This was SO difficult for me to vote on.
These two bands have so much in common. Both were on the crux of major musical movements (Grunge for AIC and the Ska-Punk movement for Sublime) and both met premature ends due to the deaths of major members of the band (Bradley Nowell for Sublime and Lane Staley for AIC).
I love AIC, and I truly do feel they were the best the grunge movement had to offer. I've routinely placed then above Nirvana in terms of musical ability, and far above STP in terms of influence and relevance. Only Pearl Jam really came close to AIC in my book.
But AIC took cues from bands like Nirvana and MotherLoveBone. Sublime started a movement of musical fusion with rock, punk, ska, hip hop, etc. They effortlessly melded such different sounds together and created a musical revolution. Along with Phish, Sublime helped re-create the hippy movement of the 1960's in parts of America. They were so fresh, so innovative. I had to vote them over in this match-up.
Don't get me wrong, I am not going to stand at the bully pulpit and demand you all vote Sublime. A vote for either band is a vote well spent. I just ask that everyone please make posts regarding their votes - I'd love to see how people break this one down. Even still...I back Sublime 100%.
