downloads available on their website
www.frommars.tk
You heard it here first
Sounds similar to Slayer's early stuff. I do tend to feel IMO that Slayer are way out in front of this genre and are one of the few bands, of any musical genre, that seem to improve as time goes on.
