Because rock music sometimes needs to unplug. All of these are on the underrated side, you may have never listened to some of them, but you gonna love them all. Hello, and be welcome to my first music post of this 2024.
“Nothing comes for free, but you can pay with your heart, if you got one” – Trastevere by Måneskin
There is something pure, primal, and manly about acoustic guitars; think about those cowboys singing sad songs with their guitars in the movies. Also, with acoustic guitars you don’t have any distortions, and the lyrics tend to be more deep and reflexive.
For my first music post of this 2024, here I present 12 great and kind of underrated songs with acoustic guitars that will prove you that you don’t always need to have an electric Stratocaster to make great rock music.
I tried not to include big names or too well-known songs as I wanted this list to be more on the underrated side. But I bet you’re going to love them all and maybe they will make your fingers itch to learn to play the guitar.
So, without further ado, let’s begin:
12 Green Day – Warning (2000)
Green Day - Warning (Video)
A much underrated track from Greenday’s sixth album of the same name released in 2000, and the second single from that one. I remember loving this song back in the day, when you couldn’t get away from crappy acts like Blink 182 and the Backstreet Boys, those are days I would never want to live again! I had totally forgot about this one until last year when I rediscovered it by chance. The lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong deal with the idea of living your own life, making your own choices, and not paying too much attention to warnings people give you. The acoustic guitar played by Armstrong sounds great and the whole song is cool and nice to sing along. The video showcases the daily life of a young working-class man while the band play in his tiny San Francisco apartment.
It may not be a very-well known song and Green Day weren’t at their best moment during those days prior to the groundbreaking American Idiot of 2004, but they still managed to produced decent music and this song, one of the best acoustic songs of this 21st century, it’s a testament of that.
11 The White Stripes – Hotel Yorba (2001)
The White Stripes - Hotel Yorba (Official Music Video)
In the early 2000s The White Stripes were the hottest band in the world, and Hotel Yorba was their first commercially available single. It was the first single from their third album White Blood Cells, released in 2001; it was also the first music video they ever made. It was written by Jack White over a drum beat Meg showed him one day. The song was later recorded in their living room for $100. The Hotel Yorba actually exists in real life and it is something of a landmark of the city of Detroit were Jack White was born and raised. Like many people out there, I discovered The White Stripes in 2003 when Seven Nation Army exploded on the radio. It wasn’t until last year that I found out about Hotel Yorba, very different from the usual Stripes’ style, it has an upbeat rhythm and makes you want to sing along and feel happy, for a while at least. I love the video where you can see Meg laughing and jumping on the bed; I used to like her a lot back in the day, I want to kiss her legs... So, enjoy this one and don’t be a cynic.
10 Foo Fighters – Skin and Bones (2006)
Foo Fighters - Skin And Bones (from Skin And Bones, Live in Hollywood, 2006)
I discovered this one in the Foo Fighters compilation Greatest Hits from 2009, which contains the live version of this song. It starts very slow with Dave Grohl’s voice sounding sad and mournful, but then it starts building up and gains momentum when the guitars, mandolin, accordion, and drums combine for an explosive ending. There’s a studio version on this song, but the live one sounds better. You cannot help but thinking about the late Kurt Cobain when you listen to this one, and with the sudden death of Taylor Hawkins in 2022 this songs takes a new meaning. Rest in peace Taylor.
9 Beck – Thinking About You (2023)
Beck - Thinking About You
Beck Hansen has proved to be an excellent musician in a career that spans more than thirty years. Here, he presents a nice acoustic ballad with good lyrics about a painful break up and a man just going by himself, which has raised speculations about Beck’s private life and his recent divorce. This song, like several of the ones he has released this decade, does not belong to any album; but for its vibe, tone, and lyrics seems like a song that would fit perfectly in the very reflexive Sea Change album of 2002.
In the video, shot in black and white, you can see a beautiful woman in her bedroom, while you see Beck himself singing in the streets, going to bars, and trying to forget about her without being able to. It’s typical of Beck to mix different music genres, and I love the inclusion of a harmonica which gives the song a rather folksy style. Simple, romantic and melodic, I haven’t stopped listening to this one since last year, it has become something of my midday song before lunch. I hope you’ll love it too.
8 Everlast – What It's Like (1998)
Everlast - What it's Like (Official Music Video)
It may have been released in the late 1990s, but the message of this song always feel powerful and visceral. It was written by Everlast himself, after his departure from the House of Pain, when he quit drinking and found religion, and it’s the only song most people remember from him. The poignant and controversial lyrics deal with the perspective of three different people: a homeless person, a pregnant young woman and a drug dealer. For the music, Everlast made a nice combination of acoustic guitar with elements of hip-hop and blues, all very consistent with his style. I remember the video had heavy rotation on MTV back in the day, in 1998, the last year where great music was constantly being produced. At the end of the video, you will see a bunch of people looking through a window and you will realize what we all want from life.
7 Blind Melon – Change (1993)
Blind Melon - Change
Singer Shannon Hoon (1967-1995) used to sing the lyrics of this song while sitting in his mother’s porch and spending days in his room without sunlight. He only released a couple of albums with Blind Melon, and they’re mostly known for No Rain and that video with the little girl dressed as a bee. But Change was Shannon’s most personal song and my favorite from that band. It was the fourth and final single from Blind Melon’s debut album. The video has those typical bright red and yellow colors, so common of the early 1990s, and you can see the singer sitting on a big chair, covered in golden paint, while the band plays somewhere else. Unfortunately a cocaine overdose took Shannon’s life in 1995, but he left us with this song about hope and change; the lines of this song: "I know we can't all stay here forever so I want to write my words on the face of today and they'll paint it" are written on his gravestone. May he rest in peace.
