Music

Below are some bands that I'm into at the moment.  They are either new favorites or old stuff I can't put down right now.  The bands and the babbling about them will change as often as I get the chance to update this page.

• Aburi Na Town:  Another band branching off listening to Babymetal.  Nothing like Babymetal, besides, yes, they are an all-girl Japanese band.  What grabbed my attention was the band's punk-ish sound/feel.  Throwing me back to my time in Baltimore.  They are like Social Distortion or Bad Religion in the "there should be a sub-genre" way, not in a "they're copying them" way.   They have their own "voice" and seem to be behind their songs.  Oh, Yukinari, the guitarist, does wear a Buzzcocks shirt in several videos. 

• Deftones:  I've liked these guys for a long time.  I looked over the albums that I have of theirs and noticed I didn't have Ohms and Diamond Eyes.  So what's another few albums?!?!!??  A first listen to the albums leave me with a good impression.  I need to listen to them more to have more to say.

• Rodrigo y Gabriela:  This duo from Mexico does some incredibly inventive two-guitar music.  They've put out some varied compositions, and you can hear the "Spanish guitar" style.  That is an overbroad term in my opinion, and even the "New Flamenco" that they are labeled.  But they really should not be pigeonholed at all.  It is hard to describe exactly how they veer off.  They've also put out albums with heavy jazz and metal influences.  I'm making my way through their collection and loving it.  I also want to continue seeing how they explore the creation of music. 

• {More to come as I load/listen to my current playlists.}

In Rio's life that is.  :-P   This is stuff that is on my playlists right now.  Either I'm just getting to know them or they've recently resurfaced.  More will come and some will go.

• Tomb Mold:  Various things I've read online kept referring to Tomb Mold.  They also seem to get flak because they don't dress like the typical Death Metal artists.  The last bit is hilarious; kinda like how many punks does it take to change a light bulb?  They have demos from various years on bandcamp.com under their name and albums under Blood Harvest Records.  The first album is hard to find on CD; the cheapest I found is $65!!!  I got their latest on CD; sadly, from Amazon.  More to come!

• Ataxia:  There are two bands that I know of that go by this name.  The one that is linked, that I'm listening to now, is a "supergroup" comprised of guitarist John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), bassist Joe Lally (Fugazi), and drummer Josh Klinghoffer (Dot Hacker, The Bicycle Thief).  When artists have these kinda collaborations, especially, to me, these guys, they have the potential to make some really interesting music.  

• Atic:  A colleague at work was listening to a Spotify channel and a song by them peaked my attention.  I think they are Drum & Bass.  All I can find of them is on their YouTube channel.  They seem to be a mix of a record label and a project/artist that does collaborations with other artists/projects. 

• Babymetal:  These folks have been making a name for themselves over the years.  The singers came from the Japanese Idol scene, but when the lead singer "aged" out, she kept the band going.  So to have a branching project from the idol seems very rare, if not unique.  Their sound is clean vocals over heavy metal music.  They've been around for more than 10 years (as of 2024).

• HANABIE. :  After listening to Babymetal a fair amount on YouTube, other bands came up.  Like most algorithms for "similar" music, it was very surface-oriented.  Mostly all were female, metal-ish, and Japanese.  For those specific qualities, HANABIE. grabbed my attention.  Many consider them metalcore but also have punk and nu-metal elements with the occasional hip-hop and electronica mixed in. 

• noxantes:  This is an interesting "find".  Like The Moses Gun, the band found me.  I'm not into social networking, so I find it interesting that they connected to me on Bandcamp.com.  So, I listened to their songs that were on bandcamp.com and liked what I heard.  I bought their discography (so far?).  More to say as I listen to them.

• Lords Of Acid:  These guys, led by Praga Khan, have been around since the early 90s.  They are great in so many ways and I just found out I didn't have a few of their albums.  Their lyrics are very raunchy; in the least almost always sexual innuendos.  They are considered electronica; some say acid house, industrial, or dance.  They are energetic, have great beats, and are fun to move to.  Some might think them repetitive, or cheesy.  I see them as putting serious effort into what they do, but are not overly serious about themselves.  I like that perspective.  I think they are fun but listen for yourself.  

