Prince is alright too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifp_SVrlurY skip to 3:30 for Prince, although the whole song is great

i think radiohead is gonna be in most peoples top 5, at least among my friends, but they would get 0 number votes for number 1 - again, just among my friends. so if judging our opinions was based on total points where 1=5 pts, 2=4 pts, 3=3 pts, 4=2 pts, and 5=1 pt, they are probably clearcut winners - but i think thats a poor way to look at it on the whole. i mean, congrats RH on being able to appeal to arguably the widest audience since the beatles, but being able to get #1 votes is important imo. if i asked everyone "if you got to see ONE concert before you die" nobody i know is saying RH.

also, this thread has done a solid job of culturing my music tastes past grateful dead and pink floyd, someone should start one where people suggest their favorite band of all time (1950s-present?) and provide 3 or 5 "must listen" songs by that band that youd use to try and get someone to like them.

If you would honestly like to have a civilized, intelligent debate on rock music and rock's best bands, please let me know.

This is going to sound condescending or confrontational, but I mean this in the most sincere way that a message board post will allow: In my opinion, it seems that you have mediocre taste in rock music. I think you have the potential to improve your taste, which would include either acknowledging Radiohead's talent and/or influence, or even liking them. But I am certain that you are not an expert when it comes to knowledge of rock music and its history, and that is reflected in your mediocre taste.

Obviously, in order to have a rational debate, we have to understand the basic truth that music "taste" is highly subjective, and how everyone responds to music differs from one person to another. But we can still discuss rock music history and facts, and the influence of rocks bands on music itself and the audience that listens to them is more objectively quantifiable.

If you are willing to admit that the Beatles were one of the most influential bands of all time, but that they're not your cup of tea, then I can possibly convince you that Radiohead is not "bad". I certainly can make a good case for why they are one of the best bands to ever play.

Our discussion would start with you naming any 5 bands which released their debut CD in the 90's or later who you think are better than Radiohead. The release of the debut record is important because it will help satisfy a definition of a "generation". This will help me determine your taste in music (not if it's good or bad, but what kind of rock music you like). It will be a good starting point for a discussion.

Not liking Radiohead is understandable but saying they're bad is just ignorance imo.
And lol at people comparing them with their own favorite bands even if they're nothing alike
in style.

Based on the appearance of 2 of his albums in the top 20 of the past decade, I conclude that NME thinks that, in fact, The Streets is the true musical phenomenon of our age.

if best you consider no just music but influence, sales, fans etc. i'd say the big 5 are:

Radiohead
Nirvana
Metallica
U2
RHCP

of course people think bands like The Pixies or Pearl Jam are better but these 5 are the largest, most successful and also widely considered good music.

I made this my status update on FB because someone in this thread said it and I thought it rang very true...here is the status update and the responses I got in return:

Radiohead is in the same category as U2, bands who are terrible and yet somehow immensely popular among people who otherwise like decent music. It is a baffling phenomenon.

Mike XXXX
Radiohead is quite possibly the most overrated band of all time

Wyatt XXXX
they used to be really good, but went off the track sometime after Kid-A and now they just sound like noise to me.

Kathy XXXX
XXXX, this is my confirmation of your thoughts.

Adam XXXX
I agree. Radiohead these days seems to be a band for college sophomores to listen to and talk about their "amazing musicality."
I can listen to some of Kid A and The Bends, but I've never understood what all the fuss is about. And I hate, hate, HATE U2.

Tracey XXXX
I agree too!!!!!!

Tim XXXX
but Radiohead don't rate themselves! So whats the problem. They just do their own thing and don't court the limelight. Bono is just a smug tw*****at

as much of a jesus lizard fanboy as i am, i doubt they deserve a place in this argument, even if they are almost entirely responsible for the resurgence of noise rock. seen recently in the overwhelming amount of bands that are copying their style.

but the fugazi argument holds a lot of weight, imo.

also, to whomever said prince itt....also one of the better selections ive seen, but he's been around since the mid 70s? no?

stopped reading right there.

ok then...maybe Spin can convince you better:

http://www.spin.com/articles/myth-no...ggr_node=55990

This is very unsurprising, and doesn't really demonstrate much of anything. This is because much of what public music fanship is going to be about is social maneuvering and demonstrations; thus, you're likely to find high correlations in musical taste among perceived peer groups. (This is sorta what I was getting at earlier with the college stuff.) To pick a pretty clear cut example, when I was growing up, a very commonly expressed musical taste was "anything but country or rap." Both of those genres are pretty wide and encompass a large variety of styles, but I think that typically both were rejected out of hand because of the implications about social class. Much music (EDIT: or really any) snobbery will take this form and then produce rationalizations to disguise itself.

