Patrick Donohue
Recommending music is harder than it looks.
Sure, you get the satisfaction of telling your friends, family or, in this case, readers, about an artist or song that becomes part of them in some significant way or just generally informs their experience. Who wouldn’t want to be that guy?
On its face, recommending music for someone is a relatively low-risk proposition. This isn’t coal mining or whatever the heck those dudes on “Ice Road Truckers” do for a living.
It’s great if someone is really into a band you thought they would like but if they aren’t, it’s not personal. You haven’t failed them in some way. One’s musical tastes are as subjective and personal as the kind of food they like. Some people don’t like Death Cab for Cutie and some people don’t like soy sauce.
Where it gets dicey is when, upon recommending some obscure new band, I am immediately hit with one surprisingly baffling question: “What do they sound like?”
It’s a tricky — and loaded — question. To read the rest of the column. Click here.
• The Head and the Heart, “Couer d’Alene” — Fleetwood Mac meets The Avett Brothers. Beautiful multi-part harmonies and the occasional fiddle. Nothing wrong with that.
• Everest, “Let Go” — Wilco meets Death Cab for Cutie. Songwriting that is unlikely to blow you away but composed in an often catchy, palpable way.
• Sleigh Bells, “Riot Rhythm” — M.I.A. meets The Beastie Boys. If this song doesn’t get you dancing, you, my friend, are a lost cause.
• Real Estate, “Easy” — The Shins meets Nada Surf. Light, breezy, unpretentious pop music.
• Surfer Blood, “Floating Vibes” — Sleater-Kinney meets The Cure. A band whose music feels antiquated in all the right ways.
• Glasvegas, “Shine Like Stars” — Keane meets The Smiths. A little electronica but very pretty and very whiny.
• The Vaccines, “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra) — Kaiser Chiefs meets The Ramones. The music of awesome dive bars.
• Middle Brother, “Someday” — Buddy Holly meets The Black Keys. All the “oohs” and “la-la-la’s” of 1950s rock with a modern touch.
