16 non-hipster musicians/musical groups I dig

(By Melody Werner)
If you frequent this site (lol, don't lie to yourself), you may have noticed that my taste in music usually hews more eclectic--whether we're talking my opinions of Johnny Manchild and the Poor Bastards or Meteor. But that doesn't mean I'm a hipster, necessarily. I don't actively seek out less well known music so I can be a know-it-all to people. I enjoy weird stuff. But sometimes my tastes and the mainstream align, and these are sixteen (not exhaustive) cases where I agree with the popular consensus--these are good acts.

1. Foo Fighters

My tastes in music have obviously changed since I was in fourth grade. And yet, Foo Fighters remains one of my all-time favorites. I think it comes to my tastes expanding, and there being so much with FF to dig back into on reflection that my appreciation of them has increased. Sure, The Pretender and White Limo slap, but Statues is basically FF trading the post-grunge thrills for Beatles esque pop rock. And the fuckers stuck the landing. Foo Fighters is a band who can do the badass bangers--AND the beautiful ballads. Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace is them at their best, though they've had their incredible tracks since--White Limo and Run are the best I've listened to. A lot of the band's sheen comes down to the instrumentals, of course, but a good amount of it comes from Dave Grohl's sexy voice. Like, damn son. OwO*

(nothing more rock 'n' roll than being man enough to say OwO)

2. SZA

SZA made her big breakthrough back in 2017 with her instant classic, Ctrl. A serene R&B experience full of soul and angelic singing. Again, I've gushed about the album before, no need to do much more.

3. Lizzo

Every now and then, a truly left field and wonderful talent will transition from pop music's underbelly to its center stage. Lizzo isn't quite there yet, but in due time she may very well be. This is not to pine for Lizzo to be met with fame, something which can ruin people's perception of reality, but it'd be nice if I heard more Boys and less asinine, whining garbage like Paris from The Chainsmokers.

4. Ghost

Ghost is not a hipster band. They are weird and unique, yes, but they are an award-winning band with hit after hit under their belt. I have made clear in the past again and again and again why I am a fan of their work, so I won't blather on more here.

5. Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine is one of the best bands of all time, and it has one of the very best songs under its belt too--Killing in the Name is a vicious head-banger with rollicking instrumentals, but it's also an anthem for rebellion that actually has something to say beyond your Billy Idol style pablum. I'm not sure what to think of their recent announcement that they will be making new music again under the Rage banner. Now is the perfect time for more Rage--that anarchic rap metal is just as timely as it was then, and we have a fascist nimrod in the Oval Office (plus an incompetent opposition) ripe for being put in his place. And yet... their recent collaboration with Audioslave, Public Enemy, and B-Real (Prophets of Rage) was... not positively received, to say the least. At least that wasn't gonna ruin the band's legacy. If they blow it on this new album, they won't remembered for Guerrilla Radio or Testify, they will be remembered as a bunch of has-been radicals. Right now, don't we have Algiers, JPEGMAFIA, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Zeal & Ardor, Polyphia, and Noname carrying on the torch for left-wing music? Sure, none of them are quite like RAtM, but that's because RAtM was a singular band with an incredible wealth of badass tracks.

6. Carly Rae Jepsen

Well, that is a bit of a jump in kinds of music, I suppose (I totally didn't juxtapose these two together on purpose). But it's not hard to get why I'm into Carly's music--she does synthpop, I like synth. She does a lot of good synthpop and she has a nice voice. It's not rocket science. If you're still bitter over Call Me, Maybe... okay?

7. Creedence Clearwater Revival

Who dislikes Creedence? No one, that's who.

8. Queens of the Stone Age

Oh, what you do to meeeeee, no one knows.

9. New Radicals

I wasn't born yet when New Radicals' only album at time of writing, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too, released--yet their work has endured in spite of their reputation as a one hit wonder of a band. That's not quite true, at least in the sense that what happened to them isn't what you'd typically expect of a one hit wonder; their frontman, Gregg Alexander, was not interested in working in the foreground of the industry and preferred working more in production and songwriting. His words have elevated tons of songs to hit status, from a variety of collaborators. That all said, I am extremely partial to You Get What You Give. It's just so damned good. Someday We'll Know is very nice too, though, and is one of those songs you've heard and sounded nice, but didn't get enough of a chance to worm itself into your brain like YGWYG. 

10. Rammstein

I already gushed about Radio and I fully intend on giving their new untitled album a thorough review in time, so this won't be a huge write-up. I will say, I was not expecting to groove this hard with them going in. I thought they were more of a moshing band.

11. Led Zeppelin

And she's buying a stairway to Heaven!

12. Kendrick Lamar

No fucking shit.

13. Janelle Monáe

The spiritual successor to Prince's legacy (Prince, by the way, did work on Janelle's latest album, Dirty Computer, before his passing, so check that out if you're a fan of his work), with all the grooves and sensual, hedonistic energy of that legend. If you're not into funky pop, you're almost certainly not going to like Janelle. If you are, you're going to love her. You can guess which group I fall into by rereading the title of this list.

14. Nine Inch Nails

Think of the most defining band of the 90's. It's Nirvana. It's obviously Nirvana. But think about some of the other incredible bands from that era, and you will inevitably stumble onto Nine Inch Nails, whose relentless and industrial instrumentals are sure to leave an impact on the listener. Whether you like their style is up to your tastes, of course. And if you're wondering my take on them, you can try rereading the title--fuck I'm doing the same gag twice in a row.

15. Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill is an artist's artist. A magnificent lyrical and sonic presence who has had her career hamstrung by mental health concerns, unfortunately. But when she's doing her thing, she kicks ass. Fun, sharp, easy on the ears.

16. Red Hot Chili Peppers

RHCP is another one of those bands that I have loved for forever, but it's also one where I don't know how you can hate them. They're just so chill and wonderful.