Pleasant Surprises

As SAUS progresses, post in this thread about the new and awesome artists you've discovered! This will count toward my community service requirements and maybe someday they'll let me see my children again.

The best new thing for me so far is Les Cowboys Fringants, who — despite being FRENCH, are somehow hilariously awesome. I don't know how cubed found these guys when everything else he's nominated is crap so far.

(Discussion of Klaus Nomi redacted until he's bracketed)

Klaus nomi is godly.

As of now:

Keeper of the Seven Keys (Helloween)
Contradanza (Vanessa Mae)
Everyone's a VIP (GO! Team)
Mr. Bobby
Symphony 104 in D. Major
Twilight (Edge of Insanity)

All great finds from groups that were either totally new or that I've heard the names (in the case of Helloween and Mae). But that's just the first couple pairings....

I finished the torrent not to long ago and my eye was drawn to Random Seed 434. This will surely win.

pop -- pop pop BACON

If I knew Les Cowboys Fringants would get such a nice welcome, I would have nominated more tracks from them ;_; I tried to nominate different kind of music, which result of a slap in the face for almost all of my noms. As for surprises to me,... there's no pleasant ones for me. Sorry, you terribly all suck in music tastes .... for the moment, I should say.

if anybody cares, here's the lyrics (and a translation attempt in english) for "Si la vie vous intéresse"

French lyrics:

Spoiler:

Je vais jouer la game jusqu'au bout
J'travaillerai pour faire des bidous
J'veux flasher et péter d'la broue
Je suis un triste humain du 21e siècle
Pose pas d'questions, tout est correct

Même si j'sais que tout va d'travers
Que la moitié de mon salaire
Sert à gagner l'cash nécessaire
Qu'il me faut simplement pour aller travailler
J'ferme les yeux, j'veux pas y penser

J'sais aussi que j'suis prisonnier
D'une grosse cage aux barreaux dorés
Que j'vis sur du temps emprunté
À des banques et à des compagnies de crédit
Ça m'prend ma dose j'suis un junkie

CHORUS:
Si la vie vous intéresse
Vous êtes à la bonne époque
Venez célébrer cette Grand-messe
Vous vous sentez inutiles?
Consommez! On a du stock
Pour combler l'trou de vos vies serviles!

J'vis dans un monde en décadence
Qui se complait dans l'abondance
Et où les gens se mettent en transe
Devant la réussite et les biens matériels
On crée l'plaisir artificiel

Société de contradictions
Où se cotoient beautés canons
Stars d'Hollywood aux faux totons
Et obèses aux gros culs su'l bord d'la crise de coeur
Dans cette «culture du hamburger»

Et malgré que s'creuse le fossé
Entre richesse et pauvreté
Moi j'me sens pas trop concerné
En autant qu'ces choses-là se passent pas dans ma vie
J'me rentre la tête dans mon nombril

CHORUS

Pour les marchands et les vendeurs
Les publicitaires bullshiteurs
Mon compte de banque a d'l'intérêt
Ch'pu un humain chu un guichet

Des magasins à grandes surfaces
Des portions géantes pour la masse
Capitalisme: point de non-retour
Yes sir! J'ai les States dans ma cour... dans ma cour

[instrumental]

J'ai décidé de jouer la game
Je suis dans un cercle vicieux
Endetté chronique d'un système
Superficiel et pernicieux

Un univers où le verbe avoir
A pris l'dessus sur le verbe être
Où tous les gens se font accroire
Qu'la possession est la seule quête

Finis les temples et les églises
Ceux de notre civilisation
S'ront à la gloire des marchandises
Et du Dieu la Consommation

Costco, Wall Marde et pis Loblaw
La vie est belle Alleluia!
Si tu bandes pas y'a Viagra
Et God Bless America!

English translation:

Spoiler:

I'm gonna play the game til the end
I'm gonna work to get money
I want to be seen and praised
I'm a sad human in the 21st century
Don't ask any questions, everything's fine

Even though I know that everything is messed up
That half of my salary
Helps me to get the money I need
Just to get to work
I close my eyes, I don't want to think about it

I also know I'm a prisoner
In a big golden cage
I survive off lent time
From banks and loan firms
I need my dose, I'm a junkie

CHORUS:
If life interests you
You're in the good era
Come celebrate this "high mass"
Do you feel useless ?
Consume! We got plenty of stock
To fill your servile life

I live in a falling world
Satisfying in abundance
And where people get in trance
In front of success and material goods
We create fake pleasures

Contradictions society
in which hot babes,
Hollywood stars with fake boobs
[live among]
With big fat ass at risk for a imminant heart attack
In this "hamburger culture"

Even though the gap is growing
Between rich and poor
I don't feel too concerned
As long as I don't encounter it in my life
I put my head in my belly (meaning self-centered, blind to all else.)