• Sleep Token:  These guys were named Revolver's Artist of the Year and are also liked by Amy Lee of Evanescence.  So that's enough to make it on the list for me.  They make beautiful music; often grandiose.  They sometimes teeter on pompous but seem to want that epic sound without trying hard to be epic.   Almost seamlessly move from light or sparse sounds to heavy or loud or dense sounds.  While maintaining the same feel/vibe as the moods of the idea are explored.  That is impressive.  So while I usually go for more eclectic music, I see why folks like them.  And I do too, so I'm going to keep exploring their catalog.

• Scream:  These guys are a hardcore punk band from the DC scene in the 80's.  They released 6 albums including the new DC Special in 2023.  At one point, they had 3 guitarists and were known for "dual lead guitars" with some intricate interplay.  Some trivia is that they were the first band to record at Inner Ear Studios and, at one point, had Dave Ghrol in it.  I also noticed that I don't have the 3rd through 5th albums, I might have to remedy that soon!  Speaking of which, the No More Censorship album is hard to find in its original form, not even on their Bandcamp page.  There is a reissue subtitled "NMC17" from 2017 on Amazon.

I used to keep a separate list.  But now all the stuff I've heard about or I want to check out is on this spreadsheet.  The point numbers are bands I have but haven't loaded yet.  

Okay, that's absolutely just a joke.  They are not brand new (to me), and yet they are not falling off the current playlists.  Anytime soon.  ;-)

• Elder:  After only listening to their first and last (as of 2024) albums, I bought their entire catalog.  After a week of listening to them (a lot), they've "moved way up" on the Rio-like-o-meter.  My sister called them "stoner, prog, psychedelic, dreamy, beautiful".  I couldn't agree more and so glad my sister gave me their latest.  Their earlier stuff is more crunchy/punchy and their latest is cleaner/dreamier.  They are prog-y, and they feel like they approach that "genre in Rio's Head", but coming at it from a different angle than those firmly seated in that genre.  It's that they have those metal and prog qualities, and them being more prominent.

• Meshuggah:  A friend mentioned these folks to me years ago.  I wish I paid attention.  They made it on my list to check out because they are known for "their innovative musical style and their complex, poly-metered song structures and polyrhythms.".   Some of their songs are like "wow" and, for most, each listen reveals more to it.  They also work listening in the background (meaning hearing on the surface).   They are one that I'm keeping around.  

BTW, they are put in the "djent" sub-genre of progressive metal (also a sub-genre?).  The more I listen to djent, the more I think it isn't a genre.  Yes, some characteristics can be found in Meshuggah and music by other artists that are labeled djent.  But those same artists are not limited to just those characteristics.  I've never really liked genres; there are vague qualities used to describe music.  And at some point applying a genre limits how one might perceive the music. Search around for comments from Misha Mansoor and other metal artists.  Many of them, in some way, say that those qualities are not what they focus on.  /rantoff

• Soulfly:  Max Cavalera left Sepultura in 1996 and formed Soulfly in 1997.  But at the time I wasn't paying attention.  I thank a colleague for bringing them to my attention.  I like these songs a lot.  Slowly working my way through all their albums.  Max has also been in/worked with a large number of bands.  Lot's more to explore.

• Punch Face Champions:  A bit heavier, but they fit in that genre that I can't describe.  

• covet:  A good friend suggested them and they fit into that same un-named genre.  They are very guitar-centric in their exhibition of that idea and definitely cool.

• Stuck In November:  Another friend of mine found these guys.  They are a bit more mellow, but still patterns in/on patterns.  If it matters, they are rock-ish from Bangalore, India.   I wish they had more out than what is on bandcamp.com.  

