Camper Van Beethoven

 

 

Another staple on College Rock radio in the '80s, CVB were the consummate band of Smart Alecs - from their name, to the album titles, to the often leftfield/surrealist lyrics. 

Guadalcanal Diary

 

Guadalcanal Diary hailed from Georgia and often had "jangly" guitars, so they couldn't escape comparisons to REM. They were reasonably popular on College Radio, but never did breakthrough to the mainstream and folded in 1989.