The Raconteurs

The Raconteurs, fronted by Jack White (also of The White Stripes and The Dead Weather), are one of my favorite bands. They're a (somewhat) bluesy alternative rock band. Jack White, their lead singer/guitarist is a pretty talented musician and in my opinion a pretty good guitar player. Their last album, Consolers of the Lonely, is my favorite (though at the moment they've only released two). If you haven't heard them and are interested, I'd recommended you give their song "Consoler of the Lonely" a listen.

MGMT

A band I've pretty recently discovered is MGMT. One of my friends showed them to me earlier this year. I gave them a listen and was pretty impressed. They have a really distinct sound and seem pretty talented. They've been gaining a lot of popularity in the last year and are a good band to check out if you haven't already. 


Here's the video for "Time to Pretend" off their first album "Oracular Spectacular".

Minor Threat

Minor Threat was a short lived hardcore punk from Washington DC. They were only around for about 3 years, and only released 22 original songs, but they left a huge impact on the hardcore punk scene. Their groundbreaking and iconic style set the standard for hardcore punk bands. They're one of the best hardcore punk bands, in my opinion.

Minor threat coined the term "straight edge". Straight edge, a subculture of hardcore punk, is philosophy of refraining from recreational drug use and promiscuous sex, which was popular in the hard rock scene at the time. Some of their songs revolve around the topic of straight edge such as, "Out of Step", "In My Eyes", and obviously "Straight Edge". They helped start the movement which quickly spread through the US and Canada.

Though they were only together for about 3 years, they influenced many bands and the straight edge scene. They're one of the more important bands in the history of punk rock being pioneers of hardcore punk.

Rating: 4 out of 5