The Greatest Living Musician [Archive]

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 11:04 AM

Yeah he's #1B in my opinion. What puts Stevie Wonder ahead for me is that the songs where he played all of the instruments sounded like real songs and not studio experiments.

His music just wasn't as good. What he did considering he was blind was fantastic but he barely has hits compared to the Beatles, Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Who, U2, etc

SpursforSix

01-20-2021, 11:14 AM

His music just wasn't as good. What he did considering he was blind was fantastic but he barely has hits compared to the Beatles, Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Who, U2, etc

What the fuck. Wonder has 30 something top 10 songs and 10 #1 songs.

I like all those bands you mentioned but I don't think that Led Zeppelin, The Who, or Pink Floyd come close to that.
Maybe even combined.

I'd even guess the Rolling Stones don't have the same amount of hits.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 11:18 AM

What the fuck. Wonder has 30 something top 10 songs and 10 #1 songs.

I like all those bands you mentioned but I don't think that Led Zeppelin, The Who, or Pink Floyd come close to that.
Maybe even combined.

I'd even guess the Rolling Stones don't have the same amount of hits.

Only one I've heard is "Superstitious" and it's a fine pop song. But it's not worthy of my camry playlist.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 11:19 AM

Corey Taylor deserves a mention in this thread even though he's young. His ability to both sing or scream with the best of him, his range, etc is pretty fantastic

Spurminator

01-20-2021, 11:20 AM

His music just wasn't as good. What he did considering he was blind was fantastic but he barely has hits compared to the Beatles, Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Who, U2, etc

I'm talking about individuals. With the exception of McCartney, no individual from any of the bands you listed had near the success on his own that Wonder had, and when any of those individuals took too much hold of his band, the results were typically worse than when the band was working cohesively. That's not to take anything away from them, and I agree I'd rather keep a Led Zeppelin album than a Stevie Wonder album if I was required to choose, but he made his own success with autonomy.

And also, it depends on your definition of hits. Wonder has 10 songs that hit #1 on the Billboard 100. That's more than all of the bands you listed except for the Beatles. But his best work was as an album artist in the 70's.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 11:20 AM

Admittedly my camry playlist contains a lot of linkin park, slipknot, disturbed, hip hop/synthpop, etc. But it's frontloaded with classic rock because that's what I grew up with in early childhood.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 11:22 AM

I'm talking about individuals. With the exception of McCartney, no individual from any of the bands you listed had near the success on his own that Wonder had, and when any of those individuals took too much hold of his band, the results were typically worse than when the band was working cohesively. That's not to take anything away from them, and I agree I'd rather keep a Led Zeppelin album than a Stevie Wonder album if I was required to choose, but he made his own success with autonomy.

And also, it depends on your definition of hits. Wonder has 10 songs that hit #1 on the Billboard 100. That's more than all of the bands you listed except for the Beatles. But his best work was as an album artist in the 70's.
Hendrix was arguably the most talented musician of all time; he could play 2 guitars, one held in either hand, one for thrashing soloes and the other for the rhythmic power chords

But he's dead.

I just never really considered Stevie Wonder. McCartney and Lennon were both big as individual artists in the 70s but Lennon was sadly cut short

Spurminator

01-20-2021, 11:26 AM

Shout out also to Smokey Robinson who wrote a ton of Motown hits even besides the ones he performed on, and had one of the greatest voices in music.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 11:30 AM

Weird Al Yankovic
Jack Black
Rucka Rucka Ali
Andy Samberg

all deserve a mention ITT, tbh

ChumpDumper

01-20-2021, 11:34 AM

:lmao "barely has hits"

Stevie from 72-80 is one of the greatest creative runs from any artist ever.

Chucho

01-20-2021, 11:35 AM

Had to play Higher Ground right now...

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 12:09 PM

:lmao "barely has hits"

Stevie from 72-80 is one of the greatest creative runs from any artist ever.
Guess that's what I get since I grew up listening to 104.5 (before the 2013 change), 99.5, and 106.7 (after 2012).

Spurminator

01-20-2021, 12:12 PM

Guess that's what I get since I grew up listening to 104.5 (before the 2013 change), 99.5, and 106.7 (after 2012).

I didn't hear him much either until college or later. Most of his greatest songs aren't very radio friendly, they're either too long or even too proggy sometimes.

Start with the Innervisions album and go from there.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 12:24 PM

I didn't hear him much either until college or later. Most of his greatest songs aren't very radio friendly, they're either too long or even too proggy sometimes.

Start with the Innervisions album and go from there.
Album? So you can just up and watch a full album on Youtube these days?

Spurminator

01-20-2021, 12:27 PM

Album? So you can just up and watch a full album on Youtube these days?

