Picture This Band! (Part 1)

[D] The Smashing Pumpkins | Bat to car window plus pumpkins points to the Chicago alt-rock unit fronted by Billy Corgan. Founded 1988; think fuzzed-out Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie scale.

[B] Pearl Jam | Oyster with a pearl and breakfast spread hints Seattle icons named for both jewelry and gooey sound. Debuted 1991 with Ten; Eddie Vedder’s baritone became grunge’s anchor.

[A] Counting Crows | Hands tallying numbers with carrion birds equals this Berkeley outfit. Adam Duritz’s dreadlocks, jangly organs, and ‘Mr. Jones’ made wistful radio poetry in the 1990s.

[B] Owl City | Nocturnal bird meets skyline. That’s Adam Young’s synth-pop project built in a Minnesota basement; ‘Fireflies’ turned bedroom beeps into a worldwide lullaby for insomniacs.

[C] Arctic Monkeys | Polar scenes and primates translate to Sheffield’s sharp indie export. Alex Turner’s riffy narratives sprinted from MySpace buzz to arenas before most bands finished rehearsal.

[A] Pussycat Dolls | Tiny cats and plastic fashion figures cue the LA dance-pop troupe launched by Robin Antin. ‘Don’t Cha’ retooled burlesque polish into mainstream hook craft.

[D] Spice Girls | Heap of seasonings plus a crew of women. That’s the British five who made ‘Wannabe’ woven into world vocabulary: friendship, platform shoes, and slam-it-to-the-left.

[B] Bee Gees | Insects buzzing beside a row of letter Gs. The Gibb brothers’ harmonies shifted from baroque pop to Saturday Night Fever falsetto, redefining disco’s sleek shimmer.

[C] Blind Melon | White cane logo beside sliced melon. One-hit wonder? Maybe, yet ‘No Rain’ gave MTV its bee-girl folk-rock daydream and a gentle Mississippi-to-LA backstory.

[D] The Rolling Stones | A tire rolls while rocks pile up. British survivors since 1962; Jagger and Richards turned blues licks and swagger into the longest-running stadium carnival.

[B] Jefferson Airplane | Founding father portrait next to a plane. San Francisco’s psychedelic pioneers soared with Grace Slick’s voice on ‘White Rabbit’ and ‘Somebody to Love.’

[A] Molly Hatchet | Actress named Molly plus a chopping tool equals this Jacksonville southern-rocker. Twin-guitar boogie, hatchet-man logo, and ‘Flirtin’ with Disaster’ bar-band legend.

[C] Pink Floyd | Pop star Pink alongside an archetypal guy named Floyd points at the prog behemoth. Think concept albums, prisms, and stadium-sized existential dread.

[D] Spin Doctors | Kid on a spinning toy and a medic clue the NYC jam-pop quartet. ‘Two Princes’ turned goofy scatting into a jangly earworm you still know.

[A] The Partridge Family | A plump gamebird and a home icon nod to TV’s fictional group. Bubblegum hooks made the screen family oddly chart-real in the early ’70s.

[C] Gin Blossoms | A bottle of juniper spirit and blooming flowers. Tempe, Arizona exports who wrote ‘Hey Jealousy,’ proving chiming guitars and melancholy can sound like sunshine.

[B] Crowded House | Packed platform plus a dwelling gives this Australasian staple. Neil Finn’s crafted melodies stack like good furniture: sturdy, warm, and surprisingly portable.

[D] The Lovin' Spoonful | Hand-made heart and a loaded spoon hint the folk-rockers behind ‘Do You Believe in Magic.’ Skiffle bounce, city-park breezes, and jug-band optimism.