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.
I would argue that Bjork and Radiohead did that years before Bloc Party.
Like I said, a whole new generation, e.g. people for whom Bjork and Radiohead are before their time.
Who are you talking about specifically? Every interview of every modern electro-rock band I've seen has mentioned Kid A/Homogenic at least in passing. Radiohead and Bjork aren't that old.
People who have just got into music, and who are interested in making something different than your average generic rock band. Maybe 13-14 year olds. Yes, they will eventually discover Bjork and Radiohead, but Bloc Party are quite the "Buzz Band", even if you don't like their music, wouldn't you agree?
they're popular I suppose, but that's not the same as influential. Bloc Party are popular amongst indie-heads and Radio 1 listeners. Radiohead are just as popular (moreso in fact), but they've also influenced a lot of bands.
Chief among them, Bloc Party...
Very true, however popular almost certainly does mean influential. After all, aren't people likely to emulate things they like?
Indie-heads and Radio 1 listeners are most certainly a large section of the people making music nowadays, whether you view this as a good thing or not, and they are influenced by bands like Bloc Party, who in turn are influenced by Bjork and Radiohead etc.
And I do enjoy Radiohead a lot more than Bloc Party, it has to be said. Especially "Paranoid Android".
You know who I just thought of? The Tornados. They had the first British number one hit in the US, "Telstar," and what's more, the song was an instrumental. They were the beginning of the Brit invasion before the Beatles came around.
Fun fact: The rhythm guitarist for The Tornados was George Bellamy, father of Muse frontman Matt Bellamy. You can hear elements of "Telstar" in "Knights of Cydonia."
MaxMees: Speaking of Beefheart, Frank Zappa is perhaps one of the most musically genius minds in music history, not to mention that he really was the greatest guitarists ever!
Amen to that my friend. To me "The Orange County Lumber Truck" has to be the coolest song ever recorded. But that's just me.
So if that's the case then the REAL father of electronic music would be Raymond Scott. He built a room full of all sorts of electronic equipment back in the late 40's early 50's with which he worked on original compositions (some of them where commercials that actually aired) that he would later put together on a compilation record. This guy was a jazz pianist in his early years (1920's- 1930's) later he discovered his fasination with technology and the music that can be created with it.
Quite possibly however the Silver Apples created these sounds within the construct of pop-rock making their influence on other bands noticeable and tangible. I never stated that the Silver Apples were the first to create electronic music, just simply that they created electronic music before keyboard synthesizers existed.
You know, almost all the bands you are naming aren't influential at all. It's all about the jazz. If you ever wondered where you get those wonderful guitar solos, you can look at Robert Johnson and other blues guitarists. For drumming, Max Roach. And, in fact, several jazz artists have crossed genres to become major rock icons. (i.e. Eric Clapton, Buckethead, and Carlos Santana.)
berethond: You know, almost all the bands you are naming aren't influential at all. It's all about the jazz. If you ever wondered where you get those wonderful guitar solos, you can look at Robert Johnson and other blues guitarists.
Robert Johnson only actually has one 'guitar solo' on record. He played lots of solo guitar, but not many guitar solos.
It may sound weird, but Bill Haley and His Comets. They had the first "rock'n'roll" hit and, along with Elvis and Buddy Holly, opened up an entirely new genre. Of course, Elvis became more popular, which probably means he influenced more people. Not that I myself listen to that sort of music, but their influence - however vague - can be traced to many bands...
berethond: You know, almost all the bands you are naming aren't influential at all. It's all about the jazz. If you ever wondered where you get those wonderful guitar solos, you can look at Robert Johnson and other blues guitarists.
Robert Johnson only actually has one 'guitar solo' on record. He played lots of solo guitar, but not many guitar solos.
But that doesn't change the fact that all modern improv stems from jazz improv. I'll go find me some video evidence...
berethond: You know, almost all the bands you are naming aren't influential at all. It's all about the jazz. If you ever wondered where you get those wonderful guitar solos, you can look at Robert Johnson and other blues guitarists.
Robert Johnson only actually has one 'guitar solo' on record. He played lots of solo guitar, but not many guitar solos.
But that doesn't change the fact that all modern improv stems from jazz improv. I'll go find me some video evidence...
Modern music stems from Jazz, Jazz stems from Blues, Blues stems from work-songs, work-songs stem from traditional African tribal songs / British folk music, just how far back do you want to go here?
berethond: You know, almost all the bands you are naming aren't influential at all. It's all about the jazz. If you ever wondered where you get those wonderful guitar solos, you can look at Robert Johnson and other blues guitarists.
Robert Johnson only actually has one 'guitar solo' on record. He played lots of solo guitar, but not many guitar solos.
But that doesn't change the fact that all modern improv stems from jazz improv. I'll go find me some video evidence...
Modern music stems from Jazz, Jazz stems from Blues, Blues stems from work-songs, work-songs stem from traditional African tribal songs / British folk music, just how far back do you want to go here?
You TOTALLY left out all the other folk stuff. And, how far back? There's a popular Latin-Rock drummer who is heavily influenced by Aztec drumming.
I don't remember his name. But I think he was drumming with Inrique Eglesias's band for a bit, then went back to jazz for a while. and I meant like ANCIENT, like Greensleaves or Finnish folk music, not modern folk.
