Top 5 greatest American bands of all time

[RunDownHouse]

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It's Stipe, and I can name three great bands saying that:

Radiohead
The Decemberists
Elf Power

Thom Yorke will tell you he owes everything to Stipe and REM -- both musically and psychologically.

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Like I said, I don't know if they're a big influence, but I really doubt citing bands like Decemberists and Elfs is helping your case. I had to look up both of them to even know who they are, and Decemberists didn't release their first album until 2002. Let's hold off on annointing them as The Next Great Thing.

Also, both of those band's bios on artistdirect.com mention Neutral Milk Hotel, as did you. 99.9% of the world has never heard a single thing by them, and in a "Greatest Bands Ever" discussion, popularity is definitely a top criteria. We know you love indie, ok? No need to list hopeless suggestions just to remind us.

[private joker]

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It's Stipe, and I can name three great bands saying that:

Radiohead
The Decemberists
Elf Power

Thom Yorke will tell you he owes everything to Stipe and REM -- both musically and psychologically.

[/ QUOTE ]

Like I said, I don't know if they're a big influence, but I really doubt citing bands like Decemberists and Elfs is helping your case. I had to look up both of them to even know who they are, and Decemberists didn't release their first album until 2002. Let's hold off on annointing them as The Next Great Thing.

Also, both of those band's bios on artistdirect.com mention Neutral Milk Hotel, as did you. 99.9% of the world has never heard a single thing by them, and in a "Greatest Bands Ever" discussion, popularity is definitely a top criteria. We know you love indie, ok? No need to list hopeless suggestions just to remind us.

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Why is popularity a top criteria for greatness? A CLOCKWORK ORANGE made 26 million dollars total domestic. Even in 1972 that wasn't much (THE GODFATHER made 134 that same year). And THE THIN RED LINE and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, arguably the two greatest American movies of the last 10 years, made about 40 mil combined.

I'm not saying popularity shouldn't ever be considered, but calling it a "top" criteria is retarded.

Also, nice job ignoring Radiohead in your post. Thom Yorke has, time and time again, cited Stipe and R.E.M. as not only a huge influence but also a model of how to be a rock star.

[RunDownHouse]

Of course I ignored Radiohead. They really can't do any wrong in my eyes. So they fully support your case for REM being one of the biggest musical influences America has ever spawned. But I'd love to hear more bands of that caliber that were deeply inspired by REM.

The top criterions in this discussion, for me, are quality, popularity, and influence. Stuff like longevity and variety are secondary considerations. Popularity is so important, in my opinion, because that means the band touched every area: influence (both inside music and everywhere else), album sales, longevity, etc.

[nath]

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Of course I ignored Radiohead. They really can't do any wrong in my eyes. So they fully support your case for REM being one of the biggest musical influences America has ever spawned. But I'd love to hear more bands of that caliber that were deeply inspired by REM.

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R.E.M. was basically the first college rock / indie rock band and their success paved the way for others to do the same. Basically any band that has found success in a similar format owes them at least a little debt of gratitude, and we haven't even started talking about stylistic influences, etc.

[Mondogarage]

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Why is popularity a top criteria for greatness? A CLOCKWORK ORANGE made 26 million dollars total domestic. Even in 1972 that wasn't much (THE GODFATHER made 134 that same year). And THE THIN RED LINE and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, arguably the two greatest American movies of the last 10 years, made about 40 mil combined.

I'm not saying popularity shouldn't ever be considered, but calling it a "top" criteria is retarded.

Also, nice job ignoring Radiohead in your post. Thom Yorke has, time and time again, cited Stipe and R.E.M. as not only a huge influence but also a model of how to be a rock star.

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Actually, $26m was huge box office in 1972, but you're comparing it to the movie that was very nearly the single all time box office champ at the time. Also, the $134m you cite was not the 1972 box office total, but rather the ALL TIME box office for that movie, including all theatrical re-releases. And with average ticket prices in 1972 about 70% less than they are now...anyway, you get my point. A Clockwork Orange did perfectly fine box office.

The lesson here is, if you're going to snark on other posters for disagreeing with you, get yer own bloody house in order first. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Edited to take out Radiohead mention.

[private joker]

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The lesson here is, if you're going to snark on other posters for disagreeing with you, get yer own bloody house in order first.

