Too uncool to be great? Five albums that deserve revisionist redemption
Oh, we all try so hard to be cool. Look at you, with your vintage clothes, homemade kombucha and an exclusive on-cassette live recording of Jimi Hendrix. Very nice. But can’t we just embrace being uncool for a little while?
There are so many bands and albums out there that don’t get any kind of stage or recognition on the “cool” side of the media because of the fact that they are, well, painfully uncool. Fair enough, as the way people dress, act and behave on stage can be so cringe-inducing that, regardless of how their music sounds, it is immediately dismissed. But have we as a society outgrown this?
The fact is that a lot of the albums we are so quick to label as uncool actually have a great deal of potential attached to them. They exist beautifully within their genre, bringing joy to those who listen to it, and some records even became cultural milestones. They deserve their flowers, and yet, because of the band they’re attached to, the records are pushed aside and labelled unlistenable.
We at Far Out are ready to put an end to this. There are some uncool records which need to be listened to, whether that’s as a throwback or a new piece of work. Regardless of your relationship with these records, they’re uncool albums that actually sound good.
Five uncool albums that are actually good:
LMFAO – ‘Sorry For Party Rocking’
When was the last time a duo managed to capture the hearts and minds of the world in the same way that LMFAO did? Did they look ridiculous? Yes. Was the music relatively transparent and meaningless? Yes. However, my word, didn’t we all have fun?
What is the point of pop music if not to reignite the world into unsuppressed glee? We need to ensure we are having fun, enjoying ourselves, and generally finding a platform where we can let loose. LMFAO provided this with the record Sorry For Party Rocking, which was 40 minutes of party anthems.
Some of the lyrics might not have aged too well, but in terms of being music which is fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously, LMFAO have got you covered. They might not look the best, but who cares what you look like when you’re having fun?
Maroon 5 – ‘Songs About Jane’
When the bassist from Maroon 5 told Noel Gallagher he was a big inspiration, Noel Gallagher’s response somewhat channels the feelings of many. “I was like, ‘Maroon 5 are fucking shit. How the fuck did you get Maroon 5 from what I’m doing?’” he said. Yes, it’s very easy for us all to poke fun at Maroon 5 for being one of the most uncool bands in the world, but they have a big platform, and it was us who gave them that platform. Why?
The answer is simple: their debut album, Songs About Jane, is absolutely fantastic. You can roll your eyes all you want, but we all had this on CD and we all listened to ‘She Will Be Loved’ while watching rain droplets race down car windows. Maroon 5 might be pretty uncool now, but let’s not slander that debut in our critique of them. Songs About Jane is and will remain a classic.
The Lumineers – ‘The Lumineers’
It’s very easy for us all to look back at the movement within indie that the Lumineers were spearheading and cringe. The braces, acoustic guitars, and fedoras which stood at the front of “Stomp-clap-hey indie” aren’t a great look. The whole thing is enough to induce cringe, but if we just listen to the music, rather than worry about the look, it’s really not that bad.
When you listen to The Lumineers’ debut self-titled album, you have what is essentially easy-listening and catchy folk music. You might look a bit uncool if you put it on at a party, but I also don’t imagine there will be many present rushing to turn it off either. People can moan all they like, but the results don’t lie; the fact that those songs would keep playing is perfect evidence that The Lumineers really aren’t as bad as people think.
Kiss – ‘Dynasty’
It pained me to put Kiss on the list. These are one of my favourite bands in the world, as their theatrical approach to rock music was enough to get me excited about live music from a young age. They remain one of my favourite bands of all time, but even I’m not too proud to say that there is something inherently uncool about them.
The face paint, the fireworks, the weird tongue thing that Gene Simmons does, it all might have been cool originally, but doing it in your 60s isn’t a great look. However, they do have some great music that is well worth listening to. One of their most fun albums is Dynasty, which takes inspiration from funk and disco to give people a very danceable and exciting record.
Various Artists – ‘Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’
There’s a lot that we could say about Fifty Shades of Grey. It’s one of the worst pieces of literature in the world and gave rise to one of the poorest excuses for a film adaptation that highlighted the story’s lack of plot, character, and, strangely, sexiness. However, while the entire story is a notable failure, let’s not bash the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack that was released just yet.
The majority of the soundtrack is slowed-down and sexier covers of popular songs. It works well, and if the movie had been a fraction as sexy as the album that accompanied it, we could well have been on to a winner. Not to mention, the album features The Weeknd’s song ‘Earned It’, which likely featured on the majority of people’s “sexy” playlists at some point.
