Argent Towers - I am pretty sure I’ve heard Rhodes some years ago, but have heard that story. That’s what’s weird about the Beatles myth - so many power-pop geniuses find tragedy along the way while trying to follow in their footsteps. Harry Nilsson, Badfinger, Big Star, Emmitt Rhodes, etc…
Well, Big Star was mentioned earlier. Along a similar (but later) musical vein - Loud Family
This is off their greatest album, Interbabe Concern. Their albums previous to this were stunning as well. This is one of those bands, or at least artists (Scott Miller is basically Loud Family with a revolving cast of different musicians), that other musicians listen to. Anyone who likes very literate and smart power pop owes it to themselves to check this out.
By the way, the drummer in the Loud Family video originally drummed for another great unknown band - Thin White Rope out of Davis, CA. They had a desert psychedelic sound and a stunning twin guitar attack. They should have been fuckin’ huge. One of the best shows I’ve ever seen was them at the Berkeley Square. They ripped it up.
I know that the Clash is a fairly well known band but people seem to sell Strummer’s solo work short.
The Mescalero’s were a great band that played wonderfully and liked to mix it up in terms of types of music. Streetcore should have been a top 10 record but instead it was released and no on noticed. Plus there is all the work he has done for various film scores. I’m talking about movies where he did the original music, like Grosse Point Blank. Then you have songs from the Mescalero’s in movies like Blackhawk Down and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Even going back to his original band, The 101’ers, he already had the talent and songwriting skills that would serve him later in life.
I’m heading up to Auckland shortly, but next week I’m going to work my way through this thread… You tube wouldn’t load for me before, but I’ll try to see if I can get a hit for Charlotte Martin.
Anya Marie. I get the feeling Neil Finn has been as successful as he wants to be. I always thought Tim hungered for more.
Another ex Split Enzer is the tortured genius that is Phil Judd. I don’t like most of his stuff (my tastes are usually pretty commercial) but check out “Counting the Beat” by his group The Swingers. I read a recent interview with Judd where he said one of his biggest regrets is not pushing for a release outside of Australasia. It could have been a huge hit.
Shriekback ought to have been huge: they had a unique, unclassifiable sound {goth? funk? proto-techno? post-post-punk?}, and have probably dated the least of all 80’s acts. Alas, they were relegated to cult appeal while tedious guitar-mongers like U2 went on to fame and fortune. Plus playing “Nemesis” was banned at my {Catholic, boys} school for being “satanic” and you can dance to them: result!
Ah, the band responsible for “This Big Hush” from the movie Manhunter. Amazing song, amazing sequence in the film that it’s used in; that movie kicked all kinds of ass.
Andrew Bird is one of my favorite musicians, and his live shows are insane in how many different things he’s doing at once (in a given song he sometimes plays up to 3 instruments, while using foot pedals for his gadgets, and whistling).
However, while I think he COULD become a super megastar, his lyrics may be a bit too esoteric for people. Very few straight love songs or other similarly simple themes. Though songs like Fake Palindromes and Plasticities I could easily see becoming runaway hits just out of sheer catchiness.