As a Sirius XM subscriber, there are certain privileges granted, such as the wide range of music choices to meet almost anyone’s unique music taste. With stations like AltNation and SiriusXMU, it’s easy to find the underground Indie alternative rock music that I crave. Many of these artists/bands aren’t well known, but they often do appear in many music festivals like Lollapalooza and the Hangout Music Festival.
These songs make for great mellow playlists for when you’re sad, drunk, studying for finals or going on a road trip – pretty much under any circumstances.
Without further ado, my top bands/artists and a compiled list of their best songs:
1. The XX-
First band to see in a venue, which was the Lyric in Oxford. Out of all the bands I’ve seen, they were the most spectacular to watch and listen to. You could feel the emotion and beauty elicited from their music.
"On Hold"
"Angels"
"Intro"
Honestly, pretty much any of their songs, depending on what mood you’re in, are the most hypnotic, exotic pieces of artwork to get the pleasure of listening to.
2. Awolnation-
I got to see this band (along with Family of Year - who has the amazing song “Hero”) at the House of Blues in New Orleans. I stood at about the third row from the front directly in the center, so I got the honor of seeing and feeling like Aaron Bruno was singing directly at me and for me only. The beginning lyrics of their song “I Am” are so personal and relatable to summing up exactly how I feel on a daily basis.
These friends of mine will come and go
I'm the first to leave, the last to know
"Not Your Fault"
"I Am"
3. Little Dragon
"Crystalfilm" (heard this bad boy in Earthbound and had to Shazam it right away)
4. Sylvan Esso
Discovered them after stalking some random person on
Facebook with exceptional music taste and now I can’t get enough of them.
"Radio"
"Kick Jump Twist"
"Coffee"
5. Arcade Fire
"Ready to Start"
"Wake Up"
"Reflektor"
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers
Will have the honor of seeing them perform in January, however – slightly sadly – it will be for the promotion of their new album, The Getaway, so I’ll be missing out on most of their greatest hits.
"Dark Necessities"
"Snow (Oh Hey)"
"Scar Tissue"
7. Bishop Briggs (Attending Hangout Music Festival 2017)-
She is an amazing new upcoming singer. Once she becomes famous I will be that annoying person who says something along the lines of, “Oh my god, she retweeted my picture on Twitter that I designed for her!”
It was terrible but nevertheless.
"Wild Horses"
"The Way I Do"
8. Alt-J
I saw them in concert, and while they were still good, they didn't seem to put any heart or emotion behind it. The band that played before them, San Fermin, did around 10x better.
"Left Hand Free"
"Tessellate"
"Every Other Freckle"
9. Wild Belle
"Throw Down Your Guns"
"Our Love Will Survive"
10. Radiohead
I’m new to Radiohead; in all honestly I didn’t bother giving them a chance until seeing a post Lady Gaga posted on her Instagram about their song “Burn the Witch.” I decided to give them a chance, and it was an excellent decision on my behalf.
"Burn the Witch"
"Daydreaming"
11. LP (Attending Hangout Music Festival 2017)-
"Lost on You"
"Tokyo Sunrise"
12. Childish Gambino
"California"
13. Phantogram-
"Fall in Love"
14. Empire of the Sun
"High and Low"
Other artists/bands worth listening to:Alabama Shakes, 888, Artic Monkeys, The Black Keys, Bon Iver, Lana Del Rey, Florence + the Machine, Colony House, Day Wave, Fear of Men, Foreign Air, Grouplove, The Hunna, The Japanese House, K.Flay, K.I.D., Knox Hamilton, Love Thy Brother, M83, Muse, The National, The Struts, Twenty One Pilots, Young the Giant, Zipper Club, and The 1975
All photos were taken by Alexa Johnston.
