Atomic Tom, Take Me Out!

You want an inside scoop?  Rhetorical question, I'm giving you one no matter what so deal.

At about this time next year Atomic Tom is going to be the Bee's Knees of modern rock.  People are gonna say, "Atomic Tom is my new favorite band." "Man, Kings of Leon?  So 2009." "I wish Bruce Springsteen sounded as good Atomic Tom."  Well, maybe they won't say all of those things, but two out of three!

But Rated Wrong wants to give you the chance be even snootier when talking about Atomic Tom.  We are going to give you the chance to buy their brand new single "Take Me Out" right here!  And here! And even here!

Don't pass up this great opportunity so when you hear the latest hit from Atomic Tom on the radio (Or whatever device Steve Jobs creates to replace it after he outlaws the radio by refusing to create an app for it) you can turn to your friend and say, "Yeah, these guys used to be cool... until they got all corporate and sold out."

Still not convinced?  Well why not, what are you, stupid?  Okay, in case you are, here is a great live version of "Take Me Out" for free!

Atomic Tom, you are surely underrated!

Battle Royale

I guess this is only really underrated if you don't live in Korea/Japan/China, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess the majority of the people visiting Rated Wrong! are domestic.

So for those of you in the States who are unaware, Battle Royale is a totally kick-ass movie out of Japan about a bunch erm "8th graders" who are kidnapped and forced to kill each other on a jungle island.

I know what you're already saying, "When and where can I see this?"  But just in case you need further convincing...

This movie is a lot of fun.  Who cares if the plot is paper thin ("Adults lost confidence in their youth", what?)  Based on a Japanese novel, this has inspired more fan fiction than avatar and some pretty effed-up manga comics (I've seen pictures).  For what is comparatively a low budget action film it is shot pretty well.  The soundtrack is almost completely Mozart(!?)  Its funny and has a good balance between camp, action, and has some sincere moments but doesn't take itself too seriously.

Oh, this part is a riot.

Now the word on this movie for years is that hollywood has been trying to get the rights for it, something I hope never happens (at least not unless I get to write the script).  So at least until Paul W.S. Anderson ruins it, Battle Royale, I'll call you Underrated.

Oh so completely ridiculous.

Polaris: Music From The Adventures of Pete and Pete

Of course, anyone born in the 80s remembers that magical show from Nickelodeon's better days called The Adventures of Pete and Pete.  Slightly less memorable is the very 90s rock intro song the show had.

The song comes from a little known band called Polaris.  They not only recorded the opening theme for the show, but they recorded a whole album's worth of music.  in fact, it was the only album they ever recorded.

The band was formed by three of the four members of New Haven band Miracle Legion for the sole purpose of recording music for the show.  

I can't say for sure what compelled me to do this, but one day I downloaded their entire album.

And surprisingly, or not considering how classic the show was, the album is really good.  With the exception of a few 60s recordings about outer space peppered around the album there a lot of gems on this hidden masterpiece.

Go check these guys out, or at least listen to some of their songs on youtube.  They're definitely Underrated.