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Personal Fab Five…

I have a confession. I’m musically clueless. I never know anything by the latest groups, or even not the latest, but the ones I shouldn’t have missed. I seem to stay a pretty steady 2-3 years behind the tunes. It’s sad, but true. But now I have Music Utopia at my fingertips. I seem to be able to access almost anything. (I am annoyed that there is nothing by No Doubt, but that’s the only thing missing so far.) I am having a blast with Listen.com!

Here is where you come in. Can you clue me in to your own personal Fab Five? The artists you just can’t live without? Or your favorite CDs – whatever works for you. I’m just in the mood to explore the musical world out there, and I need YOU to help guide me! I have very eclectic music tastes – I’ll listen to almost anything. It’s up to you to keep me from listening to Rick Astley and the Bee Gees all the time though, ok? (Although right now I’m listening to John Mayer, “Room for Squares”)

Won’t you share? Please? I’ve tried surfing blogs for playlists, but I can only find a few, and I’ve added all those groups already. So I really need you to share your music love!

Update: By the way – if you want to list more than 5, go ahead. I was just thinking of watching Queer Eye at the time I wrote this, so “Fab 5” came to mind! Share, share away!

By Christine

Christine is an Avenger of Sexiness. Her Superpower is helping Hot Mamas grow their Confidence by rediscovering their Beauty. She lives in the Heights in Houston, Texas, works as a boudoir photographer, and writes about running a Business of Awesome. In her spare time, she loves to knit, especially when she travels. She & her husband Mike have a food blog at Spoon & Knife.

44 replies on “Personal Fab Five…”

I don’t have any top five bands – my taste ranges depending on my mood and whether I’ve overplayed something by a specific artist. 😉 So here are five albums I’ve enjoyed recently:

1. The Ataris – So Long Astoria
2. Tori Amos – Scarlet’s Walk
3. Nickel Creek – Nickel Creek
4. Evanescence – Fallen
5. Barenaked Ladies – Disc One: Greatest Hits

with the exception of depeche mode, i’m with ste … but here’s some i’ve been enjoying lately

maroon 5
tim mcgraw and the dancehall doctors
norah jones
electric six
jason mraz

well, always glad to try and lend a hand. although you profess to be clueless i will keep from listing anyone overly obvious feeling the musical zeitgeist will plant those names in your head naturally. ok, um…

1) archer prewtit (member of sea and cake whose solo offerings are absolutely beautiful as long as you can listen to music without obsessing over irony, i.e. influences)

2) modest mouse (slightly obtuse lyrics, alternately rockin and sad. i may be violating my self imposed zeitgeist rule here, not sure)

3) dirty three (violin, drums, guitar. thats all. instrumental, very beautiful, sad.)

4) unrest (defunct power pop masters. boppy. poppy. super duper. go with “perfect teeth”, or “b.p.m.”)

5) the cinematic orchestra (uh, sounds like really great soundtrack music, instrumental, nice

there you have it. hope you like.
j

Top 5? That’s hard, but here are some artists that I always enjoy listening to.

1) The Toadies (who are sadly now defunct)

2) Vallejo (a great band out of Austin)

3) Natalie Merchant (or 10,000 Maniacs)

4) Gipsy Kings

5) Audioslave

I highly recommend Vallejo and also trying to catch them the next time they are in town. The put on an amazing show. I just looked and they’ll be here next Saturday at the Sidecar Pub.

🙂

Oh this is great. I love seeing what other people listen to, I am always looking for something new.

Here are my recommendations:
1. First don’t forget the oldies (Frank Sinatra, Al Green, Etta James — good stuff)
2. Clem Snide
3. Jack Johnson
4. Portishead
5. Luscious Jackson

Fun!

I an a HUGE surf guitar freak. Love that twang, especially in the summertime! Anyway, here are my favorite surf CD’s:

1) Guitar Noir – The Aqua Velvets
2) The Velvet Touch of Los Straitjackets – Los Straitjackets
3) Do the Alkeehol – The Aquamen
4) Surf N Burn – Blue Stingrays
5) Sway – Blue Hawaiians

Gotta also mention Tribal Thunder by the King of the Surf Guitar, Dick Dale.

I’m a big old weirdo as far as music goes. (at least that’s what all my friends tell me) so here’s a bunch of my favorites from my weird and goofy music collection:

1 – anything by Andrea Bocelli (Con te Partiro was his first CD, there’s lots more now though)
2 – Josh Groban is also incredible
3 – The Chieftains
4 – It’s a few years old at this point, but I love Dido’s “No Angel”
5 – and you can’t go wrong with the “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack.

