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Most influential band ever

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Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1871
Joined: 11 Jun 2008

The Neon Boys...

Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine's first band which garnered the attention of future Sex Pistols manager, Malcolm McClaren (who was briefly managing the New York Dolls at the time). This band was the first template of a Punk Band in terms of sound, style, and swagger. McClaren actually offered to manage them but was turned down and then later fired by the New York Dolls. His encounter with Richard Hell and the New York punk scene would inspire the punk style fetish wear look that he would later sell at his store in London, Sex.

Sex is where the Sex Pistols formed... Verlaine and Hell then formed Television which went on to inspire the New Wave, Post Punk, and No Wave movements. Richard Hell left Television to form the Voidoids.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1168
Joined: 2 Sep 2008

Queen most definitely,

Bohemian Rhapsody and We will rock you. =D

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1125
Joined: 28 Apr 2008

I'm shocked no one has said Talking Heads yet.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3756
Joined: 6 Feb 2008

asinann:
I'm shocked no one has said Talking Heads yet.

Ermm, I did, earlier (specifically The Talking Heads with Brian Eno).

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1154
Joined: 10 Aug 2008

Slycne:
Surprised no one has mentioned Buddy Holly. While his influence on music was tragically cut short you can still see it today.

Although he is a singular entity (and thus is/is not fair game on this thread?)-I agree. Buddy Holly left a void that was damn near unfillable.

2)

BallPtPenTheif:
James Brown... almost every single great front man steals something from this guy.

Yep. He needs to be in there (although the link did say BANDS, not individuals). Ditto to John, Paul, George, Ringo, and the guy that filled in for Ringo while he was out. Ditto to Elvis. YES, the Rolling Stones count. But I am appalled that none of these bands have been mentioned yet, (and some have been around as long or longer than what you have mentioned):

1) Earth, Wind, and Fire
2) Chicago
3) Kool and the Gang
4) The Cars
5) Boston
6) K.C. and the Sunshine Band
7) The Eagles
8) Aretha Franklin
9) The Temptations
10) Diana Ross and the Supremes
11) The Rat Pack
12) Donna Summer

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 2160
Joined: 14 Nov 2007

Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. Between them, they've influenced everyone.

BANNED
Posts: 789
Joined: 8 Jul 2008

Jimi Hendrix he defined rock music and helped make it what it is today.

User was banned for: The Xbox Screwed Me Over!. (Permanent)
Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1108
Joined: 9 Feb 2008

Yeah, Lukeje, forgot about The Jam - still stand by my original point though. Never said the Smiths were the pioneers of witty catchy pop tunes.

Radiohead has got to be another hugely influencial band. Maybe not a good thing (Don't think much of Coldplay or other bands like them).

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1154
Joined: 10 Aug 2008

ThePlasmatizer:
Queen most definitely,

Bohemian Rhapsody and We will rock you. =D

Their music lasted through multiple generations...
Dude, you need to go further than that... :)
In no Particular Order:

1) We Are the Champions
2) We Will Rock You
3) Somebody to Love
4) Show Must Go On
5) Another One Bites the Dust
6) I've Got to Break Free
7) Radio Ga-Ga
8) Who Wants to Live Forever
9) One Vision
10) Bohemian Rhapsody
11) Bicycle

...To name a few more.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1487
Joined: 29 Jun 2008

DETHKLOK!

Joking.

I could name a lot, but with one vote, The Beatles.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1168
Joined: 2 Sep 2008

Trace2010:

ThePlasmatizer:
Queen most definitely,

Bohemian Rhapsody and We will rock you. =D

Their music lasted through multiple generations...
Dude, you need to go further than that... :)
In no Particular Order:

1) We Are the Champions
2) We Will Rock You
3) Somebody to Love
4) Show Must Go On
5) Another One Bites the Dust
6) I've Got to Break Free
7) Radio Ga-Ga
8) Who Wants to Live Forever
9) One Vision
10) Bohemian Rhapsody
11) Bicycle

...To name a few more.

