What's your pick for "Bands that Shoulda Been Bigger"?

Mine is the (all-male) band Catherine Wheel (named after the firework which is in turn named after the medieval torture device). They gained a bit of popularity in the early 90s. This shimmering, dreamy song, "Black Metallic," probably got the most U.S. airplay and is my earworm du jour:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=q0O9uNvoMec

they were missing two

But, damn, that song "Brick" is sooooo depressing. :(

That's who I was going to pick!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGqprbDoh4g

not to mention, Rob Dickinson is effin hot:

I just downloaded "Crank" onto my iPod. That's my secondary earworm right now.

*Gives ceile a virtual high-five and belly bump*

Have you heard Rob Dickinson's solo album? It's really great. I just recently dug out all their cds that I hadn't listen to in years. Truly underrated...

I just sorta got into them. I remember liking "Black Metallic" when I heard it a few times on the radio back in the day, but then hadn't heard it for years until recently. I looked 'em up on The Internets and then downloaded that one and "Crank." I am generally not a huge power-guitar fan, and probably some of their songs are too metal for me, but I think they were very talented. I'm going to explore more of their stuff. :hi:

;)

Saw them at a club in Baton Rouge about 13 years ago. The mid-late '80s were the renaissance of southern alternative pop (Connells, REM, Let's Active, Pylon, Guadalcanal Diary)

I saw them open for the Replacements and also headline on their own. They were GREAT.

along with some local band called 'THe SHeila Devine" sponsored by some local FM station. I was on an aol chatroom meetup "date" in the late 90's. they were good. the whole cd that "Black Metalic" is from isn't bad at all either,btw.

Lucky you ...

I'm going to check out more of their stuff.

And I agree about Catherine Wheel.

:applause:

and way back when: The Robbs

I've been saying this for close to 2 decades now. Fishbone by all rights should have destroyed the world. I mean their live show was unparalleled and every single style of music they played, they slayed. Period. Unfortunately they couldn't keep it together for long enough to gain momentum and the band started losing it both personally and by releasing some pretty bad music.

But Truth and Soul and Reality of My Surroundings......good lord those records still give me chills.

Everyone knows Zappa, even if they aren't sure what they know him for. Wait, did you mean Dweezil?

Rush has had a great career, despite having only one top 40 hit. Unless you meant Limbaugh......

i saw frank zappa and the mothers of invention...they opened for cream. clapton was`t on the same planet as frank

Neither have ever had the mega-popularity they deserve, the kind of popularity that no-talent shitbags who perform to tapes and/or just do shitty music like American Idol winners, Brittney Spears, Beyonce, Celine, and every dickweed pretty boy/girl fuckwit who shows up on E! or the cover o the ten thousand magazines designed for the ignorant demographic have achieved.

In a fair universe, with a truly just God, Zappa and Rush would be the 100 million sellers and appreciated by the billions.

But, we live in a world that celebrates mediocrity and bullshit, and so Zappa and Rush and Eno and Fripp and others are relegated to the margins.

I think of all of those acts as superstars. But I'm Canadian, so maybe Rush in particular just seems super big to me.

how they have built up a huge and devoted audience without using the typical media mechanisms of the hype machine.
A castrato wailing cribbed Ayn Rand on top of gee whiz prog rock is crtainly not for me, but I admire how they have managed their career in an alternate way.

Seen them three times in concert. Portishead is also a very unique electronica band. Eno is a very talented producer, session musician and solo artist in his own right. I agree with you.

Big, large, McHugh.

Sold out tours, live double albums. When Moving Pictures came out, all the AOR stations were all over it like flies on shit. How much larger should they have been?

Of all the bands you list, only Portishead didn't achieved much fame, but what they got was proportional, considering their tenure.

They had a brief shining moment in 1980, but that was it. They should have been huge.

so you get half of them at least. Saw them here in Los Angeles in September. Great!

The only decent progressive rock artist.

Listening to Five Miles Out right now.