When one talks about the importance of Radiohead, I think a big part of it is that Radiohead is very influential and beloved among the perceived tastemakers.

Just love watching people get worked up. To contribute: Radiohead is ok, certainly overrated, and certainly not best of our time. Regardless, in order to determine the best band of our time I think it's probably important for our time to pass and gauge staying power. Because frankly Radiohead has a couple albums that sound like music which are worth listening to frequently, and a few that never deserve to be spun.

They're very bad at producing music I enjoy listening to, and that's the only thing that matters to me.

I understand your point, but it's a stupid one because nobody who calls radiohead bad means it from a technical perspective. Clearly what's meant is "I don't like them = they're bad".

Do you want to claim hair bands? I sure don't.

guess radiohead is out of the discussion then.

Radiohead are an English alternative rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985.

You really just cannot be taken seriously as a poster if you say "Radiohead is okay but they're obviously not even close to the best band of our time." That art is subjective is irrelevant. Saying this displays such detachment from reality that it makes you not worth listening to.

And this is ignoring the fact people rarely suggest an alternative, let alone the many alternatives that would be necessary to give credence to their "not even close/obviously not" opinion on Radiohead being #1. Mr. ****ing Bungle? Incubus? Linking a Spin article like it's gospel? Posting Facebook anecdotes? What the **** are you people doing?

What's subjective is the meaning of best. To you, it sounds like best = most popular. To others, radiohead is downright bad simply because they don't like the sound.

Since the Grateful Dead transcend time they are constantly, presently great.

It's pretty damn impressive for a band to get 131 yes votes to 240 no votes on this question.

Not that I agree. I don't think they are bad or anything, but to me they come off as better songwriters than musicians. If I had to pick a "best band", it had to score brilliantly in both.

I just now noticed that the OP said in "our time", which ofcourse changes things. As "our time" is pretty much the end of the old big band era. Still I'm not updated enough to give a good answer.

How exactly would you derive "To you, it sounds like best = most popular" from what I said? Radiohead is obviously not the most popular band of recent years.

Obviously "best" connotes more subjectivity than "greatest"; I think many more people could get on board with Radiohead being the greatest bands (maybe with Nirvana) of the last 20 years. Fewer would agree that they are the best.

IMO, off the top of my head, they are both. I listen to a lot of music and nobody else really seems to come all that close. Hardly any other band has put out something that can stand toe-to-toe with OK Computer, and that's not exactly the only thing Radiohead has ever done.

I won't insist that you're an idiot for not saying "YEAH, THEY'RE NUMBER #1, BABY!" That would be ridiculous. But how far are you willing to take the "omg, art is so subjective, if I don't like them then I don't like them, tough cookies" line? Let's say someone made this thread in 1970 and said "The Beatles: The best band of our time." And then a bunch of people popped in to say "lol no way," and then when pressed with a lot of "???"s, replied with your style of reasoning: "hey, I just don't like them, therefore I think it's ******ed to discuss them when talking about the best bands of our time." This isn't to say that Radiohead is as good as the Beatles, but since "music is subjective," that shouldn't matter. Would you seriously entertain the opinion of someone who thought the Beatles "weren't even close" to the best band of the 1960s? Or would you treat them like an idiot?

I read this entire ****pile just for the ham on rye and gumpzilla posts, so I hope you boys feel appreciated.

I'm thinking there might be a bit of self-selection bias.

clearly, every radiohead fan on 2p2 most likely viewed this thread and voted yes.

i would hope you would just understand that its not what theyre into and move on with your life.

you realize that jamming radiohead down peoples throats who dont agree with your opinion is similar to screaming at a wall?

oh wait, now that you treated me like an idiot i completely get what youre talking about. radiohead is #1! yay.

god damn, just stop posting.