All their songs are great but I can't spend all day writing out their discography lol.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3756
Joined: 6 Feb 2008

Trace2010:

ThePlasmatizer:
Queen most definitely,

Bohemian Rhapsody and We will rock you. =D

Their music lasted through multiple generations...
Dude, you need to go further than that... :)
In no Particular Order:

1) We Are the Champions
2) We Will Rock You
3) Somebody to Love
4) Show Must Go On
5) Another One Bites the Dust
6) I've Got to Break Free
7) Radio Ga-Ga
8) Who Wants to Live Forever
9) One Vision
10) Bohemian Rhapsody
11) Bicycle

...To name a few more.

I strongly disagree, Queen were an ALBUM band who just happened to make good singles. Check out A Night at the Opera, Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack for evidence of this.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3085
Joined: 13 Jul 2008

Lukeje:
Have you never heard any of the work Brian Eno did with The Talking Heads? Check it out.

Ah Brian Eno, I love that bald genius.

TheGhostOfSin:
Oh yes the lyrical masterpiece that is-

Yes very impresive

Oh and of corse Parklife, a song they refused to sing themselves.

What exactly is wrong with those lyrics? Observe:

You see, those lyrics could be interpreted as simple and nonsensical, but they're not.

On the subject of Parklife, so what if they didn't want to perform it? They still wrote it.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1871
Joined: 11 Jun 2008

Now people are just naming bands they like without explanation.. this is going downhill fast.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3756
Joined: 6 Feb 2008

BallPtPenTheif:
Now people are just naming bands they like without explanation.. this is going downhill fast.

Now people are just commenting without even naming bands... this thread is going downhill even faster.[/irony]

Muckraker
Posts: 312
Joined: 16 Oct 2008

I'm going to ignore the "band" qualification and say David Bowie. I love some of these other answers, but I think his influence is still greatly felt today. He had a prominent acoustic period, he practically invented Glam Rock and the notion of a rock alter ego, redefined himself with his own genre of "plastic soul", and later delved into experimental electronic music with Brian Eno. Even when he's not making music, he's out there getting excited about music games like Frequency/Amplitude and hand-picking young indie talent and bringing them into the spotlight like he did with Arcade Fire.

Props to anyone who said The Talking Heads or The Velvet Underground, though. I'm happy with answers like The Beatles and The Stones and Elvis, but I think the previous generation understands their influence better than we do.

Beat Writer
Posts: 161
Joined: 10 Sep 2008

Just to piss everyone off:
Jonas Brothers

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3756
Joined: 6 Feb 2008

BmC:

Jonas Brothers

Who? And do I want to know?

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1154
Joined: 10 Aug 2008

Lukeje:

Trace2010:

ThePlasmatizer:
Queen most definitely,

Bohemian Rhapsody and We will rock you. =D

Their music lasted through multiple generations...
Dude, you need to go further than that... :)
In no Particular Order:

1) We Are the Champions
2) We Will Rock You
3) Somebody to Love
4) Show Must Go On
5) Another One Bites the Dust
6) I've Got to Break Free
7) Radio Ga-Ga
8) Who Wants to Live Forever
9) One Vision
10) Bohemian Rhapsody
11) Bicycle

...To name a few more.

I strongly disagree, Queen were an ALBUM band who just happened to make good singles. Check out A Night at the Opera, Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack for evidence of this.

I don't have the time to split hairs. Having listened to and owning their anthology, I do not get where the foundations of your disagreement are. That's like saying Mozart was an instrumental composer who happened to make a few good operas. If what you mean by ALBUM band was the fact that they didn't perform live as often as others- maybe your're right, maybe your're wrong. Considering Freddy Mercury died when I was 11, maybe I just don't care as much about the distinction.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1359
Joined: 21 May 2008

curlycrouton:

TheGhostOfSin:
Oh yes the lyrical masterpiece that is-

Yes very impresive

Oh and of corse Parklife, a song they refused to sing themselves.

What exactly is wrong with those lyrics? Observe:

You see, those lyrics could be interpreted as simple and nonsensical, but they're not.

Yes they are.
A little quote from Paul "We were trying to write a children's song. That was the basic idea. And there's nothing more to be read into it than there is in the lyrics of any children's song"
Also please don't compare Blur to The Beatles.

