VGMdb
Go Back   VGMdb Forums > Discussion > Miscellaneous Discussion
Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old Aug 11, 2010, 03:03 PM
LiquidAcid LiquidAcid is offline
Trusted Editor
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 1,644
Default Your favorite non-VGM/anime artists

Hey there,

what do you guys (and girls) listen to apart from VGM and anime soundtracks? List some of your favorite artists, maybe also explaining a bit why you like them.

I'm splitting my list here in western and asian artists. Album suggestions are contained inside square brackets.

Western:
  • Meat Loaf (my favorite artist, coined (with Jim Steinman) the term 'Wagnerian rock', the 'Bat Out of Hell' album trilogy is probably his most amazing work) ['Bat Out of Hell II']
  • The Corrs (I'm a sucker for celtic/irish style *g*) ['Unplugged']
  • Phil Collins (Another Day in Paradise, do I have to say more?!) ['Serious Hits...Live!']
  • Poets of the Fall (hard to explain, have a very distinct style, strong vocalist) ['Carnival of Rust']

Asian:
  • Angela Aki (the living proof that you don't need any fancy dress for being absolutely amazing in a live concert) ['TODAY']
  • Akiko Shikata (a can't exactly pinpoint why I like her, but her voice gives me the chills - in a positive way) ['RAKA']
  • KOKIA (a voice so fragile, but at the same time so powerful) ['Coquillage: The Best Collection II']

Now it's your turn!

Greets,
Tobias

EDIT: I'm aware that Phil Collins, Poets of the Fall, Angela Aki, Akiko Shikata and KOKIA were involved with soundtracks in one way or the other (composer, vocalist, etc.) - however my focus here is on the works outside of this area.

Last edited by LiquidAcid; Aug 11, 2010 at 03:06 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old Aug 11, 2010, 09:02 PM
Zethe's Avatar
Zethe Zethe is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Germany
Posts: 115
Default

Cool topic Liquid. I'll take the chance to get more active in here. Doing his first post here within a non vgm related thread is somewhat strange I have to admit. :>

I think I need to do this a bit different than you did since I listen to a wide range of artists and I think it's probably easier to just name the genre and then give suggestions.

So besides Soundtracks I listen to:
  • Metal
    most subgenres except that power/symphonic/nu-metal/core crap. I've chosen one fav album for each of the "Big 4" subgenres here to limit myself or else I couldn't stop naming more and more.
    • Death: Death - Symbolic [1995]
    • Black: Burzum - Hvis lyset tar oss [1994]
    • Doom: Katatonia - Brave Murder Day [1996]
    • Thrash: Slayer - Reign in Blood [1986]

  • Post-Rock/Metal
    • Slint - Spiderland [1991]
    • Godspeed You Black Emperor! - F♯ A♯ ∞ [1997]
    • Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven [2000]
      A Silver Mt. Zion - Born into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward [2001]
    • Isis - Oceanic [2002]
      Explosions in the Sky - The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place [2003]
    • Cult of Luna - Salvation [2004]
    • Isis - Panopticon [2004]
    • Jesu - Jesu [2005]
    • Isis - In the Absence of Truth [2006]
      Yndi Halda - Enjoy Eternal Bliss [2006]
      God Is an Astronaut - Far From Refuge [2007]
    • Rosetta - A Determinism of Morality [2010]

  • Drone/Noise
    • Skullflower - Form Destroyer [1989]
    • Earth - Earth 2: Special Low-Frequency Version [1993]
    • Skullflower - Carved Into Roses [1994]
    • Bardo Pond - Bufo Alvarius, Amen 29:15 [1995]
    • Windy & Carl - Depths [1998]
    • Double Leopards - Halve Maen [2003]
    • Phill Niblock - Touch Food [2003]
    • Boris - Boris at Last -Feedbacker- [2003]
    • Yellow Swans - Psychic Secession [2006]
    • Sunn O))) & Boris - Altar [2006]
    • Nadja - Radiance of Shadows [2007]
    • Nadja - Atavist - Satori - Infernal Procession... And Then Everything Dies [2008]
    • Various Artists - Infernal Procession ...And Then Everything Dies [2008]
    • Monno - Ghosts [2008]
    • To Blacken the Pages - A Semblance of Something Appertaining to Destruction [2008]
    • Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions [2009]
    • Ben Frost - By the Throat [2009]
    • Merzbow - ...

