While listening to The Police greatest hits whatever for my workout music, I realized no matter how great it is, that was what I was listening to 30+ years ago (when I had a legitimate profession, not a reseller of B&O).  

Seeing as how it is Fathers' Day, I would like to buy a few CDs (yes CDs) that are cool, innovative, well recorded and mastered, and reflect just a little sophistication.  I am an old fart, and my daughters' range runs from Justin Bieber to Audiostrobelight, so I obviously need a little help. 

What would the likes of the Beatles, Police, Queen, the Who, Clapton (all iterations), Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd, Clash, Tom Petty, Santana, Dire Straits, etc. be playing TODAY if they had just started out the last couple of years?  Not talking about how some of these have matured in wonderful ways (like Knopfler and Tom Petty, especially), but if they were in their 20's and working with the today's tools and energy.   

Cheers, 

r

symmes:

While listening to The Police greatest hits whatever for my workout music, I realized no matter how great it is, that was what I was listening to 30+ years ago (when I had a legitimate profession, not a reseller of B&O).  

Seeing as how it is Fathers' Day, I would like to buy a few CDs (yes CDs) that are cool, innovative, well recorded and mastered, and reflect just a little sophistication.  I am an old fart, and my daughters' range runs from Justin Bieber to Audiostrobelight, so I obviously need a little help. 

What would the likes of the Beatles, Police, Queen, the Who, Clapton (all iterations), Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd, Clash, Tom Petty, Santana, Dire Straits, etc. be playing TODAY if they had just started out the last couple of years?  Not talking about how some of these have matured in wonderful ways (like Knopfler and Tom Petty, especially), but if they were in their 20's and working with the today's tools and energy.   

Cheers, 

r

I am 45 years young, and your taste runs very close to mine (though you left out the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin!).

Two words:  Green Day.

PS  My 4 1/2 and 3 1/2 year-old girls' favorite band is Pink Floyd (so far)!

Rich:

(when I had a legitimate profession, not a reseller of B&O).

On Beoworld we accept all professions, all kind of resellers are welcome

My music taste and likes goes some 10 years farther back, so I'm into Stones, Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and more from the 60s early 70s, What I like the most is bands playing 4/5 guys, no big sinfonie backup, just the BAND, so early Stones, Queen.

Another big favorite is the rocking girls, (made special playlist for only girl rock on my Itunes) Suzi quatro and Bonnie Tylors voices gets the hair on my arms stand up.

What these bands would have done today with all the new posibilyties is an open question, but probably they would have been contracted and told what to play by the big recording companies, well Stones did some good tours saw them in concert here in Mexico, I think 2000 and 2007, and both incredible concerts, but as for the rest, all gone or splitt up.

Masters of reality - Sunrise on the sufferbus , look up the personnel list too, might find it interesting

symmes:

Seeing as how it is Fathers' Day, I would like to buy a few CDs (yes CDs) that are cool, innovative, well recorded and mastered, and reflect just a little sophistication.

Don't buy music just to appear 'cool' or 'sophisticated', whatever those terms mean in relation to music listening.

Listen to music you enjoy and for no other reason.

If you want to update your tastes, then listen to some of the radio stations playing modern music. If you enjoy a particular artist's offerings then listen to more of their work. Or, explore other genres like modern country, jazz etc; but, to repeat, don't buy a CD as a sign 'coolness'. 

You might try:  Spoon, Muse, Ben Folds, Arcade Fire, Ray LaMontagne (if you get away from the songs that the radio has killed) or some more well known bands that you did not mention: U2, Coldplay, Radio Head (if you think you don't like RH, try "The Bends" - this is an earlier album when they were perhaps more rocking vs. electronic).  I can't speak to their coolness because, at least to my kids (12, 14), I'm incredibly uncool 

I too am interested in hearing other suggestions along this same line.  Every couple years, I find my music collection stale, and I go hunting for new bands, but it gets harder when so much of what is played on the radio is no longer interesting (I'm really tired of bands with whiney male singers, where's the new Jim Morrison?).  It seems the truly independent radio stations have vanished and become tools of the corporate crap music machine (at least in the US).  I'm sure there's some outstanding internet radio stations, but there are 1000s on my BS5, and I've only scratched the surface...

Stan

Radio Paradise is the internet radio station I listen to most. I like most of what they play, and about half of it I've never heard of before. Good for discovering new (to me) music, and they take pride in having great quality feeds available, in addition to the low bandwidth alternatives.

The only net radio station I've held onto is DR's P3. Its a good music discovery station. I owe a lot of my current taste/library to that station. I think they output in 192kbps so quite good for net radio.

As far as CDs that I've accumulated recently: Phoenix, Kings of Leon, Killers, Florence + The Machine, Miike Snow, Temper Trap, Mumford & Sons and Yeasayer. All absolutely amazing.

Don't even get me started on US mainstream radio. I have altogether quit listening to FM because of it.

If you have an ipod touch, iphone, or a way to aux-in something with internet access to your system, or it can't hurt to just listen away from your B&O:  try Pandora Radio: you can put in a song or artist that you like, and Pandora will form a "radio station" spooling songs from similar artists, similar style/genre.  It'll open up the width of your listening, and occassionally pop up some great tunes you haven't heard in years.  I have it running on my computer in the office non-stop.

Basic Pandora is free, allowing up to 40 hours a month, I believe.  I upgraded for something cheap, like $32 for the year and get some more flexibility and better sound quality.  Works great for parties, too.

I knew nothing about the Blues or Americana, but just by listening to internet radio (and Pandora, btw) and customer selections, have picked up on some great stuff.  The new rock music is more difficult because of my age bias, so I really do appreciate the comments people have made concerning my "problem", and assure them that I will be trying out this list of bands.  

A few years ago while in Romania on a 2-week consulting gig, got somewhat hooked on techno (or International?) music.  As much as I despised it starting out, within days of what seemed like complete immersion, got to where I couldn't get it out of my head.  Even today, if it comes on I can stop and listen to it, and just don't know why.  

Thanks.   

symmes:

A few years ago while in Romania Germany on a 2-week consulting one week training gig, got somewhat hooked on techno ... got to where I couldn't get it out of my head.  Even today, if it comes on I can stop and listen to it, and just don't know why.  

me too