Aside from girls, music is what I'm probably most passionate about. These are some really good bands that you may have not heard of before, but are on constant rotation in my room, and in my life.
Bright Eyes  is made up of Conor Oberst, and literally just a group of his friends. They blend raw emotion with melody to produce songs that are
"manic, depressing, honest, and inspiring" all at the same time. It's amazing how many things you can feel at once by listening to his voice shake through songs like Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh and Something Vague. He was born in Omaha in 1980 and has been recording since he was only 13. There is a reason he's still around, producing record after record. His stories and paintings of life, love, and teenage angst told through his songs only get deeper and richer as time progresses.[ MP3 Downloads ]
Straylight Run  is cultivated of two ex-Taking Back Sunday members (John and Shaun), Will Noon from Breaking Pangea fame, and John's sister Michelle. I always considered John the strongest voice in Taking Back Sunday, and this just proves it. Consisting mainly of piano riffs, their songs blend Taking Back Sundays' raw emotional-punk sound with a Postal Service feel. They have yet to actually release
an album, but you can download all of their demos off their website. [ MP3 Downloads ]
Six Parts Seven seduces their fans with a four-guitar approach (including a lapsteel and a bass) filled out by drums, piano, and samples.
When they play live, their band members "sway and writhe with their rich and spacious sounds." I
had the pleasure to see them live October 18th at Common Grounds, and they makes it obvious that a vocalist is not necessary to make a band work. This is great background music to study or even fall asleep to, and never gets boring.[ MP3 Downloads ]
Punk Rock Reading: Just like many things in life, to really understand punk/emo/indie rock you need to know its history and where it's come from. There are two books that can help! The Uncensored Oral History of Punk tells it's story through 100's of interviews with the bands that helped make punk music come to rise (Sex Pistols, Velvet Underground, Ramones) to forgotten bands that simply helped pave the way. It stays true to the sex, drugs, and morbidity that could be found during this time period, with these musicians, that really shaped the way punk music not only changed music but created it's own subculture as well. Punk Rock: So What? is also a great read, and is a collection of essays bringing fresh perspective to the analysis of punk culture. This book also helps knock over many misconceptions about the meaning of punk. I would suggest either of these fine books, to help get you started understanding punk rock culture, and essentially punk rock music.
Expanding your musical horizons further: These are all great websites to discover new music:
Rock Kansas, LA Local Music Scene, Skratch, Lawrence,
Ryano, Pitchfork Media, Insound.
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