:thumbsup:

:loveya:

in the world than the biggest band in the world.
Good for him.

"Killing Moon" is a masterpiece.

shame they never broke beyond cult status

RIP JLP

"Gonna buy me a gun as long as my arm, kill everyone who ever done me harm..." Classic!

:thumbsup:

But you know, a lot of these brilliant bands like Gun Club, the Meat Puppets, the Seeds, the Flaming Groovies, the Soft Boys, Big Star, Pere Ubu, etc., etc., etc.--they're not made to be "big" bands. They're made so you have to work to find them. They reward the effort it takes to seek them out.

"Bigness" kills a lot of bands.

One of the best bands I have ever seen. Great songs, fabulous singers and they can kick some serious ass. Easily the most fun band to see live I have ever seen. Their albums are fantatic too.

came about at the same time as the stones and actually were as good or even better but they never progressed...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pretty_Things
Pretty Things - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

you are right about them not progressing.
Eventually the Rolling Stones overtook them.

i saw the first stones tour in chicago they sucked really bad. the second was better, the third they finally hit the groove.. the first concert cost 7.50 for row g seats

Honestly, one of the best bands I've ever heard. Can't understand why they didn't hit it big big big.

And he freaking loves this band. plays it all the time......

The only band that could open for Hot Tuna and not get booed off the stage

I thought they were great.

I remember "We Are Each Other" in particular. :toast:

:hide:

RL

:pals:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbBwFdKDaKw

That is all. All three of their full lengths are classics.

n/t

Man, "Sugar Sugar" just wasn't enough! I was hoping for a sequel, like "Downers Downers."

...:D

I've only discovered them recently and couldn't believe I'd never heard of them before.

They sell out every time they play in L.A., and they put together a huge tour. Also Utah recently declared a "Dream Theater Day" the last time they came to Salt Lake City.

been impressed with everything they do. In fact, I am listening to them right now! Great prog metal.

Jangly guitars, new wave edginess, and remarkable pop sensibility.

Also:

Jason & the Scorchers
The Alarm
Connells
Firetown (though they did mutate into Garbage)
Gaudalcanal Diary
Sidewinders
Dream Syndicate
Neighborhoods
Winter Hours

I like The Alarm and Guadalcanal Diary, as well.

Is one of my favorite records of all time. I bought it in 1985 on the same day I picked up REM's "Fables of the Reconstruction", which is also a remarkable album. Best trip to the music store I ever made!

That's a name I don't see too often. Just a few weeks ago I was searching for them and came across their Myspace page. Sad to hear that their singer passed away a couple years ago.

http://www.myspace.com/winterhours

Here are some, both new and old:

They Might Be Giants
New Pornographers
Rilo Kiley
The Corrs (in the U.S.)
Sloan
Jellyfish
Wussy
The Jayhawks
Paul Revere & The Raiders
Letters To Cleo
Damone
The Dollyrots (maybe "Because I'm Awesome" will jump start them)
The Like
Tilly and the Wall
Lillix
The Painkillers
Gomez
Semisonic
The Donnas
Stars
The Decemberists
Eisley
Sigur Ros
The Go-Betweens
Big Star

And more for sure.

"September Gurls" should be played on oldies/classic rock stations across the country, goddammit!

now. They do a lot with Disney.

It's shrinkage!!!!!!!!!!!

The Undertones (should be as well-known as the Ramones and the Sex Pistols)
Fugazi (too intelligent for the mainstream)
Husker Du (no Nirvana without these guys)
The Replacements (see Husker Du)
The Jesus Lizard (the angsty grunge kids should've loved these guys)
The Standells (should've been at least a two-hit wonder: "Dirty Water" and "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White")
The Sonics (they damn near out-Little Richarded Little Richard, and some of their originals are pretty awesome too)
Sugar (Bob Mould is pretty much an unsung musical genius)

They had a large and devoted following in Seattle all through the 90's, but they never really hit it big.