Generally I use Spotify.

cd021

01-20-2021, 12:30 PM

People are overthinking this, it's Stevie Wonder and I'm not sure its all that close. No artist ever had a run like he did. He wrote, composed and played most of the instruments on most of his songs. As, I Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer, Superwoman, and For Once In My Life are personal favs tbh.

SpursforSix

01-20-2021, 12:35 PM

Only one I've heard is "Superstitious" and it's a fine pop song. But it's not worthy of my camry playlist.

So when you qualified your list by number of "hits", you actually meant songs that you liked.
Got it.

And to categorize Superstitious as a "fine pop song" is beyond retarded.

ChumpDumper

01-20-2021, 12:36 PM

Album? So you can just up and watch a full album on Youtube these days?
Uh, yeah. You can.

cd021

01-20-2021, 12:41 PM

Hendrix was arguably the most talented musician of all time; he could play 2 guitars, one held in either hand, one for thrashing soloes and the other for the rhythmic power chords

But he's dead.

I just never really considered Stevie Wonder. McCartney and Lennon were both big as individual artists in the 70s but Lennon was sadly cut short

Obviously biased, but I legit think Hendrix was the most talented musician ever. He literally released 3 of the 100 greatest albums in a span of a 1 year and half. The stuff he was working on before he died was incredible. He bounced around from classic rock, psychedelic rock, popular rock, funk, R&B, and Soul-- with Blues being the base of his style-- and was incredible at all of them. Also criminally underrated singer and songwriter tbh.

Wonder isn't as talented as Hendrix but certainly the best living musician IMO. McCartney obviously had an incredible career but his solo stuff doesn't compare. Dylan obviously doesn't have much of a voice but songwriting alone is worth consideration.

SpursforSix

01-20-2021, 12:42 PM

Hendrix was arguably the most talented musician of all time; he could play 2 guitars, one held in either hand, one for thrashing soloes and the other for the rhythmic power chords

The retarded takes never stop with you. Hendrix was great but he wasn't technically a great or overly talented musician. He broke ground and is clearly among the top few most influential guitar players of all time.
But compared to the guys that came after him, he's not even close on a talent level. Whether you define that as musicianship, technical ability, or songwriting.

Chucho

01-20-2021, 01:12 PM

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 01:22 PM

While not the top spot obviously, a good candidate could be Billy Corrigan.

Pumpkins were one of the most successful grunge/alternative band of the 90's and Corrigan is a musical genius. Dude played every instrument on track on ever album essentially, ontop of writing most of their catalog.

Didn't that group break up because the male guitarist and the female bassist fell in love then broke up or something? :lol

#DontDateYourCoworkers

SpursforSix

01-20-2021, 01:23 PM

While not the top spot obviously, a good candidate could be Billy Corrigan.

Pumpkins were one of the most successful grunge/alternative band of the 90's and Corrigan is a musical genius. Dude played every instrument on track on ever album essentially, ontop of writing most of their catalog.

Man, I don't know. Playing multiple instruments doesn't make one a musical genius. And he wasn't technically brilliant in any of them. He wrote great songs imo but that's pretty subjective. There's too many people that don't get his music as compared to someone like McCartney where most people do get it. Even if they don't like it.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 01:27 PM

Man, I don't know. Playing multiple instruments doesn't make one a musical genius. And he wasn't technically brilliant in any of them. He wrote great songs imo but that's pretty subjective. There's too many people that don't get his music as compared to someone like McCartney where most people do get it. Even if they don't like it.
It's especially amazing when you consider his brain was stretched out swiss cheese from all the mass amounts of pot he smoked.

SpursforSix

01-20-2021, 01:33 PM

It's especially amazing when you consider his brain was stretched out swiss cheese from all the mass amounts of pot he smoked.

I don't know what you're talking about.

But the reality is that musicians that become successful young have a much better shot at becoming great.
Once those guys don't have to get second jobs, it means they can focus more and more on their music.
At that point, your whole life revolves around music and you can practice as much as you want.
Not to mention having enough gigs where you're playing constantly anyway.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 01:36 PM

I don't know what you're talking about.

But the reality is that musicians that become successful young have a much better shot at becoming great.
Once those guys don't have to get second jobs, it means they can focus more and more on their music.
At that point, your whole life revolves around music and you can practice as much as you want.
Not to mention having enough gigs where you're playing constantly anyway.

That's definitely not untrue.
I had a girlfriend in the Cincinnati metro area who was actually one of Corey Feldman's angels a few years back.
She'll never become one of the "great" ones even though she's a fantastic singer and performer, simply because she's now in her early 30s and has to juggle with a daughter and impoverishment and juggling bartending jobs/various gigs/loss of income due to COVID-19.
I really feel bad for her. Even after she called me a "fuckboi" after I told her I had to go back to Texas.
Mara was special.

