A couple of days ago I said to myself, “Self, Tuned Up needs more lists.” Okay, so my thought process wasn’t exactly like that, but I was thinking about some tunes of old that I thought might stoke the nostalgia feels of some of you. In this case, they are old-school “Christian rock” (for lack of a better term) tunes that I think anyone would enjoy. I think in the greater sense of CCM and indie rock these tunes flew under the radar too much, and I think that’s a darn shame. Anyhow, here are ten underrated  tunes for your enjoyment:

Sides of the North – “The Up and Up”: Sides of the North are a little known group from the Dayton, OH area that released one record called The Incurable Romantic. The band had a couple of singles that garnered a bit of radio airplay, which mixed urgent vocals with soaring riffs and dark bass grooves. For over ten years this song has been an esseential part of my winter music listening. The minor-key massive chorus just further accentuates my earlier point about this being an essential winter jam.

subseven – “Free to Conquer”: Subseven were a short-lived band on the also short-lived Flicker Records. They released an EP and a full-length, the latter of which contains this short yet soaring title track. Listening to this track, it’s not hard to imagine the sounds of a vast arena crowd getting mixed into a live version of the song.

Terminal – “Dark”: I remember where I was when I heard this song for the first time. I was hanging out in the den of my parents’ old house, and the RadioU DJ Smitty was raving about about how Terminal were destined to be the next big thing. “Dark” became one of my summer anthems of that year, and it was on burned CD I took on a Boy Scout whitewater rafting camping trip (stuff like electronics were priveleges for the older Scouts). The short, haunting chorus will forever echo in my brain. Pity the band broke up after one album, but getting Oh, Sleeper from the ashes of this band was a nice consolation prize.

Turn Off the Stars – “Please”: This Canadian band released a criminally underrated self-titled record on Credential Recordings that was actually very similar in feel to Coldplay’s X&Y. The vocals were like Chris Martin with less falsetto, and there was sense of impending fall throughout the record. “Please” was one of the more driving tracks on the record with a driving bass line and a journey that was like hiking up and down rocky terrain. Like the aforementioned “Dark,” “Please” has a short and poignant chorus “Cause I’ll / be taking you right by the hand / and I / know that you don’t understand.”

Lost Ocean – “Just Glide”: Lost Ocean was another short lived melancholy indie rock band signed to Credential Recordings (wish that label didn’t die, they had good taste). I remember driving around snowy suburban Columbus going to visit friends, and this song providing a bit of soundtrack to the weather. One of my youth group leaders also really liked this band and expressed his wish that they’d play our church. Yeah… that didn’t happen.

Edison Glass – “This House”: Did you know that before he became known as a vocalist for Paper Route JT Daly did album art and sometimes directed music videos? The kind of eerie, surreal animation for Edison Glass’ “This House” is the work of this man. I didn’t know it at the time, but listening to Edison Glass 10 years ago was my first bit of a foray into math rock. The band introduces many other elements to their music, including on point vocals (and some nailed falsettos). “This House” is a more low-key, but quite memorable piece from the defunct New York band.

Last Tuesday – “Social Butterfly”: Do you miss these pop punk guys? Me too. “Social Butterfly” is so obscure I couldn’t find a streaming link, so I uploaded a bootleg video instead. Don’t you love those? This was one of those songs I heard on the radio in high school and spent hours searching the net for a way to get ahold of the track. I think I finally downloaded it off of PureVolume.

Mutemath – “Peculiar People”: Mutemath is my favorite band, and “Peculiar People” is a single from their debut release, the Reset EP. I don’t think most of their fans know this song exists. It is one of their more bold faith based songs (at least the way I interpreted it). And, it is a heck of a funky tune.

East West – “She Cries”: One of the first melancholy indie zone out songs of my youth. And from a band that’s mostly known for heavy music, nonetheless. And, I always thought the album art kind of suited the mood of this song – piercing and brooding.

Lucerin Blue – “Monday in Vegas”: This banger of a rock song goes a lot of different directions and this was another case of a “one and done” band that left quite an impression on fans of Tooth and Nail Records and beyond. The song has a thrilling quality to it that begs you to turn it all the way up each time you listen. Any hearing loss I have when I’m eighty years of age can probably be in part attributed to listening to song too loud in my room.