i made this website- first one i've ever made- to just explain how to get into some different bands and some facts about them. obviously its an awful website, i literally have no clue on how to code whatsoever, and excuse any spelling mistakes, but i hope you enjoy it anyways.
Rock
rock, aka rock n roll, born from blues, R&B, jazz, and country in the 1950's america. rock is a great genre, tons of great bands and artists are rock. rock originated in the US in the late 1940's, then began developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the US and UK. one of the most iconic rock bands is the beatles, my favorite beatle is ringo starr. anyways, enough of that. rock isn't a very specfic genre, so lets get down to subgenres. what are some of my favorite indie rock bands?
there are a ton more indie rock bands i like, but here is five i love. these are all very popular bands, im sure youve heard "505" or "there is a light that never goes out" a ton, but how much have you actually listened to these bands?
the smiths
morrissey, a musical genius, and a controversial one at that. chances are you've heard one or two bad things about the guy, but what remains the same is the man knew, and still does know, how to make music. johnny marr, an excellent guitarist, and created some very iconic guitar riffs, like "this charming man" or "some girls are bigger than others". and also the other members, andy rouke (who died in 2023 due to pancretic cancer, rest in peace), mike joyce, and craig gannon. every album they have is amazing, and its hard to choose a favorite, but if i could get you to listen to just one, i'd say "the smiths" (self-titled album). most people would say listen to "the queen is dead", but i think "the smiths" is a great start. after that i'd say meat is murder then etc. "the smiths" is filled with 10/10 tracks, "still ill", "pretty girls make graves", infact they're all great! if you were to listen to a complimation, obviously "louder than bombs" should be the one you pick. my favorite song!? i have no clue, its very hard for me to choose. but i'd say take a listen to "rubber ring/ what she said (live in london 1986)" which is a mix up of two of their tracks. when first getting into the smiths, listening to all their tracks would be fairly easy since they broke up quick. some people describe the smiths as meloncholic or depressing, but not all their songs are about sad topics, for instance, "frankly mr shankly", "panic", or "ask", which are all more uplifting (for the smiths). i would also take a look at "hatful of hollow", "william, it was really nothing" and "handsome devil" are both tracks you'll only find on that album. the smiths were anti-punk, their music is definitely more sensetive and calm compared to the more aggresive rock of their era.
radiohead
a-ha, radiohead! if you know radiohead, you know their top track, "creep". thom yorke is an artist i don't think anyone could replace. "OK computer" is my favorite album, but the rest are awesome as well. i would listen to the OK computer deluxe edition, "OK computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017" because it has more tracks like "man of war", which i enjoy. OK computer or "in rainbows" would be the first album i'd listen to, after that, "hail to the theif" or "kid A". fun fact, the band didn't really like "pablo honey", as they thought it was underdeveloped and showed their inexperience, and they've been apologizing for it since then. if you were to listen to only five radiohead songs, i'd tell you to listen to "india rubber", "jigsaw falling into place", "high and dry", "just", and "all i need". these arent necessarily my top 5 tracks, but they are definitely some fan favorites. radiohead inspired the bands "muse" and "coldplay", (since we're on the topic of muse.. listen to "showbiz"). radiohead also helped accelerate the decline of CDs by releasing "in rainbows" as a 'pay what you want'. they tried to prove that digital downloading was the future, and CDs were 'zombies' that helped keep the old and bloated music industry alive.
the cure
boys dont cry! you know robert smith, and maybe you even know of the feud between "the cure" and "the smiths". most people would consider the cure as more alt-rock but i think it can be both. the cure has been a band since 1976, which means they're a band with nearly 50 years in the music industry. for the cure i would actually recommend listening to their complimation, "standing on a beach" or "galore". but for albums, i really enjoy "seventeen seconds" and "disintegration". after those two i'd say listen to "wild mood swings", or if you're looking for something simple, just listen to their greatest hits, but they have a crapton of great songs. it'd be fairly hard to get through their whole discography, considering they're at a whopping 13 studio albums, 5 live albums, 10 complimations and singles collection,and around 40 singles and EP's. i wouldn't recommend trying to listen to all of that in a week because you might see some changes in your mental health status."killing an arab" is most likely the most controversial cure song, but they refused to give it up. in may 2005, O'Donnel and Bamote were fired from the band after having Robert inform them he was reducing it to a three-piece. in 2021, Simon Gallup announced he was leaving the cure in a facebook post, stating he was "fed up of betrayl". Galllup had previously left the band in 1982 due to an argument with robert smith, then later returned in 1984.
