Tropical Island Music Artist Draft - FINIS

[RookieOfTheDay]

Do I need prog-metal on my island? Well, not exactly, but I think I’d still like to have these guys and Geoff Tate’s apparently 5-octave range (see “Take Hold of the Flame”, if you dare): Queensrÿche.

The nice thing about going to 30 picks is that there’s room to take a band for a couple of albums, rather than a career. Queensrÿche really nailed it on two albums: Operation Mindcrime, which is on the short list of best concept albums ever, and Empire, where they toned down their style a bit - to the tune of six singles. Mindcrime holds a special place for me - I remember after getting it as a teenager, that I would lay down every night for about a month in bed and listen to it on my Walkman in the dark. Those two albums alone merited this pick, and the rest of their extensive catalog will get a chance to impress me in my spare time...

Years active: 1981-present
Catalog: 13 studio albums (~11h), 4 live albums (~7h)
Landmark songs: Take Hold of the Flame, Revolution Calling, I Don’t Believe in Love, Jet City Woman, Silent Lucidity
Songs I keep coming back to:
Suite Sister Mary - the long song off of Operation Mindcrime, but it has probably the best storytelling on the album and is filled with different moods in the music

Anybody Listening? - the closer off of Empire, would have been a perfect swan song for their career had they walked away right then

Nice pick. Everything they did from the debut to Promised Land was fantastic. They really fell off after that, though.They were on my short list of possible picks for these last few rounds. So on one hand, screw you for taking a band I was eyeing. On the other hand, thanks for helping me narrow down the field, haha.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

I am shocked, shocked!that Queensrÿche lasted this long. I thought they were mainstream enough for people to pick them up, and I figured they might even go during the great run of hair metal bands. Empire is a very good mainstream album, but for my money, Operation Mindcrime is where it's at. I even kind of liked the 2006 followup. My favorite song, however, is:

Don't forget about the awesomeness that was Rage for Order.

Or the underrated Promise Land.

 

[Spike]

Or the underrated Promise Land.

So this is the way the game is played?

Apparently they released an album last month. Who knew?

 

[Jespher]

Somehow, this artist slipped my mind for the longest time. When I originally made my list I figued he would get snagged early, so I didn't even bother to place him in the running. 27 round later and he's fallen far enough. My list can use some soul, and who better to give it to me than this next choice. With my 27th selection, I pick:

James Brown

More: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-brown-p3779

 

[uolj]

So my next artist has a distinctive sound, specifically in relationship to the other artists on my island.

Amy Winehouse
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/amy-winehouse-p612371/songs

I enjoy both albums, although the low output plus the fact that I don't really consider her a personal favorite is why I didn't pay much attention earlier. But at this point she brings something different and good so she's worth the pick.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Didn't log in last night, pick coming once I get settled in the office.

I wondered if/when AW would go. I liked her voice and delivery but such a tremendous waste.

 

[Dime Dropper]

I'm going to be honest, I really disliked her and her music when she was alive.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

May as well grab one of my own faves who's live was ended prematurely. Eddie Cochran.

Tragically killed at the age of 21 in the car crash that would also help shorten Gene Vincent's career, in his short time he was able to put out a number of classics that bridged the gap between Elvis and the British Invasion. Also a favorite of 70s punk icons everywhere who frequently covered his tunes.

Nervous Breakdown

 

[jalfa]

Seeing some other artist with a (thus far) limited output go gives me the courage to go this way and not with a similar "band" with a larger catalogue.

Bon Iver
I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
Now all your love is wasted?
Then who the hell was I?
Now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines


First: For Emma, Forever Ago
Favourite: It's a toss up, really. Both the first and the second album have their strengths and I feel uncomfortable deciding between the two.
Why: A friend of mine posted the youtube video of Skinny Love (see below) on facebook. I listened to it for about 15 times in a row and went out to get For Emma, Forever Ago the next day. There's actually a lot of other singer songwriter guys that sound quite similar, but for some reason Mr. Vernon (at the time the only member of the "band) impressed me more than any of the others. Be that as it may, my expectations for the second album were rather limited, as I basically expected more of the same. Some emotional singing accompanied by a guitar and that would be that. Boy was I wrong. The selftitled second album went in an entirely different direction as far as the complexity of the music was concerned. All of a sudden, Bon Iver had actually become a real band, not just a guy pretending to be one, and the music was kind of amazing. Highlight wise, Bon Iver is already one of my favourite bands and I'm really looking forward to the stuff they'll come up with next.

