90s rock bands no one cares about; pick one

Collective Soul had more good singles than the rest of them put together.

pick one to care about?

"Dishwalla"?

"tell me all your thoughts on god"

Only one of these recorded "Rockstar", this is a piece of piss.

soul patch dudes just thinkin baout god and/or superman

I would've voted for Collective Soul in the '90s, but I just bought a used Gin Blossoms CD for $1 last week (New Miserable Experience, the one with all their hits), and I kind of like it -- they even do a country cheating song, and what they claim is a "Cajun Song" (though I would've guessed they were going for Tex-Mex in the latter if they hadn't said otherwise.) Learn something new every day.

Nickelback's definitely more a '00s band though, fwiw. (They only had one rock radio single in the '90s, according to Wiki.)

I'm with chuck on the Gin Blossoms, they even have a rockist hook (main songwriter plagued by drug problems, gets kicked out of band on the cusp of band's breakthru).

this 4th of July weekend, went up to Wisconsin to hang out on a lake with sister's friends. other sister asks what kind of music these people listen to. 1st sister says oh nothing that's really that good, but nothing horrible either. 2nd sis: ok just as long it's not Nickelback or some shit...cue getting on the boat, and IMMEDIATELY dude BLASTS Nickelback on his competition-quality stereo.
So I'm voting Nickelback!

Gin Blossoms sticks out like an unsucky thumb here.

I get the idea they were going for a jangle-rock hybrid of, maybe, early '80s R.E.M. with early '80s 38 Special or Tom Petty or somebody. No grunge plodding at all, really. And just about all five or so of the hits on that record sound catchier than I'd remembered.

Three Doors Down was 2000, but I'll pick them for Kryptonite, which is a piece of shit, but pretty catchy.

I think that they might have been the dumbest song lyrics I had ever heard at the time.

guys, "90s" is a feeling

Have love for "Sex and Candy", and Semisonic's "Closing Time" is bad but in a good way, but really "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You" and "Allison Road"? There's just no contest.

I agree that The Gin Blossoms are in a completely separate league from the rest of these

Well, Nickelback is definitely a "00s" feeling.

Since I grew up in AZ in remember the Gin Blossoms less as a two-or-three hit alt.wonder than as part of the Desert Rock scene. As xhuxk said it was jangle-rock but mixed with Crazy Horse style guitars. I think I saw them play with the Meat Puppets and the Sidewinders/Sandrubies and there wasn't a lot of difference in the bands' sounds.

had no idea vertical horizon was from the 90s. ummm i liked "hey jealousy" so i'm voting for gin blossoms.

gin blossoms are total classic, rest are pretty bad

I like 'closing time' tho

i always liked this semisonic song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1BHPX0Vwto

actually once the drums kick in its p rockin

man this shit is kinda hard

voted semisonic

^^^minnesotans stick together

collective soul had the best singles. gin blossoms had the best LP (educated guess).

^^^minnesotans stick together

― mookieproof, Friday, July 15, 2011 2:22 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s25/capt_awesum/bornandraised.jpg

'ND ALL YOUR WEIGHT, IT FALLS ON ME-EE, IT BRINGS MEH DOWN

collective soul's soft pop radio chartbusters will haunt me forever in a bad way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPvQY9LMnZ4

I feel really wrong voting for any of these, even Semisonic who are probably the least offensive.

Practically a Hall of Fame for my old fanzine--I of course shed a tear for Sister Hazel, Blues Traveler, and Matchbox 20 (and about 50 others). The Gin Blossoms are just slightly too credible, so Semisonic.

Sister Hazel

kill me

You just can't turn and walk away.