Chucho

01-20-2021, 01:47 PM

Man, I don't know. Playing multiple instruments doesn't make one a musical genius. And he wasn't technically brilliant in any of them. He wrote great songs imo but that's pretty subjective. There's too many people that don't get his music as compared to someone like McCartney where most people do get it. Even if they don't like it.

He's got hits. He plays an insane amount of instruments. He can compose. He can write. He has awards.

He ticks all the boxes. Not saying he's THE guy, but a fair and accomplished candidate.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 01:50 PM

He dieded, though

Chucho

01-20-2021, 01:52 PM

Didn't that group break up because the male guitarist and the female bassist fell in love then broke up or something? :lol

#DontDateYourCoworkers

No. Not at all. Not even close.

SpursforSix

01-20-2021, 02:00 PM

That's definitely not untrue.
I had a girlfriend in the Cincinnati metro area who was actually one of Corey Feldman's angels a few years back.
She'll never become one of the "great" ones even though she's a fantastic singer and performer, simply because she's now in her early 30s and has to juggle with a daughter and impoverishment and juggling bartending jobs/various gigs/loss of income due to COVID-19.
I really feel bad for her. Even after she called me a "fuckboi" after I told her I had to go back to Texas.
Mara was special.

Personally, I think that musical ability is not as rare as it's often represented. All the network talent shows kind of back this. And YouTube as well.

Being financially successful at it is pretty much now a function of getting the right breaks. And a big part of that is being fairly attractive.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 02:05 PM

Personally, I think that musical ability is not as rare as it's often represented. All the network talent shows kind of back this. And YouTube as well.

Being financially successful at it is pretty much now a function of getting the right breaks. And a big part of that is being fairly attractive.

100% Agreed with your post. So many talented singers/musicians (like the ex of mine I'm talking about) at gigs working for peanuts because they aren't lucky to have gotten the right breaks and met the right people. At the opposite end of the spectrum you have this autistic ladyboy faggot from Canada with near-zero talent but fantastic connections who gets lucky and hits the top of the pop charts 11 years ago.

SpursforSix

01-20-2021, 02:07 PM

He's got hits. He plays an insane amount of instruments. He can compose. He can write. He has awards.

He ticks all the boxes. Not saying he's THE guy, but a fair and accomplished candidate.

No doubt that he's very accomplished. But playing an insane amount of instruments isn't rare for people who have the luxury of spending their whole time playing instruments. It's not that difficult for an accomplished guitar player to move to bass or piano. And vice versa. The notes and theory are the same. Give that person enough time on any instrument, and they'll probably figure it out enough to be good. At least passable for pop music.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 02:17 PM

No doubt that he's very accomplished. But playing an insane amount of instruments isn't rare for people who have the luxury of spending their whole time playing instruments. It's not that difficult for an accomplished guitar player to move to bass or piano. And vice versa. The notes and theory are the same. Give that person enough time on any instrument, and they'll probably figure it out enough to be good. At least passable for pop music.

I find it quite impressive for people who have a full time day job and can also be insanely good musicians despite other stuff on their plate, where they can't be full time musicians and they're not millionaires or billionaires.

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 02:29 PM

My Cincinnati ex is a great musician and deserves a mention ITT. https://twitter.com/maramoon1988 ; https://www.instagram.com/maramaramoon/?hl=en

She'll never "make it big" and she relies on go fund me's to survive through the pandemic, :(

SpursforSix

01-20-2021, 02:36 PM

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 02:43 PM

She's not even your friend according to Facebook.

Link my facebook

I bet you have the wrong guy, per par

ChumpDumper

01-20-2021, 03:18 PM

:lol this thread took a turn

Millennial_Messiah

01-20-2021, 03:20 PM

:lol this thread took a turn

SFS refuses to attempt to dox me because he's afraidy that he's going to be wrong per par.

If he was more confident he would have dox'd me Avante style like last year.

SpursforSix

01-20-2021, 03:35 PM

SFS refuses to attempt to dox me because he's afraidy that he's going to be wrong per par.

If he was more confident he would have dox'd me Avante style like last year.

I'm not going to dox anyone because I think that's bullshit. That being said, if someone becomes as insufferable as Avante, I'll pile on if he does get doxed or doxes himself.

ChumpDumper

01-20-2021, 03:36 PM

SFS refuses to attempt to dox me because he's afraidy that he's going to be wrong per par.

If he was more confident he would have dox'd me Avante style like last year.Nobody cares.

