Devendra Banhart - Anybody listening ?

Bonnie Prince Billy is NOT Tortoise. Tortoise is John McEntire's band. They just collaborated for that cover album.

Marco,

Thanks for the heads up - I thought 16 Horsepower was dead and buried by the turn of the millenium. Their first couple of records were definitely freak (not so sure about folk) and I really liked them a lot. I'll be sure to look for "Folklore" ASAP.

Thanks,

Marty

BTW, Jean Yves Tola, their drummer, is one of the more original players out there (IMHO).

The Sufjan album to get first should be Illinoise. It is by far my fave and I have all of his albums except for the excerpts from Illinoise album. I will also recommend one of my very favorites of all-time. This is a way I gauge if I can get along with a person or not. They MUST have this in their collection or I get a strong feeling that I'm not going to end up liking this so-called music fan. Without further ado...Neutral Milk Hotel-In The Aeroplane Over The Sea.

This is a way I gauge if I can get along with a person or not. They MUST have this in their collection or I get a strong feeling that I'm not going to end up liking this so-called music fan. Without further ado...Neutral Milk Hotel-In The Aeroplane Over The Sea.

I know where you can get a nice pair of blinders custom made to your size so you don't even have to be distracted by the site of those people ;-)

That particular CD has been recommended to me so many times that now I'm gonna' have to get a copy just to see if I can be your pal.

Another one that comes to mind, given that recommendation, is Bright Eyes (Conner Oberst). I suspect, like Neutral Milk Hotel, this may be an acquired taste, and is certainly not for everyone. I'd suggest checking out the album, "Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground", to see if you might be a fan. There is one tune of his that you can download for free on iTunes - "When the President Talks to God". It's not particularly typical of Oberst, but might give you taste of what he's about in one sense. This is a pretty conventional composition, whereas his albums tend to be more layered, complex and musically creative.

Marco