Top 7 Underrated Bands
Monday December 4th 2006
by Paul Armstrong
This part of the list is really difficult, again I'm limited to the range of music I know (and mostly enjoy), so it will be subjective and probably lacking good breadth. Regardless, here is my list of the Top 7 Most Underrated Bands
- 1. Tom Waits -- there is no more distinct songwriter and singer out there than Tom Waits. Most people dislike him for his gravel stained voice and fail to ever explore the immense musical diversity of his albums. One of the greatest songwriters of the past 25 years.
- 2. Nick Drake -- sure he's a "critics" darling, but overall Nick Drake still under recognized for this subtle singer-songer writer craft. Any of today's solitary musician ought to credit Nick for exploring frontiers of melancholy (Iron & Wine, Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens, Jose Gonzalez, et al)
- 3. The Smiths -- For as influencial as they were on the entire pop rock British emo sound, The Smiths get very limited credit for their craft, musicianship and talent. Add to that the fact they only existed as a band for 4 years (1982 -1987) in a time when synth was all the rage. Marr was an impeccable and inventive guitarist mixed with the brilliant wit and wry humor of Morrissey; they should go down as as brilliant a collaborative team as Lenon/McCarthey, Page/Plant, Captain/Tennille (what?!)
- 4. Slowdive -- Slowdive was a short lived British band of the shoegaze movement -- but to classify them as a purely "shoegaze" band is a gross misrepresentation. With only 3 albums ever released, each progressively explores sound far beyond its time. Listen to any modern "emo" band and Slowdive was surely and influence. I'd say they even surpass My Bloody Valentine for the fact they explored other sounds beyond "shoegaze" (primarily with their last album Pygmalion)
- 5. Flaming Lips -- Although they'd had moderate success as of late - - and that one hit several years ago -- but overall Flaming Lips aren't nearly as lauded for their breadth of work for their exploratory psychedelic rock experience while pushing the boundries of what musicians and music can and should do; their artistic notions in their concerts and CDs like Zaeerka (a 4 disc album with each disc containing different parts on the tracks that when played simultaneously make a full song) their "headphones" tour (where the band transmitted their audio through a short range FM signal while the audience wore headphones to hear) and car radio concerts (where lead singer Wayne conducted a crowd, while in their cars, to tune their car radios to certain stations and had them turn on and off their stereos to create "music").
- 6. Bjork -- Even Madonna credits Bjork with influencing her work. Bjork is weird. Incredibly weird. She's like some mythical fairy that transcends space and time fighting normalcy with a sweet rage. She is certainly not everyone's taste, but she (much like the Flaming Lips) pushes the artistic boundaries of musical expectations.
- 7. Elbow -- Maybe its just because I love them so much, but I feel Elbow is highly underrated (all around) as they continually create music that is both accessible, deep, dark and complex.
- Honorable Mention
- Muse
- Sunny Day Real Estate
- Magnetic Fields
- They Might Be Giants
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