Paperboy
Posts: 47
Joined: 2 Oct 2008

I think Pink Floyd was influential for me , since i grew up with it and spent every living breathing moment listening to it , as i still do . My world would be sad without it. And the reason that i would say Pink Floyd is because it changed my lifestyle.

Muckraker
Posts: 312
Joined: 16 Oct 2008

David Bowie. Here is an excerpt from Allmusic.com that supports my claim:

Even when he was out of fashion in the '80s and '90s, it was clear that Bowie was one of the most influential musicians in rock, for better and for worse. Each one of his phases in the '70s sparked a number of subgenres, including punk, new wave, goth rock, the new romantics, and electronica. Few rockers ever had such lasting impact.

Beat Writer
Posts: 132
Joined: 21 Jul 2008

TheGhostOfSin:

curlycrouton:

Blur
Bloc Party

Ummm, just no.
There were others that shouldn't be in this thread from your list but these two are just so wrong it's unbelievable.

Depends what country you come from. Not sure about Bloc Party but Blur are massively influential on British music.

Beat Writer
Posts: 161
Joined: 10 Sep 2008

Lukeje:

BmC:

Jonas Brothers

Who? And do I want to know?

No you don't

Infamous Scribbler
Posts: 512
Joined: 27 Aug 2008

roblikestoskate:
David Bowie. Here is an excerpt from Allmusic.com that supports my claim:

Even when he was out of fashion in the '80s and '90s, it was clear that Bowie was one of the most influential musicians in rock, for better and for worse. Each one of his phases in the '70s sparked a number of subgenres, including punk, new wave, goth rock, the new romantics, and electronica. Few rockers ever had such lasting impact.

I agree all the way, I am shocked people think Pink Floyd, Or The Beatles can hold any candle to Bowie. Bowie has easily inspired more modern day musicians either directly or indirectly, Also over his almost 50 years of performing now not one of his songs sounds alike.

David Bowie is a true god for musical talent, How he has progressed over his 50 years song by song and how he experiments with every album is mind blowing, Not to mention not many bands continue to perform for over 50 years more so when you remember not one of his songs sounds alike.

Pulitzer Laureate
Posts: 733
Joined: 4 Nov 2008

Lukeje:
A toss up between Iggy and the Stooges, and the Velvet Underground... they invented punk music... and inspired basically everyone who saw them to pick up a guitar and form a band...

Just who I was about to say, excellent choices, the two best bands of thier era.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3085
Joined: 13 Jul 2008

TheGhostOfSin:

curlycrouton:

TheGhostOfSin:
Oh yes the lyrical masterpiece that is-

Yes very impresive

Oh and of corse Parklife, a song they refused to sing themselves.

What exactly is wrong with those lyrics? Observe:

You see, those lyrics could be interpreted as simple and nonsensical, but they're not.

Yes they are.
A little quote from Paul "We were trying to write a children's song. That was the basic idea. And there's nothing more to be read into it than there is in the lyrics of any children's song"
Also please don't compare Blur to The Beatles.

Ok, you win on the Yellow Submarine part.

However, I maintain the fact that Blur were and are influential, and that the Beatles are, in the words of Scroobius Pip, "just a band".

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1359
Joined: 21 May 2008

Tranka Verrane:

TheGhostOfSin:

curlycrouton:

Blur
Bloc Party

Ummm, just no.
There were others that shouldn't be in this thread from your list but these two are just so wrong it's unbelievable.

Depends what country you come from. Not sure about Bloc Party but Blur ar massively influential on British music.

I'm from England and I'd like to know of a band that was influenced by either of those bands that doesn't make me want to lose my hearing when I hear them.

EDIT: to the guy above me, if The Beatles are just a band then all other 'bands' since are just buskers.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1058
Joined: 2 Jul 2008

TheGhostOfSin:
Oh yes the lyrical masterpiece that is-

Yes very impresive

Oh and of corse Parklife, a song they refused to sing themselves.

I would have thought a fan of the Beatles would not be one to make remarks about lyrics.

I point you towards I am The Walrus.

