NOT "most famous"

October 24, 2017 7:19 AM

The Best Band From Every State, Dan Jackson and Anthony Schneck, Thrillist - "The Neptunes aren't a band!" you yell at your computer, before realizing it's an inanimate object and we can't hear you.

Alabama - The Swampers
Alaska - Portugal. The Man
Arizona - Meat Puppets
Arkansas - Pallbearer
California - The Beach Boys
Colorado - DeVotchKa
Connecticut - MGMT
Delaware - George Thorogood and the Destroyers
Florida - Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
Georgia - OutKast
Hawaii - Sons of Hawaii
Idaho - Built to Spill
Illinois - Earth, Wind & Fire
Indiana - Jackson 5
Iowa - The Everly Brothers
Kansas - Kansas
Kentucky - My Morning Jacket
Louisiana - The Meters
Maine - Coke Weed
Maryland - Beach House
Massachusetts - Pixies
Michigan - The Temptations
Minnesota - Prince and the Revolution
Mississippi - Rae Sremmurd
Missouri - The Rainmakers
Montana - Silkworm
Nebraska - Icky Blossoms
Nevada - The Killers
New Hampshire - The Shaggs
New Jersey - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
New Mexico - The Shins
New York - Television
North Carolina - Superchunk
North Dakota - Bobby Vee and the Strangers
Ohio - The Isley Brothers
Oklahoma - The Gap Band
Oregon - Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Pennsylvania - The Roots
Rhode Island - Talking Heads
South Carolina - The Marshall Tucker Band
South Dakota - Scatter Their Own
Tennessee - Big Star
Texas - Destiny's Child
Utah - The Osmonds
Vermont - Lambsbread
Virginia - The Neptunes
Washington - Sleater Kinney
West Virginia - Asleep at the Wheel
Wisconsin - Garbage
Wyoming - The Lillingtons

posted by the man of twists and turns (120 comments total)

Sleater Kinney is also a place and you can shout excitedly as you drive past the sign for it, so WA entry approved on that basis.
posted by Artw at 7:40 AM on October 24, 2017 [11 favorites]

Ignoring that Pennsylvania is a big effing state that's a whole heck of a lot more than Philly, I have no argument with The Roots. (Though my teenage self will totally throw down for The Hooters. And Hall & Oates.)
posted by librarianamy at 7:42 AM on October 24, 2017

I do love the Isley Brothers, but ... Pere Ubu, sorry.
posted by mykescipark at 7:42 AM on October 24, 2017 [8 favorites]

I had to look up Nebraska because I was sure there was no way a band that obscure was tops in the state. I was wrong. Also Giant Sand is the best band from Arizona and way more 'Arizona' than the Meat Puppets.

Also, it doesn't say most famous, but I'm not sure that MGMT is 'better' than John Mayer or Moby (Connecticut examples) except on the same way that Destiny's Child is the best band from Texas. The genres are just to diverse to determine such a thing. And even if you did think Destiny's Child was the among the best bands from Texas, why wouldn't you distill that down to just Beyonce, whose work is more expansive than the genre dance pop Destiny's Child made?
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:43 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

mykescipark: I too love the Isley Brothers, _and_ Pere Ubu, but I'm squarely in camp DEVO when it comes to Ohio bands.
posted by SansPoint at 7:45 AM on October 24, 2017 [12 favorites]

The only band I hate more than the Beach Boys is the Eagles.
posted by elsietheeel at 7:45 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

I woulda picked Throwing Muses over Talking Heads for Rhode Island. Talking Heads is a big act, but they're firmly based in the NYC scene. Throwing Muses has that weird Newport vibe.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:46 AM on October 24, 2017 [9 favorites]

(the "Come as you are" sign only went up outside Aberdeen in 2005 and so does not enter into consideration.)
posted by Artw at 7:47 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Only bands were considered, not individual artists.

If they are considering bands called X and the Y (cf: Malkmus and the Jicks, but also Bruce, Petty, and George T) then they are already playing fast and loose with that rule.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:50 AM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

librarianamy: "Ignoring that Pennsylvania is a big effing state that's a whole heck of a lot more than Philly, I have no argument with The Roots. (Though my teenage self will totally throw down for The Hooters. And Hall & Oates.)"

It is a big state but for whatever reason, the list of good bands from Western PA is pretty thin. The Jaggerz, The Iron City House Rockers, Rusted Root, Anti-Flag and um maybe Don Caballero. We seem to be a lot better at breeding football players than rock bands around here.
posted by octothorpe at 7:53 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Yes, clearly that band that have that one song that will be played at every wedding between What I Like About You and Wonderful Tonight are better than REM and The Allman Brothers Band. Clearly.

