Top 5 Bands That Are Still Around

[Jaimoe]

My praise for grunge is more for what it signified: a return to angry, gritty guitar-based rock. I don't like Pearl Jam anymore, but they are a real rock band even if they haven't had a hit in eons. The Creeds of the world came from grunge's same time period, but were influenced by a different brand of '70s and '80s music, i.e. bad shit - or at least interpreted it in putrid ways.

90s rock is for the most part, dated, but even thinking about most of what is (mis)branded as "80s music" makes me cringe. Thank the '80s rock gods for The Replacements.

Regarding the Crowes decline, they peaked with Marc Ford. I thought they were a breath of fresh early '70s air when they broke into the charts. I just don't think their albums after Amorica are overly memorable.

[EverythingChanges]

The Crowes went downhill pretty fast. I think real rock was around in the '90s in the form of grunge. Fucking rock was saved by grunge, and I'm not even a big fan of the genre.

Bleh, I am going to have to disagree with this almost completely.  Funny thing is, that was really my time period as well, the 90s were my twenties, which is usually when your musical tastes are formed and when you are most interested in music (although this is what separates 'real' music fans, from casual listeners, it never wanes for those who really love music), and I look back on the decade as pretty over-rated, derivative, and kinda hollow.  I don't think much of the music holds up all that well.

Especially 'grunge', which I was a huge fan of at the time, now sounds dated and dare I say 'lame'.  The over-emoting and pseudo sincerity eventually just got to be too much for me.  It all sounded the same, a lot of angst about bullshit.  At some point, and it was pretty early on, probably around the time of Cameron Crowe's Singles, in hindsight, the whole thing jumped the shark (and I love Cameron Crowe movies and enjoyed Singles at the time).  Sure, there was good music, some of which holds up, but I never play that music now.

Now the 60s, 70s, and even 80s are completely different.  I still go back to that music on a regular basis.  Maybe there's a burnout (not 'burnout', but that too) factor, having lived through it at such a formidable time and been inundated with those bands, but I really don't think I ever need to hear Jeremy or Fell On Black Days or Sex Type Thing or Cumbersome again, ever.  The put upon over-seriousness of the whole scene was tiring.  On the other hand, the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, Floyd, that never gets old, because it's truly great music, truly innovative and original.  Same for Rush, Talking Heads, The Smiths, The Police, and Joy Division in the 80s.  That's the music I still listen to and will intersperse with what is currently relevant.

Not that nothing from the 90s has held up for me, The Pixies, Blur, Pavement, The Beastie Boys, Rage Against The Machine, and even Beck had their heyday in the 90s, but I think the grunge movement itself, rather than elevating the 90s, almost casts a pall over the decade.  Rather than thinking back to the great bands (Nirvana, Pearly Jam, Soundgarden), the bands who got their start (Radiohead, Wilco, The Flaming Lips), I can't help but think of The Offspring, Live, Bush, or 'god' forbid Creed.  Even the great bands, I rarely go back to, because the 'sound' is so identifiable and dated - at least to me.

As for today, I think there is incredible music being made, and the best part is exactly what makes the 90s sound so pale in comparison. Diversity.  Even within the 'genre' of rock/alt/pop (excluding electronic and soul/hip-hop - where there is amazing music being made), there are a wide variety of styles being pursued. From The Avett Brothers and Tallest Man On Earth, to My Morning Jacket and Phosphorescent, to Grizzly Bear and Beach House, to Real Estate and Tennis, to Menomena and Dirty Projectors, all bands falling under the similar 'rock/alt/pop' heading, there is such a huge diversity of well made and interesting music.

So anyway, everyone has an opinion...

I agree with every word of this, well put sir.

[Tracy 2112]

Rather than thinking back to the great bands (Nirvana, Pearly Jam, Soundgarden), the bands who got their start (Radiohead, Wilco, The Flaming Lips), I can't help but think of The Offspring, Live, Bush, or 'god' forbid Creed.  Even the great bands, I rarely go back to, because the 'sound' is so identifiable and dated - at least to me.

