Anyway, back to the present day. I think in this first proper post I'll just talk about my music taste a little. I invite you to comment with your own favourite bands and criticise mine as you see fit. Ok, my top five bands, um... You see the problem with this is that after my utter favourite band the order becomes a little hazy. The fact that I have an extremely varied music taste doesn't help, in fact it makes it a lot more difficult because I would like to give a balanced view of my music taste as well as just listing bands that I like. Well I'll try, no promises but here goes:
1. Iron Maiden
A few years ago I bought my first Iron Maiden album, Dance of Death. I had first heard their music a couple of years before that but at the time I hadn't given it much thought. So I purchased my first Iron Maiden album in a second hand shop in the town closest to where I live. The shop was one of those that sold second hand CDs, DVDs, and books, but also sold new musical instruments and various hippy paraphernalia. So, on to the album itself. At the time I didn't know much about the band, other than the fact that they were famous. The album art drew me in, I love the image of the hooded figure beckoning. I listened to the album in the car on the way back. My reaction was that the music was good, but I still did not merit it as anything more than Ok. It was the beginning of this year, or thereabouts that I began to listen to them once more. This time their music really grabbed me, and I began to put that album on a nearly constant loop when I listened to music whilst travelling. I think it was soon after this that I went out and purchased my second Iron Maiden album, again going by which artwork I liked most and what I could afford. This time I bought A Matter of Life and Death, I remember loving the image of the skeletal soldiers on the dark battlefield. Incidentally now the same image occupies a portion of my bedroom wall. Anyway this album went on to share the intensive listening that I was putting Dance of Death through. This album I liked very much, my favourite track being Brighter than a Thousand Suns. I then heard about the release of the film Iron Maiden: Flight 666. I was very enthusiastic about going to see this and so I did. At this point Iron Maiden were probably up near the top of my favourite bands but their exact position wasn't clear. The film changed that, I came out and whilst waiting for my lift home I came to the realisation that Iron Maiden were my favourite band. This has stuck over the year, and I suspect Iron Maiden will be my favourite band for years to come.
2. Flogging Molly
This is another band I discovered this year, I think I first heard them in May. I was recommended them by a friend. At first listen I smiled and chuckled. I don't believe this was because I thought their music was humorous as such, but because the concept of the type of music they play is so unusual but works so well. I love they way that they combine Traditional Irish Folk with the raw power of Punk Rock. After a few songs though I began to realise that as well as the concept of the band's music working, the standard of the music they played was phenomenal, their musicians are of a very high level of talent. I particularly like the prominent violin parts on their songs. I have found the music this band plays to be a helpful remedy for sadness and anger, their music just makes me smile. Over the last year they have worked their way into my list of my favourite bands, they are one of the bands I want to see live the most, second only to Iron Maiden.
As I have said before from hereon in this list becomes a little uncertain. The list that follows may not be in order, and may not be exactly correct as I will probably forget a band or two. Into uncharted waters we plunge.
3. Alestorm
This band I recently heard, and when I first listened to this band, I probably did laugh. This band's genre is Pirate Metal, an entirely ridiculous concept, but a very entertaining one. Every lyric of every song is some thing pirate-related. As time went on I did start to appreciate the band for its musical talent, they are indeed a talented set of musicians. I highly recommend that all people who are sceptical of such a genre of music go and actually listen to some of this band's music. When I first heard about this genre I was indeed astonished, but once I listened to the band I no longer thought that Pirate Metal was such a weird genre. This band are highly entertaining and well deserved of this place in my favourite bands.
4. Muse/Frank Zappa
No Muse/ Frank Zappa is not some crazy hybrid band (undoubtedly it would be good though), no, I just couldn't decide who I liked more, and here's why. Muse I like because I can listen to them when I just want to listen to some basic rock, or when I want to listen to something with good lyrics but is still heavy enough to rock to. Frank Zappa on the other hand is my second favourite guitarist of all time (Hendrix being number 1), and I love the fact that his music is full of raw talent but also much that is experimental and different from anything else. So because they are two very different I find it near impossible to compare them, so I have placed them at an equal level.
5. Foo Fighters/Blur/H.I.M
Again here is evidence of my indecisiveness, I cannot decide what order to put these bands in. Foo Fighters I very much like for their Nirvana-ish tones, and their guitar lines. Blur is a band that I have grown up with, and I had the pleasure of going to see them live in July. Lastly H.I.M. are another band that I really like, their lyrics are very creative and are extremely emotive.
Well there you have it, my five favourite bands. I apologise for the lack of decision in terms of which bands should be there, if you're like me you'll have the same problem.
A few bands that deserve a mention, in no particular order are:
- Nirvana
- Led Zeppelin
- Slayer
- Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. (This was nearly in the top five, in fact it would be but it was too hard to place)
- Them Crooked Vultures
- Fleetwood Mac
- Captain Beefheart
Anyway, that's all. Thanks very much for reading, I applaud you if you managed to sit through reading half of this, I know that it isn't fantastically written. I will aim in future to make my posts more themed and more interesting.
Let me know what you think, and tell me your favourite music if you want.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
big_friendly_letters
Edit 11/06/11: My current top five bands are not reflected in this post. At some point between the above post and now my tastes have changed somewhat. I still like all the above bands, but there have been some drastic changes to the list. I won't detail it all now since I may dedicate a future post to this subject or incorporate it into another. However I will say that apart from the top two, most of the bands mentioned are not in my top 5 anymore. Thanks as always, big_friendly_letters.