I was wondering just the other day if there were any bands from Maine. I'll have to check out these Coke Weed kids. They sound nice.
posted by bondcliff at 7:54 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Am I wrong, or did they get all the way to Maryland before they got to a single woman?
posted by thivaia at 7:55 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Colorado - DeVotchKa

The fuck ?

Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Barnstorm
The String Cheese Incidident
Earth Wind and Fire
Firefall

Are all 10-100 times better than DeVotchKa - which is a band for people who thought ColdPlay and Jason Mraz are too metal.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:55 AM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

I'm going to get beaten up, but I'd have picked Husker Du for Minnesota.
posted by daveje at 7:59 AM on October 24, 2017 [15 favorites]

Some A+ trolling from Thrillist here, would read and roll eyes again.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 8:01 AM on October 24, 2017 [14 favorites]

daveje: Not from Minnesota, and I won't beat you up. I'll just whap you gently on the nose with a rolled up newspaper.

*whap*
posted by SansPoint at 8:01 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Also Giant Sand is the best band from Arizona

Of course, but only because Howe Gelb isn't a band.
posted by sjswitzer at 8:01 AM on October 24, 2017

I woulda put Violet Femmes for Wisconsin, but the list isn't awful.
posted by LionIndex at 8:04 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

The only band I hate more than the Beach Boys is the Eagles.

At least they didn't pick The Doors.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:04 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

Colorado - DeVotchKa

The fuck ?

Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Barnstorm
The String Cheese Incidident
Earth Wind and Fire
Firefall

Are all 10-100 times better than DeVotchKa - which is a band for people who thought ColdPlay and Jason Mraz are too metal.

They picked Earth, Wind, and Fire for Illinois.
posted by Slinga at 8:04 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Also did The Shaggs just win by default?
posted by elsietheeel at 8:05 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Not worth clicking given some of the choices here. Bah.
posted by uberchet at 8:07 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

A throwaway line at the end does not make me less miffed that you didn't include DC.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:07 AM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

It’s hard to argue with The Temptations, but I also don’t envy anyone having to pick the one, best band from a state that birthed motown, detroit garage (MC5? The Stooges?), techno (and thus EDM), *and* I haven’t even gotten to hardcore (Negative Approach) and related subgenres yet!
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:08 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

This is a fun form of "Let Us Now Argue About Music"

My contribution:

Kentucky - My Morning Jacket Slint
posted by gwint at 8:11 AM on October 24, 2017 [9 favorites]

I like Destiny's Child but it's simply absurd to say they're the best band to come from Texas. They're not even the best band from Houston.

I'll hand it to the list makers, though. They've found a way to take pissing people off with stupid lists to the next level by including the geography angle.
posted by Sangermaine at 8:13 AM on October 24, 2017 [7 favorites]

I know Maryland is a small state that hasn't spawned a lot of bands, but Beach House? A shoegaze band I'd never heard of before today that's only been around since 2004? Surely Ego Likeness tops them.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:17 AM on October 24, 2017

I do love the Isley Brothers, but ... Pere Ubu, sorry.

Quick! Name three Pere Ubu songs that you've heard being played at a high school dance, roller skating party, or wedding reception in the last 30 years! Trick question, you can't.

Off the top of my head, I can name SIX Isley Brothers songs for which that applies.

Clearly, one Ohio band has more overall cultural currency, and it ain't the Cleveland art-punk weirdoes, great though they may be.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:18 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

ALL of the bands that are from NY and they pick "Television"? Seriously?

Also, I thought Bobby Vee was from Minnesota... I guess it is just were he and his family ended up.
posted by jillithd at 8:20 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Colorado - DeVotchKa

The fuck ?

I'd have picked 16 Horsepower, but I'm pretty used to being the only right thinking person in a variety of scenarios.
posted by ernielundquist at 8:23 AM on October 24, 2017 [5 favorites]

I assume Eleventh Dream Day is missing from the list because Kentucky and Illinois are fighting over custody.
posted by ardgedee at 8:25 AM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

British Columbia - Destroyer
Alberta - Tegan and Sara
Saskatchewan - uh The Northern Pikes?
Manitoba - Propagandhi
Ontario - A Tribe Called Red
Quebec - Godspeed! You Black Emperor / Celine (tie)
New Brunswick - Eric's Trip
Nova Scotia - Sloan
PEI - every last fiddler
Newfoundland and Labrador - Great Big Sea?
Nunavut - Tanya Tagaq
Yukon - Yukon Blonde (honourary)
Northwest Territories - The MacDaddy Band (covers)
posted by Beardman at 8:25 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

> Quick! Name three Pere Ubu songs that you've heard being played at a high school dance, roller skating party, or wedding reception in the last 30 years! Trick question, you can't.

