I started thinking about the whole "alternative" music thing as it somewhat originated in the '70s with the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, Ramones, etc. and how it really came into fruition in the 1980's, ironically enough because the 2 biggest alternative bands (if one can even use that label on them anymore) came out roughly in the same year: U2 and REM. I think the only band that has come close to these two in terms of popularity and quality is Radiohead. Putting aside some of the other groups that could challenge these 3 for best all-time alternative band (e.g. Pearl Jam, Talking Heads, The Pixies, etc.), how would you rank these 3? My ranking would be something like this: 1. U2- Some of their music has been played out, I think we've seen all of Bono that we ever need to see in the media and elsewhere, and they've been accused of "selling out" from their original roots. Yet I just think they should be considered the best among the 3. Not just for their impact, but also because they have created some of the best rock albums ever (particularly War and Achtung Baby). 2. Radiohead- Despite never achieving commercial popularity with individual songs (well, at least on the pop charts, except for Creep and High & Dry), they are one of the most innovative and compelling bands ever, with mass popularity with their albums (several #1s) and critical acclaim. For the big 3 alone: The Bends, OK Computer, and Kid A, they belong in the Hall of Fame. Just a great, great band. 3. REM- although a personal favorite, I don't know if they have the same innovation and reach as the other two, although you can make a case that they might be the most influential among the 3 in terms of influencing other bands. They have their share of classic albums, as well, particularly Murmur, Document, and Automatic For the People. If I had to rank 'em in terms of influence and impact, I would rank them in that order. Personally, it would be: 1. U2 2. REM 3. Radiohead- possibly only because the others have been around longer. Whew.
REM U2 Radiohead. and I hate Radiohead so if I could take them off the list altogether I would. I wouldnt really call REM or U2 alternative mind you.
Man, U2 and REM. Those are 2 bands I listened to back when no one else even knew who they were. I still consider The Unforgettable Fire as U2's "new" album. Same goes for Document and REM. I guess because of how much I anticipated both of their releases back in the day. I bought both of those record albums on the day they were released, ran home, threw them on the turn table and listened non-stop for weeks. Weird how HUGE both of these bands have become.
U2 and REM aren't considered alternative now, but when they were first getting started they certainly were. They were the darlings of college radio back in the '80s. U2 is easily one of the biggest and most popular bands of all time. Even though I got into U2 because of early songs like I Will Follow and Sunday Bloody Sunday, now I find myself almost exclusively listening to their newer stuff (Elevation, Beautiful Day, etc...). Their music has grown old with me... REM is another band that I really like but they are hit and miss with me. Most of their albums I like (Life's Rich Pageant, Automatic for the People and Reveal are some of my favorites), however some I can't stand (Monster). One of my favorite songs from college is It's End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine) and it's still one of my favorites as it reminds me of those times. Radiohead is in a different league entirely. I don't mean better or worse but they don't have nearly the mainstream popularity of the REM or U2. I really like Radiohead but I guess I got into them too late (from my musical development point of view). The world ranking: U2 REM Radiohead My ranking on even days REM U2 Radiohead My ranking on odd days U2 REM Radiohead
Call me crazy, but I rank Radiohead above and beyond the other two. U2 IMHO is one of the most overrated bands ever. The 80's and 90's version of the Eagles. REM is pretty good, but I never really got into them. My ranking would be this Radiohead ^ ^ ^ REM ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ U2
Out of these three: Radiohead (still making great music) U2 (some of their stuff never gets old) REM (liked them back in the day, but now Michael Stipe's voice gets on my nerves)
My rankings are as follows: 1) Radiohead 2) U2 3) REM I list them that way because Radiohead is the only one that I can listen to every one of their albums. U2 is great but they sorta lost me after "Achtung Baby" although "All That You Can't Leave Behind" was a good album. REM is okay, but I only like these albums by them - "Murmur", "Reckoning", "Document", and "Automatic for the People".
Personally, I think Radiohead has had a much larger musical influence than REM or U2. Sure, U2 is definitely the most commercially successful of the 3, probably with REM in second and Radiohead as a close third, but Radiohead influenced so many bands, especially if you listen to Kid A and OKC and how that revolutionized music that came after it. I would say U2 is second with REM third. However, REM was one of Radiohead's major influences, so that has to be considered as well.
