I have twenty matchboxes, who would like the last one

In Spin magazine's top albums of the past twenty-five years number one was OK Computer and number three was Nevermind. This ranking of Radiohead and Nirvana is consistent with many other lists and rankings in which we would find both those bands and albums of those bands near the top of all lists. This leads one to believe that one or the other is the most influential band of the nineties. This is because everyone overlooks matchbox 20 and their debut Yourself or Someone Like you which has made a larger imprint on the bands that followed them than either Radiohead or Nirvana.

I'm not a matchbox 20 fan. I saw them open for the Rolling Stones in '97, and I have watched enough VH1 in my life to be familiar with most of their catalog. They have a pretty simple formula for making music: open chords at about 90 bpm, repetitive and slighty sweet but generic lyrics, and good even if generic hooks. It is basically young singer songwriter music with electric guitars instead of acoustic ones. Nothing unique, but what they do they do well. And it is easy to enough for a high school kid to emulate or learn a matchbox 20 song, much simpler than Radiohead or Nirvana. Their are no riffs to learn, and no difficult lyrics to either sing or that leaves one thinking. Just sugary sweet pop-rock that is forgotten about as quickly as it ends. This has led to a slew of bands that are either louder versions or piano versions of matchbox 20.

The Fray, Vertical Horizon, Train, John Mayer, Maroon 5, Lifehouse, Five for Fighting, most new Hoobastank, Tonic, The Calling, Augustana, Keane, Jason Mraz, Blue October, Daniel Powter, Nickelback, Eve 6, and a lot of bands have one popular song that follows the same basic formula. I'm sure that I am forgetting many other artists and by this weekend there will probably be two or three new bands on VH1 that are right along the same line. They use the most obvious parts of pop along with a distorted but quiet electric guitar. They avoid all of the subtleties that goes into timeless music and stick to the obvious. Cheers, another top 40 hit.
I'm not really a fan of any of those bands listed above, though many of them can write a damn catchy song. As more bands come and go with all of this generic music, matchbox has really improved as a band. The last song I remember of theirs was Unwell which not only was catch but featured a banjo and a primary instrument. Musically they have strectched their legs a little bit.

While Radiohead and Nirvana may have influence countless bands in a variety of ways it matchbox 20 that has influenced the bands that are getting on the charts and on the air. Somehow with Nirvana making at least two timeless albums and Radiohead making three or four timeless albums, it is matchbox twenty and its disposable debut album that we are still hearing echoes of today.