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What is the best band from the past 30 years?

A few that come to mind:
Nirvana
Collective Soul
Soundgarden
The Wallflowers

I would include Pearl Jam because I know they're worthy, but I just never much liked them. Same with Foo Fighters: great band but boring songs.

I can't believe no one mentioned Phish. I like making fun of their lyrics, but the guys can play and are talented. The lyrics though.. I generally don't care that much about lyrics, rarely can they ruin a song but Phish manages it.
Phish are jam band for nerds. There are numerous jam bands I like far better (Widespread Panic anyone?). I've actually seen Phish and had a good time (there was a lot of weed involved), and, right, they can play. But it's just nerdy, and they even look like a bunch of nerds on stage, jumping up and down on trampolines and all that crap. The only real tune I liked at that show was Trey's cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" which was fantastic.
 
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nor has English/American literature then.

same words, same punctuation, same chapters, paragraph and sentence structure, same verbs repeated over and over, same 26 letters in the alphabet, never coming up with any new ones..

you'd think at least someone with daring and creativity could come along and at least challenge capitalizing letters in the same places over and over and over again, just copying how everyone before them did it..

tumblr_npivmiPxri1rfd7lko1_500.gif
 
Joe Bonamassa

Oasis

Pearl Jam

Green Day

Killers, (little bit of a one trick pony though).

Adele

and no, U2 doesn't count imo.

Bonamassa and Adele are the two super talents of the last 15 yrs imo that come to mind..

that said, i could list literally 100 plus great bands from the 60s thus 80s 30 yr span.
 
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I have a love hate relationship with Radiohead and Wilco. I like them for about 10 to 15 minutes, tops, then I hate them if they continue playing any longer. I have the same relationship with some jazz and most bluegrass but for different reasons. Small doses only.

I do though like to make fun of Radiohead fans. vbg.. ya know about lack of beat and rhythm.

I can't believe no one mentioned Phish. I like making fun of their lyrics, but the guys can play and are talented. The lyrics though.. I generally don't care that much about lyrics, rarely can they ruin a song but Phish manages it.

If you want to say best in a creative manner, yea Radiohead is worthy. I don't think Wilco really is. Close .. meh ..

Uncle Tupelo was better. Farrar dampened some of Tweedy's weirdness.

Oddly I only truly hate one band listed in this thread and maybe five I dislike. Well I don't hate the band, it's great, I absolutely hate the singer because his (off key mono) tone makes me feel like my ears are clogged. I cannot stand listening to Andy Kiedis and his lyrics are almost Phish dumb. I have a CD of RCHP that has had the vocals removed. It's so much better.


I hear you. Wilco, for me, is hit and miss, with mostly miss.....but when they hit, its awesome. They’re all superb players, and jeff tweedy is a compelling singer. Thats my one problem with Phish, whom i think are all tremendous players that also have learned to improvise together in a special way. It’s like they are one. But the singing, and the songs, dont raise them to the top of my list of what I like. Still, theyre undeniable.
Also, with RHCP, again, I totally agree. Great musicians. But Anthony K is pretty hard to take with his off key stuff. Still, I get why so many people froth over them. They were super interesting early on, up through BSSM.....and then they lost me. Ironically they lost me when they started auto tuning AKs voice. That was a deal breaker, because it indicated to me they were trying to sell records to mainstream *****, and thats what their music became.
Radiohead’s fans are totally annoying.....just like any band that has a well defined fans base. So I hear you. But **** they are good. Creatively they’ve really created a lot of different musical styles, and abandoned their early safe (and successful) style in favor of pivoting towards artier stuff. OK Computer was a HUGE risk for them. Looking back now, thats hard to believe, but they were messing with a successful formula already. I still like their early stuff, but the later stuff is tremendous. And Thom Yorke is super weird and compelling as a singer. All the members of the band are top notch, except for maybe the drummer, and even there i say hes really good.
I was listening to Adele, and I do agree she’s tremendous as well. She’s not Ella Fitzgerald good, but damn.....not too many can touch her right now. Not that we’d want to either.
 