U2 is probably one of the biggest bands of all time. You hear the influence of U2 everywhere, particularly the sound of Edge's guitar. In public, Bono has been straddling the line of megalomania and self-importance since the band started, but the fact that he shares songwriting credits evenly with every member of the band is amazingly cool. They've been able to evolve (sometimes drastically, sometimes subtly) over the year, which has sustained their popularity. REM is the most musically simple and conventional of the 3 bands, but Michael Stipe is probably the best (though occasionally confusing) lyricist among the 3 bands. At their peak, they wrote really beautiful pop songs that were more intelligent than your average mainstream stuff. Radiohead is probably the most musically adventurous of the group. They're also the least pop of the 3, so they'll probably never have as large a fanbase as the other 2. However, almost all of the people who liked them 10 years ago still like them. They are the only band on the list who really reward close, repeated listening.
i dont know about that. rem and u2 have a pretty long line of bands that have followed and been influenced by them (including radiohead). there would probably be no radiohead w/out rem and u2. i think alot of new groups are influenced by radiohead, but the other 2 have just been around for so much longer so their influence is more widespread - they are almost at a beatles/stones level of impact now. all 3 of those bands would be in my top 10 all time groups, so its hard for me to choose, but i think i still have to go w/ u2, followed by radiohead and then rem. i dont listen to anything post-rattle and hum from u2 and as far as rem, out of time is the last album i liked. despite the fact that both bands died for me over 15 years ago, their 80's output stands on its own. joshua tree, unforgettable fire, war, document, murmur, lifes rich pagent - all timeless albums. as a guitarist, the edge is my favorite player and the one whose sound i try to rip-off the most. but im also a big peter buck fan - his playing is another influence on me - i always think of him whenever im picking out a chord instead of playing it. i was listening to both those bands pretty heavily when i started playing guitar (1990 or so) and as a musician, their influence has always stuck with me through the years. ive seen radiohead and rem live multiple times, but early u2 still might have been a better show, as evidenced in under a blood red sky.
They all hold their place in rock history as definitive bands that refuse to rest on their own laurels. All have pushed their music to the edge and back (literally). Best Lyrics - U2 Best Live Performance - Radiohead Best Music (songwriting, melodies, overall body of work) - REM Favorite band out of the 3 would have to be U2, but they all rank pretty high with me.
U2 REM Radiohead What I like about all 3 is that they are always changing their sound and I appreciate the balls it takes for these guys to make some of the big leaps they did. Think about U2s first 3 albums and then compare how the Unforgettable Fire was completely different from that. Then they took the strides they made there and mixed it with their growing interest in American roots music to make The Joshua Tree. Then from there, a complete left turn at the start of the 90s with Achtung Baby which is my favorite album out all of the work of these 3 groups. Their last 2 albums have kind of been too similar and so many songs seem interchangable. Hopefully working with Rick Rubin will lead to something new and fresh from them. REM, i was too young to listen to them in their IRS days, but like I said above with U2, they were able to grow and do new things. When you look at Out of Time and Automatic for the People vs the IRS records. Monster, another example of something completely out of left field that was amazing. I haven't enjoyed an entire Radiohead album for quite a while. I know they are brilliant and all, but that doesn't always translate to something I want to hear. Plus, they annoy me in the way they disown their hit songs like Creep and High and Dry. I was watching something about best songs of the 90s on VH1 and they showed a clip of Thom Yorke from some tv interview and he talked about how he heard Creep while at a shop or restaurant or something and that he didn't realize it was one of his songs until it was halfway done. I just thought to myself that he was lying, there's no way. Just and Karma Police are my favorite Radiohead songs btw.
Some people think that punk rock is just poseurs in leather jackets, chains, and spikey hair doing Rancid covers. I remember once somebody here lambested Bono for saying Patti Smith was punk, but she was part of the NYC scene. Anyways, technically U2 was post punk, though I would say they didn't have a direction in mind that really fit just one style of music. I remember seeing on Youtube these old videos of them on local Dublin tv from before they had recorded their first album and it's like they are doing some elements of punk, but then the Edge busts out this long classic rock solo. They were probably still teenagers at that point. The other song I saw was like some kids trying to make their own David Bowie song.
Man, did anyone remember when REM came to the Woodlands back in the early/mid-90's and Radiohead opened for them? Talk about a double bill. Michael Stipe introduced them with something like, "Radiohead is so good, they're scary." Hard to remember Radiohead's set because I didn't really know them, but I remember them doing "Fake Plastic Trees" and thinking, "Hey, they've got something going on." One of the bands I thought was going to be bigger than they were was Live, mostly based on Throwing Copper. What happened to them?