GAustex

01-20-2021, 03:40 PM

Mark Knlopner?

cd021

01-20-2021, 10:52 PM

The retarded takes never stop with you. Hendrix was great but he wasn't technically a great or overly talented musician. He broke ground and is clearly among the top few most influential guitar players of all time.
But compared to the guys that came after him, he's not even close on a talent level. Whether you define that as musicianship, technical ability, or songwriting.

That's just silly tbh. Many other greats from that era flat out worshipped Hendrix (Santana, Clapton, McCartney, Townshend). No musician showed such musical range in such a short period of time. He wasn't jus some flashy guitarist who could solo, he could blend perfectly with the beat and transform the song with his distinct style of playing.

He blended musical styles psychedelic, classic, and pop rock with r&b, soul and funk with his blues style of play. Are You Experienced and Electric Ladyland are ceilings that virtually no other artist ever reached.

KimmyGib

01-20-2021, 10:52 PM

john williams

FrostKing

01-20-2021, 11:09 PM

Most already mentioned.

Elton John
Eric Clapton
Rod Stewart / Tina Turner

DAF86

01-21-2021, 12:02 AM

You don't know him, but Charly Garcia.

https://ep01.epimg.net/elpais/imagenes/2020/01/01/gente/1577895963_833613_1577897690_noticia_normal.jpg

CAAxHO_Tzwk

FrostKing

01-21-2021, 05:23 AM

https://youtu.be/ofA3URC1wyk

Millennial_Messiah

01-21-2021, 10:26 AM

Another one of my early childhood (age 3-6) faves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i72LjAnhlg

monosylab1k

01-21-2021, 10:43 AM

The only guy I can think of to add to this conversation is Beck, but I don’t think he’s even close to Stevie Wonder tbh.

Adam Lambert

01-21-2021, 03:14 PM

john williams

Actually not a bad choice.

Millennial_Messiah

01-21-2021, 04:01 PM

The only guy I can think of to add to this conversation is Beck, but I don’t think he’s even close to Stevie Wonder tbh.

He's a loser baby, so why don't you kill him?

tlongII

01-21-2021, 10:54 PM

Bruno Mars

Millennial_Messiah

01-22-2021, 08:47 AM

Bon Jovi deserves a mention

vy65

01-22-2021, 11:57 AM

Reznor

Millennial_Messiah

01-22-2021, 12:14 PM

Bruno Mars

:lol just a notch above fuckin' Bieber, tbh.

leemajors

01-22-2021, 05:38 PM

Herbie Hancock, Stevie, Bootsy, Wayne Shorter are up there

DMC

01-22-2021, 07:51 PM

Spurtacular

01-22-2021, 08:43 PM

The Rolling Stones, a couple Beatles, most of Pink Floyd and The Who are still alive.

You forgot Led Zeppelin.

Spurtacular

01-22-2021, 08:46 PM

Reznor

LOL No.

Kurgan

01-23-2021, 12:04 AM

:lmao "barely has hits"

Stevie from 72-80 is one of the greatest creative runs from any artist ever.

Anybody that thinks the vocalist of Slipknot is more worthy of this distinction than Stevie Wonder is not worth arguing with.

Millennial_Messiah

01-23-2021, 01:43 AM

You forgot Led Zeppelin.

yes, Robert Plant is still alive.

And the Scorpions too

Millennial_Messiah

01-23-2021, 01:44 AM

Anybody that thinks the vocalist of Slipknot is more worthy of this distinction than Stevie Wonder is not worth arguing with.

Slipknot >>>>>>> Stevie "Blind Justin Bieber" Wonder, tbh.

Millennial_Messiah

01-23-2021, 12:10 PM

Bono deserves a mention

Adam Lambert

01-23-2021, 12:16 PM

I'd put Paul McCartney over him. I love Stevie Wonder, no doubt, especially his early works, but you need to clarify your terms. Paul as part of the Beatles had a much larger following, more sales, more hits. George Strait has a shit ton of number 1 hits. There are plenty living musicians like Hetfield and Elton John who have a dog in the race. Steve Perry, Madonna, Phil Collins, Smokey Robinson... Plenty of living talent... Springsteen.. But the loss of Prince removes one of the greatest.

When you get to the McCartney, Dylan, Springsteen, Wonder plane, it's hard to diminish anything. At that point I think it's really down to "wow" factor, which is what I get from Stevie more than the others (having nothing to do with his blindness, just how exciting and original he was.)

I guess if I had to pick one tangible thing in Stevie's favor over McCartney, I'd credit Stevie Wonder for the fact that when he took singular creative control (versus recording what Motown wrote for him, backed by studio musicians), he went on the best creative run of his career. When Paul McCartney took control (went solo, didn't have Lennon and Harrison adding input), his output got worse. On the other hand, there are dozens of absolute classic Beatles songs where Paul was clearly the alpha. So that's why they're 1A and 1B for me.

