Top 5 bands of, like, ever

I recently submitted an application to review CD's for Pitchfork, the very cool indie-rock website linked over on the right column of this very blog (and, yes, the highlighted underlined word "Pitchfork" above). Haven't heard anything back...But I'll keep you posted.

Anyway, they wanted me to list off my top five favorite bands from each decade, 1970's onward. Why no 60's? I don't know...it'd be pretty challenging, but I could probably have thrown something together. But the guys at the 'Fork hate hippies, I guess. I thought I'd publish my answers here, to stimulate conversation or something:

1970’s
5. Television
4. The Ramones
3. The Velvet Underground
2. Neil Young and Crazy Horse
1. David Bowie

1980’s
5. Oingo Boingo
4. Meat Puppets
3. Sonic Youth
2. The Smiths
1. Talking Heads

1990’s
5. [tie] Guided by Voices/Sebadoh
4. Soul Coughing
3. Pavement
2. The Pixies
1. Beck

2000’s
5. The Decemberists
4. The Flaming Lips
3. The Fiery Furnaces
2. The Shins
1. Radiohead

I goofed, kind of. I left off Built to Spill, obviously one of my favorite bands. And I totally forgot about Pink Floyd on that 70's list until I had sent it in! What was I thinking. It's so obnoxiously hipster of me to pick a band like Television and not pick Pink Floyd. (Meat Puppets over The Police on the 80's list is also annoying of me, at least it's how I really feel).

Other than that, I think it's a fairly accurate compilation of some (clearly not all) of my favorite bands and music. Lists like this are useless and not definitive, but they can provide you with a decent litmus test for whether or not a person has good taste. Like me.