There is seldom a mood that doesn't have its music. I listen to music to sustain my mood. I listen to music to alter my mood. I listen to music a lot. And my listening tastes vary a lot. To cut to the chase, the lists below are me exploring music, and the Circles are what one my call my favorites.
The exploration of music, to me, is part of the experience. And an important part. One site that helps a lot is Music-Map (https://www.music-map.com/). Put in a band/artist, and get a "scatter-gram" of related bands. Outside of reading about music, it's my go-to place for looking up names. I do have to admit that lately, more niche bands are not listed. 🤨
Another place that I love is Bandcamp (https://bandcamp.com/). Mostly because they treat the artists better than other places. I look to bandcamp.com first to pick up stuff from artists. They also have a lot more "under the radar" and newer bands. These smaller artists often do less CD pressings, so they sell out quickly. I still buy the digital downloads, but I miss adding lots of CDs to my collection. Even better though, their suggestions at the bottom of an album seem to get my eclectic tastes more and more.
Oh! What about the bands I've been in? Though eclectic in some ways, they have been regular old rock bands. I've moved all that here.
Below are some bands that I'm into at the moment. Some are new favorites. Others are old stuff I can't put down right now. Or bands with new albums I've recently purchased. The bands and the babbling about them will change as often as I get the chance to update this page.
Angine de Poitrine: Wow, just wow. Right up my alley. It is that groovy, psychedelic, interwoven pattern craziness that I love.
Lines Across Maps: Another great math rock band. I haven't found much that they've released, but I like what I hear.
Soulfly: They just released a new album. Still digesting it. No standout tracks on the first few listens, but nicely hard-hitting.
The Sound of Animals Fighting: They released a new album: The Maiden! So far, the songs are more consistent.
La Sécurité: My sister turned me on to these folks from Canada. They are labeled art punk or no-wave. They've got an interesting mix of patterns that are smooth and off-kilter at the same. And they aren't mathy!
Aburina Town (炙りなタウン): They finally released some music in the US! Check it out Wakamonotachi (The Young People) and Kusomonotachi (The Bastards).
Wet Leg: These folks won a Grammy! That "contest" is always "interesting", but I do think they are pretty cool. I'm usually not into bands that fit the indie rock genre, but they have an interesting sound. First a duo, then a full band, they sound how they want. The paintings I like are usually ones that say a lot while being subtle. I wouldn't say that Wet Leg is subtle, but their music says more than it seems at first. They also have a way to layer two things that seem different in a cohesive/coherent way. Perhaps more importantly, they are fun and don't take themselves too seriously. Wikipedia, Bandcamp, Discogs, Amazon, YouTube
In Rio's life that is. :-P This is stuff that is on my playlists right now. Either I'm just getting to know them or they've recently resurfaced. More will come and some will go.
100 Onces: First read about them in the reddit.com thread. Found some albums on bandcamp.com. For some reason, their albums are not linked to one page. As is typical, some songs are out there, I like a mix of accessible and heady esoteric. But some other songs are really cool. And I hate to say it, but all three of their albums are really cheap.
The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra: A friend sent me this band. Self-described as "an Art-Rock/Jazz-Fusion band that started back in 2009 to make music that challenges us — complex, spontaneous", which fits. Favorite track so far is "Fish of a Feather".
Oxes: I found these guys mentioned in a reddit thread about punky-mathy rock. A lot of bands listed that I'm working through, but I like them. I'm nto sure why I bought their album on Amazon. Maybe it was mind control, maybe it was they're from Baltimore, or maybe it was the cool tracks.
Saosin: They are only remotely related to The Sound of Animals Fighting; Anthony Green is a past member (also Circa Survive & other bands). The live album sounds like it has Anthony Green in it. I'm liking the tracks on bandcamp.com. It is nothing ground-breaking, but kinda like comfort food. During the show one member self-described them as "In Flames meets Blindside meets Third Eye Blind". Blindside is okay, though I don't listen to them much, I'm not crazy about Third Eye Blind, and I don't know In Flames at all. I'll listen a bit more and then decide if I find more tracks/albums.
In Flames: First heard of them on a Saosin live album, which came from The Sound of Animals Fighting. They are an interesting mix of sub-metal genres. Using djent techniques sometimes, sometimes proggy, sometimes power-metal, sometimes just plain kick-ass metal/rock. I'll keep listening: bandcamp #1, bandcamp #2.
