Fountains of Wayne: kick ass alternapunk.
Machines of Loving Grace: lite industrial, but thy rock.
Urge Overkill: classic punk power trio.
Gotta second this. I spent $100 on tickets to an upcoming concert, which she sold out in under 48 hours. She’s gonna be a star.
Jill Scott was a well-known Philly performance artist, and her music reflects that, as well as some serious jazz and blues roots… Her two current singles are “It’s Love” and “Gettin’ in the Way,” and they are both incredible - “It’s Love” starts out as this super smooth R&B jive and then dives into some blues/country style choruses. It’s so kickass! “A Long Walk” is my favorite, but her album is all-around nonstop awesome.
A few more:
Cowboy Junkies - I’d heard of them a while ago and even had some MP3’s, but it wasn’t until I heard “Lay It Down” at Billdo’s in NYC that I got hooked, and now I own four CDs. They are rock, I guess, with a lot of blues, some incredible guitar work, and very real, seriously deep lyrics - sometimes they even seem a little like electronica. “Lay It Down” is my favorite album - “Angel Mine,” “Lonely Sinking Feeling,” and “Something More Besides You” are stand-outs. They’ve never been seriously famous, but they are worth a listen.
Wilco are rock/country/blues as well. They did two albums of Woody Guthrie covers with Billy Bragg, and both of those CDs are excellent. “California Stars,” “Ingrid Bergman,” “At My Window Sad and Lonely,” “One by One,” and “Birds & Ships” (featuring Natalie Merchant) are my favorites. “AM” is a CD that features their own lyrics, and it kicks ass too. “How To Fight Lonliness,” from the “Girl, Interrupted” soundtrack is their only (small) hit, AFAIR. I saw them last September and got to chill with the band; they basically said that they aren’t too interested in fame as long as they make enough money to support their music habit.
Finally, Ben Harper is as un-mainstream as possible. He DOES NOT want to be famous, at all. But he has a huge following - I went to a concert a while back and it was packed. “Welcome to the Cruel World” is IMHO his best CD, featuring songs like “Waiting for an Angel” and “Forever,” but the Box Set is your best bet money-wise. Every last song is incredible. He sort of reminds me of Tracey Chapman; his songs range from intensely personal and folk-inspired to extremely political (“Like A King”), and they are perfect for every mood you can imagine.
Oh, one last thing: Etta James is wildly underrated. This woman sang the blues like no one else before her and like no one after. She’s incredible. Listen to “At Last,” her best song, or “Sunday Kind of Love.”
The V-Roys, a “blugrass-rock” band out of Knoxville, TN (signed by, and often opened for, Steve Earle). Think they’ve disbanded though.
Steve Forbert
John Hiatt (critically praised, but most people I mention him to, say “Who?”)
Jim Lauderdale (Same story as Hiatt)
Sir
The radio station where I live played that song often enough that I started to hate it. They also played That Song and Blown Wide Open fairly often, both of which I love. I don’t know why that album wasn’t a huge success. It’s great stuff.
I second the nomination of XTC. By far my favorite band. Rumor has it that their back catalog will finally be re-mastered later this year. Catch their early-80’s stuff as a 4-man band.
I’m impressed and overwhelmed at the same time. There’s some wierd stuff here, but there are also some great choices. Bunnygirl, despite having most of Krall’s stuff, I’d disagree that she’s unappreciated. Even my parents have her CDs. For all those who mentioned Ella–is she unappreciated too, at least among those with ears? But if you like her, check out Jane Monheit. It’s a bit more bland than Ella at her best, but the girl’s only 22 or 23. I predict that she’ll mature well.
Sir Rhosis: No “huh” here. Hiatt’s one of the best songwriters alive IMHO. If you like him, perhaps with a bit of a Texas twist, check out Robert Earl Keen (who has the sense of humor) and Hal Ketchum (who has the sense of melody and structure).
Damn…missed the Etta James reference. That lady could and can sing the blues and jazz. “Mystery Lady” is the CD Sara refers to, and it’s damned near orgasmic–it’s all Billie Holliday songs. But then, anything Etta does is; there’s a Zillion Records retrospective of her stuff from the old Red Dog/Chess days (when Etta was skinny) that’ll blow you out of your socks. Most recently, AFAIK, she did “Ball and Chain” on the House of Blues Janis Joplin tribute, and was the only artist on the disc to outdo Janis.
For those who love it: I have a bad copy of a video–see if your Blockbuster can get it because those who emailed me at stofsky@msn.com would never get a copy since I’d never violate copyright–called “B.B. King and Friends,” which features B.B., Clapton, Stevie Ray, and Albert King on guitar, and vocals from Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, and everybody’s favorite, Etta. Might I recommend the female trio version of “Ain’t Nobody’s Business if I Do,” and Etta James and Dr. John doing a duet of “I’d Rather Go Blind.” Low points are Billy Ocean and Phil Collins, but I guess they’ve got to sell videos.
Stofsky
Someone stop me before I post again…at least to this thread. Or someone help me dig through my CDs to find this stuff!