Millennial_Messiah

01-23-2021, 12:20 PM

When you get to the McCartney, Dylan, Springsteen, Wonder plane, it's hard to diminish anything. At that point I think it's really down to "wow" factor, which is what I get from Stevie more than the others (having nothing to do with his blindness, just how exciting and original he was.)

I guess if I had to pick one tangible thing in Stevie's favor over McCartney, I'd credit Stevie Wonder for the fact that when he took singular creative control (versus recording what Motown wrote for him, backed by studio musicians), he went on the best creative run of his career. When Paul McCartney took control (went solo, didn't have Lennon and Harrison adding input), his output got worse.

Well his Wings weren't the Beatles,

but let's not act like Paul & Linda's music weren't very good because they were far better than what John & Yoko were putting out in the post Beatles 70s.

Adam Lambert

01-23-2021, 12:22 PM

Well his Wings weren't the Beatles,

but let's not act like Paul & Linda's music weren't very good because they were far better than what John & Yoko were putting out in the post Beatles 70s.

Paul/Wings was definitely better than John solo or John/Yoko but that's not saying much.

I do like a lot of Paul's 70's stuff (Ram, Band on the Run, McCartney II) but I'm not convinced any of us would have ever heard it if it didn't have his name attached to it.

Millennial_Messiah

01-23-2021, 12:24 PM

Paul/Wings was definitely better than John solo or John/Yoko but that's not saying much.

I do like a lot of Paul's 70's stuff (Ram, Band on the Run, McCartney II) but I'm not convinced any of us would have ever heard it if it didn't have his name attached to it.
I liked a lot of his music that didn't make the pop charts like the "Uncle Albert and Admiral Halsey" song

Adam Lambert

01-23-2021, 12:26 PM

I liked a lot of his music that didn't make the pop charts like the "Uncle Albert and Admiral Halsey" song

That one actually hit #1 on Billboard.

Millennial_Messiah

01-23-2021, 12:46 PM

That one actually hit #1 on Billboard.

Really? I thought that one was a little *out there*. It was definitely unconventional / one of a kind.

Adam Lambert

01-23-2021, 01:00 PM

Really? I thought that one was a little *out there*. It was definitely unconventional / one of a kind.

The power of the McCartney brand.

Also the "hands across the water" part is a real earworm.

Millennial_Messiah

01-23-2021, 01:14 PM

The power of the McCartney brand.

Also the "hands across the water" part is a real earworm.
My favorite was the whole nonchalant/ acid trippy/ pothead/ lazyass younger generation part:

"Admiral Halsey notified me
He had to have a birth or he couldn't get to sea
I had another look, and I had a cup of tea
And a butter pie...!
Linda: 'A buttah pie?'
(* Paul groans* ...the butter wouldn't melt so I put it in the pie"

So goes to show you that the Millennial generation weren't the first carefree, nonchalant, "lazy", non-hardworking generation in modern civilization. Those were baby boomers at the age roughly of today's millennials, insubordinate of their depressionary and prior aged superiors. Now the roles are reversed. Interesting how age changes people's minds and how they are wired, tbh. The older you get, the more authoritarian and more you favor hard work over foodstamps.

DMC

01-23-2021, 02:14 PM

Then there's Nickelback of course.

FrostKing

01-23-2021, 03:00 PM

David Blaine

Millennial_Messiah

01-23-2021, 09:20 PM

Then there's Nickelback of course.

:lol

Worst band of the era. Worse than foo fighters and my chemical romance, who were both also awful.

Millennial_Messiah

01-24-2021, 09:01 PM

Adam Levine deserves a mention?

Adam Lambert

01-25-2021, 05:34 PM

Adam Levine deserves a mention?

No.

Spurtacular

01-26-2021, 01:40 AM

yes, Robert Plant is still alive.

And the Scorpions too

Did you say Zeppelin and Scorpions in the same breath? :lol

Millennial_Messiah

01-26-2021, 08:28 AM

Did you say Zeppelin and Scorpions in the same breath? :lol

Lol if you don't think the Scorpions are fuckin' awesome. I don't know what to tell ya.

leemajors

01-26-2021, 01:47 PM

Lol if you don't think the Scorpions are fuckin' awesome. I don't know what to tell ya.

Their shit in the 70s was great, you probably like the crap from the 80s tbh

Millennial_Messiah

01-26-2021, 04:20 PM

Their shit in the 70s was great, you probably like the crap from the 80s tbh

I actually prefer their ballads from the late 70s, early 80s over their more hard glam-metal hits later on. From about 2003-2005 "Lady Starlight" was my favorite song in the world. It was technically 1980 but was in the style of some of their late 70s works... like born to touch your feelings.