Soul Asylum (yeah, they did have a couple of hits, but some of their best stuff came before their breakthrough, and they continued being awesome after their fifteen minutes of fame were over)

Orpheus (psychedelic soft-rock, if you can imagine that, from the late-sixties/early-seventies)

It's a Beautiful Day (cool violin-driven psychedelic music- though their sound morphed a little as they went)

Audience (almost like Jethro Tull, but a little folkier, and saxophone-, rather than flute-, driven)

The Dambuilders (kind of a poppy alternative band, that I think at least deserved to have been a one-hit wonder!)

Batdorf and Rodney (seventies soft-rock band that never really broke through)

The Poppy Family (Canadian pop-psych-folk group, with a lot of dark, depressing lyrical themes; they only managed a couple of hits in America)

The Buoys (another early-seventies band, known for their one hit about cannibalism, but they actually recorded a solid pop-rock album that should had a couple of other hits off of it, at least IMHO)

It's a Beautiful Day in years. I remember them playing in Houston. We have always had a decent music scene here, although not the size and scope of Austin. It is a good place to catch the new talent before they head to Austin.


Edited to add that my fav group that should be bigger is my sitar playing hubby and his tabla playing friend. They have been making classical Indian music for at least 18 years. He won me over with his sitar music 14 years ago, but we have been making our own music for 5 years.:loveya:

They were HUGE in Britain in the '70s, and they're still big after nearly 40 years. But in two U.S. tours, they didn't catch. :shrug:

TURN DOWN YOUR SPEAKERS before watching this video. The audio's over-driven, and Noddy'll blow your face out. :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m-loYwaCJI&feature=PlayList&p=32C5A4A99943A26D&index=17

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HVj4f6qP3zA

:hi:

I've only heard it a couple times before. I think I might have to download it ...

:hi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3YD-fgkkQ4
Should have been huge, toured with all the other big Cali acts ( Jane's , Chilis, Fishbone, Oingo) but their record got caught between to warring factions at their record label and was never released.

Too bad. They were as good as the Chilis , maybe better.

now check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOlz5GJL5Fs

that's all I got

Clearly I didn't have good judgement back in 1979

They were big, but David Byrne walked away right when they were about to achieve supergroup status. They could have been really huge.

Best concert I ever saw, the "Stop Making Sense" tour.

He's put out a steady stream of music. He's not the superstar he was, but, still, he's had longevity.

My guess is that Mini-Kiss is about 10 times as good as real Kiss. I can't imagine it not.

* Japan (England) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLrRP9bdJac "Visions of China"

• David Sylvian (England) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2dgMNm64Mg "Orpheus"

• Nine Horses: (England) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCYr2T01ibk "Atom And Cell"

* New Musik (England) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLHvgv_bB7c "Sanctuary"

* Shriekback (England) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQhYzumSJK8 "Faded Flowers"

• Wolfsheim (Germany) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORDf3NfCEvc "Closer Still"

• Happy Rhodes (US) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPJ2HRgtquo "Save Our Souls"

* Yellow Magic Orchestra (Japan) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSVtCiD6zcA "Cue"

• Kate Bush (England) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWdHOm256N4 "Army Dreamers"

* Defunct
• Current

Oh yeah, I'll buy a round of drinks if anyone knows all the artist!

..

See, if I'm a fan of a band I tend to have some of their music.

Guess that makes me a weirdo :)

Now, please get a life:)...........

Got a problem with that? :P

I dont think the concept of "Gypsy Punk" will catch on with the tasteless mainstream music buyer, but these guys are definitely my favorite new discovery of the year.

Everything is Illuminated is only a couple of years old. GB is playing the festivals this year, so someone's listening.

Traffic, Blood Sweat and Tears....

is one of my all time favotite albums

They've had a few brushes with fame, but have never really achieved it. Their CD's are good, but they are exceptional live.