On topic; it does have to be aforementioned Beatles, or the Stones, for all the reasons mentioned previously.

Edit; I fucking love I am the Walrus, but come on, there was some acid involved in the creation of that song.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1109
Joined: 11 Jul 2008

Don't all respectable musicians just copy from one another and sell out in the end anyway?

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3085
Joined: 13 Jul 2008

TheGhostOfSin:

Tranka Verrane:

TheGhostOfSin:

curlycrouton:

Blur
Bloc Party

Ummm, just no.
There were others that shouldn't be in this thread from your list but these two are just so wrong it's unbelievable.

Depends what country you come from. Not sure about Bloc Party but Blur ar massively influential on British music.

I'm from England and I'd like to know of a band that was influenced by either of those bands that doesn't make me want to lose my hearing when I hear them.

This is not about whether you like the band or not, it's about whether they were influential or not, and there's no doubt that almost every rock band in the 90s and indeed now wants to sound like either Oasis or Blur.

Bloc Party have inspired a whole new generation (yes I know it's been done before) to ditch the generic rock and pursue new, electronic directions.

EDIT: Also, the Beatles are not automatically better than any other band ever. They themselves were influenced heavily by skiffle and 50s rock musicians. Once again I say, the Beatles are not god-like figures to be revered, and are not the fathers of modern rock.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1359
Joined: 21 May 2008

Qayin:

I would have thought a fan of the Beatles would not be one to make remarks about lyrics.

I point you towards I am The Walrus.

I am the Walrus was written entirly to annoy John's old english teacher who now had his pupils looking for meaning in Beatles songs, so John wrote the most nonsensical song he could imagine.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1058
Joined: 2 Jul 2008

GuerrillaClock:
Don't all respectable musicians just copy from one another and sell out in the end anyway?

No, sometimes they die beforehand.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1058
Joined: 2 Jul 2008

TheGhostOfSin:

Qayin:

I would have thought a fan of the Beatles would not be one to make remarks about lyrics.

I point you towards I am The Walrus.

I am the Walrus was written entirly to annoy John's old english teacher who now had his pupils looking for meaning in Beatles songs, so John wrote the most nonsensical song he could imagine.

I heard that story...not sure I believe it. But as someone previously said; Yellow Submarine, Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite! and Strawberry Fields Forever don't make a whole lot of sense themselves.

Lyrics do not necessarily make the song - bands like the Beatles and Oasis show that it is not required to have incredibly deep messages to create great music.

Edit; Double post...sorry, shows how little sleep I've been getting.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1154
Joined: 10 Aug 2008

BallPtPenTheif:
Now people are just naming bands they like without explanation.. this is going downhill fast.

I just watched everyone (with the exception of James Brown) taking Soul completely out of the picture.
Then take some time and check some of these out.

Aretha Franklin- was to women what James Brown was men- Queen of Soul
Donna Summer- continued it during the Disco Era.
The Temptations- probably the most influential Soul male group
Diana Ross and the Supremes- easily the most recognized female soul group

Earth Wind and Fire
Kool and the Gang
K.C. and the Sunshine Band
Tower of Power

All of the above bands combined the standard jazz combo with electronics and a Soul Sound in the late 70's and early 80's. Modern funk and fusion charts are based on these sounds.

In the most basic elements Elvis was the white guy who made money because he had the "black sound"- deep, resonating, smooth soul sound. Sammy Davis Jr. on the other hand, WAS the black singer singing in the predominantly white suburban world of the 50's, and Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford were not only his promoters and protractors, but his friends as well. You can't leave the Rat Pack off of any list like this.

Boston as a rock group had arguably the cleanest sound of any group in the modern era. They were often compared with a classical chamber ensemble in their precision of attack, sustain, and release of notes (unheard of in rock bands in MOST generations) and in intonation from the vocalist all the way down to the bass.

The Cars built along that foundation, and are a classic example of early 80's rock sound.

And Chicago is one of the single best examples of a band reinventing and re-energizing their sound through the decades. Though they often added new players (and older ones quit), their band ranks second to the beach boys in terms of hits.

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