Scotch Sampler

Somewhere between alt rock and pop is the British band Florence + the Machine, fronted by Florence Welch. Their 2009 debut album Lungs was pretty stunning; a new artist with a powerhouse voice, giving us hit after hit, all on their first outing. The first song released by the group (even prior to the album) was this offbeat rocker

Florence and the Machine – Kiss with a Fist (live)



When the album was released, we got some more representative tracks, like You've Got the Love, and this signature song

Florence and the Machine – Dog Days Are Over (live acoustic, starts at 1:50)



This is a good example of the interesting elements many songs have; it's not just ballads
Florence and the Machine – Drumming Song (live on Letterman)



Their next release was 2011's Ceremonials, and IMO it doesn't live up to Lungs (or try to), but shows some maturity. Hits include What the Water Gave Me, No Light No Light, Spectrum (Say My Name), and this popular tune

Florence and the Machine – Shake it Out



They did a lot of touring, and MTV Unplugged, and took a few years off from studio albums. Two more releases came along in recent years.
 
Is she a plumber? Is she Scottish? Because she’s got some pipes!
Was the Letterman clip an on-line extra or something? I don’t remember seeing or hearing that song before.
 
HecticArt said:
Is she a plumber? Is she Scottish? Because she’s got some pipes!
Was the Letterman clip an on-line extra or something? I don’t remember seeing or hearing that song before.
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That's an interesting question. There's actually two potential "Letterman" clips. There's the regular ones, where the band comes on the show as the musical guest, and Dave introduces them. And then there's a "Live on Letterman" series, which is typically an entire concert performed by the band, somewhere in the Ed Sullivan theater. The on-the-show appearance is usually part of the rollout of the album, so the clip would be as old as the song. But the Live on Letterman concerts are typically done by the artist, after they've completed their body of work. So the latter tends to be where the band has aged, and everyone is gray. I mostly avoid posting those.
 
About a decade ago, I remember kinda dissing Florence a bit in a review I wrote (back when I wrote music reviews). Just poking a little fun at a song and something she said in the press about it.

But I like some of her stuff, like "Hunger" and "You've Got The Love".
 
sadchild said:
About a decade ago, I remember kinda dissing Florence a bit in a review I wrote (back when I wrote music reviews). Just poking a little fun at a song and something she said in the press about it.
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Among rock music fans, she's a bit of a polarizing figure. She's got some "Mom music" appeal. But she's got talent and some good songs, if you pick through the muck.
 
This should be a bit less polarizing. We can all get behind the supergroup called Them Crooked Vultures. Their 2009 self-titled album is full of good ol' rock 'n roll. Fronted by Josh Homme from QOTSA, it features Dave Grohl pounding the drums, and legendary Zep bassist John Paul Jones.

This one is easy; here's a bunch of good songs from the album

Them Crooked Vultures – New Fang (live)



Them Crooked Vultures – Mind Eraser, No Chaser (live)



Them Crooked Vultures – Dead End Friends (live)



Them Crooked Vultures – Elephants (live)



Them Crooked Vultures – Scumbag Blues (live)
 
Good stuff there. I like a lot of the stuff Josh and his various bands do.
I'm in a pinch for time today, so I'll have to listen to the rest of these songs later. :\m/\m/:
 
When I first heard "No One Loves Me", I was blown away! Especially with that ending!

Here's a couple excerpts from the review of the song I wrote back in 2010:

Then a couple Saturdays ago, I tuned into Alt Nation (Sirius 21) and they played "No One Loves Me And Neither Do I". Holy smokes! So, that's what everyone's raving about! This track is the perfect combination of classic 1970s metal mixed with an underground 1990s flavor. Love it!

What most appeals to me about this song is the simplicity of the individual riffs and beats contrasted by the complexity buried in the nuances of the song's unexpected halts, reversing patterns, and sudden 90 degree turns. The band effortlessly yanks hard on the wheel while going 120 MPH, sending the song zooming down a new road faster than you can realize they've done it.

