One song to introduce someone to a band
 

Think you can do it? Pick just ONE song --- with accompanying YT --- to show what a band you're into is like. It's harder than you think. To be fair, many bands go through phases, like when they change their singer, or head in a new musical direction, so you can use one song per phase, let's say.

My own idea of how to get someone into Sabbath:

OZZY era
War pigs (from "Paranoid")


DIO era
Heaven and Hell (from "Heaven and Hell")

Lets see...The Rippingtons would be my one-song pick, especially for who doubt the merits of smooth/contemporary jazz. They're real technical and dynamic, but still good for a morning drive. :D

OK I've got a few from across the spectrum:

Prayers For Atheists (recent 80s hardcore/hip-hop)



Ooze (downtempo electronic) This is my SHI-IT:



Ozric Tentacles (psychedelic space-rock jam) THIS is also my jam:


Hour long set:

Guthrie Govan (guitar virtuoso)



Praxis (??? :crazy: :thumb: w/ bill laswell, bootsy, buckethead, brain, bernie worrell)


Praxis Live in concert:

El-P (hip-hop; alternative hip-hop)



Aesop Rock (hip-hop; alternative/abstract)

Probably could have picked a 'classic', but this album is about to join the ranks of the classics, so here's the new single/video:

Nooooooooo, War Pigs is just a boring dirge that seems to go on forever.
Go with Hand of Doom instead.

I'd go with Snow Blind, After Forever or Electric Funeral. Too hard to pick.

Hand Of Doom, Supernaut or Megalomania

Black Sabbath must be one of the hardest bands to choose, because everybody seems to take something different from them.

Into The Void

More because they have such a quality for me.. I honestly could have listed 90% of the material they released with Ozzy.

It takes a while to construct a list of the top ten heavy metal songs for me, with no repeat artists even. Because you can spend all day pondering which Sabbath song is #1 on that list.

this is basically debating which is better SIngles or album tracks .... :P

of course album tracks are more obscure because simply people cant hear them unless they click on the track which takes alot of effort LOL

:whythis:

Whatever it is you think we're talking about... you've got it wrong. Your response bears little to zero relevance to the thread or the Black Sabbath sub-conversation.

Gogol Bordello (gypsy punk)



Primus (alternative metal)



Beck (alternative)



CAKE (alternative)



Tom Waits (beatnik :P)



Don't know if I would have chosen God's Away On Business if not for this unique video, but there it is. Other great contenders (w/ videos) are Chocolate Jesus, of course, I Don't Wanna Grow Up, etc. and I'm sure someone else will have a different selection, but there it is.l

Well im flippin the script the question was pick a song to best describe that band

well of course most people natural inpulse will be to not choose a single but a album track just to look cool and say heyyy i know all about this band :P

Why would someone want to post about a band they don't know about?

I've chosen Popscene for Blur on some occasions, and it's worked wonders. Sometimes I use the Peel Acres performance.





This clip also has Song 2 played at a very intense level.

When you live in an area where all anyone knows is "Song 2" and they still call it Whoo Hoo, it's only logical to play something that nails it down right before moving into the rest of their wonderful world.

.....:)

i agree with you again Urban....Hand Of Doom is a perfect intro to Sabbath

Dood....although i love Blue Collar Tweekers personally i would go with this


not only does this song express a perfect song structure...everytime i hear it i think of Loony Tunes characters dressed in SS gestapo uniforms marching while hitting each other over the head with giant "acme" mallets :)

a few of my own

Black Flag

lyrically fucking perfect....and this is one of the few Black Flag songs that actually has the feel of the old Black Flag while also having the insane guitar antics of later Black Flag

Skinny Puppy

again lyrically killing....this also has the scarier side of the band, the political side, and the groovy dance side...and the lyrics....genius
"agony profusely stains
the inner thinking of the brain
accusations clanking chains
experiments with the groans of pain
all prefer no one blames
the terror in an animal's screams
in cages our future -
the answers insane"

Current 93

and it would have to be this version....the live one from As The World Disappears....again with the lyrics....this a perfect example of David's uncanny ability to use words.....this is also a great example of Current 93's ability to slowly build intensity within their songs....very mild but by the end you almost don't know what happened

I could have also chosen She's Got Claws or maybe We Take Mystery to Bed, but this the one.