Voted Gin Blossoms since they could've been a poor man's Soul Asylum or watered down Smithereens if they had stuck to their roots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0OurHnqWp0

where is silverchair, authors of the most lyrically genius song of the 90s

Voted Gin Blossoms since they could've been a poor man's Soul Asylum or watered down Smithereens if they had stuck to their roots.

yeah, in fact i always kinda assumed hey jealousy was a soul asylum or a (er, SORRY, THEY ARE ONE OF THOSE CANONICAL-ISH BANDS I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY REALLY LISTENED TO!) replacements song until i learned probably from reading it via ilm who done sung it

I'm a fan, but it's easy to notice that seemingly every band that's ever claimed to have been influenced by the Mats and has made it big has only ever listened to Don't Tell A Soul.

gin blossoms obv

collective soul had the best singles.

Huh?

Gin Blossoms are obviously going to win this since they're not nearly as hated as some may suspect.

Besides them, I never really got why people hate Marcy Playground so much.. although I'm guessing in the majority of cases they're being entirely judged by 1 song.

if they had stuck to their roots.

aka if that dude didn't kill himself

yeah dude was all about being alive then he sold out imo

That Sex and Candy song brings back memories of some very dark times.

i bet soul collective is secretly living large off of those royalties. those singles still get played on dentist's office radio stations. i'm sure they invested their money intelligently and cautiously too, they just seem like that kind of band.

They refer to music as "the music biz."

btw i hate this poll for reminding me of that terrible year where we had to watch the ENTIRE video for 3 Doors Down's "Citizen Soldier" before every movie at the theatre.

soul asylum made a lot of money when they sold their company, Frustrated Inc.

they made misery, iirc

btw i hate this poll for reminding me of that terrible year where we had to watch the ENTIRE video for 3 Doors Down's "Citizen Soldier" before every movie at the theatre.
ugh holy shit this was the worst thing ever.

i would argue that silverchair's true lyrical masterpiece is 'pure massacre.'

Semisonic's "All About Chemistry" album is straight up great new wavey power pop, and I suspect that not many people in this thread know it. Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure makes the premise seem dumb. Drummer's book is pretty good too. I am not from, and do not live in, Minnesota.

then again i'm going to have to cut them some slack b/c they were like thirteen or whatev

xp

Gin Blossoms. They don't belong in this list.

Seven Mary Three were douches in their college days and douches when they left. Cumbersome fucking douches.

I hate the Gin Blossoms. Watered down version of actually good music.

So, I guess, Semisonic? I don't hate "Closing Time".

And I can't find a video on youtube, but Semisonic's "Wishing Well" from an early EP is a pretty jaw-dropping prog track that starts off sort of like Dream On, then goes into vintage Queen territory. I'm surprised it doesn't get referenced more. Possibly the best thing they ever did.

look if you have beef with the list, take it up with Alex in NYC

I only report on what is written

It's weird accusing Gin Blossoms of ignoring their "roots," especially since (a) they were good at what they recorded (b) minor bands don't get to be churlish about roots (or maybe they do; that's what makes them minor).

Everclear belongs here way more than G.Bloss

About 10 years back, I got involved in a 30 minute make out session to this track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjfpyiyVQ00

Everclear smokes everything on this list.

Lifehouse?

Everclear smokes everything on this list.

I will never understand what people like about Everclear.

Now here's a review of recent show taking place in one of the outer circles of Hell:

http://connected-i.com/2011/07/02/art-alexakis-canyon-music-review/

with the exception of "Santa Monica" .. their one decent single

Art Alexakis is a tiger hoping he doesn’t maul the crowd. Formidable and dangerous. He teases, plays, and at times, even insults them. And it only leaves these 20- , 30- and 40- somethings wanting more.

Art Alexakis balances incredible musical gifts with a damaged human edge that makes us all look deeper into our souls. While we raise our aims, sway back and forth, and thank him for the messages of both hope and despair that he shares.

There's an Eddie Vedder review listed on that page, but I ain't clicking on it.

if u like dudes who talk about "the biz" i got a guy for you and his name is art alexakis

Later his cover of Brown-Eyed Girl brought an entire new feel and vibe to the original while holding onto the best pieces.

my personal hell

http://www.crunchbase.com/assets/images/resized/0011/7690/117690v2-max-250x250.jpg Art Alexakis steps out with just his guitar, his emotions on his inked sleeve and a sly grin that at first he tries to hide, but later and throughout; can’t help himself and lets loose. He has an edge, and the audience — most of whom are long-time Everclear fans — are salivating for more.

