Back in December, Zack did a post about the Who being his favorite band, and I replied with the following:
Well, I have put WAY too much thought into this, so sorry if it is too involved. The problem is that I am not as passionate for one band as Zack is for The Who or another friend of mine is for Rush. Oh, and Zack will be happy that Texas did not quite make my list.
10. Guns N' Roses - I had to put them on the list purely because they are the number one band with all key members still alive that I would want to see in concert. (If we are counting dead bands, it would be tough to choose between The Who and Queen.) Obviously, this is one case of Right now, I would say that my favorite songs are (in order): Civil War, Don't Cry, Estranged, and Since I Don't Have You.
9. Pearl Jam - Loved their first four albums, loved them from pretty much the moment they hit the radio, but I felt very alienated by their later work. I don't find them as listenable anymore, a bit dated, but I still enjoy them when in the mood. Favorite songs: Better Man, Black, Nothingman, Present Tense.
8. Beach Boys - I don't know how to explain my feelings for this band. When I was coming to America, Beach Boys and GNR were both very prominent for me. Maybe I love the romanticism of the California lifestyle, as if written by someone who is imagining what it is like to surf, to live young and free. I don't consider them to be my band, though, because I find it hard to fully relate to the music, even though I really love it. Favorite songs: God Only Knows, Good Vibrations, Do You Wanna Dance?, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Don't Worry Baby, Surfin' USA.
7. Metallica - I have enjoyed Metallica ever since a few months after the black album came out, which is when my tastes turned mostly to alternative bands. Over the years, I have grown to like them more and more. I can say that I am not nearly as obsessed as the typical Metallica fan, nor do I necessarily believe that their earliest work is their best. In fact, my favorite albums of theirs are (in order): S&M, the black album, and Load. S&M is the album that was done with the San Francisco Symphony. I agree with most fans that their last album was fairly crappy, but that doesn't ruin a very solid career's worth of music. I identify with the songs, the anger, the overlooked song writing, but not necessarily with everything that being labeled a Metallica fan entails. That said, I rarely tune out a Metallica song, unless it is Enter Sandman for the billionth time. (And I didn't mention Jeremy during my section about Pearl Jam, but I really hope it is never played again.) Favorite songs: Sad But True, No Leaf Clover, The Call of Ktulu, Master of Puppets, One, Hero of the Day, Nothing Else Matters, Bleeding Me.
6. The Who - I am almost scared to write anything good or bad about The Who on this topic. The Who, to me, has all of the anger and frustration in the world. They can have some of the most brilliant stripped down rock and some of the most wonderfully bloated (in a good way) pieces. Pete Townshend is amazing and transcendent, and really all four members are extraordinary. (As an aside, I absolutely love Let My Love Open the Door.) To me, it is not a contest between Zep and The Who because Zep never makes it to the field. Aside from a few great songs, most Zep is pretty mediocre. Anyway, I do not really know the entire catalog of The Who as much as some people I know, but I am glad that the same person encouraged me in college to give The Who more of a look. Favorite songs: Won't Get Fooled Again, You Better You Bet (too bad, Zack, this is a good song), The Seeker, I Can't Explain, Baba O'Riley, Substitute. (Side note: Baba O'Riley and Fortunate Son by CCR are, to me, the two best songs about war ever made.)
5. David Bowie - Loved his early stuff, loved his middle stuff, love his new stuff. I still buy new David Bowie music, even if it can be more hit and miss nowadays. For our first dance at our wedding, we selected As the World Falls Down. Favorite songs: As the World Falls Down, Loving the Alien, Space Oddity, Life on Mars, Buddha of Suburbia, Everyone Says Hi.
4. Garbage - I would say that the major weakness for this group is that they need more material. They have had ten years as a band, but very little music to show for it. What they have is excellent. I am pretty positive that I care about this band more than anyone else I know. Excellent lyrics, excellent vocals, excellent production. Favorite songs: Medication, Stupid Girl, The World is Not Enough, Drive You Home, I Think I'm Paranoid, So Like a Rose, Push It, Fix Me Now, Special.
