Tag Archives: Sunday HU Battle Post

Best Music So Far This Year

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We’re almost three months into the new year…so what have folks been listening to from 2014?
 
Just heard this; Tinariwen,drony groove from Mali
 

 
I wrote about Akkord on Splice Today; electronica for sun death.
 

 
Also really like Be Forest; Italian fey folk.
 

 
And the Domains; Spanish death metal the way death metal should be.
 

 
Hubba Bubba, where the Thee Oh Sees’ frontman does slowed-down cough-syrup doped electropop:
 

 
Katy B, empty-headed shallow British dance pop.
 

 
Here’s left field-R&B performer Kelela. I wasn’t that into her album from last year, but this track is pretty great.
 

 
There’s this EP by Zikomo which is really nice zoned-out trippy fractured easy-listening hip hop.
 

 
Free download available here
 
Marissa Nadler, folksy shoegaze in a Mazzy Star meets Civil Wars vein.
 

 
And finally Don Williams new album; just started listening to it but it’s pretty great. He’s definitely an artist who makes more sense the older he gets.
 

So what about you all? What should I be listening to from 2014?

Most Underrated/Overrated SF

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We’ve done music and film in these posts before; thought I’d see if anyone read books.

So in terms of the most overrated sci-fi author, I’d go with Isaac Asimov. He’s hugely famous, but his books are really mediocre nothings (at least as I remember them; it’s been a while.) Gimmicky, outlandish plot, paper-thin characters, serviceable prose; just not a whole lot there. Heinlein is at least genuinely weird; the only thing to say for Asimov’s books really is that they thump along and are for the most part inoffensive.

For underrated — hardly anyone knows about John Christopher or Gwyneth Jones, both of whom I think are fantastic writers. (I’ve written quite a bit about both at the links.) (Oh…and one more piece about John Christopher here.
 

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Most Underrated Band

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We did most overrated ban a couple weeks back, so figured I’d try the flip side.

This one’s trickier for me than overrated…but I think I might go with Sly and the Family Stone. They are much admired, but they tend to be sort of an afterthought in terms of great sixties boomer bands, when I think they’re actually way more innovative/important/influential than the Rolling Stones, or Dylan, even Hendrix. Even bands like Funkadelic or Outkast, who owe a huge debt to Sly, tend to get more props.

Other picks…um…I think the Bangles are great, which is not a widely held opinion, I know. I think Destiny’s Child is brilliant and important, which again isn’t a consensus opinion.

What do you folks thinks? What’s the most underrated band/musician?
 

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Most Overrated/Most Underrated Comic Strip

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So since we’re in the middle of a Bloom County Roundtable, I thought I’d officially state that I think it’s the most underrated comic strip out there. It gets little critical appreciation and isn’t much talked about, even though it’s fantastic, and one of the all time greats as far as I’m concerned. (It was mired towards the bottom of our best comics list. I sort of regret I didn’t put it on my own top ten.)

Overrated; well, Calvin and Hobbes is the first that springs to mind, for some of the reasons I discussed earlier in the week. I think Doonesbury’s pretty mediocre as well; visually blah and often smug and flat, though occasionally funny. The enthusiasm for Nancy among comics folks also baffles me; it’s visually slick, but completely devoid of any other interest, as far as I can tell.

I actually generally agree with the enthusiasm for the most praised comic strips — Peanuts, Krazy Kat, and Little Nemo. I think they’re rated about right.

So what do you think are the most overrated and underrated comic strips? Let us know in comments.
 

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Most Overrated Musician/Band Ever

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We’ve done a few of these for film; thought I’d try a different medium.

So for me I think the most overrated musician is clearly Bob Dylan. I like Dylan for the most part. He’s solidly pretty good. His pseudo-beat poet blather is moderately amusing, at least in small doses, and his mercurial genius schtick doesn’t get in the way of some nice retro-folk music. But I much prefer Joni Mitchell, or Neil Young, or Donovan, or Richard Thompson, or Johnny Cash, or really any number of performers who sing better/don’t have such stupid lyrics/aren’t widely considered to be Jesus.

What about you? What musical performer do you think is the most overrated?
 

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Most Underrated Movie Ever (And/Or Most Overrated)

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So folks seemed to enjoy chatting about the worst movie ever last week, so what the hey, I thought we’d try a related thread this week. What do you all think is the most underrated film ever? And you can throw in your vote for most overrated too, if you’d like.

I think the most underrated movie is “I Spit On Your Grave.” I think it’s critical standing has risen slightly since Ebert wrote his scathing review memorably referring to it as “a vile bag of garbage”, but I think it’s mostly still thought of as an exploitation piece of trash. Whereas I think it’s one of the best films I’ve ever seen; bleakly insightful about the mechanisms and the consequences of sexual violence. Eron Tabor’s quietly delivers one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in cinema. (I talk about the movie at some length here.)

Most overrated…I guess I could go with Schindler’s List, which is my least favorite film and which lots of people inexplicably believe has some merit. But I guess I’d probably plump Taxi Driver, with its glib grit and De Niro ACTING! Barf.

Citizen Kane’s standing has always mystified me a little too. I love “Touch of Evil”, but “Citizen Kane” has always struck me as pretty boring, and its banal psychologizing twist is too earnest to even appreciate as campy fun.

So what about you all? Most underrated film and most overrated?
 

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So what about you folks? Most underrated and