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The Most Important Band in America


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to the kids watching the video, it's all about Kylie and that's hwere it's going to stop. they're not going to sit there and wonder "Hmm, I wonder how she came up with that."

 

i'm not saying they would. they wouldn't be sitting there having any thought about it in the first place, though, if it wasn't for kraftwerk - because the image wouldn't exist.

 

if everything that a teenage mind did not know or understand did not exist, we'd be very much 'in the shit' (as the kids would say).

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i'm not saying they would. they wouldn't be sitting there having any thought about it in the first place, though, if it wasn't for kraftwerk - because the image wouldn't exist.

 

if everything that a teenage mind did not know or understand did not exist, we'd be very much 'in the shit' (as the kids would say).

 

ok, but those kids still don't know Kraftwerk, so while Krafwek might have influenced Kylie, they're not important to those kids.

 

it goes back to: How can (band name) be the most important rock band in (country name), if the majority of that country has no clue who they are?

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The most important band in America in this decade is actually the 3 or 4 judges who sit at the table in American Idol and determine what will be bombarded upon us through the airwaves in the coming years. Simon & Co have been at the wheel for popular music this decade. Nothin you can do about it, 'cept hopefully outlast it till it dies a natural death.

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The most important band in America in this decade is actually the 3 or 4 judges who sit at the table in American Idol and determine what will be bombarded upon us through the airwaves in the coming years. Simon & Co have been at the wheel for popular music this decade. Nothin you can do about it, 'cept hopefully outlast it till it dies a natural death.

 

At least now they're sitting at a table where you can see them. They used to hide behind desks in high rise buildings. That's the only change.

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ok, but those kids still don't know Kraftwerk, so while Krafwek might have influenced Kylie, they're not important to those kids.

 

it goes back to: How can (band name) be the most important rock band in (country name), if the majority of that country has no clue who they are?

 

you're putting everyone on a level playing field. which is nice. but, you have to realise within the population of anywhere there is a vast difference in how important/influential each person is. most people have no impact whatsoever on the world as a whole, so their thoughts and who they are influenced by is not significant. in your world these people are all equal, therefore the more people that believe or act in a certain way, have the largest influence.

 

krafwerk influencing kylie is more significant than kylie influencing 2,000,000 teenagers if the teenagers aren't going to do anything with this influence other than mirror it. and that's ignoring the point about how the originator of an idea is more important than someone that spreads the word about it.

 

it comes down to, crudely speaking, whether you think that having 200 idiots nodding in agreement with your work is more significant than having 1 genius who then goes on to develop further what you've done in the future.

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Radiohead is British and they haven't released a good record since 2000....

 

U2 is a much bigger band than Radiohead, but they haven't released a good album since 92.....

 

Coldplay is a sales giant. X and Yand Rush of Blood are the two biggest rock releases this decade. They are British though.

 

The criteria obviously has to be cutting edge artsy, great melodies and uniqueness. For American bands the last 20 years, that title *unquestionably* goes to the Flaming Lips. No other band, American or not has had a run of purely original,great work as this the last 20 years. No other band has such an original stage show:

 

Hit to Death in the Future Head

Transmissions From the Sattlite Heart

Clouds Taste Metallic

The Soft Bulletin

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

 

 

 

Game over.

 

 

Oh,and the most important rock artist of all time is Chuck Berry.

 

thanks, Orkie!

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you're putting everyone on a level playing field. which is nice. but, you have to realise within the population of anywhere there is a vast difference in how important/influential each person is. most people have no impact whatsoever on the world as a whole, so their thoughts and who they are influenced by is not significant. in your world these people are all equal, therefore the more people that believe or act in a certain way, have the largest influence.

 

krafwerk influencing kylie is more significant than kylie influencing 2,000,000 teenagers if the teenagers aren't going to do anything with this influence other than mirror it. and that's ignoring the point about how the originator of an idea is more important than someone that spreads the word about it.

 

it comes down to, crudely speaking, whether you think that having 200 idiots nodding in agreement with your work is more significant than having 1 genius who then goes on to develop further what you've done in the future.

 

 

it's not my world, it's the world. sadly that's the way things work. majority rules and all that bullshit

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Guest Wilco Rules Me
See this is where the how do you define influential/important comes into play. Is influential only counted if you like the bands they influence or like their style of music to begin with? I don
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it is, but I see a lot of people posting the names of bands that are important to them in this thread, and that's not what's in question. you need to take into account how important a band is to the general public/majority Americans, not to a handful of folks who read the internet all day looking for new music. Most people will find one of those American Idol winners more important than the Hold Steady, simply because they know american idol or the hits they hear on the radio.

I realize that the Hold Steady or Sonic Youth probably aren't listened to by very many people by comparison, but does that lesson their importance? I dunno, I don't think so.

