So I was talking to the every lovely Hannah Sage, and she was making a list of her Top 25 Bands. Which encouraged me to make a similar list. You can read Banane’s here, and mine below. Some rules: it is specifically bands, though I get mildly creative at times with my use of the word, Banane was using the criteria of loving at least two albums of said band, I have tried to comply with that (very helpful for cutting the number down) rule, but as we are different people, our criteria differ slightly, and while I’d say list placement is reflective of current tastes there are definitely some bands that have made the list out of respect and not because I listen to them that often currently. Before I can even get into my T0p 25 I’m going to go through my former favorite bands that just couldn’t make it, and my honorable mentions.
what music looks like
Let’s start at the bottom and work our way up.
Former Favorite Bands That Just Didn’t Make the List:
(in ORDER. it’s seriuz.)
10- Ace of Base
Self-explanatory. It’s A Beautiful Life. I like them okay!
9- Taking Back Sunday
Whatever, I was cool. Favorites include: The Ballad of Sal Villanueva, Cute Without The ‘E’ (Cut From the Team), There’s No ‘I’ In Team, and of course You’re So Last Summer. I’d be most likely to still listen to The Ballad of Sal Villanueva for that “YOU’D SAY WE’RE ONLY FRIENDS, YEAH- REAL, GOOD, FRIENDS, I BET I BET“. So good.
8- the Offspring
Once again I say, yeah, and? Come on. I was a scorned 15 year old. Self-Esteem was my favorite song. Anyway, you know you’ll sing along if one of their singles gets radio play.
7- Oasis
Didn’t we all though? Favorite song: Don’t Look Back In Anger. Favorite Oasis reference: Charlie on Lost.
6- No Doubt
Whether you agree or not, my list is getting a little cooler. Again “whatever”. I like Gwen Stefani. And I like No Doubt. I like Tragic Kingdom and I like Bathwater.
5-Blink 182
Okay, so whatever. Blink was the best. I am cool! (I am ruining any street cred I had left) My favs: all the good ones-you know what it is, (by that I mean I can’t remember right now), things like Going Away to College, oooh Wendy Clear! And Damnit. Etcetera.
3-Incubus
What does the world think of Incubus? (I am so sensitive! I keep wanting to “say” “psh, whatever” as if someone’s making fun of me! silly Allison) I like it all, and still listen occasionally to my favs. What I think was their last album had some good songs on it, I liked Rogues. Then there’s the usual, Drive, Wish You Were Here, I Miss You, Pardon Me and so on. Ugh except you know what song I can’t stand? Stellar. Shut the fuck up, that song sucks.
3-Third Eye Blind
I love Third Eye Blind! Favorite “deep cut” (that expression cracks me up, I always hear Andy from the Office shouting for Dave Matthews Band deep cuts. lolz) An Ode to Maybe. Other favs: you know them, the usual. The entire first album (particularly Losing A Whole Year, oh man HOW’S IT GONNA BE!), a few off the second (anything for you, turn my castles blue), that one hit from the third (and i’m BLIIIIINDED), if there are more I don’t know about it.
2- 311
Recently I had 311 on in the car and Bryn remarked that it sounded like high school. And so it does. I saw 311 way back when with Chrissy and Ashton and the boy y’all call “Hot Joe”. It was fuuuun! Favorite songs include Don’t Tread on Me, Beautiful Disaster, Frolic Room, the What I Got cover, and so on. At least give this a try:
1- The Postal Service.
I am so sad the Postal Service couldn’t make it. SO SAD. I tried really hard to squeeze them in. You’ll wonder why I didn’t trade them with who I have as number 25. But the difference is I never owned a Postal Service t-shirt and tried to act like I was cool cause of them. Also I’d say there was a year of intense loving and now fond revisiting (fairly regularly but not often) whereas my number 25 is from childhood to my “I think I’m cool” teens. Anyway, what’s not to enjoy about the Postal Service. I don’t know that I can pick a favorite now, they’ve all been my fav at one point or another. My first favorite was The District Sleeps Alone Tonight. Now my favorite is Recycled Air. I remember one night, with Chrissy & Ashton & Lauren, Chrissy and I were trying to pick music and we were being very indecisive and the Postal Service popped up and their album is called “Give Up” which we took as a very funny sign.