MINISTRY


and it HAS to be this live version....100 times better than the album version.....i love the Bill/Martin duel drum and this is just so damn intense....

Got this as a 7" back in '86, and proved to be the Cocteau Twins' song for me.

From stunningly beautiful to the outright powerful...



I bought The Bad Seed EP on a day when my car broke down album 80 Miles away from home...at least with some help I finally got home, played it, and knew that this would be a song to introduce others to. The BP had many just as powerful songs, but this one seriously hit it strong from the powerful Bass line to Nick's evil singing and screaming.

From what's arguably their best album (some say Talk About the Weather), this is the stomper that starts up Side Two. Brutal, with a slightly catchy feeling and the Bass that was the mark of their best, this summed up the appeal of this much-underrated band.

Gang Starr; "JFK 2 LAX" - Moment of Truth

Somebody's gotta do King Crimson and all their phases...


First phase: Symphonic-Prog (The "In the..." albums)

While 21st Century Schizoid Man is probably their best song, I don't think it reflects their overall sound, which had more classical overtones rather than jazz overtones in 21st Century Schizoid Man. Essentially 'Wake' is the same as 'Court' but 'Wake's' songs are slightly weaker (Cat Food over Moonchild being the exception). I think this narrows it down to Epitaph and In the Court of the Crimson King. Both tracks make great use of the mellotron and are prime examples of King Crimson's epic, classically influenced sound. Personally, I think Epitaph works better as a stand-alone track and much easier to digest, where In the Court is supported by it's position as the epic conclusion for the album.


Second Phase: Jazzy-Prog (Lizard and Islands)

The first reaction would be to eliminate Islands from this discussion, but we'll wait. 'Lizard's' title track is great, but a 25 minute epic is not the way to introduce someone to a band. Cirkus is a great track, but it's more along the lines of the first phase rather than the second. So this leaves the remaining 3 tracks from 'Lizard' and 'Islands'. If there is anything about this phase of KC, it was probably their most light-hearted phase, see Happy Family which is a satire of the Beatles history. The only' Islands' track that fits both the light tone and the jazzier influences is the raunchy Ladies of the Road. And between the 3 mediocre tracks on Lizards and Ladies of the Road, I would choose Ladies of the road.


Third Phase: Experimental Rockish-Prog (Larks', Starless and Red)

The best song of this phase is Starless, but I think it's more of a Frankenstein song made from elements of the band's entire past. The experimental nature of this period came from Fripp's creative guitar playing and the use of many different instruments, especially the percussion. If there is one song that encompasses all those traits, it's Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part I). The opening 3 minutes of meandering percussion, followed by the violent outbursts of band the the ensuing jazzy coda make this a great starter piece. Not only does Larks' Part I contain all those elements, it leaves you wanting more material, compared to songs that exhaust you with their scale and climax, i.e. Fractice, Red, Starless Larks' Part II...


Fourth Phase: New Wavey-Prog aka the Crimson Heads/Talking Kings (Discipline, Beat, Three)

I refuse to acknowledge Three of a Perfect Pair, and the only track I genuinely like from Beat is Requiem (which is more like the next KC phase than this one). Not to mention, Discipline is certainly in the conversation as King Crimson's best album. Of all the songs from Discipline, I feel the best intro to this period would be Indiscipline. It has that new wave groove but maintains the darker edge that KC has when doing their take on it.



Fifth Phase: Experimental Metal-Prog (Thraak, ConstruKction, Power to Believe)

This is the phase I have the least familiarity with, but I still can make a recommendation. Between Thraak and ConstruKction, you may have a decent EP, maybe an LP. The final album, The Power to Believe feels much more inspired than the previous 2 albums. The track that best exemplifies the phase is Level Five. I think Eyes Wide Open is a better song, but again, it does not fit the overall feel of this phase. Level Five takes the metal aspects that have been marinated with the KC mentality and cooks it to near perfection. If anyone has heard John Paul Jones' solo work, it's very similar to the stuff KC was doing at the time (which may or may not have anything to do with Fripp playing guitar on both).



