Recent, Very Good Music

I've been exploring the musical landscape now for a year as I write my novel which uses music as a very important theme. As last year ended I had been listening to a lot more "World Music" and music from various countries and cultures. Also a few obscure groups (well, obscure to me) and some of the side projects of more famous bands. With regards to the latter, I've been working my way through the solo and side projects of the various members of the Grateful Dead.

I've also been listening to a lot of Krautrock recently (no offense). I like Faust, Neu!, The Can, Grobschnitt, and Amon Düül II in particular.

Here are a few albums that I have been listening to recently.

Tanz der Lemminge (English: Dance of the Lemmings) - Amon Düül II

Copperopolis - Grant Lee Buffalo

Demons and Wizards - Uriah Heep

The Magician's Birthday - Uriah Heep

Oracular Spectacular - MGMT

Rockpommel's Land - Grobschnitt

Ten Silver Drops - Secret Machines

Tio Bitar - Dungen

Want One - Rufus Wainwright

[If I had listened to this last album prior to Jan 1st 2010 (The Year We Make Contact), it would have been on my Top Ten List.]

Allow me to mention a few a lot of the recent groups I've been listening to that are worth your time (some of them you will certainly recognize):

Damon Albarn, Amon Düül II, Belle and Sebastian, Blur, David Byrne, Camel, The Can, Nick Cave, Crowded House, Ry Cooder, Deep Purple, Nick Drake, Dungen, Brian Eno, Faust, Gentle Giant, Grant Lee Buffalo, Grobschnitt, The Hives, The Lemonheads, MGMT, Mudhoney, Neu!, The Pixies, Lou Reed, Screaming Trees, Secret Machines, The Stooges, Talking Heads, Uriah Heep, Violent Femmes, Rufus Wainwright, Wire