By BRENDAN HALL
People often say that they can figure out other people purely by the firmness of a handshake or by examining their body language. Truthfully, all it takes is a quick glance at their iPod.
The music people listen to tells so much about them: hidden interests, quirks, their sense of humor; it gives an introspective look into their unbiased personalities. Music is an outlet through which people find comfort and happiness, void of any outside influences.
The problem, though, is that fewer and fewer people are listening to good music nowadays. The Pop Crusade has effectively marched across America, converting radio stations and teenagers everywhere to conform to the Gospel of Biebz and the Apostle Britney of Spears. But the reign of pop ends here as the Underground shall rise up and reclaim its rightful place in the musical hierarchy.
Here are a few way-under-the-radar bands that have an inspiring and infectious sound, as well as ways to discover other bands just like them. If given the chance, these artists could open a generation of kids up to an entirely new and inspiring realm of fantastic music.
Two Door Cinema Club is an indie rock band from Northern Ireland that has the potential to inspire a whole new genre of indie. Their fast-paced guitar hooks and catchy leads, combined with lead singer Alex Trimble’s soft, pure voice, generate a sound that appeals to everyone. Two Door Cinema Club is indie, but their music is so infectious that they could easily break into the mainstream and force a dynamic shift in the music people listen to everyday.
A great way to find bands with a similar sound is the website last.fm. On the homepage is a search bar where users can look up any artists they like and it will take you to that band’s profile page. On the profile last.fm have a radio button that allows a person to listen to similar bands. For instance, a person would search “Death Cab For Cutie” and click the “Death Cab For Cutie Radio” button on the band’s profile page. The website will also keep a history of songs and artists that users have listened to in case they want to go back and search for more songs by that band.
Another lesser known band that fuses pop, electric and alternative is a group out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, called All The Right Moves. Drawing comparisons to bands such as The Maine and All Time Low, this band stands out above the rest and is making a name in the pop-punk genre.
It is difficult for bands to make a name for themselves in the punk scene because so many bands sound the same, but All The Right Moves takes catchy to an entirely new level. Even better, one of the members rocks out the violin, the highlight of the band. Their most recent EP is called The Monster I’ve Become, but their true genius lies in their original self-titled disc, specifically their song “Dancer.”
Because All The Right Moves is such a small band, a website like last.fm doesn’t have an extensive profile on them. In cases like this, another extremely helpful outlet to find new bands is right under people’s noses, they just don’t know it: iTunes. Whenever someone searches for a band on iTunes, it also provides a list of other artists in the area “Listeners Also Bought.” This feature creates an extensive network of bands and artists that can keep any music-lover occupied for hours.
The final recommended band is actually a side project of two other artists: Rostam Batmanglij, the keyboardist from Vampire Weekend, and Wes Miles, the vocalist from Ra Ra Riot. Known as Discovery, they are a fusion of indie, folk and electronic, but are most commonly labeled as electronic. Their debut album LP is ingenious and their sound is a wonderful blend of islander and funk, as the greatest qualities of both their original bands are accentuated and beautifully fused. Similar artists include Passion Pit and MGMT.
Discovery has only one record out though, so people should expand on their sound and look for similar bands. Pandora, both a website and an iPhone application, is an effective and convenient way to find other bands that have a similar sound. All a person has to do is type in an artist’s name and Pandora will generate a radio station that plays similar songs, much like last.fm. However, if the person doesn’t like the band being played, Pandora has the option to dislike the song. Pandora is a great tool to use while sitting at home and doing homework as it saves the songs a person has previously listened to, like last.fm.
This is not to tell readers to listen to these bands only, it is meant to be a jumping-off point from which people can begin to broaden their musical horizon. If anything, just go to one of the websites mentioned, type in