The FPP's own rule: "Best, NOT most famous".

And, basically, wedding receptions have never been the basis for choosing music I like, even when I'm at wedding receptions.
posted by ardgedee at 8:30 AM on October 24, 2017

Ahhh I see... you're trying to annoy people just like the article by not putting the Tragically Hip on your list.

Well played, Beardman.
posted by Grither at 8:31 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

Okay, why would one pick Husker Du for Minnesota rather than Prince? I mean, I (and I know it's wrong and bad of me) prefer Husker Du to Prince, and (if one is considering bands from about 1980 - 2017) I tend to think that Husker Du is the obvious second, but even if you consider Husker Du to be as innovative as Prince given the difference in genres, Prince has a lot more range. (I mean, HD is pretty much "from Land Speed Record to Candy Apple Grey and back again", and that's not super far.) Prince has greater emotional range, too, and of course was massively more influential.

Although really, can one count Atmosphere? And what about the Replacements?

Minnesota is in a situation where Prince is the obvious, obvious pick for best, but second best would be incredibly contentious.

(Also, I have just learned that both Information Society and the Andrews Sisters were from Minnesota.)

(Also, this list does not include very many women, does it?)
posted by Frowner at 8:32 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

British Columbia - The New Pornographers
Alberta - Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:32 AM on October 24, 2017

Gotta love their "guiding principles":

• The band must have been formed in or primarily based in the state in question. Lots of groups move to Los Angeles or Nashville or New York City after scoring a record deal, but they're not from those cities.
• Only groups, not individual artists, are considered. This admittedly skews the list away from hip-hop and country, but it also skews toward not driving us totally insane trying to wade through every musician from every state.
• We limited ourselves to bands who rose to prominence after World War II.
• These are not simply our favorite bands from every state; we considered a secret recipe of historical significance, influence, popularity, and the nebulous "quality" factor.

And here I thought Best Places to Live lists that used a handful of arbitrary metrics combined in an arbitrary scoring systems were bad.
posted by noneuclidean at 8:37 AM on October 24, 2017

British Columbia - Nomeansno

There, at least one small part of the list is perfect.

You're welcome.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 8:40 AM on October 24, 2017 [5 favorites]

Texas would be ZZ Top, which explains so much, really.
posted by Beholder at 8:40 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Frowner: it’s bands, not individual artists.
and it’s their silly rule, not mine
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:44 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

PEI - every last fiddler

God I'm so old people don't even make fun of us for Haywire anymore. Anyway the actual correct answer is The Danks or Barachois if you are going for the whole fiddle thing.
posted by Space Coyote at 8:48 AM on October 24, 2017

I am in complete agreement.

I am in complete disagreement.

I am confused by some of the choices.
posted by tommasz at 8:49 AM on October 24, 2017

Home state: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Post-college state: Earth, Wind & Fire.

I win.
posted by tzikeh at 8:49 AM on October 24, 2017

And here I thought Best Places to Live lists that used a handful of arbitrary metrics combined in an arbitrary scoring systems were bad.

I'll bet they had to search on "Is there a band in Wyoming?" and then design the criteria around whatever came up.
posted by ernielundquist at 8:53 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

The Swampers for Alabama? Not that I disagree, but I wonder if they considered The Funk Brothers and The Wrecking Crew as well.
posted by TedW at 8:57 AM on October 24, 2017

Before I clicked the link, I was like "Pleasepleaseplease don't let Texas be ZZ Top",
23skidoo

Why?
posted by Sangermaine at 8:57 AM on October 24, 2017

Okay, why would one pick Husker Du for Minnesota rather than Prince? I mean, I (and I know it's wrong and bad of me) prefer Husker Du to Prince, and (if one is considering bands from about 1980 - 2017) I tend to think that Husker Du is the obvious second, but even if you consider Husker Du to be as innovative as Prince given the difference in genres, Prince has a lot more range. (I mean, HD is pretty much "from Land Speed Record to Candy Apple Grey and back again", and that's not super far.) Prince has greater emotional range, too, and of course was massively more influential.

Although really, can one count Atmosphere? And what about the Replacements?

Minnesota is in a situation where Prince is the obvious, obvious pick for best, but second best would be incredibly contentious.

(Also, I have just learned that both Information Society and the Andrews Sisters were from Minnesota.)

