Idolator

Sonic Youth, "Teen Age Riot."

I would love to hear everyone's R&B choice, too; there's no need to make this discussion an alt-rock ghetto.

@slowburn: In fairness to the SoulBounce post that inspired this one I wanted to limit this to alt-rock--R&B choices should really go to that comments box, though obviously I won't yell at anyone who posts it here too. (Also, the SY song is from '88. Any '90s choices?)

Sublime, "Date Rape"

Look, I'm glad that the shithead rapist gets it in the end (no pun intended), but I don't really need to hear a song so explicitly about rape every f'ing day of my life. I also know a girl who was date raped, and who told me that everytime she hears the song, it reminds her of that day and puts her in a bad mood for a while. And now of course I think of that every time I hear the song. Please, for the love of god radio-progammers, stop playing that song.

Mysterious Ways. While I totally understand why the U2 songs I actually like (Numb and Discotheque, to name about half of them) weren't the popular ones, how anybody could get excited about Mysterious Ways totally baffles me, especially when most of that album is actually pretty tolerable.

I'd also nominate any and every song by the Police, but I guess they fall outside of the confines of this thread. (Although alt-rock radio still played them all the damn time in the nineties.) But boy do they suck ass.

I feel like we're stumbling over the definition of "universally adored."

@slowburn: I just realized--duh--that I said "alt-rock," not "'90s." Sorry--I was mixing up an IM conversation I was having about the decade with this particular question. Never mind the second half of my response, then.

"Give It Away" seems like the Red Hot Chili Peppers song it's "okay to like." i might be wrong about that, but what i'm not wrong about is how many better songs can be found on the same album. "Give It Away", from its embarrassing, "heroin, dude!" lyrics to its thin guitar wackity-wack, and last but not least Flea's *infuriating* bass zoops, sounds like the birth of a frathouse classic. which sounds kind of like the birth of Cerberus' screaming, shitting puppies to my ears.

and we are talking about the effing red hot chili peppers here. it's not exactly a fine wine no matter what vintage.

I find the whole institution of Radiohead exhausting. It isn't even that they've become a hopelessly trite badge of having "taste." "Kid A" still holds up as a good record, but I feel like if it was THAT great, I'd actually crave it occaissionally. As it is, I feel like a lot of the goodwill I have for it is inextricable from how revelatory the whole thing felt when I first heard it at 17. I know something is a slept on classic if I regret not having it on my ipod, something that hasn't happened with that band. I feel like, were half of the oxygen sucked up by and the ink spilled over Radiohead during the past 10+ years doled out to 20 other bands at random, the result would almost certainly be a more interesting indieverse than the one we have now.

Does Jane's Addiction count? Otherwise, Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder, from everything I've heard, is a wonderful, sincere guy, but anyone with a shred of sense would have been embarrassed by "Jeremy" within a year after recording it. Last I heard, they still play it.

I'll bite: Blur earns a thundering Meh from me.

Despite the accolades Park Life gets, Damon Albarn's output perpetually has been one of those musical things that have never fully clicked with me. It's not just Blur - neither Gorillaz nor The Good, The Bad & The Queen have really gotten to me, either.

Butthole Surfers "Pepper" just annoys me to no end. The spoken word/rap part, though I'm sure at the time was unique, just grates on me.

@RaptorAvatar: Word, word, word. The amount of times my intelligence has been called into question by Radiohead fans for voicing that opinion proves its validity to me.

My least favorite alt-rock gem is "There She Goes" by the Las. Like Fool's Gold, it's on every Britpop/rock compilation, and its whiny sing-songiness makes my teeth itch. It sounds like something that belongs in a feminine hygiene ad. I got a bonus dose of it when Sixpence None the Richer covered it a few years back, I was thrilled.

@The Illiterate:

As Ritual de lo Habitual came out in '90, I think Jane's counts. I'll give you half props - I think Side A of that tape + "Three Days" off Side B were amazing, but the remaining three awful songs really killed things for me.

So, ~2/3rds props, really.

@miryam:

I had forgotten "There She Goes" existed. Ugh. Now I need to go drink clorox until that part of my brain gets fuzzy again.

