Something you and I agree on!  Harmony and plain old singing ability, that is, not this particular band.  I'll have to check them out.  

OTOH, I like Green Day.  I didn't like them as a teenager (I'm 28 now, so they were popular when I should have cared), but in the last few years I've realized that I really, really like a lot of their music.  American Idiot is catchy and fun right along with being snarky social commentary.  It's not Mozart, but I enjoy listening ot it.

OK, DR, I was moved by the way you described the Avett Brothers -- you make them sound pretty much like a kind of music I like very very much -- so I leaped and ordered a copy of "Emotionalism" from the Grist shop.

But surely this is not the first time that I followed a recommendation of yours ...

Also, I agree with Willa on "harmony and plain singing ability," but every instance of that should be judged on its own.

What amazes me about all you young whippersnappers, over against the purist narcissists of my own Boomer generation, is how learned you are in music of recent decades.  Not only are you classicists, you are archaizers.  We, by contrast, were very age-conscious, very exclusivist.  We especially did not listen to music from the 1950s and pre-Beatles 60s.  No matter what they may tell you, the audience for Elvis was circumscribed.  Sometimes music from earlier in the century received a hearing, such as Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer," and that was a hoot, but it did not exactly radically change anything.

So I think you guys have it all over us when it comes to open-mindedness.

As for Eddie Vedder, it is worth noting that his music accompanies Sean Penn's recent acclaimed movie "Into the Wild," the story of Chris McCandless; it is said to have been a crucially important part of Penn's inspiration and imagination in the making of that movie.  I have not yet seen the movie or heard the music, but am looking forward to doing both.

Chickens are our cousins! So are fish! So are other sentient animals! Let us learn to be kind.

You like 'Emotionalism'?  Seeing them live will blow your mind.  These guys are amazing.  They can go from crooning ballads to ROCKING OUT in a single breath.  Enjoy.

Firing off my mighty little popgun in the face of the grim Recession, I ordered "Emotionality," as I said.  It arrived yesterday, and I have been playing and re-playing it this morning, and I love it.  The musical virtuosity and creativity are glorious.  I laughed and I cried.

So now I am lending it to my husband, home on his lunch break, to take back to work and listen for himself.

Chickens are our cousins! So are fish! So are other sentient animals! Let us learn to be kind.

The Avett Brothers can sing... and they rock!  I found them by accident, but will go see them again the next chance I get.