Expect to see “No One” on my "Best of 2010". Near the top.

Rating: ***** (5 out of 5)
If You Like: Dead Weather, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead (1993-1995), Wolfmother
 
OK, let's bang-out a few more, shall we?

From the Swedish duo The Knife comes Karin Dreijer, who - as a solo artist - goes by the name Fever Ray. She mixes ambient electronica - a la Dead Can Dance - with rhythmic dance. Her 2009 self-titled album features this song, which was used in an episode of Breaking Bad, and also as the opening theme to Vikings

Fever Ray – If I Had a Heart



Her more rhythmic tracks became great fodder for remixers. This remix of a song from the album was much more popular than the original

Fever Ray – Triangle Walks (Rex the Dog remix)
 
I don't know how folk can be alternative or indie, I just know that bands like Brooklyn-based Grizzly Bear don't get played on mainstream radio. However, the song Two Weeks, from their very popular 2009 album Veckatimest, may have made the rounds on AC radio. But my favorites from that album are the following:

This is a decidedly non-radio-friendly song with great instrumental elements. It's also not really folk music

Grizzly Bear – Southern Point



The members of the band are big fans of Michael McDonald, and when he learned of this album, he offered to sing on a version of one of the feature songs. It ended up as the B-side of the single, and I think it's just awesome

Grizzly Bear – While You Wait for The Others (feat. Michael McDonald)



The follow-up to that successful album was 2012's Shields, which got radio airplay with the songs Ready-Able, and this

Grizzly Bear - Sleeping Ute (live)
 
I'd say that the undisputed queen of indie rock is St. Vincent, who is Annie Clark. She has the look, and the attitude, and every one of her albums since 2009 have been big deals for the music community, and the fawning reviewers. But I have one big problem with her music; I don't know what to do with it. It's not groovin'-dancing music; it's not head-banging-rockin' music, it's not intense listening music; it's not ambient background music. It's not "good music to do X to" music. I like some of it, and it nicely rounds out the indie music radio catalog. But every time I consider buying one of her albums, I ask myself "when am I going to listen to this"? Granted, I often have this thought with anything that's played incessantly on the radio - such as REM, or The Cure. But if I found a purpose for it, I'd end up buying the CD.

But I do like some of her stuff, and I think her contributions to the music community is too important for an "honorable mention". Also, her two most recent releases (too new to mention now) are really good, so why don't I cover her, m-kay?

Her 2009 release Actor got her on the map with this song
St. Vincent - Actor Out of Work (live - from a 2015 concert; she wasn't this savvy in 2009)



Her next album in 2011 gave us the hits Cruel, and this bit of psychedelia

St. Vincent – Surgeon (live)



She and David Byrne have a mutual respect for each other, and in 2012 they made an album together and toured for it. This song is as great for the video as the big band sound

David Byrne and St. Vincent – Who



In 2014, she put out another St. Vincent album, giving us a bunch more hits, such as Birth in Reverse, and these

This is the obligatory "societal commentary" song
St. Vincent – Digital Witness (live)



This is a nice, melodramatic story song
St. Vincent – Prince Johnny (live)



Like I said, some of her best songs came out in 2017 and just this past month (she did SNL in April). So stay tuned!
 
I haven't heard any of her albums all the way through, but I dig her.
She's got quite a broad range of styles that she covers. It may be tough for you to play her albums for certain settings, but I could handle the range while I'm working. You may have to sort her stuff into playlists to match the settings you like.
 
scotchandcigar said:
Fever Ray – If I Had a Heart
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I really like the sound of this, but kept hoping the song would open up into something else. But, maybe after a few listens, I'll be glad it didn't....
scotchandcigar said:
David Byrne and St. Vincent – Who
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LOL just as quirky as I would expect. In a good way.
Even though I'm not getting into her other stuff, it's very cool. Definitely interesting and creative.
 