Also- Dashboard Confessional is not a band but if he was he and his bitch-ass songs would be all up in this list.
Some VERY Honorable Mentions:
Dr. Dog, Foo Fighters, Deerhunter, Sleigh Bells, Wu-Tang, Tool, System of a Down, Okkervil River, built to spill, A Perfect Circle, Easy Star All-Stars, A Tribe Called Quest, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Knife, Outkast, the Shins, stellastarr*, Pixies, DeVotchKa, Blur, the Clash, Cake.
Whether they are new to me, or an old fav, or simply WU-TANG, I love all of them intensely. It’s just that I either just started loving them, or used to love them more, or simply don’t love them as intensely as the Top 25. But they are very good bands and I had to mention them.
Foo Fighters get an extra special shout out, because I have loved three of their albums and if I wasn’t so over what they’re doing now they would have had a solid spot on the Top 25 (The Colour and the Shape, There is Nothing Left to Lose and One by One. To be fair I liked that stupid “Best of You” song too).
A Completely Befuddled Paragraph (That I Don’t Feel Like Untangling):
Special love to Dr. Dog (omg the song The Breeze) and Deerhunter (Nothing Ever Happened and Never Stops) for being newer and awesome. Special love to Pixies and the Clash for always making me feel bad ass. Horray for the Knife and Sleigh Bells for making me dance, hard. Y’all know about Wu. Thanks to Banane for the serious love I now have for built to spill and Okkervil River (both ripping-this-right-out-of-your-soul bands, favorite built to spill: Randy Described Eternity and I Would Hurt A Fly, favorite Okkervil River either Westfall [which reminds me of both banane & the zuck] or Calling and Not Calling My Ex which is a particularly ripped out your own heart track) I would REALLY like to put in some of my favorite lyrics from these two bands here, but they’re not on the list… sigh, just do me a favor and go listen to them? Please? Outkast is obviously awesome, and it was a way for me to sneak in my ultimate respect for Andre 3000. A Tribe Called Quest- if I had their actual albums and not just a best of, they would’ve made the top 25, but I felt like a fraud. They and the Pharcyde have the best beats. Then Cake. What can I say? I think they’re some fun and quirky fuckers, but I know people who love them so dearly that my love pales in comparison and so, off the top 25. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are funny (that Karen O man, what a kook), and they can both make me dance AND feel bad ass. And the Shins, oh we all love the Shins don’t we? Good times. Easy-Star & DeVotchKa both have one album that I love, and I never expanded further/didn’t like the other ones (in the reverse). Blur can hang out with the badass music, and stellastarr* you should read the Banane’s post for a perfect explanation of them.
Tool and System I have loved a particularly long time but they just don’t fit with the other “youth favs” listed above for some reason. Maybe because I generally consider them more awesome, whatever I mean by that). In fact, Tool and System get their own moment briefly where I will recount my memories of them:
Tool:
So I saw Tool at bonnaroo with Laur & Ash & Chrissy, and it was awesome. I mainly remember screaming with Lauren. After that I associate Tool with my cousin Joe who I have to thank for a whole lot of the music on here. Without him I would have always been some weirdo listening to Dashboard Confessional and classical music. I have to thank him for Tool, Sublime, Pink Floyd, AND Led Zeppelin. So thank you Joseph. Also, they may have written the song Intolerance for 15 year old me (scorned Allison was PISSED).
System of a Down:
More Ashton, Lauren, Chrissy music. My favorite two System memories are of me and Chrissy though. One time we went to a gathering in w.chez and we brought the CD we had, and it was just…. oh so fun. And the other was the time Chrissy and I randomly lived at Water St. for a week in Danush and Jason’s room, when no one else was there (it was break) and Louis and Bryn came over and sat on the couch drinking while Chrissy and I fucking rocked out like maniacs.
Okay, to be fair, that last part got a little extravagant. And became a list of bands I like. If I hadn’t already published it I’d take off a bunch cause they are not really in contest for the TOP 25. If I had to revamp it and name 5 Honorable Mentions not ramble on, I’d pick: (to be added when i get home from work cause it’s 5 and i gots ta go)
So… is your interest piqued? Will you return for the Top 25? You should! There will be more pictures and video! Promise! And don’t forget to check the lovely Hannah Sage Banane’s list.
