crows to burnaby

You'd think I'd make a post like this once in a while, but I haven't really, have I?

Most of the new music I get into is by recommendation from friends - I use last.fm or Pandora sporadically but they rarely give me something that really moves me. It's like I need someone to TELL me to listen to something before I'll take it seriously, invest emotionally in it.

• I know I'm just a BIT behind the curve on this one, but this year Jen and Marcus finally got me listening to Nine Inch Nails. I always thought it'd be too shouty/aggro for me - I hate screamy voices - but Reznor has more of an anguished gritty tone that still can carry a melody. And it's more electronic than I thought, like if Depeche Mode just got really pissed off. And, hey, sometimes you just want to feel like a tortured soul. So I'm making up for lost time and listening to lots of NIN these days.
• I'm also quite enjoying a few tracks by Tweaker, the solo project of ex-NIN drummer Chris Vrenna, courtesy of our actor friend Craig. More electronica/downtempo, not as harsh and angsty, very listenable. Check out "Worse than Yesterday".
• Marcus pointed me to one song by Meletus is a Liar and I bought some tracks. I like the lonely, pensive sound to it; it's not something that I listen to every day but it mixes well with my other music.
• It goes without saying that I love Thom Yorke's solo album, The Eraser. Okay, it did take a few listens for me to love it, but I do now.
• I've gotten into Regina Spektor lately, via a recommendation from my friend Jon (who was the one who got me to listen to Radiohead, so I will forever respect his musical taste). Regina is in the sort of eclectic singer/pianist genre, like Tori Amos or Fiona Apple. Oddly enough, Darren also posted a rave about her the day I bought the CD.
• When ARCTIC played out east, we played a show in London, ON with Portia and I greatly enjoyed their set. Their Myspace tracks are live off the floor and give you a good idea of what they sound like - very Bjork/Massive Attack-ish sound. It pleases me when their tracks appear in shuffle mode on my iPod.
• I'm also really enjoying listening to the partially-finished ARCTIC track currently in progress. That's a good sign - if I got sick of them after a few listens, there'd be something wrong...

I have been craving new music, so if you have any suggestions, bring 'em on. In general I'm into anything that combines the acoustic with the electronic - Radiohead, Massive Attack, Beck - and very textured things, like Boards of Canada. I haven't found myself getting too excited about much new stuff lately - everything seems so "post"-everything and lo-fi and sparse, and sometimes that's nice but I'm finding a lot of the new indie bands to be derivative of each other. But I'm all ears if you've got ideas.