"I will never understand what people like about Everclear.'

No love for Heroin Girl or Twistinside, clsc trx imo.

i just realized the extent to which "st joe on the schoolbus" ganks "come as you are."

marcy playground was the worst fucking band.

xxp: my takeaway is that this person really, really wants to bone Art Alexakis

xp I don't hear the CAYA reference... I enjoy that song.

listen to the chorus of the song--low-string hummable guitar riff with chorus effect!

There are some similar elements.. chorus-effect and tempo being 2 of the most obvious ones. I don't think it's a ripoff. I'm not offended if anyone hates "St Joe On The Schoolbus".. It's far from the most complex stunning thing I've ever heard, but I've always liked it as kind of a slack-sounding sludgy pop song.

if I had to pick one to listen to it would obv be the Gin Blossoms, but their fucked-up treatment of their songwriter kind of bums me out of actually voting for them

on the other hand, can't bring myself to vote for anyone else, so eh

(also if they don't win it will be Semisonic and if I never hear "Secret Smile" again it will be 600 years too soon, though I hate them slightly less now I've remembered that they aren't the New Radicals)

I had to DJ a wedding once and "Secret Smile" was their wedding song.

Guess I misinterpreted the question, as in, for which band is the statement "nobody cares about them" most true? So that would've been Seven Mary Three - I don't know if I've ever met anybody who even had an opinion about them.

Since we're apparently voting for bands we actually do care about, at least relatively speaking, for me there's no question - Gin Blossoms eat all the others for breakfast. That said, I've never been compelled to explore beyond their singles, though I once actually owned an album by Collective Soul. I remember really liking the song "Gel" on the radio - didn't care much for their earlier singles - and I think that's why I bought it. I was about twelve at the time. By middle school you get self conscious about listening to/owning music so aggressively uncool. Even now I find the band's butt-rock leanings kind of embarrassing - you know, the kind of stuff that hearkens back to 70s arena boogie acts who call attractive women "mama" with no trace of irony. Just not really my thing. But of course my dad loved it, so I gave it to him. Collective Soul loses points for being pseudo Christian-rock and for getting their name from Ayn Rand. Christgau's dis of their first album is fucking hilarious:

http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=2690&name=Collective+Soul

The Gin Blossoms and Collective Soul both have hits comps, and the funny thing is that Collective Soul actually earned theirs - they had way more radio hits than you may remember. Both groups have more than a few solid tunes, but the Gin Blossoms don't gross me out even a little. I've always thought of them as like a post-R.E.M. bar band - sure, there were dozens of those in 93-98 or so, but I'd rather listen to these guys than Hootie or, I dunno, Counting Crows (both of whom are more their peers than the rest of the crop here).

semisonic. people saying collective soul were anything other than a secret c.i.a. torture project are the most disgusting savages.

"Closing Time" is semi-torture to listen to

your mistake is thinking we're voting for bands we actually do care about

one of them, at least. you may have made other mistakes.

art alexakis review is *amazing*

your mistake is thinking we're voting for bands we actually do care about

nobody said either way

i am pretty sure he did actually say that.

yeah, scrolled up and there it is. huh.

"care about, relatively speaking" was the wrong way to put it. "don't necessarily dislike" or "if i had to listen to one, i'd listen to..." etc.

No one cares about these bands, and I picked one.

Can I go hide in the corner now?

Sure. Sponge is already over there waiting for you.

yeah, scrolled up and there it is. huh.

scrolled up as well and nobody said either way. huh.

all i see is people saying they're going to vote for gin blossoms because they like them the best. huh.

voted for Semisonic, their first pre-"Closing Time" album is really dope

I was wondering where Sponge was. Anybody remember Spin's attempted genre coinage used to describe them and their ilk ("scrunge")? Mighta been mentioned in another thread too.

