Who today is pushing the musical boundaries?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by rickg, Mar 28, 2015.

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  1. rickg

    rickg Forum Resident Thread Starter

    As a music lover broken in by The Beatles and the British Invasion and later refined first by The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Spirit and later by Yes, E L &P. Genesis, I have lately been wondering who today is pushing the musical boundaries like those mentioned and others have?

    I am not thinking of avant-garde bands or experimental bands, but bands the push the envelope while still being accessible and listenable to a wide range of listeners. That tends to be the music I gravitate towards, a bit different, maybe unusual but enjoyable.

    Granted, I do not keep up with many of today's musical artists, things aren't the same as they were back in the day cruising record stores. Music is promoted quite differently and frankly I miss most of it. But I have paid enough attention to become fans of a few artists that I think fit the bill:

    Jack White in all of his incarnations.
    Beck even though some of it I don't care for but some he has produced some very interesting music.

    After that short list, I start to draw a blank. Yes lots of good music such as Alabama Shakes and my current fave Paul Thorn, but I don't think they are pushing the envelope.

    So help me out, give me a few interesting new artists who push the envelope while remaining an enjoyable listen.

    Thanks,

    Rick G
     
  2. Kanye West. :)
     
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  3. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    I wish I had a better idea of what pushing the envelope and pushing the musical boundaries mean. I like Sleater-Kinney, but I'm not sure how much pushing they do.
     
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  4. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    No. Musical pushing, not pushing other artists off the stage. :winkgrin:
     
  5. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    I'm not too sure what musical boundaries Jack White is pushing up against, or Beck for that matter either, though I think Beck did move around some boundaries a bit in the mid 90s. Sounds more like you are just looking for good music that doesn't immediately remind you of something you've heard before.

    I'm a pretty big fan of Andy Stott's Faith in Strangers record from last year which is playing right now, and I especially like the more menacing moments such as in the song below called "Violence", which starts out kind of conventionally, but soon picks up a much more haunting tone ... though how much it pushes boundaries (it is somewhat reminiscent of the great Tricky debut Maxiquaye in the mid 90s) and how enjoyable it is may depend on the path that brought you here :)




    The new record by Marriages called Salome has been pushing a lot of the right buttons for me, not too sure about boundaries, but sounds pretty fresh. A few mentions in other threads ... http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/new-bands-etc.424662/#post-12088862
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2015
  6. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    Joanna Newsom
     
  7. manxman

    manxman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Isle of Man
    The genre that has really pushed the boundaries in recent years is metal. Bands like Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Maudlin Of The Well, Kayo Dot (a continuation of Maudlin Of The Wall, taking their music in a modern classical direction), Unexpect, Rolo Tomassi and Stolen Babies may not be to your taste, but there's no doubt that they were opening up new musical pathways and undertaking some breathtaking cross-genre fusions.
     
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  8. zen

    zen Senior Member

  9. redmetalmoose

    redmetalmoose Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    These guys do just about everything.I don't know if thats pushing boundaries.

    Changed clip to a show in Lowell,Ma.
    Still a Radiohead cover.
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2015
  10. Spooky

    Spooky Forum Resident

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Cool thread. Will be interesting to see the responses because I am curious too.

    Here's what I can think of off hand:

    White Denim: One could say they are pushing the boundaries as to me they sound like "southern prog rock"

    Don Caballero: Though they aren't really together anymore they definitely pushed the boundaries in the early 2000's. The quintessential "math rock" band.

    Battles: Definitely their own, unique genre.

    Animal Collective (as well as Panda Bear solo): I know of nothing at all that sounds like them. And seeing them live a few years ago completely solidified them as boundary pushers.

    Foxygen: Not sure if they are boundary posing but they have taken psychedelic pop to a new level.

    Ween (though current not together): In my humble opinion they were the closest thing to a modern day Beatles.

    TV on the Radio: 'Return to Cookie Mountain' certainly approached music in a very unique and new manor.
     
  11. mavisgold

    mavisgold Senior Member

    Location:
    bellingham wa
  12. Lucidae

    Lucidae AAD

    Location:
    Australia
    Have you heard of Rose Windows? A new band that's combining psychedelic rock, hard rock, folk rock and progressive rock all in one.

     
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  13. rickg

    rickg Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I was given a $50 iTunes gift card that I just found a use for, assuming some of these suggestions are available through them.

    As for what I mean, about pushing the boundaries and the examples that I gave, when those bands came out they really did not sound like other bands that were around at the time. Whether it was unique instruments, arrangements or vocal treatments they sounded different and often spurred imitators.

    I know clear as mud, huh? But I am not sure how else to explain.

