Who Will last longer U2 or REM

[Bitter Almonds]

[quote][i]Originally posted by cleverblue[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]
Like or hate U2, name another band that has aged so well over 25 years.
[/quote]

I guess bands like New Order and Depeche Mode don't count? Or are they too obvious? [|)]

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<font size="1"><a href="http://www.extremely80s.com">www.extremely80s.com</a></font>
[/quote]


ROXY MUSIC/BRYAN FERRY

[djcraig]

[quote][i]Originally posted by i_like_lectric_motors[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by i_like_lectric_motors[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]

I like Sonic Youth but I couldn't tell what either of those bands have done of significance in the last 10 years.

Maybe I is jus' ignant.
[/quote]

The Fall's last 2 albums (The Real New Fall LP and Fall Heads Roll) have been excellent and rank right up there with their best material and although some of SY's Geffen stuff hasn't been great, it's still good with flashes of the old brilliance. For SY, you need to get the SYR ep's or listen to "Cocoa Neon Kamera Sutra" off the Kali Yug Express ep.
[/quote]

Yeah but if nobody hears it does it matter? To be of significance it has to be recognized.

Otherwise it's like a tree falling in a lonely forest.
[/quote]

Well, since the very meaning of the word "significant" is "having or expressing a meaning; meaningful" - they've certainly achieved artistic and critical significance. Now, do yourself a favor and actually LISTEN to these records.
[/quote]

That's what I mean. If it doesn't get heard it doesn't matter in the big picture of cultural significance, how wonderful it is. I could tell you how great my Ken Nordine "Word Jazz" albums are but if they never connected to an audience how much impact did they have?

You're probably right, those records may be fantastic. But the buzz around those bands is long gone. Failure to generate interest vanquishes you to obscurity, which in itself is not bad. But you cannot have as much cultural impact as those who are better known. And significance, longevity and vitality in pop music is at least partly measured by your ability to stay connected to an audience.

[Bitter Almonds]

Oh, so you mean "significant" = record sales and how much they get played on the radio?

[djcraig]

[quote][i]Originally posted by XXX[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by cleverblue[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]
Like or hate U2, name another band that has aged so well over 25 years.
[/quote]

I guess bands like New Order and Depeche Mode don't count? Or are they too obvious? [|)]

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<font size="1"><a href="http://www.extremely80s.com">www.extremely80s.com</a></font>
[/quote]


ROXY MUSIC/BRYAN FERRY
[/quote]

While Ferry has soldiered on, Roxy's last album was 1982's Avalon. Sure they still tour but purely as a nostalgia act.

As for Brian Ferry I gotta admit he's been very consistent. But I think Joe Public has largely forgotten about him (see the post above regarding obscurity). I think he hit his peak somewhere in the mid to late 80's.

Damn I wish Roxy would put out another album!

[i_like_lectric_motors]

[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by i_like_lectric_motors[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by i_like_lectric_motors[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]

I like Sonic Youth but I couldn't tell what either of those bands have done of significance in the last 10 years.

Maybe I is jus' ignant.
[/quote]

The Fall's last 2 albums (The Real New Fall LP and Fall Heads Roll) have been excellent and rank right up there with their best material and although some of SY's Geffen stuff hasn't been great, it's still good with flashes of the old brilliance. For SY, you need to get the SYR ep's or listen to "Cocoa Neon Kamera Sutra" off the Kali Yug Express ep.
[/quote]

Yeah but if nobody hears it does it matter? To be of significance it has to be recognized.

Otherwise it's like a tree falling in a lonely forest.
[/quote]

Well, since the very meaning of the word "significant" is "having or expressing a meaning; meaningful" - they've certainly achieved artistic and critical significance. Now, do yourself a favor and actually LISTEN to these records.
[/quote]

That's what I mean. If it doesn't get heard it doesn't matter in the big picture of cultural significance, how wonderful it is. I could tell you how great my Ken Nordine "Word Jazz" albums are but if they never connected to an audience how much impact did they have?

You're probably right, those records may be fantastic. But the buzz around those bands is long gone. Failure to generate interest vanquishes you to obscurity, which in itself is not bad. But you cannot have as much cultural impact as those who are better known. And significance, longevity and vitality in pop music is at least partly measured by your ability to stay connected to an audience.
[/quote]

Your points are valid in the context of "pop" music. But SY and The Fall have never been about being popular. They've been quite happy to toil in relative obscurity and in fact The Fall even had a self-deprecatingly titled "hits" cd called "50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong". It all comes down to how you define significance I guess. SY and The Fall are far from unknown in circles where the quality of the music means more than sales figures, and in terms of influencing bands both current and future have had and will continue to have a much greater impact on music than U2 ever will.

[djcraig]

[quote][i]Originally posted by XXX[/i]
<br>Oh, so you mean "significant" = record sales and how much they get played on the radio?
[/quote]

That's way too simple but is part of it. Someone has to have an interest for you to make an impact. Do you think Elvis would have been so influental if no one bought or played his records?

