Greatest is hard to say, but for starters: The Stooges Devo Scratch Acid Jesus Lizard The Big Boys NoMeansNo (they're from North America, so they're on my list) The Dead Kennedys The Minutemen Mudhoney
Damn, Manny, I did not know you had become a Byrds fan I like the Beach Boys or Doors of those on the list. Of course, I mostly dislike the list. The Replacements Velvet Underground Flaming Lips The Pixies Guided By Voices The Geraldine Fibbers And Hell Yeah, The Byrds!
6 way tie, no order (though VU and Ramones are my personal faves): Dead, VU, Talking Heads, Beach Boys, Ramones, Byrds. Eagles are teh suck.
what the heck are you doing? this thread is a full fledged flame war, and you are busy posting about the original topic. get a brain, moran!
Manny would respond back but unfortunatley his wife's approved list of manny's activities does not include surfing clutchfans. Perhaps after the lifetime movie when she's in the bathroom he may be able to sneak in a reply.
OMG this thread is awesome. I think I need to watch the dvd commentary on the flaming though to get all the references. And BTW, this thread is called GREATEST AMERICAN ROCK BAND. Not NAME ALL MY FAVORITE BANDS. I'm not a big fan of most of the bands who would probably get the honor (like Van Halen), I'm thinking the winner would most likely be a band that started pre-80's which isn't really my cup of tea. I could get on board w/ either the Pixies or Devo though. I'd have to go w/ Devo.
Here's the rub- what does "great" mean? Is it sales, longevity, influence? Aerosmith have been around a long time and sold a lot of records, but so have Cliff Richard and the Oak Ridge Boys. I just don't think Aerosmith brought enough to the table musically to call them the greatest American band of all time. If we are debating influence, they are still pale imitations of the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin and in line with all of that boring white guy blues of the 60's and 70's. They were more influential for their collaboration with Run-Dmc, so we can thank them for Kid Rock and Limp Bizket...that should knock them down a peg, or two on your rankings...
moess91 you are teh suXX0rs... manny wood win you.. he's teh l33+!!!11! No love for... shall I say... *gulp* Bon Jovi? Dead or Alive FTW! (Sorry, I grew up in the 80's.)
All depends on what you call The Greatest- and what you define as "band." Does the term "band" include the Heartbreakers, the Silver Bullet Band, the E Street Band, the Blowfish, the Range, and the Beaver Brown Band? (sorry, had to put in a John Cafferty reference). I would say that, when you talk about most influential, you're looking at bands like The Crickets, The Byrds, Velvet Underground, the Allman Brothers, the Ramones, Aerosmith, and REM. In terms of those bands that were most popular in the American canon, you're probably looking at The Beach Boys, the E Street Band, the Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Heartbreakers, the Doors, Blondie, The Cars, Nirvana (although they might be under the influential category), and Pearl Jam. Those are all arbitrary, though. Remember, though, that America started out as the underdog- like Bill Murray said in Stripes, our forefathers were "kicked out of every decent country." So the quintessential band, the Greatest, if you will, is maybe one that flies under the radar a bit. I can think of a band that fits these criteria: A band who has more of an influence on other bands that is perhaps readily apparent (this band's influence has been acknowledged by the likes of Kurt Cobain, Billy Corgan, Eddie Vedder, and Michael Stipe, among many others). A band who has flirted with popularity, but is not at an Eagles-type level (this band has several top 10 hits). A band who has been innovative in the field of music (the bass player for this band co-invented the 12-string bass guitar). A band whose influence has been felt in popular culture (you can hear this band's songs in Scrubs, That '70's Show, and multiple other shows/films). In short, there can only be one Greatest American Band. And that, by definition, would have to be Cheap Trick.
Although my vote (and surprisingly several other's) went to DEVO (and I still believe firmly in that choice), this is quite a convincing post. In fact, Manny Ramirez aside (that's a joke, people), this is one of the best music-thread posts I've ever read on this board.
