top six musicians(idea taken from jon's blog)

wilco
i had friends that were into them. and i remember seeing all these great reviews for yankee hotel foxtrot. and i saw the album at tower in the country section. and i remember being confused by it all. why did some of my friends like country. everything was adding up for me to finally listen to them. i knew nothing about them. about a week after i felt this need to hear them i was near the old camera 3 theater downtown and there was a poster advertising I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, a documentary about wilco. i decided to see it. this movie made me love the album and the band. and to see true music being made, with emotions and everything. it was perfect. here are the first 2 minutes of that film:

and then i saw them at the san jose center for performing arts (on november 13, 2004).

pedro the lion / david bazan
im pretty sure ive seen him about ten times. the first time he was in a full band, and they were on tooth and nail records and they were opening up velour 100 (i actually just figured out that this was on july 27, 1999). some of his songs are some of my favorite things ever. and the stories he paints with each album are amazing, and it makes me not take any song individually, but as a complete work. one of the few people i have ever wanted to talk to, and at a show 2 years ago he actually began talking to me. he initiated it, and i was surprised. this video is from his 1999 days.


broken social scene
my friend damien showed me them on the light rail on my way home from school a few years back. initially i knew that he liked strange music (to me) so i expected something out there. he played me Almost Crimes from You Forgot It In People. i was hooked at that point. i love the idea that this band is more of a collective than a band. they all come from different music projects (Stars, Metric, Feist, Do Make Say Think, Reverie Sound Revue...) and each song is made with different elements involved. here is one of my favorite videos of theirs:


the knife
im sad to say that i got into them after hearing jose gonzales cover their song. no originality. jose beat me to it. i remember listening to deep cuts on my way home from sf one night and i stayed in my car for a bit after to just let the album finish. thats all i can say. i saw them last year and it was one of the highlights of my concert life. what made it more special was after the show when we were hanging out outside and karin walked passed us and then we follwed her and she disappeared into the sf air.


sufjan stevens
i first heard his michigan album and i actually didnt care for it. but it was on my ipod and i kept skipping over his name and i gave it a good listen (i remember that i was near savers on bascom when i began to like the music). then illinois killed me. so so so good. then i heard seven swans. and that was truly amazing.



sigur ros
"victory rose"
my brother told me about them and i remember listening to Untitled 4 on my way to school soon after. then i bought that album, which could equate to one of my favorite albums ever. all of their music has become soundtracks to everything. the idea that i dont know what any of their songs are about has me create stories. i can listen to it through any environment. it has become the perfect piece for travel, and for nighttime and for motion. i feel separated when i listen to anything by them. i feel that i am in worship. i feel that everything is perfect. its crazy.
the best music video:

the live amazement: