That is an absolutely ridiculous statement. Have you even listened to anything they've done other than Surrender and I Want You To Want Me? I'll put their best 10 songs against the best 10 of Aerosmith, The Ramones, The Doors, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Eagles, REM, Bob Seger, The Beach Boys, The Cars, Fleetwood Mac, The Pixies, Jane's Addiction, Green Day, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Jimi Hendrix, Heart, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Kansas, Van Halen, New York Dolls, MC5, Velvet Underground, Love, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers, J Geils Band, Earth-Wind & Fire, Kool and the Gang, Sly and the Family Stone, Weezer, Television, Hall and Oates, Motley Crue, Foghat, Buffalo Springfield, Talking Heads, ZZ Top, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Guns N' Roses, Journey, The Smithereens, and any number of 100+ other bands that I did not mention, and with the exception of maybe Aerosmith, The Doors, CCR, REM, G&R, and Van Halen, Cheap Trick is equal to or better than them. IMVHO.
I love Cheap Trick. They were the first concert I ever went to (along with Aldo Nova and Axe) at the Houston Coliseum. Cheap Trick *is* underrated and under appreciated. They are not "equal, or better than" most of the bands you listed, though. I will give you REO Speedwagon, or Journey, but Bob Dylan? The Ramones? The Byrds? Bruce Springsteen? Talking Heads? Sly and the Family Stone? The Beach Boys? The Pixies? No f-ing way. Sorry. They are a great power pop band, but they followed bands who did it better (The Beatles, The Who, Badfinger Big Star) and were not particularly influential. I don't want to take anything away from them, but I just can't put them in pantheon of the greatest of the greatest. My VHO, of course. I am looking forward to hearing the latest album, though. Listening to the first four Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds reissues: "From Her to Eternity" "The Firstborn is Dead" "Kicking Against the Pricks" "Your Funeral My Trial"
What he said, have massive respect for the Trick but like Aerosmith they soiled their legacy in my eyes by making MOR kack in the 90's. Great sig btw. Beyond Belief!
"They are a great power pop band, but they followed bands who did it better (The Beatles, The Who, Badfinger Big Star) and were not particularly influential." I beg to differ: Bands Influenced "Bands citing Cheap Trick as an influence include The Datsuns, Enuff Z'nuff, Everclear, Extreme, Fountains of Wayne, Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Green Day, OK Go, Smashing Pumpkins, The Pink Spiders, Terrorvision, Weezer, and many others. Kurt Cobain once said about Nirvana: "We sound just like Cheap Trick, only the guitars are louder." Live Performances Cheap Trick is well known for their four decades of almost continuous touring. Their album Cheap Trick at Budokan elevated the status of the Budokan as a premier venue for rock concerts. Instruments Tom Petersson (according to www.12stringbass.net) is generally credited for having the initial idea for a 12-string bass. He previously had used a Gibson Thunderbird, and Alembic and Hagstrom 8-string basses, and asked Jol Dantzig of Hamer Guitars to make a 12-string bass.
What I said was that I would put their top 10 best songs against any of those bands, and they would be either equal to or better than them (OK, maybe close to but not better than Dylan and a few others). I get what you're saying, but if you look at any one of those artists, they've all had "down" periods in their music. Case in point? Springsteen's Human Touch and Lucky Town, Sly's last 2 CDs, Bob Dylan in the 80s and 90s (and some would say in the 70s, as well, except for Blood on the Tracks), Talking Heads "Naked" and the other one I can't remember, The Ramones with End of the Century, etc. Now, the thing is that I actually like some of those CDs, because I'm probably less critical with the great ones. But if you look at Trick, you have: 1. A period where they released 5 legitimately great CDs: Cheap Trick, In Color, Heaven, Dream Police, All Shook Up. 2. The 80s period where the stuff wasn't as good, but there were some good things in there: One on One, Next Position Please (this is a great, great CD- probably because Todd Rundgren produced it and helped with several songs), Doctor, Luxury, Busted 3. The 90s and 2000s, which goes back to the 1st- all of these are great CDs: Cheap Trick 1997, Monster, Special, Rockford. So, I would say that 9 great CDs allows them to be mentioned up there with the great groups. I feel the exact same way about The Kinks. Were they as popular as The Rolling Stones? No. But I'd put up any of their CDs in the 70s against Goats Head Soup, Rock and Roll, Some Girls, Black and Blue, etc., and I'm telling you, the Kinks' CDs are better- more interesting lyrics, a more diverse style of music, etc. See, the thing is we're not talking about popularity. If that were the case, then The Ramones would rank way, way down on the list, even though they're one of the all-time greats. I think one has to acknowledge groups that are popular, but only to a point. Otherwise, bands like The Sex Pistols and Buffalo Springfield would never be recognized, even though they were heavily influential. But make no mistake, Cheap Trick was definitely influential- all those bands mentioned above make up the core of popular rock music in the 90s and 2000s. I just feel that there are some groups and artists who, for some reason or another, slipped through the cracks and don't get the recognition they deserve. My short list would be something like: 50s Eddie Cochran Richie Valens 60s The Kinks Buffalo Springfield 70s Cheap Trick Ten Years After Warren Zevon The O'Jays MC5 Mott The Hoople Rick James Van Morrison (well, he's recognized, but sometimes slips under the radar) The Pretenders 80s The Fixx The Smithereens Midnight Oil Simple Minds Public Enemy (yes, I still think they get forgotten about) The Replacements They Might Be Giants 90s Soundgarden (this is where my memory gets fuzzy) Are these groups recognized? Yeah, sort of. But not as much as bands and artists whom I feel are their equals, or at least close to it. All, of course, in my very humble opinion.