  • Ambient
    preferrably dark atmospheric stuff.
    • Ildfrost - Autumn departure [1994]
    • Beherit - Electric Doom Synthesis [1995]
    • Aäkon Këëtrëh - Dans la forêt [1996]
    • Ildfrost - Natanael [1997]
    • Paysage d'Hiver - Die Festung [1999]
    • Midnight Syndicate - The 13th Hour [2005]
    • Nox Arcana - Blackthorn Asylum [2009]

  • Classical Music
    favorite performance listed in brackets.
    • Antonio Vivaldi - Four Seasons [The English Concert/Trevor Pinnock]
    • Edvard Grieg - Peer Gynt Suites [Berliner Philharmoniker/Herbert von Karajan]
    • Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy - A Midsummer Night's Dream [The London Symphony Orchestra/André Previn]
    • Gustav Holst - The Planets [Berliner Philharmoniker/Herbert von Karajan]
    • Gustav Mahler - Symphonie Nr. 5 [Berliner Philharmoniker/Herbert von Karajan]
    • Johann Sebastian Bach - Goldberg Variations [Glenn Gould]
    • Richard Strauss & Paul Hindemith - Horn Concertos [Dennis Brain and the Philharmonia Orchestra/ Wolfgang Sawallisch]
    • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker [Kirov Orchestra & Kirov Chorus, St Petersburg/Valery Gergiev]
    • Robert Schumann - Kinderszenen & Kreisleriana [Martha Argerich]


btw: some of you may know me better under the alias "Zetto" from various other places.

Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old Aug 11, 2010, 09:26 PM
Wineandbread Wineandbread is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1
Default

Non-video game/anime music? Yeah right !!

jkjk, here's a sampler of other artists I listen to:

[Classical]
Chopin
Liszt
Vivaldi
Saint-Seans
Pachelbel

[Orchestral/Soundtrack/Trailer]
Zimmer
Williams
Powell
Shore
Shinkai
Immediate Music

[Electronic/IDM/DnB/etc.]
Pendulum
The Flashbulb
Venetian Snares
Noisia
SHE
Virt

[Alternate/Metal/Progressive Rock/etc.]
Liquid Tension Experiment
Dream Theater
Train
Los Lonely Boys
Coldplay
Muse

[Hip-hop/rap/popular]
Fort Minor
... Jay-Z?

[Jazz/Funk/Blues/Easy listening/etc.]
Earth, Wind, and Fire
The Carpenters
Stevie Wonder
Seal
Caldera

[Asian]
Outsider
Angela Aki
supercell (this is kinda anime xd)
Capsule

[Other/misc]
Plus-Tech Squeeze Box
OSTER Project
Glome (does vgm remixes)
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old Aug 12, 2010, 03:20 AM
Mika's Avatar
Mika Mika is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: FI
Posts: 124
Default

You can a fairly good idea of what I listen to from my last.fm library.

But because you all are probably too lazy to click the link, I'll just paste the names here. There's a fair amount of metal in there I guess, but I've been scrobbling for so long now that the overall chart may not reflect exactly my todays picks. The difference with 12 months chart and all time chart is definitely there.

CMX
In Flames
The Cardigans
System of a Down
Bad Religion
Garbage
Michael Giacchino
Air
Danny Elfman
John Williams
Nightwish
Blur
Sonata Arctica
Foo Fighters
Placebo
The Offspring
Sentenced
Godsmack
Soundgarden
Audioslave
Green Day
Oasis
Alkaline Trio
Manic Street Preachers
ZZ Top
James Horner

I'm terrible at explaining any of them or give great album examples, so I won't. It's just good music and I listen to it.
__________________
Collection
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old Aug 12, 2010, 03:34 AM
Blitz Lunar's Avatar
Blitz Lunar Blitz Lunar is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 778
Default

a few of my favourites i can think of atm (with some youtube example links)

µ-Ziq / Kid Spatula
Jamiroquai
Venetian Snares
Level 42
Swing Out Sister
Casiopea
Chick Corea Elektric Band
Dayton
Maurice Ravel
Squarepusher
Dream Theater
Stereolab
Hiromi
Boards of Canada
Nikolai Kapustin
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Vince Dicola
Dubstar
N.E.R.D
Lars Bartkuhn
Capsule / COLTEMONIKHA
Pet Shop Boys
Aphex Twin
Weather Report
Stevie Wonder
The Avalanches

also a lot of music my friends make, like shnabubula, Kulor, Tony Thai, mint, dusthillguy, soundburst, Maxo, and lots of other guys. i probably listen to their stuff as much as everything else.

my last.fm has mostly vgm so i can't really link that. lol.