N0 LyF3 ScRuB

01-28-2021, 08:12 AM

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys

Millennial_Messiah

01-28-2021, 08:37 AM

Mike Shinoda....

:( RIP Chester

JamStone

01-28-2021, 11:29 AM

Before opening the thread, first name that came to mind was Stevie. His song catalogue is ridiculous. His reach of influence through genres is near ominous. He had innate talent to create mainstream honey melodies and still push the envelope with different musical sounds. I believe he was songwriting hits for other people as well. He’d be my pick as well.

If Prince were still alive, I’d lean towards him over Stevie. But Stevie isn’t far behind.

Two names I’d throw in the mix, but neither is quite the vocalist as guys like Stevie or McCartney. As far as just pure musical talent, whether you like his music or not, John Mayer is an incredible guitarist. I don’t even really listen to his stuff much at all. But just pure, natural talent, he’s exceptional. And the other name is Pharrell. Also not notable as a vocalist, he’s more of the modern musician who is as much a deejay producer type as he is a musician. But he is in fact a multi-instrumentalist who does more than make beats. I do think he’s a musical genius. But perhaps more of a Quincy Jones type musical genius rather than a Stevie Wonder one.

Millennial_Messiah

01-28-2021, 11:40 AM

Billy Joel deserves a mention ITT.

Adam Lambert

01-28-2021, 01:48 PM

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys

Good call but probably too short of a run. Real big shame that he lost his mind during the Smile sessions.

Chucho

01-28-2021, 02:23 PM

Reznor

No. Not at all. Want to try and explain?

Chucho

01-28-2021, 02:25 PM

:lol

Worst band of the era. Worse than foo fighters and my chemical romance, who were both also awful.

Almost every member of that group is richer than almost every name mentioned in this thread.

Do you really wonder why everyone shits on you, you faggot?

Chucho

01-28-2021, 02:26 PM

Paul/Wings was definitely better than John solo or John/Yoko but that's not saying much.

I do like a lot of Paul's 70's stuff (Ram, Band on the Run, McCartney II) but I'm not convinced any of us would have ever heard it if it didn't have his name attached to it.

Yeah, you're completely wrong. Lennon was making far better music than McCartney up to the day he dieded.

SpursforSix

01-28-2021, 02:27 PM

Their shit in the 70s was great, you probably like the crap from the 80s tbh

I thought they were good through Love at First Sting which was 1984.

SpursforSix

01-28-2021, 02:29 PM

Almost every member of that group is richer than almost every name mentioned in this thread.

Do you really wonder why everyone shits on you, you faggot?

Not that I disagree with you as to the bands, but I don't think you can grade by wealth. Otherwise, you've got to consider Spice Girls and shit like that.

Chucho

01-28-2021, 02:42 PM

Not that I disagree with you as to the bands, but I don't think you can grade by wealth. Otherwise, you've got to consider Spice Girls and shit like that.

It's quantifiable. Only objective way to look at something like this.

And, by today's standards, the Spice Girls are fucking Mozart.

The only "real" musicians of today (if "Artistry" and "skill" matters) are the producers. Rap/hip hop has completely lost it's meaning/message and artistry. Rock died in my teenage years.

Music, and the actual creative artistry created within, is nearly dead. Generation apologists will claim "evolution" or whatever fits their narrative, but the actual art and talent required to have an opinion impactful to matter is gone.

SpursforSix

01-28-2021, 02:49 PM

It's quantifiable. Only objective way to look at something like this.

And, by today's standards, the Spice Girls are fucking Mozart.

The only "real" musicians of today (if "Artistry" and "skill" matters) are the producers. Rap/hip hop has completely lost it's meaning/message and artistry. Rock died in my teenage years.

Music, and the actual creative artistry created within, is nearly dead. Generation apologists will claim "evolution" or whatever fits their narrative, but the actual art and talent required to have an opinion impactful to matter is gone.

I don't think there is a completely objective way to look at this. Like you said, today it's driven by the producers. And for a large part of bands, the writers. So you can't really say that just because a certain group sold x many records, they're good musicians. Because in many cases, they didn't write or contribute shit.

Adam Lambert

01-28-2021, 03:10 PM

Yeah, you're completely wrong. Lennon was making far better music than McCartney up to the day he dieded.

Lennon only made 4 even listenable original albums: Plastic Ono Band, Imagine, Mind Games and Double Fantasy. Only 2 of those have any cultural relevance today. That doesn't count his 1975 album of bad covers from the 50's.

