Bands

[HeadlessCow]

Do any of you out there listen to bands that none of your friends have ever heard of? Especially if the band has songs that you thought were well known.
The Bands that I alone seem to possess the knowledge of are:
Sweet (Ballroom Blitz, Little Willy, Love Is Like Oxygen)
Rush (Tom Sawyer, Closer to the Heart, Fly By Night, Limelight)
J. Geils Band (Centerfold)-although a few of my friends do know the song

[bernard]

Your friends don't know about Rush? Strange friends, I suggest upgrading them immediately. :)

I would say about half of my friends don't know about New Order, but the rest do. The rest of the music I listen to is either soundtracks from movies or classical so I don't know if they count.

[HeadlessCow]

And I forgot about:
Falco (Rock Me Amadeus)

[Dirty Devil]

Rush? J. Geils Band? Your friends have never heard of these bands? This makes me feel very old.

Robyn Hitchcock - he's got a large cult following, but most people don't know who he is or what he does. Very, very good!

Flying Burrito Brothers - these guys never got the success that they deserved in the late 60's and early 70's, although they are critically acclaimed by most music reviewers (they had a mild hit with "Six Days On The Road" in 1969).

Louden Wainwright III - part folk, part satire, part comedy, he's been around since the early 70's. Not much commercial success, but well respected among his peers.

[Falcon]

Your friends don't know about Rush? Now *I* feel old, and I'm only 24! By any chance, are these friends women? Most women I know don't listen to Rush, J. Geils, etc. (And before everyone jumps on me, I'm a woman.) I'm with bernard - upgrade the friends! ;)

Let's see...bands my friends have never heard of:

Sebadoh
The Iguanas
Freddy Jones Band


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"And the knowlege that they fear is a weapon to be used against them."
-Neil Peart, RUSH, "The Weapon"

[BurnMeUp]

Tito and Tarantula
The Toy Dolls
Bran Van 3000

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To deal with men by force is as impractical as to deal with nature by persuasion.

[Ukulele Ike]

I never travel far
Without a little Big Star.
-- The Replacements

Also:
The Charlatans
The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band
Fairport Convention
The Modern Lovers
The Flamingos
The Treniers
Billy Ward and the Dominos

Of course, these boyos are obscure only because they date from the 50s/60s.

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Uke

[Ukulele Ike]

Sorry...Big Star and the Lovers are from the 1970s.

[Lou]

My friends can all appreciate the music that I am into lately but the people I work with don't even believe me when I tell them that "Yes, they do still make vinyl records and I own NEW records that I play on my RECORD PLAYER." They can only comprehend this if I say it's for DJs.

NYC punk for me lately:
The Dead Boys
Richard Hell/Television/Voidoids
New York Dolls/Johnny Thunders
Velvet Underground & The Stooges (don't really belong here but they were in NYC in the late 60's/70's so I think it's ok)

[Guy Propski]

Weird--I was just thinking this morning of posting a topic very much like this.....

Anyway, my all-time favorite band is XTC. I've loved their music ever since I saw the video for "Life Begins at the Hop" in 1979. I managed to see them on tour, just before lead singer Andy Partridge decided he had permanent stage fright. Do yourself a favor and find one of their albums.

[TheNerd]

Poe, Soul Coughing, Sneaker Pimps, Hooverphonic...

[BurnMeUp]

indeed XTC are fabulous. All one needs to do is listen to "wrapped in grey" and you'll be hooked.

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To deal with men by force is as impractical as to deal with nature by persuasion.

[topolino]

The only ones that have stumped me so far are The Toy Dolls, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Treniers, and The Dead Boys.


Poe, Soul Coughing, Sneaker Pimps, Hooverphonic...

I love all these artists.

And XTC is one of my favorite bands of all time.

Now, I like alot of bands that alot of people haven't heard of so I'll narrow the list down to artists I REALLY REALLY like whose names are relatively unknown:
Failure
Splashdown
Elliott Smith
Kate Bush
Self
Nick Drake
All those 4AD bands (Cocteau Twins, Lush, etc)
Bel Canto
Grant Lee Buffalo

I'll stop here :)

[Gail]

Ah, The J. Geils Band--Centerfold was their most mainstream song. They were a "concert band" and always put on great shows. I've seen them several times. I used to have their live album,"Blow your face out" I loved Peter Wolf's jive talkin' intros to the songs...like "Musta Got Lost".