    Rick G
     
  14. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Zappa, on the old albums.
     
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  15. CARPEYOLO

    CARPEYOLO Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
  16. MaggieMac

    MaggieMac Forum Resident



    No idea if this is pushing the envelope, but this video just came my way yesterday via a friend.. a fantastic cover of last year's ear worm, All About That Bass. This is the second video this group... Postmodern Jukebox ...has done of this song. And the bassist and the first of the women singers.. were on American Idol a few years ago. (Don't hold that against them :) )
     
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  17. Django

    Django Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
  18. Django

    Django Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    I would love to hear the most new, innovative 2015 music there is. If anyone has any links, post em please.
     
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  19. rockledge

    rockledge Forum Resident

    Location:
    right here
    Indeed, having a reputation of being rude and ignorant with no social skills is hardly pushing musical boundaries.



    Nobody is pushing musical boundaries now. Recording technology is now old, and it has all been done before.
    Now it is mostly rehashing the rock era by doing rather bad pop music with rock stereotypes tossed in for marketing.
    Most of what is going on now that is interesting isn't interesting because of the music itself, but more because of the sometimes fantastic use ( and sometimes abuse of technology).
    Which, there are some guys out there doing some cool things with technology.

    But musically.... it seems even the most experimental artists are struggling to find something that hasn't been tried.
     
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  20. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    I was kidding about Kanye. For all I know he actually may be pushing musical boundaries (whatever that means).
     
  21. ruben lopez

    ruben lopez Nunc Est Bibendum

    Location:
    Barcelona Spain
    [​IMG]
    First one that came to mind,pushin' musical boundaries for the last 45 years.
    Mr Peter Brotzmann:)
     
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  22. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    I think it's pretty clear that you have to look outside of the traditional classic rock/pop bubble to see what bands are pushing musical boundaries, and this has really been the case for the last 20 odd years. Rock and pop has just been recycling the past for that time, although the best bands have done it with some originality.

    I think, due to the bands you mention, that you probably wouldnt like the bands that are really pushing boundaries anyway.

    But you have to look at the realms of electronic, dance and so on for today's musical innovators. I mean the most obvious examples over the past couple of decades are artists like the Aphex Twin, Bjork, Massive Attack.
     
  23. CARPEYOLO

    CARPEYOLO Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    :righton:

     
  24. RichC

    RichC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC
    Kanye absolutely pushes musical boundaries in exactly the way the OP suggested.

    The response to that answer leads me to assume that most of you know him solely from his (admittedly douchey) public persona... And haven't bothered to listen to any of his recent albums, especially My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which is every bit as proggy (concept album! 9-minute tracks! 30-minute short films!) as the usual suspects like ELP, Genesis, etc.

    Beyond that, the short answer is "Go to Pitchfork and sample their highly rated albums from the past two years." You will probably find a lot of things that push boundaries, especially when it comes to sonics and song deconstruction. What you WON'T find is a lot of white guys playing guitars. No disrespect to Jack White, et al... But the heyday for guitar rock being on the cutting edge was the 70s.

    Current innovation mainly happens on the margins of electronica. And there's certainly groups that have elements of rock (Animal Collective, Battles, Death Grips) but I would argue that most "traditional rock bands" are just reassembling elements of what's already been done. That's not to say I don't love Arcade Fire, or The National, or The War On Drugs... But none of them are cutting edge for me.

    I'd also argue that musical innovation means different things to different people. In terms of influence and cultural longevity, the music being made by Talking Heads and Joy Division in the late 70s wound up having a much greater impact than the similar era for Yes, ELP, and Genesis....
     
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  25. mschrist

    mschrist Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    I think there's lots of experimentation in rock music right now. Given how mature the genre is (60 years now) there isn't quite as much uncovered ground or low-hanging fruit as there was in the past, but there are still plenty of acts that try new, novel things. My favorite rock album of this decade is These New Puritans' "Field of Reeds", which I think is lively, spacey, and experimental to the extent of stretching the definition of rock music:

    These New Puritans, "Fragment Two"


    Other recent albums that I'd consider substantively experimental in the mode that the OP is talking about are Owen Pallett's "In Conflict", Zola Jesus's "Conatus", and Julia Holter's "Loud City Song". I think that Sigur Ros, Bat for Lashes, and the abovementioned TV on the Radio have all taken a novel approach with rock music throughout their catalogs, one that wasn't there before. Even more mainstream indie acts like the Arcade Fire or Vampire Weekend, ones that are more closely tied to existing rock conventions, usually have some innovative, experimental aspect to their music that distinguishes their work.
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2015
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