Phew!

Well I like WP but yes it is a dirge. But then, so are a lot of Ozzy-era Sabs songs --- Iron Man, Black Sabbath, Warning, Wizard --- or at least could be taken that way. It does however fit well into the sort of thing Sabbath were doing, at least at the beginning.

It is indeed hard to pick one song that typifies Sabbath in the "first" era; as I mentioned at the beginning this sort of thing is hard to do for any band. How do you represent maybe a lifetime's work in a few minutes and just one song? Which is what makes it so challenging, so frustrating but ultimately so much fun.

Dio Sabbath, no problem. You're definitely looking at "Heaven and Hell" or "Die young", but Ozzy era much harder.

Okay then, how about this, one of my true favourites from "Master"...

Thanks EP: I was looking for something like this on KC last week. I'll have a listen and let you know what I think. Great job!
:thumb:

This is the one for The Standells.

The cover was not kidding, either. Just when this song was starting to get airplay and revive The Standells after facing their fate as a 1-hit wonder with Dirty Water, someone (I think Gordon McLeandon - spelling possibly off) decided to go out and ban this, resulting in a nation-wide rejection of what is the ultimate Standells song. Only a few stations played it after the outcry and an appearance on the Art Linkletter show which I think featured a debate about the record.

There's a lot I can choose from, but for an introduction to those who don't really know (in my area, I happen to possibly be the only one who knows of them), this is a good place to start or at least one of them.

@Bob Yes, very well. I probably love Toys Go Winding Down even more than Blue Collared Tweakers. My main reason for going with that choice is that particular footage in the video at Woodstock 94. By asking us to include a video, if possible, it became more than "which one song would you blah blah" to "which one song with a video would you..." and thats where my mind was. If I want to intro someone to Primus, I want them to see that amazing crowd doing a supermosh. Best part about this is that now we have two Primus picks. :P

@Electrophonic Tonic Well done with the King Crimson!

@Screen13, nice choices!

Thanks!

Alright, sorry for those like myself with ****e RAM and/or ****e internet connections, but here is a full, cohesive Buckethead one-song-per-style-and-band. And it's gonna be a doozy.

But this will damn well be definitive because I am a semi-professional Buckethead historian and fan. Let's jump right in:



Al Gorgone: Siege (2005)



Arcana: Returning (1997) [w/Bill Laswell, Tony Williams on drums] [fusion, ambient and free jazz]


Axiom Funk: If 6 was 9 (1995)

The video used to be beautiful, but it's been taken down by Hendrix corp. and its rare/scarce now.



Bassnectar: Bursting f. Buckethead (2005)



Bootsy Collins: Minds Under Construction f. Buckethead (2011)



All dubbed out:

Brain & Buckethead: Some jam on youtube, but they have albums together like Brain as Hamenoodle and Brain and the Chariot[Love these goofballs together; Brain is one of my biggest drumming influences]



God that was awesome ^ especially the ending :P
================================================== ========

Buckethead's solo albums:



Acoustic-head: Little Gracie (2007)



Avantdustrialhead: A-Cycle Light Ray Cannons (2009)



AvantHipHopHead: Splintered Triplet (2002)



Avantshrhead: Red Water Colors (2012)



Bachethead: Bachethead (2012)



Banjo-head: Skeleton Dance (2010)



Bluesyhead: Too Many Humans (2004)



Bucketdickersonhead: Concentric Motion (2007)



Contemplativehead: Backwards Footprint (2010)



Doomhead: Destroyer: Speed Flux Quadrant/Inclusion/Exhaust Release (1996)



Electrohead: A1 (2001) [Demos from KFC Skinpiles]



or:

My Sheeetz (2001) [from Somewhere Over the Slaughterhouse]



Funkethead: Bucketbot's Bass Binge Buddy (2007)



Fusionhead: Death That Sleeps In Them (1993)

[SPOILER="For Song/Video:"]/SPOILER]