The rest of his output (and even some of the stuff on those albums) was experimental caterwauling that barely qualifies as music. He took the last half of the 70's off and then made Double Fantasy which was a 50/50 album with Yoko Ono. And it sucked. Got the typical postmortem sales and nostalgia bump but no one is going back and rocking "Just Like Starting Over." He had one Billboard #1 song while he was alive, and that was a duet with Elton John at a time when Elton could record himself farting and top the Hot 100.

He was musically irrelevant after the Imagine album in 1971. Boomers made "Imagine" a hymn after he died but people are starting to come to grips with what an overrated song it is. Meanwhile, Band on the Run has held up for 50 years as probably the best Beatles solo album, and the culture is also starting to reassess McCartney albums like Ram and McCartney II and discovering that those are holding up a lot better than other stuff. He always had an uphill battle against the music critic establishment that liked Lennon better, but people will be doing "Silly Love Songs" at karaoke long after we're all dead.

But like I said, I don't know that Paul (or Lennon) would have had much solo success if they weren't ex-Beatles.

Allan Rowe vs Wade

01-28-2021, 03:13 PM

Good call but probably too short of a run. Real big shame that he lost his mind during the Smile sessions.

the 2004 smile album is a masterpiece

there's a live video performance of it on the interwebs and it's the bomb

Adam Lambert

01-28-2021, 03:16 PM

the 2004 smile album is a masterpiece

there's a live video performance of it on the interwebs and it's the bomb

I love it but it's really a 1967 album re-recorded. He's a genius, no doubt. 1964-1967 was a monster run.

leemajors

01-28-2021, 03:21 PM

I thought they were good through Love at First Sting which was 1984.

My favorite of theirs is Lovedrive, for me that was their peak but I am a Michael Schenker fan.

SpursforSix

01-28-2021, 03:40 PM

My favorite of theirs is Lovedrive, for me that was their peak but I am a Michael Schenker fan.

Yeah...as a whole, starting with Lovedrive, I think the albums got slightly worse to LAFS. Then really fell off. That being said, I still liked LAFS.
Which is why I really enjoyed World Wide Live. Kind of captured greatness from of all 4 of those albums.

SpursforSix

01-28-2021, 03:44 PM

Yeah...as a whole, starting with Lovedrive, I think the albums got slightly worse to LAFS. Then really fell off. That being said, I still liked LAFS.
Which is why I really enjoyed World Wide Live. Kind of captured greatness from of all 4 of those albums.

I take this back. Was just looking at the tracks for each album. I think I do like Love at First Sting better than all of them.

FrostKing

01-28-2021, 05:38 PM

Best thread in number of years

FrostKing

01-28-2021, 05:43 PM

Underrated list

#1 Hit writing machine John Rzeznik

FrostKing

01-28-2021, 06:22 PM

Bono deserves a mention
I think U2 as a whole deserves credit. Best band list. Bono has become somewhat of a figurehead. But these 3 songs stick out to me

80s

https://youtu.be/Cok_vd48cA4

90s

https://youtu.be/kNbERkbqtgQ

2000 and beyond

https://youtu.be/Fg4MfA3BCyI

Dirks_Finale

01-28-2021, 07:07 PM

True regarding hip hop. But it was inevitable in this high tech age. Those guys were telling hood stories back then. Now there is no need for that as everyone has a cellphone with a camera and platform that they probably do not deserve :lol

What I do not understand is why rock died the way it did. Today's generation likes to bob their head and skip all the deep lyrical content. So I think rock would be pretty big for Generation Z if it ever reignited. They'd love a Nirvana type band that can't be understood.

It's quantifiable. Only objective way to look at something like this.

And, by today's standards, the Spice Girls are fucking Mozart.

The only "real" musicians of today (if "Artistry" and "skill" matters) are the producers. Rap/hip hop has completely lost it's meaning/message and artistry. Rock died in my teenage years.

Music, and the actual creative artistry created within, is nearly dead. Generation apologists will claim "evolution" or whatever fits their narrative, but the actual art and talent required to have an opinion impactful to matter is gone.

