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My top 5 bands from last week’s Nashville-only Musiganza
Last week I decided to only listen to Nashville artists. Here are my top five according to the amount of plays: 1. The Protomen 88 plays The Protomen introduced me to the “rock opera” genre. The tracks build on eachother in a seemless storyline… and the music pumps me up. I LOVE that they put story at the same level as the music. It shows. And they aren’t a local band in my eyes anymore. They are simply a great band, that for bonus points, call Nashville home. Hats off to The Protomen for breaking a stereotype that lingered my mind. Thanks for everyone who gave me suggestions. I didn’t have time to follow through with everything, but now I have more than a week, and I’ve got some music in the mail and another artist I want to catch in concert down the line. If you haven’t discovered your local musicians, get to listening and let me know what you find out! Start by asking your roommate or aunt—the ones that play drums loud at night or the ones with white earbuds in their ears.
2. Paper Route 76 plays
3. Shirock 67 plays
4. How I Became the Bomb 65 plays
5. Autovaughn 57 plays
Of my top five, I had only heard of Paper Route and Shirock, and thus found some new favorite music. The Protomen is not for everyone, but it is certainly for me. I am in awe of their CD as I was in awe of “The Postal Service” the first time I heard their CD. “The Protomen” feels like one of those masterpieces that may never happen again, but hey, at least all the forces came together this once, and it’s sealed in musical form.
I’m pretty impressed with our talent here in Nashville, and listening and sharing music from my neighborhood makes me feel more rooted and connected. There are so many artists worth listening to in Nashville and in your home town—and taking the time to dig up a few, mutually enrich us all. If we cultivate art and the sharing of life in our neighborhoods, it will be more apart of our everyday lives.