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Loved the Vogue back in the day. Saw some great shows there. Still kicking? Best music venue here in Charlotte is a smaller outdoor venue... probably the nicest I've been to. I'd guess it seats around 6-7k. Several restaurants and bars nearby, easy parking and in/out, easy to tailgate... always a good experience. I've seen Greta Van Fleet, Dwight Yoakam (with Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams... LSD tour!), Straight No Chaser and Chris Stapleton there. All fun shows.

6-7k would be twice the seating of IU auditorium, so that's a pretty big venue.

besides local acts, some acts i've seen at The Vogue over the yrs.

Starcastle

Dixie Dregs

Concrete Blonde

The Call

Brian Setzer, (not his rockabilly or big band things, but he and another guitar gunslinger with a band doing more a Texas rock thing..

Social Distortion with DaDa as the warm up.

no doubt some i've left out.

that was all long ago though.

always liked The Vogue because it had primo places to stand, and still have something to lean against.

same with The Bluebird, though i think both have been ruined since by removing seating.
 
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I hear you. Wilco, for me, is hit and miss, with mostly miss.....but when they hit, its awesome. They’re all superb players, and jeff tweedy is a compelling singer. Thats my one problem with Phish, whom i think are all tremendous players that also have learned to improvise together in a special way. It’s like they are one. But the singing, and the songs, dont raise them to the top of my list of what I like. Still, theyre undeniable.
Also, with RHCP, again, I totally agree. Great musicians. But Anthony K is pretty hard to take with his off key stuff. Still, I get why so many people froth over them. They were super interesting early on, up through BSSM.....and then they lost me. Ironically they lost me when they started auto tuning AKs voice. That was a deal breaker, because it indicated to me they were trying to sell records to mainstream *****, and thats what their music became.
Radiohead’s fans are totally annoying.....just like any band that has a well defined fans base. So I hear you. But **** they are good. Creatively they’ve really created a lot of different musical styles, and abandoned their early safe (and successful) style in favor of pivoting towards artier stuff. OK Computer was a HUGE risk for them. Looking back now, thats hard to believe, but they were messing with a successful formula already. I still like their early stuff, but the later stuff is tremendous. And Thom Yorke is super weird and compelling as a singer. All the members of the band are top notch, except for maybe the drummer, and even there i say hes really good.
I was listening to Adele, and I do agree she’s tremendous as well. She’s not Ella Fitzgerald good, but damn.....not too many can touch her right now. Not that we’d want to either.


maybe not last 30 yrs, but surprised you didn't mention Lynn Halsey Taylor.

part of Adele's greatness, is she is an elite level songwriter.

she wrote all those great songs.
 
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Joe Bonamassa

Oasis

Pearl Jam

Green Day

Killers, (little bit of a one trick pony though).

Adele

and no, U2 doesn't count imo.

Bonamassa and Adele are the two super talents of the last 15 yrs imo that come to mind..

that said, i could list literally 100 plus great bands from the 60s thus 80s 30 yr span.
Why would U2 not qualify? They’ve recorded a lot of music in the last 30 years.
 
I agree, favorite band is the better word to use. As for bands somewhat under the radar that I think are absolutely worthy of votes I’ll suggest the following:

Sonic Youth
Guided By Voices
Pixies
My Morning Jacket
Tedeschi/Trucks Band
Govt. Mule
Built to Spill

Also bands that belong on the short list but not yet mentioned would include:

Smashing Pumpkins
Soundgarden

Tedeschi Trucks is absolutely legit ...
 
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Alison Krauss and Union Station.

Which one?

Krauss and Union Station has changed a lot.
Early Rounders stuff was hard core bluegrass.
Steffey was a great mandolin player.
Block and Tyminski and Douglass made a whole new sound.

Before "Constant Sorrow" was a lot different.

(I liked 'em all. But ...)

Heard this one in a book store, and bought everything I could find:



 
Which one?

