To be fair to the thread, I will post something constructive (or kind of constructive) now. I'm going to go through and point out the artists I do take notice of.
I do have some Björk, but not from Vespertine. "Big Time Sensuality" and "Army Of Me", mainly.
The Jayhawks - "Save It For A Rainy Day" (I also have "Big Star" and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me", but those aren't on that album)
I genuinely thought the band was more of a local push, to be honest. The modern rock station here rotated them pretty often in 2000, but I'd not seen them ever take anything wider than that (except for "Big Star" being used as promo music on VH1, which reminded me of the band and prompted me to get the tracks I did). And then this past June I heard "Save It For A Rainy Day" coming over the speakers in the bar of the Holiday Inn we stayed at in St. Louis, which was a little surreal.
Jens Lekman - "The Opposite Of Hallelujah"
Bon Iver - "Skinny Love"
Both of these I found through free samplers on Amazon. I don't listen to the Jens Lekman track too much, although it's peppy enough for a spin once in a while. "Skinny Love", on the other hand, left a so-so impression the first few times I listened to it, but after that it very quickly grew on me. I do consider it one of the free tracks Amazon gave out that you could consider a hidden gem.
Arcade Fire - "Keep The Car Running"
I have several of the tracks off the Pedro the Lion album, along with some of the ones from other albums. This was due to suggestions around here, actually. I rarely sit through them anymore, though.
I am
still sick of hearing Coldplay from the Rush era and prior (and I remember when "Yellow" was the only thing anyone had heard from them). The tracks of theirs I have are from later albums, and for good - post-punk leaning - reasons. "Talk" is a perfect example compared to the early stuff (and "Talk" is perhaps the one song of theirs I could call a favorite).
The Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Parts 1 & 2", and "One More Robot" only (as well as "The W.A.N.D."). But I've only gotten the The Reign Of Kindo cover of "Do You Realize?"
Neither of the two Death Cab for Cutie songs I have are from
Transatlanticism.
Damien Rice - "The Blower's Daughter"
I quickly learned how much the song annoyed me, though.
Paul Westerberg - "Looking Up In Heaven"
Again, through a sampler (back in 2004 or 2005), although I already knew who Paul Westerberg was because I like The Replacements' music.
Like Death Cab, neither of the two Sigur Rós tracks I have are on that album.
The only Ryan Adams song I have is "Burning Photographs".
None of the Beck tracks I have ("Loser", "E-Pro", and "Girl") are on
Sea Change. "Loser" is a hallmark of the
90s, anyway.
I'm going to take a special detour here and while I admit I grabbed "You Know I'm No Good" off iTunes when it was free, I quickly came to hate the song, and perhaps even moreso, I really cannot stand Amy Winehouse at all. And because of this, I'm not going to list it at the end of this post in the condensed form the rest will be.
The only Kanye West song I have is "Can't Tell Me Nothin'", which I excised from the free Music Video given away by iTunes one week.
The only thing by Rufus Wainwright I have is the cover of "Hallelujah". I do have his father's (Loudon Wainwright III's) song "I Wish I Was A Lesbian", however. I actually had IWIWAL years before hearing about Rufus, to be honest.
The Strokes - "Hard To Explain" (also "12:51", but like so many of these other examples so far, not on that list)
Spoon - "All The Pretty Girls Go To The City" (and "I Turn My Camera On"...different album)
M.I.A. - "Galang"
iTunes freebie.
Outkast - "B.O.B." and "Ghetto Musick" (I never got "Ms. Jackson" except for The Vines' cover, and as for other albums, it took years before hearing "Hey Ya!" actually felt nostalgic, mainly because we used it in our Senior class' Yearbook Media Show - I was not in charge of that segment, though). At the time the album came out I made a mental note of preferring "Rosa Parks", anyway.
The White Stripes - "Seven Nation Army" (also "Blue Orchid" and "Fell In Love With A Girl", and one Raconteurs track)
My general thoughts on the band are ridiculously average. Not bad, but way too hyped.
Neither Bright Eyes track I have is on that list. And Bright Eyes in general has become one of those that do get under my skin. Partially due to the sheer whininess of it all. And I despise the whole mass-marketed 'Emo' thing - especially since actual Emo died at the beginning of the 90s, and what gets pushed under that title nowadays is just a weak, half-hearted attempt to cash in on the mood swings and attention seeking of hystrionic teenagers. It's not even angst or genuine melancholy (Grunge/Post-Grunge and Goth and Industrial by contrast, actually
do have those things, and have them in spades), and the whole thing reeks of parental and social ineptitude. And if this sounds somewhat outside-looking-in-ish, it isn't. I did have emotional and neuro/psychological problems in High School severe enough to get me put on anti-depressants for a year, and as such I hold no level of pity for those that just want to play the victim. That experience and the despair associated with it is partially why I do prefer things like Goth, Industrial, Post-Punk, and Grunge, and it was always immediately obvious to me that there was honesty in those genres that is severely, if not totally, lacking in the kind of so-called 'Emo' junk being kicked around now.
The only Wilco song I have is "Theologians". Again, not on there.
As for Radiohead, the only two tracks of theirs I like are "Creep" and "2+2=5 (The Lukewarm)", so they fall into the same pit.
In larger tally, the entries that
are on that list:
The Jayhawks - "Save It For A Rainy Day"
Jens Lekman - "The Opposite Of Hallelujah"
Bon Iver - "Skinny Love"
Arcade Fire - "Keep The Car Running"
The Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 1"
The Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 2"
The Flaming Lips - "One More Robot"
Damien Rice - "The Blower's Daughter"
Paul Westerberg - "Looking Up In Heaven"
The Strokes - "Hard To Explain"
Spoon - "All The Pretty Girls Go To The City"
M.I.A. - "Galang"
Outkast - "B.O.B."
Outkast - "Ghetto Musick"
The White Stripes - "Seven Nation Army"
outkast's "stankonia" is usually the favorite album of people who don't really listen to hip-hop.
Myself, I've always had an deep appreciation for old school hip hop (as in the 80s, although some early 90s material should count too - "Mind Playin' Tricks On Me", for instance; but Coolio, absolutely not old-school).
