if anyone would like to enter into discussions about any or all of these four AWESOME artists, I'm down...

I'll start: what are your favorite songs by these artists?

(p.s. elliott smith is discussed in his own thread, becuase he's just awesome that way...)

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals- Album title-Burn to Shine I think it is a rock-n-roll masterpiece.

My Wife and I's wedding song is on that album to boot. Track 11 Beloved One

"you and I have been here, knocking upon love's door..."

what a great wedding song choice!!

I actually want to learn that song on piano so I can sing it to my wife on our 10th anniversary...

"burn to shine" is an awesome album. I especially love "won't you show me a little shame". great tune. and I like his ala paul mccartney big-band hall song "suzie blue".

I saw ben harper in concert here in tokyo. he was amazing, and it helped that the venue was small (only a couple thousand people).

que onde, guero?

beck all the way. :D

Welcome to Ironworks, nethrin. :D

hey, I know you, attalus!! ;)

@vesselle: I'm a HUGE beck fan, too, but "guero" is a dubious album, at best (IMO). as my friend so succinctly put it: "it sounds like he took a lot of leftover tracks from all his previous albums and put them on this one." meaning, it's not bad, but it certainly isn't up there with his better stuff (i.e., "mellow gold").

thoughts?

@ nethrin: where i live, i hear that phrase ALL the time, so it just cracks me up. (background note... i don't speak spanish well at all and to me it sounds like "que underwear?", so like a silly 5 year old, i just laugh.)

personally, i prefer 2 discs: sea change & odelay (especially "where it's at") [img]tongue.gif[/img]

mellow gold was incredible. it was also the first disc i ever heard of his. i think he's only gotten better with time. before that release, there just was nothing like that out. his lyrics, the musical styles... i was never sure if he was poking fun or just trying to stretch the pre-defined boundaries of the different styles. [img]smile.gif[/img] either way, i think he's improved over time.

V***V

[ 07-10-2005, 01:15 PM: Message edited by: vesselle ]

yes, when I first heard beck, I was blown away. there was nothing like him. but what impressed me the most was his incredible way with words. that dude is POETIC. he wields words well.