The Underrated Blog

Website of The Week: RuinedMusic.com

I'm totally late on the game with this, but Ruined Music is a website I've thouroughly enjoyed since it's incarnation. I'm sorry I've kept it to myself until know, but others have picked up on it's genius, so hopefully by now you have too.

Perhaps the worst thing about breakups is the fact that music gets caught in the fallout. Everyone has a song, album, artist, or band that’s been ruined by an ex (or, more accurately, by memories of an ex). Ruined Music is the place to talk about the music you’ve lost: the songs you can’t stand to hear ever again, that record she always played when she was over at your house, the band you went to see together a week before he called it quits, That Song that was on That Mix, the record that was playing the night you (fill in the blank), the album you got for a Valentine’s Day gift.

But wait - you’ve got a song that was ruined not by an ex but by a roommate, a bandmate, a former best friend, a neighbor, a teacher, or an ocelot? You’re in luck! We want those stories, too.

Tell us your story. Feel better. Reclaim your record collection.

Check it out if you know what's good for you. And why not submit a piece? I've been thinking of mine for far too long, maybe one of these days I'll get around to a submission. There's just too many to choose from.

Website of the week: www.ruinedmusic.com

And check out their myspace!

Website Of The Week: Lostcasts.com

I'd talk about music........but....

I seem to have lost the ability to sleep, so instead I stay up until the sunrise watching endless episodes of House. There's only so many seizures a girl can watch before she starts to wonder if, in fact, her seizure is on its way. Perhaps that’s the reason I can't sleep anymore. Thank you TV on DVD. You are a wonderful thing.

Speaking of fabulous TV shows that I become addicted to, thanks to the creation of DVR I've been able to keep up with all the new ones. My roommate thinks I'm crazy, but I feel left out if I don't know what's on every network every night. Probably in a week I'll give up on at least 50% of the new shows I've put into schedule, but one that will never leave me...

is Lost.

It's an obsession. A way of life, for many. And I can't help but sympathetically chuckle (and self-mock) the guys that run Lostcasts. It's so geeky that it's fabulous, and so fabulous that I almost wish they'd ask me to guest host. Not that I'd have anything productive to say, especially since they cover every aspect and more of this insane show.

So yes, if you are a Lostaholic, you need to listen to these on a weekly basis.

Check it: www.lostcasts.com

Website of the Week: GorillavsBear

If you know what is good for you, you already read Chris's blog on a daily basis. I don't really need to point you over there. But let's all put our hands together and clap for Gorilla vs Bear for being the best blog out there.

It's been awesome to see how super crazy popular the blog has gotten. I think it was one of the first to ever link me way back when before the Filter praise, the mainstream backlash, and the 100's of buzz bands that have become a household name. No offense to the other wonderful blogs out there, but I have to play favorites once in a while.

And if you don't believe me (riight), check out what Chris posted as of late.

The Young Folks remix for what has become my official song of the summer.

A new exclusive track from The Light Footwork, a band we adore.

A song called "Toop Topp" that we can't get out of our heads (and will be djing immediately).

And, the greatest mashup I've heard yet.

And that's just a start.

Read it. Pronto.

Website of the Week: WOXY.com

If the Underrated was on the market, and we were to look for a prospective site to live happily ever after with, well there'd only be one. If this makes you a bit confused, just go with me. In short, we have a crush. A huge crush on woxy.com.

Why, you ask? Well it's three fold. First, there's the music. If we had to be forced to listen to one radio station 24/7, we'd pick this. It's almost as if they have raided our iPod, except our dream iPod of all the songs that we wish we hadn't lost that CD of.

Secondly: the Lounge Acts. You've heard our tales of transportation disaster just to get home to listen to one of those. The sound and performances are always top notch, and the interviews equal parts enjoyable and knowledgeable. In fact, just the other day our lovely friends The French Kicks played their little NY hearts out. You can download that Lounge Act here, and browse through the rest of their stellar archives here.

And then third, there's the Daily Hit in which music director extraordinaire scours through the millions of music blogs to provide you with the links you need. He's always been very kind to us (and sent many hits our way), so he's obviously doing something right!

And those are just three of the many reasons why we love WOXY. Go check them out and then show them some support. Because, in all honesty, if that site were to go away, there's not enough icecream in the world that would cure our depression.

Website of the Week: The Anchor Center

We are gearing up to release our first-ever, fantastic video podcast featuring those wonderful boys of Birdmonster. Granted, like everything else I decide to do, I don't really know much about it. So I've been on the lookout for some cool video podcasts as of late, and luckily Chris linked to the fabulous video blog site, The Anchor Center.

We first watched the live performance of Cold War Kids, and really dug the black and white. The sound and quality of the vid is top-notch. But then we watched their Aberdeen City video, and shit, that was even better. Great interview and live footage. Granted we at Underrated do already love the bands that The Anchor Center has featured, but even so -- really cool stuff.

The Cincinnati based site is only two months old, but already we are impressed. We can't wait to see what else they have in store. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

http://theanchorcenter.blogspot.com/

Website of the Week: ohmyrockness.com

Some websites, I swear, have something laced in them. Maybe I'm just a compulsive blog checker with no life, but there are some that update enough to keep me twitching. But when it comes to actually leaving the apartment, and getting into public domain, there's only one website that we check habitually to see what's going on in NYC. That is the the queen of concert listings: Oh My Rockness.

Their recommendations are spot on, and their information always up to date. Those little stars next to the shows are coveted spots amongst all promoters. And hey lookitylook. We got one for tomorrows show!

But when it comes down to it, we enjoy their snarky writing the most. It cracks us up on a daily basis. Take a look at this, about some band we've never heard of...