[video=dailymotion;xjgdw1]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjgdw1_bon-iver-holocene-fallon-2011_music#rel-page-3[/video]

Spoiler

 

[Dime Dropper]

Don't know too much of their stuff, but Skinny Love is a good song. Pick coming.

 

[Dime Dropper]

My pick:

Blur

The age-old question... Oasis or Blur? Destroyed many friendships during the '90s. Thankfully I was too young to care, and just liked their music. Don't believe they ever really took off in the US, but a very big band all the same.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

So if the cry babies, I mean players reject the latest proposal, which would surely mean no season, are we going to keep going?

 

[jalfa]

Blur

Finally! Would have gone first or second round in a lot of other drafts with different crowds. I dug 13 way back when, but for some unfathomable reason, I never quite could get into them.

 

[Dime Dropper]

So if the cry babies, I mean players reject the latest proposal, which would surely mean no season, are we going to keep going?

I genuinely don't understand how you know so much music. It boggles the mind, don't know how you get the time. Take it as a compliment!

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

I genuinely don't understand how you know so much music. It boggles the mind, don't know how you get the time. Take it as a compliment!

Music and film are my main passions/hobbies. I spend as much time watching films and listening to music as i can. I'm single, have no kids, and for quite a few years now have only been working on a part time basis, so i have a lot of free time that I fill largely with movies and music.

 

[Prophetess]

So if the cry babies, I mean players reject the latest proposal, which would surely mean no season, are we going to keep going?

not for me, 30 is plenty.

 

[SacKings7]

not for me, 30 is plenty.

I agree, 30 is even too much for me really. Not because of a lack of artists, I could probably go to 50 or more. These things just tend to lose their appeal the longer they go on. Unless it's a video game draft of course, which is just pure awesomeness.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

I agree, 30 is even too much for me really. Not because of a lack of artists, I could probably go to 50 or more. These things just tend to lose their appeal the longer they go on. Unless it's a video game draft of course, which is just pure awesomeness.

Or a women draft. I can't imagine getting tired of drafting women.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I was not joking back when I said I could easily go 50 but I am starting to get a bit fatigued with trying to be timely. Work has sucked the life out of me lately.

Besides, there is the hot babes draft, though I will sit that one out since last time I felt a bit weird every time my turn came up at the start of a work day Will be back for the next gaming draft though. I do hope we have a season before we go there

 

[SacKings7]

Or a women draft. I can't imagine getting tired of drafting women.

True, I'm sitting that one out this time though. Everyone's a winner in that one.

 

[Glenn]

I genuinely don't understand how you know so much music. It boggles the mind, don't know how you get the time. Take it as a compliment!

Oooohh, and I extend this compliment to many of you. Maybe I have lost track of modern groups and that is probably an easy explanation but some of you are far more than humanoids with ear buds. You are listening, analyzing, and remembering what you hear. Bravo!

 

[Glenn]

Music and film are my main passions/hobbies. I spend as much time watching films and listening to music as i can. I'm single, have no kids, and for quite a few years now have only been working on a part time basis, so i have a lot of free time that I fill largely with movies and music.

Ahh, but you explained yourself with the word "passion." The rest of your explanation just explains the deatils you know. It takes time.

 

[William Blake]

Oblivians (1993-1997)

Favourite Album: Soul Food (1995)
Sample Songs: Christina and Bad Man (both from Popular Favourites, 1996)

Raunchy, sloppy garage rock band with rockabilly influences from Memphis. To me, the quintessential rock'n'roll band, they play it straight, they play it loud, they play it with passion. Only three records but they're all flat out great and each of them has his own personality: you've got Soul Food which is the loud and drunken one, you've got Popular Favourites which is the most focused and 60s inspired and you've got Play 9 Songs With Mr Quintron which wanders into Soul and Gospel. Compilations of the earlier material are quite good too, even if at times they're a bit too raw even for my tastes.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

With this pick I draft, Symphony X.