That's a rather odd statement that you think of the music you don't like when you reflect back on the 90's. That could happen about any decade, really. I wonder why that is for you?

I go back and listen to Nevermind, In Utero, any Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, U2, Pavement, and on and on and on and it isn't stale at all. I'd even go as far to saying In Utero opened up for me in 2003 and in fact, I have been listening to Wowee Zowee pretty non stop over the last 2 weeks.

Maybe go back and listen again. Start with Wowee Zowee  :happy:

No fuck that, listen to Sugar's Copper Blue; that stands up against anything ever made.

[Tracy 2112]

Rather than thinking back to the great bands (Nirvana, Pearly Jam, Soundgarden), the bands who got their start (Radiohead, Wilco, The Flaming Lips), I can't help but think of The Offspring, Live, Bush, or 'god' forbid Creed.  Even the great bands, I rarely go back to, because the 'sound' is so identifiable and dated - at least to me.

That's a rather odd statement that you think of the music you don't like when you reflect back on the 90's. That could happen about any decade, really. I wonder why that is for you?

I go back and listen to Nevermind, In Utero, any Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, U2, Pavement, and on and on and on and it isn't stale at all. I'd even go as far to saying In Utero opened up for me in 2003 and in fact, I have been listening to Wowee Zowee pretty non stop over the last 2 weeks.

Maybe go back and listen again. Start with Wowee Zowee  :happy:

No fuck that, listen to Sugar's Copper Blue; that stands up against anything ever made.

jeeez, Yo La Tengo!

What I am naming is not dated man, not the least bit, at all. Tell me Electr-O-Pura is identifiable and dated; how?

[Shug]

Regarding the Crowes decline, they peaked with Marc Ford. I thought they were a breath of fresh early '70s air when they broke into the charts. I just don't think their albums after Amorica are overly memorable.

I get what you are saying, jaimoe, about the studio recordings (even though I don't completely agree, I love By Your Side and half of Lions is quite good,  to my ears, and I think Warpaint is pretty good, too.  Definitely not as strong as Southern Harmony, Amorica, Three Snakes, though, but not what I call a quick decline).  But for a live rock 'n' roll band, and really that is what I'm talking about (bands that can bring it live), the Crowes arguably were just as good,  if not better, live in 2005-2006 when Marc Ford came back than they were in 1992-1996.  In 2005 they were playing two set, three hour shows, tons of great covers (Faces, Traffic, Manassas, Clapton, Grateful Dead, Muddy Waters, etc etc), back catalog played amazingly well and even great versions of the songs from the records Marc was not on.  It was a tragedy to me when Marc and Eddie were out of the band again in 2006, but even the last few years with Luther Dickinson had some great great shows.  No one was upholding the banner of the golden age of rock as good as the Crowes did in those years, IMO.  Also don't forget about the tour they did with Jimmy Page where they slayed all those Zeppelin songs!

All of this is just because I love the Crowes so much.  I'm sure a Pearl Jam fan could go off in detail about why the love them, too.

[Jaimoe]

I'd like to retract my observation that '90s music is dated. I think I'm just sick of the groundbreaking stuff more than anything. I'd like to go back in a time machine and embrace the '90s again, but this time with a more full-on appreciation. I was too busy back then wasting time listening to jam bands.

[exist10z]

While I agree with most of what you wrote Tracy, that was sort of my point.  The bands that 'latched' onto the sound, grunge in this case, were so bad, I think they tainted the entire genre for me.

No, Pavement is never dated, never.  So in that sense, I was being bit hyperbolic about not listening to ANY 90s music, it's just that I don't think back on the decade, or especially the grunge movement, very fondly.  Rage is the same, still relevant for me, maybe more so given the message being almost more appropriate now.  I don't think of Radiohead as a 90s band really, though I love everything they've ever done.  U2, probably just played out for me, plus they became 'a thing', which turns me off, and all my age group peers still think that because they like U2 they are somehow 'into music', which again turns me off.  Though yes, U2 certainly made some great albums in the 90s.  Soundgarden, yeah, I could still listen and enjoy, but I usually don't.

