#65

One of William’s lesser known side projects from around 1992, when he was really trying to prove they were more original than grunge.

#66

Stooges
Swans
Steve Hauschildt
Simon & Garfunkel
System of a Down

Bottom two were much harder than top 3 - Stone Roses, Smashing Pumpkins and Sun O)) in particular could have been in there on a different day.

Also, the Strokes, Sharon van Etten, SFA, Sons of Kemet

Previously the Smiths would have been certs but, and I cannot be more emphatic about this, fuck Morrissey.

1 Like
#67

Absolutely ridiculous letter.

Soundgarden
Sleater Kinney
Stooges
Shudder to Think
Sly & the Family Stone

Any of those could be swapped out with Suede, Simon & Garfunkel, SFA, Sebadoh, Spiritualized, Screaming trees, Sonic Youth, Stevie Wonder, Sleep and I’d still not be convinced.

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#68

Smashing Pumpkins
Slint
Sleep
Sonic Youth
Sleater Kinney

#69

Tough letter but overall I feel good about my choices.

The Smashing Pumpkins are the greatest, most magical band of all time. I’ll leave it at that for now.
(Paging @ttf and @Kirstysmetalhands and everyone else from the positive thread).

Silversun Pickups are unfairly dismissed as Pumpkins knockoffs and play a type of music that will never get the critical respect it deserves. Can’t emphasize enough how great Pikul and Carnavas are.

Soundgarden is pretty self-explanatory.

Sparklehorse is so special and magical. I somehow only heard his music for the first time four years ago but it was an instant connection. What a song:

Strange Ranger is my favorite new indie rock band of last decade.

2 Likes
#70

Way too many runner ups to list, but the six that hurt the most:

Despite having five truly great albums that are very different from each other, Stone Temple Pilots still get unfairly labeled as impostors and Pearl Jam knockoffs (they sound nothing like Pearl Jam). They had a perfect run from 1992 to 2001.

Sigur Ros would be a number one band for most letters. Kveikur might even be a top ten album of last decade.

System of a Down were so unique and explosive. Toxicity is their masterpiece, but there was a certain fire in that first album that I’ve never heard another band duplicate.

Sleater-Kinney and Sufjan Stevens are pretty self-explanatory. (The Woods and Carrie and Lowell are their best albums)

And finally, I can’t pass up another opportunity to go on the record about Sublime being great. Bradley Nowell knew how to write a song.

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#71

Smashing pumpkins
Sun kil moon
Sufjan stevens
Stereolab
Songs: ohia

#72

Sex Pistols
Slayer
The Smiths
Sonic Youth
The Stupids

#73

Happy to join you on the record re: sublime. Forgot when I was doing mine - definitely would have been in contention.

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#74

Maria’s Little Elbows is my favourite song of all time.
Which always pains me as I’ll choose Vivadixie as my desert island disc without fail.

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#75

Haven’t listened to Sublime in a loooong time, but there was a period when I properly loved them.

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#76

Bizarrely massively popular in the Westcountry.

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#77

Will add up in a bit.

#78

May be too late

The Smiths - pre bigot Morrissey
The Strokes
Sufjan Stevens
Spiritualized
Slint

#79

It’s fine. I’m not that quick!

#80

Sunset Rubdown
Sufjan Stevens
Slint
Sunn O)))
Steve Reich

#81

Results! Very close…

Sonic Youth 50 points
Sufjan Stevens 49 points
Sigur Ros 34 points
Smashing Pumpkins 33 points
Sleater Kinney 30 points
Super Furry Animals 29 points
Scott Walker 27 points
Slint 26 points
Silver Jews 22 points
The Smiths 21 points

#82

Yeah, it’s been awhile for me too with Sublime, but I think their music holds up. He was so good at so many different styles and was one of the best at covering songs. Don’t think he gets nearly enough credit for his guitar playing (his solos were really expressive and seemed very carefully arranged) and how interestingly so many of their songs unfold. There’s a lot going on, it’s a shame they get dismissed as frat rock.

Always thought this was a very underrated one from 40 oz to Freedom.

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#83

Yeah, that’s my favorite song of his too, I love it so much. I think it’s one of the most special songs by anyone. I’m always going on and on about how magical The Smashing Pumpkins are, and I think that’s the single song by another artist that best captures what I try and struggle to convey.

#84

Just noticed that no one (including me) mentioned Serge Gainsbourg.

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