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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: LudwigVan on August 04, 2010, 09:56:28 AM
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Let's say you're teaching a college course called Rock 101 to a classfull of rock noobs from 3rd-world countries who have no idea what the music is all about. Which 10 bands do you choose to include in your curriculum?
1. The Beatles
2. The Who
3. Led Zeppelin
4. Black Sabbath
5. Pink Floyd
6. King Crimson
7. The Clash
8. Metallica
9. Death
10. Nirvana
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1. The Beatles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. Black Sabbath
4. Metallica
5. Nirvana
6. Pink Floyd
7. The Doors
8. Dream Theater
9. Iron Maiden
10. Opeth
Off the top of my head and looking at your list.
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Beatles
Zeppelin
Sabbath
Dylan
Sex Pistols
Metallica
I'm struggling to think of who else I'd place alongside those. I'll come back later.
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Assuming we can count solo artists, too...
1. The Beatles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. The Rolling Stones
4. Bob Dylan
5. Pink Floyd
6. The Who
7. Black Sabbath
8. Bruce Springsteen
9. Metallica
10. U2
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The Beatles
Rolling Stones
The Kinks
The Who
Black Sabbath
Led Zeppelin
Pink Floyd
Metallica
Nirvana
Death
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Whoops, I forgot Jimi Hendrix. He is 10 top EASY, probably top 5.
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I like Kev's list, but would take out The Who (despite their being my favorite 'British Invasion' band, that history is covered well enough by The Beatles and Stones. Floyd covers the development of 'prog;' Zeppelin and Sabbath cover the transition to harder, heavy metal; U2 covers the transition to 80s MTV-oriented pop; Metallica covers 80s-onward 'popular' metal. Unfortunately, I think a band like Nirvana needs to be included, otherwise the direction rock took in the 90s is largely ignored.
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I think Nirvana was too much of a flash in the pan, and their importance is largely overstated by the media. Metallica making hard rock and metal more popular in the early 90s had a much longer and bigger lasting effect than the mainstream's brief infatuation with grunge.
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I think Nirvana was too much of a flash in the pan, and their importance is largely overstated by the media. Metallica making hard rock and metal more popular in the early 90s had a much longer and bigger lasting effect than the mainstream's brief infatuation with grunge.
I agree about Nirvana's importance being overstated, and Metallica's much more far reaching influence, but not that there was a brief infatuation with grunge. I guess it can't be summed up in one band, but the section on grunge in Rock 101 would be important, much more so than any other niche like death metal.
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No Rush? Maybe I'm just thinking as a fan. I think they could be argued as having a spot. I'd have to think about who to remove to make room for them.
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Crap, forgot about The Rolling Stones and Rush.
1. The Beatles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. Black Sabbath
4. Metallica
5. Nirvana
6. Pink Floyd
7. The Doors
8. The Rolling Stones
9. Iron Maiden
10. Rush
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The Beatles
Rolling Stones
Bruce Springsteen
Led Zeppelin
Pink Floyd
Black Sabbath
Metallica
Nirvana
U2
Green Day
Although I don't feel that covers the bridge from Nirvana to U2 well enough.
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LudwigVan, I'm surprised that YOU didn't have Deep Purple on it.
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Well, if I was doing a Rock 101 course, there would be a lot more than ten bands, but if I had to pick one from each big "wave" of rock music...
Elvis Presley
The Beatles
Bob Dylan
Jimi Hendrix
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Bruce Springsteen
Led Zeppelin
Pink Floyd
Black Sabbath
The Clash
Metallica
U2
Radiohead
Okay, maybe thats thirteen, but I think they're all necessary.
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LudwigVan, I'm surprised that YOU didn't have Deep Purple on it.
Well, I did say "most important", not "favorite". I don't think DP carried the same importance that Zep or Sabbath did.
Whoops, I forgot Jimi Hendrix. He is 10 top EASY, probably top 5.
:facepalm: I might have to replace The Who with Hendrix
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What exactly defines "most important?"
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No Rush? Maybe I'm just thinking as a fan. I think they could be argued as having a spot. I'd have to think about who to remove to make room for them.
No one is a bigger Rush fan than me :p, but they are not one of the 10 most important bands ever.