(Also, this list does not include very many women, does it?)
posted by Frowner

My argument for Husker Du over Prince hinges on the "band" stipulation. Prince, lifetime, was a more significant artist than Husker Du was as a band, and Prince was a way more accomplished musician than any member of HD. But that's his whole career, working with a bunch of different bands, or even just being his own goddamned band (sometimes I think I actually prefer the stuff from the own-goddamned-band phase to stuff with the Revolution). I mean, one of the defining things for Prince was that he was always trotting out a new backing group every few years.

Whereas Husker Du accomplished what they did 100% as a band, and the post-breakup pretty-good-but-never-back-to-those-heights career arcs of Hart and Mould just proves that the band was greater than the sum of its parts.
posted by the phlegmatic king at 9:01 AM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

Before I clicked the link, I was like "Pleasepleaseplease don't let Texas be ZZ Top",
23skidoo

Why?

Probably a Butthole Surfers fan
posted by TedW at 9:01 AM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

I woulda picked Throwing Muses over Talking Heads for Rhode Island. Talking Heads is a big act, but they're firmly based in the NYC scene. Throwing Muses has that weird Newport vibe.

Yeah, I know we love to claim them, but going to college here doesn't make them from here.

I'm more of a Belly girl myself. And Gail Greenwood is peak Rhode Island... going from being in a band that won BRU's Rock Hunt in the mid 80's to being on the Middletown Town Council in the 00's. Love her.
posted by Ruki at 9:02 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Also, if they didn’t include individual artists, why is Prince on the list?
posted by TedW at 9:03 AM on October 24, 2017

You know, I wouldn’t mind Jane’s Addiction for California. Bonus: 3/4 of the original band are natives.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:04 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

As a Canadian this was a great geography, culture and history lesson. Better yet, I can tell that whoever wrote this has a similar funk alt hip-hop love that I do. I learned a lot (the Swampers backing Aretha Franklin) and heard great riffs from bands that never made it up north (Built to Spill). This is opinionated but totally worth sharing!
posted by furtive at 9:09 AM on October 24, 2017

A throwaway line at the end does not make me less miffed that you didn't include DC.

Fugazi is a given.
posted by furtive at 9:22 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

The only correct answer for Rhode Island is The Young Adults.
posted by incster at 9:24 AM on October 24, 2017

This white boy from Oklahoma expected Garth Brooks until the "no solo" rule, and Flaming Lips after that, so I'm a little embarrassed that I never realized the Gap Band started in Tulsa.

But I'm a little disappointed at how ahistoric the list is since the best and most influential band that ever came from Oklahoma may have been (Bob Wills and) the Texas Playboys.

Putting Talking Heads in RI instead of NY is a cheat, but Television was always Your Favorite Band's Favorite Band, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
posted by fedward at 9:28 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

Quick! Name three Pere Ubu songs that you've heard being played at a high school dance, roller skating party, or wedding reception in the last 30 years! Trick question, you can't.

As it said in the FPP ... the best band, not the most famous/popular.
posted by mykescipark at 9:32 AM on October 24, 2017

I know Maryland is a small state that hasn't spawned a lot of bands, but Beach House? A shoegaze band I'd never heard of before today that's only been around since 2004?

Beach House might not be everyone's cup of tea, but you should at least see the video for "Wishes" starring Ray Wise.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:37 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

The greatest band from California is the Aquabats and this list is a litany of slander.

For real though, there's a lot of great music here and I appreciate the embedded links. I would have preferred NWA for California, just because it's altogether rap light, but I take their point about the Beach Boys being the point of origin for a specifically Californian flavor of consumerist leisure/angst.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 9:39 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Garbage? The Violent Femmes have had a larger lasting impact on music.
posted by drezdn at 9:48 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Bah. None of Van Halen are native Californians (unless you count Sammy Hagar, which no one does) and two (importantly, the eponymous ones) weren't even born in the US.

I'm with Room 641-A. Jane's Addiction is the best choice.
posted by elsietheeel at 9:50 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

If the solo artist has only ever had one "& the" band, has never gone solo separate from it, and the members of that band have rotated significantly, then yeah, I'd consider that really just a solo artist with an ersatz band name
----------
Both Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty's biggest commercial hits came as solo artists.
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:03 AM on October 24, 2017

I don't know man. Their bands and solo albums sound pretty similar to me, but it's not my list and I think the solo vs band condition is unnecessary.
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:10 AM on October 24, 2017

(unless you count Sammy Hagar, which no one does)

We may disagree about the bands on this list but I think we can all agree that this is the most important takeaway.
posted by Room 641-A at 10:10 AM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

If the list allowed solo names we could have a Bob Dylan v. Prince argument and really hurt some feelings.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 10:15 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Putting Talking Heads in RI instead of NY is a cheat,

They're just trying to piss off Cowsills fans.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:19 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Also, for Ohio I'd have The Afghan Whigs and for Michigan I'd have MC5 or the Stooges

Well, I'd argue for GBV or the Breeders as being more important Ohioan bands, one because Bob Pollard is the ur-example of a career indie trailblazer and two because the Breeders were pretty much the apotheosis of the alt-rock female supergroup.

