Sunday, December 13, 2009

RS Most Underrated Album of the Decade Part 3



RS Most Underrated Album of the Decade

So here's the full list:

Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
U2 - How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

I've covered Hail to the Thief (it's a great album, but nothing Radiohead have ever released can really be considered underrated) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (weak album from a majorly overrated band).

My Chemical Romance...nope.  I've listened to that album, it's not some hidden gem.

Dixie Chicks...I'll have to sit this one out.  Not a country fan.  If you say that particular Dixie Chicks album is overrated, I'll take your word for it.

There's actually one I agree with!  My friend Jamie certainly does not share this opinion, but I'd say Show Your Bones by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is underrated.

It's still the weakest of their 3 albums, but it's damn good.  Yeah Yeah Yeahs have a fantastic debut in Fever to Tell, with that raw punk garage energy.  And "Maps", which is one helluva song.  2009's It's Blitz! is their foray into some more dancey material, and I love it.  Show Your Bones falls somewhere in between, and it's more of a straightforward rock record, with some acoustic guitar thrown in there.

I recognized "Maps" as an awesome song years ago, but I only really became a big fan of the YYYs in the past year or so.  Since then I've been listening to 'em plenty, and I have to say that all 3 of their albums are essential, including Show Your Bones.  Gold Lion, Way Out, Phenomena, and Cheated Hearts are all fantastic tunes.

My best guess as to why Show Your Bones has been underrated...Fever to Tell was just a tough act to follow.

Here are some of my nominations of underrated albums from this decade:

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Beck - Guero
Deerhunter - Microcastle
The New Pornographers - Challengers
of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
Weezer - Maladroit
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

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