3. Bjork - It feels wrong to leave out the umlaut, but you know who I am referring to. The most powerful vocalist on my list, she has a unique style that takes getting used to. I wasn't blown away when I first heard Human Behaviour in high school, but shortly after graduation I did get into her second album because of It's Oh So Quiet. I have bought a few imports of hers, not all, and I have, from what I know, just about everything she has ever released in the US. Actually, I have two of everything, because my wife also liked her before we got married. If a favorite band was about consistency, Bjork would be my number one, because I feel that she has been consistently excellent. Her haunting vocals and incredible productions can make you forget the truly remarkable lyrics. To tell the truth, based upon my mood, she is often my favorite. But I have been loyal to my two favorites for a bit longer. Favorite songs: Bachelorette, Hyperballed, Hunter, Big Time Sensuality, Possibly Maybe, Joga, Isobel, The Modern Things, Human Behaviour, Army of Me.
2. U2 - I first have to say that Sean pretty much speaks for a lot of U2 fans. I think we all love different eras of U2. I have all of their US albums, but I like only a select few songs out of the range from Unforgettable Fire to Zooropa. Within that range, I like almost everything they did, but outside of it, I am fairly ambivalent. U2 now is basically like Coldplay, a good band, but sort of a cold impersonation of earlier U2. Some would criticize me for leaving War out of my range, but outside of New Years Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday, I don't really have much to do with that album. At their best, U2 can still make me feel the way that I did when I used to listen to The Joshua Tree over and over, but I don't feel like a loyal fan given that I really don't care about anything they have done recently. Favorit songs: One, Bad, One Tree Hill, Running To Stand Still, Stay, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, All I Want Is You, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride, The Unforgettable Fire.
1. The Smashing Pumpkins - This is hard to explain, because it breaks almost every rule I have already talked about. First, I only love a certain range of their catalog, outside of that, I am fairly ambivalent. Second, unlike many of the other lead singers, Billy Corgan does not have a very pretty voice, it is appropriate, but to many people it is grating. Third, I don't listen as much as I used to, or even as much as I listen to several other groups on this list. But there is something about the Pumpkins. Zack knows that in my CD collection, at this point it hovers around 800, the Pumpkins are king, with well over thirty CDs. I have tried to get as many rarities and imports as I could. I love the lyrics, the production, the emotions that you can feel from Billy. And I feel ownership, I feel like no one I know is as into them as I am. (Although the same could be said for Texas.) I defend the Pumpkins when people try to devalue their influence on the music of the nineties, and when people overinflate the value of Nirvana. I am proud to be a Pumpkinhead. Favorite songs: Galapagos, Disarm, Frail and Bedazzled, Today, Zero, 33, Starla, Rocket, XYU, Landslide, Said Sadly, The Bells, Cherub Rock, Dreaming, The Aeroplane Flies High.
Honorable Mentions:
Texas - I don't listen to them much anymore, but still really enjoy.
AC/DC - Too much mediocrity. So much material for basically the same songs over and over.
Nirvana - I truly love Nirvana, but I don't feel like they are my band. I have always thought that the death of Kurt overshadowed the fact that Nirvana had been passed in prominence by Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins. That said, I love all three bands. (You Know You're Right is a great song to cap the Nirvana legacy.)
Britney Spears - I shouldn't be so ashamed for liking someone. Not entirely consistent, but overall, very listenable, just not "my band" material.
Madonna - See Britney Spears.
Beck - I am not the biggest Beck fan, although I loved Odelay in college and Sea Change is one of the best CDs of the past 5 years. An amazing album if you can relate.
Scissor Sisters - I am a huge fan, but they only have one album, so I really can only put them on the waiting list.
Sneaker Pimps - Only when they had Kelly Ali. There should be a law that if they hire a new lead singer of a different gender that the band name needs to change. Kelly Ali also had a solid solo album. Too bad they couldn't stay together.
REM - I have several of their albums, I enjoy them, but they are not "my band". My wife loves them, though, so they would definitely make her top 5.
Tenacious D - I love the D, obviously a bit of a gag band, but also legitimate. Need more material.
