Top 5 Recent Artists/Shows America Really Missed The Boat On

I've decided to stretch my fingers on a non-soccer Top 5'er because... well, basically 'coz I can do whatever I want. It's my blog.

In this out of the ordinary ranking, I will politely chastise my fellow countryman for letting some truly outstanding artistic endeavors sink into the mire, presumably while swilling Ace of Base CD's and viewing 2.5 men.

Each hideously ignored bit of entertainment is listed with the years active "in the biz" behind it and a link to the Wiki page, plus each pic in this post can be clicked for the larger version. If you are new to any of these and like the teasing reviews or videos, please do explore the catalog.

And one more thing if you don't already intimately know all five artists/shows: shame on you.

#5 - Screaming Trees (1985-2000)

Last time I checked, Americans loved thunderous rock with gruff vocals. But for some reason, this Seattle outfit never gained the success of their local '90's brethren - perhaps they weren't video-genic enough.

Best known for their Singles soundtrack hit "Nearly Lost You", Screaming Trees oddly fell apart not long after their high point. Their follow-up record Dust was largely masterful and roundly ignored to the point nobody would even bother with the demos for their next project.

They disbanded in 2000, with singer Mark Lanegan going on to front Queens of the Stone Age for two years amid several solo releases. Luckily, I was able to catch them live shortly before they threw in the towel.

Their last video "All I Know" is here.

#4 - Dead Like Me (2003-04)

Everything was all set up for it to be the new Buffy; a young sarcasm-happy heroine undergoes a sudden, massive supernatural life change and ends up toiling in the oddly official service of death, all the while learning how to be grown-up.

In being killed by a stray space station toilet seat, George Lass (the terrific Ellen Muth) is re-born as a reaper/tomb-like office worker... pretty heady stuff for an 18-year old girl to navigate. Of course, she has her own Scooby Gang, each with his or her own peculiar strangeness.

This show only lasted two seasons on Showtime, but DLM is slated to have a direct-to-DVD movie released in 2009. For existing fans, the main question is: can Henry Ian Cusick (Lost) adequately replace Mandy Patinkin as the foreman of the soul-takers? Even if the flick kinda rules, I still will rue the day this ignored gem was canned as a show. Bad, America!

#3 - Jeff Buckley (1991-97)

While the other entries on this list can or will have a second shot to capture the public, we will sadly never get another chance to embrace Jeff Buckley, who was lost to an accidental drowning in 1997.

Until his tragic death, Buckley seemed ready to be the modern American troubador, much like the one sang about by Dad Tim (who also died too young). And yet, despite the re-emergence of his humble rendition of "Hallelujah" in the last year, most music lovers in the States probably wouldn't even know his name - what a pity.

Whether purring a yearn or pulling his boyish howl from the pit of his belly, the voice was always dancing about for our listening amusement. We miss you, Jeff.



#2 - Ben Folds Five (1993-2000)

I've always imagined this three-piece punk'd-up lounge act was named as they were because they made enough racket for five band members. Armed only with piano, bass and drums, BFF were at times elegant and at times crashing through the garage door.

Ben, Darren and Robert, each a schooled master of his instrument, improbably managed to meld their wide array of influences into a searing, Swiss-timed, geek-fueled, theatrical groove armada complete with soaring harmonies. Their debut album remains easily one of my personal all-time top 10 choices, and the follow-up was nearly as good.

Of course, as this story would go, nobody was buying their wares and before long they decided to split out of commercial frustration. They had scored a minor hit with "Brick" off the second record, but never made another Top 40 chart dent.

Don't be overly excited by a recent reunion concert, either - it was a one-off event. If it makes you feel better, the entire TV concert from which these two clips are taken can be found sliced into individual songs at YouTube.







#1 - Arrested Development (2003-06)

It was kicked around by FOX, shuffled and woefully under-promoted. It was deranged, delirious and downright rude. It drew big laughs from topics like Iraq, incest, corporate fraud, family backstabbing and poorly manufactured snack fryers. It was expensive to make and a total flop in the ratings. Its order was chopped by four episodes in season two and by nine in season three, its last. During the home stretch of its run, barely four million viewers tuned in each week - less than a fifth of the amount that were watching Joe Millionaire.

And besides all that, Arrested Development was painstakingly crafted, sublimely acted and quite possibly the single greatest television show ever.

I won't start reeling off running jokes here... we'd be here all day. I will take the time to celebrate the cast, each actor the perfect ingredient for this peculiar comedy stew.


They were led by silent take master Jason Bateman (who had just seen his funny The Jake Effect with Greg Grunberg of Heroes bounced pre-debut as AD began). Despite attempting to be the good egg, Bateman's Michael Bluth constantly found himself stooping just a bit in order to navigate tricky life and business waters with his heavily, and heavenly, nutty family as crew.

Like father, like son; Michael Cera's bewildered but trying George Michael charmed "dangerous cousin" Maeby (Alia Shawkat), who could have only been raised by captain oblivious father Tobias (David Cross) and "which way the wind blows" mother Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), Michael's twin sister. Usually complicating matters were Will Arnett's huge mistake making oldest brother GOB (pronounced like the biblical Job... C'mon!), Tony Hale's angst-ridden child-man hermano Buster and the ball-busting parental unit, Lucille and George Sr. (played by the brilliant duo of Jessica Walter and Jeffrey Tambor).

Don't even get me started on Annyong, Anne Veal, Carl Weathers, Franklin Delano Bluth, Kitty, Barry Zuckercorn or any of the other supporting characters that helped make this show one of a kind. Filmed as if you were in the room and actually made funnier by a vigilant profanity beep, a sprawling 53-episode arc exposed itself slowly with a stunning combination of technical precision and understated insanity.

I'm going to give you a pass if you never saw this show. What can I say? I'm feeling generous these days. Simply go to Hulu (U.S. only) or MSN (international viewers) or the DVD shop, start from the beginning, watch every episode until you've done the entire three-"season" circuit... and then go back and watch them all again to catch the jokes you missed the first time. Do that and all is forgiven.

For those of you who watched and decided for some reason it wasn't for you, I have a different assignment: go to the mirror and slap yourself. Hard. Twice. Then do what the others are doing and (literally) get with the program.

For now, you can be swayed by a GIF I made purely for giggles while the show was still running...




- Greg Seltzer