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Gail
"Any major dude with half a heart surely will tell you, my friend--
Any minor world that breaks apart falls together again...."
-Steely Dan

[funneefarmer]

I totally agree with Tito and Tarantulas
Also:
The Cramps
Ry Cooder
Headstones
Yello
Tailgators

[torq]

Devo... yeah, yeah, I know everyone's HEARD of Devo, but most of my friends don't know any of their songs besides "Whip It."

[Jophiel]

Yeah, but that's not saying much since most of my friends are unenlightened Philistines anyway...

October Project
Julee Cruise
Cranes
Concrete Blonde
Black Tape For A Blue Girl

Five years ago, I could of added Sarah McLachlan, but now I can't escape her ;)

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"I guess it is possible for one person to make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn't."

[Alan Q]

Mott the Hoople, even tho the "classic" rock stations have jumped on the bandwagon, nobody played them when they were together, but all you hear are the same two dam' songs.
Bonzo Dog Band? You bet!
And finally: Kinky Friedman & the Texas Jewboys--hard to explain, but Lord, are they good!
--Alan Q

[Schizm]

It sometimes seems like I have to spoon-feed my music to some of my friends, who never seem to travel past commercial radio. Some bands that I'm into:
Velvet Underground (probably my favorite)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Gomez
Built to Spill
Spiritualized
Husker Du
Tricky
Robert Earl Keen (for when I'm feeling patriotic)

I'm just realizing these are all predominantly male artists. I guess I don't listen to females that much. Life must imitate art then, in my case.

[tetzel1517]

It makes me feel good that I've heard of most of the bands you folks have mentioned. My picks?

Pavement, Jellyfish, Built to Spill, Wilco, the UNKLE project (a DJ Shadow side project actually, but no one's heard of him either).

There are other bands I like where most people only know one song:
Radiohead (best band on earth, and SO much better than "Creep")
Blur (that "woo-oo!" song is only the tip of the iceberg)

[Persephone]

I've heard of an awful lot of those bands, but I'm a little more mainstream in my listening tastes. Some very good stuff there, though. Have to comment on a few things, though...I really like albums, and I have a turntable too! And though I've never heard any of Kinky Friedman's music, I've read a couple of his books. If he's as good a performer as he is a writer, I've got to get me some o' his music!

The only stuff I listen to that no one else seems to have heard of is reeeeeeally old blues. But that's because my husband is a blues guitar player, and he's got a HUGE collection of that stuff. Also Roy Buchanan, Rory Gallagher, and Danny Gatton, some of the finest guitar work ever.

[HeadlessCow]

Wow, I've heard of almost none of those bands! I'm only 18 though, so I have a pretty good excuse for most of the older bands, although I probably would recognize some of their songs if I heard them. I've always loved older music, 1920-1980, and listen to it whenever I get the chance, but other than the radio and my record player I don't have much chance. It would be too expensive to go out and buy old records on the chance that I might enjoy the band. So I mostly get stuck listening to 70's and 80's on the radio and CD, and then scrounging whatever older stuff I can find to listen to on record or oldies stations.

[lvick]

Morphine
David lindley and el rayo-x
Alison brown quartet
Ani di Franco

[BurnMeUp]

<sigh> it's sad that we lost Morphine this year.

[SqrlCub]

The bands that I like that I think other people should know:

Doc Watson (He ROCKS! well maybe not, He FOLKS!) <BG>
Pansy Division (there adaptation of Colored Spade from Hair is particularly entertaining)
Alexander Scriabine (My favorite classical composer yet some people in classical music have not heard of him)
Carlo Gesualdo (another good classical composer)
Four Bitchin' Babes

The bands that I like that I doubt other people would know:

Ed's Redeeming Qualities (My absolute most favorite band)
Different World
Coroner (an oldy but a goody)
Old Lady Drivers
Marvin the Mandolin Man (He doesn't play the mandolin. It is a typical rock band. It is not a favorite but thought it could be mentioned.)

