The Songs That Should Have Been Contenders
Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 5:17 pmI'm sure that all of our LP/CD collections are filled with great music by bands that never quite hit the big time either here in the U.S. or elsewhere. I'd say that roughly 50% of the bands that I love neither had a huge hit here nor are they fondly remembered by the generally public (if remembered at all). Can you think of any bands and/or songs that should have made it but didn't? Perhaps they were played on college/alternative stations, but never entered the top 100? Here are a few of my picks:
BLANKET OF SECRECY-"Say You Will" (single)/"Walls Have Ears" LP. One of the great albums of the era, this is actually producer Roger Bechirian and a few musician friends creating a perfect pop album. You MUST hear this!
POSITIVE NOISE-"WHen Lightning Strikes" (single)/"Change Of Heart" and "DIstant Fire" LPs. A few songs were played on KROQ way back when, but this single and their 2nd and 3rd albums are nearly flawless slices of synth pop.
WIDE BOY AWAKE-"Bona Venture" single. Everyone knows "Chicken Outlaw" and "Slang Teacher", but this (their 2nd single) was just as good although it was a bit different. Great stuff.
QUINCY-"Quincy" album. Costello/Cars-ish new wave from New York. Fantastic album.
GREAT BUILDINGS-"HOld On To SOmething" single/"Apart From The Crowd" album. Great power pop from this LA quartet. Two of the members became the Rembrandts.
THE PLIMSOULS-"Now" single. One of the best singles of all time in my book. This should have put them on the map.
There are at least a hundered more that I could list, but I'll give someone else a chance to run with this idea....
And I think I'm going to compile a CD-R or two of songs that should have been HUGE!
BLANKET OF SECRECY-"Say You Will" (single)/"Walls Have Ears" LP. One of the great albums of the era, this is actually producer Roger Bechirian and a few musician friends creating a perfect pop album. You MUST hear this!
POSITIVE NOISE-"WHen Lightning Strikes" (single)/"Change Of Heart" and "DIstant Fire" LPs. A few songs were played on KROQ way back when, but this single and their 2nd and 3rd albums are nearly flawless slices of synth pop.
WIDE BOY AWAKE-"Bona Venture" single. Everyone knows "Chicken Outlaw" and "Slang Teacher", but this (their 2nd single) was just as good although it was a bit different. Great stuff.
QUINCY-"Quincy" album. Costello/Cars-ish new wave from New York. Fantastic album.
GREAT BUILDINGS-"HOld On To SOmething" single/"Apart From The Crowd" album. Great power pop from this LA quartet. Two of the members became the Rembrandts.
THE PLIMSOULS-"Now" single. One of the best singles of all time in my book. This should have put them on the map.
There are at least a hundered more that I could list, but I'll give someone else a chance to run with this idea....
And I think I'm going to compile a CD-R or two of songs that should have been HUGE!