Quote:
The Corrs
yeah, me too. I really like this cover they did of Old Town.
__________________
iridescentaudio.co.uk

Last edited by Blitz Lunar; Aug 12, 2010 at 03:40 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old Aug 12, 2010, 08:19 AM
jdkluv jdkluv is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 186
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by LiquidAcid View Post
[*]The Corrs (I'm a sucker for celtic/irish style *g*) ['Unplugged']
Funnily enough, me too! Though only recently I've been listening to the music of Lúnasa, and I must give them my highest recommendation. I came across them through some interview with Miki Higashino, and from Mitsuda as well, so I thought I'd check 'em out. Much more raw and celtic than the Corrs (also non-vocal).

Nice that this community has a pretty diverse taste outside of VGM, we've got more in common than we think!
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old Aug 12, 2010, 09:36 AM
Jormungand's Avatar
Jormungand Jormungand is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 1,062
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blitz Lunar View Post
All very fine choices my friend! That performance of the Prélude from Le Tombeau is going at an insane tempo--that's right around the speed that the original piano solo is supposed to go. That's really flying for an orchestra. o.o

I'll try to do as Lunar did and find some favorite youtube examples.

Classical:

Debussy [Passepied from Suite Bergamasque(gah out of 100 recordings on yt I can't find a single one I like... this will have to do)] [Nuages] [Jeux de vagues from La Mer] [Danses sacrée et profane and once again can't find a recording I'm completely satisfied with)

Grainger [Lord Melbourne from Lincolnshire Posy] [Rufford Park Poachers from Lincolnshire Posy] [Children's March]

Holst [March from Suite in F] [Intermezzo from First Suite in Eb] [Saturn from The Planets] [part 1, The Cloud Messenger]

Milhaud [La création du monde] [Ile de France from Suite Francaise] [Alsace-Lorraine from Suite Francaise]

Poulenc [Domine Deus from Gloria -- an OK version, really wish I could find a soprano that does less sliding and is more subtle with her entrances] [mvt. 1 from Concerto in D minor for 2 pianos & orchestra] [Valse in C Major]

Prokofiev [Gavotte from Classical Symphony] [Dance of the Pagan monster from Scythian Suite] [Small Pieces performed by Prokofiev himself, recording via piano roll]

Ravel [Jeux d'eau -- a bit fast for my tastes, but Richter is extraordinary] [Assez vif from String Quartet in F major -- just a touch slow] [Pavane pour une infante defunte -- probably his most popular work, but has some VGM significance in that it appears in arranged form in Breath of Fire IV] [Daphnis et Chloé Suite 1]

Satie [Gymnopédie no.1 -- yeah everyone knows this one...] [Gnossienne no.1] [Nocturne no.3]

R. Strauss [Dance of the Seven Veils from Salome -- do some searching and you can see the opera performance, might be a bit NSFW but it's beautiful] [Don Juan part 1] [Im abendrot from Four last Songs]

Stravinsky [Rite of Spring part 1 -- you don't know music till you've heard Rite of Spring]

Copland [Clarineto Concerto mvt. 1 -- Stolzman + the LSO is my personal favorite performing group of this piece] [Dream March & Circus Music from The Red Pony] [[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qbVUnMq8ns&feature=related"]Symphony No.3 mvt. 4[ part 1/URL]]

Hovhaness [Double Fugue from The Mysterious Mountain]

Borodin [Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor] [In the Steppes of Central Asia] [Nocturne from String Quartet no.2]

Smetana [The Moldau from Ma Vlast]

Monteverdi [Zefiro torna from Madrigal Concertato] [Cruda Amarilli] [excerpt from L'Orfeo -- ...ignore the performance]