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You're right, I definitely screwed that one up. But I think my point that popularity isn't a top criteria for greatness stands.

How many copies of Loveless did My Bloody Valentine sell? You'll have a hard time convincing any rock critic alive that Loveless isn't one of the greatest albums of all time.

[Mondogarage]

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The lesson here is, if you're going to snark on other posters for disagreeing with you, get yer own bloody house in order first.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're right, I definitely screwed that one up. But I think my point that popularity isn't a top criteria for greatness stands.

How many copies of Loveless did My Bloody Valentine sell? You'll have a hard time convincing any rock critic alive that Loveless isn't one of the greatest albums of all time.

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I don't disagree with that (though, I ironically, my only MBV album is not "Loveless", but rather the slightly lesser "Isn't Anything", which I dig).

Any given album can be one of the greatest of all time. My own vote would go to "London Calling". But when you're talking about the five greatest bands, as opposed to the five greatest albums, or greatest songs, or what have you....well, a band is far more than the sum of an album or some songs. I hesitate to put too much emphasis on popularity (otherwise, you'd have to include N'Sync and Green Day in the conversation), but really, it does count for a lot in this particular discussion.

I'm really trying to approach this issue objectively, and in a detached manner. Believe me, you won't find most of my music collection in a "greatest band" list, even if I think 90% of my music pwns anything on the R'n'R hall of fame's list. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Mondogarage]

If we're truly trying to find the "five greatest American bands of all time" (frankly, a pointless exercise), it helps to have a rational set of criteria.

1. The band should have some longevity -- a career of 3-4 albums shouldn't be allowed to cut it (sorry, G'n'R, Doors, Television, and even Pixies fans), because far too many bands have pulled that off. Flaming out after a couple of great records doesn't make you the greatest *band* (sorry, Nirvana).

2. The corollary to that is, longevity itself shouldn't be overrated (sorry, Aerosmith). A handful of good albums, coupled with a ton of mediocre ones, does not make you great.

3. "Greatest" should not necessarily equate to "most influential on future bands" (sorry, V.U. and Big Star), because we're not measuring how they affected future music, but rather the output of the band itself.

4. "Band" means band, not solo artist. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band would fit. Just because the band is named after the frontman doesn't make it a solo act. Those cats played together for years and years. Tom Petty would work, as well. James Taylor would not. Jewel would not, and etc.

With that said, I think the following is a representative Top 5 list (and for what it's worth, there's two bands on my list whom I can't stand, and another I can barely tolerate). In no particular order:

The Beach Boys
R.E.M.
The Eagles
Sonic Youth
Metallica

My own personal five all timers would disregard a couple of those more objective criteria and look like this:

Pixies
R.E.M.
The Woggles
The Go-Go's
Dressy Bessy (gotta give Denver some luv)

But then, that's just personal taste, and most of my favorite bands are, ironically, from Canada or the UK.

[gonzo787]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It's Stipe, and I can name three great bands saying that:

Radiohead
The Decemberists
Elf Power

Thom Yorke will tell you he owes everything to Stipe and REM -- both musically and psychologically.

[/ QUOTE ]

Like I said, I don't know if they're a big influence, but I really doubt citing bands like Decemberists and Elfs is helping your case. I had to look up both of them to even know who they are, and Decemberists didn't release their first album until 2002. Let's hold off on annointing them as The Next Great Thing.

Also, both of those band's bios on artistdirect.com mention Neutral Milk Hotel, as did you. 99.9% of the world has never heard a single thing by them, and in a "Greatest Bands Ever" discussion, popularity is definitely a top criteria. We know you love indie, ok? No need to list hopeless suggestions just to remind us.

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It's kind of already been said, but they influenced virtually every college rock band since, certainly from the mid 80's to the mid 90's. Who specially have they influenced? Lets start with the two biggest bands of the 90's that might surprise you- Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Do you need any more?

Nirvana- Kurt Cobain in interviews in the latter part of part of his life, detailed how much he admired REM's handling of success and their music. "Automatic for the People" inspired him so much that he wanted to go in a more acoustic direction with Nirvana's music.

Pearl Jam- Eddie Vedder recently inducted REM in the Rock and Roll HOF.

BTW, my list of the greatest American bands (in no particular order and not necessarily my taste)

REM (of course)
Metallica
Ramones
Aerosmith
Beach Boys