My biggest issue is the near universal praise of Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II. Not really "alt-rock" but within that whole milieu, methinks. It's just so boring and my tolerance for drone records is fairly high up there: Coil's Time Machines? Thumbs very up. Stars of the Lid? Thank you! Selected Ambient Works II? Passed out on the floor.

Also the Beatles.

311 - Down

Maybe I have selective memory, but was "Fool's Gold" really the Stone Roses' "most famous song?" I would have said that was "I Wanna Be Adored."

@Norman: Are you English, perchance?

I was a devout New Order fan for many years, but I've never understood the appeal of "Bizarre Love Triangle". It sounds an album-filler to me - the chord progression is boring, the arrangement is simplistic and the vocal melody is sing-song. Compared to NO classics like "Age of Consent" or "Everything's Gone Green", BLT is a real dud. And yet, half the time when I hear NO on the radio, they're playing BLT. (The other half of the time it's the completely unnecessary remix of "Blue Monday".)

"creep," radiohead. too many memories of flava of the moment jocktoids playing air guitar to it.

also, i don't mean to repeat but it can't be said enough: NIN's "Closer" never needs to be played again. that song was THE college party anthem for, like, 9 years. it probably still is. fuck. i'm getting old.

Closer by NIN is a great choice, and would probably be one of the first to pop into my head after giving it some thought.

A few others off the top of my head:

Pearl Jam-"Alive" or "Jeremy" I love Pearl Jam, but I'd be okay with never having to hear either of those again.

Soundgarden-"Black Hole Sun" Loved it in the 7th grade when it came out. I had some of the lyrics written on my backpack...I'd like to forget the backpack AND the song.

REM-"Losing My Religion" and "Everybody Hurts"....these songs suck. Even as a 11/12 year old, I knew these songs sucked.

If Metallica's "Enter Sandman" would count at all in the alt-rock genre, that'd be high on the list too.

@Michaelangelo Matos: I'm not, but I love Spicy Beanburgers, trainers, and the word "massive"!

@Lokimotive:

OOOOOH! The Beatles. Did you go there?

Yes, yes you did.

P.S. I get sick of hearing about that damn band too. People on here may get pissy about Radiohead, but before there was praise for all things Radiohead, there was praise all things Beatles. Yeah I like a few selected tracks here and there, but damn, "get off the nuts" people!

To me, Perry Farrell pretty much just sounds like what happens when you wring out a cat the way you would a wet towel. So I'm gonna have to put down for Jane's Addiction too. Which song? Everything except "Been Caught Stealing." Yes, I like their big obvious hit and hate everything else; I'm proud to be anti-cool that way.

Anything recorded by Sublime also definitely counts.

I have two candidates:

"Down By The Water" - PJ Harvey and "Love Song" by The Cure

The former is not a completely terrible song, but it is the one that track by Ms. Harvey that I wish could be erased from her discography. It doesn't have carry any of the weight of the stuff on her first two albums, or many of the albums she has done since, or even a good portion of To Bring You My Love.

The latter is just a bad song all the way around. Cloying lyrics and middling music to go along with it. That it has been covered incessantly since then by idiot groups like 311 only bolsters my nomination.

As a huge fan of British music, I have never understood the love for Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve. Is it the sample? Cause it's just ok. And the melody just does nothing for me.

Also: Spoonman is awful. Awful.

Yeah, I'm thinking Alt-rock that crossed over, but was really, really shitty.

I would nominate "Under the Bridge" and "Black Hole Sun" first. And anything by Cake. Sorry, I said it.

Portishead. I don't know if I've ever read a negative thing about them.

I felt really old at a No Age concert last week, trying so hard not to elbow any teens in the pit. It was awful feeling ancient like that - but then I can just go put on any Portishead song and feel superduper young and vital again, just knowing that I'm not that cool/tasteful old dude who is SO into the intricacies of the production. I mean praising Portishead, to me, sounds like you should start talking about how you're developing a palette for wine and complaining about all the youth sports equipment clogging the trunk of your Prius. People give Coldplay and popular beige bands so much shit for being boring and uninspired, which would be the first two words that jump to my mind with Portishead. Great, every little piece of the compositions fit together just so and it's a wonderfully textured tapestry of musical intellectualism and understated beauty. And it makes me want to die.