arctic monkeys
arctic monkeys, or artic monkeys if you don't know how to spell arctic. formed in mid-2002, singer alex turner and guitarist jamie cook started playing together after they both recieved guitars for christmas in 2001. they later added andy nicholson (bass) and matt helders (drums). if you happen to be an arctic monkeys fan, you'd know about how much people hate on TBHC (tranquility base hotel & casino), but i think its a good album, just a big change of direction from their usual style, maybe the track listing is a bit goofy though. my favorite track from TBHC is probably "star treatment". you might also know about the goofy music video for cornerstone, which is just alex turner walking across the screen in a red turtleneck cornerstone music video. "AM" is the most popular arctic monkeys album, (i've seen many people with "arabella" being people favorite song from AM) and the one i recommend you listen to first. but my favorite is "favorite worst nightmare" or "humbug". "whatever people say i am, thats what im not" was their debut album, and quickly became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK's chart history at the time. some of my favorite songs from the arctic monkeys include "fake tales of san francisco", "stop the world i wanna get off with you", "who the f*ck are arctic monkeys?", "balaclava", and "i bet you look good on the dancefloor". if you like the arctic monkeys, you might wanna consider getting into "the last shadow puppets", a scott-walker and david bowie inspired collaboration. TLCP includes primarily alex turner from arctic monkeys, and miles kane of "the rascals". many arctic monkey fans enjoy their album "everything you've come to expect".
New wave
new wave, a popular '80s genre, evolved from punk rock in the UK and US during the mid- to late 1970s. Its described to be a more melodic and lighter "broadening of punk culture". Originally, the term had been used by music critics in the US to label New York punk band, but was later adopted by Sire Records, who launched the "dont call it punk" campaign, intending to replace punk with new wave. There are many bands that can be considered "new wave", lets talk about five.
Duran Duran
Duran Duran, an English band formed in Birmingham in 1978 (and also the favorite band of Diana, princess of wales), dubbed the “fab five” by the british press. Simon Le Bon (lead singer) led the band to fame, and has won three Ivor Novello Awards for his music. you most likely know them from songs like “hungry like a wolf, “girls on film”, or their first hit, “planet earth”. You might even know them from the title track of the James Bond movie, “A View to Kill”. They also appeared in the films “Layer Cake”, “Donnie Darko”, and “The Saint”. Duran Duran fans are called ‘Duranies’. Duran Duran has 16 studio albums, and i wont tell you I’ve listened to them all because that’d be a lie. I would consider listening to their greatest hits album first, then decide which era of the band is your favorite. Some of their most iconic works come from the “trilogy” of their first three albums- “Duran Duran”, “Rio”(which fun fact did not do very well in the US at first) and “Seven and the Ragged Tiger”. Another fun fact is that the band got their name from a mad scientist in the movie “Barberella”, who was named Dr. Durand Durand. John Taylor,(bass player of Duran Duran) was in multiple other bands, including: “The Power Station”, “Band-Aid”, and “Neurotic Outsiders”. He also left the band in 1997, and started a solo career, focusing on alt rock and electronic music. Andy Taylor (guitar player), left in 1986, and was also in “The Power Station” and “Band-Aid” but was also in “Gerry and the Peacemakers” and “Reef”. Warren Cuccurullo replaced Andy as the new guitar player in 1989. Andy also approached a solo career, releasing three studio albums and collaborating with many artists. Simon Le Bo (vocalist) and Nick Rhodes (keyboard) both stayed loyal members of Duran Duran, while Roger Taylor (drums) retired fully from the music industry in 1986 due to exhaustion, later returning in 2001 for the reunion of the band (including all other members i previously mentioned) and has remained the drummer since then.