I listen to a lot of music. It’s what I do.
I have a lot of favorite musicians who live in obscurity and will never grace the cover of Rolling Stone and, I kinda like that. But there are some bands who are embraced by the masses. Popularity does not a good band make but, there are a few popular heroes in my book. Here is a short list. Besides the great music, these are a few of my favorite “popular” bands and why.
This is not my Top 20 list necessarily, but they got the most play time on my sabbatical this summer.
The Beatles
The standard. The legend. The mark. The poetry. The hype. The story. The history. The personalities. The emotion.
U2
The grandeur. The spectacle. The extravagance. The politics. The God talk. The turn of phrase. The cleverness.
Foo Fighters
The rock. The energy. The laughter. The tone. The sing-ability. The fun. The angst. The legend that is Dave.
Kings of Leon
The freshness. The attitude. The family. The approachability (of the members). The anti-formula.
The Vines
The raw. The harmony. The in-your-face. The grit. The hook.
Beck
The artistry. The palette. The timbre. The talent.
Cake
The originality. The vibra-slap. The speak-singing. The humor.
Counting Crows
The array. The whine. The accessibility. The instrumentation. The poetry.
Lenny Kravitz
The attitude. The ethos/authenticity. The style. The clothes. The humility. The honesty.
No Doubt
The horns. The aerobics. The camaraderie. The punk. The pout. The pop.
Pearl Jam
The place in history. The flannel (of days gone by). The memories. The gravel. The sweat. The frantic.
The Police
The reggae. The minimal. The vox. The hits. The longevity. The relevance.
Prince
The guitar. The glitter. The soul. The color.
Radiohead
The art. The originality. The computer. The voice. The pain. The think. The provoke.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The funk. The tats. The energy. The bad voice. The personalities.
Sheryl Crow
The studio sounds. The country/rock/soul. The writing. The guitars.
The White Stripes/Raconteurs/Jack White
The fervor. The guts. The sounds. The whine. The live show. The pale. The comfort in his own skin.
Fountains of Wayne
The every other song that’s better than Stacy’s Mom. The pop. The smiles. The soundtracks. The musicianship.
Tom Petty
The country. The ugly. The telecaster. The band. The cruise-ability. The memories.
AC/DC
The blues. The screams. The grit. The predictability. The school dances.
