Random Top 10 Redux

[Reservoir]

i like em too, nice and summery. greg gilbert's vocals are the best thing about them, but they're a pretty good band in general.

[riley]

Britain's superior musicall output compared to that of American artists is even more impressive given the seemingly endless number of bands who make it to market in the States in a given year, compared to other markets.

Really, the best quality, or at least the most appealing to my ears, regardless of country of origin, is the stuff bubbling just under the surface. I risk crossing into a mainstream vs. non-mainstream thread here, but clearly the best music being made in the States right now is by bands like Interpol, The Wrens or Longwave and not the Foo Fighters, Houbastank (these guys were better as an Incubus clone band), or Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I just think the pure volume of new music released in the US works against being able to decipher the quality as easily as in say Britain or Canada. That's not good or bad, but laws of probability and simple economics perhaps.

As for why Britain has always produced superior musical art to America outside current market conditions... fucked if I know, but they have

[riley]

Top 10 Canadian bands you may have heard of, but are clearly better than anything in your country, and perhaps worthwhile applying for employment and a work visa in the Great White North.

10. The Constantines
9. The Joel Plaskett Emergency
8. Metric
7. Hot Hot Heat
6. Godspeed You! Black Emperor
5. The Stills
4. Do Make Say Think
3. Buck 65
2. The Weakerthans
1. Broken Social Scene

[luke]

Jesus, here you go. Just a few off the top of my head.

Some Great American Bands/Artists Since The Pixies Who Aren't Derivative Of The Pixies And Aren't Named "Wilco" And Aren't Derivative of England (unless we're counting Zeppelin and Sabbath, which I don't think we should, for obvious reasons...although too close a Beatles sound could definitely be discounted)

TOOL (ha! beat that one, England!)
Smashing Pumpkins
Alice In Chains
Stone Temple Pilots
Pearl Jam
Bikini Kill
System of a Down
Soundgarden
At the Drive-In/The Mars Volta
The White Stripes
A Perfect Circle
Sleater-Kinney
Beck
Ween
Jane's Addiction
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Primus
The Flaming Lips
The Screaming Trees
Deftones
Mr. Bungle/Fantomas/Tomahawk


There are a few more, I'm sure, but that's the top of my head for ya. I'm sure many of those are rather arguable, too. Personally, I think American music has kicked England's ass since, well...The Pixies or so until just a couple years ago. The Verve, Radiohead, Oasis, Blur, Muse, whoever...the add up to some real weight, but they can't trump that list.


Let's not forget American bands that got DQ'd...

Nine Inch Nails
Nirvana
The Dandy Warhols (VERY VU, but their third album is too Duran Duran for me to have included them)
The entire Seattle scene that shared anything in common with Nirvana, I guess.

Per Capita, England spews out way more good bands. But whose fault is this? America's or the American recording industry, who wouldn't know the next Velvet Underground if they were slapped in the nuts with it?

[Rit]

Mary wrote

i am blaming ritalin for this, still. my birthday party addiction has made it harder and harder to swallow nick the romantic crooning troubadour...

'ere! don't blame me for the decline of Saint Nick!

[riley]

Pretty much a perfect list Luke.

I would add:

Guided By Voices
Modest Mouse
Pavement

... unless of course they're derivative of Pixies, in which case your post really just confused me.

And yes, the brits, rule, but they do not have TOOL, and no one is better than TOOL. No one.

[Proud]

omg liek teh england is so kewl *throws u.s. cds out the window* anarchy in teh uk!!!

pavement does indeed have their own sound. it's my understanding that in the indie world (a place i don't know too much about) a lot of bands have tried imitating it... but there's only one pavement.

[pattentank24]

Riley I gotta admit that's a solid list why The Stills never caught on in the states I'll never know

[luke]

Oh shit, can't BELIEVE I forgot Pavement. I also should have had Guided By Voices.

But, I also should have added Modest Mouse to the DQ list. Believe me, I thought about them, but Brock's taken more than a few too many pages from Black's book (haha, no pun intended.) From vocals on up, I'd say.

Certainly, though, they're still one of the greatest bands in the world today.

[Rit]

but Modest Mouse are derivative of the Pixies (slightly).. i thought the point of your list, Luke, was to avoid that

[luke]

Dunno if you read my last post, Rit, but to clarify, I said to add them to the DQ list because, yeah, they're too derivative.

Know who else I had to DQ? Red Hot Chili Peppers, because they're, like, six years older than the Pixies. Kinda pissed me off.

Patten, you mentioned Raveonettes on here earlier as "new bands that have a sound of their own." I'm really surprised that more people around these boards never caught onto those guys. But then again, Chain Gang of Love came out the same day as Thirteenth Step, so there ya go.

[Rit]

whoops. my bad. i'm driving on autopilot today.
"Look out! crazy driver on the street!"

[tuneschick]

Cool list, Riley. I FINALLY got around to listening to the new Plaskett disc this weekend. I didn't think it could top Down at the Khyber, but after just one listen it's not unlikely.

I'm quite into what I've heard from that Metric disc too. Combat Baby is far catchier than any song has the right to be.

And nice addition of the Weakerthans, of course. Easily one of the very best bands working today, in Canada OR the U.S.

[luke]

Man, The Weakerthans just don't impress me. At ALL. I just don't get the raves. Probably the first big Canadian indie hype that I've just totally missed.

[pissin2]

Tool is actually 1 quarter british.

res - what's up with the pyschobilly over there. is it big or anything. I'm really getting into some pyschobilly lately.