best radio rock songs from the early/mid nineties

[Material Girl]

King of Spain - Moxy Fruvus(sp) ^-^

[Cops]

keep in mind mainstream radio was playing modest mouse this summer. (also franz ferdinand, but i don't like them)

franz ferdinand has decent exsposure on MTV and Much Music, Modest Mouse is doing okay as far as exsposure goes. I'd say Modest Mouse travels from the word of mouth more than the word of T.V which is always good.

[Verthanthi]

I wasn't really saying that they owe their sucess to mainstream media, but that saying everything mainstream sucks includes those two bands (see also: death cab for cutie, postal service, etc etc etc)

[NaiLed]

I get a serious case of roll eyes when I hear people say shit like this. The number of indy fags I have to deal with on a daily basis has jaded me really badly to "little-known" artists. I'm kind of a sucker for mainstream, I listen to music to turn my brain off, but not necessarily the shit that gets played on the radio. What can I say? I like music with a production value greater than a box of cracker jacks, and I really can't believe that all these pompous art-music gits like listening to something that sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom with bad plumbing.

The "almost all little-known artists are so much better than their mainstream counterparts", is just crap though. For every 1 mainstream band with a decent indy counterpart, there's 100-1000 god awful unknowns. This means the shit groups out number the listenable 99 times over. There's reasons bands don't make it big, and a lot of them don't have to do with the group being too "edgy" for mainstream.

So lets be honest eh? Yes, there are definetly some very good groups that don't recieve MTV time, and really should get some more widespread acknowledgement for the good music they create. They are the exceptions though, not the rule, so don't get snooty about your one indy diamond sitting in a vast mire of indy elephant crap.

in general most mainstream music sounds the same; they all have the same 'bland' songs and unless you know the song it is sometimes hard to even recognise which band sings it. many "underground" bands have their own unique and distinctive sound (whatever that may be), unlike most mainstream bands.

yeah, also what conc said. i like the idea that someone wrote their own song (even though obviously not all big bands have their songs written for them). i also agree about slipknot

edit: doh, this is basically what Pure Hatred said

edit2: am i the only one who wants to kill something everytime i hear "Is This The Way To Amarillo"

[Cops]

I wasn't really saying that they owe their sucess to mainstream media, but that saying everything mainstream sucks includes those two bands (see also: death cab for cutie, postal service, etc etc etc)

mostly yeah, i like the postal service except for the fact that trendy kids only know about them because Garden State and claim to be their biggest fans.

[wadi]

in general most mainstream music sounds the same; they all have the same 'bland' songs and unless you know the song it is sometimes hard to even recognise which band sings it. many "underground" bands have their own unique and distinctive sound (whatever that may be), unlike most mainstream bands.

The problem here, is that that "unique sound" is usually suck, which isn't that unique at all. Originality in the music industry, mainstream or otherwise, is rarer than you think, and I've heard plenty of underground garbage that was trying so hard to be original it was terrible. The problem is, you've made the assumption that just because your friends have recommended some good indy bands to you, that they're all like that. The reality is, though, that indy music is the same as mainstream music; some of it is pretty good, but most of it isn't worth listening to. The difference being, that crappy indy music isn't jammed down your throat on a regular basis (unless you have a girlfriend who likes to hit local clubs...) like shitty mainstream music is. It's the stripper myth of music; most indy bands aren't awesome, and most strippers aren't stripping to pay for college.

yeah, also what conc said. i like the idea that someone wrote their own song (even though obviously not all big bands have their songs written for them). i also agree about slipknot

Boy bands and canned bands aside, I'm kinda skeptical about how much offshore writing actually goes on. To tell you the truth, I've heard enough crappy lyrics sets from indy bands, that I want to take a thesaurus in my left hand, and a dictionary in my right, and beat the living shit out of them till they stop butchering the language. The special olympics kids put tons of effort, but that doesn't mean you still don't feel kinda sad watching them. (seriously though, those kids try really hard)

All I'm trying to say is that music is music, and whether it's indy or mainstream will not stop shitty music from being shitty music. There are plenty of people who are willing to tolerate god awful music because it's indy or mainstream, because they're enamored with the genera, not because the music has any particular merit. Just stay away from sweeping generalizations, like saying a band is innovative just because they don't have a record deal. Conversely, just because someone has a double platinum album, doesn't mean you have to like it.

[Facetious]

yeah i was once in the car with this girl that was listening to the killers, and id just heard the killers on the radio, and i said "wow, they play this song on the radio all the time" and she was like "wow, they play this on the radio? bleh!" and turned the song off. i think thats pretty dumb, i dont think the killers were very good even before they got on the radio, except for that mr. brightside song. their album isnt very good, in my opinion, but it has 2-3 catchy songs on it. when i buy an indie album i feel lucky to find 4-5 songs that ill actually listen to a month or two after i buy it, that killers album has 2-3, so is it that much worse? there are some exceptions, but for the most part, bands cant write albums that are good enough that i like the entire thing, whether they are indie bands, on the radio, or whatever.

hm, new forum thread

[NaiLed]

The problem here, is that that "unique sound" is usually suck, which isn't that unique at all.

yeah, but there's always going to be a handful of bands that are unique and original (which, in my opinion, almost all mainstream bands fail in). i'm not saying i'd listen to any old shite, but there are a lot of bands that have their own sound, which a lot of the mainstream bands don't. of course there is going to be some ok mainstream music, i'm just saying that there's also a lot of other music that hasn't been recognised (on purpose or not) by the media which is better than the stuff you hear on your radio

[bloodzombie]

The Killers album sounded kinda candyass to me at first, but yeah, some of it is catchy after you hear it a couple times.