Then we get to Nirvana.  Maybe this is were I lose my rationality a little.  I loved Nirvana, loved.  Thought they made amazingly heartfelt music, were original, were honest, and just plain kicked ass.  And I am not saying that I still don't, but something happened over the years.  Kurt killing himself and the band taking on a sort of 'mythical' quality turned me off.  I think they became over-rated, which is not easy, as they really were great.  But were they THAT great? Nah, I don't think so.  So, I am heaping a lot of what has happened since they ceased onto the actual music, which isn't fair, but is difficult to stop.

Anyway, I pretty much agree with you, despite still standing by what I wrote previously.

[Jaimoe]

Regarding the Crowes decline, they peaked with Marc Ford. I thought they were a breath of fresh early '70s air when they broke into the charts. I just don't think their albums after Amorica are overly memorable.

I get what you are saying, jaimoe, about the studio recordings (even though I don't completely agree, I love By Your Side and half of Lions is quite good,  to my ears, and I think Warpaint is pretty good, too.  Definitely not as strong as Southern Harmony, Amorica, Three Snakes, though, but not what I call a quick decline).  But for a live rock 'n' roll band, and really that is what I'm talking about (bands that can bring it live), the Crowes arguably were just as good,  if not better, live in 2005-2006 when Marc Ford came back than they were in 1992-1996.  In 2005 they were playing two set, three hour shows, tons of great covers (Faces, Traffic, Manassas, Clapton, Grateful Dead, Muddy Waters, etc etc), back catalog played amazingly well and even great versions of the songs from the records Marc was not on.  It was a tragedy to me when Marc and Eddie were out of the band again in 2006, but even the last few years with Luther Dickinson had some great great shows.  No one was upholding the banner of the golden age of rock as good as the Crowes did in those years, IMO.  Also don't forget about the tour they did with Jimmy Page where they slayed all those Zeppeling songs!

All of this is just because I love the Crowes so much.  I'm sure a Pearl Jam fan could go off in detail about why the love them, too.

Trust me when I say I love what the Crowes brought to the table. It made sense when they became torchbearers of real rock and roll. They became more and more jammy and focused more on delivering a killer live experience  partly out of necessity because they realized that their commercial appeal and hits weren't ever coming back.

Nothing like catching a band in full-flight, or still in full-flight and relevant. I saw them early in the Audley era, although I had chances to see them during their early years, but passed for some stupid reason. Even then, they had that spark. The Luther experiment was pretty good, but talk about a band that had the wheels fall off in a hurry: North Mississippi Allstars. From fucking awesome to fucking crap over the course of two albums.

[Tracy 2112]

I don't think of Radiohead as a 90s band really, though I love everything they've ever done.

It really doesn't matter if you think Radiohead was a 90's band or not. The calendar says they began and created these 3 gems in the 90's:

Pablo Honey (1993)
The Bends (1995)
OK Computer (1997)

And I am simply stepping to your point you made about 90's music: "I look back on the decade as pretty over-rated, derivative, and kinda hollow.  I don't think much of the music holds up all that well." Then, you went on to say "especially grunge".

You got Sugar-Copper Blue yet? Or Electr-O-Pura? Mind blowing stuff man, catch it.

[Jaimoe]

I don't think of Radiohead as a 90s band really, though I love everything they've ever done.

It really doesn't matter if you think Radiohead was a 90's band or not. The calendar says they began and created these 3 gems in the 90's:

Pablo Honey (1993)
The Bends (1995)
OK Computer (1997)

And I am simply stepping to your point you made about 90's music: "I look back on the decade as pretty over-rated, derivative, and kinda hollow.  I don't think much of the music holds up all that well." Then, you went on to say "especially grunge".

