this list turned my brain to shit. i can’t even hope to comment intelligently about it, 500 songs from one decade is just too insane to comprehend. i like that “Crazy” made the top 20, though it’d be closer to 1 on my personal list.

and is anyone ever going to explain animal collective’s appeal to me?

Unfortunately I think it happens to everyone. Every artist makes their “best album” and then never lives up to that again… or almost every artist. Even someone like Bob Dylan made his magnum opus years ago, though which album that was may be the subject of some argument. He’s put out good albums since then, at least. Some bands make a great album and then churn out relative crap for the rest of their careers. I think Weezer falls somewhere in the middle, but the best has most likely already happened.

Title’s awkward on purpose, I’d say. The art for it works really well… it’s from the point of view of an awkward guy lookin at his feet. I figure it’s what Rivers knows… being awkward. He has millions of dollars and he was living on a bare mattress in an empty apartment.

I feel similarly about Wolfmother and Jet. Both bands play really good impressions of older music, and I like them both for it. But how long can it last? Jet just had another album out, I hardly noticed. Let’s hope Wolfmother can evolve enough to stay interesting.

I felt a big connection with the characters in Breakfast Club even though I wasn’t born when it was released. John Hughes’ depictions of teenagers may have been stylized and idealistic, but what isn’t when Hollywood’s involved? He got it as close to right as anyone could.

The “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” scene still makes me tear up.

Seriously. Don’t complain about the writing in a piece about Les Paul unless you’re aware he was the father of the electric guitar. You’re just annoyed you had to look up “indelible,” telescopic boy.

I broke out my Gibson Les Paul today, in tribute. RIP.

thumbs down to whoever gave this a thumbs down.

You can’t go yrong with Yim Yames! (second person to make the joke. still hilarious.)

But seriously, this is good stuff.

I don’t think he’s bashing Pearl Jam just for being well-known.

Hard to take a band called “Pearl Jam” seriously.

And anyway, though Pearl Jam might be ok, Pearl Jam spawned Creed. Creed spawned Nickelback. And here we are. Each iteration worse than the last. Pearl Jam wasn’t even the best grunge band, just the most insistent upon itself.

Being popular doesn’t exclude a band from being good. Nor does being popular act as a valid substitute for being good. The best bands are both.

ahaha, trolling is so easy.

would a nickelback fan be reading stereogum? seriously? give me a break. nickelback’s from canada anyway, so they can’t be the best american band unless you mean “from the americas.”

mostly my point here is just because a band sells a billion albums, whether it’s pearl jam or nickelback, it doesn’t mean that band is the best ever. pearl jam’s fine, nickelback’s bad, there are plenty of groups out there better than both.

I was mostly just being a douche. But I take offense at the implication that Pearl Jam is the best American band in the past two decades.

…you forgot Nickelback!

dude, that’s way fucking cooler than a regular G chord. cause he’s strumming it way up the neck.