[Falcon]

SqrlCub -

Four Bitchin' Babes ROCKS! I love them! I'm (hopefully) going to see them in a month here in DC. I'm also happy I know most of the bands mentioned here - maybe I'm not a musical Philistine.... :)

I thought of one other band:
Eddie From Ohio

[funneefarmer]

Ivick do you live in New England? Ani di Franco seems to have a huge following here but haven't really heard much of her any place else. Another is Squirrel Nut Zippers, the young crowd usually recognize the band but you ask someone over thirty and they look at you funny. Too bad because this band could really swing some older audiences their way.

[ellis555]

i think squirrel nut zippers are actually from north carolina, though they have played here (burlington, VT) a couple of times, which supports your new england theory. now how about the Tragically Hip?

ellis

[funneefarmer]

ellis555, I was referring to di Franco being from the area. Seems I remember WEQX saying something to that effect, and they seem to play her when other stations in upstate NY don't.

Glenn Miller
Paul Whiteman
Artie Shaw
Vic Schoen
The New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra
Lucille Hegamin's Blue-Flame Syncopators

[red wings]

whoever mentioned THE HIP, continue to spread the word.

Toad the Wet Sprocket
Eric Gadd
Butthole Surfers

[Schizm]

I LOVE every band on your list...who the hell is Robert Earl Keen?

Well, he's probably the most mainstream musician on my list, even though he's the least known. He's a Texan singer-songwriter, who used to be neighbors with Lyle Lovett, and they are great friends, and their music is of a similar vein. Great folk-rock for beer-filled Austin sunsets.

[funneefarmer]

Speaking of Texas...
From "Texas Funeral" By Jon Wayne...

She took the kids, peed on my carpet, and shot my horse and now things have gone from better to bad to worse.

[Olentzero]

BONZO DOG DOO DAH BAND!!!! Of course, I only know them from Dr. Demento, but still..

Speaking of DD, I can say I've heard of the Pousset Dart Band, tho' never heard any of their songs.

Here's some of the more obscure stuff I've picked up:

Spider John Koerner, "Running Jumping Standing Still"
Kapelye
Le Quartet Hot Club du France


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Cave Diem! Carpe Canem!

[Lou]

Schizm-
I LOVE every band on your list...who the hell is Robert Earl Keen?

[lvick]

Funneefarmer:
No I live in california, last month I was at a world music gig out here and heard a wonderful band called "Fruit." They are an Australian club band that was on a breakthrough world tour, and they absolutely rocked. During an afternoon Q & A session someone asked what the bands 3 desert island CDs would be. The bass player said Di Franco's "Little Plastic Castle," asd the drummer was bummed 'cuz that woulda been her choice. I figured I liked the band enough to check her out. I absolutely love the song "Fuel," though I don't think she'd make my desert island list. Other suggestions:
Fruit (duh)
Tempest
Bobby Llama

Olentzero:
is that the old Django Reinhart outfit? I thought it was Quintet, or maybe it's a different group.
Larry

Anyone up for a thread of desert island CDs?

[Frankie]

I can't believe that with all of the punks bands posted on this board no one mentioned Bad Religion? Anybody who likes So Cal punk should check out No Control....it was the fruit from which the rest grew!

Black 47 is the another band I know that most people don't!

[topolino]

Satan,

I know all the bands you mentioned except Coupe De Grace and Pegboy :). I worked in a record store for 5 years though. Sounds like you might have too, no?

[topolino]

Oh geez. I just read your signature, Satan. I'm an idiot :)

I'd never read past your name before. Hope I never get called to be a witness to a crime.

[Satan]

I've got about 4,000 CDs, tapes and even vinyl LPs in my collection. When people visit, they usually simply say, "I hever saw so many CDs I never heard of before!"

