Who is your favorite
 

mediocre band? I think you can tell as much a person from the crappy music they listen to as you can from the good music they listen to.

As for me, I would say my favorite mediocre bands are:
Violent Femmes
The Darkness
Crash Test Dummies
Guster
Rollins Band
Bloodhound Gang

I agree. All of those bands are terrible.

Except the Violent Femmes, who became terrible after "Why Do Birds Sing?" Prior to that, they are excellent and some of the true american indy pioneers, signing with Slash records just to prove a point.

Henry Rollins was awesome in his Black Flag days. Black Flag is still worth checking out if you are into the american punk movement.

Crash Test Dummies? Yikes. "Afternoons and Coffee Spoons! And TS Elliot!....."

Someone recommended Guster to me. I listened to 2 songs and never listened to that band again.

Are they the ones that sang, "I'm not black like Barry White no I am white like Frank Black is?" If so, they are only good for that one line.

Correct.

My favorite genre is probably alt/gay 80's. From that my fav bands that would be considered mediocre or worse would be Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, OMD.

From the classic rock genre my fav medicore band would be REO Speedwagon.

What about "You and me baby aint nothing but mammals so lets do it like they do on the discovery channel?" That was a stroke of genius, too.

Black Francis, on the other hand...true genius. The Pixies rule.

How do you know if a band is mediocre?

Ask me. I can tell you.

I enjoy Evanescence a bit, and Metallica still has a place in my heart despite having turned out to be quite mediocre the last decade or so.

U2.