Whoops, I forgot Jimi Hendrix. He is 10 top EASY, probably top 5.
:facepalm: I might have to replace The Who with Hendrix
Ditch Death. With all due respect, they are not even close to being one of the most important rock bands of all-time, by any stretch of the imagination.
What exactly defines "most important?"
Importance. :biggrin:
But really, I would ask yourself: If you had to write a book on the history of rock music, what artists/bands you could not leave out, under any circumstance?
And I forgot about Elvis, too. Add him and Hendrix to my original list.
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I wouldn't put them in the 101 class, but there probably needs to be a pre-requisite of 'Early Influences' which would include Muddy Waters, Buddy Holly, and other artists who laid the initial groundwork for what would become rock music.
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I'd definitely say Buddy Holly since he was the first artist to really compose atypical chord progressions. Chuck Berry is debatable but he did transform the electric guitar into a prominent instrument which Hendrix then perfected into an art form.
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1. The Beatles
2. Elvis Presley
3. Bob Dylan
4. Jimi Hendrix
5. Led Zeppelin
6. Pink Floyd
7. Sex Pistols
8. Nirvana
9. Metallica
10. Black Sabbath
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The top 10 bands on my last.fm
:neverusethis:
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I think the NWoBHM requires inclusion, due to it's huge importance on rock music throughout the 80s. As much as I dislike them, Def Leopard probably deserves the honor.
I think I'd include Yes. One of the few very proggish bands to get significant attention and popularity.
Edit: Kiss deserves inclusion, as well.
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I'd definitely say Buddy Holly since he was the first artist to really compose atypical chord progressions. Chuck Berry is debatable but he did transform the electric guitar into a prominent instrument which Hendrix then perfected into an art form.
My dad loves you for saying Buddy Holly.
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Can you make Justin Bieber an antithesis in your curriculum?
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1. The Beatles
2. Elvis Presley
3. Bob Dylan
4. Jimi Hendrix
5. Led Zeppelin
6. Pink Floyd
7. Sex Pistols
8. Nirvana
9. Metallica
10. Black Sabbath
this would probably be my list
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I don't see why Death is on there at all (I'm assuming you mean the Death Metal act...), I'd say Morbid Angel is FAR more important to death metal than Death is (Controversial opinions up here!). After all, Covenant is the best selling Death Metal album of all time iirc. But even then, as much as I love Death Metal, its by and far and underground genre of music and probably can be passed over.
I'd agree on NWOBHM being included. I'd say Judas Priest and Iron Maiden deserve some mention for what they did for it. As well as Dio's solo career.
The big four of the British Invasion definitely need to be mentioned, even if I don't really care for them at all.
If you're going to include Prog, then King Crimson definitely needs some love, as well as Genesis and Rush. Maybe ELP/Jethro Tull, maybe.
I think there would have to be more than a top 10 though, that's far too constricting.
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I'd definitely say Buddy Holly since he was the first artist to really compose atypical chord progressions. Chuck Berry is debatable but he did transform the electric guitar into a prominent instrument which Hendrix then perfected into an art form.
My dad loves you for saying Buddy Holly.
Ha, I wouldn't have paid much mind to him if it wasn't for my Rock History class. I was shocked at how these 50s guys really turned around music.
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Thirding Zydar's list. That's pretty much spot on, you need an honorable mention for Janis though
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I'd definitely say Buddy Holly since he was the first artist to really compose atypical chord progressions. Chuck Berry is debatable but he did transform the electric guitar into a prominent instrument which Hendrix then perfected into an art form.
My dad loves you for saying Buddy Holly.
Ha, I wouldn't have paid much mind to him if it wasn't for my Rock History class. I was shocked at how these 50s guys really turned around music.
Here is a little tidbit. Buddy's band was that first band ever to have two guitarists. Very worthy of this thread!
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I don't see why Death is on there at all (I'm assuming you mean the Death Metal act...), I'd say Morbid Angel is FAR more important to death metal than Death is (Controversial opinions up here!). After all, Covenant is the best selling Death Metal album of all time iirc. But even then, as much as I love Death Metal, its by and far and underground genre of music and probably can be passed over.