What, favorites aren't first?  I guess that means the journey is as important as the destination.  And ranks only work for what to listen to next, not how much I like a band.  There are a ton of other artists that I listen to regularly, but these bands are like comfort food to me.

{More blabbing to be added as I have time.}

• Babe The Blue Ox:  

• Blakfish:  

• Built To Spill:  

• Faraquet:  Initially I did not get into these guys in the 90's.  They were on the periphery of my tastes, and that genre in my head hadn't fully formed.  I wish I had listened to them more closely, but maybe I wasn't ready yet.  Outside that unnamed genre, I might say they are experimental post-punk, with a bit of math rock through in.  Now that the idea is more fully formed, they are well situated in my favorites.  

• Fugazi:  Doing your own thing yet being cool (meaning nice, not "styling") about doing it is a delicate line.  It is a quality that permeates Fugazi in/on many ways/levels.  In the 2020s, they are considered one of the greatest punk bands.  I'm not sure they are punk.  They are a band that understands space is as important as notes.  This could be said of many bands, but the punk label limits how one listens to them.  Often, punk can be seen as simplistic, and Fugazi is far from that, in both music and lyrics.  

• The Mars Volta:  Born from At The Drive-in, they are amazing, to me.  Post-punk, psychedelic, patterns in/on patterns, prog-y.  Sometimes they get way out there, but one of the bands I listen to frequently.  Some of their songs I would say I overplay!  They are often intense at the same time as settling into a groove.  So any band that can take seemingly contradictory things and make beautiful pieces of art is worth listening to for me.

• Meet Me In St. Louis:  

• mr. GNOME: Amazingly, they are just 2 people.  Another band that crosses genres.  They often touch on that genre that is in my mind, but I'm not sure they match it 100%.  Watch their live session on KEXP; they mention some history and influences.  Check out their album art and videos too, they do a lot of it themselves.  They are talented artists, not just musicians.

• Rage Against The Machine:  Hmmm, what to say about Rage?!?!?!  Tom Morello is an excellent guitar player.  Zach de la Rocha is a brilliant lyricist and singer.  And bassist Tim Commerford (he's referred to Rush!) and drummer Brad Wilk are great musicians as well.  Their music is punk-ish, rock-ish, funk-ish, heavy-ish; and how can that not extrude attitude and politics?   Rage is more aggressive about it, and they don't sound anything like Fugazi, but one has to wonder about the world that both bands would want.  I'd like to live in that world.  

• Rush:  If there was one band that doesn't have a single song I'm not into, it would be Rush.  I'm not sure if their genre would be prog-ish hardrock or hardrock-ish prog.  But that kinda of happens with a lot of bands I like.  I would say they started me on this "exploration of patterns in/on patterns" idea.  It's often said that they are one of the few bands that an entire family might like, across all generations, at the same time!  Some more details... They are a 3 piece comprised of Alex Lifeson (guitar), Geddy Lee (bass), and Neil Peart (drums).  They have gone through different phases and explored different influences/styles throughout their career.  While all three are incredible musicians, Neil Peart passed away in 2020.  He is considered of high regard across many genres of fans and fellow musicians.  

• Tool:  

• Volta Do Mar:  I've had in my head a genre that I can't describe besides it being a pattern of patterns that fits neatly together in my head.  I'm not trying to be ego-centric, just that those patterns speak to me on a fundamental level.  Anyway, here is a band in that genre.  

These are bands that have been on my journey since starting this page.  And while not old stand-bys, they are still well-liked.  At some point, I might add other artists I listen to frequently, but have known for a long time.

3TEETH, Riverside (from Poland), Tubelord, Nuclear Assault, Daniel Johnston, Ayyur, Al-Namrood, Coriky,

These are bands that I've listened to since trying to keep up with this website.  They have fallen off the exploration lists and not made it to the hits lists.  I still think worth mentioning and worth a listen.

Absorb Fish, The Raven Age, Jinjer, Okilly Dokilly, Discharge, Crown Lands, .bHP, Riverside (from NYC), Fever Tree,