So, I know all of the bands you all are mentioning! (*smile*). No doubt you know about these as well, but a few unheralded faves of mine include:

* Bad Brains - DC rasta-hardcore. Definitive disc: I Against I.
* Redd Kross - Sugar-sweet gumball pop. Favorite disc: Phaseshifter
* Coupe De Grace - Minneapolis old Metallica meets Thin Lizzy with great songs.
* Casper Brotzman Massaker - Goth guitar God with Poe-like lyrics
* The Buzzcocks - Pop punk predating platinum poppy punks.
* The Goats - Philly hip-hop with a backing band and a great message. First album is amazing, second one sucks.
* Obituary - Death metal's most intense band.
* The Velvet Underground - No explanation needed.
* Pegboy - From Chicago from the ashes of Naked Raygun. Powerful melodic hardcore with intense emotional lyrics.
* Chrome - Did the proto-industrial thing before any americans, except maybe...
* Pere Ubu, from Cleveland.
* Dag Nasty - DC melodic punk.
* Melt Banana - Japanese noise.
* King's X - Wonderful melodic guitar band!

Okay, I'll stop now...

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Brian O'Neill
CMC International Records
rockuniverse.com/cmc/cmc.html (http://rockuniverse.com/cmc/cmc.html)

ICQ 35294890
AIM Scrabble1
Yahoo Messenger Brian_ONeill

[J String]

Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Savatage. None of my friends seems to have ever heard of them. Many musicians I meet have heard of Dream Theater though.

[Sam Stone]

What IS it about you Americans and "The Tragically Hip?" You guys buy millions of albums from Canadian Bands like Barenaked Ladies and Crash Test Dummies, but The Hip are almost totally unknown.

In Canada, they are an institution, and by far the best of the current Canadian bands. If you like Rock N' Roll, pick up "Road Applies" or "Up to Here" and give 'em a listen.

For that matter, grab some Colin James while you are at it. He used to tour with Stevie Ray Vaughan, and was considered to be a prodigy back then. He's only gotten better. Every album he makes goes gold or platinum in Canada, but he's unknown south of the border.

[pldennison]

I like a lot of so-called "mainstream music," but I'm also a booster for some real obscure bands that few people listen to:

Fuzzy
the Posies
Helium
Sleater-Kinney
the Muffs
Jale
the Reivers

[BunnyGirl]

Most of my stuff is jazz and I haven't seen too many people here on this board that are jazz fans:

Diana Krall: singer/pianist, goddess. She rules
Diana Reeves: singer,incredible. Writes a lot of her own stuff too.
Mandy Barnett: country (the only country I listen to) with this incredible deep alto voice. Awesome
Gypsy Kings. Yeah, they're well known but nobody I know listens to them. Too bad..they're incredible.
Lisa Loeb: again, probably well known but is she?? Great singer/songwriter
Just heard Luscious Jackson for the first time last night and really dug their stuff.

[No Me Ayudes Compadre]

In no particular orde, these come to mind...

-Klezmatics
-Fabulosos Cadillacs
-Paul Cebar & The Milwaukeeans
-Ben Vaughn Combo

And I've always liked the Dead Milkmen, don't ask why.

[ConMan]

I must admit I own every album/CD Cheap Trick has ever recorded. I saw them in 1977 in Charlotte, NC at the old Chrlotte Colesium as HS freshman and have been following them ever since.

About The Squirrel Nut Zippers, they are from NC. A few miles down the road from me in Chapel Hill. Great band for small college bars!

I've been into the blues since "The Blues Brothers" movie came out. I hope you get a chance to here of these greats!

Robert Cray
Albert King
Jimmy Reed
John Lee Hooker
"Hound Dog" Taylor
BB King



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"Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'"
E A Poe

[chief]

ive heard of the blues artists that were just mentioned..

and these:
* Obituary - Death metal's most intense band.
* The Velvet Underground - No explanation needed.


how about the jayhawks?

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Chief's Domain - http://www.seas.ucla.edu/~ravi

[neuro-trash grrrl]

Enough people have heard of Skinny Puppy and Einstürzende Neubauten that I won't bother listing them, but what amazes me is how few people have heard of Front Line Assembly. Go to any gothic-industrial club. If it wasn't for FLA, half of the music they play wouldn't even be there.

[NicePete]

Why does how many people who listen to a band have anything to do with whether you listen to them anymore? What's the thought process there: "Gee I really love the music that (insert clever band name here) makes, but everybody knows about them now. I just can't enjoy the tunes since I'm not the only one listening."

Whatever.

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"Owls will deafen us with their incessant hooting!" W. Smithers