Setting aside all the opinions that I have regarding Death and MA, Death are more important to the genre as a whole because they were more or less the innovators along with Possessed. I'd probably lump MA in with them as the early progenitors, but Death and Possessed were definitely the most important to the transition between thrash and death. I'd say Morbid Angel was more important in the early 90s, whereas Death was more important in the late 80s. I have to give Cannibal Corpse some credit as well.
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Honestly, death metal isn't all that important in terms of the history of rock music, especially when limited to 10 bands.
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Ditch Death. With all due respect, they are not even close to being one of the most important rock bands of all-time, by any stretch of the imagination.
This, for sure.
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Looking at my list again, I could take off Bruce and CSNY. Could be possible to take off Black Sabbath too, since I have Zeppelin and Metallica. It seems like Chuck Berry or Buddy Holly should be on that list too, but I don't know who to replace after that.
I don't think Death, Dream Theater, Maiden, or Rush should be included in this fictional class. None of them have been influential on the scale of some of their contemporaries, even though I love the latter three.
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I think Yes need to be there, really. If the world of poetry is divided between Dante and Shakespeare, the world of rock is divided between Zeppelin and Yes.
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Are Yes a great prog rock band? Yes. Are they really important to the development of rock music as a whole the way Crimson or Floyd are? I would say no.
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I'd say they're far more important than Crimson. They're not only important to all the prog bands that came afterwards, as well as to a good deal of indie bands, but they're important because they represent the golden age of commercial rock, when record companies were letting artists fully develop and release albums full of 20 minute suites with no "hit singles," and people still bought it in droves.
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People seem to be approaching this entirely from the standpoint of a band's influence on musicians who followed. I think a bands affect on society should also be considered. From that angle, I'd consider Yes pretty important. They made prog accessible to everybody, whereas KC was almost entirely a musician's band.
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Which Indie bands cite Yes as an influence? I've never heard that.
El Barto, I'd consider Pink Floyd to be a much better candidate for making prog accessible to everybody. I assume you've seen Dark Side's record sales.
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I don't know yet about my whole list, but Beatles and Floyd sure are at the top of it already.
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The lack of Queen in this thread is very disturbing
1. The Beatles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. Black Sabbath
4. Queen
5. Pink Floyd
6. The Who
7. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
8. The Rolling Stones
9. U2
10. The Ramones
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there's a number of bands, including college rock bands, who cite Yes as an influence. More than Crimson? debatable, but as whole, Yes has reached a slightly wider audience. But in terms of the 10 most significant artists in the history of Rock music, I wouldn't include either of them.
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The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
THe Who
Jimi Hendrix
Chuck Berry
Led Zeppelin
Metallica
The Doors
Pink Floyd
Queen
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I think Yes need to be there, really. If the world of poetry is divided between Dante and Shakespeare, the world of rock is divided between Zeppelin and Yes.
No way. If you narrow it to two, the world of rock is divided between Beatles and Stones.
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Yes is definitely more important than King Crimson, who aren't even universally loved in prog circles, as opposed to Yes (as much as a band can be universally loved), but the only progish band who comes close to making this top 10 is Pink Floyd (and they should be in it).
I love Queen, but I wouldn't put them top 10. Maybe top 20. Maybe.
And I honestly cannot believe how much many of you are overlooking Bob Dylan. You might not like him (and I don't that much either), but he is a no-brainer top 5 in this category, and quite possibly top 3.
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I went with bands, not individuals.
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The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
The Who
Jimi Hendrix
Pink Floyd
Led Zeppelin
Metallica
Cream
Elvis Presley
Run DMC
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1) The Beatles
2) The Doors
3) Hendrix
4) The Who
5) Cream
6) Thin Lizzy
7) The Ramones
8) Nirvana
9) Judas Priest
10 Rush
** Deep Purple and Queen were very close to making my list**
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The Early Years
Robert Johnson
The Robert Johnson of Crossroads fame, he wrote 26 songs that influenced I can't even tell you how many blues rock guitarists. Unfortunately Johnson's life was cut short after being poisoned by a bartender for oogling the guy's wife but his legacy lives on through guitar players such as Eric Clapton (who he influenced heavily) and Jimmy Page.
