R.E.M., Monster or Dinosaur? Talking about 'Collapse Into Now' and the greatest rock of my generation

R.E.M. was a blast of fresh air for rock in the '80s.
They were full of great melodies and energy.

I've been thinking lately about a grand musical question: What is the greatest American rock band of my generation? By my generation, I'm thinking of music made after the punk revolution of the late '70s successfully dislodged blues as the necessary foundation of rock music and opened up the musical palate of  rock music since at least 1980.

When I consider the question, I have something in mind like a great big March Madness bracket. There would be middle seed bands like Modest Mouse, The Minute Men, Fugazi and Dinosaur Jr., scrappy upstarts with higher seed looking for a their Cinderella turn like The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Interpol and The Strokes. And, of course, lets not forget the sole Ivy League contender: The National. Top seeds favorites would be those bands that were successful and influential: The Pixies, Pavement, Wilco, Flaming Lips and Nirvana. All worthy of discussion -- all capable of making the Final Four, but not capable of winning the title