What was the NIN rip-off band had that song that played in movie theaters all through the late '90s: "Could you wanna take my picture/Cuz I don't remember." Filter? Same assholes who did "Hey Man Nice Shot"? They are my least care about band of the 90s.

cared

filter, yes.

that picture song sounds more like jane's addiction than nin, though

Ladies and gentlemen, billstevejim.

gin blossoms obv

― call all destroyer, Friday, July 15, 2011 4:07 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Totally just ctrl+F'd you to see if you'd chimed in yet. lol.

I don't even like Gin Blossoms but they definitely stand out in this group as being actually distinctive and having well-crafted songs.

i seriously thought that other filter song was like train or something. i totally missed it in its late 90s heyday and then like a year ago i was suddenly hearing it EVERYWHERE for a while and when i finally figured out it was filter it was a very 0_o moment.

not that "hey man, nice shot" wasn't also a steaming pile, but that's quite a leap in the name of not going broke.

Is there a thread where I drunkenly praise Everclear's "Santa Monica"? Kinda scared to search tbqh.

"santa monica" may be the only song where the lyrics actually look better on paper than sung.

...or maybe the song would have benefitted from less of a Vandals/cowpunk yelp with timely grunge gloss and gone with a really amazing mid-70s Steve Miller Band production.
― Steve Shasta, Friday, April 13, 2007 7:43 AM (4 years ago)

indie guilt c/d
― and what, Friday, April 13, 2007 8:00 AM (4 years ago)

milkmandan77 (1 week ago) +2

YEEEUH!

im a young dude that spent 5 years of my damn life married to a total careerhead bitchbag in a shithole landlocked texas dump, got fed up and divorced and bailed out to hawaii and i surf everyday and things are great now - this song is my fucking athem.

man i can't believe i just youtubed an everclear song to see if you're right

you're kinda right btw

When I interned for a judge we had this crazy lawsuit involving this douchey-looking blonde professional 30-something guy from New Jersey who was suing the police. He had been so high and drunk that he couldn't even remember what happened, but according to the police he was screaming and acting crazy and picking fights with officers who asked him to calm down. At one point he apparently went down a flight of stairs with a cop and broke the cop's arm. The next day when he came to in the hospital, he was handcuffed to a bed, and he claims that the cops made his handcuffs too tight and he hurt his wrist, so he sued. He lost. But the reason he was at Penn Station was because he was on his way back from seeing an Everclear concert. Just seems fitting somehow.

i recommend y'all read hurting's post there while listening to "what i got" by sublime, which was in the "you may also like" sidebar on the youtube for "santa monica."

Not neccesarily their *best* moment, but probably not what you'd expect if you'd only heard Closing Time...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwZrr3f-NjQ

"Explicit version"? (Obvs. Haven't watched it)

Sad, because they're stumbling around Ok-Go video territory, but don't quite get it right.

that chemistry album was alright. i had forgotten about it.

I badly want to hate "Hey Man Nice Shot" but a month or two ago (for some reason) I decided to read about the song on wikipedia and I found it interesting that the lyrics are about R Budd Dwyer, the politician who shot himself on live TV in the 80s.. For me, this gives the song a hint of depth that I hadn't expected, despite their sub-NIN leanings.

lol Hey Man Nice Shot is one of the songs my band is learning for this battle of the bands thing that requires you to do a cover

I always suspected that "Hey Man, Nice Shot" was actually about Kurt Cobain--ostensibly about the politician, maybe, but, consciously or not, as much or more about Cobain.

^I've read that before...

also: still rep for the first Silverchair album; lots of bands deserve to be mocked before they do, including everybody on here except Gin Blossoms, but also Eve 6, The Nixons, Candlebox, Tonic, etc.

Tomorrow to me is a decent grunge song--holds up alongside a lot of the Pearl Jam it admittedly bites--but this is imo their best song, an absolute skull-splitting slab of sludge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF33EJ85-1I

lmao I also recall reading on wikipedia a few years back about the "Isreal's Son" murders.

