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Mt. Rushmore of American Rock Bands

Jumper_Dad

By Jumper_Dad
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B-Ball-fan

B-Ball-fan

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They have their place for sure...but I have never been a fan. The reason I think the way I do about them is that, back in the day when they were somewhat making a name for themselves...I think it became "cool" in some circles to like them...after all they were "anti-establishment" and "against the man". Musically speaking I just don't think they cut it when compared to many other acts. I think that "coolness" factor overrode everything else. But, again, that's my opinion.

 

When I was a teen jamming on Boston, Foreigner, ELO, The Cars, Heart , AC/DC, Van Halen, Judas Priest, The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, The Doors, and Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and many many more..etc...

 

...my older next door neighbor introduced me to a lot of the "new" pre-MTV underground bands such as, The Clash, The B-52's, Blondie, Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, Cheap Trick, Echo and The Bunnymen, The Boomtown Rats, Violent Femmes and The Ramones etc...

 

....and I will forever be thankful as it made me aware that there was so much more out there than what the radio stations at the time were pushing. (Of course these bands didn't stay unknowns forever and eventually also became mainstream)...

 

I trusted his lead and mostly dug what he was turning me on to.

 

With that said, (and this is just my opinion), my first reaction to early Ramones was that it was cheesy, cartoonish, bubble gum pop punk that seemed sorta infantile, and wasn't too sure how he was taking them so seriously among the other stuff that he was digging. I thought that their approach was repetitive, and each and every 2 minute song was exactly like their last.

 

I was not sold.

 

I did not make a point of collecting their albums, nor did they ever come anywhere near being a favorite of mine, while I watched their popularity grow. I can't say with any authority or knowledge for lack of listening if their material ever evolved, but I never got the impression that it did.

 

I knew that it was hip to dig them, and mostly I just kept my mouth shut when hipsters raved about them. I just sorta felt that a lot of people claimed to dig them just because they thought that it made them sound cool, or with it to say so.

 

I caught them at Lollapalooza main stage years ago and got a kick how their entire set was breezed through like one endless hyperactive song prefacing each tune with 1-2-3-4....and was intrigued by their energy of not taking a breath, but still thought that although they had their own signature approach to their fast paced live show, that all I was hearing was the same song repeated over and over.

 

Have they made their place in rock n' roll history... sure,... have they made such an impact on me that I thought that they were awesome...hell no... I just sorta viewed them as a novelty act.

 

Am I the authority on music?...no way, ...but I've listened to over the years a ton of mainstream, and not so mainstream stuff, and just like everyone else, I either like what I like or I don't.

 

Again this is just my opinion, but I can't say that I was all that impressed with them, and could never listen to more than a couple of their tunes at a time.

 

All the same same same same would eventually just get on my nerves.

 

Sure, they gave confidence to a lot of otherwise untalented kids starting bands with their simplicity by indicating that it didn't take anything to jam out a repetitive tune if you just repeated simple lyrics with a simple beat and repetitive note structures.

 

Fine...not all music needs to be complicated, but their craft at writing songs IMO is a far cry from so many noteworthy songwriters that have proved themselves over the years to have the Ramones rise up the ranks and be discussed in the same conversation is just an insult to those bands and musicians who have taken great energy at writing well crafted songs.

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Jim Schue

Jim Schue

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And I'd argue a band like KISS influenced 1,000 times over the number of people The Ramones did...if nothing else because they could with their popularity.

 

I think I gave the Ramones their due. Heck, I'm the one who brought them up, so even I recognized their influence, regardless if I agree with it or not. But, when it comes to a "Mt. Rushmore" of bands, I think it's VERY easy to mark them off a list like this.

 

I love KISS and always have, but I would argue that hardly anybody out there cites them as an influence. Maybe GWAR or ICP, but that's about it, and that's only because of the theatrics. If they're an influence on others in any way, it's as a marketing force. KISS is rarely cited as a musical influence.

 

The Ramones influenced the entire punk rock genre.

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Jumper_Dad

Jumper_Dad

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I love KISS and always have, but I would argue that hardly anybody out there cites them as an influence. Maybe GWAR or ICP, but that's about it, and that's only because of the theatrics. If they're an influence on others in any way, it's as a marketing force. KISS is rarely cited as a musical influence.

 

The Ramones influenced the entire punk rock genre.

I don't disagree about the Ramones at all, but here is an interesting article from Esquire about the influence of KISS How Kiss Created Indie Rock - Esquire

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woodsrider

woodsrider

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And I'd argue a band like KISS influenced 1,000 times over the number of people The Ramones did...if nothing else because they could with their popularity.

 

I think I gave the Ramones their due. Heck, I'm the one who brought them up, so even I recognized their influence, regardless if I agree with it or not. But, when it comes to a "Mt. Rushmore" of bands, I think it's VERY easy to mark them off a list like this.

KISS is sub par as musicians and their entire success and popularity is based on their look. No way they belong

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