Thread: The Greatest American Hero (Band)

Originally Posted by Hawgdriver

There's a line between superstardom and ... innovation (?) That needs to be teased out.

Beatles had both.

I disagree with you and I have too many redbulls in my system for me to remain civil and eschew going back to that old King. As such, I'll respond to this in a later date when the caffeine doesn't propel me past the space-time-continuum.

Boobs rule.

I see

I've been up since 4 a.m. babysitting a sick kiddo! She's asleep, finally. I'm doing the best I can.

Baby Daddy King

Originally Posted by aberdien

Baby Daddy King

Uncle King!!!!

Ok

This concept is giving birth tonight. Check the subforum.

Animal Collective, Vampire Weekend, and The Strokes are modern acclaimed bands that deserve inclusion in this conversation, though none of them (except for the Strokes) have the popular appeal to be the winner.

Also can't remember if we mentioned The White Stripes, but that's a contender.

Originally Posted by aberdien

Animal Collective, Vampire Weekend, and The Strokes are modern acclaimed bands that deserve inclusion in this conversation, though none of them (except for the Strokes) have the popular appeal to be the winner.

Also can't remember if we mentioned The White Stripes, but that's a contender.

There would be a lot of everyday people that would go dog-ears if you said Animal Collective was the "greatest American band" (whatever that means).

It's a weird exercise that's really more about the conversation it generates--how could you possibly distill thousands of excellent bands into something like this? Can't do it.

The Beatles. They got big, became a huge name. They were a meme and a worldwide phenomenon. Insane. But then they put out some really rich complicated music that holds up.

Sure, they are no Stones or Zep, so they don't actually rock, and are thereby disqualified, but some killer headphone music. And killer headphone music inevitably becomes killer dancefloor/party music.

Which American band would you throw into *that* mix? I get that I'm talking about boomer bands, but there's a reason why Bach still has 10 million monthly streams on Spotify.

I can't say Nirvana, just not enough catalog and Bleach sorta sucked at times even if it was brilliant at times. Metallica isn't the worst choice except they totally ****** the dog with the Black Album (and omg they only shat the bed in increasingly robust doses of poo until Hardwired) so they are the worst choice. Enough people agree with me to make it so.

Journey is a legit band. But they aren't a Nirvana (i.e. a fad, a darling) and they aren't on that same level. They are also a little bit proggy before the Steve Perry era, which sorta helps and sorta hurts.

Pearl Jam captured a generation but doesn't seem to have that enduring quality. I'm curious about them. Their songs might be among the finest. I won't exclude them.

Steely Dan, Talking Heads, Pixies, Velvet Underground...extremely influential but not mainstream enough in their day, in their touring era, to get the nod.

Van Halen has the right creds, just saying.

Beastie Boys are great but uneven and, at times, boring stoners.

Chili Peppers are still my stock solution to this question, but I'm not super satisfied with that.

Is Smashing Pumpkins an answer?

CCR...damn. Same with Beach Boys. But I don't think so. Aerosmith, same thing. Solid AF.

Foo Fighters and Green Day are legit too.

Eagles are probably tied with RHCP, or right there. Sorry if you are in camp 'fvck the Iggles' it's just how it be.

Skynyrd, Maroon 5, RATM, Linkin Park... man, they are more of a top XX than the spokesperson for 'murca.

Aite, so here's where I come down on this one--"greatest" American band which means they established a global brand based on a sustained body of work, insane hype, great music, and they never shat the bed too badly.

1. RHCP
2. Eagles
3. CCR
4. Beach Boys

Legit contenders who also created a strong global brand and never shat the bed too hard*

Van Halen
Metallica*
Nirvana
Green Day
Maroon 5
R.E.M.
Pixies
Journey
Pearl Jam
Guns 'N Roses
Linkin Park
Aerosmith
Foo Fighters

*if you rocked really hard you get some grace

If this was a poker game, I'd be saying y'all were pot committed.

Originally Posted by King87

If this was a poker game, I'd be saying y'all were pot committed.

That's the nature of brands though. This is a discussion of pot commitment when you think about it.

I thought about trying to make a case for Wu or Ye or something more contemporary. It's there. I'm not the right person to make that argument.

Originally Posted by Hawgdriver

That's the nature of brands though. This is a discussion of pot commitment when you think about it.

I thought about trying to make a case for Wu or Ye or something more contemporary. It's there. I'm not the right person to make that argument.

The comment was meant to portray the passion to keep up with this for months.

You are certainly capable of making the numerical argument. I'd make the argument again, but we all read my Wu Tang diatribes too many times!

