Underrated music, books, movies?

I have a YouTube video I always consider underated for helping the engineering minded understand being correct is only on variable in an argument with your company.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY&pp=ygUXbWl0IHByZXN...

As for an actual movie for fun I would say Pumaman riffing by the MST3K crew, but that is for a specific crowd. I'm not culture enough for this discussion.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GnRxbH5Ay4I&pp=ygUHcHVtYW1hbg%...

I was listening to Gang of Youths the other day and was surprised to see they only had 6k fans on Deezer.

I'd maybe compare them to Kings of Leon (2.2M fans) or Mumford & Sons (0.9M fans).

One of my favorite songs is called Art of Life, by X Japan. It's a ~30 minute masterpiece. It features a long chaotic piano solo in the middle, representing the author's descent into madness.

Every album by Ayreon is amazing, but The Human Equation has always stood out as one of their best works. It's about a man that falls into a coma for 20 days and is forced to confront his personalized memories and emotions.

Carré blanc, a terrifying dystopia, barely got a theatrical release in France, and not at all elsewhere I think. There's a DVD. One of my all-time favourites ...

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1239429/

I was just a quite hour with a cup of tea and Brian McClellan's Sins of Empire. https://www.brianmcclellan.com/powder-mage-universe

On the movie side, I'd suggest "Dark City", the 1998 neo-noir sci-fi film directed by Alex Proyas (more famous for The Crow). Not sure why it isn't more widely known - I think in some ways it got overshadowed by The Matrix which was released not long afterwards but I like it a lot.

Movie: Circle of Iron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_Iron

Book: The one straw revolution https://www.nyrb.com/collections/all/products/the-one-straw-...

Music: Red Fang https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnySn-ept5s

Hard sci-fi books by Daniel Suarez. Former IT consultant, so tech details in books are pretty realistic. And since these are relatively recent books, tech and humanity challenges are up to date. Currently reading Daemon, a book about all-powerful A.I., nowadays seem more plausible (hopefully we're not there yet!) then in 2009 when it came out. I can also recommend two books about space travel - Delta-V and Critical Mass.

Allan Holdsworth. I wouldn't say underrated, but well, not very approachable as a first time listener. 'Secrets' is a good album to start with.

Define "underrated". But I'll throw something into the pot.

Riffing off the first item on the list (Roger Miller/Waterhole #3), The Ballad of Cat Ballou (film released after Nat King Cole's death): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ghnpUNTR1I and Idle On Parade (Anthony Newley was a strong influence on David Bowie, and you can really hear it here) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qbkKICmO_Q

Dunno if it's underrated (2.7m views), but while Donna Summer's I Feel Love is numinous, Venus Hum's cover with Blue Man Group is just suffused with joy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iFBXjRbVl0

Bonus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkRDvwsSLKY

Music: Shearwater, and probably Okkervil River too. I don't know if they are underrated, I've seen both live and there was hardly anyone there + I enjoy them a lot.

Book: The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gun_Seller not that it's a brilliant book, it's just underrated because it's funny and pretty well written for a first novel.

The films of Don Hertzfeldt, some of the shorter of which are on youtube:

https://imdb.com/name/nm0381116/

In literature, the genre of nonsense poetry, example given:

https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Faber_Book_of_Non...

Jon Hopkins: https://youtu.be/sVefn-AXoZw?si=_AJMSb-vh0bMiyax

I don’t know anything about the author or his target audience, but the music he creates is the most serene and captivating thing I've ever heard.

Put on headphones, lay down, close your eyes and just dive into it.

Primer - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23626968

Ask HN: Recommend me some undervalued music band

3 points by artembugara on June 24, 2020 | 3 comments

Underrated by whom? :)

Movie: Baraka. It's connected to the much better-known Koyaanisqatsi and is a similar concept but IME this one was more compelling in subject matter and videography.

Music: The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown. It's a small-scale musical exploring a strained relationship through one character going forwards in time and the other backwards and I just think it's lovely.

The book I have most enjoyed reading is A Short Walk In the Hindu Kush - Eric Newby (1958). It is an autobiographical account of how he went from being a fashion salesman to climbing (without previous experience) a mountain in what is present day Afghanistan. Made me cry laughing.

Music wise, i find "Neobliviscaris : And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope" to have interesting composition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNuVdsx7qJY

Brazil (1985)

Ich bin dein Mensch (2021)

Coherence (2013) is a great low-budget indie film of people in a room talking to each other.

The Idea Factory by Pepper White.

Book - The Terminal Man, Flatland

Music - Squarepusher, Autechre

Movie - Tetsuo The Ironman, Zatoichi series, Macgruber (def the first movie, not the show)

https://www.amazon.in/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/1...

