The 5 Best Active Bands

[Lebowski]

By "active bands" I mean bands that are actively recording albums on a fairly regular basis. For instance, Pearl Jam is still technically active, but it's fair to say they are past their prime. Here's today's top-5 bands:

1) The Killers

Fucking great band. Their only release, 2004's Hot Fuss was one of the best rock albums to come out in many years. They are kinda alt-rock with a 80's feel...if that makes any sense. Hot Fuss is great from start to finish, with only have one out of the total eleven tracks being unlistenable (which, by today's standards, is astounding). Here's to hoping they don't get the dreaded sophmore jinx.

2) Franz Ferdinand

Scottish band that hit it big with 2004's self titled debut. I was skeptical at first because I thought they might be too punk for me, but needless to say I was pleasantly surpised. The first album has some absoluetly great rock songs. I love the way the intro to "Take Me Out" crescendos into the beat of the song. Their 2005 followup, You Could Have It So Much Better, is also terrific. It might be better than their debut, IMO.

3) Coldplay

Yeah yeah...they're sappy and all, but truth be told, they put out some excellent records. Parachutes was great, although unlike the rest of the world apparently, I never really liked "Yellow." The best songs on that album are "Don't Panic," "High Speed," and "We Never Change." A Rush of Blood to the Head was their second release. It is one of my favorite records of all time. "God Put a Smile on Your Face," "Green Eyes," and "Amsterdam" are fucking great. Last year they released their third album, X&Y. Its a solid album, but a step down from Rush, IMO....which is a disappointment after what the band was saying about this album prior to its release.

4) Modest Mouse

They have release two solid albums in the last few years, Good News for People Who Love Bad News and The Moon and Antartica. Their songs are catchy and fun. Cool band.


5) The Strokes

The band that might have started the surge of "The" bands. Hailing from NYC, they offered a breath of fresh air when they debuted with Is This It?. After that, they followed up with Room on Fire, which was good, but lacked a true hit. They have just recently released First Impressions of Earth, which I haven't purchased yet. Anyone listen to it?

Bonus...

6) The Shins

Caught my ear while watching the movie Garden State as they had a few songs on the soundtrack. If you haven't heard anything from them, I suggest giving them a try. The songs from Garden State are on their 2001 release Oh, Inverted World. The better album, however, is Chutes Too Narrow. Take a listen.

[Guest]

1) Godsmack
2) Godsmack
3) Godsmack
4) Godsmack
5) Godsmack

Top 5

[mswerb]

You said it right FightDr


GODSMACK!

[HoodooMan]

The Killers and Franz Ferdinand are all right, I suppose, but the only current rock band I'm really crazy about is The White Stripes. Most of my favorite current artists are hip-hop soloists and groups.