Top 5 greatest American bands of all time

[elwoodblues]

No particular order

REM
Sam & Dave
Beach Boys
Simon & Garfunkel
Grateful Dead/CCR/ZZ Top/Kiss/Metallica all are good candidates as well.

[nath]

[ QUOTE ]
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.

[/ QUOTE ]
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.

[Stagger_Lee]

I never said Metallica weren't popular. The whole point of beancounter bands is to be popular.

You are supposed to have a laugh when you realise - not keep cheering along.

[RunDownHouse]

[ QUOTE ]
R.E.M. was basically the first college rock / indie rock band and their success paved the way for others to do the same.

[/ QUOTE ]
Really? I'm pretty much completely ignorant on this subject. It just seems to me like if REM hadn't done it, some other band would have. When you say they "paved the way," are you talking about inspiring others to start bands, labels/producers/A&R/whoever being forced to accept that that kind of band can be profitable, or what?

I'm just having trouble putting REM on the same level as, say, The Beach Boys, or Hendrix. To me they're not in the same stadium, but it seems like tons of people think they're perfectly even and maybe even better than those types of bands. Just typing that is weird; REM is, in every sense, better than Hendrix? Really?

[Mondogarage]

[ QUOTE ]
So your theory is that an albums success is directly related to how long it took to come out?

[/ QUOTE ]

That is not what I said...however, you completely missed the point of what I *did* say, and belaboring the point is useless. What I wrote was not that difficult to comprehend. The band has, for all intents and purposes, been defunct for 15 years. And before that, barely had three albums worth of original output to begin with.

That's okay, you couldn't follow what I said the first time, so I hardly expect you to do so, now.

[ QUOTE ]
Here are some great pieces of music by GNR:

Welcome to the Jungle
It's So Easy
Nighttrain
Out to Get Me
Mr. Brownstone
Paradise City
Sweet Child O' Mine
Rocket Queen
Patience
Used to Love Her
You're Crazy
Live and Let Die (remake)
Don't Cry
November Rain
Civil War
Yesterdays
Knockin' on Heavens Door (remake)
Estranged
You Could be Mine
Sympathy for the Devil (remake)
Hair of the Dog (remake)

That is a really good body of work.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sure, if you consider 20% of that cover tunes. The "five greatest American rock bands in history" don't have to stuff their resume with cover tunes. Frankly, Van Halen has a far better resume to claim "5 greatest" than G'n'R, using any reasonable objective criteria. Take out the covers, and you've listed barely an album's worth of material, most definitely insufficient to consider a band among the 5 greatest of all time.

[ QUOTE ]
And 7 of the 9 songs from their new album I've already heard and are all top-notch. The remaining 4 supposed songs I have not yet heard.

[/ QUOTE ]

As I said, it's not an album until it comes out, if it ever does. For now, all you've heard is demo tapes. I'm sorry your undying love and affection for Axl Rose is such that you can't see the forest for the trees. But hey, that's no biggie. I wish my bands had had such devoted bands. However, just because you want something to be true doesn't make it true. Rock on.

[Mondogarage]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
R.E.M. was basically the first college rock / indie rock band and their success paved the way for others to do the same.

[/ QUOTE ]
Really? I'm pretty much completely ignorant on this subject. It just seems to me like if REM hadn't done it, some other band would have. When you say they "paved the way," are you talking about inspiring others to start bands, labels/producers/A&R/whoever being forced to accept that that kind of band can be profitable, or what?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. To all of it. REM wasn't the first indie rock band (minor point, but I'd defer to stuff like Television and Pere Ubu, who came along about five years earlier, and even Mission of Burma). However, they were the first commercially successful indie rock band/college rock/what have you.

Yes, they influenced a LOT of people to start bands, they influenced A&R guys everywhere (who wanted to find the next REM), etc. They certainly weren't huge out of the box, but even in mid-Texas, where I was going to college in '83, *everyone* knew who they were. This was around the time of South Central Rain, and several years before "Out of Time" or even "Green".