Horrorhead: Spokes On the Wheels of Torment (2004)



Insanehead: Needle in a Slunk Stack (2009)



KindaBluehead: Sketches of Spain (For Miles) (2002)



Regular Buckethead: King James (2006) [One of four songs for LeBron James, next to Lebron, Lebron's Hammer and Lebrontron]



or

I Can Only Carry 50 Chickens At a Time (2007):



???head: The Sticker on Hallucinogens (2005)



================================================== ===============

Buckethead, Brain, and Mellisa Reese: Orange: Track 02



Buckethead, Bill Laswell, and Shin Terai: Grid (2007)



Buckethead as guitarist for Guns 'n Roses:

They don't have what I want on youtube because they flag everything for removal relating to Chinese Democracy, but here's Brain and Buckethead w/ them live in 2002



Buckethead with Lawson Rollins: Ghosts of Alcazar (2011)



Buckethead with Travis Dickerson: Cosmogny (2010)



Cobra Strike: CS-118



but also: Beware of the Holding Funnel



Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains: Elephant Ghost

I'm in love with the album version, never seen this live before, but looks clear... and if not, check album version for awesome



Cornbugs:

Best Case Scenario: Voodoo Muffin



Regular Case Scenario: Hey Pipe Man

X( Not on youtube?

Worse/Funniest Case Scenario: Arm Torn Off By a Train



totally cheatin' ^

Death Cube K: [Anagram of Buckethead; he did this while quarreling with his label] [avant-ambient] Track 5



Deli Creeps: Buried Deep Stays Buried Still
If Mike Patton, Rob Zombie, a hillbilly and Paul Gilbert had a mutation gone wrong:



and to add perspective (/to cheat): Can I Have a Ride



El Stew [Hip-Hop instrumentals galore]: Igloo Condo



Frankenstein Brothers [w/ That One Guy]: Bolt On Neck



George S Clinton w/ Buckethead [Mortal Kombat Soundtrack]: Mortal Kombat

Johnny vs. Scorpion is my favorite track, but no good Youtube vids.



Giant Robot: Binge Buddies (1996)



Phonosycograph: Employment Crystal Rooster

Not on youtube X(

Pieces: Bobafi Crucify [Buckethead rapping via hand puppet]



or Ginger



Praxis: Animal Behavior

See my post on page 1 of this thread for music video

Science Faxtion: I See Rockets



Thanatopsis: Mortheol



Viggo Mortensen and Buckethead: Fall of Troy



But be forewarned: this is the best it gets, and 90% of it is boring as all hell in my opinion.

Zillatron: Bugg Lite



================================================== =======================

Now, one might say: "But, but, but some of those styles on his solo albums are the same styles as exemplified by the other groups he's in, so we gotz repeats..." and I say " and a lesson in Bucketheadism"

Er, didn't I say one song...? :)

No WAY am I quoting all that again! :D

I knew that if you ventured outside of the journal cave you would make some great threads/posts... keep it up!

I would like this to be stretched to include genres too but it is your thread!

What may be easy familiarity to some may be something completely new for others and what better way to showcase that than in here?

I certainly don't think that it's just a mere case of posting particular favourites either and I have seen many examples here of vids that encapsulate (as best as they can) the whole sounds of a particular band and that is exactly how it should be. At least there will be no nasty surprises for newcomers to a sound they haven't heard before.

Whilst I love to hear new bands constantly, I am always craving to hear a manipulation of a genre and take a different mindset of a particular genre but I don't want to derail your thread at this time with a whole bunch of vids but I will be keeping an eye on the thread!

Thanx Lee, your comments are always welcome. :) Have you checked out my second journal yet? It's an interesting departure, for me.

MARILLION
(FISH ERA)

The Web (Script for a jester's tear)


(HOGARTH ERA)
The Great Escape (Brave)


No surprise I picked tracks from my two favourite Marillion albums, but they are both fairly representative of the best of the two versions of Marillion, the Fish-led era from 1982-1987, and the Steve Hogarth era, from 1989 onwards.

forget the ***gotry of "Epic", this is where it's at:-



for the Mike Patton/Sir James Martin era

If I had to name one song that was a quintessential example of these bands, then I'd choose these:

Holy shit yes. I love that song! And it definitely encapsulates the first six or seven SP albums quite well.

