Nada Surf
Sorry about the lack of posts… the holidays were pretty crazy over here. Now back to business…
As many people have written for several years now, Nada Surf has been putting out great record after great record, despite being a “one-hit wonder” with their single “Popular” from 1996, which was all over eMpTyV that summer.
Nada Surf was kicked off their label shortly after the release of their second album, 1998’s The Proximity Effect. Rumor had it that the label wanted them to be “more like The Foo Fighters” which was a problem that Jimmy Eat World encountered a year later with their album Clarity. Nada Surf’s sophomore album was chock full of great hooks and solid songwriting, especially with the song “Mother’s Day” which is featured below (pay close attention to the lyrics).
After label/distribution issues which prevented the band from getting The Proximity Effect heard on a mass scale, Nada Surf finally got hooked up with a new label, this time an indie called Barsuk, which released their third record Let Go in 2002. This album really cemented their status as that all-important category of “great band.” I’ve included “Blizzard of ‘77″ and “Inside Of Love” from that record, below.
Nada Surf have a rabid fanbase, without any radio play or good distribution. When the people know great music, they know great music… and it gets out there no matter what. That’s one of the reasons I started this music blog. Enjoy.
Mother’s Day
Blizzard of ‘77
Inside Of Love
Buy Nada Surf’s albums from:
amazon.com
Red House Painters (Mark Kozelek)
Mark Kozelek has made appearances as a musician in the movies Shopgirl and Almost Famous. But what a lot of people don’t know is that he’s been writing and releasing songs with his band Red House Painters (and later, Sun Kil Moon) for over a decade. Mark’s voice is the kind of voice that sends shivers down your spine… it’s deep, it’s soft, it’s everything that fits with the music he writes on guitar. And his lyrics are fucking brilliant.
Take a listen to the Cars cover “All Mixed Up”, “Have You Forgotten” and “Priest Alley Song” (all from the 1996 album Songs For A Blue Guitar) and taste his songwriting genius:
All Mixed Up (originally recorded by The Cars)
Have You Forgotten
Priest Alley Song
buy Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon music at
amazon.com
Velocity Girl
Pure pop perfection? Oh yes. Maryland/Washington DC’s Velocity Girl came and went like a thief in the night (and they largely went unnoticed), but man… did they impact the indie/alternative rock world for those who were lucky enough to know of them in their prime. Beginning as a noisy band with vocals basically buried in the mix, Velocity Girl evolved into a powerhouse of a band… mainly due to lead singer Sarah Shannon’s flawless, classically-trained pipes. Here are three tracks from their final album, 1996’s “Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts” (Sub Pop Records):
Same Old City
Gilded Stars
Nothing
and as a bonus, “My Forgotten Favorite” (one of their earlier songs, which is absolutely perfect musically, even though you can barely hear Sarah)… this song miraculously made the soundtrack to the great movie Clueless.
My Forgotten Favorite
Fans of this music should absolutely check out Sarah Shannon’s solo work– myspace.com/sarahshannonmusic. She made two awesome solo records in recent years. More than likely, I’m going to be posting something about her solo music in the coming weeks… 
Buy Velocity Girl’s music at
amazon.com
Wheat
I hate how NO ONE knows who the band Wheat is. At most, exposure to this band came from Cameron Crowe’s awesome movie Elizabethtown, when Kirsten Dunst’s character says “Some music… needs air. Roll down your window.” And even then, few people knew the name of the band unless they bought the Elizabethtown: Vol 1 soundtrack.
So… this is the indie band Wheat… and two of their songs, “I Met A Girl” and “Don’t I Hold You” (the latter being the song from Elizabethtown):
I Met A Girl
Don’t I Hold You (from Elizabethtown soundtrack)
buy Wheat’s music from:
amazon.com
Dance Hall Crashers
For a lot of people, ska is dead. But great music lasts forever. Case in point – Berkeley, CA’s Dance Hall Crashers. They’ve been around basically since Operation Ivy (1988). I wouldn’t classify them as “ska” just as I wouldn’t call Operation Ivy ska… DHC (and Op Ivy) had so much more going on musically than just “ska.”