1950s
Buddy Holly and the Crickets
As mentioned before, Buddy Holly and his band are more important than people might think. He was the first rock front-man to gain a positive reptutation amongst family members since Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry were mucking up kids minds with their gyrations and thrusting. The Crickets were also the first band to popularize atypical chord progressions in their music. At that time the only rock chord progression was the I-IV-V blues progression which Little Richard built a career on. Probably the most important, though, as kingshmegland pointed out, they were the first band to have two guitarists in their group as one rhythm, one lead set up. This setup was modeled by none other than The Beatles (and tons of other rock bands) a decade later.
1960s
Bob Dylan
Kev's right, Dylan needs to be here. Why? Well for as much as I personally can't stand his voice for more than two songs the one thing Dylan did was something that no one had really done before: make songs matter. He was all about the message and despite his songs usually consisting of one or two repeated patterns his lyrics are usually so brash and truthful that people were shocked and impressed. It's funny to think that during a time where everyone was afraid to say something this 21 year old kid moves to New York and boldly sang stuff like "Blowin' In The Wind". He even inspired the next band to "say something" with their music (as well as introduce them to pot), effectively inadvertently changing the course of music.
The Beatles
Here for obvious reasons and not only because of their music but for how much them and producer George Martin pushed the envelope in terms of production. All four eras of the Beatles left their marks in a lot of ways musically but what they did with a 4-track multi-track recorder on some of their songs, namely "Tomorrow Never Knows", "For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite", and "A Day In The Life" is downright incredible. There's no use going more into the band because if you haven't seen the widespread influence of what they did to rock music then you probably haven't been born yet.
Jimi Hendrix
I used to be one of those "Hendrix is overrated" guys. I have no idea why. Then I actually listened to him and ate some crow. While some people nowadays can listen to his stuff and think it's not impressive for a variety of reasons it's best to understand the situation in which he came up. Back when he was in his late teens/early 20s Eric Clapton was god. So here comes along Hendrix as an early 20 something (after he was fired for out showing Little Richard) and not only does he blow everyone away but he outplayed Eric Clapton on Clapton's own stage. Hendrix's foray into drugs and whatnot ultimately lead to his downfall but in the process his vices (or muses if you wanna look at it that way) and love of playing with the guitar transformed what was simply an electronic instrument into the sole symbol of rock and roll. The sounds and style he created were unreal at the time he was alive and it's obvious that his legacy lives in countless guitar players throughout the rest of the history of rock music.
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The 1970s
Pink Floyd
Easily the most commercially successful prog rock (or space rock for you nitpickers) band from this era but they truly redefined what a studio band was. Studio bands started awhile back with The Beach Boys (Pet Sounds) and The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper) but Floyd made it an art form. They're probably one of the first bands that you could truly label as artists because of meticulously crafted their works were. Instead of hard hitting rock and roll they often slowed down and let the music build and ebb and flow, something I'm not sure anyone else really cared to do before this time, at least on the level Floyd did.
Black Sabbath
Who would've thought one little metal shop accident would've changed the course of rock music? With Tony Iommi determined to make his guitar playing a little easier he down-tuned simple blues rock and ended up created a menacing sound that, which resembling more doom metal than heavy metal, scared enough parents to make their mark on the world. Everything that is heavy metal can be found in Black Sabbath: dark themes, down-tuned guitars, heavy distortion (for the time it was heavy), dissonance. While not the true masters of their craft they were one of the first, if not the first, dark band to break through and create a real interest in the type of music they played.
Led Zeppelin
It pains me to list Zeppelin here only because I like The Who better but I can't deny the hard rock explosion they ignited. Many call them the start of heavy metal but with bands exploring actual dark themes like Black Sabbath I simply cannot do that, though they turned blues rock into something much more rhythm driven and heavy hitting. Page also perfected the art of riffing as he created (or stole if you wanna go down that route) dozens of riffs that you'd instantly recognize upon hearing two or three notes from. Truly a unique band and along with The Who transformed the art of performing on stage instead of just playing the music.
The Ramones
Why not The Clash or The Sex Pistols? Well you see kids the reason those two bands actually got around to playing music is because they learned to play their instruments by listening to The Ramones (true story). They started the punk rock look, the punk rock attitude and the punk rock life style. The Sex Pistols might've taken it and "perfected" it but ask any member of any of those bands where it all started and they'll point you to The Ramones.