Give me the first two Tricky albums w/ Martina Topley-Bird any day of the week over this stuff.

@moomintroll:

No worries. If it makes you feel any better, I'm still a NIN fan at age 27, and I've never been accused of having good taste in music. If there's ever an opinion to discount it would be mine...

I also don't get the acclaim of the Pixies, for the record. There's nothing patently offensive about their music, I just don't think it's Promethean genius, either. They don't suck, though.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the Beastie Boys yet. I can't be the only one who thinks their post-Paul's Boutique material ("Sabotage" video excluded) is pretty meh. Not that I hate it, but someone out there must.

As I am sorely lacking in my music repertoire, I'm not sure if this song would be considered an alt-rock classic, but I absolutely abhor "Loser" by Beck. To me, it's equivalent with "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed. I apologize if I offend anyone's taste. :)

@DJorn: THANK YOU. One of the biggest farces thrust upon the American people ever.

@spankyjoe: I am unfortunately of the mindset that anyone who doesn't appreciate the Pixies should be condemned to listening to Top 40 for the rest of their lives. But that's probably extreme and I apologize. To each his own.

@galactus5000: Brave souls, really? Yes, it was truly courageous when all of you stood up on an internet comments section and declared the Beatles and Radiohead as overrated. Would that there was more bravery in the world like yours.

This post is quickly devolving into a "your favorite band sucks" thing.

I know we're supposed to genuflect before that Mother Love Bone album (dead guy = classic?), but it's just warmed-over, chops-free metal to my ears. And while I certainly don't spin the Pearl Jam black circles that often, I'll always reach for Ten before the MLB disc. Bleh.

virtually all of them. the whole rise of "alt-rock" on the radio in the 90's led me back to the joys of top 40 bubblegum pop after being focused on punk/post-punk/college radio throughout the eighties. i think pearl jam was what pushed me over the edge, so to pick a 'hit' to hate i'll go with Jeremy. god, that singing style was a plague on rock for the entire decade.

The only honest answer I can come up with to the question this post poses is "at least half of them."

R.E.M. - "Losing My Religion"

Anyone?

@dippinkind -- Have you listened to alt-rock radio lately? It's not gone.

It doesn't take bravery to call Radiohead and the Beatles overrated, since they're the two most popular targets for that kind of accusation on the whole damned internet. Saying the Smiths and Sleater-Kinney are overrated, though -- well, OK, that doesn't take bravery either, but I don't expect a huge groundswell of people to join in on that particular cause.

@Dick Laurent is dead.: definitely overplayed (to this day, even!), but naw man, i actually love that song.

Are you really comparing the mind of a 12 year old (or at least their
emotions) to a past and present Trent Reznor? A mountain of cash? If you
were truly a fan of Musicians and their art you would know that the
mountains of cash were generated from the greed of the record company and
quite possibly are a bi-product for Trent Reznor. Trent or Nine Inch Nails
(he is the only official member) have not stayed consistent, let me break it
down for you: Pretty hate Machine- I will give you this, it was an angry
emotional young adult getting his frustration's out from childhood, broken
hearts, etc and putting it on a record that may have just helped mold Alt
Rock (as you call it) to what it is today. Broken- Was a emotional "F" You
to the record company and one guy in particular. This is well above a 12
year olds emotional capacity and is quite frankly genius. Instead of putting
out a "Crap" record, he did just the opposite a pulled off perhaps one of
his finest records (see also hidden tracks 98 and 99). Fixed- remix.
Downward Spiral- Let's just say that Trent Reznor rose to the next level in
the hearts and minds of not only his closest fan's, but those close minded
minions who only listen to the radio to here that months Top 40 latest and
Greatest (no offense). I do want to mention all of the side projects that
NIN did during this time (Natural Born Killers, Lost Highway, Quake, etc
etc). The Fragile- A man's final descent into his own deepest darkest fears,
spirals and demons. This is not his most popular, but to experiment with
sounds and instruments the way NIN did and then to turn it into up till this
time, the best live show NIN has done, WOW.