Lukeje: Modern music stems from Jazz, Jazz stems from Blues, Blues stems from work-songs, work-songs stem from traditional African tribal songs / British folk music, just how far back do you want to go here?
and I meant like ANCIENT, like Greensleaves or Finnish folk music, not modern folk.
I did mention folk music in the creation of blues music. But of course it also had a more direct hand in modern music as well (the Pogues being one example from the '80s).
The people who wrote the Pinky and the Brain theme song. Seriously I love that song. If i ever become a musician I will tell any interviewer who will listen it was one of my main influences.
CIA: The people who wrote the Pinky and the Brain theme song. Seriously I love that song. If i ever become a musician I will tell any interviewer who will listen it was one of my main influences.
Wikipedia: As was Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain was scored primarily by Richard Stone, with assistance from Steve and Julie Bernstein who also orchestrated and sometimes conducted the 40-piece orchestra. The recordings were done on Stage A on the Warner Bros lot, the same stage (and with the same piano) where Carl Stalling recorded his Looney Tunes music. The theme music for Pinky and the Brain was composed by Richard Stone with lyrics by Tom Ruegger. The theme during Animaniacs shorts were sung by Yakko, Wakko, and Dot (that is, Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, and Tress MacNeille). On the Pinky and the Brain show, the theme gained an additional verse and was sung by Gene Paul, mind and others.
The musical score for Pinky and the Brain will frequently contain veiled musical references - for example, in the episode where the Brain builds a new Papier-mâché Earth, the theme from the 2nd and 4th movements of Dvorak's 'New World Symphony' can be heard throughout the episode. The episode Napoleon Brainaparte makes frequent reference to the French anthem, La Marseillaise, while in the episode in which Pinky becomes the artist "Pinkasso" Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition can be heard.
I have a feeling this is one of those things I'm going to regret, there is no way this wont degenerate into an epic flamewar...
starting back into the 50's, the holy trinity was Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly and Bill Haley, who were influenced by blind bluesmen and the like, so we can start with them.
moving up a decade, we had The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and Jimi Hendrix reminding us that being young is all about pissing off your parents
in the 70's things got weird. in one camp we have people like Neil Young following the Dylan mantra of writing songs that make a difference, while on the other side you have Queen and David Bowie making performance art music
the 80's became all about techical proficiancy. bands like Van Halen were putting those years of classical music training to good use, while electronica and a brand new "I don't care" attitude was coming through from bands like The Cure
90's were all about not caring. Nirvana were probabably he biggest band never to care ever.
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.
Why?
Blur were extremely innovative, they wrote "Song 2" for one thing, and "Parklife", a satirical masterpiece. And have you seen what Damon Albarn has got up to recently?
Bloc Party used to be a rock-ish kind of band (even then they were influential) but are taking music into completely new areas with their new electronic material. I mean, have you heard "Talons"?
You can like bands and not think they are influential.... I like those 2 bands but I don't think they are influential. I wouldn't put them up with The Beatles and some of the others mentioned on this thread.
On a sidenote... what about U2? Are we talking just about the music or the actions of its members as well?
They made electronic music before keyboard synthesizers even existed. Instead Simeon Coxe would employ a series of vintage audio oscillators wired to telegraph keys amd controls all piled on a table.
They have literally influenced every single electronic and art rock band since then.
So if that's the case then the REAL father of electronic music would be Raymond Scott. He built a room full of all sorts of electronic equipment back in the late 40's early 50's with which he worked on original compositions (some of them where commercials that actually aired) that he would later put together on a compilation record. This guy was a jazz pianist in his early years (1920's- 1930's) later he discovered his fasination with technology and the music that can be created with it.
Ohh, or how about Delia Derbyshire? She's gotta be pretty influential, since lots of people heard her music, even if they never knew her name.
Too many to count, I'll just list them as they come to mind: Beatles (as well as John Lennon himself), the Clash, Bob Dylan, The Who, The Band, The Stones, The Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, (Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young [just put in parenthesis because there are commas in their name]), David Bowie, The Doors, Johnny Cash, Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Ray Charles, Van Morrison (or as I call him, Van the Man), and last but not least, my current favorite band, U2
The Beatles, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, and Pink Floyd jump to mind right away. I'd also submit Mudhoney as a candidate for being the catalyst for Grunge Rock.
I dont think pink floyd were quite the most influential, edged out by the beatles atleast, but I think they should have been and it's sad I havent found anyone close to filling their spot as my favorite band or anything really resembling the scope of style they covered and the quality they achieved.
I can pick very few songs in their discography that I don't like or can't see musical genius in. They really knew what they were doing and jammed some wicked tunes.
Pink Floyd's influence was more than just music. The entire thing called Pink Floyd was a something that changed the world. I bet there is a lot of people who have never heard one song from Pink Floyd, but know who they were and why they should care.
Very true, however popular almost certainly does mean influential. After all, aren't people likely to emulate things they like?
Indie-heads and Radio 1 listeners are most certainly a large section of the people making music nowadays, whether you view this as a good thing or not, and they are influenced by bands like Bloc Party, who in turn are influenced by Bjork and Radiohead etc.
And I do enjoy Radiohead a lot more than Bloc Party, it has to be said. Especially "Paranoid Android".