DMB: The Andre Dawson of Music?

I enjoy a good debate as much as the next guy, and I obviously have a pretty high opinion of myself as I take the time to write this blog, so I suppose it's long past time to delve into some of my faithful reader's takes on my writing. On the subject of the Dave Matthews Band I took some heat in the following way:

"I think Dave Matthews is good, but I wouldn't go so far as to call him the greatest of all time"

"But then again, I wasn't trying to say Dave Matthews Band is the greatest band of all time"


The preceding two quotes come, more or less, from two faithful readers who seem to have been under the impression that I was presenting DMB as the greatest band of all time. My exact quote, from this breakdown of my ten favorite DMB songs, was as follows:

"But beyond that, this song showcases every aspect that makes this band an all-time great."

The song in question, "Alligator Pie," is a really good song with excellent energy on the album as well as live. But the question still remains: did I overshoot my aim in my analysis of the band? Well, yes ... and no. First of all, I wasn't trying to claim that DMB was the greatest band of all time, merely that they are in the discussion as one of the greatest bands of all time (note "an all-time great" rather than the all time greatest). The question, then, really goes on to how you define anything as an all-time great.

When considering that aspect of the argument there are a variety of areas in pop-culture to examine (literature, movies, television among many others) but only one area which truly tries to define what an all-time great really is: professional sports. All major pro sports have a "Hall of Fame" which tells us which players stack up as an all time great. The question, then, becomes one of shades of greatness: Michael Jordan may very well be the greatest of all time in basketball, but where will Kobe Bryant end up ranking when all is said and done? How about LeBron James? Derrick Rose has had a promising start to his career, but will he end up as an "all-time great?" For Rose it is too early to tell; for James it is probably not, and for Bryant we can probably go to bed and sleep soundly knowing he is in the top twenty somewhere.

My basketball analysis, started here and here, will continue at some later date as I continue to define the fifty greatest players in NBA history. For the time being, however, I would like to redefine my argument that the Dave Matthews Band is an all-time great by comparing them to a soon to be member of Baseball's Hall of Fame: Andre Dawson. Dawson made it into the Hall of Fame this year, but his induction was and is hardly a unanimous decision. He had good numbers, but probably not great ones, and never really won anything other than an MVP on a last place team (such is the fate of my Cubbies...)

What was in Dawson's favor, however, was the fact that he played in an era void of superstars. Seriously, look at the 1980s, the era in which "The Hawk" was in his prime. Consider, then move away from Mike Schmidt, a surefire legend at the time and even more so now. How about the rest of the players who were in their primes? Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gywnn, Rickey Henderson sure ... and then? Jim Rice, who made it last year? Compared with his contemporaries he is probably considered good, even very good, but not great. When compared with the legends who came before him he may not even hold that high esteem.

The reason Dawson factors into this argument is because, much like "The Hawk," DMB has come of age and hit their prime in an era lacking in top shelf talent. Consider the following list of Grammy Award winners from 1994 (Under the Table and Dreaming) through 2009 (Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King):

-1994 - The Body Guard Soundtrack
- 1995 - Tony Bennett
- 1996 - Alanis Morissette
- 1997 - Celine Dion
- 1998 - Bob Dylan
- 1999 - Lauryn Hill
- 2000 - Santana
- 2001 - Steely Dan
- 2002 - O' Brother Where Art Thou Soundtrack
- 2003 - Norah Jones
- 2004 - Outcast
- 2005 - Ray Charles
- 2006 - U2
- 2007 - Dixie Chicks
- 2008 - Herbie Hancock
- 2009 - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
- 2010 - Taylor Swift

Now ... just look at that list and ask yourself how many of those artists will be remembered twenty or thirty years from now. Santana, Dylan and Ray Charles for sure ... but all of them were well past their prime at the time of winning, and probably wouldn't have won with the same product in a different era. U2 for sure ... but "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" wasn't a great U2 album, but rather an album by U2 in a year when the competition was headlined by Gwen Stefani. The Dixie Chicks? Maybe, but given how quickly they've fallen off, probably not. Taylor Swift is off to a thundering start ... but so were other teen sensations in the mid to late 90s, and we see how that worked out.