With Teeth- NIN emerged from the muck, drug free, a freaking monster
physique and a song list stronger than any bullsh*t group like Panic at the
Disco or any other crap that is played on the so called Alt rock stations
today. Year Zero- Are you kidding me, this is going to revolutionize simple
"noise" and turning it into hard hitting tracks that will blow your mind.
And will most likely be turned into a 2 year long TV series. The Slip- Well,
record company free NIN released this album for free (and is still available
online-for less than a mountain of cash I might add) and has attracted fans
from hard core NIN fans in their 40's to teen's still in High School!



I guess my whole point is, broaden your horizons! I like Nirvana, Sublime,
Alice n Chains, Pink Floyd, STP so on and so on. BUT I will never bow to the
horrendous groups like Buckcherry, Papa Roach etc which are "cash cows" and
nothing more, they will never be remembered and will most likely fade away
faster that they can count their dollar bills. Listen to the music, let your
emotional guard down and let the music take you were it was intended. Go see
some live shows, enjoy the music and the art!



-Thanks

@RaptorAvatar: I'll go with Radiohead, sans 2 big exceptions: In Rainbows and OK Computer. I really don't care if In Rainbows was free or not, but I like songs on it, which is more than I can say for any other album they made that wasn't called OK Computer.. That album is one of my favorite albums, but anything before or after it until recently was just... torturous.

@Dick Laurent is dead.: I, too, have never liked that song, but I love that album.

Were I to add anything, it would be Portishead. In the world of repetitive, one-trick songs, only Depeche Mode can keep me interested.

Were I to go local and reflect upon my old college campus: what's so special about Headlights?

@spankyjoe: THANK you! I feel exactly the same way, barring "Here Comes Your Man," which always sounded like an indie "Shiny Happy People" to me. Brutal.

@goldsounds: that is a great shame. i do catch some on occasion when searching for a country, 'blazin hop-hop and r&b' or classic rock station, but my "alternative" listening i prefer to pick out on my own, the stuff that makes the radio playlists is almost exclusively godawful. i don't mean the rare stations like wmfu or kusf or such, of course, just your average local 'modern rock' affiliates.

Wow. NO ONE's said anything by Hole? The enduring appeal of the entire Live Throught This album continues to baffle me to this day. So my picks are like, "Doll Parts",... whatever else was on that shitty album.

NIRVANA NIRVANA NIRVANA

I do not care how many arguments I hear to the contrary- Nirvana is the most overrated band in the history of rock music, and nobody can convince me otherwise. Sure, Dave Grohl has some talent (I've never been a huge fan of Foo Fighters, but I can at least understand why others are), but Kurt Cobain was a godawful musician. He couldn't write songs, he couldn't sing, and he couldn't play guitar... so what, exactly, could he do, besides do drugs and marry a tramp? There are plenty of bands that I don't like yet greatly respect- Led Zeppelin, Pixies, and Pink Floyd chief among them- but I will never respect Nirvana as a band. I appreciate what the aforementioned groups did for music; opening up grunge to popularity is not something I can appreciate in Nirvana... nor can I appreciate their terrible, nigh-unbearable (and, frequently, simply unbearable) songs.

Let me see if I can rephrase this somehow: Fuck Nirvana. They sucked, and if they pull out a million more "You Know You're Right"s, they'll suck a million more times.

@BeGee:

I'd never genuflect before Mother Love Bone, but I'll note that they're actually a pretty good palate cleanser if you've been listening to dour stuff (like, say, Pearl Jam) but don't want to listen to straight-up pop/funk/hair metal from the same era.

@baconfat:

Yeah, I'd second that comment, but to be fair, I don't think there will ever be a chance of topping Paul's Boutique in today's world of sample clearances.

@whoneedslight:

Apology unnecessary, but appreciated nonetheless. I'm not saying I don't appreciate the Pixies. I own Surfer Rosa and Doolittle, and I'll give 'em a spin every few months. They just haven't made my personal Pantheon, as I live in the Heavy Metal Ghetto.

Anything by Hootie & The Blowfish can rot and die. Some might call their output "alt-rock classics" but I certainly do not. And I'd like to say that although there are definitely some good tunes by The Rolling Stones, radio's decision to play the same several selections over and over again kills my enjoyment. Stop playing "Start Me Up"!

