Taste of St. Louis generally books fun bands every year. In 2008, the marquee acts were Soul Asylum and Everclear, and this year it's the Presidents of the United States of America and Tonic. The former might be as popular now as it was in the '90s -- and it released a new album, These Are the Good Times People, last year. Tonic, meanwhile, recently reunited after a five-year hiatus. The act released a hits retrospective earlier this year and plans a new album this fall. Here are two live clips from each band...

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The '90s Jam of the Week today is a two-headed monster of awesomeness. First, the Breeders are making their triumphant return to St. Louis tonight at the Duck Room. Times New Viking (who are pretty great in their own right) open. Show starts at 9 p.m. and tickets are $20. Then tomorrow, the Trashcan Sinatras are playing -- someone tells me for the first time ever in the city? -- at the Firebird. Brookville, which is a fantastic side project of Ivy, opens. Both the Breeders and Trashcans have new albums out that solidify their legacies -- but today, here are two vids from earlier in their careers. Aww.

The Breeders, "Cannonball"
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So, Counting Crows is headlining Fair St. Louis tomorrow night at 8 p.m. (Magnolia Summer opens at 6 p.m.) And so for the return of the '90s Jam of the Week, I have to post "Round Here." Now, "Mr. Jones" may have been more popular, but goddamn, this tune has endured. Who didn't have August and Everything After back then?

Been listening to WOXY's modern rock 500 countdown all week, and heard this song last night. So woozy, so perfect.

One of life's greatest mysteries is the enduring popularity of Third Eye Blind, which is headlining the Rib America Festival on Sunday night at 9 p.m. Despite the fact that the group hasn't had a monster hit in nearly a decade, it's more popular than ever now -- especially with kids who were barely out of elementary school during the band's heyday. (Really: Young bands such as Panic at the Disco, the Maine and All Time Low frequently cite 3eb as an influence, and the act does big business playing at colleges.) The act has a new LP, Ursa Major, due June 23, but the catchy-as-the-flu hit "Semi-Charmed Life" cements 3eB's legacy. The song dominated radio in 1997, even though its lyrics are about drugs and sex -- mainly because the topics are veiled so smartly, you don't even realize you're singing about someore bogged down by an addiction to crystal meth.

It's OK, you're forgiven. You might have arrived late, avoided or forgot about Vanilla Ice last night at Home Nightclub. But you're still curious, if only a little, about what he's up to, 20 years after the release of "Ice Ice Baby." That's why we met with Rob Van Winkle last night and checked out his show at the casino nightclub.

View a slide show.

Photo: Egan O'Keefe

Ice skipped the red carpet at Home, but paused for a photo before his set. More photos.

Photo: Egan O'Keefe

Some in the audience were left to wonder if Ice was taking a cue from Insane Clown Posse, with the clowns on stage. More photos.

Slight change to the Friday jam format, starting with this week: I kind of feel like the hip-hop-only format has run its course -- and I've gotten some shit for posting some songs that were only tenuously in the genre -- so I'm going to open it up to every style of music. Starting with Cracker's 1992 hit "Teen Angst," published in honor of the fact that the band is in town today. First, you can head to Vintage Vinyl at 5 p.m. to hang with the band and get free beer and BBQ, a few hours before the band plays a proper show at the Duck Room. Cracker, incidentally, is touring in support of Sunrise In the Land of Milk and Honey, a new album.