The other day while my wife was reminding me what "underappreciated really means" or something, my mind got to wandering. What's the most underappreciated band of all time? A quick ask.com search (Google getting too close to Borg-like) revealed that Rolling Stone magazine has recently asked the same question.
I haven't read Rolling Stone since their "5 out of 5 stars" rating for "Steel Wheels," the comeback album of the Rolling Stones. Bad grudges die hard.
Anywho, here is the list:
1. Tom Waits
2. The Replacements
3. Cheap Trick
4. Sonic Youth
5. Warren Zevon
6. Big Star
7. The Pharcyde
8. Roxy Music
9. Talking Heads
10. Bob Seger
11. Fugazi
13. The Cramps
14. The New York Dolls
15. The Band
16. The Cars
17. Pogues
18. Alice Cooper
19. Dinosaur Jr
20. Sleater-Kinney
21. Husker Du
22. Devo
23. Wilco
24. Tom Petty
25. Ween
My thoughts:
(a) # 1 through #10 should all be the Replacements. Gene Hackman should be shot for having a crap poop film by the name.
(b) The Talking Heads are 100x's over-hyped. I get it; it just bores me.
(c) Bob Seger can suck on my Volvo driving balls. Underappreciated? He lost any ticket to this club when he sold out the first 40 times.
(d) Nice call with the Pogues, I like. However, I couldn't say who they have influenced as I don't hang out with toothless Irish peat farmers.
(e) Since the Beastie Boys don't have a state named after them, I consider them under appreciated. I would do away with Delaware.
Please feel free to "keep it real" and let me know your recommendations.
17 comments:
I think we can all agree that I don't follow music all that closely. Therefore, if I have even heard of them, they can't possibly be underrated. A few that really aren't underrated: Sonic Youth, Talking Heads, Seger, The Cars, Tom Petty.
If the cars and petty can be on this list, then so should The Police.
I'll stick with rap. Eric B and Rakim, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets.
Of the bands listed, I think most are appreciated about the right amount, except for 10/14 (too much) and 8 (too little).
Funny how much overlap there is with my All-Overrated List.
I-4 is a perfect match.
Seger? Anybody that had a song commercialized to the point of "Like a Rock" to say nothing of "Old time R&R" canNOT be on this list.
Hey, I have Volvo-driving balls, too.
Well, the title to this post got me all excited. So imagine my disappointment when I found that this was not a post about beer for breakfast. You can't do that to me.
Bob Seger can suck on my Volvo driving balls. Underappreciated? He lost any ticket to this club when he sold out the first 40 times
BraVO. Seger is insipid. Any song you play at every fucking wedding ever, Ol' Time Rock-n-Roll, where even the blue-hairs that aren't my parents come out and dance, you have bad songwriting.
Fugazi should be higher on the list, assuming the list is in some sort of order-of-unappreciatedness.
My co-worker and I had the same reaction, why is Tom Petty on this list?
I'd say Petty is on the list because he is being re-cast as some kind of underrated Dylan-esque songwriter type as opposed to a rock and roller who had plenty of success and appreciation in my opinion.
Here's what this list is to me..."Bands I Missed Out On at the Time, Am Constantly Reminded by Music Critics How Great They Are, and Despite My Best Efforts to Go Back and Re-examine Them, Never Live Up to the Hype."
Ya folla?
Tom Waits and the Replacements are a perfect one-two at the top of the list, though I'd probably reverse the order.
Let me join the derision for Bob Seger. Underappreciated? Maybe when I can turn on the TV without being subjected to his schlock rock every ten minutes.
While Seger is boring, the New York Dolls just fucking suck. They were 100% about style and attitude, and apparently devoted a whole half hour writing and rehearsing their songs.
Fugazi, the Band, Hüsker Dü, and Dinosaur Jr. are all solid picks.
And I second Norbizness's nomination of Eric B. for president. I mean, for the underappreciated list. I think Tribe's gotten their due.
If Seger and Petty can make it, I'm surprised they didn't put Billy Joel and Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen on the list.
I think Big Star should be #1 with a bullet with the Replacements still in the #2 position. There is absolutely no band more underappreciated than Big Star. It is a crime that they never had any commercial success.
And I believe Seger's inclusion in this list is warranted after reading the inane comments putting him down. His catalog has more songs than just "Like A Rock" and "Old Time Rock n Roll" in it. "Turn The Page", "Hollywood Nights" and "Night Moves" are absolutely great songs. Yeah, I said it.
Sorry peb, you're not helping Seger's case with me. I know Seger's catalog all too well. My mom was a big Seger fan, I own some, and I now live in Seger Central (Ann Arbor, MI). I don't hate Bob Seger, I just don't think he's underrated.
Bob Seger was a highly successful Album-Oriented-Rock artist, put out countless live albums and collections and and was commercialized ad nauseum.
While there is more to Seger than "Like a Rock" and Tom Cruise in his underwear, to try and make the case that "more people should have heard or heard of him" (which is what the motive for this list is) is a stretch to say the least.
"Turn The Page", "Hollywood Nights" and "Night Moves" are absolutely great songs.
This from a man who used to regularly chug an entire can of Olympia beer to the opening drum solo of Mudhoney's "In'n'Out of Grace"? Jesus, I don't even know who you are anymore.
Next time we're staying in the same house, I'm going to have to smother you with a pillow like the Chief taking out McMurphy at the end of "Cuckoo's Nest." Just a warning, you damned dirty Seger lover.
And thanks for getting "Night Moves" stuck in my head. It's like I'm at one of my parents' parties. I'm expecting Orleans' "Still the One" to come on next.
And let's not forget K-K-K-K-Katmandu. If I have to appreciate that song any more I'm going to have to barf.
Is Tool underappreciated? They sell tons of albums, but most of their stuff isn't real radio friendly. I guess you could say the same about Radiohead, except Tool isn't a bunch of whiny losers.
I'd forgotten about Katmandu.
That's it, Pedro. I'm driving to your house tonight and having you deprogrammed by a specialist.
I guess you have to ask, "Underappreciated by whom?" Mr Furious seems to point at rock-critic-geek-wannabees with his "Bands I Missed Out On at the Time, Am Constantly Reminded by Music Critics How Great They Are, and Despite My Best Efforts to Go Back and Re-examine Them, Never Live Up to the Hype" crack, although it's not true for about half the list--if you can't find a terrific cut while listening to Tom Waits, Big Star, and Roxy Music then you must like Bob Seger.
It's also telling Sleater-Kinney are the only women on this list (sorry, Kim). My Volvo-driving balls like women musicians, and folks like Amy Rigby, Sally Timms, Kathleen Edwards, Syd Straw, etc. are certainly underappreciated.
This from a man who used to regularly chug an entire can of Olympia beer to the opening drum solo of Mudhoney's "In'n'Out of Grace"? Jesus, I don't even know who you are anymore.
I always had a strong appreciation of classic rock as well as drum solos. You know that.
That's it, Pedro. I'm driving to your house tonight and having you deprogrammed by a specialist.
You can try, but it just won't work. It's encoded in my DNA. Night moves...
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