11: Mt. Rushmore of Bands That Should Have Been Bigger
Jeff Hopkins 
The “Great Lost Band” is a white whale, except usually with more addiction problems than Moby Dick. Everyone has their favorite band that, for whatever reason, didn’t achieve the type of long-term commercial success they should have. In some cases, being pushed to the fringes let these bands explore more unusual creative elements and created a cult of hardcore fans.
We take a look at the bands that, in our opinion, should have been much more successful than they were in their times. So come aboard our musical Peaquod and wait, what happened to the boat at the end? Yikes! Never mind. Well, we just hope you enjoy the show.
Show Notes
Michael’s Picks:
The Kinks
- “Why Were the Kinks Banned From Playing in the United States in the ‘60s?” – Rule Forty Two
- “Brawls and Bans – The History of the Kinks’ Troubles in America” – Ultimate Classic Rock
- “Imaginary Man” Ray Davies Documentary
Elastica
- “Elastica Limits” Interview with Justine Frischmann – The Guardian
The Walkmen
- “Slow Burn, Slow Fade: Inside the Walkmen’s Final Days” – Stereogum
- Pitchfork’s “Bows and Arrows” Review (where they talk about “The Rat” basically everything they had put out before)
The Smiths
- “‘Mozipedia’ Author Simon Goddard on the Enigma of Morrissey” – Wall Street Journal
- Morrissey and Marr being interviewed by kids on the children’s show “Datarun” in 1984
Richard’s Picks
The Replacements
- “The Replacements: The Greatest Band That Never Was” – Rolling Stone
- “Telling the True Story of the Replacements” – MTV
Big Star
- “Four Years After Death, Alex Chilton Is Finally a Big Star” – NPR
- “Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me” Documentary Website
- “The 10 Best Big Star Songs” – Stereogum
Jellyfish
- “Your Next Favorite Band: Jellyfish” – Defending Axl Rose
- “God’s Gift to Oxygen: A Brief History of Jellyfish” – RogerJosephManningJr.com
Sir Douglas Quintet
- “Doug Sahm & the Sir Douglas Quintet Complete Mercury Recordings” Review – No Depression Magazine
- Live Performance of “Mendocino” on “Playboy After Dark”
- Doug Sahm Bio – Texas State Historical Society