Krauss and Union Station has changed a lot.
Early Rounders stuff was hard core bluegrass.
Steffey was a great mandolin player.
Block and Tyminski and Douglass made a whole new sound.

Before "Constant Sorrow" was a lot different.

(I liked 'em all. But ...)

Heard this one in a book store, and bought everything I could find:



All of them.
 
Why would U2 not qualify? They’ve recorded a lot of music in the last 30 years.

yes, and some good stuff too.

that said, they were formed in the 70s.

other 60s-70s-80s bands recorded into the 90s and beyond as well, and Leonard Cohen had a solid album, "The Future", in the 90s, Neil Young has been active as well.

Springsteen has put out strong stuff the last 30, and some great stuff.

Mark Knopfler's put out some decent stuff the last 30 yrs as well, but nothing truly great imo like some of his 70s-80s stuff

that said, certainly as strong or stronger a case could be made for U2 as not.

i guess i thought it just wasn't in the spirit of the thread, but that would be presumptuous of me to interpret what that "spirit" is.




from the 90s, performed here in 2009, as strong as Bruce's 70s stuff, the equal of anything DMB or PJ or GD or Oasis, have done, (and PJ and GD and Oasis have some great stuff), and old guys still performing the equal, arguably greater, as the top younger artists of the era.

on a side note, the 90s were stronger than the 2000s, and the last 10 yrs have been the weakest of the last 60 imo.
 
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If we want to include country, I’d submit the Turnpike Troubadours. They’ve ripped off several killers albums.
A lot of smoke,but nothing official, that Turnpike is getting back together. Updating their website, scrubbed their social media, and posted a new photo of the entire band together, all within the last few days.

All I can say is PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!

I’ve never wanted to see a band more than I want to see a Turnpike show.
 

And it’s official. Turnpike is back together and the world is a little better place today.
Yep. I’ve already contacted friends from around the country. We are going to a show somewhere. Ain’t chancing this again.
 
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Yep. I’ve already contacted friends from around the country. We are going to a show somewhere. Ain’t chancing this again.
That’s a good way to put it. Lol.

I’ve already half jokingly brought up to the wife going to the Colorado show. I’m guessing those tickets will be hard to come by.

I just hope they eventually play a show somewhere this side of the Rockies. When they do, I will be there.
 
That’s a good way to put it. Lol.

I’ve already half jokingly brought up to the wife going to the Colorado show. I’m guessing those tickets will be hard to come by.

I just hope they eventually play a show somewhere this side of the Rockies. When they do, I will be there.
Feel the same re Red Rocks. Although throwing Reckless Kelly into the mix makes it even more interesting.
 
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Loved the Vogue back in the day. Saw some great shows there. Still kicking? Best music venue here in Charlotte is a smaller outdoor venue... probably the nicest I've been to. I'd guess it seats around 6-7k. Several restaurants and bars nearby, easy parking and in/out, easy to tailgate... always a good experience. I've seen Greta Van Fleet, Dwight Yoakam (with Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams... LSD tour!), Straight No Chaser and Chris Stapleton there. All fun shows.
The Vague!
 
6-7k would be twice the seating of IU auditorium, so that's a pretty big venue.

besides local acts, some acts i've seen at The Vogue over the yrs.

Starcastle

Dixie Dregs

Concrete Blonde

The Call

Brian Setzer, (not his rockabilly or big band things, but he and another guitar gunslinger with a band doing more a Texas rock thing..

Social Distortion with DaDa as the warm up.

no doubt some i've left out.

that was all long ago though.

always liked The Vogue because it had primo places to stand, and still have something to lean against.

same with The Bluebird, though i think both have been ruined since by removing seating.
Johnny Cougar

South Side Johnnie and the Jukes.

Chubby Wadsworth who owned The Patio for a time was a very chill guy...

Don't ask me who played there....

I was likely impaired....
 
Other than football or basketball, I saw only a few gigs in Bloomington - loved em all:

Sha Na Na
The Grateful Dead
Bill Cosby
Leon Russell
JJ Cale
Hoosiers premier

I've avoided Indy ever since the Holiday on Ice blew up.
 