Atomic Rule: Guys from Converge talk about stuff they've been listening to: "[...] more like an art project than a traditional band [...] multi-layered, emotional, hooky, heavy, and more importantly, it’s memorable. It doesn’t just go by in a buzzsaw and disappear—it stays with you. That comes from quality songwriting. The craft is great, the performances are fantastic, and it just feels genuine and beautiful.” So, yeah.
The Amsterdam Red Light District: Music-map.com from Marmozets, one track on bandcamp.com was free and cool. Need to check out more.
The Dogs: So many bands named The Dogs, many are considered punk, and many are from the US. Finding them is another result of the origins of punk conversation with my SO.
The Monks: Folks from 1964 that did stuff waaaay ahead of their time. Sometimes described as the "anti-Beatles". Another result of the origins of punk conversation with my SO. One link on bandcamp.com.
The Fall Of Troy: First read about them in the reddit.com thread. Found some albums on bandcamp.com. And I admit I bought them because I could buy the whole discography on bandcamp.com for not that much. They have other albums out, so I will listen more to see if I hunt them up too. They're also on YouTube.
The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza: Co-worker was playing them, and my ears perked up. Rather annoying that they are somewhat hard to find. Like 3 different bands on Amazon? Stupid Music Labels!
Zuno Keisatsu (頭脳警察): After a conversation with my SO, I started to explore the origins of punk. I've never heard of these folks, and I'm sorta on a Japanese music kick anyway. YouTube link.
Hum: I used to listen to these guys a lot more in college and just out of college. They released the Inlet album in 2020, about 12 years after their last album. Pretty good though, I'm digging it.
Black Sky Giant: My sister gave me an album from Bandcamp.com. Really cool heavy psychedelic/jam rock. I wound up buying their whole catalog. Like Elder, in genre as well, it is hard to land on a favorite track.
Vivra Vera: A local Boston band to watch out for. If they refine/smooth out their sound, I think they could "go somewhere".
Lysistrata: They were on KEXP and they grabbed my attention. Another sound right out of 90's alternative, but with a modern twist. Or maybe that twist is that they are from France. Anyways, enjoying listening to them.
Bloodywood: An Indian metal band that has partnered with HopeTherapy and released songs about fighting depression and bullying. Oh, and the music is pretty cool, and they've done collabs with Babymetal. I especially like the Gaddaar track off of Rakshak. My SO says you can definitely hear the Bhangra influence. Bandcamp.com, YouTube
Love Among The Mannequins: I first wanted to check them out because they were related to Meet Me In St. Louis. Tobias Hayes, from MMISL, left. But still, I'm checking them out.
Unwound: I haven't thought about these guys since college; thank god a friend from college brought them up! And what an idiot I am for forgetting about them! They are reminiscent of that nebulous idea in my head. I'm not sure they are firmly in that genre, but it's time to work through their catalog!
Portion Control: This group is an industrial band that I heard when a colleague was listening to Sirius XM. They definitely piqued my interest, and bandcamp.com had their entire catalog on sale. Working my way through.
TesseracT: They were already on my list from that area of prog metal that is called djent. Though djent is more of a guitar technique, ask Misha Mansoor from Periphery. After reading that same article about Marty Friedman, I found out he played on the track from TesseracT. I know I'm listening to too much already, but they are on the active list now!
Gouge Away: I forget where I got these quotes. "hardcore album and a post-hardcore album all at once" and "expansive moments that owe as much to Sonic Youth as they do to The Jesus Lizard". That sounds great. I'm still listening, but I'm not going back to them constantly.
Jolly: {commentary to come}
GEL: {commentary to come}
Have Heart: {commentary to come}
Shellac: {commentary to come}
After The Burial: {commentary to come}
Eastern Pine: {commentary to come}
Antone’s 50th Allstars:
Nova Twins
ph0silkpunk
Bambi Thug: {commentary to come}
Chiodos: {commentary to come}
Circuit Preacher
Crumb
Dazzling Killmen
Deadguy
Die Spitz
Eric Bingham
Flower Travellin' Band
Giant Squid
honeyhoney
Mr. Joseph & Illmatika
Keelhaul
Knut
Circuit Preacher: {commentary to come}
Alignment: {commentary to come}
Joyhauser: {commentary to come}
OLTH: {commentary to come}
P.H.0: {commentary to come}
Noise Unit: {commentary to come}
I used to keep a separate list. But it got way too long. Now all the stuff I've heard about or I want to check out is on this spreadsheet. The point numbers are bands I have but haven't loaded yet.