Had Nickelback even debuted in 1999?

(Semisonic is the only band in this list that I do care about to any extent at all)

http://i56.tinypic.com/16a1cub.jpg

xp I thought Nickelback had a summer '99 single before they got huge, but I was actually thinking of "We Are" by Vertical Horizon. So no they had no charting singles in the 90's.

Fun Fact: Owl City is worse than every band mentioned on this thread.

Nickelback did have some U.S. rock radio hits before "How You Remind Me," but the first, "Leader of Men," was in early 2000 so yeah, no '90s

Gin Blossoms sticks out like an unsucky thumb here.

― President Keyes, Friday, July 15, 2011 1:13 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

I agree that The Gin Blossoms are in a completely separate league from the rest of these

― Spotify, Spotify me (DJP), Friday, July 15, 2011 1:21 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

^^^^^

Their presence sort of nullifies this whole poll. They were a great band.

I learned the phrase "unsucky thumb", so at least some good has come of it

When they tried to sound like The Byrds, yeah G.Bloss was great.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

can the dishwalla voter please fess up

my 6th grade teacher knew the band (they were local) and had a picture w/ them in our classroom and would always play that one song

i say anyone who voted for the bottom 5 should fess up. come on now, take your SBs like men.

i like the idea of polling markers' fave bands, but surely wilco should be on here?

can the dishwalla voter please fess up

lol guilty as charged

nb to the best of my knowledge I've never heard a note of Dishwalla's music but I hate all these bands so fuckin much I figured I'd vote for the one who'd done me the least harm by staying off my radar

kinda disappointing I was hoping there was an actual dishwapologist out there who was gonna be like 'no man their first ep is pretty decent'

i am totally cool with the one Dishwalla song that i and everyone but aerosmith knows, but they were only my 3rd choice after Semisonic and Nickelback

Ha, never noticed the "WMMR: Music should hurt" t-shirt in the "Chemistry" video. That's some insider Minneapolis culture there--punk-dominated precursor to Radio K.

anything that got us to "dishwapologist" is ok by me

Finally getting around to Semisonic's debut The Great Divide thanks to this thread and Spotify. This is the one with "If I Run" and "Down In Flames" and it's pretty good! Certainly doesn't deserve getting lumped in with Seven Mary Three. Most of the songs could lose a minute or so of running time and there's a few dud tracks but a nice sound with good range - - - much more "college rock" and/or 60s throwbackness than alt-rock as such.

yeah but Closing time is awfu

Gin Blossoms = only listenable group on this list (and even then it's really just New Miserable Experience).

alright Collective Soul weren't too too lame

http://www.southlandpark.com/images/2011_Steak_Logo_feat_Gin_Blossoms%281%29.jpg

The Gin Blossoms are playing at a dog track in West Memphis. Ordinarily, I'd forget it, but man. Steak Contest.

Puppet Show and Gin Blossoms

Semisonic of them all - but I would never listen to any of these bands by choice.

given that i still get a Gin Blossoms song stuck in my head now and then, unlike any of these other groups, i would definitely agree with many others and say they are the least shitty on this list.

At one point in my life, I owned a Gin Blossoms single (Hey Jealousy, obv) which is more than I can say for the rest of these...

'Tis a poor reflection on the 90s that all they have to provide for a meat-cooking competition is jangle pop, and not something as meaty as Ram Jam or Zebra.

Smashing pumpkins should've been included

nobody told me

Dishwalla were the headliners at the Fells Point Fun Fest in 1996. Because the show was running late, Too Much Joy only got to play 4 songs before having their set prematurely cut off to make way for Dishwalla.

Sponge should have been on here and I totally would have voted them. Why? Because I genuinely sort of love a couple of their songs.

I agree with you ENBB (except I wouldve still voted for GB)

i never heard sponge beyond their two big singles but those are absolutely indispensible.

Which reminds me: I need to get Empire Records on DVD

I still like the song "Wax Ecstatic" a lot.