As for Michigan, both MC5 and the Stooges are more famous for their personas than their music. I'd vote for either the Supremes or Martha and the Vandellas, with Death being my sleeper candidate for most influential.

Also, Sonic Youth > Television for NY
posted by Chrischris at 10:23 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

/rushes into thread to fight everybody
posted by Existential Dread at 10:25 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

The best band from Illinois is Cheap Trick, which is why we'll burn in hell.
posted by Chitownfats at 10:26 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

People with piles of Throwing Muses and Talking Heads records are unconcerned with feelings of Cowsills fans.

Also, Nebraska’s best is For Against, anything else is a distant second.
posted by otters walk among us at 10:26 AM on October 24, 2017

Non-SoCal suggestions: Grateful Dead or Faith No More
posted by elsietheeel at 10:41 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

The best band from New York is obviously the Ramones, because they could come from nowhere else. You'd never mistake them for art-school dropouts from any other place. Television is what people say when they want to seem smart.

California bands are generally lousy, for some reason. I would also have chosen NWA. The Beach Boys were trendy and replicable for a few years, and then they were Brian Wilson with the best backing musicians in California.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:44 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

The strongest possible case for Husker Du is seeing The Revolution post Prince.
posted by TheShadowKnows at 10:54 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

No love for the Velvet Underground as far as New York goes?

Strange.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 11:03 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

This is well written list, and I love the thinking behind even the ones I don't agree with.

There's one place it falls down.

NY.

Look, Television is one of my favorite bands and has been since I was about 16.

But The Ramones. The Ramones. They are simply one of the most influential bands in the history of rock and roll. Who can't sing I Wanna Be Sedated? Who doesn't recognize the shirt to the point that it's a symbol of someone who doesn't really know anything about punk rock? How many people have picked up guitars after listening to album by someone who picked up a guitar after listening to the Ramones?

Is there a musician alive that would claim not to like them? For god's sake, even Morrisey apologized for slagging them off and went so far as to curate a compilation of his favorite Ramones songs

They defined the idea of what it was to be in a band. The look, the taking of the name, the constant nontsop touring. Not picking them for the most influential band from anywhere is basically not acknowledging the elephant in the room so that you can seem cooler than that.
posted by lumpenprole at 11:06 AM on October 24, 2017 [8 favorites]

Not acknowledging the elephant in the room so that you can seem cooler than that is basically what rock journalism is.
posted by fedward at 11:09 AM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

JERSEEEEYYY

tbh i feel bad arguing with it but bouncing souls
posted by poffin boffin at 11:10 AM on October 24, 2017

I called Husker Du over Prince and the Revolution because the former was a real band. The latter was just the name given to Prince's backing band over a certain timeframe, and a fair bit of personnel changes.

People in this thread are jumping up and down about Prince, not Prince and the Revolution, which rather proves my point. If TFA was about artists, there wouldn't be this discussion.
posted by daveje at 11:22 AM on October 24, 2017

In North Carolina, the Avetts are coming up fast on Superchunk....
posted by Shotgun Shakespeare at 11:37 AM on October 24, 2017

Putting Talking Heads in RI was a bit of a cheat, but my pick for best NY band would probably be A Tribe Called Quest. Talking Heads a close second.

Television is a band I've heard about quite a bit, but I'm not sure I've ever actually heard them. The Ramones were obviously hugely influential, but I honestly think they're a bit lacking in the quality department (sorry).

Other defensible choices: Velvet Underground, Wu-Tang Clan, The National (from Ohio, but firmly rooted in NYC), Beastie Boys.

I have to think there is a better band from Oregon than Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, given all the bands from Portland. Also, Animal Collective > Beach House for Maryland (or maybe Future Islands if you want to say Animal Collective is NY). Maybe Wilco for Illinois? Again, with all the great bands from Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire seems like a curious choice.

