The Silent Years' Joshua Epstein On His 10 Favourite Detroit Songs

Here is a list that I have compiled of 10 of my favorite bands (and tracks) from Detroit. They range in era, genre, and popularity -- but to me they tell the story of Detroit.

The Hard Lessons: 'Sound The Silent Alarm' - The Hard Lessons is a trio that's current and just came out with a new record called "Arms Forest". They have so much energy in their live performances it's amazing. This video was filmed in Florida at a crazy guy's film studio (who insists on doing camera introductions for videos for some reason) but it looks awesome and feels hilarious.

Child Bite: 'Bone/Sleep' remix by Scott Allen (Thunderbirds Are Now!) - Child Bite is another current fixture of the Detroit scene and their brand of spazz rock is highly entertaining.  This particular song was remixed by Scott Allen, who plays in the band Thunderbirds Are Now!  Thunderbirds are pretty much defunct aside from the local show now and again, but when I was first starting The Silent Years they were the biggest band in Detroit.

The Temptations: 'Get Ready' - Detroit has been at the forefront of 3 different genres: Techno, Garage Rock and Motown.  I am a fan of Motown before all else, and The Temptations were one of the best groups around.  They still do shows around town too!  This is them in their heyday though, and they were incredible. 

Deastro: 'Toxic Crusaders' - Randy Chabot A.K.A. Deastro is one of my buddies.  He is a young and talented songwriter and has really grown quickly.  This video is from a live performance on KEXP (which is a great public radio station from Seattle).  He and I have worked on a few things together and I hope to do more because he is an immense talent.

Brendan Benson: 'Metarie' - Brendan is one of the nicest guys in rock and roll, and while he's now in Nashville with Jack White, I'm fairly sure he still has his house here which would then make him a Detroiter.  Anyhow, this song was recorded in Detroit!  It's a great one.

Black Milk: 'Give The Drummer Sum' - Black Milk picked up where J. Dilla left off and is producing some insane stuff.  He's very inspiring and I hope to meet him soon and do a few tracks together.  I love hip hop and have always wanted to do some hip hoppy material.

Smokey Robinson and The Miracles: 'Shop Around' - As I said prior, I'm a Motown Detroiter, and this is one of the all time greatest songs.  Smokey Robinson is the best songwriter in Detroit... There, I said it. 

MC5: 'Kick Out  The Jams' - Long before garage rock as we know it in the modern sense, these dirty ass punks from Detroit made a lot of noise and did it unarguably well.

Eminem: 'My Name Is' - Eminem is one of the biggest artists in the world and he calls Detroit home. Every engineer in any studio in Detroit can tell you a funny or scary story about him. I realize it's going back a ways, but this track is infectious.

The White Stripes: 'Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground' - This video is one of the best ever made.  I love the song, Meg is one of nicest people anyone could ever meet, and the video is fantastic.  What more can you say?  They started as a garage band and crossed over to all genres.  Jack White can do no wrong