As for the couple Beatles naysayers, what gives?! If you're tired of commercial radio flogging the same handful of songs like "Drive My Car" then so be it. But there's greatness to be found - just look beyond the familiar singles. And please remember that The Beatles will always be better than Radiohead (as lovely as those fellows are).

@VivaLaMainstream: As a massive Faith No More fan, I concur that Epic is their one song that I absolutely hate. Possibly due to the fact that it was on MTV/Radio about every 12 minutes for a year.

@moomintroll: About the Jesus and Mary Chain - there was a moment when it seemed like they were the Second Coming of the Sex Pistols: there were stories in NME about how riots were breaking out at JAMC shows; the band put out a string of brilliant, incendiary singles; and it sure seemed like this was a band that was going to re-energize rock music. But Psychocandy turned out to be a disappointment, at least in my book - once the trick of layering songs in feedback wore thin, there didn't seem to be anywhere else to go. It was fun while it lasted, though.

I'm going to have to go with The Smashing Pumpkins. Being an insufferable dick doesn't make you mysterious or cool, it just makes you an insufferable dick. I've always thought Billy Corgan's persona was just a way to coverup the bland music he was/is peddling.

@Big Gray.: Agreed. I'm way to uncool for all this "I never got this band" type of shit. Just people talking to hear themselves talk.

@NinoChimera: It's just SO obvious, right? Maybe people want to hear art school projects and bands stretching themselves or even farting on disc, however successful or unsuccessful they are, rather than bands in complacent holding patterns. Just sayin'.

There isn't a song by Smashing Pumpkins or Jane's Addiction that I don't actively hate, universally adored or not. Oh, & R.E.M. & the Breeders. & the Chili Peppers. Wait, do I even like alt rock?

@westartedthis: I don't mind the song in and of itself, but I'm tired of hearing it, as well as it being one of maybe three songs name-checked in reference to that band.

@rogerworkman: Bite your tongue; Billy may be a cunt, but the man has written some brilliant tunes in his time.

Snarky wow these comments have gotten out of control answer: I like all classic alt-rock songs ever, including the ones that were IDM, trip-hop, recorded before the term alt rock existed. Even the ones I've never heard of.

Actual answer: "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots.

I spent my entire high school career hating the pillars of grunge -- Nirvana, Pearl Jam, et. al. And, to a certain extent, I still do. I actively loath pretty much everything Radiohead's ever produced, save OK Computer. And don't get me started on my universal hatred of the entire Pavement catalog.

But I think the winner (loser?) of this fight HAS to be Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You." Utter, absolute trash. I hate that song more than words can accurately portray.

Loathe! Loathe! Not loath. Ugh.

@Christopher R. Weingarten: I second that. I'll also nominate "Evenflow." It's a stupid, bouncy pop track by a band claiming to be egalitarian and working class. Puh-leeze.

A quick look at Mediabase's Alternative Gold chart Top 10 reveals that radio programmers across this great land disagree with all that's been said on this thread:

1. Sublime - "What I Got"

2. Sublime - "Santeria"


3. Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"


4. Blur - "Song 2"


5. Green Day - "Brain Stew" (HORRID)


6. Stone Temple Pilots - "Interstate Love Song"


7. Nirvana - "Come As You Are"


8. Radiohead - "Creep"


9. Incubus - "Pardon Me" (Never heard this one -- came out in '99)


10. Green Day - "When I Come Around"

Songs we all know and hate (that I didn't see already mentioned) from the Offspring, Bush, Lit, Marcy Playground, Everlast, Live, Local H and Blink-182 are also within the top 100 and still getting hundreds of plays per week according to this chart.

I guess the Presidents of the United States of America split the vote with "Lump" and "Peaches."

I don't think "Under the Bridge" qualifies as "classic," but I do think it qualifies as "suck."

As for a somewhat more critically-appreciated song, I've never understood the plaudits for the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" So many other, better songs in their career, why does that plodding track get all the kudos?

@SAShepherd: As for a somewhat more critically-appreciated song, I've never understood the plaudits for the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" So many other, better songs in their career, why does that plodding track get all the kudos?

Because its at the end of the movie Fight Club, and that's when a lot of people (all my friends under 25) heard the Pixies for the first time.

