Much maligned at the peak of its
popularity, over the years many people's harsh stance against post
grunge has softened a lot. You can question some of these band's
commercial intentions and creativity (or lack thereof), but you can't
deny that a lot of them wrote some pretty timeless songs. My criteria
is fairly broad. I will limit bands to those that started after the
rise of grunge's big four bands and took a significant amount of
inspiration from those bands.
Stone Temple Pilots- Might
as well start with the original. Being perhaps the first true post
grunge band, they have been forced to absorb some of the most
scathing criticism of the beleaguered genre. In between bouts
behind bars, Scott Weiland was writing some of the catchiest, brawny
songs of the 90s.
TRC's favorites: 1) Creep 2) Plush
3) Interstate Love Song
Weezer-
Perhaps the most critically lauded of all the bands on this list (at
least initially!). They only had two albums in the decade, but Blue
Album alone
would have landed them in the top five of this list.
Aided by the
beautifully bizarre Pinkerton
and
the lean and mean Green
Album,
Weezer made their improbable rise to the top of the post grunge era.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Island in the Sun 2) Say it ain't so 3) Only in Dreams
Foo
Fighters- They
mean almost as much to post grunge as Nirvana did to grunge. If not
for their longevity, which has stretched from pretty much the start
of post grunge through today, then for their remarkable consistency.
They muster at least two smash singles per record while crafting
rock solid albums.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Everlong 2) All my Life 3) Big me
Third
Eye Blind-
Some will say it's a bit high, but if you call the post grunge
period from 1992-2008, they've had a stranglehold on the middle of
the era, from 1997-2003. Their approach is remarkably personal but
also very accessible and they have conjured up some of the best
hooks of the past 15 years. Been waiting for the new album for what
seems like a decade.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Semi-Charmed Life 2) Blinded 3) Losing a Whole Year
Smashing
Pumpkins-
I know it seems mighty low, but I really don't consider my favorite
Pumpkins album, Siamese
Dream,
post grunge (Only “Today” has a truly post grunge sound). That
gives them one really strong post grunge record- Mellon
Collie.
While they are a tremendous band, I can only justify putting them
this high on a post grunge list.
TRC's
favorites: 1) 1979 2) Bullet with Butterfly Wings 3) Today
The
Offspring-
I know I will get a ton of questions about why I put Offspring this
high but left off Green Day. Offspring is just much more influenced
by grunge than their fellow punk rockers. However their punk
leanings mean that they can be no higher than number 6. Much like
the Foo Fighters the Offspring's main strength is longevity and
consistency.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Self Esteem 2) Gotta get away 3) Gone Away
Collective
Soul-
And everybody says that every post grunge band was a flash in the
pan. Every release from this band is guaranteed a strong charting
single or two and at least 4-5 quality songs. It speaks volumes
about a band when you are hard pressed to choose your favorite album
by the band. They are all remarkably strong, if just short of
legendary. Much like the band itself.
TRC's
favorites: 1) December 2) Run 3) Shine
Everclear-
I
had to put them right after Collective Soul, because even though the
lead singers are polar opposites (one's a white trash stoner, the
other is a devout Christian), I've always associated the two bands
with each other. Although their act has gotten stale as they have
not grown one bit musically over the years, So
Much for the Afterglow is
a top ten album from the era.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Santa Monica 2) Normal like you 3) I will Buy you a
New Life
Bush-
Bush
is the type of band that you love even though you know you
shouldn't. They have always been just a hair shy of wanton pastiche.
But one thing I must admit is that they mold other people's ideas
into very interesting caricatures. There is no doubt that Bush own
some of the era's biggest singles like “Comedown,” “Glycerine,”
and “Machinehead.”
