In 1999, my then-girlfriend (now wife), friend and his girlfriend, and single bud went to see The Matrix. With all the buzz surrounding it, we were all pretty pumped to check it out. Little did I know, the cult classic would end a friendship of mine before the night was over. I'll explain the lunacy...um...now. My girlfriend, friend and his girlfriend, and I just didn't like the movie. We all appreciated the groundbreaking effects and story, but found the delivery less satisfying. When we all informed my single friend about this, he lashed out at us. "You don't know art," he shouted before bolting the theatre exit doors and slamming them in our faces. From there, he went into a full wind up and threw a near-full bag of his candy at us and ran. This is all a true story. None of this is fabricated. I chased him down after that, took him by the shoulders, and asked what was wrong with him. He said "leave me alone," and drove off. That was the last time I saw him, and just like that - a decade-long friendship ended. Thanks a lot, Keanu!
Anyway, I bring this up because today's A-Sides is a compilation of my top 100 songs that I believe are underrated. Lists of any kind are going to be subjective. Last month, Entertainment Weekly published respective top 100 lists for film, television, music, and other mediums and I viewed each one of them as ambitiously flawed. One person's favorite is always going to be another person's least favorite. That's the point really. A list can spark appreciation, outrage, and everything in-between... so here's my list - and I'll post more of these throughout the year for you to comment on below. All I ask is for you not to throw candy at me. Here are a list of 100 songs from over the past 25 years that I believe wrongfully fly under the radar. Some are from well-established acts, others are from unknowns, some are simply deep tracks, while others are B-Sides that were once rare to find. The criteria I took into account for this list was simple: these are songs I play over and over again, but sense few people may know by name, title, or artist. Anyway, blah,blah, blah... read and comment on below on this ultra-weird list.
100 Songs That Fly Under The Radar (In No Particular Order)
1. INXS - "Mystify"
2. Pearl Jam - "Off He Goes"
3. U2 - "The Fly"
4. Neneh Cherry - "Buffalo Stance"
5. Guns N Roses - "Estranged"
6. Blind Melon - "Galaxie"
7. Alice Cooper - "Poison"
8. Liz Phair - "Stratford-on-Guy"
9. Kid Cud - "Pursuit of Happiness"
10. The Magnificent Bastards - "Mockingbird Girl"
11. Green Day - "Macy's Day Parade"
12. Catherine Wheel - "Black Metallic"
13. Love Spit Love - "Am I Wrong?"
14. TV on the Radio - "Staring at the Sun"
15. Bush - "Body"
16. INXS - "The Stairs"
17. Debbie Gibson - "Foolish Beat"
18. Lita Ford/Ozzy Osbourne - "Close My Eyes Forever"
19. Madonna - "Power of Goodbye"
20. a-ha - "The Sun Always Shines On TV"
21. U2 - "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"
22. Stone Temple Pilots - "Adhesive"
23. R.E.M. - "Leave"
24. The Roots - "The Seed 2.0"
25. The Knife - "Heartbeats"
26. Jimmy Eat World - "Futures"
27. Foo Fighters - "Down in the Park"
28. The Walkmen - "The Rat"
29. Nirvana - "Love Buzz"
30. Mumford & Sons - "White Blank Page"
31. M.I.A. - "20 Dollar"
32. A Silent Film - "You Will Leave a Mark"
33. Scott Weiland - "Barbarella"
34. Arcade Fire - "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations"
35. Blonde Redhead - "23"
36. Kavinsky - "Nightcall"
37. Queens of the Stone Age - "First It Giveth"
38. TKA - "Give Your Love to Me"
39. Duran Duran - "Big Thing"
40. Hooray for Earth - "True Loves"
41. Kanye West - "Dark Fantasy"
42. Smashing Pumpkins - "Frail & Bedazzled"
43. Stone Temple Pilots - "Andy Warhol"
44. Cynthia - "Endless Night"
45. The National - "Fake Empire"
46. Billy Joel - "Leningrad"
47. Nirvana - "Oh Me"
48. Garbage - "You Look So Fine"
49. The Cranberries - "Ridiculous Thoughts"
50. Roxette - "Fading Like A Flower"
51. Eminem - "Mosh"
52. Annie Lennox - "Little Bird"
53. Daniel Bedingfield - "If You're Not the One"
54. Common - "Testify"
55. Stone Temple Pilots - "Army Ants"
56. Tori Amos - "Hey Jupiter"
57. U2 - "Discotheque"
58.Shakespears Sister - "Stay"
59. Elton John - "Measure of a Man"
60. Pat Benatar - "All Fired Up"
61. Cloud Nothings - "Hey Cool Kid"
62. The Cure - "Burn"
63. Bobby Brown - "On Our Own"
64. Jody Watley - "Friends"
65. Kanye West - "Homecoming"
66. Paul Carrack - "Don't Shed a Tear"
67. Butthole Surfers - "Pepper"
68. Skid Row - "Youth Gone Wild"
69. Tegan & Sara - "You Wouldn't Like Me"
70. Wolf Parade - "Language City"
71. 10,000 Maniacs - "Jezebel"
72. Sia - "I'm In Here"
73. Nine Inch Nails: "Zero Sum"
74. Gnarls Barkley: "Just a Thought"
75. The Beastie Boys: "High Plains Drifter"
76. Abandoned Pools: "The Remedy"
77. Neko Case: "Hold On, Hold On"
78. The Verve: "Sonnet"
79. Radiohead: "Videotape"
80. Portishead: "The Rip"
81. R.E.M.: "All the Right Friends"
82. Coldplay: "Talk"
83. Yeasayer: "Madder Red"
84. Tom Petty: "The Last D.J."
85. Garbage: "When I Grow Up"
86. Live: "Waitress"
87. Everclear: "Amphetamine"
88. Tool: "Stinkfist"
89. Oasis: "Supersonic"
90. Smashing Pumpkins: "Bring the Light"
91. The Horrible Crowes: "Ladykiller"
92. Elastica: "2:1"
93. TV on the Radio: "DLZ"
94. Belly: "Thief"
95. Melissa Etheridge: "Ruins"
96. Garbage: "Get Bizzy with the Fizzy"
97. Fuel: "Hideaway"
98. Juliette and the Licks: "Pray for the Band Latoya"
99. Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band: "En Fuego"
100. Pearl Jam: "Dirty Frank"
About A-Sides Music
Jon Chattman's "A-Sides Music" series usually features artists (established or not) from all genres performing a track, and discussing what it means to them. This informal series focuses on the artist making art in a low-threatening, extremely informal (sometimes humorous) way. No bells, no whistles -- just the music performed in a random, low-key setting followed by an unrehearsed chat. In an industry where everything often gets overblown and over manufactured, I'm hoping this is refreshing.