Post by muzzleofbees on Nov 20, 2020 7:46:50 GMT -5
Nice throwback to read through this thread again. Eels were mentioned by a lot of you guys, and I think I agree. At least three close-to-perfect albums, and a couple of really good ones to. I think his 2020 release is his best in many years.
Also, an interesting discussion wheter an underrated band is a band too few people have heard of, or a band many people know, but who aren't rated as highly as they should be. I think the latter definition is the most precise and interesting (and it fits Eels). I don't know too much about Spin Doctors or Foutnains Of Wayne besides their hits, but I could totally see how people who know their catalog, and think it's good, think they are underrated. I'll throw Marcy Playground into that mix. Everybody knows Sex And Candy, but I really like the entire album it came out of. The follow-up too.
In a way, I think The Strokes are a little underrated too. They're obviously big, and everything after Is This It have been so-so. But on the sole basis of that record alone, I think they deserve even more praise than they get. It's just so good, and it sound maybe even better now than in 2001. Maybe it's not a case of being underrated, but more an expression of how much I like that record.
I also think Silver Jews are pretty underrated, allthough it could be a case of not that many people knowing about them. I just feel they still get a little bit of that "Stephen Malkmus' side project" thing, They were such a marvelous americana/country/indie band, and when I see lyricist being discussed in this thread, I must say that I rate John Darnielle, Craig Finn and Dave Berman as the three very best, each in their own way. I was so sad when he passed away last year.
Early R.E.M. might not be underrated, but it took me so many years to get around and listen to them. As a kid in the 90s, the overload of Everybody Hurts and Losing My Religion made it hard to believe they once made fresh and really good indiepop, but all of the 80s albums they released are worth listening to, and they deserve a little more credit, when some of theirs peers from that time are hailed as magnificent (side note: I can't really get into Replacements, and I know I must be wrong, but I really don't hear them being so similar to Hold Steady as people say that they are).
There are plenty of norwegian bands who have failed to be recognized the way they should be in Norway, but that might be of little interest to most of you.
Also, an interesting discussion wheter an underrated band is a band too few people have heard of, or a band many people know, but who aren't rated as highly as they should be. I think the latter definition is the most precise and interesting (and it fits Eels). I don't know too much about Spin Doctors or Foutnains Of Wayne besides their hits, but I could totally see how people who know their catalog, and think it's good, think they are underrated. I'll throw Marcy Playground into that mix. Everybody knows Sex And Candy, but I really like the entire album it came out of. The follow-up too.
In a way, I think The Strokes are a little underrated too. They're obviously big, and everything after Is This It have been so-so. But on the sole basis of that record alone, I think they deserve even more praise than they get. It's just so good, and it sound maybe even better now than in 2001. Maybe it's not a case of being underrated, but more an expression of how much I like that record.
I also think Silver Jews are pretty underrated, allthough it could be a case of not that many people knowing about them. I just feel they still get a little bit of that "Stephen Malkmus' side project" thing, They were such a marvelous americana/country/indie band, and when I see lyricist being discussed in this thread, I must say that I rate John Darnielle, Craig Finn and Dave Berman as the three very best, each in their own way. I was so sad when he passed away last year.
Early R.E.M. might not be underrated, but it took me so many years to get around and listen to them. As a kid in the 90s, the overload of Everybody Hurts and Losing My Religion made it hard to believe they once made fresh and really good indiepop, but all of the 80s albums they released are worth listening to, and they deserve a little more credit, when some of theirs peers from that time are hailed as magnificent (side note: I can't really get into Replacements, and I know I must be wrong, but I really don't hear them being so similar to Hold Steady as people say that they are).
There are plenty of norwegian bands who have failed to be recognized the way they should be in Norway, but that might be of little interest to most of you.