I suppose my point is this: the competition in the past few years wasn't exactly stiff. In fact, it was comprised mostly of one hit wonders, solid bands turning in less than stellar work, or over the hill artists who were getting by mostly on the power of their name. A quick look at this past year's candidates for the Album of the Year award (won by Swift) will confirm this point:

- Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas, The Dave Matthews Band

Now, out of those five, who would you bet is remembered twenty years from now? I've got to believe it is DMB because they have had a prolonged staying power that none of the other four can brag about, and that the other four will be unlikely to replicate. DMB sells out every tour stop on a cross country tour ... yearly. Three or four shows a week ... for six months (at least) ... yearly. Wrap your mind around that. Pretty impressive.

So perhaps my overarching point should have been that DMB is an all-time great based on their era, and that they will be remembered fondly as a group which actually produced music at a time when music was a scarce commodity. I'm not going to lie: Lady Gaga knows how to make a song that is catchy as hell. But I'm not willing to bet that she is going stronger than ever fifteen years from now. Nor am I willing to be she will still have a huge fan following fifteen years from now. Only the greats do that; that's why DMB qualifies.

Finally, and just for pure fun, here is a ranking of my ten favorite artists of all time, off the top of my head. Please note, I'm not saying they are the greatest of all time, simply that if I had to pick ten artists, and ten only, to put on my I-pod for eternity these are the ones I would choose, and the order in which I would choose them (from ten, the easiest to lose, to one, the pick I would make for eternity if I had to):

10. The Wallflowers - because "Bringing Down the Horse" was one of the best albums of the 1990s, and because Jakob Dylan is more enjoyable for me to listen to than his much more famous father.

9. Led Zeppelin - because they have at least a half a dozen albums which can be listened to front to back, and because, for my money, they are the most influential and cutting edge rock band of all time. Not to mention that "The BBC Sessions" is one of the best live cuts ever, regardless of era or style.

8. The Gin Blossoms - because their first album, "New Miserable Experience," is one of my ten favorite of all time, and because their come back album, "Major Lodge Victory," is one of the best under-the-radar albums of the 2000s.

7. The Goo Goo Dolls - because within a three album ark ("A Boy Named Goo," "Dizzy Up The Girl" and "Gutterflower") they established a discography that is immensely enjoyable, even if they were a little rough around the edges before "Goo" and a little too immersed in pop culture after "Gutter."

6. 2pac - because if you can get away from you inevitable issues with "angry young black men" and listen to the struggles identified in his work, as well as the poetry behind it, "All Eyez On Me" will blow your mind ... and "The Seven Day Theory" will leave you longing for more, and feeling his death may have been an unavoidable tragedy. Certainly my most controversial pick, but for those who can get past the vulgarity, violence, and different world an artist is born.

5. Pearl Jam - because "10" is one of the best albums of all-time, and because the rest of their discography is solid. Also because their past two albums ("Pearl Jam" and "Backspacer") are works of art in their own right, extending Pearl Jam's reign of excellence from 1991 to 2009 ... at least.

4. Simon and Garfunkel - because they are stronger together than they were apart. Because they are one of the few to have a legitimate claim to over 20 "greatest hits." Because their music is poetry. Because you get caught up in it and lose track of time.

3. Dave Matthews Band - for all the reasons already mentioned.

2. Pink Floyd - because, for my money, no album has ever been as perfectly complete as "Dark Side of the Moon." Because I could listen to that one album over and over again for eternity and not lose interest in it. Because the rest of their discography is surprisingly underrated considering how hyped they are. Listen to "The Division Bell." Even without Waters ... perfection.

1. Billy Joel - because I know his entire discography front to back, from "Cold Spring Harbor" (sneakily good) to "River of Dreams" (outright excellent). And because, if I had to pick, he'd be my favorite of all time, across all genres.

But that's just my point of view ...