Criminally Underrated

I love music.  I've written many times before how music has always been a huge part of my life.  I can associate a particular song or songs to every point in my life.

Like most people, I derive a great amount of joy from sharing songs and bands that may not be very well-known or popular with anyone who will listen.  There are hundreds of songs and bands that are underrated and haven't captured the audiences that they deserve.  I'm here to share some of mine favorite criminally underrated songs with you.

Here are a few of my favorites:

The Exit - Susan
This particular song was on the American Pie 2 soundtrack which strikes me as more than a little strange that this particular song was on the soundtrack of a teen sex comedy.  It doesn't fit the tone of the film at all as you can tell by the lyrics.  It's so heartbreaking.  It's a song about a girl who thought she was ready to have sex, but she didn't know how much that one decision could change her life.  She wasn't ready for the ridicule.  She wasn't ready to give all of herself to someone else (especially someone she didn't love).  It also turned me on to The Exit.  Their music is eclectic, mixing a lot of different genres.  This song is only a hint of how good their songwriting is. 

Ben Kweller - Magic

Ben Kweller is such a great song writer, and I can't really explain why he isn't more popular.  I love every song that I've ever heard by him.  The number of his songs that I could have chosen for this post is somewhere in the high teens.  I picked this one because its fun and I sing it to Grace and Ana all the time.  I just like telling them that they'll never be in second place.  Either way you should just type his name in iTunes and download 10 random songs.  You'll love them.  I promise.

Field Music - You're Not Supposed To

Field Music reminds me of a lot of old bands.  Like they were sent here from the past in a time machine to make infectious pop songs with catchy hooks and great harmonies.  You will be humming this song for days after hearing it.  It boggles my mind when a band that makes such perfect pop songs doesn't have a huge following, yet Field Music isn't a household name.

Gillmor - Hey

This is not only about pointing out an artist that should be more popular but also about showing some love for a guy from my home town.  You may or may not recognize the name Ryan Gillmor.  He actually wrote the song David Archuleta performed during the American Idol finale.  Unfortunately that hasn't translated to more popularity for his own music.  I'd prefer to post California Summer which is just a fantastic song, but there just aren't any good videos that do that song justice.  Look it up.  You'll be tapping your toes and singing along in no time.

Kate Miller-Heidke - Caught in the Crowd

I love this song.  I can't even put into words how much I love this song.  Erin and I saw Kate Miller-Heidke open up for Ben Folds last year, and we both were beyond impressed with all of her songs, her range and her stage presence.  But this song may have been the best thing we heard that entire night (no offense to Folds).  It just makes my heart hurt how perfect it is.  I don't want you to think I'm being hyperbolic.  Listen to it and try to disagree with me.

Aqualung - Outside

You may already know Aqualung.  You've no doubt heard the song Brighter than Sunshine.  It was a good song that gained the band (more accurately one guy) some mild fame.  The unfortunate thing about gaining a little popularity from one song is that people stop paying attention to everything else you do.  This is one of my top five favorite songs of the past 10 years.

That's all for this time around.  I hope you enjoyed my underrated songs.  Give new music (or newish in this case) a chance.