Every once in a while, someone comes along who's the "real deal". You know, the music just flows out of them. When I first heard the song Trouble by Ray LaMontagne in 2004, I just thought he was a poser of a black soul singer, like the others they play on AC radio. Then in 2006, this song caught my attention - it had a groove, and an arrangement, and a sincerity, and I took notice

Ray LaMontagne – Three More Days (live)



In 2008, his popularity exploded with everyone's new favorite wedding song, You Are the Best Thing. It was on the radio, in movies, and on TV. But it was 2010's God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise where he became a favorite of mine. He dispensed with the mushy love songs, and went right for the blues - with some funk and bluegrass mixed in. Here's the knee-slapping opener

Ray LaMontagne – Repo Man (live)



He follows with a heartfelt New York City's Killing Me, which is simultaneously hilarious and spot-on. But this is the main attraction (after the interview, plus a bonus track)

Ray LaMontagne – Beg Steal or Borrow [starts @ 1:20] /Henry Nearly Killed Me [starts @ 6:08] (live)



And really just a beautiful song
Ray LaMontagne – For the Summer (live on Letterman)



He took a break after that, and went in a different direction for 2014's Supernova. More pop, with some psychedelia thrown in. The title track and the song Drive-in Movies got radio airplay. He followed with the totally psychedelic Ouroboros in 2016, which could've been the double album pairing for Dark Side of the Moon. It's a "sit-down and listen to the whole album" affair, and it's both brilliant (we saw it performed live before the album release) and a big FU to his love song fans. His backing band was none other than Jim James and My Morning Jacket. This was the only (kind-of) radio-friendly song

Ray LaMontagne – Hey, No Pressure (live)



After mentally blowing a fuse and hitting the reset button, he put out another album of love songs in 2020.
 
And now, it's time to say au revoir to the aughts, with another round of one-offs!

Land of Talk is a female-fronted Canadian band, that came out of nowhere (as far as I knew) and then disappeared back. But in 2008, AC radio played this one hit from them, and it's a cool song

Land of Talk – Some Are Lakes (live)



The Hold Steady is a Brooklyn based band, that reminds me (and probably everyone) of Springsteen. Memebag was shocked that I knew who they were, but that doesn't matter anymore. They've been around for a long time, and have a number of hits, but this is their signature song

Hold Steady – Sequestered in Memphis (live)



Here's a classic L.A. indie electronic rave band, with their biggest hit, from 2009

HEALTH – Die Slow



Dirty Projectors is one of those pretentious indie rock bands that all the reviewers love. From Brooklyn, they're the project of David Longstreth, who thinks he's a really clever guy. He makes a lot of "different" sounding music, for the sake of being different. I dislike most of it. But in 2009, they happened to put out a funky dance tune, sung not by Longstreth, but by one of their female members, and it's the only song that's made it to mainstream radio.

Dirty Projectors – Stillness is the Move
 
The fantastic Mexican guitar duo, Rodrigo y Gabriela, started getting recognition in the US during the mid-aughts. This 2009 song is one of my favorites from them, performed in a rare late-night appearance

Rodrigo y Gabriela – Buster Voodoo (live on Craig Ferguson)



The British group Band of Skulls makes straight-ahead rock. Best known for I Know What I Am, this 2009 song of theirs has a really cool feel to it. Probably why it was used to sell Ford Mustangs

Band of Skulls – Light of the Morning (live)



You may think I'm losing it with this one. Lily Allen is a British pop singer who became famous on MySpace. But her songs have brutally honest lyrics, and I can't resist that her British accent is not lost when she sings. This 2009 song has one of my favorite lines:
Now I'm not a saint, but I'm not a sinner
And everything's cool as long as I'm getting thinner

Lily Allen – The Fear (live on Letterman)



From Sweden, Lykki Li is a classic indie dance rock artist. This 2010 song should get everyone moving

Lykke Li – Get Some
 
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