You may know the artist, but have you heard these songs?

Without the risk of sounding like a nostalgic old bloke or an out of touch grandparent, nowadays it is almost seamlessly easy to listen to music. Whether it's iTunes, Spotify or YouTube, there is an endless library of songs available from your most well-known artists to stuff which has below 10,000 plays (the calling card of the indie music fan) meaning places like HMV are now something of an alien concept. Gone are the days of trawling through CDs to find that one track you like or putting on albums in the car, we live in the age of the playlist where the only things you listen to are those you actually want to hear. This is a marvellous system no doubt but unfortunately I feel it is to the detriment of the whole experience of listening to music owing to the the development of what I call 'Greatest Hits Syndrome' which obviously I have made up presently. This is basically the idea that people end up only listening to the most famous songs or the singles when an album comes out without even considering anything with popularity bars below halfway. What a terrifying prospect... Don't get me wrong, a lot of time the syndrome allows you to skip, to put it in the nicest way possible, a load of s**t, but you often pass up the opportunity to find that song which distinguishes you from the rest and making you a true fan of that artist.
     This is why I have compiled this short list of some of the worlds most famous bands naming that song which you along with millions of others have missed out. Let's make you a little less mainstream shall we.

Blink 182- Anthem Part 2

Up first are the 90s emblem that is Blink 182. High school, toilet humour and swear words: the recipe for the Californian trio's punk-rock domination which began nearly two decades ago. It is the nature of the genre as well as the artist that anthems are commonplace since if we're being honest they made pretty easy for themselves to relate to their teenage audience. Any teenager can relate to lyrics where the main focus is "Yeah, who hates school, and the government and rules yeeeaaah" or "Yeah I've found this really cool girlfriend man, she's so rad, yeaaaah"; a pretty safe bet if you ask me. Either way, with so many anthems released, its almost easy for you to miss what I think is perhaps the best song of the lot despite its blindingly obvious name: Anthem Part Two. One of my favourite intros to any song, the rest of it sustains an equally high level. It is a typically blink song complete with its anti-establishment, high school fuelled tone and easy-listening harmonies. The clue is in the name with this one.

Sum 41- Walking Disaster

Moving from the band beloved by the 90s to one who just seemed to miss out on that millennium deadline. Its astonishing to consider that Sum 41's début album actually came to our ears in the year 2000 making them something of an interim between two decades of very contrasting styles. Nineties leftovers if you will. Yes their hair may be spiky, their songs angry and their t-shirts baggy, but they are something of an 'in between' generation from the giants of pop-punk like our aforementioned Blink 182 to the hair gel and plastic of Busted. While this song itself is beloved among the band's more avid listeners, most people rarely seem to look past the two big boys: In Too Deep and Fat Lip. Walking Disaster is a song which has all of the anthemic quality in the lyrics but also those classic catchy melodies from which Sum 41 have made their name. It's going to be a comeback year for this band so if you're a fan, watch out for an album.

Green Day- Viva La Gloria  (Little Girl)

Green Day aren't exactly a group known for their adaptability and musical dynamism. I mean, why would you change a formula if that formula is churning you out hits year on year with just three simple chords. Seems like a pretty solid deal to me. They had often been criticised for this until the release of the ground breaking American Idiot which in many ways broke the punk-shaped mould created from previous albums. Therefore, it is something of a treat to hear off-beat piano and an almost jazzy start to the song... before it all kicks off. Some great harmonies and nice layering make this a track to remember even if the title is a bit of a mouthful.

Mumford And Sons- Holland Road

Yes, this song does follow that classic Mumford And Sons format. It starts quietly, with whispered vocals, the tempo picks up until the second chorus before getting stuck in with the banjos and shouting. This post has perhaps revealed that the key to musical success is to get yourself a nice little formula and it appears the quartet have done just that. However, this song has much more integrity in my opinion while unfortunately others sometimes have the tendency to become parodies of themselves.

Take these songs and make yourselves more interesting music listeners.

To hear these songs, albums from the other posts and other music which I find, follow my blog on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/user/w-avery/playlist/4CAps4jqmlBK7LPOPFgi3T