 

American Idol artists may be "important" in the short-term but how many of them are important musically in the long term (or even particularly important as musicians to the people who listen to them?) The Eagles greatest hits album has sold almost 30 million copies, does that make the Eagles the most important band in America? I sure hope not.

 

Does entering the popular consciousness mean something (even a lot?), yeah. So maybe by a standard crossing both artistic legacy and popularity I would imagine a band like REM might not be a bad choice for "most important American band." But it's impossible to judge, not only is importance subjective, but who defines what "American" means or what is important to Americans.

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Did someone just mention Insane Clown Posse?

 

As an influence to bands and young people.

 

Yes I did.

 

I do not listen to them but I sure as shit seeing a lot of kids wearing their clothes.

 

They are the new Kiss which I hate, but they seemed to be quite an influence.

 

Of course does that make them important?

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it is, but I see a lot of people posting the names of bands that are important to them in this thread, and that's not what's in question. you need to take into account how important a band is to the general public/majority Americans, not to a handful of folks who read the internet all day looking for new music. Most people will find one of those American Idol winners more important than the Hold Steady, simply because they know american idol or the hits they hear on the radio.

I read an account in the Replacements book about when Musician magazine had them on the cover in 1989. The headline was "The Last, Best Band of the 80's". The next month there was a letter to the editor from Jon Bon Jovi which said: "How can they be the best band of the 80's if I've never heard of them?"

 

Donny and Marie probably sold more albums and were heard more often than "Blood on the Tracks", but there's no argument which was more important. The Replacements were more important than Bon Jovi, The White Stripes are more important than Clay Aiken. I don't think being popular is a necessary criteria.

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Donny and Marie probably sold more albums and were heard more often than "Blood on the Tracks", but there's no argument which was more important. The Replacements were more important than Bon Jovi, The White Stripes are more important than Clay Aiken. I don't think being popular is a necessary criteria.

 

I love the replacements, but I'll bet there are a lot of people who would argue the Bon Jovi are more important because they were more accessible, more out there for the public to grasp etc... I still say importance is all about perspective.

 

A new thought has crossed my mind and that is do we or can we truly recognize important and influential bands in a contemporaneous manner? I see the Beatles as being a yes, but does it take a generation of bands to emerge before we recognize the influence? We may look at Radiohead and say yep they are important and influential. But what if ten years from now Radiohead is all we get out of the deal? Are they as important and influential if they do not spawn a movement? (Take into consideration that I do see the influences of Radiohead out there and am just using them as an example).

 

oingo boingo

 

With all the movie sciore work that Danny Elfman does, an argument could easily be made for OBoingo

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I read an account in the Replacements book about when Musician magazine had them on the cover in 1989. The headline was "The Last, Best Band of the 80's". The next month there was a letter to the editor from Jon Bon Jovi which said: "How can they be the best band of the 80's if I've never heard of them?"

 

Donny and Marie probably sold more albums and were heard more often than "Blood on the Tracks", but there's no argument which was more important. The Replacements were more important than Bon Jovi, The White Stripes are more important than Clay Aiken. I don't think being popular is a necessary criteria.

 

 

to you (and in the case of the Replacements, me too.) but in the grand scheme of America, not at all.

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to you (and in the case of the Replacements, me too.) but in the grand scheme of America, not at all.

I see what you mean, but doesn't that just make most everyone else a bunch of dolts, dullards and simpletons?

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The BEST contemporary band in America is Wilco.......Only we know it........If they were self promoters and driven to be in the spotlight they would be the American Beatles today like CSNY were the American Beatles back in the late 60's early 70's.......Enjoy the fact they are under the radar.......They are more accessible to us all ticket wise......I think they will be considered even greater as time goes on.......How many bands out there let you approach them to talk and take pictures without being beaten back by security thugs......Let's keep the secret a little longer.......They are just starting to hit their stride as a unit......The change in radio over the years is the main reason others don't hear of them......Once they do, through people like us, they usually get hooked.....Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers came pretty close to this status with me back in the 90's......But he's kind of stale now.....Wilco is still pretty innovative and fresh......A song like Impossible Germany would have killed in the 70's......

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The BEST contemporary band in America is Wilco.......Only we know it........If they were self promoters and driven to be in the spotlight they would be the American Beatles today like CSNY were the American Beatles back in the late 60's early 70's.......Enjoy the fact they are under the radar.......They are more accessible to us all ticket wise......I think they will be considered even greater as time goes on.......How many bands out there let you approach them to talk and take pictures without being beaten back by security thugs......Let's keep the secret a little longer.......They are just starting to hit their stride as a unit......The change in radio over the years is the main reason others don't hear of them......Once they do, through people like us, they usually get hooked.....Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers came pretty close to this status with me back in the 90's......But he's kind of stale now.....Wilco is still pretty innovative and fresh......A song like Impossible Germany would have killed in the 70's......

 

Mark?

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