Tropical Island Music Artist Draft - FINIS

Since I'm as of yet undecided on both the female artist and which of my "music for the lizard part of the brain" I should take, let's continue with someone that would've fallen through the cracks if it had not been for the extra rounds.



Beirut
The shattered soul
Following close but nearly twice as slow
In my good times
There were always golden rocks to throw
at those who admit defeat too late
Those were our times, those were our times


First: Gulag Orkestar
Favourite: The Flying Cub Club
Why: I dig orchestra-y pop music, I dig Eastern European folk music and I dig Zach Condon's voice and singing style. Also, thanks to The Rip Tide, Beirut has now managed to break through my "must at least like three of their albums" limit and is therefore eligible. Simple, really.

 
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Bah, sorry about that! Jalfa nailed it. Stop putting me up on Fridays!!


My pick:



Travis


Don't want to hold this up any longer. These may not have been taken - I'm not sure if anyone even knows them on this forum. Anyhow, they were big about 10 years ago in this part of the world, and I rediscovered them by chance a few days ago. I'm glad I did, reminded me just how many brilliant songs they have. Gives me another little bit of nostalgia too, as they were around when I was growing up. Really great band. Scottish too, so when you hear them talk, you have the added fun of trying to guess what they're saying!! Thankfully they're easily understood when singing.








 
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Capt. Factorial

ceterum censeo delendum esse Argentum
Staff member

Travis

Don't want to hold this up any longer. These may not have been taken - I'm not sure if anyone even knows them on this forum. Anyhow, they were big about 10 years ago in this part of the world, and I rediscovered them by chance a few days ago. I'm glad I did, reminded me just how many brilliant songs they have. Gives me another little bit of nostalgia too, as they were around when I was growing up. Really great band. Scottish too, so when you hear them talk, you have the added fun of trying to guess what they're saying!! Thankfully they're easily understood when singing.
Yep, even this relatively main-stream American knows Travis. A pretty good band, but I never got deeply into them. I do, however, own The Man Who, which you took all of your examples off of. Looks like they've got 6 albums out, so I expect that some of their other stuff is listenable as well.
 
I definitely remember their singles, Why Does It Always Rain On Me, Driftwood and that food fight video -Sing, I believe- always liked them. However, they once criticised Hail To The King, because they didn't understand it, which I did not appreciate :mad::p
 
Good to see that people know them, I thought it may be a wasted pick in the vote stakes but I couldn't not have them. Apologies to William Blake, I was in a major rush and forgot to tell someone to make the PM for me. You're up!
 
I pick:

Johnny Thunders (Including his work under the Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers moniker)



Favourite Album:
Hurt Me (1983)
Sample Songs: Born To Lose (from L.A.M.F., 1977) // You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory (from Hurt Me) // Ask Me No Questions (from So Alone, 1978)

Johnny Thunders started out very young as a guitarist for a quite well known band that is yet to be picked. When the band split up he put up his own one under the "Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers", producing L.A.M.F. which is one of the greatest records of the whole punk rock era and certainly is the most old-school, rock'n'roll influenced one. But my favourite part of his career is his solo production, "Hurt Me" in particular, which is a completely acoustic album and one of the most intimate, dramatic and moving pieces of music I've ever heard.
 
With this pick I draft, Yngwie Malmsteen.

I’ve been a huge fan of Yngwie forever. If you were a teenage metal head guitar player in the 1980s and early 1990s, odds are you were really into Yngwie at some point. I certainly was and in my case, my appreciation of his music and skill have only grown over the years.

He’s often criticized for being all speed, no feel, which I think is way off base. Generally I've found that reaction to be based in some sort of silly punk ethos that shuns technical virtuosity. I think folks (and there are many) who dismiss him as some tasteless wanker are missing how impeccable his tone and phrasing is.

Technical prowess alone only gets you so far, though. You have to be able to compose at a high level and create interesting music to showcase your technical abilities. In my opinion, Yngwie does that remarkably well.

Most of his best compositions have been instrumental, but he’s also worked with a lot of great vocalists over the years and those collaborations produced a lot of really good hard rock/metal songs.


 
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With this pick I draft, The Everly Brothers.

Their hits were some of the best stuff to come out of the late 50s/early 60s rock movement. Oh what voices! Their vocal harmonies are unsurpassed to this day.


