Texas Music

This is the first forum I've been in where so many members are from outside the US. I've been noticing the cultural gap here and there, so I thought I'd share a bit of insight into my Texas music heritage. Bradcooke's posting of Sleepercar inspired me to showcase sounds from my home state.
It's not a comprehensive list or anything, it's just the music I like and that I always feel a sort of kinship to.

Scott Joplin
The Civil War may have been over when Joplin was alive and composing, but that didn't mean that he wasn't given the same crappy treatment this country dealt out to blacks for hundreds of years. He's the ultimate Ragtime composer. You'll recognize some of his songs like The Entertainer. His music experienced a sort of late revival when it was reworked for the movie The Sting.
Maple Leaf Rag

Blind Willie Johnson
Classic blues man, from way back. Huge influence on a lot of modern rock, especially Led Zeppelin who covered many of his songs. Lived a true blues life. Blind at an early age, poor all his life, and died from pneumonia in the ruins of his burned down house. The Blues come from adversity, and he sure had his share.
Dark Was The Night

ZZ Top
Not much to say here. I'm sure you already know something about them, and you know they're awesome! Big beards, sunglasses, and wicked guitar riffs. If you haven't, then this song will tell you what you need to know. It's about a Texas brothel. Yeehaw!
La Grange

Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray is one of the greats when it comes to guitar and is a poster boy for southern Blues. Watching him play live is unbelievable, but sadly, he died in 1990. All we have left are recordings, but they are amazing. He's one of my favorite musicians of all time, far and away. I linked to Texas Flood, a great song. Also, check out his cover of Jimi's Voodoo Child (Slight Return).
Texas Flood

Pantera
I know not everyone here will like metal. That's okay! But Pantera's awesomeness is undeniable in my mind. Just give Cemetary Gates a listen and you'll see what I mean. These guys even wrote the Dallas Stars fight song, further upping their cred in my book.
Cemetary Gates (sorry, not a YouTube link, but just click the Watch Video link in the middle of the ugly, ugly webpage)

The Toadies
These guys hail from Fort Worth, Texas. My only complaint is that, while they have a distinct style, their songs start to sound the same after a while. Regardless, they've made some awesome songs you should hear before you leave this planet. This song's title comes from a lake about an hour and a half from my house.
Possum Kingdom

Bowling For Soup
I'm sure you've heard these guys. I love their humor and they hold true to their TX roots. If you ever doubt it, just listen to the song I'm linking here. Best line ever? "Besides the Mexican food sucks north of here anyway"
Ohio (Come Back Texas)
Personal note: I especially like this song because I had a girl that ditched me and went up North, only to find out just how much it sucks (no offense Yanks!)

Midlake
But hey, Texas music isn't all about rock and blues! Check out Midlake. These guys have put out some amazing music from Denton TX, same city Bowling For Soup got their kickoff in. Maybe too chill for this crowd, but give it a listen! I think you'll like it.
Roscoe

Of course, there are many many more. Other big-name artists you've heard of include Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson, Selena, Flyleaf, Bobby Fuller, Norah Jones, Beyonce, and the Butthole Surfers.

Give these songs a listen when you get a chance, and I hope you like 'em. Even more than that, I hope you can get a feel for the kind of music that's come out of the Uber-state known as Texas (yes, we think a lot of ourselves). Of course, I'm not the only Texan here, so JoshRaymond may have some input too!

tdawg wrote:

Best line ever? "Besides the Mexican food sucks north of here anyway"
Ohio (Come Back Texas)
Personal note: I especially like this song because I had a girl that ditched me and went up North, only to find out just how much it sucks (no offense Yanks!)

don't worry, we know it sucks. that's pretty much all that the mediocre local bands talk about. i've come to terms with it

I just moved to Austin, TX for the summer and have been able to check out a few local bands around here. They're all pretty new bands, nothing big or anything, but I've found them to be pretty good. not a lot of bands w/similarities to tGA, but still worth checking out. keep in mind, i'm not the best describer of sounds.

* The Frontier Brothers - indie-pop. ben folds meets david bowie? in outer space. good live show. favorite song... "kickstand woman"

* International Waters - indie. saw them at emo's for their 7" release show. there's a link to some downloads on their myspace.

* Jungle Rockers - rock - sounds like rock... from the jungle. i'm a huge fan of The Night Marchers, and i think these guys would do well opening up for them.

* Spoon - indie-rock. one of my favorite bands. pretty big, hopefully you've heard some of their stuff. their last album "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" was incredible, "jonathan fisk" is prolly my favorite song.

* SuperLiteBike - ? - going to see them at the end of the month. can't really pinpoint the "genre", but definitely influenced by Radiohead. nothing released yet.

o pioneers from houston

Townes van Zandt - folksinger from Texas from the sixties, seventies and so on.

i havent mentioned this band before, i put them on my mix but i doubt anyone heard it, GIRL IN A COMA is from El Paso I think, amazing Texas band. Im not going to describe their sound that much, just listen to them! if you need credentials, no less than JOAN JETT signed them to her label, and no less than MORRISSEY had them as an opening act. Take that! She has an awesome voice, and the music is rockin:


http://www.myspace.com/girlsinacoma