Bizet [Habanera from Carmen]

Tailleferre [Sonata for Harp]

Texidor [Amparito Roca]

Bach Just type J.S. Bach into youtube and basically everything is beautiful. [St. Matthews Passion] [BWV 558] -- Apparently no one on the internet can play this at the right tempo, it's either way too fast and flawless or fast and inaccurate...at least this tempo displays the fugue part appropriately] [My Jesus! Oh What Anguish -- wind ensemble arr. Alfred Reed]

Modern:

Bernstein [Glitter and Be Gay from Candide -- brilliant performance too] [Westphalia Chorale from Candide] [America from West Side Story] [One Hand, One Heart from WSS]

Eric Whitacre [Cloudburst] [October] [I Thank You God For Most This Amazing Day]

Johann de Meij [Hobbits from Lord of the Rings] [Gollum from LoTR] (de Meij should've scored the films...)


And wow that's way too much for now, I'm not even halfway through what I wanted to post. Just gonna stop here lol. All of this music must be listened to in its entirety so as to validate my exceptional nerdness in taking the time to construct this overindulgent post. ^^;;;;;;;;;;;;;
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old Aug 12, 2010, 09:52 AM
Don Don is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 923
Default

Hmm, I don't listen to much outside of game music, but I'm a really big fan (like beyond words) of a Japanese group called Sound Horizon. Quite diverse in terms of overall styles played and there isn't a single song that I dislike, which is saying something.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old Aug 13, 2010, 08:29 AM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 609
Default

I like classical (in the broad sense that the term is popularly used). Jorgamund listed some great stuff; Debussy is amazing, and Monteverdi and Bach are great choices as well. I even have a bit of a soft spot for the opera Salome.

My favorite composers/works are...

Bach: B minor Mass (Especially the opening Kyrie, but the whole thing's perfection.) and Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (but all of them are great), Cello Suites

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Predictable? Maybe, but my favorite movement's the third, so there.), Symphony No. 6, Piano Sonata No. 8 "Pathetique"

Bruckner: Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 8

Chopin: Nocturnes (I can't choose between them...)

Debussy: Preludes, Books I and II, Images, La Mer

Holst: The Planets (With a first movement having often..."inspired" subsequent composers.)

Mahler: Symphony No. 6 (The only sixth, despite the...oh wait, I like that one too...), Das Lied von der Erde (The ending is one of the most beautiful things ever written.)

Mozart: Symphony No. 40 (This thing contains a tone row! In a classical piece! That and it's good music.), Clarinet Concerto

Schumann: Piano Concerto

Wagner: Ring Cycle (I mean the whole operas, too. Those orchestral excepts discs don't cut it for me.)

Then, the 20th century arrived, and modernism. Strangely enough, I like this stuff too.

Berg: Three Orchestral Pieces, Piano Sonata

Messiaen: Trois Petite Litergies Pour la Presence Devine, Oiseaux Exotiques, Quartet for the End of Time (This guy's music is nuts. It's a love it or hate it kind of thing. My sister heard a bit of it and she shouted "That's the worst music I've heard in my life!" You may feel the same way.)

Schoenberg: Violin Concerto, Begleitmusik zu einer Lichtspiel Scene (He gets much more grief than he deserves from people who've only heard parts of his work or none at all.)

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (which I first heard in Fantasia, like so many kids), Les Noces, Symphony in Three Movements

Takemitsu: Rain Tree Sketch II, Ceremonial: An Autumn Ode, In an Autumn Garden, Requiem for Strings (Imagine Debussy mixed with Messiaen. This guy's music is kind of like that.)

I like a lot of 20th century avant garde work, but I still don't understand Boulez or Carter, so the latter half is pretty much Messiaen and Takemitsu for me.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old Aug 14, 2010, 01:06 PM
LiquidAcid LiquidAcid is offline
Trusted Editor
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 1,644
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jdkluv View Post
Funnily enough, me too! Though only recently I've been listening to the music of Lúnasa, and I must give them my highest recommendation. I came across them through some interview with Miki Higashino, and from Mitsuda as well, so I thought I'd check 'em out. Much more raw and celtic than the Corrs (also non-vocal).
Any specific album recommendation you can give? When it comes to celtic music I can never get enough, some I'm more than willing to try this out