I'd probably take REM over OutKast, but OutKast is one of the best hip-hop acts of all time so it's fine. There are probably CA bands I like more than Beach Boys, but their sound is so California that it feels like you have to pick them (and they were good, too).
posted by breakin' the law at 11:39 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Television is a band with one very good album - for them to represent NY over

Velvet Underground, Wu-Tang Clan

Sonic Youth etc. is kind of ridiculous. But yes, that's what it's supposed to do, okay, I get it.
posted by atoxyl at 11:54 AM on October 24, 2017

Television is a band I've heard about quite a bit, but I'm not sure I've ever actually heard them
I've never liked them all that much because the vocals just don't fit the music and the songs are overly noodley like a post-punk The Greatful Dead.

Also Steven Malkmus wasn't born in Portland, his work with the Jicks is not as good as Pavement, and so I'm not sure he fits. Everclear was actually from Portland if you want someone more famous, in my opinion Menomena and Hazel (first album) if you want someone better.
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:54 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

The Dandy Warhols? Decemberists? Cherry Poppin' Daddies?

Malkmus isn't Oregon to me at all. Hell, Pavement's from Stockton, CA.
posted by elsietheeel at 11:54 AM on October 24, 2017

Per the formula, a mix of overly obvious and baffling strange picks.

Television and the Meat Puppets really gives it away.

The Ramones were obviously hugely influential, but I honestly think they're a bit lacking in the quality department (sorry).

Leave. Now.
posted by bongo_x at 11:58 AM on October 24, 2017 [5 favorites]

California bands are generally lousy, for some reason. I would also have chosen NWA. The Beach Boys were trendy and replicable for a few years, and then they were Brian Wilson with the best backing musicians in California.

There's a lot of metal and punk bands that come to mind for me. With some of the bold choices they couldn't have said Neurosis or Metallica or something? (There are some extremely obvious rappers too but I'll assume the "band" rule is blocking that.)
posted by atoxyl at 12:09 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

This white boy from Oklahoma expected Garth Brooks until the "no solo" rule, and Flaming Lips after that, so I'm a little embarrassed that I never realized the Gap Band started in Tulsa.

But I'm a little disappointed at how ahistoric the list is since the best and most influential band that ever came from Oklahoma may have been (Bob Wills and) the Texas Playboys.

This may seem weird, but I'm OK (no pun intended) with The Gap Band because, like the Texas Playboys, they're a prime example of Oklahoma's relationship with American music -- highly influential but not as well known as the artists that followed the trails they blazed.
posted by dw at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Oregon - Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Washington - Sleater Kinney

I would propose giving Sleater-Kinney to Oregon, since they moved down there 20 years ago (between Dig Me Out and The Hot Rock) and giving Washington... The Sonics.
posted by dw at 12:26 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best of California is basically impossible but surely The Minutemen would be on the short list.
posted by sjswitzer at 12:28 PM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

Count me as another Ramones skeptic.

It's not that I don't recognize they were influential and inspirational to many that followed, it's just.. I've always felt like producing music was almost a side effect for them. That they were first and foremost being Ramones, and that making music was an excuse for them to be Ramones. I am sure that many will strenuously disagree but I've never found their music all that engaging and feel that maybe when people talk about them they're talking about the whole package -- their attitude, their fashion, etc -- and not just their music.

And.. they're not necessarily wrong to talk about those things. I mean, I love David Bowie's music but I'd feel differently about him if all I knew of him were sound recordings divorced from everything else. But possibly the people who compiled this list wanted it weighted more towards the recordings and not the whole performance of being a band?
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:37 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

so few country bands, why so few country bands. sad about this!
posted by PinkMoose at 1:18 PM on October 24, 2017

Why do you say "The best not most famous" and choose the Osmonds for Utah? How about Imagine Dragons or Neon Trees or The Used? I guess the Mormon Tabernacle Choir would have been worse.
posted by ShakeyJake at 1:26 PM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

Television and the Meat Puppets really gives it away.

Honestly Meat Puppets are the only Arizona band I would have known were from Arizona. I guess Alice Cooper is, at least sort of. Sun City Girls?
posted by atoxyl at 1:30 PM on October 24, 2017

Marty Robbins?
posted by atoxyl at 1:33 PM on October 24, 2017

bongo_x: The Ramones had three legendary albums, one good one (if you can get past Phil Spector's production), and then a long string of mediocre to bad albums punctuated by the occasional decent single.

But those first three albums are really fucking good.
posted by SansPoint at 1:34 PM on October 24, 2017

Of my current state: OutKast. Of previous homes: Big Star, Marshall Tucker, Swampers. An MS pick I don't know, so I'm on it, by God.