The 1980s
Metallica (with slight nod to Dave Mustaine)
For all you purists out there I included Mustaine only for the fact that he and Hetfield either crafted or heavily modified the art of duel guitarists for pretty much every single band to try metal since Metallica's inception. Naturally when Mustaine left Hammett and Hetfield perfected that art. Since then, the influence they've had on any number of bands is startling. It's true that Metallica and thrash are more American styles to their British speed metal brethren but what they did with virtually no radio or media exposure is astounding.
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orcus116, that is a great write up. I guess that class paid off!
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I think Yes need to be there, really. If the world of poetry is divided between Dante and Shakespeare, the world of rock is divided between Zeppelin and Yes.
No way. If you narrow it to two, the world of rock is divided between Beatles and Stones.
Nah. Yes are Shakespeare. Zeppelin are Dante. I guess that means that The Beatles are Chaucer. The Stones, while important for their time, are a group of sellouts who've kept their fanbase but managed to lose the love of creative people in music over the last 3 decades.
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Yes is definitely more important than King Crimson, who aren't even universally loved in prog circles, as opposed to Yes (as much as a band can be universally loved), but the only progish band who comes close to making this top 10 is Pink Floyd (and they should be in it).
I love Queen, but I wouldn't put them top 10. Maybe top 20. Maybe.
And I honestly cannot believe how much many of you are overlooking Bob Dylan. You might not like him (and I don't that much either), but he is a no-brainer top 5 in this category, and quite possibly top 3.
My problem with Floyd is that they ARE "just proggish." They really don't account for or represent the progressive music of the 70s in any accurate way.
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Yes is definitely more important than King Crimson, who aren't even universally loved in prog circles, as opposed to Yes (as much as a band can be universally loved), but the only progish band who comes close to making this top 10 is Pink Floyd (and they should be in it).
I love Queen, but I wouldn't put them top 10. Maybe top 20. Maybe.
And I honestly cannot believe how much many of you are overlooking Bob Dylan. You might not like him (and I don't that much either), but he is a no-brainer top 5 in this category, and quite possibly top 3.
My problem with Floyd is that they ARE "just proggish." They really don't account for or represent the progressive music of the 70s in any accurate way.
I disagree with you PC. Bands in the 70's didn't think of themselves as proggish and look at the sales and the influence Pink Floyd had durring the 70's.
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1. Elvis Presley
2. The Beatles
3. James Brown
4. Bob Dylan
5. Chuck Berry
6. Jimi Hendrix
7. Ray Charles
8. Led Zeppelin
9. Fats Domino
10. Aretha Franklin
Since were talking about Most Important in Rock HISTORY, I'd say these. Most influential, I would have another list, because to me they are two different things.
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Aretha Franklin is a fantastic pic.
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1. Elvis Presley
Absolutely this. No one changed music the way he did.
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Just want to point out that orcus is the baaaeest for having Dead Leaves in his recent plays.
And in keeping on topic, I agree with many of the sentiments shared in this here thread.
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I disagree with you PC. Bands in the 70's didn't think of themselves as proggish and look at the sales and the influence Pink Floyd had durring the 70's.
I just don't see how Pink Floyd can do a better job of representing Genesis, KC, ELP, Gentle Giant, VDG, Camel, Marillion, Rush, and so many others than Yes.
But hey! That's why everyone gets to make their own list.
On my list, Pink Floyd wouldn't be representing prog at all. Yes would. Pink Floyd would still be on the list, but for different reasons. I haven't made my list yet, of course, but I think both deserve to be on it.
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1. Elvis Presley
Absolutely this. No one changed music the way he did.
Serious question. How did he change music?
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He brought showmanship and upbeatness to music which eventually formed rock. Jerry Lee Lewis did the same but not as much.
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Great writeup, Orcus! If it was the "twelve most important bands" I'd include U2 and Radiohead to that and it would be perfect.
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I think one of the problems is how back you want to trace the influence.
For instance, you could say Metallica. But then you have to point out a band like Black Sabbath influenced them to the point that Metallica would have never existed without them. But then you have to realize that Black Sabbath would have never existed without The Beatles. Then you have to realize that The Beatles wouldn't have existed without...whoever, and so forth and so forth. Eventually it goes back to some classical music or ethnic music most likely. Are just claiming THOSE artists are the more influental? Or bands like Sabbath?
