hell, YES nevermind is the unquestioned high-water mark of nirvava's career! don't get me wrong... i think the unplugged record cements kurt cobain's legacy as the troubled poet genius of his age; & i think that in utero showed potential for artistic growth that led directly to the public reaction to hearing of the death of kurt cobain. & being from seattle, mobe-my-buddy, i'm willing to bet you remember the reaction better than i would (being in ottawa at the time...). you'd have to go back to john lennon, probably, to find a musician who's death sparked SUCH a reaction. courtney's blatant exploitation notwithstanding...
but i digress.
nevermind is the record that changed the world. & smells like teen spirit will be the song for which the brief flicker of revolution known as "grunge" will be remembered. that's history, dude... all the other bands of the time went on to become just another asshole rock band. they didn't wanna... but that's what the industry does to talent.
sigh...
alright... here's 21-25.
21. the ramones
formed, 1974 in queens, new york
debut: the ramones, 1976
frontman: joey ramone
classic lineup: joey ramone, vocals; johnny ramone, guitar; dee dee ramone, bass; marky ramone, drums
drunk & dead young: none... although dee dee was close.
breakthrough album: the ramones
definitive record: it's alive. recorded new year's eve, 1977 at the rainbow theatre in london, england. the english punk revolution of the next few years (sex pistols, clash... all the rest of them) was BORN this night.
my fave record: rocket to russia
last GREAT album: adios, amigos (how many bands make one LAST record in time to break up the band right before they start dying? w/ a track like "i don't wanna grow up," yet?)
best known song: i wanna be sedated
best song: bonzo goes to bitburg (what? you've got one better?)
little known connections: joey ramone was a school-mate of johnny & dee dee who audtioned for the drummer spot, but was so inept as a drummer that they made him the singer. their manager was also their first drummer. marky was a seasoned vet drummer (as marc bell) who started out in a little-known power trio called "dust" with richie wise, who would go on to produce the first two KISS albums... bell went from dust to ex-television richard hell's voidoids. y'know... if cake didn't already have the #4 spot, i MIGHT be inclined to put the ramones among the five best bands... there will never be a "better" punk band.
22. rush
formed, 1968 in toronto (my hometown)
debut: rush, 1974
classic lineup: alex lifeson, guitar; geddy lee, bass; neil peart, drums.
debate: why do these guys get to be the only canadian band?
breakthrough album: 2112
definitive album: moving pictures
my fave album: a farewell to kings
last GREAT album: see KISS & queen...
last GOOD album: hey... i have to LIVE among rush fans... each of their albums builds on the inspirations of the last... now stop punching me!!
best known song: tom sawyer
best song: xanadu
little known connections: i used to accompany a coupla school-mates when they would go & stare for HOURS at neil peart's house. or at least at a house they TOLD me was neil peart's house. they were rush freaks & may not have been fully together...
23. sex pistols
formed, 1975 in london
debut: never mind the bollocks, here's the sex pistols, 1977
classic lineup: johnny rotten, vocals; steve jones, guitar; sid vicious, bass; paul cook, drums
debate: did you ever get the feeling that you've been cheated?
dead young: sid vicious, od, age 21 (!)
breakthrough record: never mind the bollocks, here's the sex pistols
definitive record: never mind the bollocks, here's the sex pistols
my fave record: never mind the bollocks, here's the sex pistols
best known song: anarchy in the u.k.
best song: god save the queen
little known connections: ok... johnny rotten's life as john lydon in p.i.l. is known? & steve jones' 1990 solo record w/ guest vocals from axl rose (back when that was a GOOD thing)? how 'bout paul cook's brief run in cowboys international with former clash-man terry chimes? then that leaves only sid vicious... who played drums in the debut concert of siouxie & the banshees. & formed a post-pistols band called the idols w/ arthur kane & jerry nolan from the new york dolls & barry jones of ska band, the selecter. nolan, by the way, is generally credited with being the man who brought heroin to the united kingdom punk scene...
24. sly & the family stone
formed, 1967 in san fransisco
debut: a whole new thing, 1967
frontman: sly stone
dead young: sly's career... killed by disco.
classic lineup: sly stone, organ; fred stewart, guitar; larry graham, bass; rosie stone, piano; cynthia robinson, trumpet; jerry martini, sax; greg errico, drums
breakthrough record: dance to the music
definitive record: stand!
my fave record: stand! [although i'll cop to having never heard "there's a riot goin' on"... i know, i know]
last GREAT record: there's a riot goin' on (unless everything i've ever heard about it isn't true...)
last GOOD record: fresh
best known song: thank you (falletinme be mice elf agin)
best song: i want to take you higher
little known connections: this was the first musical group ever to feature black men AND black women AND white men AND white women. which oughtta mean something just on its own.
25. sonic youth
formed, 1981 in new york city
debut: confusion is sex, 1983
classic lineup: thurston moore & lee ranaldo, guitars; kim gordon, bass; steve shelley, drums
breakthrough record: sister
definitive record: EVOL
my fave album: daydream nation (like everyone else...)
last GREAT record: washing machine
last GOOD record: a thousand leaves
best known song: hmm... teen age riot, maybe?
best song: tuff gnarl
little known connection: while the band will forever be linked with the 1980s indie rock scene, they were really part of the new york punk/art scene that produced bands like suicide & composers like their mentor, glenn branca. laziness on the part of music historians has linked them with bands like r.e.m. & husker du, with whom they had very little in common. shelley's predecessor, bob bert, went on to drum in pussy galore. & the first drummer, richard edson, quit to become an actor. he debuted in jim jarmusch's cult classic "stranger than fiction", & has appeared in madonna's first movie ("desperately seeking susan")... two early spike lee joints; "ferris bueller's day off" (he's the mechanic who takes cameron's car out for a joy-ride); "jury duty" (for the pauly shore fans)... "starsky & hutch"... "howard the duck"... "eight men out"... "platoon"... "good morning, vietnam"...