I really hate this particular phrase "I liked them before it was cool to" because it's implying that because more people like music you like, it makes the actual music worse. I would say that it's a good thing to share music you enjoy. I know I may sound pretentious, or whatever you want to call it, but that's my opinion.
But back on topic, I've introduced quite a few of my friends to bands such as Parliament (They were "cool" before I was born) and several ska or ska-punk bands such as Streetlight Manifesto (I don't know why they're not more popular), Reel Big Fish, and Save Ferris.
EDIT: And has been said before, obscure does not equal cool. That's something the annoying "Hipster" types think.
Hrm... I don't pay close enough attention to know when something becomes or is popular. I know a lot of groups I liked became WAAAAAYYYY more popular after peer to peer networks came out.
hmm primus,tool, mushroomhead, portishead, well portis they never caught on in the states at all everyone i ever played them in front of was like thats cool who is that so, and not sure how big they were over seas.
started liking radiohead early on but they blew up so fast on the college/indy scene they were mainstream from the get go depending who you hung out with.
proud to say i stared hating on dave matthews band while they were still blowing up, one band that was ok when they were smaller and hip but when they were on radio 5 minutes and mtv every 30 please end it ok thx.
the mars volta. i've mentioned them enough on these threads, here's what i really think:
de-loused in the comatorium - awesome record
frances the mute - fucking brilliant
amputechture - good riffs, excessively loud/overused/inappropriately placed effects almost ruined it
the bedlam in goliath - same as above, except the excessive effects did ruin it
octahedron - some good rockin' tunes, but feels like "de-loused lite"
i still think they're a good band, but they ain't quite what they used to be. i hope they can get back to what made them so breathtaking without having to go back to drugs. why is it always the drugs?
Mighty Mighty Bosstones... before Let's Face It's hit, 'The Impression That I Get'.
It really seems like popularity is what killed the ska-core feel of the band. (Of course, this is from over a decade ago... Man, sometimes these discussions make me feel old.)
Really? That's pretty great for them. (I don't really know what's happening anymore not watching mtv or whatever you get to find out this things on). You have to admit, though, they are pretty cool, what with their giving away free music and everything.
These forums are probably the closest thing I have to gauging that kind of response, I know if something that I haven't heard of collects a lot of hate threads here it must be musically brilliant and I then make a point of going out and listening to it immediately. I'm very rarely disappointed.
It's kind of interesting how that works, isn't it? I'm sure there are doctoral thesis written on this topic somewhere. It's always fascinated me in any case.
As for bands I like that were once uncool, I'm over 30. Most of the stuff I liked in the 80s went from being uncool, to cool, to uncool again and are now once again cool. I saw Devo on The Colbert Report last night. It was a strange moment for me. If Falco comes back, I just might have to check and see if I slipped into an episode of The Twilight Zone.
I have liked the Scissor Sisters since the beginning, but apparently that's still not all that cool in the States. They are bigger across the Atlantic than they are here.
I liked Dream Theater after they stopped being "cool" (i.e. after Pull Me Under stopped being popular). Does that count?
Other than that, I don't really know of any other ones. There are a lot of bands that I like that a lot of people haven't heard of like Sonata Arctica, Avantasia, Edguy, Dark Moor, and Rhapsody of Fire, but I don't know if they've become "cool" yet since I just recently got into most them.
Not a band, but this is something I want to get off my chest:
I liked Deadpool before he got popular. And yeah, I still like the character, but isn't he getting something like five monthlies in America? Y'know Marvel, there is such a thing as an over-saturation point. I think you reached it with Deadpool.
Well, let's get this straight firstly - obscure cool.
Because of my work I get sent pre-release copies of things. I get to hear most stuff before it comes out, so there's not much point me making a list because it would include... well, everything that I liked. Once an artist does actually come out I'm usually blissfully unaware of how popular it is unless it's something that my label is shifting the units for, so I don't really even become aware of any sort of "other people like it therefore it's not cool anymore" zone. These forums are probably the closest thing I have to gauging that kind of response, I know if something that I haven't heard of collects a lot of hate threads here it must be musically brilliant and I then make a point of going out and listening to it immediately. I'm very rarely disappointed.
Apparently your reflexive defense of the Pop acts folks like to rant about here is so deeply ingrained that you automatically assume it's supposed to be an attack on bands becoming popular? Really?
The OP is not suggesting that obscurity is in any way linked to being considered "cool" - the question is which groups you listened to before the general populace caught wind of them and listening to them became "cool"[footnote]A question you actually answered before going right back to the unrelated tangent.[/footnote]. In this context, "cool" doesn't mean "good", it just means "popular" - there's no suggestion that critical acclaim is somehow detrimental to the quality of a band's output, or that lack of such translates into better musicianship - this isn't a thread asking us what bands we liked before they 'sold out' and we weren't allowed to like them anymore.
On Topic: None at all - the various bands I listen to either were already widely popular before I first encountered them, or they've always been obscure and probably always will be given the style of music they play.
chromewarriorXIII said:
There are a lot of bands that I like that a lot of people haven't heard of like Sonata Arctica, Avantasia, Edguy, Dark Moor, and Rhapsody of Fire, but I don't know if they've become "cool" yet since I just recently got into most them.
Well there's the thing: Obscurity (and popularity) are relative. If you ask a group of Power Metal fans (or someone like say... me), they'd tell you that none of those are considered to be even remotely obscure[footnote]Though it's come to my attention recently that some people who should really know better haven't ever heard of Dark Moor.[/footnote] compared to other Power Metal bands. The general populace though? They've never heard of any of those bands, and they're definitely not considered "cool" by mainstream audiences because that would require them to have, you know, heard of them. Which they haven't.
And I really don't see that situation changing much without a substantial musical overhaul that strips them of the reasons that you like them now - all those bands/projects have been pretty consistent, except for Sonata Arctica with their shift towards Progressive Metal from their Power Metal roots (a move further away from the mainstream if there ever was one), so I'd be flabbergasted if that ever happened.
I liked Muse before they were "cool". Although almost no one seems to know them where I am from, which is sad, even though they are hugely famous everywhere else that isn't Canada or the US.
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