"I have a personal new mix-tape challenge for you....$10 (on iTunes or Amazon) worth of songs from bands that Broke Up before they could make it. Really talented, catchy groups with great skill and hooks that will sadly never be heard by the masses.
I'm curious to hear your choices, since they're probably more nuanced than mine. But I'll take your word and invest the (up to) $10 worth of downloads if I like the previews."
I have been thinking about this for a while because it's a doozie, or possibly a doozy. Rather than just respond to Greg, however, I figured I would share my choices (and his with the world), since undiscovered music is nearly always exciting.
This was tough for several reasons. Obviously, it's much harder to stumble across music by bands who broke up before they got big than music by bands who did make it.
I am not including bands that were not commercial successes, but are considered big influences and are generally revered, such as The Velvet Underground, The Stooges, or The New York Dolls. If you're in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (as the Velvets are), or if your lead singer's name is Iggy Pop or David Johanssen (aka Buxter Poindexter), then you can consider yourself "big."
Here are Greg's choices (all are available on iTunes or Amazon):
- Halos by Filomath
- Overrated by Filomath
- The Lotto by Filomath
- Mekong by The Refreshments
- Banditos by The Refreshments
- Down Together by The Refreshments
- Preachers Daughter by The Refreshments
- Buy American by The Refreshments
- Cells by The Servant
- Liquify by The Servant
- Sleep Deprivation by The Servant
Here are my choices. Many of them are in the "garage rock" genre. Frankly, I haven't checked to see if any of these are available on iTunes or Amazon, but, if they are, hopefully you will check them out. As a result of the presumed unavailability of some of the songs, I decided to go ahead and add more than ten.
- Shoot Shoot by KaitO
- Bow Wow by KaitO
- Halo by King Konga
- Virginia by King Konga
- Say Mercy by King Konga (which is a hidden track behind "Like You" on the Halo CD)
- Something Good by King Konga
- Black and Blue by Ko & The Knockouts
- That's When I Reach for My Revolver by Mission of Burma
- This Is Our Emergency by Pretty Girls Make Graves
- The Dude's Old Lady by Runner & The Thermodynamics
- In Your Eyes by Runner & The Thermodynamics
- Shaky Puddin' by Soledad Brothers
- I've Been Fucking Your Daughters and Pissing on Your Lawn by Thee Headcoats (possibly the greatest song title of all-time)
- Lack of Water by The Why Store
What about you? Do you have any gems hidden from the world because some bastard band decided to break up?
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7 comments:
Man. That's a tough bill to fill. But I did like the dBs, especially their track "Amplifier" which is available on Rhapsody. (I used to work for Real, so I got a free sub. Dunno if you can get it on iTunes.) Anyhoo - it goes a little like...
Danny went home and killed himself last night
She'd taken everything
She took his cash
She took his checks
She took the soda pop
There was nothing left
She took the love letters out of his desk
She took his car
She took his bike
She took everything she thought he liked
And what she couldn't take she found a way to break
She left his amplifier
An amplifier's just wood and wire
And wire and wood don't do any good
When your heart is blazing like a wildfire
And all you got to show for it's an amplifier
She took his gun
She took his knife
He took his drugs
They took his life
She took it all in one big haul
She left his amplifier
Nothing by Cervical Implosion?
Fair enough, Anonymous. Obviously "Abortion Monday," "Burning Urination," "Sucking Cock," and "Should've Used a Hanger, Bitch" (dedicated to the lead singer's mom) should be added to the list, although they are only available on the original video and one duplicate copy made of Cervical Implosion's only performance.
Then again, it is debatable as to whether Cervical Implosion was big before they broke up (if you can consider the nearly 9-year hiatus to be a break-up), as we did have approximately six people (not including band members) who stopped by to see up that fateful night in September 1999.
In this same vain, I guess I would add "Daughter Got Abducted" by Blue Gate Killas to the list, although that song has never been performed or reduced to an aural medium.
EMF - Unbelievable
Urban Dance Squad - Deeper Shade of Sould
Didn't SUBLIME break up before they got big? Well, their lead singer overdosed before they got big, but I am pretty sure they were donezo before any of their songs were played nationally.
Ray,
While technically Bradley Nowell did OD before Sublime's eponymous third album came out in 1996, I'd have to exclude Sublime from the list because they have sold 17 million records. Also, it could be debatable as to whether or not they had gotten somewhat "big" before that album. Their first album, 40 oz. to Freedom, did crack the Billboard Top 200 albums chart (peaking at #140), and, on the strength of their song "Date Rape" (which is a pretty awesome song), was #1 on Billboard's Pacific Region charts for five weeks. Apparently they were pretty popular in LA and on the West Coast before us simple Midwesterners heard them in 1996.
GMYH
how about Blind Melon?
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