^yeah me too

Sponge's third(!) album, New Pop Sunday was a guilty pleasure for me for a couple months back when it came out.

Which reminds me: I need to get Empire Records on DVD

― starring EDWARD WOODWARD (Drugs A. Money), Sunday, September 18, 2011 9:46 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark

Was Sponge on the ER soundtrack? I don't remember it if so.

Third album? Damn - I just meant a couple songs off Rotting Pinata namely "Plowed" and "Molly" iirc.

"Plowed" is featured in the movie, but not on the actual soundtrack.

Sponge is actually releasing their eighth album this year, the mind boggles. I gave up after the third.

Yeah, I just did some investigating and found that out myself. I am surprised I didn't remember that though. I watched the shit out of that movie in the years after it came out. So bad it's good etc. A couple years later I met the dude who sings Sugarhigh on top of the building at the end when he was DJing at some bar I was at in LA. I was drunk so I totally did that thing where I was like hey weren't you in Empire Records. He gave me three CDs of his all but one of which didn't totally suck.

Wait, all but one did totally suck. The one that didn't was actually pretty OK.

You know who are on the sndtrk though (apparently)? The Gin Blossoms. It all comes full circle.

yes!

little known fact about the movie Empire Records: it really fucking sucks

that not so little-known bsj

Oh yeah its a horrible, horrible movie but that doesn't mean I won't watch it every time I come across it on cable.

I don't think there's any one who doesn't know yr little fun fact there bsj. You can still love things that really fucking suck.

Especially if you're young and have a big crush on Ethan Embry (sub Tyler, RZ etc.) at the time said movie comes out.

i know i know.. wasnt tryin to kill anyones buzz, sorry

ENBB OTM re: crushes. But Tyler's mismatched underwear on the day she knew (and put tons of prep into) she was gonna seduce Rex Manning always bugged me.

OH REXY YOU'RE SO SEXY

omg

I had forgotten about a lot of this movie.

Although on my bus home the other night the Charles looked really pretty and there were some crew teams rowing and it reminded me of something someone said in ER about Harvard being where guys row boats and eat ivy or something like that.

... who told

lol

My favorite was in college we played a prank on this older guy (mid-40s) in our design studio who kept trying to be "hip" and keep up with bands we were listening to. Anyway, we spent about a month talking up this Rex Manning and how amazing he was. Finally this dude begged us to dub him a tape of Rex Manning to hear what the fuss was about. I spent two nights crafting a tape full of excised Dead bootleg and Sonic Youth guitar solos. Kinda wishing I still had that tape, tbh.

lol

School of Fish to thread.

Haha, oh man, "Three Strange Days," right?

You know who are on the sndtrk though (apparently)? The Gin Blossoms. It all comes full circle.

Yeah, that tune was co-written with Marshall Crenshaw and it's A+++++.

otm

How about Nixons? My Head? Reacharound? I could go for days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZUfZnbfCMk&ob=av2e

we're done talking about Empire Records?! :(

I wanted to talk about my Rory Cochrane TS: Lucas vs. Slater from Dazed and Confused

I like My Head but bands no one has heard of is different from bands no one cares about.

How'd Better Than Ezra escape mention? I guess no one truly cares about them...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WImlFjlAxGQ

Better Than Ezra = another band who had two songs I liked

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/21/showbiz/three-doors-down-bassist-charged/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130421043742-three-doors-down-todd-harrell-story-top.jpg

CNN) -- Police have charged the bassist of the rock band 3 Doors Down with vehicular homicide after they said his speeding car clipped a pickup truck, sending it down an embankment and killing the driver.

If there was a church of douches that picture would be in stained glass.

When did the whole fedora on rockers thing start up? Is it some leftover from late 90s ska culture or something?

Yeah, I think that's where they picked it up.

King’s X!

wow, three doors down guy got two years in prison for that car wreck. if he served all his time he should be out right about now.

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2015/12/18/ex-3-doors-down-bassist-gets-prison-deadly-crash/77284292/