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A band thats not so famous yet I find is quite important is Van der Graaf Generator. David Bowie was influenced by their vocalist, and I find many sections of songs that seem to try to emulate the chaoticness present on their Pawn Hearts album.
Not to mention that (to my knowledge) they made the first sidelong epic in rock music history.
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He brought showmanship and upbeatness to music which eventually formed rock. Jerry Lee Lewis did the same but not as much.
Not really. He just did things that black people were doing and made it ok for white people to do.
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I think one of the problems is how back you want to trace the influence.
For instance, you could say Metallica. But then you have to point out a band like Black Sabbath influenced them to the point that Metallica would have never existed without them. But then you have to realize that Black Sabbath would have never existed without The Beatles. Then you have to realize that The Beatles wouldn't have existed without...whoever, and so forth and so forth. Eventually it goes back to some classical music or ethnic music most likely. Are just claiming THOSE artists are the more influental? Or bands like Sabbath?
I tried to pick gateway bands for various genres or else you'd be right in that we would only be naming classical composeers and blues artists.
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I think Yes need to be there, really. If the world of poetry is divided between Dante and Shakespeare, the world of rock is divided between Zeppelin and Yes.
No way. If you narrow it to two, the world of rock is divided between Beatles and Stones.
Nah. Yes are Shakespeare. Zeppelin are Dante. I guess that means that The Beatles are Chaucer. The Stones, while important for their time, are a group of sellouts who've kept their fanbase but managed to lose the love of creative people in music over the last 3 decades.
What?
Look, EVERYBODY knows who the Beatles and Stones are, and most know who Led Zeppelin are. Yes is not in the same league as those 3 (or 4, if you wanted to include The Who).
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He brought showmanship and upbeatness to music which eventually formed rock. Jerry Lee Lewis did the same but not as much.
Not really. He just did things that black people were doing and made it ok for white people to do.
I wish there was a clapping hands emoticon. If there was, I'd be using it.
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He brought showmanship and upbeatness to music which eventually formed rock. Jerry Lee Lewis did the same but not as much.
Not really. He just did things that black people were doing and made it ok for white people to do.
I wish there was a clapping hands emoticon. If there was, I'd be using it.
:clap:
But seriously though, that was huge for music back then...
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I think Yes need to be there, really. If the world of poetry is divided between Dante and Shakespeare, the world of rock is divided between Zeppelin and Yes.
No way. If you narrow it to two, the world of rock is divided between Beatles and Stones.
Nah. Yes are Shakespeare. Zeppelin are Dante. I guess that means that The Beatles are Chaucer. The Stones, while important for their time, are a group of sellouts who've kept their fanbase but managed to lose the love of creative people in music over the last 3 decades.
What?
Look, EVERYBODY knows who the Beatles and Stones are, and most know who Led Zeppelin are. Yes is not in the same league as those 3 (or 4, if you wanted to include The Who).
Fine, because there's at least 6 more spots yes could fill after that!
It's not "10 most popular bands" its "10 most impotant bands." The Stones haven't been important from a musical standpoint for the past 30 years. Yes were very important in the 70s, kind of important in the 80s, and still inspire tons of musicians today.
Again, this is why everyone gets to make their own list...
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On my list, Pink Floyd wouldn't be representing prog at all.
They aren't on my list to represent prog; they are on my list as one of the most important ROCK bands ever.
And nice write-up, orcus. :tup :tup
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I realize that it's not most popular. But you can't be influential if no one knows who you are. I think Yes's sphere of influence is a lot narrower than those others.
But, whatever.
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Beatles
Zeppelin
Sabbath
Dylan
Sex Pistols
Metallica
To this, I'll add Stones, Hendrix, Floyd and Queen, I think.
Look, EVERYBODY knows who the Beatles and Stones are, and most know who Led Zeppelin are. Yes is not in the same league as those 3 (or 4, if you wanted to include The Who).
The reason I haven't even considered the Who is because I barely know a thing about them. I know they made Tommy and Quadrophenia, but I don't know a single song on either album (as far as I know). The only songs of theirs I can name at all are My Generation and Pinball Wizard.