[froedrick]

Pearl jam - Betterman
Stone Temple Pilots - Lady Picture Show
Soul Asylum - Just Like Anyone
Blur - Song 2
Our Lady Peace - 4 AM, Clumsy, Starseed
Foo Fighters - Big Me, My Hero, Monkey Wrench
Goo Goo Dolls - Name, Iris, Slide
Sublime - What I Got
Oasis - Wonderwall, Champagne Supernova
Dave Matthews Band - Crash
Offspring - Self Esteem
Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
Green Day - Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Impression That I Get
Counting Crows - Mr Jones, Long December
Blues Traveller - Run Around
Crash Test Dummies - Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealing
Matchbox Twenty - 3 AM, Push
Third Eye Blind - Semi-charmed Life, How's It Gonna Be, Jumper
The Wallflowers - One Headlight
The Cranberries - Zombie
Marcy Playground - Sex and Candy
Semisonic - Closing Time
Limblifter - Tinfoil
Barenaked Ladies - Brian Wilson
Filter - Take a Picture
Treble Charger - Friend of Mine, Red
Weezer - Buddy Holly, The Sweater Song
The Tragically Hip - Ahead By a Century, 50 Mission Cap, Grace Too, Bobcaygeon, Poets

And you've got Everclear - Santa Monica on twice.

You rock Troll

Throw on
Collective soul - why part 2
Weezer - Say it ain't so
the Wallflowers - 6th avenue heartache
OLP - superman's dead
Spin doctors - two princes
Pearl Jam - do the evolution

[froedrick]

in general most mainstream music sounds the same; they all have the same 'bland' songs and unless you know the song it is sometimes hard to even recognise which band sings it. many "underground" bands have their own unique and distinctive sound (whatever that may be), unlike most mainstream bands.

That's not necessarily true. If you look at mainstream music today, you see what. Rap, rock, nu metal, pop, pop punk, the rebirth of 70's rock. You can't really say it all sounds the same. You watch What Much music or MTV you're bound to see, 50 cent, Ciarra, Green day, the killers, the strokes, Nickelback, Simple Plan, Modest mouse, franz ferdinand. These are not all the same bland shit. Sure I don't like most of it but, you also have the exact same kind of thing in all the underground stuff too, it's just they haven't hit it big. It's the same thing just it's still underground. God, you listen to Bright eyes (who's become pretty mainstream), and it's the most mainstream indie sound I've ever really heard.

[wadi]

I sorta (really) derailed this thread, but nailed hit a nerve.

Anyway, after talking with Face in SS the other night I'd like to nominate all of PUSA- PUSA. Who doesn't remember Kitty, Lump, Super Model, Peaches, Dune Buggy, or Kick Out the Jams? It's really sad these guys died a horrible creativity death soon after they hit the big time.

Edit: Fuck it was a good time to be in Seattle.

[froedrick]

I sorta (really) derailed this thread, but nailed hit a nerve.

Anyway, after talking with Face in SS the other night I'd like to nominate all of PUSA- PUSA. Who doesn't remember Kitty, Lump, Super Model, Peaches, Dune Buggy, or Kick Out the Jams? It's really sad these guys died a horrible creativity death soon after they hit the big time.

Edit: Fuck it was a good time to be in Seattle.

In that case put weird al in there... gump, fat, my balogne :P

[bloodzombie]

EMF - unbelieveable

[NaiLed]

That's not necessarily true. If you look at mainstream music today, you see what. Rap, rock, nu metal, pop, pop punk, the rebirth of 70's rock. You can't really say it all sounds the same. You watch What Much music or MTV you're bound to see, 50 cent, Ciarra, Green day, the killers, the strokes, Nickelback, Simple Plan, Modest mouse, franz ferdinand. These are not all the same bland shit. Sure I don't like most of it but, you also have the exact same kind of thing in all the underground stuff too, it's just they haven't hit it big. It's the same thing just it's still underground. God, you listen to Bright eyes (who's become pretty mainstream), and it's the most mainstream indie sound I've ever really heard.

i meant all indie-type bands are boring (i don't know anything about rap, etc and you can't really compare rap to indie). what about Athlete, Keane, Stereophonics, etc? Stereophonics are more bland than this season's Premiership (you might recognise that quote zeus)

i'm not trying to say ALL mainstream stuff is boring, just most of it... which is why i'm trying to say there are many different good "underground" alternatives (Neva Dinova, Reuben, Biffy Clyro, Blue October, etc) which all have their own unique style. of course you're going to get boring/crap "underground" bands, but there are also many other good ones, which, although aren't very well-known, does not mean they are not as good as other mainstream music, which is all i'm trying to say

look, let's just agree to disagree