 
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Just for the sake of drafting back to back depressing music/dead musicians I pick a favourite of my teenage years:

Joy Division (1977-1980)



Favourite Album: Unknown Pleasures (1979)
Sample Songs: Love Will Tear Us Apart (single) // She's Lost Control (from Unknown Pleasures)

Only two "proper" LPs but both bloody brilliant and the singles are fantastic too. Ian Curtis was an excellent singer, the riffs are great and I love the minimal synth sound. Manchester really is one of the greatest music cities ever.
 
I select:



Lenny Kravitz


Surprised he's still here given the amount of rockers on this forum. Think he has many good tunes and has a total of 9 albums, so an extensive catalogue. He is a mix of many genres so offers something unique too.




 
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I select:



Lenny Kravitz


Surprised he's still here given the amount of rockers on this forum. Think he has many good tunes and has a total of 9 albums, so an extensive catalogue. He is a mix of many genres so offers something unique too.




Most rockers i know think of Lenny Kravitz as sort of a lightweight. An assessment i'm inclined to agree with.
 
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Just for the sake of drafting back to back depressing music/dead musicians I pick a favourite of my teenage years:

Joy Division (1977-1980)



Favourite Album: Unknown Pleasures (1979)
Sample Songs: Love Will Tear Us Apart (single) // She's Lost Control (from Unknown Pleasures)

Only two "proper" LPs but both bloody brilliant and the singles are fantastic too. Ian Curtis was an excellent singer, the riffs are great and I love the minimal synth sound. Manchester really is one of the greatest music cities ever.
Pretty good band but i sure can't agree about Curtis being an excellent singer. His tuneless singing keeps me from really being able to get into the band even though they have some fine songs.
 
Yngwie! A master of the classics:

Glad to see some Yngwie appreciation. I thought if anyone liked the pick, it'd be you. We seem to have the most similar taste. At the risk of sounding fanboyish, the guy is a musical genius of the highest order. One of the best guitarists to ever play. His playing was every bit as innovative and groundbreaking as Hendrix or Van Halen, he just never had the mainstream appeal or recognition to go with it.
 
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Spike

Subsidiary Intermediary
Staff member
His last two albums have Tim Owens (of a band that is surprisingly still available) on vocals and Perpetual Flame also had Derek Sherinian (of a band that I would have picked in the top 5 but is still available) on keyboard. I think the quality has improved as a whole, but I think it's hard to mainstream a name like Yngwie. I think the speed of his play can be off-putting to some, which is sad.
 
Slept on it, prayed on it (did not actually pray on it) and finally decided to honour my roommate by taking his favourite band. A band that fits the "lizard part of the brain" equation quite well.



Gluecifer
Part of me is animal
(Bossheaded oh Bossheaded)
Just a right-on beast
(Bossheaded oh Bossheaded)
I'm connected to the power-dial
(Bossheaded oh Bossheaded)
Like a kung-fu priest
(Bossheaded oh Bossheaded)


First: Ridin' The Tiger
Favourite: Automatic Thrill
Why: Because listening to Gluecifer feels a lot like being kicked in the head by god. The adrenalin rush is instantaneous and sticks with you all day. Also, my roommate saw the first part of my draft and said that I only represented a portion of what I normally listen to. I'm now considering that fixed.

 
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Glad to see some Yngwie appreciation. I thought if anyone liked the pick, it'd be you. We seem to have the most similar taste. At the risk of sounding fanboyish, the guy is a musical genius of the highest order. One of the best guitarists to ever play. His playing was every bit as innovative and groundbreaking as Hendrix or Van Halen, he just never had the mainstream appeal or recognition to go with it.
oh, I think Yngwie is great. Actually I started listening to him first before Satch and Vai, it just so happens that I love more of my 2 picks' songs. But there is no arguing that Yngwie is one of the best ever. The only G3 DVD that I own is the one with Yngwie.


 
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pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
So these extra picks will allow me one more metal band and while there are 2 or 3 I would strongly consider the fact that these guys are still on the board absolutely floors me. Have to be a top 5 all time metal band. Have to be. Judas Priest

Along with Black Sabbath another innovator of the genre. Arguably the best metal vocalist of all time. Arguably the best twin guitar attack of all time. They took it from a heavy blues base hard rock to traditional metal all the way up to speed metal on Painkiller. Oh and don't forget the keyboard experiment which frankly I don't hate half as much as most. I am not so much concerned with their Ripper era material and Halford's return, but it may be fun to dust off once in a while almost like a bonus band (same reason I was a bit bummed to miss out on Maiden). And as a bonus they totally popularized gay s&m bondage wear with a largely unsuspecting audience.
Faves:
And of course all the hits
Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight, You've Got Another Thing Coming etc...
 
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