Back in the late 70's/early 80's there was a band out of Detroit called "The Rockets". Loved their stuff. Nothin' fancy, just good rock and roll.



I always thought they were going to hit it big, but it never happened.

on a local (NorCal) classic rock station. Don't know anything else about them, though.

Yeah, I'm pop whore - give me good writing or a beautifully crafted 3 minute song (or preferably both) and I'll go fetch your slippers with my teeth. So sue me.

Honorable mentions: Television, Husker Du, Tom Waits, K.D. Lang (yeah, I know, she did well, but she never really "made" it), Jane Siberry, Martha & the Muffins, Garbage.

In the Aoerplane Over the Sea is a brilliant and accessible album. I think it sold alot of copies, but I think it had the potential to be much much bigger.

I don't know if all his work would be considered spectacular, but there's one song that should have made it huge.

Painting By Numbers
James McMurtry


The gates of the schoolyard
Are padlocked and chained
To keep all the children in out of the rain
The art teacher's preaching
The virtues of pastel shades
You pay no attention but it won't hurt your grades

'cause you're painting by numbers
connecting the dots
they don't have to tell you
you don't call the shots

You jump when they say jump
And you don't ask how high
'cause painting by numbers they know you'll get by
painting by numbers they know you'll get by

You take a position
In the old man's firm
He signs all the papers
You agree to the terms
They let you run errands
And you don't get days off
You take out the garbage and hope it pays off

'cause you're painting by numbers
connecting the dots
you work from the neck down

you might be in grad school
up at MIT
you might be down in the canal zone
being all that you can be
you might get to thinking you're ahead of the game
but when you break it all down
it all comes out the same

You're painting by numbers
connecting the dots
you work from the neck down as often as not


-From "Too Long in the Wasteland" released in 1989.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_pe5pBd7-A

It is like he is singing about my life....

Why this band and guy (Michael Franti) are not the biggest band on the planet right now I will never know. Why they are not the favorite band on DU I will never know.

everyone talks about where have all the protest singers gone and who is making meaningful music today...and the answer is SPEARHEAD.

We can bomb the world to piecces but you can't bomb it into peace.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICL-4Onk0PA

Time To go home http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSeuLsNV4CA

Lyrical successors to The Smiths. Tanner plays a good guitar too.

I frickin' love The Smiths.

on edit: Oh my gosh, I had completely forgotten about their song "Away." Hearing it again after all these years was like finding an old friend. :hi:

just to hit 100

Their single "You Get What You Give" is a 1990s classic and still is a great song to listen to. Unfortunately, they had problems after releasing that song and broke up soon thereafter.

I mean Reggae/grunge/punk/rock ... how could it fail

Carly

The Human Abstract, Mastodon, Diecast, and so many other good metal bands to do not get airplay except on satellite radio.

Here are few vids from You Tube

Kamelot
http://youtube.com/watch?v=J-TUufvK0gU

Sympnohy X
http://youtube.com/watch?v=65_cjCNniwQ

Between the Buried and Me
http://youtube.com/watch?v=479bQjPMur4

For other genres, I wish more props were given to some Industrial bands like Assemblage 23, Icon of Coil, Convenant.

In electronica, Hybrid and ILS need more coverage.

In country, I think that any of the true singer songwriters like Joe Ely, John Prine, etc...need more exposure.

Folks lucky enough to see them at their peak were blown away

Pure genius: Combining the lyrical sentiments of Hank Williams with the attitude of Joe Strummer

http://youtube.com/watch?v=p-cF40OWeak

It's a sad fucking state that so many people will buy the slightest crap from Coldplay and have no idea who Catherine Wheel is.


Also shoulda been: Peter Case. Geeeez, he can play.

And Hunters & Collectors. It's a crime that "Throw Your Arms Around Me" was never given a chance here.

All very dark music from across the pond

I have all their CDs...
How did they get so old?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fre89067f1g

peace~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB0IldOQ1kg

_________________________

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQxK00GO5kY