I have never understood the appeal of:

Pavement


Sonic Youth


Radiohead (post OK Computer)


New York Dolls (OK, I know not alt-rock but def an influence)


Sleater-Kinney


Oasis (post Definitely Maybe)

Songs I hate by bands I love:

Nightswimming - R.E.M. (sounds like a pain reliever commercial to me)


Friday I'm in Love - The Cure


Girlfriend in a Coma - The Smiths

It is Weezer's "Undone". At best a Pavement knock off. At worst my little brother's argument that Pavement sucked.

@How do I say this ... THROWDINI!: Well, yeah, I know that. I just don't understand why... Oh, and get off my lawn, you damn kid!

@HarveyWallbanger:

It's pretty awesome seeing my adolescence represented by that horrific grouping of songs. By "awesome," of course, I mean "abysmal."

On the other hand, in those largely pre-internet days, without the massive overexposure of those singles and others, I wouldn't have been introduced to those bands' more obscure but more worthy contemporaries and influences. I wouldn't have learned about King Tubby, the Specials, or anything in the dub/reggae/ska/etc. universe without having the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Sublime drilled into my head by MTV.

Related - why has nobody mentioned the Cherry Poppin' Daddies / Big Bad Voodoo Daddy / Royal Crown Revue swing revival scene - those bands were momentarily ubiquitous in the wake of Swingers. Have we all agreed never to speak of that time again and I missed the memo?

Everclear - Everything to Everyone
And every other song they ever recorded, because they all had the same three chords. Many Everclear fans have actually responded to this with "but they're good chords"... for real? The fact that people bought one Everclear album, listened to it, and then actually bought another one... this baffles me.

Actually that song on the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack, Local God, was good. That was the best use of their three chords, they should've left it at that.

Also, I love Radiohead. And the Beatles. I LOVE THEM CAUSE THEY'RE AWESOME.

Anything by 10,000 Maniacs.

@garbageday: Hear hear. I'd be content if my local rock station would spin "Rocket" even half as often as they still play "Disarm," "Today," and "1979."

Primal Scream - "Movin' On Up"

I preferred Gillespie et al when they were ripping from the Byrds instead of trying to be the Stones.

@Eugene Langley: I'm actually curious, for what reason? It's got a catchy guitar line and is WAY less irritating than the sub-Pearl Jam growling on "Core".

um. maybe there's something wrong with me, but like pavement, the unicorns, and the moldy peaches always bored the fuck out of me. actually, there are a few pavemnt songs i like, but for the most part i feel ridiculously confused as to why people love that kinda shit so much, whazzat old tag, anti-folk or what have you. at first i thought it was because it was too precious or ramshackle, but i just went through a whole twee phase and i still hate that shit.

maybe because because it's the music responsible for making sure the indiekids don't dance. or because it seems to have no art to it. or maybe its just i'd rather listen to beat happenening.

Everything by the goddamn Smashing Pumpkins. I hate them like cancer.

@TrevorWinecor: And yet NIN still sucks balls. Always have and always will. Go figure.

I agree with all the Masters of Yarg/Yarl: STP, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, but also:
Live

Better Than Ezra

@MTS: Color me stunned!

Almost anything by the Smiths that's not on Louder Than Bombs.

@the rich girls are weeping: Why? I hate chick rock.

Matos, I'm having a vision of you sitting on the other side of a confessional booth. Awesome. Let it all hang out, people.

@spankyjoe: Related - why has nobody mentioned the Cherry Poppin' Daddies / Big Bad Voodoo Daddy / Royal Crown Revue swing revival scene - those bands were momentarily ubiquitous in the wake of Swingers. Have we all agreed never to speak of that time again and I missed the memo?

I think because while those bands/that genre had a brief moment in the sun, the songs never made it to Alt-Rock Classic status. Everyday that I turn on the radio, I hear a song from Sublime/Alice in Chains/Stone Temple Pilots/early-Pearl Jam/early-Smashing Pumpkins. However, I can't remembet the last time I heard Zoot Suit Riot on the radio. Not that I would mind, I enjoyed the little ska/swing revival.

I actually have a very violent physical response to Soundgarden, and their song "Black Hole Sun" specifically. Something about the endless wail of Chris Cornell makes me genuinely long for hard drugs.