Also opening is Birdmonster... but you already know all about them. Wait, you haven't heard of Birdmonster? Don't you read all those personal web logs written by the twenty-somethings? No? Really? Well then how do you stay in touch with the hot new bands? What's that? By going to see shows? Ahahahaha. Nobody does that anymore! Next thing you'll tell me is that you still buy vinyl. Ahahahahahaha. Ok fine, Birdmonster kind of sounds like early Modest Mouse. And they recently brought down the house opening for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah... what do you mean, WHO??

I love it.

Check out the site if you don't already. And if you don't already, then you aren't as cool as you've been telling everyone around town. And if you don't live in NYC, don't worry. They also have a Chicago version.

Website of the week: www.ohmyrockness.com. Don't leave home without it.

Website of the Week: insound.com

Insound is my favorite place to binge album purchase. It's really fun at like 2 in the morning when you just received a new credit card in the mail (bad news) and you can't sleep. It's happened too many times for my bank to be happy about. But the greatest part about Insound is that when you buy a lot of things, you get this really cool package in the mail with lots of added goodies. Seriously. It's like Chrismakah.

Any who, it was late last night after I felt sick to my stomach from watching too many episode of Nip/Tuck that I found myself on the site. I was ecstatic to find that our dear Birdmonsters were up at the top for new releases.

Naturally, I clicked on it to see what secret information insound could dig up. And then to my surprise, I see a quote from this little blog.

I felt so gosh darn special that I almost bought another copy because of it. I am the queen of impulse purchases.

Insound is a great site to waste a lot of time. Free mp3s, great selection, and some fun filled content make it one of my favorite places to buy new music. I had a nice conversation with someone earlier in the week about how no one gets actual albums these days. I still like the art work, and the liner notes will always be the first place I turn to. So if you want to get some great musical discoveries that you can physically hold in your hand, Insound is where it's at.

Who's currently at #1? That little band that will Oh No! Oh My! that is bound to be the next big blogger band. We've been steadily obsessed with both versions of their debut album. And when they become huge, you can bet your bottom dollar we'll put that hand written copy up on ebay for some mad cash, yo.

Oh No! Oh My! will make their NYC debut on Tuesday at Knitting Factory, opening for The Walkup and Aberdeen City. We enjoy that lineup. Too bad we have to dj. We will find a way.

Birdmonster - Resurrection Song [via insound]

Oh No! Oh My! - Walk In The Park [via insound]

other goodies found...

Asobi Seksu - Thursday [via insound]

Group Sounds - Belly Up [via insound]

The Robot Ate Me - Djien [via insound]

The Sounds - Painted By Numbers [via insound]

Tilly and The Wall - Lost Girls [via insound]

Website of the Week: last.fm

Any new way to stalk a person is fine by me. If it happens to involve music? Even better. last.fm has become my latest obsession, a website where it records your every musical move, synching up with your iTunes, and putting on display your embarassing choices.

Sometimes I forget that my iScrobbler is on, and thats the beauty of it. Now, everyone can see just how often I listen to specific artists, and how my musical taste really isn't all that spectacular.

But besides watching what people are listening to, the site actually has some cool features. You can see what percentage specific songs are of that artists total tally, find out that people in Alabama like the same exact music that you do, and make new friends! (But keep the old.) Everyone should jump on the last fm train, I wanna see what you are listening to.

If you want to see what I'm listening to click here or look to your left. If you are last.fm user, add me as a friend!

Last.fm is totally free and totally addictive. For more information on what it actually is, click here.

Website of the Week: thetripwire.com

I'm surprised no one thought about this before. The Tripwire is a blog/news/chart site that polls the bloggers out there in blogland to see what in gods name they are really talking about on a weekly basis. Genius!

It's a good tool to see just how many bloggers post about the same thing, or better yet, what bands other people love as much as you do. Fan clubs anyone? Welcome to the new age of fandom.

The charts are updated on a weekly basis, and I set a reminder to myself every Sunday to get those picks in. Granted my picks aren't also top 10 caliber, but when they do, I'll be sure to give myself a pat on the back when I see I was the first to pick them. Bloggers love that stuff, right?

This week Midlake's The Trials of Van Occupanther is numero uno.

Midlake - We Gathered In Spring

Check out www.thetripwire.com. It's a good one.

Website of the Week: eMusic.com

Holy sneakers with a bird on top. What the hell happened on Lost last night? I'm initially disappointed by the utter lack of continuality in the episode itself, but there's enough that went on last night to discuss for the whole summer. All I know is my man John Locke better be okay or we are going to have serious white light blinding noise problems.

So Thursday = website of the week. There's so many great ones out there whether they be blogs, music sites, online magazines, etc so we're going to highlight one a week so that they feel special. Or maybe I'll feel special. Whatever.

This week is the wonderful eMusic.com. We name this site for two reasons: Entertainment Weekly (aka my bible) named it the #2 best music website (after iTunes, which isn't really a website, so it's #1 by default) and because I need some good karma in my life. More on that later, hopefully.

But it's apparent you sign up for eMusic.com this week because after June 1 (my birthday!) you can no longer sign up for their 50 free downloads. The deal is still a good one (9.99 a month for 40 downloads - eat that Steve Jobs!) and there's some really great finds. I was a bit skeptical at first when I couldn't find some artists I was looking for, but I have discovered some true gems just from taking a look around.

Last night I downloaded the self-titled album from Eagle*Seagull. Some really epic stuff here, people. Don't miss out.

Website of the Week: www.emusic.com.

Eagle*Seagull - Your Beauty Is A Knife I Turn On My Throat