That’s actually a pretty good cross-section of my tastes, opera, celtic, a little pop, and some folk. Yep, that’s me! (and listen to some classical now and then)

i found your site by searchin for shopaholic books just now but i wanna participate although im new…ok im totally hip hop latina/black chik but i must tell you these if you want feel good music
1. Dave mathews band preferbly albums crash and b4 these crowded streets
2. coldplay
3. jon b- he is smooth out R&B
4. Bob Marley- anything
5. Underworld- trance ambient music
bonus: any stone temple pilots or incubus

Cliff Richard has been my favourite singer for about 17 years so I would *highly* recommend his music. He’s listed, I checked! 🙂

My other four suggestions would be: the Pet Shop Boys, Roxette, Enigma and Nelly Furtado.

I’m ridiculously addicted to the Dave Matthews Band. My favorite cd’s are the live ones- Listener Supported and Live at Folsom Field. And I love John Mayer and Jason Mraz. Norah Jones and India.Arie are great too. Oh, and the Harry Potter soundtracks. I love that music!

First, I must cheer Jen and Frank for their suggestions of Mystere des Voix Bulgares and Dick Dale, respectively. If you like crazy surf guitar, I also suggest you check out Mohammed Rafi’s “Jaan Pehchaan Ho” — crazy Bollywood movies rule!

Random Five I can think of at the moment:
1. Anything Pink Floyd Ever Did (with the exception of some later Waters-influenced atrocities)
2. Bat Boy, The Musical! Soundtrack
3. The Hippos, Forget the World
4. Early Yes (Yes Album, Close to the Edge, etc.)
5. Brothers of Metal by Manowar. Something everyone must experience.

I am a VERY eclictic listener. Here is my current favs:
Tara Maclean: Silence (female vocalist)
Radiohead: Hail to the Thief (hard to describe)
Eminem: The Eminem Show (melodic rap)
October Project: Falling Further In (very listenable mellow vocals)
Sarah Brightman: Eden (I love her voice)

I second some of the recommondations above: Pink Martini (a local Portland band) and most things Dido.

Happy listening.

NOFX – anything by them..Punk in Drublic is my fave.

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – fun punk covers of showtunes and oldies.

The Distillers – punk band with a female lead.

Weezer – Love em, Love em, Love em.

The Cardigans – loungy music.

I’d have put No Doubt first, but I gathered my your post that you already knew them!! 😉

I don’t know that I could limit it to five, but here are the ones I would try to save if the house was burning:

  1. Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes
  2. Innocence Mission – Umbrella
  3. The Jody Grind – One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure
  4. Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
  5. Yaz – Upstairs at Eric’s
  6. The Breeders – Last Splash
  7. Henryk Górecki – Symphony No.3

OMG! Something I am actually useful for.

1.Linkin Park–Hybrid Theory (nu metal)
2.Linkin Park–Meteora (nu metal)
3.Korn–Untouchables (awesome rock)
4.Evanescence–Fallen (rock w/ a female edge)
5.Godsmack–Faceless (rock)

my top 5 are pretty predictable. Here’s my current rotation:

  1. ANY They Might be Giants (current rotation: Mink Car)
  2. Weezer (album of choice: Pinkerton, but they are all great)
  3. Moxy Fruvous: Bargainville
  4. Cibo Matto: Stereo Type A
  5. The Starlight Mints: I saw them perform in SF a short time ago, I liked them a lot

You should definitely check out Coldplay’s new album, especially the songs “clocks” and “the scientist”.

Jewel’s new CD “0304” is fantastic. I especially liked “yes u can” and “u & me = love”. Honestly, her new single “intuition” is the worst song on that CD.

I’m also enjoying the Ataris “So Long Astoria” CD right now. They have a great pop-punk sound and good lyrics.

So yeah.. there you have it. That’s what’s been making rotations in my CD player lately.

I usually have everything on random play, but when I do listen to a whole album at once it’s usually one of these:

1. Smashmouth – Astro lounge
2. Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes
3. Collective Soul – Dosage (love all their albums, though
4. Erasure – I say, I say, I say
5. Micahel Peterson – Being Human
6. Poe – Hello (still don’t have her newest)

All of these of course won’t help with find new stuff, as I stick to my favorites from a few years ago and such. Looks like you have a wide variety to pick from everyone’s suggestions. Have fun!