I could qibble, but I'm okay with it. For me personally, MS shoulda been Blue Mountain, I could argue REM for GA, Geto Boys for TX, if I'm feeling salty. But yeah, to this local to everywhere SEUS boy, it's all good. Let's meet in a field somewhere and argue it out over sweating beers and pumped pickup stereos one night, if you feel like the conversation...
posted by 1f2frfbf at 1:35 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

I’m so glad Vermont isn’t Phish.
posted by Grandysaur at 1:43 PM on October 24, 2017

Honestly Meat Puppets are the only Arizona band I would have known were from Arizona. I guess Alice Cooper is, at least sort of.

Pistols at dawn!
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:47 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

so few country bands, why so few country bands. sad about this!

Because after 1960 (maybe 1950?) there are so few country bands? Country was the land of the singer and the song, for better or worse, I love that stuff and I'm hard-pressed to come up with more than a handful of relevant bands, much less those that define a state. Merle Haggard and the Strangers and Buck Owen and the Buckaroos are the closest to fitting in the rules, but even then, those were front men and a revolving string of backers. Nitty Gritty Dirt band, maybe? The Tractors? The Mavericks? The Highwaymen, if you want to stretch the stated rules, maybe Whiskeytown if you want to stretch it even further...

Seriously, I'm stumped, who would you pick? Carter Family is as close as I can come, and TN, VA, NC is a hot competition for lead...
posted by 1f2frfbf at 1:47 PM on October 24, 2017

Buck Owens does NOT represent California, thanks.

But yeah, bands seem to mostly just exist in alt-country now...

And the Dixie Chicks, but they're from Texas and they're not better than Destiny's Child.
posted by elsietheeel at 2:00 PM on October 24, 2017

I've always felt like producing music was almost a side effect for them. That they were first and foremost being Ramones, and that making music was an excuse for them to be Ramones.

Not just because I'm such a fan, but I really think you have the wrong impression.
The Ramones were an 'interesting' bunch of people, if you're inclined to read or watch anything about them.

I think most musical artist are about something more than the music, and the ones very far toward the "pure music" end of the scale tend to be the least interesting. Many people feel that artists who have little image or story components to their work are that way because they're all about the music and not diluting it, but in my experience it's more often because they don't have much imagination in that regard. It's an art vs craft divide for me. Not better or worse, just personal preference.

bongo_x: The Ramones had three legendary albums, one good one (if you can get past Phil Spector's production), and then a long string of mediocre to bad albums punctuated by the occasional decent single.

I'd be a little more generous than that, but even so, very few artists have achieved that (not that I think you're meaning it as an insult).

I think if you've had one truly great album you have achieved a lifetimes work to be proud of. People who do more than that are truly gifted and usually have been very smart about who they work with, and got lucky. Hell, if you've made one track that people love you've accomplished something great. I've never really understood people insulting "one hit wonders". That's sort of like saying someone wasn't very good because they only won one Olympic Medal.
posted by bongo_x at 2:15 PM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

Alabama has Alabama
Punch Brothers from New York
Cross Country Ragweed from Oklahoma
Drive by Truckers from Georgia
Asleep at the Wheel from West Virginia
Dixie Chicks from Texas
Avett Brothers from NC
posted by PinkMoose at 2:15 PM on October 24, 2017

North Carolina had Squatweiler, baby. Slack MF is great, but Squatweiler had a Phd in ass-kickinology.
posted by NedKoppel at 3:13 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

I would also submit Cows as a consideration for Minnesota, though I am perfectly happy with Prince and the Revolution representing that fine state.
posted by NedKoppel at 3:18 PM on October 24, 2017

No love for The Mothers of Invention from Cali? I can't think of a more substantially California band.
posted by NedKoppel at 3:22 PM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

I am sure that many will strenuously disagree but I've never found their music all that engaging and feel that maybe when people talk about them they're talking about the whole package -- their attitude, their fashion, etc -- and not just their music.

This is kind of what I mean. And it's not like I think the Ramones' music is bad. I'd even say that it's pretty good. But it does seem like it was secondary to the attitude and the style and all of that - without that, there's simply no case for the Ramones. And I think there are plenty of NY bands who also had the attitude and the style, but made music that was much more interesting and compelling and displayed a much higher level of musicianship, so to speak. I do kind of wonder if this is one of those you-had-to-be-there things.

Really I think the NY finalists are: Talking Heads, Velvet Underground, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth (I forgot about Sonic Youth because I personally dislike them, but they've got all the ingredients). I'd add that in my opinion NY hip-hop > NY rock, even though I'm generally more of a rock fan.

Everclear was actually from Portland if you want someone more famous, in my opinion Menomena and Hazel (first album) if you want someone better.