FrostKing

01-28-2021, 07:12 PM

True regarding hip hop. But it was inevitable in this high tech age. Those guys were telling hood stories back then. Now there is no need for that as everyone has a cellphone with a camera and platform that they probably do not deserve :lol

What I do not understand is why rock died the way it did. Today's generation likes to bob their head and skip all the deep lyrical content. So I think rock would be pretty big for Generation Z if it ever reignited. They'd love a Nirvana type band that can't be understood.
Rock shifted towards Alternative, which has never been better. When I compare my favorite Rock songs from 80s thru 2010s. I notice steady increase of one hit wonders. To me it signifies less influence by record industry. The songs are arguably more creative and outside the record company box

Adam Lambert

01-29-2021, 12:23 AM

True regarding hip hop. But it was inevitable in this high tech age. Those guys were telling hood stories back then. Now there is no need for that as everyone has a cellphone with a camera and platform that they probably do not deserve :lol

What I do not understand is why rock died the way it did. Today's generation likes to bob their head and skip all the deep lyrical content. So I think rock would be pretty big for Generation Z if it ever reignited. They'd love a Nirvana type band that can't be understood.

Young people today have easy, on demand access to the past 60 years of rock and roll. They are listening to that, and they don't need, or necessarily want, new bands. Nirvana, Zeppelin, AC/DC, etc are huge with teens and college-aged people right now.

FrostKing

01-29-2021, 04:10 AM

Underrated list

#1 Hit writing machine John Rzeznik

https://youtu.be/tNtN83-vQmw

Millennial_Messiah

01-29-2021, 05:23 AM

But like I said, I don't know that Paul (or Lennon) would have had much solo success if they weren't ex-Beatles.

Julian Lennon sounds just like his dad. The little half chink one sounds like opening a can of spoiled mackerel, though.

Millennial_Messiah

01-29-2021, 05:24 AM

Rock shifted towards Alternative, which has never been better. When I compare my favorite Rock songs from 80s thru 2010s. I notice steady increase of one hit wonders. To me it signifies less influence by record industry. The songs are arguably more creative and outside the record company box
Meh, one hit wonders have been around for a long time. Look at Richie Blackmore's Rainbow (Dio the singer) and Tommy Tutone... eight six seven-five three oh nine!

leemajors

01-29-2021, 11:41 AM

Meh, one hit wonders have been around for a long time. Look at Richie Blackmore's Rainbow (Dio the singer) and Tommy Tutone... eight six seven-five three oh nine!

Rainbow wasn't a one hit wonder.

Adam Lambert

01-29-2021, 11:47 AM

Rainbow wasn't a one hit wonder.

And their biggest "hits" weren't even with Dio.

This is a perfect album though.

https://www.nuclearblast.de/static/articles/155/155176.jpg/400x400.jpg

Dexter Morgan

01-29-2021, 12:16 PM

Tim Henson

spurraider21

01-29-2021, 02:38 PM

Then there's Nickelback of course.
the nic cage of music

spurraider21

01-29-2021, 02:42 PM

My favorite of theirs is Lovedrive, for me that was their peak but I am a Michael Schenker fan.
i dont think their overall library is nearly as good, but from a "greatest hits" perspective UFO is probably a lot better than most give credit for. rock bottom is a guitar masterpiece, and that was just after schenker joined

spurraider21

01-29-2021, 02:50 PM

Young people today have easy, on demand access to the past 60 years of rock and roll. They are listening to that, and they don't need, or necessarily want, new bands. Nirvana, Zeppelin, AC/DC, etc are huge with teens and college-aged people right now.
well for people who like that genre of music, there isn't a lot of contemporary stuff to refer to. I think Muse was probably the closest thing who had a really strong peak, but havent put anything relevant out in years now. they almost felt like a Queen tribute. otherwise you're just looking at old bands that just happen to still be around

i will give my hot take that Wolfmother's debut album is the best rock album that's come out since Appetite for Destruction, but they didnt follow it up well and the band basically fell apart

Adam Lambert

01-29-2021, 02:59 PM

well for people who like that genre of music, there isn't a lot of contemporary stuff to refer to. I think Muse was probably the closest thing who had a really strong peak, but havent put anything relevant out in years now. they almost felt like a Queen tribute

And a Radiohead tribute in the beginning.

You're right about the lack of contemporary rock, but not sure how much of that is chicken/egg. Music as a whole has been fragmented since Napster to such a point where there may just not be as much demand for a great new rock band. There's still a lot of interesting stuff happening in metal, but it's hard for a more traditional rock band to gain a popular foothold because frankly it's hard not to sound like something everyone's already heard. It's almost like the best bet is to pull a Greta Van Fleet and purposefully ape a classic band to generate buzz.

The new music that becomes mainstream (hip hop, pop, etc) tends to appeal to people who are less interested in the music itself than keeping up with popular culture.

leemajors

01-29-2021, 04:10 PM

i dont think their overall library is nearly as good, but from a "greatest hits" perspective UFO is probably a lot better than most give credit for. rock bottom is a guitar masterpiece, and that was just after schenker joined

I listen to Phenomenon all the time, love UFO with Schenker. Obsession and Lights Out are also great. Rock Bottom is pretty much a perfect song imo