In fact, I'd argue in place of Perpetual Change that if there was any major rock band whose reputation has dwindled the most in recent decades, it would be the Who and not the Stones. I know plenty of people into classic rock, and can only think of one guy who listens to the Who. And on that note, no-one who listens to The Byrds.
I'm quite surprised to have not seen the Grateful Dead or the Eagles on anyone's list (though I only skimmed the thread).
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Wow, Sex Pistols? Before the actual bands who directly inspired/influenced them - eg Neu!?
The Beatles
Led Zeppelin
Black Sabbath
Pink Floyd
Can
Jimi Hendrix
Neu!
I think these artists can claim to have a wider range of influence on the subsequent decades after them than any other.
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Look, EVERYBODY knows who the Beatles and Stones are, and most know who Led Zeppelin are. Yes is not in the same league as those 3 (or 4, if you wanted to include The Who).
The reason I haven't even considered the Who is because I barely know a thing about them. I know they made Tommy and Quadrophenia, but I don't know a single song on either album (as far as I know). The only songs of theirs I can name at all are My Generation and Pinball Wizard.
Pinball Wizard is from Tommy.
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(https://www.themonkeycage.org/monkey.JPG)
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And on that note, no-one who listens to The Byrds.
I'm quite surprised to have not seen the Grateful Dead or the Eagles on anyone's list (though I only skimmed the thread).
That's because those bands did jack shit to further rock music aside maybe The Dead to influence some hippy jam bands like Phish and the Disco Biscuits. I have no problem with The Byrds (though they were unfairly billed as America's answer to The Beatles) or The Eagles (whom I like a lot of their material) but they aren't even close to being one of the 10 most important bands in rock music by far.
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And on that note, no-one who listens to The Byrds.
I'm quite surprised to have not seen the Grateful Dead or the Eagles on anyone's list (though I only skimmed the thread).
That's because those bands did jack shit to further rock music aside maybe The Dead to influence some hippy jam bands like Phish and the Disco Biscuits. I have no problem with The Byrds (though they were unfairly billed as America's answer to The Beatles) or The Eagles (whom I like a lot of their material) but they aren't even close to being one of the 10 most important bands in rock music by far.
I think the Grateful Dead have a better claim. They basically invented a whole genre of rock music (jam), which is a pretty big scene right now.
Not saying they DEFINITELY deserve it, but they MORE deserve it.
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Why aren't more people mentioning Radiohead?
Bands only:
The Beatles - rock as we know it wouldn't exist without them.
Led Zeppelin - heavy rock wouldn't exist without their influence.
Radiohead - changed the way rock could do experimental music, managed to blend so much into their music and pretty much every decent rock band since has been inspired by them in some way, from Coldplay to Sigur Ros.
Nirvana - killed the dominance of solos and glam, metal. made people who previously thought they weren't talented enough to be musicians go for their dream. proved that skill is no substitute for being able to write really good songs.
Metallica - brought heavy metal into the mainstream for the masses, also the definitive thrash band.
Black Sabbath - created heavy metal.
Pink Floyd - the most influential prog band of all time.
Jimi Hendrix - made the guitar an instrument that could do almost anything.
The Sex Pistols - punk.
Cream - the influence on rock since them is undeniable.
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Wow, orcus' write-up is right on the money!
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Why aren't more people mentioning Radiohead?
Radiohead - changed the way rock could do experimental music, managed to blend so much into their music and pretty much every decent rock band since has been inspired by them in some way, from Coldplay to Sigur Ros.
eniable.
To answer your question, because while awesome in every way and very influential, they simply are not one of the 10 most important rock bands of all-time, and I think most people would agree with that, even most of their fans.
Out of curiosity, how would you say they changed the way rock could do experimental music? I hope you are not gonna saying incorporating electronic elements into their sound, because that had been done already before they did it.
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Black Sabbath - created heavy metal.
Couldn't disagree more. I find that the creation of heavy metal was a team effort from many bands in the 60s. Sabbath just popularized it.
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A big :tup to everyone who liked my list.
Regarding Radiohead I definitely think it'll be awhile to see if they had any actual influence because at the moment they're just a really popular band. Any influence they've had is reflected mainly on themselves at this point. A lot of what Kev said holds true.