Underappreciated bands?

[Kazak]

Name one.

I'll start:

Komeda

[rucky]

1. MODEST MOUSE

and Fugazi

[rucky]

11. Enon, Slint, Magnetic Fields, Built To Spill, Belle & Sebastian, Gomez,

Mazzy Star, My Morning Jacket, Sparklehorse, Granddaddy, Mercury Rev, Luna, Mogwai, Arab Strap, Cornershop

[veganwitch]

37. was about to say that

but they do have a song that is being played on dc radio.

[Chicago Democrat]

2. The Pixies

Sigur Ros (Icelandic)

[rucky]

3. I appreciate both of those bands

the Pixies are cherished. Sigur Ros was the best live show I've ever seen (except for KISS).

[Chicago Democrat]

5. Thank goodness...

Now if only the the other 99.99% could be informed.

The Pixies are playing a Chicago show in April, supposedly.

[bigfishsmallpond]

27. Pixies rule!

[angka]

4. the chickasaw mud puppies

athens, ga's most obscure cool band.

and no, love tractor doesn't even make my list.

[mitchum]

8. The Chickasaw Mud Puppies were cool (saw them many times)

I can't think of any other band produced by both Michael Stipe AND Willie Dixon. It doesn't get much cooler than that.

[kevinam]

6. fIRHOSE

Great Great band. Not really around anymore. The bassist Mike Watt has released a few records. They used to tour twice a year, and each time hit Atlanta, GA and Athens, GA I probably caught a dozen or so of their shows...Kevin.

[kayleybeth]

7. The Caulfields

It's never good to be understood by a girl in acid wash...

[asthmaticeog]

9. OK, I've gotta do it.

Other than the Chickasw Mud Puppies (good call, by the way), every band listed in this thread so far is REVERED. OK, they're not Aerosmith, but for musicians so idiosyncratic, 50,000 units moved, critical acclaim and widespead influence hardly constitute "underappreciated." So I'm going to don the pedantic indier-than-thou hat and rattle off some truly great, shamefully unheard stuff in the hopes that someone on here might Google a few of these names and have their minds blown, as mine was, by these bands:

Keelhaul
Jacob's Mouse
Huggybear
This Moment in Black History
Simply Saucer
Os Mutantes
The 1985
Laddio Bolocko
Aloha
Takako Minekawa
Glaxo Babies
The Black Dice
Sun City Girls
Lowercase
Machine Go Boom
Cash Audio

Stylistically they're all over the map, and some are uncategorizable. OK, "dickhead showoff dropping obscure names" toggle off. As you were, good people of DU.

Edit: Spelling

[drumwolf]

12. i absolutely agree with ya there.

every band listed in this thread so far is REVERED. OK, they're not Aerosmith, but for musicians so idiosyncratic, 50,000 units moved, critical acclaim and widespead influence hardly constitute "underappreciated."

I absolutely agree with you there. Making awesome music which doesn't get airplay on Clear Channel and doesn't sell as much as the latest Britney Spears or Limp Bizkit album does not, in and of itself, qualify as being "underappreciated." To be truly underappreciated, a band would have to also be overlooked by a lot of its own target audience as well.

So, here's my list of underappreciated artists. Most of you -- even many indie fans -- probably have never heard of most of these bands, but by definition they probably wouldn't qualify for this list if you had.

Swervedriver
Th' Faith Healers
Meat Beat Manifesto
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
Techno Animal
Asian Dub Foundation
Loop
Lungfish
Moving Targets
Nightblooms
Celibate Rifles
The Devil Dogs
Poison Idea
Dwarves
Teengenerate

[asthmaticeog]

13. Lungfish!

One of my all time fave bands! Good call, drumwolf - actually a lot of really good stuff in your list. Gonna start searching on the ones I don't know now.

Welcome to DU!

[drumwolf]

42. thanks dude!

Glad to see a fellow Lungfish fan. And BTW, they're still around -- I even saw 'em play live when they came to San Francisco last year! I couldn't believe how old the lead singer was, he's got to be well into his forties and he looks like a cross between a stereotypical college professor and a homeless vagrant!

As for all the other bands I named, they all fall under the general broad umbrella of "punk/indie/alternative" but they actually vary a bit from garage punk to techno to psychedelia.

[neverborn]

10. Within Temptation

nt

[Screaming Lord Byron]

14. The Go-Betweens

[NashVegas]

15. Toad the Wet Sprocket

Never cared for them much while they were around. But now that they're gone and we're stuck with the likes of Matchbox 20, I miss the days when something near the top of the popular rock charts had something approaching melody involved.

[gmoney]

16. The Beautiful South

I think their Greatest Hits album is still one of the all-time best-selling albums in UK history... some great stuff, especially "I'll Sail this Ship Alone"

[bobthedrummer]

17. Cake, The Sneaker Pimps, Gomez, Soul Coughing

and The Otis Taylor Band should be on this list IMHO.

[Beaker]

18. Catherine Wheel, Curve, and Lush.

Ferment is a GREAT album.

[NashVegas]

39. The First Time I Ever Heard Coldplay

All I could think was "Catherine Wheel + Radiohead."

I loved the photography they used on the Ferment cd singles ("Black Metallic," "I Want to Touch You").

[mvd]

19. The Painkillers

Female-fronted rock band from Los Angeles (Cherish Alexander is the lead singer)

Letters To Cleo is underappreciated by the critics and public.

New Pornographers, The Jayhawks, Paul Revere And The Raiders, K's Choice, The Donnas, The Shins, Sleater-Kinney, and K's Choice are some that are underappreciated by the public.

I could go on about ones underappreciated by critics.

[PittPoliSci]

20. Dream Theater

damn right

[Sufi Marmot]

21. Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans

Paul Cebar draws musical inspiration from all over the western hemisphere and turns out intelligent, literate, and really, really groovy music for adults of all ages. "Upstroke for the Downfolk" is one of my top ten favorite discs, and all his other stuff is incredible too.

-SM, who will someday have to make the pilgrimage to Milwaukee to see them live...

[mac56]

25. Second on Paul Cebar

Their shows in Minneapolis were legendary.

"That Unhinged Thing" is a flawless CD.

[Sufi Marmot]

32. Agreed about "That Unhinged Thing"...

- another great CD and Robyn Pluer's vocals are delightful. Now I'll probably have the title track in my head all day...

My only complaint about Cebar is that he never tours west of the Rockies!

-SM

[mac56]

58. "Clear From Here"

with the trade off vocals between Robin and Paul. Would have been right at home at Stax/Volt in the 60s.

[KamaAina]

52. Most unusual double bill ever

at a place called Fitzgerald's in Berwyn, Ill. (just outside Chi-town and on the El line), late '80s:

Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band (which was actually why I was there)

They alternated sets. P.C. & M.s led off -- nothing to write home about. Then the Dozen came on and "chewed up the stage and spit out the splinters."

And then it happened: Cebar and the Milwaukeeans came back out -- and they chewed up the stage and spit out the splinters! Must've been somethin' funky goin' down in that dressing room... :smoke:

Shortly thereafter I headed down to N.O. where there are lots of brass bands. If they had anything even resembling an economy down there, you would probably be reading this post from "Who_Dat" or some such.

[Sufi Marmot]

67. Wow - I'm jealous!

I would have loved to have seen that...I swear that someday I'm going to fly into Chicago, rent a car, and for two weeks sightsee all around the Midwest by day and catch Cebar, et al., in concert by night, subsisting on beer and bratwurst...

The only time I've ever been to New Orleans I caught the Rebirth Brass Band at Tipitina's. They were awesome, but unfortunately they were only opening for Anders Osborne, who wasn't awesome.

-SM, now grooving to "That Unhinged Thing"...

[rppper]

22. Faith No More in the late 80's and early 90's........

they were the first of the modern rock/grunge bands...they opened the door for bands like the chili peppers and soundgarden, influenced bands like Korn and 311, and been sadly immitated by bands like limp bizkit......

others???

the reverend horton heat
sonic youth
seven mary three

[bigfishsmallpond]

23. James

decent success in the UK

only hit big once in North America with 'Laid'

http://www.jamestheband.com

alas, Tim Booth has left the band and they no more.

[Krakowiak]

34. beat me to it

excellent band

[bif]

24. Dirty Three

[mac56]

26. Gotta do this every time -

SPONGETONES! SPONGETONES! SPONGETONES!

www.spongetones.com

[MissMillie]

28. Crowded House

Never got the recognition they deserved.

[grannylib]

30. Absolutely positively agree with you there....never could understand why

they did not get more attention here in the states...

[bif]

31. Neil Finn is incredible

Love his voice.

[grannylib]

43. And he is such an amazing songwriter as well...never tire of him, whether

it's Crowded House, Split Enz or solo stuff...

[Screaming Lord Byron]

55. Everyone knows my views on the Finnboy. Genius.

[NashVegas]

38. Naaaaah

Everyone who liked them, LOVED them.

[grannylib]

44. True but I would have thought they would have been appealing to a larger

number of people; they never really hit it big here in the states. That's how I was defining underappreciated anyhow!
:hi:

[Heyo]

29. Butthole Surfers!!!! n/t

[drumwolf]

41. Butthole Surfers wasn't "underappreciated."

Those guys had a large cult following among punk rock fans in the '80s, including myself (the first punk rock show I ever saw was them in NYC in 1988). They may not have been popular among the general public, but they were HUGE within their own particular genre and subculture.

See my previous post, #12, for what I think qualifies as "underappreciated." Butthole Surfers don't fit that bill.

[jayfish]

65. Did You Like Them Better As A Punk Band Or...

Metal Band? I think they did both extremely well, even though they were a little goofy on the metal side.

Jay

[nemo137]

33. Uncle Tupelo

best country rock band from illinois ever.

[battleknight24]

35. OCTOBER PROJECT and THE CORRS...

If you haven't heard October Project, listen to clips from their 1993 self-titled debut, particularly tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, and 8, in my opinion... I can barely describe in words how good this band is...

A lot of people are only familiar with the Corrs recent commercial stuff... if you haven't heard it, check out there 1995 debut album (and masterpiece, in my opinion) FORGIVEN NOT FORGOTTEN... ironically, almost everybody has forgotten about this album... like I said, its quite different, and much better than their recent stuff...

[mvd]

36. The Corrs are especially underappreciated in the U.S.

And I recommend all of their albums. The recent stuff is Beatles-esque pop in modern times IMO - it's that good. But also get Forgiven, Not Forgotten, as it does show the more Celtic/folk side of them.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

60. The Corrs? Really?

They never seemed like that much to me. Standard pop band with vague Celtic trimmings. Their arrangements and song structure were pretty simplistic. Still, I'm glad you're enthusiastic about something you love.

[BigMcLargehuge]

40. Too Much Joy!

three great records. No airplay. Pity.

[bif]

45. Jonatha Brooke

Fantastic voice and songwriter. She should be huge.

[mvd]

46. Another one

Deep Blue Something - very good one hit wonder IMO. Also Hootie And The Blowfish on Cracked Rear View.

[Colin Ex]

47. A short list

Inside Five Minutes
Wallside
Leaving Rouge
Kiss Me Quick
Korea Girl

THOSE are underappreciated bands. If the Onion reviews your record, you probably aren't underappreciated.

-C

[SEAburb]

48. The Church

UFO, Tragically Hip

[Screaming Lord Byron]

56. Yes to The Church.

[Ricdude]

49. Some of my "underground" metal favourites from the '80s...

Lord Tracy - Great "bar" rock -n- roll and silly stuff (She-man Blues, 3HC, Piranha, etc.)

Living Colour - First album just rocks. Evolved into even better music from there.

King's X - Reviving the lost art of melody in modern rock music.

Coroner - Swiss speed metal trio. Killer stuff.

[The Democratic Kid]

50. YES

YES is one of the most best bands there is.

[Undemcided]

51. Wedding Present

Big time.

[Finch]

53. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

... often ignored and a great shame...excellent... if you want an indictment of Bush's foreign policy listen to "ballad of a sin eater" fantastic... Anybody back in here heard this UK band called the Libertines? Excellent really Excellent can't commend, praise or laud them enough there a bit like the sex pistols with more reason and more rhyme musically excellent all round! a dash of other musical influences from that period in the late 70's/ early 80's too like the Clash etc.. Get the Album "up the bracket" great! :headbang:

[Search Party]

54. I hereby reveal my age...

The Embarrassment

Mortal Micronotz

Beasts of Bourbon

Gun Club

Dinosaur (before they were forced to become Jr.)

[CrownPrinceBandar]

57. My old standby...WEEN

[angka]

62. things that might go click with me, click with you, is that love?

is that love?

aw, push the little daisies and make em come up!
push the little daisies and make em come up!
push the little daisies and make em come up!

[geniph]

59. Gov't Mule, XTC, Jimmy Cliff

I don't understand how the likes of n'stink can sell a bazillion CDs and most people don't even know who these musicians are.

[HalfManHalfBiscuit]

61. The Eagles

No one appreciates how much they rule.

[Squeegee]

63. Any on an independent label.

[Kazak]

64. Wow...this thread is still alive? I'm surprised.

I'll name another artist then: Devo.

Sure they were widely known, but largely taken as a joke...definitely qualify for underappreciated.

[jayfish]

66. Small List.

V.A.S.T
D.R.I
Gruntruck
Screaming Trees

Jay