TRC's
favorites: 1) The Chemical Between us 2) Warm Machine 3) Little
Things
Hole-
For
a crack whore Courtney can certainly craft a very affecting and
memorable song. She may have sprung to fame because of Kurt, but it
was certainly not undeserved. I never thought I'd be saying this (I
hate Courtney's guts) but I think this band actually deserved more
attention than it even received.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Boys on the Radio 2) Malibu 3) Miss World
Live-
Cathartic
for some, nauseating for others, Live has certainly inspired some
terrible bands (Daughtry anyone?). Nonetheless, their first two
albums were good to great, and they have had a smattering of solid
singles thereafter. Also, Throwing
Copper
is one of the most quintessential, popular albums released during
post grunge's heyday.
TRC's
favorites: 1) I Alone 2) Selling the Drama 3) All over you
Matchbox
20- The
first band on this list that I don't like, Matchbox straddled the
line between post grunge and adult contemporary a bit too often for
my taste. I also find Rob Thomas's voice to be unbearable, and their
guitars are very pedestrian. Their rivalry with Third Eye Blind
marked one of the many comical moments of post grunge.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Push 2) Bent 3) Real World
Silverchair-
Not
hard to realize that these guys grew up listening to a lot of Pearl
Jam and Nirvana. The impressive part is before they were done
growing up, they had sold 2 million copies with their own debut,
Frogstomp.
All before their lead singer's 17th
birthday. I was never a huge fan of their 90s work but I really like
where they've gone after the millennium.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Ana's Song 2) Straight Lines 3) The Greatest View
Puddle
of Mudd- Shocked
to see a band whose career began after 2000? You should be, because
this decade has killed mainstream rock. Puddle of Mudd is one of a
handful of holdouts. They are derivative, predictable, but they make
a hell of a catchy single. It is nearly impossible to sit through an
entire record of theirs, but they have a handful of divine songs.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Bring me Down 2) Psycho 3) Famous
Gin
Blossoms- Gracefully
representing post grunge's softer, acoustic side, the Gin Blossoms
released New
Miserable Experience
in 1992. It was certainly an album that influenced everyone from
Hootie and the Blowfish to the Goo Goo Dolls. Their ten year hiatus
makes them that much more quintessential as it was a similar destiny
of many a post grunge band
TRC's
favorites: 1) Found out about you 2) Until I Fall Away 3) 'Til I
Hear it from you
Garbage-
Garbage
CD's are filled with enough angst and crushing riffs to make you
think that someone from Nirvana was in on them (get it!?). Although
Shirley Manson gets a lot of credit for their success, I think
Garbage is really Butch Vig's baby. Version
2.0 is
one of 1998's best albums and an obligatory post grunge record.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Dumb 2) Paranoid 3) When I Grow up
Goo
Goo Dolls-
What do Weezer, Coldplay and Goo Goo Dolls have in common? They all
have been labeled wussy rock bands. Weezer doesn't deserve the
moniker, Coldplay deserves it at times. The Goo Goo Dolls, however,
seem to relish the distinction. Ya, I don't like em, but the
immensity that was “Iris” guarantees them a place as kings (I'd
say queens) of post grunge.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Iris 2) Name 3) Black Balloon
Candlebox-
Another band that gets a bad rap because they are a big influence on
today's obnoxious mainstream rock scene. When taken at face value,
Candlebox is a good band. Apart from post grunge staples “Far
Behind” and “You” they had a solid album with the bluesy Happy
Pills
in 1998.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Far Behind 2) 10,000 Horses 3) Sometimes/Blinders
(tie)
Better
Than Ezra- I'm
shocked at how overlooked this band is these days. “Good” was
great and “Desperately Wanting” was tremendous as well. Their
main problem was their inability to pen more than 2-3 good songs per
album. The result was a series of peak/valley albums. One particular
valley, “Juicy,” was horrendous enough to knock them down three
spots on this list.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Good 2) Desperately Wanting 3) Lifetime
Hootie
and the Blowfish- Some
people accuse me of having a Hootie and the Blowfish bias. It's
probably true. I am proud of being one of four people in the world
that has not been obsessed with Cracker
Rear View
at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, on this list I have to
listen to the other 7 billion people and give them their due as post
grunge posterboys.
TRC's
favorites: 1) Hold my Hand 2) Let her Cry 3) I will Wait
By Genre 