dando, I agree with a lot of your list but you have to have Roxy Music as one of the '70s artists. Pretty much every new wave band owes a debt to Roxy Music and David Bowie, yet there aren't many Americans that are familiar with them. And I'm sorry but I fail to see how They Might Be Giants should be on the list. I have a buddy that loves them, but I never could get into them (Sonic Youth and Pavement are 2 others). If anything, I found them to be highly annoying. I would replace them on your list with Violent Femmes (simply for their debut alone). Later on today, I'm going to fire up "Psychocandy" by the Jesus and Mary Chain.
Roxy Music, as far as underrated, yes. David Bowie? Maybe a little bit overrated. Over the last 10 years, his records have received a huge boost in critical acclaim, and outside of Ziggy Stardust and maybe Hunky Dory, I just don't see it. Very good, yes. Influential? yes. But I just can't get into his music as much as others. Maybe it's just a personal thing. Oh, They Might Be Giants is great. C'mon, how can you not tap your feet to Birdhouse In Your Soul? Or laugh at that 23-song suite on Apollo 18 where every song is like 20-30 seconds? My son and I still laugh every time we put that on in the car. Of course, this is after I get through listening to Staind, Seether, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, Red, and 3 Days Grace (or is it 7 Days Grace? Or Seven Mary three? Man, I'm all confused now). Actually, I like some of those bands- not bad stuff. We have a deal- he gets to play this and he has to suffer through Quadrophenia, London Calling, and Astral Weeks at least once every other month (well, he actually likes some of those).
Yes, but the problem is when I start trying to list bands I know from the 90s and beyond. It's embarrassing when you see people posting these YouTube clips and you're thinking, "Umm, who are these people?" One of these days, I have to take a class- I can just hear the advertisement: "Do you rate Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction as the best new release this year? Does your rock music knowledge end with Wang Chung, Cinderella, and Freddie Jackson? Do you define grunge as the build-up on your carburetor? iIf so, then you need to take our new course offering: "Music: 1990-2009: A Crash Course for Dinosaur Rockers" "Yes, no matter how hopeless and out-of-date you are, you will be brought up-to-speed on all types of modern music, including emo, hip-hop, trip-hop, techno, grunge, and Miley Cyrus. Don't wait- get on your cell phone (you do have one of these, don't you?) and call today!!"
dando, Sorry for the confusion but I wasn't saying that Bowie was underrated; just a huge influence on new wave music like Roxy Music. Have to agree to disagree on TMBG.
Do you own any Enuff Z Nuff? If not you should try "Seven", "Paraphernalia", and "Ten" right away. There's actually a cover of 'Everything Works' on the latter where Billy Corgan guests on guitar. Here's an album review from AMG that basically sums them up: Also let me know if you've heard any of these: Jellyfish - "Spilt Milk" Sugarbomb - "Bully" Brendan Benson - "Lapalco" Redd Kross - "Third Eye", "Phaseshifter", or "Show World"
Miike Snow. Swedish synth ftw. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5V-vTuJF89Y&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5V-vTuJF89Y&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/00j6l4ebYKM&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/00j6l4ebYKM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Psychocandy - The Jesus and Mary Chain Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who... - Explosions in the Sky I Care Because You Do - Aphex Twin Ghosts of the Great Highway - Sun Kil Moon
He does a good mix of Vampire Weekend's "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance". It was all over blog radio on XMU a few months back.
The power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you! (sorry, had to throw in an Exorcist reference)
SY is perhaps one of the most important bands in the last two decades. In the 80s, they released 4 great albums back-to-back-to-back-to-back. Their importance cannot be denied. Same could be said for Pavement, but to a lesser extent. Perhaps one of the most important bands of the 90s. Highly influential. One of my favorites!
Jellyfish is awesome. It was a musical crime that they broke up after 2 albums. Belly Button is also quite good, but I think I'd have to say Spilt Milk is my favorite. Also check out Imperial Drag and Roger Joseph Manning Jr. to listen to what members of Jellyfish did after the split.