They’re probably my favorite newer band. By newer, I mean, last 15 years or so. Anything that came out after about 1995 I tend to think of as newer. What can I say, I’m stuck in the past.

Symphony X are an amazing band. They combine epic song writing, virtuoso musical chops, great production, progressive and classical influences, power metal, and post-groove-metal heaviness into a powerful and beautiful sound all their own.

They hail from New Jersey but are much bigger over seas, where metal is still marketable, than they are in the U.S.

Some might call them a “one trick pony”, as much like AC/DC, Iron Maiden, ZZ Top, etc. they have a trademark sound and maintain it from album to album. That’s all right though as long as that one trick is a good trick, and in Symphony X’s case, it’s a great trick.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

With this pick I draft, Doc Watson.

I suspect a lot of folks won’t be familiar with him, but he’s a legend in the country and bluegrass community.

He’s a wizard on the acoustic guitar and quite a good singer too. His music has a simple, rustic, authentic charm to it that just resonates with me on a deep level.

 

[Bricklayer]

My pick:

Blur

The age-old question... Oasis or Blur? Destroyed many friendships during the '90s. Thankfully I was too young to care, and just liked their music. Don't believe they ever really took off in the US, but a very big band all the same.

Huh. I actually had no idea they were that big at all -- this side of the pond they were pretty much a one hit wonder with Song 2 (which I do own). Normally I'm at least aware that somebody has been big, but I seriously had no idea in this case. Brit charts back it up though.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Boys and Girls was a hit here before Song 2. But yeah, they didn't inspire the blood feud that they may have on the other side of the pond.

 

[William Blake]

I ignored Blur until a hot girl I was trying to go out with made me listen to them. Boys and Girls was alright but the rest was quite uninspiring, brit pop has always been more a singles genre to me.

I pick:
The Gories (1986-sort of active)

Favourite Album: I Know You Fine, But How You Doin'? (1990)
Sample Songs: Nitroglycerine (from I Know You Fine) // Great Big Idol With The Golden Head (from Outta Here, 1992) // I Think I've Had It (from House Rockin', 1988)

Still primitive 90s garage rock. But this time we're in Detroit, there's no bass player, the singer is more skilled and the band is deeply in love with forgotten delta blues classics.

 

[Dime Dropper]

I'm going to take someone who I'm guessing none, or at least most, of you have ever heard of. He's a young new artist who's risen from performing for free in front of 20 people, to selling out concerts and selling millions of albums in the space of a year. His physical appearance is not one you'd associate with his smooth voice (ginger hair, born to Irish and English parents). I love his voice, and he's showing a lot of promise as a singer-songwriter. Very unique sound, even has a little bit of rap thrown in sometimes (look at the last song).

Ed Sheeran


Have a look at a couple of these videos, hopefully you'll discover someone who could have a very long career. And yes, this is Ron Weasley in the first video (from Harry Potter), not my guy, although he is in it a little towards the end. It's him in the other videos though.

 

[jalfa]

Metals clinched this one for me.

Feist
Helping the kids out of their coats
But wait the babies haven't been born
Unpacking the bags and setting up
And planting lilacs and buttercups

But in the meantime I've got it hard
Second floor living without a yard
It may be years until the day
My dreams will match up with my pay

First: Monarch (Lay Your Jewelled Head Down)
Favourite: Let It Die
Why: She came out of my favourite music scene of the early 2000s, with my favourite band back then and I pretty much immediately fell in love with her. Mostly because it's pretty music for pretty times. It makes smiles wider and stuff. The new one though, although I haven't listened to all that much of it, is a bit deeper, which surprised me, but in so much of a good way that it made me choose Feist over another singer songwriter that has been in the back of my mind since day one.

Spoiler