You got Sugar-Copper Blue yet? Or Electr-O-Pura? Mind blowing stuff man, catch it.

Yep, Radiohead helped define the 90s. And U2 are as much an '80s band and The Police were already making a name for themselves in the '70s.

[exist10z]

And again, maybe the points made by both Jaimoe and Tracy illustrate my point, that I tend to lump the bands I actually still enjoy, that played in other decades, into decades other than the 90s, much because of my aversion to much of the music from that decade.

OK Computer, maybe my favorite album of all time, was a 90s album, no denying that.  However, I think of it as 'late' 90s and more a part of 2000s Radiohead.  Of course I just listened to The Bends in its entirety not two weeks ago, and there's no denying that's a 90s album.

Again, maybe I was being hyperbolic about the 90s, I do have a tendency to do that, so I probably over-generalized.  Nevertheless, in as much as grunge defines the decade, I am pretty much over it.  Another shark jumping moment for me, which I always think of when I think of 90s music, is Temple of the Dog's Hunger Strike.  I like Chris Cornell in Soundgarden, and it's not that it's a bad song per-se, but I think it just defines the emotive excess of the era.  The wailing plaintive guitars and vocals, it's just too much, all I can think now is - 'get over yourself', 'stop being so overly sincere', 'just stop'.

Ok Tracy, I'll check out Sugar.  I was never a big Husker Du fan honestly, but I recognize the eminence of Bob Mould (my 'punk' rock friends always raved), so I'll give it a shot.  I am guessing it's gonna be a little too hard, a little too fast, and a little too punk rock for me, but I'll check it out.

[Jaimoe]

Important albums that come out at an end of any given decade often help define the next 10-15 years, so Ok Computer certainly played a big role in 2000s rock.

[Tracy 2112]

Another shark jumping moment for me, which I always think of when I think of 90s music, is Temple of the Dog's Hunger Strike.  I like Chris Cornell in Soundgarden, and it's not that it's a bad song per-se, but I think it just defines the emotive excess of the era.  The wailing plaintive guitars and vocals, it's just too much, all I can think now is - 'get over yourself', 'stop being so overly sincere', 'just stop'.

I am not trying to be an ass, but just sayin'...

Temple of the Dog was released before the Trinity of Grunge: Nevermind, Ten and Badmoterfinger. You can't "jump the shark" because grunge hadn't even begun having commercial success; i.e. you can't "sell out" due to your popularity before you become popular! I don't think that's physically possible. Now, you can hate them for all the emotive-posturing, but saying they "jumped the shark" is inaccurate b/c really, Joanie hadn't even met Chachi...

and no, Sugar is not punk, IMO; actually Bob can craft some sonic pop!

Sugar - The Act We Act (from "Copper Blue)

[Jaimoe]

Temple of the Dog were a one-off and didn't become popular until a year after their debut dropped. Only one mild hit too.

[exist10z]

Well, aren't you the stickler for dates there Tracy...  Nah, just kidding, you're completely correct of course, and clearly that was a terrible example of shark jumping, Mr.C was still a young man and sleeping in the same bed as Miriam when Hunger Strike came out.  I guess it's a memory transposition, as I must have heard it around the same time (or even a bit after) as the 'big 3', since that's when it was pushed/recognized.  Though in my memory, again admittedly biased, it was a collaboration to take advantage of their celebrity, which clearly it was not, as it happened prior.  My bad.  I am going to stick with the bulk of my analysis though, at least until you complete tearing it apart piece by piece, as I am still turned off by the grunge sound and pretty much associate it with the entire decade.

Curious on your thoughts about my Nirvana 'bashing', you haven't yet addressed that aspect.

I like the Sugar, though I suspected I would.  I am not unaware of the influence and significance of Husker Du and Bob Mould, like I said it was just never really my thing.  I actually liked Hoover Dam a bit better, but I will give the whole album a proper listen when I get a chance.