Weird little observation: I've always found it very odd how similar the beat of "Assimilate" is to the beat used during the choruses of "Crazy Love, Vol. II" by Paul Simon. "Assimilate" came out the year before "Crazy Love, Vol. II" which either means that it's just a weird coincidence... or it means that Paul Simon listens to Skinny Puppy! :D

The beat I'm referring to starts at about 0:58 in this video:

Falling to Pieces isn't bad but I'd put From Out of Nowhere way above it

I'm not sure what you mean. Did I do it wrong? It seems like a lot, sure, but its one song per band (I cheated once or twice, but out of 40+, not bad), and as far as BH's solo releases, one song per style. Did I misunderstand, or did you? I'd hate to think I wasted 6+ hours. Well I know I can't say it was a waste, even if no one ever looks at it, I feel its the best thing I've contributed to the site so far.

Anyway, I know I said I'd come back and slap spoilers throughout yesterday but I got tied up. So I just finished doing that, and its all finished finally. Hopefully someone gets something out of it... there's a lot of hidden gems no one in these parts seems to know aboot.

Nah, I was just joshing with ya!

I do think though that it should be restricted to if possible one per BAND, which was the idea. The only reason I said different phases was for, say, a band like Sabbath, who had their "black metal" phase, then their more "proggy" phase a la Dio, or Fleetwood Mac --- blues then commercial pop/rock --- or indeed, as I did, when there's a change of singer, as with Marillion.

The idea is to pick just one song that shows someone who has never heard the band/artiste before what they're like, so hitting them with a dozen or more songs does sort of defeat the purpose, not to mention earning you a few enemies with so many videos! :D

Good selection though.

I must beg to differ, for I feel there is still a misunderstanding.

When you say, about the phases, oh b/c Black Sabbath had one phase and then another and so on, and the same with Fleetwood.

Well, I'm saying that's the way it is with Buckethead, in a way. No, it wasn't in eras. He didn't go from being a shredder, to a jazz fusion guitarist, to a banjo player, to a electronic ambient musician, etc., etc., etc. in order, he has touched on so many genres/subgenres and stylings in his career in random order that it DOES make sense to serve up a song for each. Not everyone likes the same Buckethead material, and most do not know how different his material can be. It would NOT make sense if he only had one song in that style. But each style given, I should/could be able to provide a slew of songs that he does that are in that vein for anyone interested.

Most people think of BH as a shredder guitarist. I would bet that 90% of his own fans don't know that he released an all banjo album. I'll bet the same that they haven't heard him do jazz fusion. Etc. Etc. Etc.

And with a total of 1244 songs across his solo albums and additional groups (for perspective, 244 5-stars, 587 5/4.5 stars), whittling all that down into less than 50 examples was damn good in my opinion.

So besides doing one song per style in his solo discography, I did one song per other band he was in. I guess the problem is that it's overwhelming in itself, even if it is organized alphabetically. Maybe it would be clearer if I add some bolding to some of the titles? :D

And about making enemies with all those videos, that's why I went back and slapped spoiler tags on each and every one.

@Anticipation, if you see this... I was thinking of you for a minute there when I was picking the track for El Stew. It'd make a siiiickkkk hiphop instrumental. I'm thinking of writing a verse or 2 short ones and uploading it. I highly recommend you grab some of that El Stew.

@Jack Pat, if you see this... I was thinking of you for a minute there when I was listening to Death Cube K. See if that tickles your fancy at all. If so, I got more where that comes from.

@Janszoon, this might be off base, but try the Deli Creeps. Might be TOO weird, but it reminded me of if Patton and Zombie had a mutation.

I won't pick my fave tracks for these bands but they do what exactly it says on the tin - pick a song that represents a band in a small snapshot as best as it can.

Jethro Tull:

Chemical Brothers:

New Order:

Fugazi:

Roni Size: