5 Underrated bands

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Originally posted by Zoocoustic:
In the US, I'd say Coldplay is VERY underrated. Sure, "Yellow" was a big radio hit, but nothing else from the album will be.

And it is such a good album - this group gives me hope that all new groups do not suck.

I have to second that!


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I disappeared in you
You disappeared from me
I gave you everything you ever wanted,
It wasn't what you wanted
 
I would say Smashing pumpkins but they're no longer a group...while they were they made some rockin' songs and never really got noticed.

The cranberries are definitely over looked, they've been over looked since their second album.

Incubus, Garbage, and gorillaz. (cartoons shouldn't be taken for granted)

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I'm counting UFO's, I signal them with my lighter and in this moment I am happy...happy.

I'm just sipping on chamomile, watching boys and girls and their sex appeal.
AIM:fengche
 
*Alice in Chains (dark and heavy, but laced with great melodies)

*Powderfinger (if they were American or British everyone would know them)

*The Verve (at least in the United States they are, most people only know 1 of their songs)

*Our Lady Peace (not a huge commercial success because they don't produce big-time singles, but their albums are very solid from start to finish, excellent Canadian band)

*Coldplay (they have so much more to offer than just their smash hit Yellow, they recorded one of the strongest albums of the last few years - again, this is coming from the perspective of an American who hears nonstop about bands like Creed, Incubus, Linkin Park, etc)
 
Originally posted by The Wanderer:
*Alice in Chains (dark and heavy, but laced with great melodies)

*Powderfinger (if they were American or British everyone would know them)

*The Verve (at least in the United States they are, most people only know 1 of their songs)

*Our Lady Peace (not a huge commercial success because they don't produce big-time singles, but their albums are very solid from start to finish, excellent Canadian band)

*Coldplay (they have so much more to offer than just their smash hit Yellow, they recorded one of the strongest albums of the last few years - again, this is coming from the perspective of an American who hears nonstop about bands like Creed, Incubus, Linkin Park, etc)

Umm Incubus isn't overrated, they made one pop song and then they're big, before that nobody knew about any Incubus, they're not sell outs like Creed. They get played on TRL one day and are off the next.
 
Originally posted by The Wanderer:
*Our Lady Peace (not a huge commercial success because they don't produce big-time singles, but their albums are very solid from start to finish, excellent Canadian band)


I like OLP too.
 
A lot of these bands some of you have listed as "underrated" really aren't. It all depends really, where you live I guess, and what you read and how keen you are to a certain band's success either in the US and/or abroad.

Take the Charlatans for instance. They were one of the major movers and shakers in the Manchester scene in the late 80's and early 90's - they got a ton of recognition and praise in the UK and are still going strong over there. In the US however, they've slipped through the cracks of the Americans' ever changing fickle music tastes.

Radiohead are hardly underrated, though they haven't reached U2 status, they are enormously popular. It just took them a while to gain worldwide appeal and recognition.

The Verve were a class act, they personified the whole shoe-gaze (I hate that term, but er, that's what it's unforunatley classified as) movement. They rode strong on the UK charts even though most people in the US know them only by the Bittersweet Symphony song.

The Cranberries were huge, at least 7 years ago they were heralded as the next big thing in Europe as well as the States. Somehow they too have slipped through the cracks. They are teetering on the brink of being grossly underrated.

I'm an 80's kid from the USA, and when I was in high school you couldn't throw a rock in the air without it hitting someone in a Depeche Mode or Smiths shirt. Well, the Smiths broke up and Depeche Mode are still alive but barely, their latest record was a snore.

Open up Q magazine or NME when they do their features on top influential bands and Massive Attack is in there. Tons of praise across the pond, their style spawned and interest in trip-hop fusion. Again, it seems it's all a matter of where you live and how closely you follow other types of bands that reach out of the rock genre.

Now a truly underrated band would be Mercury Rev - they've been around but haven't gained above ground status in the US listening audience. They seem to have more a cult type following over the pond, but their talent is highly unrecognized because there's so much other crap people have to sift through in order to reach the good stuff. Same goes for Modest Mouse who actually have a pretty strong (but small) fan base... but give it time, they are still young-ish bands and they've got a bright future ahead of them. Lush is on the list, Mazzy Star although brilliant with a strong following, died out as people's tastes changed and Hope Sandoval went her seperate ways. Gomez is another highly underrated band. They are trippadelic and amazing, very Beatles-esque in a lot of ways, and unrecognized on American soil. By far I believe Spiritualized to be the most underrated band. Absolutely brilliant, a close notch behind U2 - Jason Pierce is an amazing musician with a vision. But they can't sell out an American venue... but in England however they have a strong and loyal following. Social D have a fond place in many people's music collections, much like Sonic Youth, but they have all but slipped through the cracks of that everchanging American taste I talked about earlier.

I guess though, in comparison to a band like U2, every band pales in comparison in terms of being 'rated.' With so many new bands out there taking the spotlight and catering to those fickle tastes that may change as soon as it's no longer hip to listen to them, it's easy to see why some bands like the ones listed in other posts, as being underrated. I'm not trying to start an argument, just trying to point a couple things out.
smile.gif
 
I never said there was anything wrong with Incubus, but they are a bit over-hyped when you consider that a great band like The Verve went almost unnoticed in the United States
 
Many of the great bands go unnoticed in the States and thats why we have American after American in threads like these saying The Verve and The Cranberries are underrated, when in fact they were huge bands.
Thankfully you guys have the net to discover these bands. Don't you find it funny though that a small country like Australia (pop not land area) knows all about acts from all around the world, yet the US who supposedly are the leaders in communication and everything else, are not exposed (THANK YOU ANGIE) to the brilliant music that the rest of the world seems to know about?

I recommend Americans to go buy albums By The Verve, The Cranberries, Pulp, Blur, and The Stone Roses.
The rest of you go buy Powderfinger and The Living End now!
I think The Tea Party but they are prolly huge in Canada right?
 
Originally posted by zooropamanda:
Many of the great bands go unnoticed in the States and thats why we have American after American in threads like these saying The Verve and The Cranberries are underrated, when in fact they were huge bands.
on the other hand whenever I see a list of the best 100 bands according to readers of british music magazines, they always manage to mention 90 british bands as if the US and the rest of the world hardly exists

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Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it

[This message has been edited by Salome (edited 01-19-2002).]
 
Haha, I wondered what you were up to Mand. Exposure. Yes, well (hehe) since I helped you find this word, I want to add, even though you are right, its also exactly the reason for why it is so. Exposure is such a hard thing to attain in an American audience. The market there is just so immense! As you know, we have the big national station, JJJ, then all the states have 5-6 major stations which are then broadcast locally? A very easy market to crack. In the US with 52 states, and a pop of around 220 mil, I imagine the figures alone make winning powerball more likely than getting a major break. Aus, or even Canada or the UK are the places to start, get noticed in the smaller sector helps breaking into such a vast and diversified place like America.

Ive noticed that the Aussies here talk alot about our own music, and quite often I find myself thinking of what America doesn't hear. So many of my favourite bands are local. And I think that given a lot of support, they could make the American market. INXS, and Savage Garden are prolly our biggest exports to the States, but think of all the others, too many to even begin listing that would be HUGE, given half a chance.

I know this isnt what you're saying manda, but its not that America is 'self absorbed', they are simply huge and have so much going on in their own country that you kinda expect them not to be aware of what is happening on all the other music scenes the world over.
 
Originally posted by The Wanderer:
I never said there was anything wrong with Incubus, but they are a bit over-hyped when you consider that a great band like The Verve went almost unnoticed in the United States

My bad then. Was the verve the band that made the song "bittersweet sympony"? And the video with guy pushing people around and stepping on a lady's car?

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I'm counting UFO's, I signal them with my lighter and in this moment I am happy...happy.

I'm just sipping on chamomile, watching boys and girls and their sex appeal.
AIM:fengche
 
Originally posted by zooropamanda:
Many of the great bands go unnoticed in the States and thats why we have American after American in threads like these saying The Verve and The Cranberries are underrated, when in fact they were huge bands.
Thankfully you guys have the net to discover these bands. Don't you find it funny though that a small country like Australia (pop not land area) knows all about acts from all around the world, yet the US who supposedly are the leaders in communication and everything else, are not exposed (THANK YOU ANGIE) to the brilliant music that the rest of the world seems to know about?

I recommend Americans to go buy albums By The Verve, The Cranberries, Pulp, Blur, and The Stone Roses.
The rest of you go buy Powderfinger and The Living End now!
I think The Tea Party but they are prolly huge in Canada right?

Exactly exactly exactly zooropamanda! That's what I was trying to say on the last page, except I rambled for far too long whereas you said everything I needed to say in a nice neat tight package!

btw, the Stone Roses kicked some serious ass!
wink.gif
 
Originally posted by PrincessBadgirl:
My bad then. Was the verve the band that made the song "bittersweet sympony"? And the video with guy pushing people around and stepping on a lady's car?


hmmm... this is my point, you only vaguely know 1 of their songs

yes, that was indeed The Verve; as I was saying, I don't mind Incubus at all, I like what I've heard from them so far (can you suggest some good songs to d/l besides the ones that get regular radioplay?)
 
The Microphones
The Microphones
The Microphones
The Microphones
The Microphones

Please, do yourselves all a favor and pick up the latest album, The Glow Pt. 2

[This message has been edited by mug222 (edited 01-19-2002).]
 
Forget it. Even if The Verve was the number one band in the world, I would call them underrated. The B-Sides alone would make a class album.
 
hmm

how about David Gray?

ok.. its adult contemporary alternative stuff in many ways and its not going to reach any great heights in terms of being adventurous or anything

but i found White Ladder thoroughly relaxing and in the end entertaining

even moreso considering i ripped the cd off the library :grin:
 
Originally posted by zoomerang II:
powderfinger (outside Australia) no-one else has heard of australias biggest act.

depeche mode, outside central & eastern europe, are definately underated.



Ah, Hell Yeah.. I love powderfinger.. And I'll agree.. Depeche Mode..
ANd.. Although Im' not the biggest fan, I'll have to drop a nice warm Creed in here.. Maybe not as much now.. but I thik they can do some pretty good stuff down the road.. but that's just a future underrated...
 
a little band which may have snuck underneath our doormats

James

they've been around for a long time; fans of the synth pop genre (ie NewOrder, Depeche Mode) will like them alot
 
Originally posted by CrashedCarDriver:
a little band which may have snuck underneath our doormats

James

they've been around for a long time; fans of the synth pop genre (ie NewOrder, Depeche Mode) will like them alot

Wowie zowie CrashedCarDriver! Between this thread and the short but sweet thread, and that fact that you're on Interference, I must say your tastes are in-synch (not n'sync, har har) with mine! I love James - truley a forgotten Madchester roots band that got a bit lost in the mix of it all. I loved Laid (when they finally got some props in the States) it's one of my favorite records from the time, and I have a soft spot in my heart for the 1990 self titled release - so many good memories attached to the record. I'd say along with New Order/Depeche fans, those who like early Primal Scream, Stone Roses, and Happy Mondays would dig em too.
 
Deep Purple
Faith No More
Boomtown Rats
Peter Hammill/Van der Graaf Generator
Animal Logic

annalivia

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"I'm a singer. You know what a singer is? Someone with a hole in his heart as big as his ego.
When you need 20,000 people screaming your name in order to feel good about your day,
you know you're a singer."

(Bono's Harvard address, June 2001)
 
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