5 Awesome Rock Bands You've Wrongly Slept On
Rock's greatest unsung heroes.
Great music always ends up being recognized, even if it's not at the time. While some acts may not have gained much traction in their glory years, great bands from old sometimes enjoy a greater resurgence because of their music becoming nostalgic for a new generation.
However, with all of the accolades bestowed upon quality music acts, there are many bands that fall through the cracks. These bands never fully got the proper respect they deserve for their innovative records and songs.
The only time that some of these bands are brought up is in hindsight, like when music historians put on their rose-colored glasses and say stuff like "the 90's had the best music ever man."
The bands in question certainly don't deserve just that fate. Even if all of these bands' records aren't golden, you've got to respect the groundwork they laid for more popular bands to gain their own footing.
With that in mind, here is a small assortment of bands that have been slept on for a while. Check them out and see what you might have missed on first listen.
5. The Velvet Underground
For many people, The Velvet Underground is known in rock circles as just "that band that Lou Reed was in." While Reed's pedigree as one of rock's great poets is warranted, The Velvet Underground as a collective were one of the greatest rock acts of the 1960's.
Are they the greatest of musicians? No. The innovative techniques with feedback and heavy soundscapes are what made them unique. Albums like White Light/White Heat display some of the most uninhibited performances ever captured in the peace-and-love era.
These kind of techniques foreshadowed the punk movement a decade before it had even begun. At the same time, The Velvets had a beautiful slow side, with gorgeous pop songs like "Sunday Morning" and "Pale Blue Eyes."
And these accomplishments haven't gone unnoticed by major artists though. David Bowie himself had said that The Velvet Underground reinvigorated his love for the arty side of rock.
Additionally, art rock acts of later years from the Talking Heads to Beck to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have all sung the praises of the Velvets and how they shaped their music. By all accounts, one of the most overlooked 60's acts that should be on any music lover's radar.