Yeah, I could argue numbers. Wu-Tang is at 6m on Spot. Not a big deal. Kanye is a solo act so I shouldn't have said he was in the mix.

Maroon 5 is like 60m on Spotify. Way more Spotify people want to listen to a Maroon 5 song than any of these dad bands in my list. Is what it is. I'm ok with it, Maroon 5 have great music.

Speaking of Journey, I read something the other day from a writer who I follow on instagram that I thought was quite cool and gave me a higher appreciation of them:

"This year for Christmas I was gifted Journey's album Escape, which is a perfect choice for me because, without irony, I think Don't Stop Believin' is one of the best songs in the history of recorded music. I love it because when you strip away the bombast and theatrical nature of the arrangement (which, I appreciate, is hard to do) it's simply a song about several lonely people, seeking something that they don't actually find. There's no solution or resolution beyond the fact that you need to take whatever you can from the world so that you don't lose the ability to identify the feeling that you know exists, because you've felt it before.

Steve Perry couldn't sleep on tour one night, and looked out of his hotel window. Down on the street, he saw people, briefly illuminated by streetlights, and then they'd vanish, swallowed by darkness. A criticism of the song is that it offers nothing, it's hollow, empty platitudes. But it's entirely about moving from one illuminating or enlivening moment ot the next, in a world that might otherwise be all-consuming with darkness, or cruelty, or grief, or longing.

Once, on a drive back from Windsor, a friend asked, "What is the point of the song if we don't know what we shouldn't stop believing in?" And another said, "Yeah, what is the feeling we should be holding on to exactly?"

The only way to answer is to measure how many things we love have been made into ghosts, and how much time we have spent grasping at them."

Originally Posted by Hawgdriver

There would be a lot of everyday people that would go dog-ears if you said Animal Collective was the "greatest American band" (whatever that means).

It's a weird exercise that's really more about the conversation it generates--how could you possibly distill thousands of excellent bands into something like this? Can't do it.

The Beatles. They got big, became a huge name. They were a meme and a worldwide phenomenon. Insane. But then they put out some really rich complicated music that holds up.

Sure, they are no Stones or Zep, so they don't actually rock, and are thereby disqualified, but some killer headphone music. And killer headphone music inevitably becomes killer dancefloor/party music.

Which American band would you throw into *that* mix? I get that I'm talking about boomer bands, but there's a reason why Bach still has 10 million monthly streams on Spotify.

I can't say Nirvana, just not enough catalog and Bleach sorta sucked at times even if it was brilliant at times. Metallica isn't the worst choice except they totally ****** the dog with the Black Album (and omg they only shat the bed in increasingly robust doses of poo until Hardwired) so they are the worst choice. Enough people agree with me to make it so.

Journey is a legit band. But they aren't a Nirvana (i.e. a fad, a darling) and they aren't on that same level. They are also a little bit proggy before the Steve Perry era, which sorta helps and sorta hurts.

Pearl Jam captured a generation but doesn't seem to have that enduring quality. I'm curious about them. Their songs might be among the finest. I won't exclude them.

Steely Dan, Talking Heads, Pixies, Velvet Underground...extremely influential but not mainstream enough in their day, in their touring era, to get the nod.

Van Halen has the right creds, just saying.

Beastie Boys are great but uneven and, at times, boring stoners.

Chili Peppers are still my stock solution to this question, but I'm not super satisfied with that.

Is Smashing Pumpkins an answer?

CCR...damn. Same with Beach Boys. But I don't think so. Aerosmith, same thing. Solid AF.

Foo Fighters and Green Day are legit too.

Eagles are probably tied with RHCP, or right there. Sorry if you are in camp 'fvck the Iggles' it's just how it be.

Skynyrd, Maroon 5, RATM, Linkin Park... man, they are more of a top XX than the spokesperson for 'murca.

Aite, so here's where I come down on this one--"greatest" American band which means they established a global brand based on a sustained body of work, insane hype, great music, and they never shat the bed too badly.

1. RHCP
2. Eagles
3. CCR
4. Beach Boys

Legit contenders who also created a strong global brand and never shat the bed too hard*

Van Halen
Metallica*
Nirvana
Green Day
Maroon 5
R.E.M.
Pixies
Journey
Pearl Jam
Guns 'N Roses
Linkin Park
Aerosmith
Foo Fighters

*if you rocked really hard you get some grace

Steely Dan didn't tour, that was a major problem. Love them. A lot like Warren Zevon not enough main stream.