Brave souls, indeed. Because, as someone else stated - you dare say you think that either band is less than 100% THE MOST BRILLIANT THING EVER! then you have your very being called into question.

I never said that either band sucked. However, they are not the be all and end all of their respective genres.

A million calls of "WORD" to those brave souls who are taking a stand in that Radiohead and The Beatles are mega overrated. Sure, both bands have a few good tracks - but seriously, especially for The Beatles, if it wasn't them, it would have been someone else.

Accept it.

I could never wrap my head around "Loser" by Beck (or anything by Beck for that matter).

Honorable mentions go to "Epic" by Faith No More and "Higher" by Creed...both fall short due to the 'universally loved' qualifier.

But let's all just admit it and move on...everyone listened to Creed for a little while back in the day.

@VivaLaMainstream: No. God no. Not everyone listened to Creed. Duuuuuuuuuuuuude. No.

@whoever said "Disarm"- right on. "Today" should be the one to remember, and luckily I think it's split 50/50.

@whoever said Sublime- thanks, if I never hear anything by Sublime or Dave Matthews Band again (the two artists who ruled my Florida-based college experience), it'll be too soon. And I'm surprised nobody has mentioned DMB because I think that his legion of fans certainly believe they are listening to 'alt-rock' that is 'universally adored'.

My contribution- The Smiths' "How Soon is Now?" That shit was covered by t.a.t.u. AND Everclear AND it was on the soundtrack to that movie about the teen witches. Not their best or wittiest song by a mile.

Thanks for a fun thread-

-Rachel

Did that go through?

Alice in Chains has not aged well at all. I think Man in the Box needs to be retired from rock radio, as it still gets played every two hours, and Layne Staley's vocals annoy me more each time I hear them. Awesome when I was 13 though.

I don't get the popularity and sort of "cult" following that The Jesus and Mary Chain seem to inspire? I mean they were (are) alright but I don't understand the hype, they seem a bit too pedestrian for all the talk of sonic innovation, and noise pop. Their music seems to lack a timeless quality that bands like the Pixies have. You can't really pinpoint an era when you listen to the Pixies, but for some reason I can't help but picture Sixteen Candles-style movie montages when I hear The Jesus And Mary Chain.

I mean I got all swept up in the reunion @ Coachella fervor as much as the next person, but then they played and I was like oh yeah this is what they sound like...meh. I also think Scarlett Johannsen is overrated too so it was a perfect storm of mediocrity.

I also agree with the NIN assessment, maybe it was cool in high school circa 1995, but I don't get the status that Trent Reznor has achieved.

As for spankyjoe's Blur comment...it hurts, real deep inside... I'm a pretty biased huge Damon Albarn fan, but still...

The Candlebox hit. The bass and vocals are out of tune.

@Lokimotive: It took SAW II awhile to grow on me. It's best heard right before you go to sleep which is a time when some of the tracks can toy with your mind.

@PeterBjorn&Yawn: I believe that The Wire trashed their new record.

For all of those you said Radiohead---THANK YOU!! Talk about overrated.
After OK Computer, pretty much everything they have put out sounds like
an art-school project gone awry. I mean that they could put out a whole
album of Thom Yorke burping over random bleeps and you know what will
happen--everybody will eat it up and act like its the most amazing thing
they've ever heard when it obvious it total crap.

nycgirllms

@PeterBjorn&Yawn: Hahahaha. That was hilarious, and I can totally relate to those feelings(on Portishead/old dudes AND feeling old at a show for a band similar to No Age). Too hilarious.

@VivaLaMainstream: Ummmm, no. Sorry, I can't admit that because I never listened to Creed. If everyone liked Creed at one point or another, I wouldn't have anybody to ever be friends with.

@MTS: Ha! Well, so do I, really -- but I make an exception for them. Well, the first 3-ish records, anyway. I was surprised to find recently that The Wishing Chair is still a hell of an album.

I'm not stunned by MTS' hatred of 10,000 Maniacs. Loved 'em as a
teenager (due to the Michael Stipe connection), but I could see how
they would be annoying to others.

@MTS: Ok. The Wishing Chair is still a hell of a record, though.

Everybody Hurts - REM

When I come around - Green Day


Round here - Counting Crows