DHC had mainstream success in 1995 with the Geffen release “Lockjaw” (and the smash hit single “Enough”, about sex and shallowness), but beyond that, they’ve kind of stayed in the background of music, and that pisses me off, because the talent they possess is tremendous. Lyrically, they’re awesome. Melodically… shit. I can’t think of a more “hooky” band!
I’ve been a die-hard DHC fan since 1995. I love all of their records. In 1999, they released on album called “Purr” on Pink and Black Records (a division of Fat Wreck Chords) which in my opinion, is by far, their best record to date. Here are three songs from “Purr.”
Do You Think You’re Beautiful?
Just Like That
The Real You
buy DHC CDs from
interpunk.com
amazon.com
The Perishers
Can’t get enough of the music of the Perishers. I don’t know much about them, at all, really. I discovered their music at Barnes and Noble, where they had one of their CDs that I took a listen to. This was about two years ago, and I forgot about them until recently, where I found they had released a new record. Take a listen to “Carefree” and “Come Out Of The Shade” below, from 2007’s Victorious.
Carefree
Come Out Of The Shade
buy Perishers CDs from:
amazon.com
A Fine Frenzy (Alison Sudol)
I discovered this absolutely PERFECT singer/songwriter while watching cable… one of her songs showed up in a promo spot for Starz or one of those movie channels. I immediately researched this artist and found that a Fine Frenzy was not a “band” but one young woman, all of 22, who taught herself how to play piano and grew up obsessed with British pop music like Keane, Coldplay, and composers like Philip Glass as well as legendary jazz singers like Billie Holiday, etc.
A Fine Frenzy (aka Alison Sudol) has little in common with Billie Holiday… if anything she has a strong Coldplay/Keane influence… but her music is so much more involved, experimental, and beautiful. As I write this, I’m zoning out on her song “Liar Liar” and the last minute of it. Absolutely perfect songwriting.
This woman has got it all – the piano skills, the beautiful voice, the looks, the intelligence… absolutely my favorite album of 2007, even though I just discovered her today (December 11th, 2007). I loved the clips on myspace so much I went out and bought this album immediately, and I usually don’t buy CDs anymore because there’s so much crap out there. A Fine Frenzy is a fine example of how great pop music can be, even in this decade of shit.
Take a listen to the musical perfection of “Come On, Come Out” and “Liar, Liar”:
Come on, Come Out
Liar, Liar
Buy A Fine Frenzy’s music at:
amazon.com
itunes
Of Montreal
I have always liked this band, but something about hearing them in the indie film The Puffy Chair just pushed my fanaticism of the band over the edge. At the end of the movie, one can hear Of Montreal’s “Disconnect The Dots”, from their sixth full-length album Satanic Panic in the Attic (Polyvinyl, 2004).
Take a listen to “Disconnect The Dots”, a brilliant new wave/pop gem, below:
Buy Of Montreal’s music at:
Polyvinyl Record Co.
amazon
Juliana Hatfield
No one in the indie music world is more underrated than Juliana Hatfield. No one! Juliana has been at it for TWO DECADES now and nothing she’s done has been remotely boring or disposable. Below is a b-side called “Fireflies” which she offered for several months on her website as a free download back in late 2004/early 2005. Currently, you can download all her b-sides and unreleased stuff again, from www.julianahatfield.com (she has a Paypal donation button on there, and you definitely should donate at least $1).
Juliana Hatfield – “Fireflies”
Buy Juliana Hatfield’s music from:
amazon.com
julianahatfield.com
First post – Azure Ray
Welcome to underratedmusic.net. I’ve been wanting to launch this site for several years now. Finally, I’m up, thanks to WordPress.com.
In this first post I’m going to talk about a duo called Azure Ray, who were one of the most beautiful duos to ever release music into the indie world. Surely you’ve heard of Maria Taylor, whose music has graced the great TV series Grey’s Anatomy, as well as the critically-acclaimed soundtrack. Few know that Maria Taylor was half of Azure Ray, along with her longtime friend Orenda Fink.
Take a listen to “Sleep” from their debut album Azure Ray (Saddle Creek, 2000):
Buy Azure Ray’s music
from Saddle Creek Records
from amazon