[Jaimoe]

Temple was an honest band paying tribute to Mother Love Bone's Andrew Wood. Great and honest one-off.

[Tracy 2112]

Curious on your thoughts about my Nirvana 'bashing', you haven't yet addressed that aspect.

I used to go back and forth with Nirvana, but as I get older I don't care as much and simply like them better than PJ. At the time, all the "cool" people I knew were saying that Nirvana was the next Beatles; speaking particularly about Bleach /About a Girl. They were very quick to dismiss PJ and said they were "corporate rockers". I think part of this charge came from Kurt himself b/c, for whatever reason, he hated PJ. I always thought from a pure "sell out" format, Nirvana "sold out" more than PJ. Let's just take music videos, the purest form of "sell out" right? Well, Nirvana had a lot and PJ had that 1 formal one for Jeremy and then Even Flow had sort of a live one. I mean, PJ could have made tons of videos and really, REALLY sold out, but they didn't, right? So to speak. I didn't like Eddie V. for a while b/c I thought he was posing a bit; I think his work with Neil Young and Pete Townsend mellowed him a bit, plus if he's hanging out with those guys then he's OK in my book!

Do I think Nirvana was overrated? Yes. 3-4 albums and a couple of hits should not catapult anyone into rock God status. Sort of like Guns n' Roses. 1 really good album and a couple of misfired follow ups and they get the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame? Whatever...Pinning Kurt Cobain as "the spokesperson of a generation" was nonsense. People were looking for that person and that's what they got. (sort of like when Marcia Brady thought she was in love and Alice, I think, told her she was more "in love" with the idea of being in love.) He was a drug addict who was suffering a lot of mental and physical pain and he couldn't handle it. Sad, to me.

I will say this, as far as popular music goes, that was the last hey day as far as good music being popular. I remember actually watching the MTV Music awards and seeing Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers and maybe Pearl Jam, perhaps U2. These days I vomit at the thought of watching that show. I believe popular good music is dead. Talk about a rut of a musical genre: Rap. And I admit I am old, but good Lord, popular rap music sux asses and asses.

It's only rock n' roll (but I like it)

[Fully]

I will say this, as far as popular music goes, that was the last hey day as far as good music being popular. I remember actually watching the MTV Music awards and seeing Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers and maybe Pearl Jam, perhaps U2. These days I vomit at the thought of watching that show. I believe popular good music is dead.

And a more true statement has never been made. Although I respectfully disagree with you about rap.

[Fully]

Hey Darkstarflashes! I wondered what happened to you. Don't let two comments on this board run you off. We all have different tastes and we all have bad days. I can say for sure that I've said things I wish I hadn't in the past and been crankier with people than I would wish to be.

[exist10z]

Yeah, now we're kinda getting off-topic, but I am with Fully on the 'rap' (I actually call it hip-hop, and find people who don't like it often identify it as rap, but why quibble).  Anyway, I wouldn't argue that anyone hasn't listened enough or isn't qualified to discuss music, just because they don't like, it's just a matter of taste.  Not bad taste, or good taste, but general taste.  Life is too short to listen to bad music (even in a genre you enjoy), and it's much too short to listen to an entire genre of music you don't like.  I find that it, hip-hop, speaks to me.  It tells me stories about worlds I am not familiar with, often in amazingly creative and beat/hook laden ways.  I don't like it all, but then again I don't like all so-called rock (Knickelback anyone?), I tend to like what I think is the best of most genres, I'm pretty open to different types of music in general.

Oh, and Tracy, I think that analysis of Nirvana was pretty spot on.  And I also feel similarly about Pearl Jam.  I thought for quite a while they were kinda lame, EV was a self important doofus, and I basically just stopped paying attention to them.  And I still frankly don't pay any attention to them, but my view has softened.  I respect what they have done as far as building a following, and I no longer think EV is a jackass, but more a pretty down to earth guy just trying to live his life productively.