[ QUOTE ]
I'm just having trouble putting REM on the same level as, say, The Beach Boys, or Hendrix. To me they're not in the same stadium, but it seems like tons of people think they're perfectly even and maybe even better than those types of bands. Just typing that is weird; REM is, in every sense, better than Hendrix? Really?

[/ QUOTE ]

"Better" in what way? As in, "more talented"? Of course not. But Jimi's career flamed out so quickly, he hardly really even left any output on which to judge. And, as others have pointed out, even though he was American, the band actually has its genesis in the UK. There is no question that Jimi Hendrix is one of the most amazing musicians to have ever lived, and arguably, the single greatest guitarist. But I believe that is a different issue than whether or not the Jimi Hendrix Experience is one of the five greatest bands in American history.

[MitchL]

RHCP
The Allman Brothers Band
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Guns N' Roses
The Doors

[Oski]

[ QUOTE ]
No particular order

REM
Sam & Dave
Beach Boys
Simon & Garfunkel
Grateful Dead/CCR/ZZ Top/Kiss/Metallica all are good candidates as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd expect nothing less from you Elwood. Sam & Dave have some of the best songs I've ever heard. Their music has that timeless feel; like sitting on your porch on a summer evening with a few cold ones.


As for everyone else, there are a lot of good picks here, but if you haven't heard the Wipers, you really are missing out. This band has one of the most impressive catalogues of music of all the bands I can think of. These guys invented the "Northwestern sound" that mixed rock and punk and layed the groundwork for grunge. Easily one of the most influential American bands of all time.

Also Greg Sage is an amazing guitarist and live performer.

I also put the Melvins on my list as well. For nearly 30 years, this band has put out challenging, heavy music that has influenced countless other bands. They have a distinct sound, but their records always are fresh and have something new. Their drummer, Dale Crover, is arguably one of the best of all time.

If you ever get a chance to see the Melvins live, you will be in for one helluva show.

I don't see how the Eagles make anyone's list. They made good music, but really did nothing innovative or too memorable. Their songs don't seem to be aging well.

Also, I would not argue with anyone putting CCR, GnR, Metallica, or the Beach Boys on their list.

Finally, Black Flag rates well with me.

[prohornblower]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So your theory is that an albums success is directly related to how long it took to come out?

[/ QUOTE ]

That is not what I said...however, you completely missed the point of what I *did* say, and belaboring the point is useless. What I wrote was not that difficult to comprehend. The band has, for all intents and purposes, been defunct for 15 years. And before that, barely had three albums worth of original output to begin with.

That's okay, you couldn't follow what I said the first time, so I hardly expect you to do so, now.

[ QUOTE ]
Here are some great pieces of music by GNR:

Welcome to the Jungle
It's So Easy
Nighttrain
Out to Get Me
Mr. Brownstone
Paradise City
Sweet Child O' Mine
Rocket Queen
Patience
Used to Love Her
You're Crazy
Live and Let Die (remake)
Don't Cry
November Rain
Civil War
Yesterdays
Knockin' on Heavens Door (remake)
Estranged
You Could be Mine
Sympathy for the Devil (remake)
Hair of the Dog (remake)

That is a really good body of work.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sure, if you consider 20% of that cover tunes. The "five greatest American rock bands in history" don't have to stuff their resume with cover tunes. Frankly, Van Halen has a far better resume to claim "5 greatest" than G'n'R, using any reasonable objective criteria. Take out the covers, and you've listed barely an album's worth of material, most definitely insufficient to consider a band among the 5 greatest of all time.

[ QUOTE ]
And 7 of the 9 songs from their new album I've already heard and are all top-notch. The remaining 4 supposed songs I have not yet heard.

[/ QUOTE ]

As I said, it's not an album until it comes out, if it ever does. For now, all you've heard is demo tapes. I'm sorry your undying love and affection for Axl Rose is such that you can't see the forest for the trees. But hey, that's no biggie. I wish my bands had had such devoted bands. However, just because you want something to be true doesn't make it true. Rock on.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are a dumb human. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[runnerunner]

Metallica
The Doors
The Beach Boys
The Allman Brothers
Skynard