And yes, I left out all the soundtrack stuff in the entry post - even the western movie scores. Put them back in, and I could add (in no particular order):
John Williams
Jerry Goldsmith
Danny Elfman
Klaus Badelt
Hans Zimmer
Michael Giacchino
John Powell
James Newton Howard
Mychael Danna
Rachel Portman
E.S. Posthumus
Howard Shore
Two Steps From Hell
John Debney

This list is probaly not complete at all
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old Aug 15, 2010, 10:21 AM
jdkluv jdkluv is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 186
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by LiquidAcid View Post
Any specific album recommendation you can give? When it comes to celtic music I can never get enough, some I'm more than willing to try this out
Not yet, since I haven't listened to all their albums, but judging from what I've heard, really any album is worthy ... so hunt it all down!!!
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old Aug 15, 2010, 11:00 AM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 609
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by LiquidAcid View Post
And yes, I left out all the soundtrack stuff in the entry post - even the western movie scores. Put them back in, and I could add (in no particular order):
I forgot in my post, since I got carried away with my love for classical music, but I have to say that John Williams' score for Star Wars was the first movie soundtrack that I loved, and the first CD I ever owned was a Star Wars CD.

I still love Star Wars music, even more now that I've discovered the inspirations behind the score in Holst, Wagner, Mahler, Stravinsky, and Bartok.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old Sep 4, 2010, 08:21 PM
Vert1's Avatar
Vert1 Vert1 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: USA
Posts: 325
Default

Top 5

Al Kapone
Lassigue Bendthaus
Epsilon
Legowelt
Visage

more ratings shit at discogs

Last edited by Vert1; Sep 4, 2010 at 09:06 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old Oct 27, 2010, 11:39 PM
KeyLogic's Avatar
KeyLogic KeyLogic is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Heaven? No no, what's that other place that starts with H? Oh yes, home. :-)
Posts: 207
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by LiquidAcid View Post
Any specific album recommendation you can give? When it comes to celtic music I can never get enough, some I'm more than willing to try this out
KeyLogic is also a fan of Celtic music. Before he even discovered the world of video game music, KeyLogic's favorite artist was Enya. Obviously there were others but KeyLogic doesn't recall their names right off hand.

If you guys like string quartet, KeyLogic highly recommends checking out the arrangements of Escala. KeyLogic first found out about them when one of their songs, Finding Beauty, was featured on the TV show America's Got Talent. They first debuted on Britain's Got Talent, though. Here's a page from their official site where you can listen to the song mentioned above along with the rest of the songs from their album: escalamusic.com music page. Clubbed To Death. Great song!

Stepping into world music for a moment, here's a song by Israeli artist Idan Raichel that KeyLogic really enjoys and recommends giving a listen to: The Idan Raichel Project - Mi'ma'amakim (Out of the Depths)
The first singer (vogadres avi voasa) is singing in Amharic and the second singer (Idan Raichel) is singing in Hebrew.

These are just a few of the artists and styles of music that KeyLogic thouroughly enjoys listening to along with video game music.
__________________
The statement below is false.
The statement above is true.

One man was smart, he felt smart. Two men were smart, they smelt farrr...darn it! I'll never get it right.

What is "the box" that people are supposed to think outside of anyway? Hmm. Maybe it's similar to the Borg from Star Trek who dwelled as a collective hive-mind within a...box/cube. Those that deviated from this hive-mind would, in effect, be thinking outside of the box. it has both a figurative and a literal meaning.

Last edited by KeyLogic; Oct 27, 2010 at 11:43 PM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Your Favorite Anime Composers Blackiris Animation Music Discussion 2 Sep 12, 2018 05:31 PM
Your favorite SCORES from ANIME SUMMER SSN 2016 Porter Animation Music Discussion 2 Aug 28, 2016 08:00 AM
RECAPITULATION - your favorite score from anime SUMMER season 2015 Porter Animation Music Discussion 0 Oct 19, 2015 08:10 AM
A break from the technical stuff. Favorite artists! Bravebeat Video Game Music Discussion 61 Jun 13, 2012 12:30 AM
Favorite Anime Song ? Aindreas Animation Music Discussion 11 Mar 31, 2012 06:13 PM