h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If not Pop then Soft Rock (at a stretch)

They can't be Alternative when each album sells like a billion copies each. When you sell that many records you ARE the mainstream.

Without wanting to kick off a definition argument the phrase Alternative is redundant if it what everyone listens to.

Their style and their personas are alternative..., can they help it if their music is so popular that it's mainstream?

Anyway, I love R.E.M., and I love Michael Stipe, he is a genius... In my humble opinion R.E.M. is far superiour to U2. I know many compare the 2 bands, but U2 never struck my fancy, and R.E.M. most certainly does...

As with all things, it is a matter of taste. And luckely we don't all agree..., would make the world a very booring place if we did

Don't get me wrong though, R.E.M are a great band. My teenage years would have been a lot less enjoyable without Document, Out of Time and Automatic.....

Oh, okay then

It's just I'm a very big fan, and I don't like it if people insult them... I'm 23 years old, I was actually born just after the band was formed, we're talking days here I always say I was born to be their fan Anywho, I have all their CD's and singles and stuff, and am very much looking forward to the new CD on it's way...

I laugh at all you who think the Pumpkins were grunge...laugh I say. They were always breaking boundaries, Billy Corgan always will, and if you think MellonCollie only has two decent songs, you obviously aint been listening.

I do agree with the REM and Queen though...phenomenol bands.

The whole *best band in the world* thing is a little too personal though. I am an avid Pumpkins fan, and probably always will be...

Neither U2 nor REM do mean anything to me - there were some bands in my live who really did, but to tell about that is another thread AND this thread already exists!

REM are a band that I can always return to, no matter how my tastes in music change from day to day - and I think that accusations of being staid or releasing 'clone' albums are ill-founded - indeed, their 'experimentation' on albums such as 'Monster' or 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi' probably lost them a lot of fanbase. I like U2, but do find them a bit... bombastic, if that's the right word.

However, when it comes to 'best bands', I find it's not only subjective, it different from week to week. This week, the best band in the world for me is Sebadoh. But it'll be something different this time next week. Who knows, maybe even U2

REM are an alt.rock band. its just how they are defined genre-wise.

this is a matter of taste, and is probably pointless to argue in terms more sophisticated than saying 'i like U2 best of all. how about you?'. these discussions end up in name-checking sessions and stupid arguments about whether certain bands conform to peoples tastes or not.

and there *is* a lot of grunge in pumpkins, but i dont know if thats what they could be described as.

To me it all depends on my mood. Usually Pearl Jam is my favourite band, but sometimes I like Tool better, or Queens of the Stone Age.

Besides, U2 isn't a real rock band, and although they had some nice songs in their day, they're hardly up to any level anymore. Certainly not that poppy Elevation. I mean, any selfrespecting songwriter wouldn't dare coming up with "fly so high, high in the sky, fly, fly".

And REM alt. rock? Not the last time I checked.

Yay, Dr Gonzo - another Sebadoh fan around here. Bakesale and Harmacy are two of my favorite albums......is there any sign they will do anything else?

I know Jason released a solo album last year and Lou has been doing a lot with TFI but no sound of any more Sebadoh.....

>>> And REM alt. rock? Not the last time I checked.<<<

Check again

All right (sigh),
*goes to cdnow.com*
*returns*

I concede

REM *are* rock. Just not too heavy...

*rubs thighs*

Tool.

(They rhyme you know)

Actually, what about Faith No More? Just to throw a new band name into the mix. They *were* pretty rock 'n' roll...

no, they certainly arent rock n roll.

rock n roll is people like freddie and the dreamers, all the way up to the rolling stones. jerry lee lewis and all that...

and i win! REM *are* alt.rock. but then, so, technically, are the pixies, and eels. neither of whom are too similar. beck is, too, i spsoe.

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I'm a big U2 fan

Uncle Heavy - Are you sure you know who Faith No More WERE?

*does hand gestures*

i thought faith no more were some kind of grungey outfit

In the mid-80's? Nah, not really...kind of a mixture of a lot of different styles. Collectively, I would call them on of the best rock bands to have ever existed...

U2 are my favourite band by a long shot. They are one of only a handful of bands who can still put out good tunes decades after they started. I love their latest song "The hands that built America" and most of the songs on their last album. I once lived right across the river from their recording studios in Dublin, and I can testify that they work bloody hard for their well-earned dollars.

Oh yes, and while I'm at it, Aslan are a brilliant band too...

But then again, I am a 30-something and U2 is part of my upbringing, so I don't expect everybody to agree with me!

Woodpigeon