Menomena was actually my first thought for Oregon. I suppose they may be a bit too obscure, but I'm not sure they're that much more obscure than Malkmus and the Jicks. If you wanted to give Oregon Sleater-Kinney, that'd be OK, too.
posted by breakin' the law at 3:45 PM on October 24, 2017

I'm not a Minnesotan, but I would like to make a case for Low as best band from there.

I am a Californian, and I would absolutely put Neurosis forward as best band from Cali. They are a living and breathing manifestation of Oakland, and it's hard to think of a band that as been more influential in terms of creating entire new subgenres of music. okay, maybe Sabbath, but they're disqualified
posted by Existential Dread at 4:18 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

I've always felt like producing music was almost a side effect for them. That they were first and foremost being Ramones, and that making music was an excuse for them to be Ramones.

Not just because I'm such a fan, but I really think you have the wrong impression.
The Ramones were an 'interesting' bunch of people, if you're inclined to read or watch anything about them.

Yeah, that's.. ...pretty far off. Music was pretty much the only thing they cared about. Like, literally. They really didn't care about anything else.
posted by lumpenprole at 4:55 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

They didn’t even like each other.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:58 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

And it's not like I think the Ramones' music is bad. I'd even say that it's pretty good. But it does seem like it was secondary to the attitude and the style and all of that - without that, there's simply no case for the Ramones.

I wrote and deleted a response once, but can't help myself.
It's just that I've literally never heard this take before this thread and it seems so out there.

I understand somewhat because I have that sort of instinctive reaction to popular artists who's music I don't gel with. Like it must be something else. But in this case?

There's also the odd trend in the last decade or more of people wearing t-shirts and attaching to the image of bands they don't really know. Ramones t-shirts are popular in that crowd. But that was completely different when they were an active band.
posted by bongo_x at 5:19 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Man, I'm wishing now that I lived somewhere where people would fight me about local bands.
posted by ernielundquist at 5:28 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Man, I'm wishing now that I lived somewhere where people would fight me about local bands.

Move to Providence, and talk about your favorite band to come out of the Fort Thunder squat, and if Deer Tick is a response to same or fellow traveller, and which Tonya Donelly incarnation is best, and get angry Sage Francis is left out of the discussion.

And then, because it's only an hour north, you'll also get to have an opinion on ABC - Aerosmith, Boston, Cars - and agree that they're not part of the discussion as Morphine narrowly edges out the Pixies, because the frontman is a poet with a one-string electric bass and a double-saxophonist is the lead axe.

Since this is Rhode Island, there will be loud and fast and sarcastic talking and non-obscene hand gestures illustrating every point rather than actual fist fights. It's way more stressful and satisfying.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:22 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

North Carolina had Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts, far superior to Superchunk.
posted by thelonius at 7:42 PM on October 24, 2017

So... is Parliament-Funkadelic NJ or MI? Because they have to be the best band somewhere in this country.
posted by droplet at 7:55 PM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]

I'm not a Minnesotan, but I would like to make a case for Low as best band from there.

I'm not a Minnesotan, but they really punch above their weight for bands, don't they?
posted by atoxyl at 8:52 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

I felt like they phoned RI in.
posted by Selena777 at 10:07 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

I was really hoping Indiana was going to be represented by some obscure band I'd not heard of, so I could check them out. But nooooooooo. The goddamn J5. *sigh*

..................................
So... is Parliament-Funkadelic NJ or MI? Because they have to be the best band somewhere in this country.

They are the nation's band.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:49 AM on October 25, 2017 [5 favorites]

One of my favorite things about lists like this, is that when you live in New Jersey, you already know who's gonna be at the top of the list. So seeing Bruce at the top of the list was just a friendly reminder that we achieved Music Perfection 30 years ago.
But *man* I would hate to be from NY and read this list.
posted by WeX Majors at 7:32 AM on October 25, 2017

Texas = Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble.
posted by MexicanYenta at 3:00 AM on October 26, 2017

> North Carolina had Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts, far superior to Superchunk.

I've been in North Carolina for a half-dozen years already and I don't think I've ever heard Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts, so I'll check them out. I mean, I'd still back Superchunk for the state's band, just because their music is in my wheelhouse and Mac and Laura have done a lot for both the local music scene and local activism. But if Superchunk had to be excluded for some reason, I'd probably pick Corrosion of Conformity since they're also long-lived, respected and influential.
posted by ardgedee at 4:13 AM on October 26, 2017 [2 favorites]

I saw the Ramones a lot. They were only about the music.
posted by whuppy at 6:32 AM on October 29, 2017 [2 favorites]

John Coltrane was born in North Carolina. That has to count for something, although I think Philly is where he did early work.
posted by thelonius at 4:03 AM on October 30, 2017