Yep. I’ve already contacted friends from around the country. We are going to a show somewhere. Ain’t chancing this again.
Got my tickets to the Windy City Smokeout august 4th thru the 7th. I’m pretty stoked. It’s fairly close to me, about a 4 hour drive.

We got tickets for Thursday and Friday. Turnpike plays Thursday and the wife wants to see Tim McGraw Friday.

Did I mention I’m pretty excited?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations on a decent hotel close to the United Center? Maybe a good restaurant?
 
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Not gonna lie I’m kinda ashamed to say this, but March box 20 made a cd that is probably a top 5 album all time for me. When you can remember walking to the bus humming the tune “Im a lil bit rusty” while wearing big baggy corduroy rusty brand shorts, those songs become way better than they actually are.
I love it. I busted out their CD, yes I still have a shitload of them and prefer them when driving vs digital, and that CD is fantastic.
 
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A few that come to mind:
Nirvana
Collective Soul
Soundgarden
The Wallflowers

I would include Pearl Jam because I know they're worthy, but I just never much liked them. Same with Foo Fighters: great band but boring songs.


Phish are jam band for nerds. There are numerous jam bands I like far better (Widespread Panic anyone?). I've actually seen Phish and had a good time (there was a lot of weed involved), and, right, they can play. But it's just nerdy, and they even look like a bunch of nerds on stage, jumping up and down on trampolines and all that crap. The only real tune I liked at that show was Trey's cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" which was fantastic.
Nerds. I can see that. I am by no means a Phish fanatic, but you can't doubt their musical prowess. Trey is a total geak. This is some of their recent stuff. It's damn good, IMO.

 
6-7k would be twice the seating of IU auditorium, so that's a pretty big venue.

besides local acts, some acts i've seen at The Vogue over the yrs.

Starcastle

Dixie Dregs

Concrete Blonde

The Call

Brian Setzer, (not his rockabilly or big band things, but he and another guitar gunslinger with a band doing more a Texas rock thing..

Social Distortion with DaDa as the warm up.

no doubt some i've left out.

that was all long ago though.

always liked The Vogue because it had primo places to stand, and still have something to lean against.

same with The Bluebird, though i think both have been ruined since by removing seating.
Chubby Wadsworth....

The Patio..

Johnny Cougar was local......kind of..
 
Nerds. I can see that. I am by no means a Phish fanatic, but you can't doubt their musical prowess. Trey is a total geak. This is some of their recent stuff. It's damn good, IMO.


Phish are good musicians, but I always prefer good songs to just knowing a band can play lots of complicated stuff, and to my ears, they aren’t writing anything compelling.
 
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Got my tickets to the Windy City Smokeout august 4th thru the 7th. I’m pretty stoked. It’s fairly close to me, about a 4 hour drive.

We got tickets for Thursday and Friday. Turnpike plays Thursday and the wife wants to see Tim McGraw Friday.

Did I mention I’m pretty excited?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations on a decent hotel close to the United Center? Maybe a good restaurant?
A Billy Goat Tavern is really close by - Cheezborger cheezborger. LOL
 
If the question is since 1990, then Nirvana wins. This was just confirmed by an hour+ discussion with my wife and SIL.

Then we moved onto best since 2000. I forgot who we decided on but I think these bands were at the top.. Modest Mouse, Sigur Ros, Interpol, Broadcast, and Arcade Fire. Probably forgetting a few.

Radiohead definitely in my top 5 but they’re not fans.
 
If the question is since 1990, then Nirvana wins. This was just confirmed by an hour+ discussion with my wife and SIL.

Then we moved onto best since 2000. I forgot who we decided on but I think these bands were at the top.. Modest Mouse, Sigur Ros, Interpol, Broadcast, and Arcade Fire. Probably forgetting a few.

Radiohead definitely in my top 5 but they’re not fans.
Wow. So good jams are died?
 
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