That's absolutely just a joke! These artists are not falling off my playlists, so I'd guess the opposite! They may have been new to me or just released an album. Either way, I'm not planning to stop listening anytime soon. I just have to keep the shout-out to them. 😁
tricot: A recent band that I put in my first circle. I will shout about them all I can!
sleepmakeswaves: Swirling sounds on Audiotree Live (twice!) were really cool. In their interview, they mentioned their approach and bands; I like what they said. They had their entire catalog on sale, and I couldn't resist. I do need to write more about them! Discogs, YouTube, Wikipedia
What, favorites aren't first? And on a simple list? I guess the journey is as important as the destination. That, and you don't know me well. 😜
I do put artists/groups into Circles; it is different "levels" of liking bands. There are a ton of artists that I listen to regularly. A lot of different qualities influence where things land too. I can't say I have a favorite mood. And my brain is stimulated by many things in addition to causing different kinds/qualities of pleasure. Now you know why lists might seem quite extensive.
Check out the Circles lists for more bands and how they fit into my listening habits. Below are bands that I've found on my journey since starting these pages. I wouldn't read too much into the year, you don't know when I first started listening! I'm listing them alphabetically for ease.
2026: Elephant Gym, Frankie And The Witch Fingers, SubRosa
2025: Acid Bath, American Draft, Anciients, BALTHVS, Botch, Chat Pile, Dark Angel, Elder, Fin Del Mundo, The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra, Gospel, Marmozets, Ningen Isu, Otoboke Beaver, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Rocket, The Sounds Of Animals Fighting, tricot, Zozobra,
2024: 1349, 3TEETH, Aburina Town, Babymetal, By the End of Tonight, David Bowie, Concertina, Human Impact, Into It. Over It., Daniel Johnston, Killer Be Killed, Nailbomb, Open City, Riverside (from Poland), Shai Hulud, Sleep Token, Joseph Spence, TTNG (This Town Needs Guns), Three Days Grace
2023: Al-Namrood, Ataxia, Atic, Covet, Crown Lands, Hail The Sun, Nuclear Assault, Punch Face Champions, Soulfly, Stuck In November, Tomb Mold, Tubelord
There is just so much music on YouTube. So I have playlists on my YouTube channel, mostly for exploring. Those are all the "GP" and "AR" lists. They will come and go, basically on my whim. There is also often a playlist named "Now Playing"; is it playing now or weeks old or deleted? Maybe chaos theory will help. 😈
The Circle 1 - Tracks playlist itself won't come and go. Songs on it don't usually either. It's (or will be) stuff I listen to when YouTube is all I have and I want comfort songs. 😉
There is also a Next Stage playlist that has songs that I like in more than a "let's throw these guys in the queue" way. They will, probably, eventually, make it to one of the circles; not 5, and probably not 4 either. You never know, sometimes songs get tiring after a while.
I've gotten rid of the "Currentlly Trending" playlists. It is just too hard to manage the tracks on them. Now you will find bands/artists that are in regular rotation for whatever reason.
BTW, a little rant. I might use YouTube more, but for two reasons. The second one is the ads, OH MY GOD, they are just way too often and often too long. The main one though is that playlists are such a pain to manage. Also, large playlists on YouTube act weird. The shuffle doesn't feel like it's shuffling; the shuffle gets turned off at the oddest times. And each time I return to a playlist, it feels like it plays the same songs. I don't like overplaying songs, even ones I love. Oh, number three is the "similar videos" algorithm isn't that good either. Okay, rant-off.
There are a few artists that I can't decide which circle they are in. They aren't in high rotation, but I'm not so actively listening to them. So I don't want to forget. Eventually, they'll settle in my mind enough, but not quite yet.
Zozobra, Anciients, Gospel, Ningen Isu, Otoboke Beaver, The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra, HANABIE.,