36 replies to this topic

[tajeco]

Sorry if there's a thread like this already, I must've missed it.

By depth, I don't mean a lot of material, I mean depth of thought, like meditating. It's great when artists go beneath the surface like Frusciante. George Harrison is also great, especially the Brainwashed cd, lyrics like "Universe at play, inside your DNA, you're a billion years old, today". And George/The Beatles with "Within You Without You".
With rap, Wu-Tang had a lot, and Wu affiliate Killah Priest's Heavy Mental has depth.
Can anyone recommend some more multi-dimensional music/lyrics? Thank you. Peace.

[Fenix]

This is a really broad question, I'll answer you with my personal favourite band, Radiohead.

I think they have the deepest music of all time.

[gurpsone]

One of my favourite MC's right now is someone called Akala. He's from London.

I'm recommending him because you like Killah Priest.

[Automatic Writing]

My general advice would be to look at the influences of bands and artists who have that sort of depth of mind that you enjoy. Some personal recs would be: Joy Division, one of John's favs, Jeff Buckley, Frank Zappa/Captain Beefheart (if it's your sort of thing), Velvet Underground, a little known 60s psychedelic band called Wishbone Ash. If you havnt checked out Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, that's a great popvalbum with a lot of intelligence behind it.

[ACNL89]

Cat Power

[Doctor Robert]

Mujuice.
search on youtube.

[dakini]

Jane Siberry, Ronnie Lane and Dave Davies (particularly his solo stuff, and check out all the cool stuff spiritual/healing work he's up to lately at davedavies.com) all seem to me very much kindred souls to John. Jane and Ronnie in particular followed similar paths of "throwing it all away" to pursue spirituality/authenticity in their creative work. I would put Pete Townshend (again, particularly his solo work) in a similar category, but he can be a bit ham-fisted at times compared to the subtlety going on in Lane's and Siberry's work, and Davies just seems a truly warm-hearted guy doing his best to find ways to spread peace and healing to the world at large through art, music, and his various online meditation/spirituality/emotional wellness type groups and Rock Spirit Radio podcast.

I will point out that if you check out Lane, he is very, very subtle, and approaches the spirituality of his work in a very Sufic manner -- ie., it's easy to miss the depth of his work if you take his words literally rather than metaphorically, but there IS a lot going on there for one with "eyes to see."

And it's really hard to surpass Leonard Cohen, in my estimation.

I suppose TMV and Omar's solo work are pretty obvious, so probably don't need mentioning, though Cedric's writing style can be a bit opaque.

[tajeco]

Thank you for the responses. Much appreciated. I'll check them out

[White_Widow]

Hi there!

You should check out an English band called 'James' they've been about since the mid 80s, prob stay away from their first few albums...check out the album 'Laid'

[cpank]

I'll give you what I feel is an obvious answer overlooked by many: Pearl Jam. Just really look into any aspect of their music and it is the only one that compares to Johns for me. Lyrically and musically, they have more depth than any other band in modern music (IMO).

[ryanliamg]

Modest Mouse
the Flaming Lips

[pehjott]

Nick Drake --> every frusciante fan should try something from "Five leafes left" or "Pink Moon"
Radiohead/Thom Yorke --> falsetto,usage of effects.Check out Amnesiac or In Rainbows
Björk --> Well,just try something from Vepertine,Homogenic or her last record
King Crimson -->1969-1974,especially The 1st 4 records
Captain Beefhaert --> Niandra-period
Syd Barrett --> Niandra period
Can --> for Ataxia-esque (repeating bass lines,guitar and vocals over the top)

[Robertham36]

Elliott Smith

[Anti-Matter]

Ones not mentioned would be: Luke Abbott, Caribou, Gil-Scott Heron, J Dllla, Jeff Beck, Boards of Canada

[goofyrat]

charles mingus

[Snowed In 11]

Well, if you are looking for music that inspired John, I would suggest several artists that he covered during his acoustic tour in support of TROWFTD. Here is a small list:

R.E.M.
Radiohead
David Bowie
Lou Reed
Iggy Pop
Jimi Hendrix
Syd Barrett
Bad Brains

It's a nice diverse list of artists that have influenced him, ranging from punk to glam to more experimental rock.

[Iva]

Anti-Matter, on 14 November 2011 - 12:48 AM, said:

Ones not mentioned would be: Luke Abbott, Caribou, Gil-Scott Heron, J Dllla, Jeff Beck, Boards of Canada

Caribou, totally! A great and humble guy with great depths in his music, both lyrically and instrumentally.

I filmed this in 2010...not the greatest video quality as the venue is horrible and I was literally standing where I could sniff his white-socked feet so I had to keep the camera high above my head, but just look at the things he's doing live. Splendid!

[Blank]

try this on for size: Tall Ships – Vessels

[dakini]

I wonder if people who've posted here might elaborate on their various choices, cuz in reading this and thinking about the huge diversity of bands suggested, I can't help but wonder if A) we all mean the same thing with the word "depth", and B ) what other people see going on in these various bands that might be flying over my own or others' heads. I tried to get at that a bit myself with my comments on Ronnie Lane's music, because it seems to me most people casually listening to him with no background biographical info would never think to consider his lyrics in the metaphorical terms of Sufi poetry (of which he was an avid fan, as well as a devout follower of Meher Baba who was deeply influenced by Sufism and himself inclined to read a lot more into popular music lyrics of his era than most people are -- eg., he considered Cole Porter a divinely inspired poet-prophet, along with several old-time country western singers), but for those whose ears are pricked for such stuff, it's everywhere in his work.

Likewise, after posting this I also had thought I should have added R.E.M. to this list, but imagine most casual listeners aren't cluing into the subtle allusions Stipe makes to various poets and philosophers throughout so likely would never catch on that he's nodding to Nietzsche or WB Yeats or whoever.

So, I'd be interested to hear more about these various artists and what depth it is you guys perceive in them so I might notice it better myself.