The author was a Holocaust survivor, narrates his experiences in concentration camps and explores how human beings can find meaning in life despite severe suffering.

Some music:

Big Star - “#1 Record” Classic rock you could swear you’ve heard before but probably haven’t cause it had no radio play in its day.

Os Mutantes - “Os Mutantes” What if The Beatles were Brazilian?

Chico Hamilton - “El Chico” Just really good jazz that isn’t a household name but people into jazz know pretty well.

Porter Ricks - “Biokinetics” Ambient electronic waterworks from the late 90’s

micronism - “inside a quiet mind” excellent late 90’s electronic that was released without much fanfare

John Cale - “Paris 1919” and “Fear” Just great rock/alt music from the early 70s. Especially check out the title track on Paris and Barracuda and You Know More Than I Know on Fear

Ben Johnston - “The Crossings: Ascent, String Quartet No. 4” Accessible avant garde classical. Microtonal string quartet with a big, heart-filling and beautiful payoff.

Saint Heron An awesome alt RnB/Soul compilation album from the naughties, I think curated by Beyoncé’s sister Solage, who also makes excellent music. Must be so hard having that kinda talent and be overshadowed by your sister so much.

Madvillain - “Madvillainy” Not underrated, but unless you listen to boom bap indie rap, maybe hasn’t hit your radar.

Lil’ B - “I’m Gay” The inventor of the term “based” drew major flack for this album title because he is not homosexual and meant “happy” but while confusing I don’t think that’s insulting at all. It’s the most accessible album I think he’s made and he is so prolific… man needs a greatest hits album because sifting through his work is normally a damn chore, so this album is a well compiled blessing

I could go on but this is my best I-can’t-sleep-tonight-here-is-a-top-of-mind list.

[delayed]

It's not necessarily philosophical but Kontroll is a great movie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kontroll

Books - The Lumberjacks by Donald Mackay contains a lot of phenomenal stories about and from lumberjacks in the late 19th century.

I found it while studying at the Cal Poly library and taking a break to randomly stroll through the stacks. I ended up reading the whole thing and not studying nearly enough :-).

https://books.google.nl/books/about/The_Lumberjacks.html?id=...

Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti by Genevieve Valentine was an interesting read. I was looking for a fantasy book which resembled the story of an HBO TV series I liked called Carnivale. It’s about a circus similar to Cirque du Soleil, but imbued with dark magic, which leads to some rather creepy incidents. I don’t want to spoil it too much. Here’s a link to it: https://www.amazon.com/Mechanique-Circus-Tresaulti-Genevieve...

I still love the great beauty (film). Hits on themes I don’t see taken on very often.

For books, Austerlitz by WG Sebald.

Some amazing music that never seemed to go mainstream:

The Cinematic Orchestra, great modern jazz with a beat. Try the album Everyday. If you're into film there's a version of the 1929 Dziga Vertov film "Man With a Motion Picture Camera" that has a score performed by them, also excellent.

Patrick Watson - Close to Paradise. An ecclectic concept album, one of my all time favorites.

Jaga Jazzist - Starfire. Their early albums are great also. Hectic, energetic ensemble jazz with lots of overlapping time scales and patterns. Sounds a bit chaotic at first but once you recognise the patterns it just clicks and is super fun!

The animated movie Megamind.

Many reviews state something like 'Why even bother, The Incredibles, Despicable Me, etc did it already, and are way better, etc, etc', but I think they're completely wrong. The other movies are rather blunt in that Hollywood way, whereas Megamind is full of subtle humour.

La moustache (2005)

A thriller about whether or not a man had a mustache. Some say yes, others no.

Re Music:

Psytrance for programming - (almost) no voice, energising

- Movies: Four Lions, The Other Guys

- Music: I know these are considered classic, but not many people I know actually listen to these- Jazz from 50s/60s- especially Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

- Books: Mind Illuminated by Culadasa for learning how to meditate. Five Elements of Effective Thinking by Burger, Starbird for learning anything.

Music:

Underrated German artist Imperceptum creates unique space black metal with programmed drums and makes an incredible atmosphere (I know it's a niche, but a great one!).

His first album has a bonus track that still has under 500 views after 7 years: https://youtu.be/Xs412t0_ORU

The SCP Foundation wiki, which is a collaborative horror / sci-fi project telling sort of Men in Black types of stories, features one series of contributions mostly by an author going by qntm which is called "There Is No Antimemetics Division," which is probably the best science fiction story for my tastes that I've ever read.

https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/antimemetics-division-hub

Martin Newell is an English singer and poet who probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

There is a band named From Indian Lakes and their 2nd and 3rd albums (Able Bodies and Absent Sounds) are masterpieces of indie rock.