6 Queen – Love of My Life (1979)
Queen - Love Of My Life (Official Video)
The live version of this one is so much better than the original studio version, and I wish they would have recorded it like the former back in 1975; it has Freddie on the vocals, Brian May in the acoustic guitar, and a crowd of thousands of fans singing along. Written by Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), it tells the plight of a man abandoned by his woman and asking her to come back; it was dedicated to Freddie’s then girlfriend Mary Austin. It’s rather sad, but melodious and makes you want to sing aloud every time you catch it by chance. The original studio version features a piano and a harp, and it is the 9th track of what is considered Queen’s best album, A Night at the Opera. Though it was never released as a single, a live version indeed was released but only in Argentina and Brazil. The only song from the 1970s I decided to include here, so sing along with Freddie.
5 Tesla – Signs (1990)
Tesla - Signs (Live At The Trocadero / 1990)
Here you have five men giving all they got for a great acoustic gig. They’re mostly known for 1989’s Love Song, but the next year they recorded live one of the best unplugged albums ever made. Signs, the first single from that album was also a hit, reaching number 8 on the charts in 1990. It is a cover of a song by a Canadian band released in 1971. The lyrics deal with a man tired of seeing sings everywhere telling him what to do; unfortunately, those signs are often necessary, they’re helpful, and it’s better to have them there. After the grunge and alternative explosion of the early 1990s, Tesla was wiped out from the music scene like many other bands at that moment. But they regrouped again and occasionally go out on tours. Watching the video makes you feel nostalgic of those days where life was so much easier.
4 Days of the New – Touch, Peel and Stand (1997)
Days Of The New - Touch, Peel And Stand
A raw, angry and yet, somewhat, charming song from a band with grunge influences that always played with acoustic guitars. The lyrics deal with themes of anger, frustration, and maybe addiction, and then, finally standing up, cleaning yourself up and doing something with your time. It is the most well-known song Days of the New, a band that was based in Louisville, Kentucky and only released three albums in their career. I remember the video had heavy rotation in 1998; it features a young man in dirty clothes, sitting in a rundown house, frustrated with his life, while you can see the band playing on TV. I used to own this CD back in the late 1990s; if you can get your hands on it, don’t let it go, it’s a nice one.
3 Måneskin – Trastevere (2023)
Måneskin - TRASTEVERE
Since I discovered this one last year I haven’t stopped listening to it. From the Italian band that is the hottest band in the world right now, comes this ballad with heartbreaking lyrics about the price of fame in the music world. Completely in acoustic, singer Damiano David performs the song with guitarist Thomas Raggi, and drummer Ethan Torchio, who changes his drums for an acoustic guitar; it’s worth noticing the absence of bassist Victoria De Angelis. I love the whole quite atmosphere of the video where you can see the three musicians in a garage, surrounded by boxes and other equipment with only a low light for all illumination; it was filmed in Mexico during the Maneskin tour that took place in 2023. Apparently the term Trastevere refers to a neighborhood of Rome; it was a segregated area during ancient times, and a humble one, at the other side of the river Tiber, where the working class resided.
This one will send shivers down your spine and will break your heart, but will also stick in your mind, and you won’t stop singing to it.
2 Red Hot Chili Peppers – Road Trippin’ (2000)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Road Trippin' [Official Music Video]
The last track of the great comeback album Californication. I received that CD as a gift in the year 2000 and it's still, proudly, sitting in my collection. The mellow song Road Trippin’ is sang by Anthony Kiedis together with Flea and John Frusciante with only acoustic guitars and no drums at all. The lyrics tell about a road trip around the Pacific Coast Highway the three musicians took after guitarist Frusciante returned to the band. In the video you can see the three of them singing, going to the beach and surfing; drummer Chad Smith only appears briefly at the end of the video, arriving in a boat. It was the fifth and final single of the aforementioned album, but was only released in Europe and Australia. A cool refreshing song that should be on every road trip playlist.
1 Violent Femmes – Blister In The Sun (1983)
Violent Femmes - Blister In The Sun (Lyric Video)
This is one of the coolest songs ever recorder but, can you believe it was never released as a single? It’s a song that always puts a smile on your face and makes you happy. I discovered it in 1994 and I remember they played it a few times on the radio and it was a staple in parties and rock bars; looks like word to mouth is more powerful than certain record label producers. It was the first track of their debut album from 1983, and it is the best song of this much underrated alternative band. There’s an urban legend that says the lyrics are an ode to masturbation, but this has been denied many times by the band. It’s more a song about “the strung out feeling that comes from drug abuse”, or so has said the singer and songwriter. If you want to listen to another nice song from this band, check Color Me Once, included in the 1994 soundtrack of The Crow.
So, going back to Blister In The Sun, take your shoes off, play this one loud, and dance like no one is watching.
There you have it, guys, 12 cool, and kind of underrated acoustic songs I recommend you to include on your playlists. But let me know what you think. Did you like my selection? Which one of these are your favorite? Did I miss a great acoustic song you like?, if so leave it in the comment section.
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Orlando Caine