EWB's Top 100 Artists of 2012

[Skummy]

Not a bad group - Smashing Pumpkins are very much of their time, and it's difficult for me not to see them as completely ridiculous now. They had a couple of great songs, but Billy Corgain is so po-faced and humourless about it all.

Sabbath are one of the best bands ever. Whenever anyone asks me what metal I like, or what I play at metal nights, I pretty much always answer "Black Sabbath and bands that sound like Black Sabbath". Considering how relatively tame a lot of early hard rock and metal sounds now, it's insane how genuinely heavy and foreboding the first Sabbath album still sounds, let alone the next two or three where they really find their sound. They recorded an awful lot of shit later on, but the first three or four albums more than make up for it.

I don't really know Rise Against.

The Pogues are brilliant. They're always celebrated for their more Irish folk stuff, but frankly, the best thing about them is how many of their songs are almost impossible to tell apart from that folk music - shows a huge amount of talent. Shane MacGowan is one of the greatest songwriters of his generation.

Pink is another "what, really?" choice for me. She's alright for what she does, but it's odd she's so high on this list.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Covered Smashing Pumpkins' "Today" earlier this year (bass). I'd forgotten how good that song was then and it all came flooding back and really enjoyed playing it live. Brilliant. The fact I'd not thought about them for so long though probably backs up what Skummy said about them being of their time.

Also for Pink I actually have respect for what she does in her genre and recently I'm finding her kind of attractive (probably part of my love of short hair thing) but when she doesn't dial it in, she has some decent tracks. I mentioned it somewhere but her recent track where the video showed domestic abuse through the power of dance was pretty good.

[Your Mom]

Pink! I was so sure she wasnt even going to make it. Way to go fellow people who voted for Pink!

[gunnar hendershow]

I was incredibly surprised to see Pink this high when I tallied up the list. So much so that I went back and made sure I didn't miscount a Pink Floyd vote or something. But she got 3 votes and someone had her 2nd on their list. I have no idea who that could possibly have been.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

If a legion of ridiculously unexciting metal bands can smother the list then Pink is more than welcome. Happier to see her on it than generic metal group #23.

[Redefine Sick]

Hey look, finally another band I voted for. Go Sabbath.

And how the hell did Pink end up this far up the list?

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Although I'm pretty certain that Skummy used to play kazoo for Generic Metal Group #23.

[apsham]

If a legion of ridiculously unexciting metal bands can smother the list then Pink is more than welcome. Happier to see her on it than generic metal group #23.

Oh lord yes.

And in all reality aside from Pink when she was "I'm not a marketing machine" Pink.. which reeked of a marketing machine and before - she's been entirely tolerable. Her most recent album has some pretty good stuff on it, especially Just Give Me A Reason.

[Redefine Sick]

If a legion of ridiculously unexciting metal bands can smother the list then Pink is more than welcome. Happier to see her on it than generic metal group #23.

I'm happier with her being where she is than with Evanescence being on the list at all.

Edited October 29, 2012 by Redefine Sick

[Jimmy]

A group of people I want to get into but just haven't. Pumpkins, Sabboth and The Pogues (other than Fiarytales of New York) are bands I'm interested in listening to, though I know little about Smashing Pumpkins and I don't think Black Sabboth would quite be my thing.

Really surprised to see Pink this high. Family Portrait's good but that was years ago. I think she's really shit now, lyrically and musically. But each to their own, she can be catchy I guess?

[Josh]

No real way to comment on Rise Against.

I was gonna say that I actively dislike Pink, but CSAMH makes a good point in there being room for her if there's going to be room for a roughly half the others we've seen.

I bet I'd dig The Pogues if I'd take the time to learn some of their stuff. I've only heard a couple of tunes from them.

I'm not a metal fan, but I like a fair few Black Sabbath tunes. War Pigs is phenomenal.

Smashing Pumpkins were good to great for 2 or 3 albums, then plunged headfirst into boring, self-serious mediocrity. But yeah, I like Today, Disarm, parts of Mellon Collie, etc.

[Your Mom]

No real way to comment on Rise Against.

I was gonna say that I actively dislike Pink, but CSAMH makes a good point in there being room for her if there's going to be room for a roughly half the others we've seen.

I bet I'd dig The Pogues if I'd take the time to learn some of their stuff. I've only heard a couple of tunes from them.

I'm not a metal fan, but I like a fair few Black Sabbath tunes. War Pigs is phenomenal.

Smashing Pumpkins were good to great for 2 or 3 albums, then plunged headfirst into boring, self-serious mediocrity. But yeah, I like Today, Disarm, parts of Mellon Collie, etc.

Actively dislike Pink?? No taste

[Josh]

Meh. She falls into that "I'm a Rebel, I swear" category - kind of like Kid Rock - for me.

[Your Mom]

Meh. She falls into that "I'm a Rebel, I swear" category - kind of like Kid Rock - for me.

I never really noticed that. Just like the music. You could be right I just never noticed

[New Damage]

I'm with Josh on this one regarding Pink. She seemed to be of the same record exec rebel like Kid Rock and Avril Lavigne. And it always annoyed me that she would have one song, from one album, that was vaguely faux rebel-ly that got massive, then she'd disappear for years, then come back with another that was vaguely faux rebel-ly, from another album, and it'd be regarded as if "Pink is back with attitude!".

And also, So What was on the radio about 10 times a day when I was working in a toy store on 12 hour shifts, so fuck that song.

[SRN]

I don't care at all about Pink. Never have, never will.

So glad to see Black Sabbath showing up on the list. They are an awesome band. Skummy said it much better than I could say, so yeah.

Never cared for Smashing Pumpkins, never heard about The Pogues and I can't stand Rise Against. So yeah. Rather tame update if you ask me.

[Josh]

All that said about Pink, I do enjoy this mashup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHCvJUVvkNM

[MalaCloudy Black]

I like nearly everyone this go-round. Sabbath are great, Rise Against have a couple good albums that I dig, Pink is perfectly inoffensive, fun pop music and The Pogues are fucking wonderful. As for Smashing Pumpkins, they're alright. When I was a teenager I loved them, but as of late I find that I have a hard time listening to them without getting a bit bored. Do still dig "Today", "1979", and a couple other tunes off the Mellon Collie album.

Also, speaking of Shane MacGowan, this is one of my favourite things he ever did:

[gunnar hendershow]

#46 - PAPA ROACH

(78 points | 3 votes)

#42 - PINK FLOYD

(81 points | 3 votes)

#42 - THE KILLERS

(81 points | 3 votes)

#42 - TALKING HEADS

(81 points | 3 votes)

#42 - BLINK 182

(81 points | 3 votes)

#41 - MILES DAVIS

(84 points | 3 votes)

[SRN]

Man, that update is really love/hate for me. I can't stand Papa Roach, I absolutely adore Pink Floyd and pretty much everything they've done (except for The Final Cut, really), the few Killers songs I've heard bore me to tears, my love for Talking Heads is well-documented as knows Josh, Blink-182 are much in the same camp as Papa Roach (that can be said for all pop punk really, I just do not like the genre) and Miles Davis is a friggin' genius; I especially love Bitches Brew and Tutu.

However, before this update, I was really hoping that Pink Floyd would have placed higher than this, perhaps even near the top. But alas, they didn't.