About the same, I really don't like this comparison. I like them both but for totally different reasons.

Nirvana, no doubt...

Like most of the vs. threads on here, it is a pretty unjust comparison, but I do prefer The Pixies.

I'd hardly consider this song grunge at all, in fact I'm not sure what it is if not punk. I don't think either band sounded like 70s first wave punk bands, but they both were definitely heavily influenced by punk.

I chose Nirvana, because when I was ten it sounded revolutionary. When I first heard the pixies I was much older, and having already listened to a bunch of indie/punkish stuff, they sounded kind of blase. I love nirvana, but probably for purely sentimental reasons.

Not that it really matters but I see both bands in sort of the indie/alternative area.

what makes something an unjust comparison? I don't think to styles of music are totally different, althought I will admit there some big differences.

I don't know if people are still rocking those shirts, but I certainly did in high school, because what i wore was an extension of what i felt. I had just been getting into Nirvana, and then *poof* it was gone. Someone who had been able to break into mainstream that still maintained a genuine persona. For many people, myself included, those shirts were not a gross manipulation of a dead body or capitalizing off the dead, but a coping mechanism for people who felt that they lost the only person in the visible present who had any balls to speak out against bull**** like homophobia or hatred, in a scene where that had been unprecedented. For a kid in high school, I didn't have a lot of outlets to say, "HEY! PEOPLE! THIS IS A RIDICULOUS LOSS FOR ALL OF HUMANKIND! PAY ATTENTION TO THIS!", especially being the kind of kid who would be personally affected by Cobain's lyrics. I'd like to give a bit of leeway to the new school, but by now, especially considering how things have progressed, it's probably not necessary to be wearing these shirts. People know now what we lost in Kurt Cobain, and trying to express this to audiences by wearing said shirt nowadays is presumably falling on dead ears.

No. Nirvana vs. Pavement would actually be difficult. Otherwise, the choices are easy: Sonic Youth, The Pixies, then whoever impacted your life more. Personally, Nirvana, though The Pixies had more early influence, whereas Nirvana affected thousands, if not millions, more people than the Pixies.

And this one is just silly. Well, I guess maybe a legit vs. for some people, but Guided By Voices? Really? To paraphrase something that I read from the great Bob Pollard, "I write four songs every time I go to the bathroom.. three of them are good."

As far as the websites changing their reviews after time goes on, none have been a greater offender than pitchfork. If I personally gave something a bad review when it came out, I would stand by it, whether it ultimately became a classic or not. That's part of the review process, and indicates whether or not you should really be reviewing music. Changing star ratings on albums.. really sad.