No Doubt/Gwen Stefani - I had an early bias against No Doubt because they were heavily Ska influenced, and I always absolutely hated ska (even when the rest of you were skankin' all the time). I have really come around on them. I particularly like anything that I feel is about Gwen's relationship with Tony Kanal. I am obsessed with their breakup story, and the resulting songs. It is unreal how many songs can come out of one event for one group.
The Neptunes - I have both NERD albums, but I still think their best stuff is reinventing the pop song.
This is relevant because I have been borrowing a CD from a coworker, Wayne, and he wanted to borrow some music from me. He is older, but he has fairly wide ranging tastes, given that many people over fifty don't really give any newer music a chance. I don't think he would be that into NIN or Rob Zombie, he does not like rap or hip hop, doesn't care for country, and he already has a ton of Eagles, etc. He also likely has Bowie, Who and Beach Boys, and he hates GNR. I am letting him borrow the albums because we are friends, but also because he is compiling a list of his albums, and I would like to borrow a bunch of those. So I figured I would take a decent snapshot of my collection, with these considerations in mind, so here is what I chose:
Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - In the late 90's, I think that I would have chosen Siamese Dream to share, as it came out earlier, but if you are not as familiar with the genre, Siamese Dream is a bit harder with the guitars. Mellon Collie has a much wider range, so if you are put off by one song, you can always find another very different song.
Killers: Hot Fuss Limited Edition - This was one of my favorite albums of last year. Overall, I may have preferred Late Registration, but Wayne does not like hip hop or rap. (And I would have said Gwen Stefani, but that was 2004.)
Texas: White on Blonde - I will force this album on as many people as I possibly can. (In my defense, Zack is the only person I have ever shared this album with that did not love it.)
Evanescence: Fallen - A more emotional and subtle album than the initial single leads you to believe. Listening to this album after listening to Bring Me to Life reminds me of when I bought the Jewel album "Pieces of You" and the songs were all different versions than the radio, but more emotional and raw.
Scissor Sisters: Scissor Sisters - This goes without saying... This is my favorite album of the decade so far. I am surprised that I don't have the European version by now. If you don't have this, get it. Their next album comes out this summer, and it has a collaboration with Elton John.
Pearl Jam: Vitalogy - I considered three albums to represent PJ. No Code might be the most accessible, as it is quite folksy. Ten is a bit too confrontational and of its time to serve as an intro. The obvious problem with Vitalogy is that it is also their most experimental album, but it has such a varied voice that it is hard not to choose.
Bjork: Post - This is probably her best collection of songs, and again it has a good variety, but for my tastes I now prefer the more unified voices of Homogenic and Debut. That said, if after hearing Army of Me and Hyper-Ballad, you aren't blown away, then Bjork just isn't for you.
U2: Zooropa - This is more of a personal pick. I don't know if he has any U2, and if not, the Joshua Tree would be the most representational, but Zooropa was that happy moment where they infused electronica without becoming an electronica band. As I have said before, this was their last great album. Their recent effort is painful because it pales next to the stretch from War through Zooropa that includes five outstanding studio albums.
Madonna: Greatest Hits Volume 2 - I enjoy this album much more than the Immaculate Collection, and as much as it shocks me, she was actually a much better musician during this phase of her career.
Metallica: S&M - This is the double album they recorded in the Berkeley Community Theatre while we were going to Berkeley. I have regretted not buying the ticket to go see this for so long. (The tickets were uber-expensive for a student on fin aid, but I remember that I could have afforded one for myself.) Many purists don't care for Symphonica, but it is truly the best live album I have ever owned. In most cases, the S&M version is better than the original. That is the mark of a GREAT live album.
Sneaker Pimps: Becoming X - The album with Kelli Ali, truly one of the most beautiful albums of the decade.
Garbage: Version 2.0 - This was an easy choice. Their most accessible album, the most varied, and their best. Six songs on the album have been my favorite song at one point or another.
Beck: Sea Change - I thing that by the end of the decade, this and Scissor Sisters will still be in my top 5 albums of the decade. The section of "Guess I'm Doing Fine," "Lonesome Tears," and "Lost Cause" is the best three song album segment that I can think of right now for on any album.
And right now, I am listening to Keane: Hopes and Fears, but I am not going to have him borrow this right now. (But it is a great album as well.)
Let me know what you thought of my choices...