1. Wilco
2. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
3. Howie Day
4. Dropkick Murphys (perfect for when you’re missing Boston)
5. The Incredible Moses Leroy

and I’m not listening to it yet, but I look forward to buying the new Steve Burns (blue clues guy) album, Songs for Dust Mites.

There are many ways to look at this. For instance, iTunes is telling me that my most played 5 are:

De-Phazz
Anima Sound System
Air
Lemon Jelly
Ben Harper

That list, however, is heavily skewed toward what I play when other people are around (party or lounging).

If I had to tell you my five for-the-moment most-played in a solitary environment RIGHT NOW, they would be:

DJ Amber
Yo La Tengo
Moloko
Massive Attack
Bob Schneider
Dreadzone

Yeah, that was six. So kill me.

Lastly, if I had to answer the ‘deserted island’ question (who would I take if…), I would say (in order of preference):

1) Nina Simone
2) Bob Dylan
3) Stevie Ray Vaughn
4) Morcheeba
5) Manu Chou

So there you go…

Bad Religion – Big Bang
Blink 182 – Dammit
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Hello
Dead Milkmen – Punk Rock Girl
Trace Adkins – I Left Something Turned On At Home
The Be Good Tanyas – The Littlest Birds
Don Williams – I Believe In Love
Dandy Warhols – Bohemian Like You
Cake – Hem of Your Garment
Beck – Where It’s At

Here are some recent favorites (and I’m not limiting this to five…) I’ll list the band and album title that I’m currently obsessed with.

1) 311 – Evolver
2) The Neptunes – Clones
3) Black Eyed Peas – Elephunk
4) Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head
5) Evanescence – Fallen
6) Jurassic 5 – Power in Numbers
7) Jane’s Addiction – Strays
8) Linkin Park – Meteora
9) Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf
10) System of a Down – Steal This Album

If you need any song suggestions, just let me know. 😉

Can’t resist this one…

Wilco
Radiohead
Cake
Tabla Beat Science
Letters To Cleo
Chicane
Joshua Bell/Edgar Meyer
Cornershop
Thievery Corporation
Groove Armada

Yeah that’s more than five. That’s the most I can narrow it down.

1) David Wilcox (Not the Canadian one.)
2) Jack Johnson – Brushfire Fairytales
3) Fleetwood Mac – Say You Will
4) Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong -Their Best
5) Shelby Lynne – I am Shelby Lynne
6) Chili Peppers – By the Way
7) Diana Krall – Live in Paris

My tastes are equally eclectic and often whatever I am listening to at the moment is my favorite. But for the sake of making a list, I would say,
1. Norah Jones
2. The Eagles
3. Fleetwood Mac
4. Shania Twain
5. Carly Simon
6. Janis Joplin
7. Dave Matthews Band
8. Steely Dan

Oops, I guess I could go on and on, but I won’t!! Enjoy!

Can’t Live Without these CDs:
Moby – Any
Pink Floyd – Any, but favorite song of theirs is Shine On You Crazy Diamond
REM – Any
Erasure – Any
Radiohead – Any, but mostly The Bends

Currently enjoying…
~Hot Hot Heat
~Big Audio Dynamite – The Bottom Line
~Aerosmith – Sweet Emotion
~Steve Burns
~The Damned – Alone Again Or

I’ll make the suggestions, but you’re unlikely to like them
1. Orbital
2. Bomb The Bass (specifically “Bug Powder Dust”)
3. Goldfrapp
4. The Reindeer Section
5. Zero 7
Although… you might.

1. Dave Matthews – any of his acoustic work is excellent
2. The Roots – the best live hip hop band period
3. D’Angelo – only 2 albums but still groovy soul music
4. Prince – anything between 78-92, after that Emancipation is the only one worth recommending
5. The Beatles – rock n roll at its best. Anything from their discography works

The top five artists I can’t live without:

1. Rufus Wainwright (yeah baby!)
2. Ben Folds / Ben Folds Five
3. Smashing Pumpkins
4. Fiona Apple
5. Bjork

Other goodies: the vines, the strokes, hooverphonic, supreme beings of leisure, cake, neutral milk hotel, counting crows, flogging molly.

have you ever tried launchcast? it’s launch.yahoo.com. lets you make your own station and rate artists/songs/albums for free. bueno! 🙂

These are my favorites, and I hope you enjoy them. 🙂

Celine Dion
Allison Moorer
Alison Krauss & Union Station
Pat Green
Josh Groban
Jessica Andrews
Susan Tedeschi
Diana Krall
Nickel Creek

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