CHORUS

For merchants and sellers
The bullshitting advertisers
My bank account got interest
I'm not human anymore, just an ATM

Big retail stores
Supersize everything for the mass
Capitalism: point to no-return
Yes sir! I got the States in my backyard.... in my backyard

[instrumental]

I decide to play the game til the end
I'm in a vicious circle
Chronically in debts to a
Superficial and pernicious system

A universe where "to have"
Is more popular than "to be"
Where everybody are minded
That possession in the only quest

Gone are temples and churches
The ones from our civilization
will be at the mercy of merchandises
and the God of Consumption

Costco, Wall Marde and Loblaw (Walmart, wallmarde.... "Marde" means "shit". master of puns here!)
Life is beautiful Alleluia!
If you can't jerk off, there's Viagra
And God Bless America!

Jukka Eskola and Roadrunner Union so far are two VERY awesome artists that I wanna get more into.

Originally Posted by 343 Guilty Spark

Jukka Eskola and Roadrunner Union so far are two VERY awesome artists that I wanna get more into.

Well, Roadrunner United is a one off record with different chaps from Roadrunner records playing on every track. Roads is one of the better ones on their. A good deal of the album is terrible, sadly.

I'm still waiting for mine . And I'm not trying to be a negative nancy by saying that...there's been some decent stuff so far, just no love at first sight. There's still a shitpile of songs left to sift through though, so there's hope to be had.

Also, I noticed in BSC that the first round felt pretty disappointing too. Round 2 was where I started to hear the magic in some of the songs. I guess I tend to treat the first round as a chance to let everything soak in, while in round 2 I have some degree of familiarity with the tracks to take advantage of. We'll see how it goes!

Now that I've heard all the tracks, I suppose I'll list the ones that held the most positive impact for me. I won't comment on them individually; suffice to say, if I mention it, I kept a copy, which is basically the highest compliment a track can receive.

In no particular order:

Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
Roadrunner United - Roads
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Tamacun
Silversun Pickups - Rusted Wheel
OSI - Go
Serenade - L.L.
Manu Chao - Mr. Bobby
The Go! Team - Everyone's a VIP to Someone
Nanne Gronvall - Hall Om Mig
Little Shop of Horrors - Mean and Green
Ozric Tentacles - Oakum
The Corrs - Old Town
808 State - Pacific State
The Alpha Conspiracy - Winter
Hard-Fi - Hard to Beat
Jukka Eskola - 1974
Elwood - DEADLOCK
Joseph LoDuca - Everybody Dance Now
Les Cowboys Fringants - Si la vie vous Interesse
Bond - Explosive
Mondo Grosso - Spirit of Voyage

Vicarious Honors: Phil Lynott - Old Town

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

Joseph LoDuca - Everybody Dance Now

Wait, HOLD up.

A film composer wrote that God-awful theme I hear in gym class all the time?

Or is this something completely different?

Haha, no, it's different. I almost thought that it was that song for a second too (being unfamiliar with the composer's name).

Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights

I didn't know this was nominated at some point (totally missed out at the beginning there...), but it's certainly an interesting song. My US lit teacher made us listen to it my Junior year of high school, because we were reading Wuthering Heights and he was in love with Kate Bush.

Originally Posted by Blue_Kirby2

Wait, HOLD up.

A film composer wrote that God-awful theme I hear in gym class all the time?

Or is this something completely different?

I believe you're thinking of that early 90s dance tune by C&C Music Factory. (I'm pretty sure it was them.)

Blind Faith was godly. Had to buy the lolicious album because of that.

Also I was impressed with the Arsis track someone nominated, but listened to their discography and found it extremely lame. I guess the nominee was its best track. =/

I have been inspired to seek out more from the following artists:

TaQ
Klaus Nomi
Afro Celt Sound System
ELP
Elwood
Keiko Matsui
Lo Fidelity Allstars
Xploding Plastix
Hallucinogen
Ozric Tentacles
Amon Tobin
Frank Zappa
Peter Gabriel
Dark Soho

Thanks to the nominators and Pangalin.

Now that this is all wrapped up, here are my favorite discoveries (thanks to the people who nominated them!):

Estradasphere - King Krab Battle
The Go Team - Everyone's a VIP to Someone
Israel Kamakawiwoole - Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Anamanaguchi - Helix Nebula
Heitor Villa-Lobos - Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 - Aria (Uakti)
Brian Tyler - Inama Nushif
The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
J-Walk - Soul Vibration
Anberlin - Fin
Flight of the Conchords - Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros
Masato Honda - Step Up Action
Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Tamacun

There were a bunch of songs I didn't get to listen to, simply due to the fact that there were so many in this contest.