Votes for the most influential bands.

[try another castle]

List the three bands you think were the most influential in modern music.

My votes:
1. Beatles
2. Black Sabbath
3. Pixies

The Beatles revolutionized rock n' roll. Sabbath were the godfathers of heavy metal. (NOT Led Zeppelin.) Pixies changed everything. There was no band like them before, and only cheap imitations afterwards.

And FUCK Elvis. Bitch.

[Froderik]

List the three bands you think were the most influential in modern music.

My votes:
1. Beatles
2. Black Sabbath
3. Pixies

I'd have to agree, and not just because I happen to love all three of those bands.

[try another castle]

One of  my friends mentioned the Ramones. If I had a fourth choice, I'd definitely pick them. But IMO, they don't make the top 3. Same with Iggy and the Stooges.

I'm not really a huge fan of the Beatles anymore. CEDU ruined them for me, but I still fully acknowledge their importance.

And for those who feel like mentioning Nirvana, know this: Cobain admitted he was trying to rip off the Pixies.

[Froderik]

One of  my friends mentioned the Ramones. If I had a fourth choice, I'd definitely pick them. But IMO, they don't make the top 3. Same with Iggy and the Stooges.

I'm not really a huge fan of the Beatles anymore. CEDU ruined them for me, but I still fully acknowledge their importance.

And for those who feel like mentioning Nirvana, know this: Cobain admitted he was trying to rip off the Pixies.

Yeah, The Ramones & The Stooges; you could say the same for The Sex Pistols too, but not in the top 3.

So CEDU used The Beatles against you? The fuckers. I used to listen to them more than I do now.

I was thinking Nirvana too there for a minute, but then realized (without Cobain's quote) that The Pixies precluded them.

[Froderik]

Hmm.. What about James Brown, The Godfather of Soul?

[Anonymous]

Chuch Berry, Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground.

[try another castle]

So CEDU used The Beatles against you? The fuckers. I used to listen to them more than I do now.

They used to be played on saturday crews and as house music. It was one of those things where you just hear it incessantly so many fucking times that you never want to hear them again. Kind of like how frat boys ruined Bob Marley for me, cause they would blast the stupid greatest hits album from their houses all the time.

Fortunately, Sgt. Pepper's was "unacceptable" at CEDU, so I don't have any negative association with that album, since we couldn't listen to it.

Probably to this day, my favorite beatles song is "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite".

But "Tax Man" is good too. I like Harrison. (Except for his solo work.)


Anne Bonney's sig quote made me think... what about Zappa? Where does he fit into all of this? I don't think he would be in the top 3, because I think he would be on his own list, with just him. The Zappa list of one.

[Froderik]

Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground.

Chuck Berry crossed my mind, too.

Maybe the list has to be expanded to the 5 most influential bands in modern music.
(We had also considered adding The Ramones.)  

Dylan had influence. (Do I hear 6?)

What about David Bowie? (7?)

The Velvet Underground were absolutely unique and original, but I don't know if their scope of influence can compare with the musicians named.

This will probably turn into at least a top 10 list if not higher..

[Anonymous]

The Velvet Underground were absolutely unique and original, but I don't know if their scope of influence can compare with the musicians named.
]

I think they were VERY influential, although not very popular.  Like the saying goes, "The Velvets only sold three thousand records, but everyone who bought the record started a band."  I think they are at least as influential as the Beatles on what is considered popular music today.  They pioneered the use of noise, and touched subject matter no one had even dreamwed of singing openly about before Velvet Underground and Nico came out.

[Anonymous]

The Velvet Underground were absolutely unique and original, but I don't know if their scope of influence can compare with the musicians named.

I think they were VERY influential, although not very popular.  Like the saying goes, "The Velvets only sold three thousand records, but everyone who bought the record started a band."  I think they are at least as influential as the Beatles on what is considered popular music today.  They pioneered the use of noise, and touched subject matter no one had even dreamwed of singing openly about before Velvet Underground and Nico came out.

I meant to elaborate on them a little despite what I said. Sonic Youth wouldn't have been what they were without VU; consequently, Nirvana wouldn't have been what they were without having first heard Sonic Youth! Yeah, VU was influential, but aside from Sonic Youth who did they directly (or indirectly) influence? Perhaps I'm overlooking something here.

[Anonymous]

The Velvet Underground were absolutely unique and original, but I don't know if their scope of influence can compare with the musicians named.

I think they were VERY influential, although not very popular.  Like the saying goes, "The Velvets only sold three thousand records, but everyone who bought the record started a band."  I think they are at least as influential as the Beatles on what is considered popular music today.  They pioneered the use of noise, and touched subject matter no one had even dreamwed of singing openly about before Velvet Underground and Nico came out.

 Yeah, VU was influential, but aside from Sonic Youth who did they directly (or indirectly) influence? Perhaps I'm overlooking something here.

Pick a band from the CBGBs or Max's Kansas City scene, and there's your Velvets influence.  Also any of the industrial/noise bands have a debt to them, as do the Stooges.  And the subject matter can not be overstated--they were singing about things that no one else had sung about before.  Their influences in that department would be too numerous to mention.

[Anonymous]

Pick a band from the CBGBs or Max's Kansas City scene, and there's your Velvets influence.  Also any of the industrial/noise bands have a debt to them, as do the Stooges.  And the subject matter can not be overstated--they were singing about things that no one else had sung about before.  Their influences in that department would be too numerous to mention.

So you're saying that they influnced The Ramones & others from that scene like Television & Patti Smith? I see what you're getting at, especially with the "subject matter" thing... The Velvets openly sung about the dark underworld of heroin use, sadomasochism, etc and The Ramones wrote songs about sniffing glue and being retarded...

[Anonymous]

Pick a band from the CBGBs or Max's Kansas City scene, and there's your Velvets influence.  Also any of the industrial/noise bands have a debt to them, as do the Stooges.  And the subject matter can not be overstated--they were singing about things that no one else had sung about before.  Their influences in that department would be too numerous to mention.

So you're saying that they influnced The Ramones & others from that scene like Television & Patti Smith? I see what you're getting at, especially with the "subject matter" thing... The Velvets openly sung about the dark underworld of heroin use, sadomasochism, etc and The Ramones wrote songs about sniffing glue and being retarded...

That's it, as I see it.  Without the Velvets to open the door, none of that stuff would have happened.  The world would still be full of Jackson Browne hippy-derived crap.  The Velvets saved rock and roll, though they didn't know it at the time (or maybe they did....)

[starry-eyed pirate]

1.  The Beatles
2. Black Sabbath

...and what about the Wailers...??  They influenced some pretty influential bands themselves, such as the Clash and the Police and Eric Clapton.

[Anonymous]

1.  The Beatles
2. Black Sabbath

...and what about the Wailers...??  They influenced some pretty influential bands themselves, such as the Clash and the Police and Eric Clapton.

Absolutely! That brings us up to 9 now...