Due to the recent surge of AI, now even more relevant than ever:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29270320

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Hartman

https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Robert+S.+Hart...

https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Hartman%2C+Rob...

Celtic Music by Adrian von Ziegler:

Prophecy: https://youtube.com/watch?v=INaM813ohL8

Ancient Storm: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rmRBZB_o8MM

Two of the buried Black Sabbath albums: Headless Cross and Tyr. Tony Martin and Cozy Powell really bring their A game on Tyr; Jerusalem and Valhalla are some of the best works in the Sabbath discography IMO. HC also has its stand-outs, of particular note is When Death Calls which features a guitar solo by Brian May of Queen.

Music: Lemon Jelly

I don't really know a lot about the labels and nuances of different music genres, but they are somewhat similar to Ratatat if that helps.

Start with tracks: "Weather for Ducks", "The Staunton Lick", "Spacewalk", "Ramblin' Man".

Their catalog is virtually always my background music when working, reading, etc.

These tracks are burned into my brain, and I don't think I've ever met a single person who has known the band before I introduced them to them. They were short-lived as a band, and broke up many years ago. Not for everyone, but give 'em a try!

TV: I’m loving the series Reservation Dogs right now (not to be confused with Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs). It’s about some kids living on a Reservation in Oklahoma. It feels like a mix of the vibes of Freaks and Geeks and Northern Exposure, with lots of magical realism. Seems to be critically acclaimed but I don’t see a lot of buzz about it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservoir_Dogs

Similarly, Atlanta was fantastic, challenging, and seemed to throw something completely different at you in every episode. I think Hiro Murai is going to be one of the great filmmakers of his generation.

I guess it’s a stretch to call it underrated because it was overwhelmingly critically acclaimed, but I feel it belongs to be talked about alongside the all-time greats when anecdotally I don’t hear much about it. For example, I’ve heard several casual references to Mad Men in the past few months, whereas I have never heard anyone mention Atlanta except when I have brought it up. Could just be my perception that’s off, though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_(TV_series)

I love this thread.

TV: On My Block, which has a lot in common with Reservation Dogs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_My_Block

Book: America Is Not The Heart, just a fantastic novel https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Castillo

Movie: Hearts Beat Loud, but maybe just on my mind because my daughter is getting ready to leave for college https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearts_Beat_Loud

Music: Destroy Boys, maybe less underrated and more promising https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroy_Boys

The short stories and journalism of Ernest Hemingway.

Of course, The Old Man and the Sea is not underrated, because it is explicitly mentioned in the Nobel citation.

Anything longer (all the novels) were overrated and now out of favour. Anything shorter will reward your time.

For example...

Fiction: A Clean Well-Lighted Place and The Capital of the World.

Non-fiction: coverage of the Greco-Turkish war (1919-22), especially Refugees From Thrace and On the Quai at Smyrna.

Curated list of favorite underrated movies:

#1 pick for HN Crowd: The Man From Earth // must see, especially if you like philosophical movies (don't recommend the sequel by the way)

Runner's Up:

Being There // absolute classic and must see for every person, at least once

Peaceful Warrior

The Lion In Winter // one of the best dramas ever made, and unbeatable cast with young Anthony Hopkins

Predestination // incredible drama about time travel paradoxes

The Interview // Hugo Weaving

Vitus // amazing story about a piano prodigy who fakes losing his talents to have a normal life

The Perverts Guide to Cinema // documentary, Slavoj Zizek's tour de force psychoanalysis of cinema as an art form; addressing the philosophical and psychological question of whether cinema (and other art forms) fulfil your desires, or rather teach/train you both to desire (and what you should desire), thus the sensationalistic and polemical invocation of it as "perverted"

Le Professionnel (French film, not to be confused with the one with Natalie Portman)

Revolver // Guy Ritchie's quote "It took me three years to write this film whereas Snatch took me three months". It is a masterwork metaphor about the ego, ego death, consciousness, meditation, spirituality, and the nature of reality. Recommend reading an interpretation of the film either before or after viewing to better appreciate what is happening in the story as it is most metaphorical.

Rest of the List: The Big Kahuna, Tao of Steve, Crazy Stupid Love, Megamind, Eyes Wide Shut, Dead Poet's Society, Before Sunset, Gambit, Five Minutes of Heaven, Temple Grandin, Croupier, The Good Guy, 3 Idiots, Limitless, Drive, Whiplash

Movie:

The Stoker.

I remember watching that film in an Irish cinema. We all loved it... To later discover it was completely underrated by critic and by most people.