[djcraig]

[quote]

Your points are valid in the context of "pop" music. But SY and The Fall have never been about being popular. They've been quite happy to toil in relative obscurity and in fact The Fall even had a self-deprecatingly titled "hits" cd called "50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong". It all comes down to how you define significance I guess. SY and The Fall are far from unknown in circles where the quality of the music means more than sales figures, and in terms of influencing bands both current and future have had and will continue to have a much greater impact on music than U2 ever will.
[/quote]

99% of what is posted on these boards is about "pop" music. Otherwise there would be no common ground and no interaction. We'd all have our little posts about our niche bands to which no one would respond.

But bless the bands that do what The Fall and SY do. You may be right about their future influence on music. I hope so. I'm looking forward to something interesting.

[djcraig]

[quote][i]Originally posted by cleverblue[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by edisonoside[/i]
<br>Gary Numan, Kraftwerk, Siouxsie, Bowie....
[/quote]

Bowie- great run ended in the mid 1980's. Name a song he did after that you could hold up to his better work. In fact, ask the average person on the street to name a song he did after that.

Insert Jeopardy theme music here while we wait...
[/quote]

::Hit's buzzer::

What is "I'm Afraid of Americans?"

You know I think I may have heard that once. Did anyone else?

[SwampThing]

[quote]and in terms of influencing bands both current and future have had and will continue to have a much greater impact on music than U2 ever will.[/quote] I agree. And sometimes the bands you influence go on to be more succesful, Nirvana comes to mind. I think most artits take pride in this, it's their fans that become mostly bitter.

You ever hear people complain that their favorite band doesn't get enough notoriety, and then if the band does become successful they drop em' like a bad habit for selling out. [}:)]

[cleverblue]

[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by cleverblue[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]


Bowie- great run ended in the mid 1980's. Name a song he did after that you could hold up to his better work. In fact, ask the average person on the street to name a song he did after that.

Insert Jeopardy theme music here while we wait...
[/quote]

::Hit's buzzer::

What is "I'm Afraid of Americans?"

You know I think I may have heard that once. Did anyone else?
[/quote]

Hmm...maybe you're right. There were three other Bowie tunes from the '90s that performed better on the charts than "Americans." "Real Cool World", "Jump They Say", "This Hearts Filthy Lesson." Of course, all of these songs pale in comparison to the great U2, but they were there. They received regular airplay (at least around these parts), and lots of people bought the albums. But that's all neither here nor there. I'm not a huge Bowie fan, nor is it my intention to defend him and his significance. You only asked for us to name one song, and now I've named four. To what end, I don't know. I find it a little surprising that you've heard that song maybe once. From this, I can only assume that you stopped listening to the radio sometime in the early 90's. But I could be wrong. You know what happens when you assume. [8D]

And also, since the original idea of this thread is longevity and not significance, David Bowie will beat both U2 and REM since his career began in the 60's. [:)]

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[Dave]

As someone who was answering the "Who the f**k is U2?" question back in '81/'82, I for one am proud that a band started in the early postpunk era has gone on to become one of the most influential rock and roll bands of all time (ok, fire away you critics, cynics and otherwise unsavory characters [:p]).

While like most, I seem to prefer obscure music - stayed tuned for my upcoming thread on Pere Ubu - U2's commercial success is a big thumbs-up to those who supported them in the early days.

Not that they haven't dropped some turds along the way... [:I]

[Bitter Almonds]

[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by XXX[/i]
<br>Oh, so you mean "significant" = record sales and how much they get played on the radio?
[/quote]

That's way too simple but is part of it. Someone has to have an interest for you to make an impact. Do you think Elvis would have been so influental if no one bought or played his records?
[/quote]

I'm not talking about nobody buying the record. The records are there to be bought and they are bought. It is how listeners approach their purchase that you gotta question. You think the casual listener can name an album by influential artists like Brian Eno and Ennio Morricone, who have been around for way more than 25 years? It does come down to marketing, rather than influence, nowadays. This is how we get things like Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, et al. They are influential too, according to sales and pop culture fads and trends...

[korova1]

OK, I have to say something here. My one post for this month, I guess... because this is my band we are talking about and I can't believe I have to argue this point but here goes...
Sonic Youth will be just as significant (or more significant in some opinions) as U2 in the history of popular music, but for completely different reasons. Just because supposedly "nobody is listening" doesn't mean they won't be in 15 years when people finally catch up to the music. Don't generalize about a band when you obviously don't know jack **it about 'em. Sonic Youth not only changed the way many people listen to music but along with Birthday Party, Swans and Neubauten they changed the way people can appreciate more complex and atonal types of compositions.
A great example of other artists who did their own thing and made huge waves in the future are artists like The Velvet Underground or Nick Drake... NOBODY listened to them in the 60's but now they are on EVERYBODY'S list as some of the most important bands of that era of music. The Velvet Underground influenced both Peter Buck and the Edge's guitar playing early on and Michael Stipe's songwriting. But using your logic here: "since VU wasn't as popular as the Beatles or the Stones than I guess that makes them irrelevant". In the latest Rolling Stone (or was it Time or was it Newsweek... aww who cares) Bono regards Lou Reed who happened to bethe singer-songwriter for Velvet Underground as the reason for starting up a band in the late 70's in the first place.
SY isn't a "tree falling alone in a forest", rather they are an acorn that starts the forest. They've probably influenced just as many bands (or more) than U2 has in the years they've been around: from Yeah Yeah Yeah's to Fugazi to Nirvana to Dinosaur Jr. to Mars Volta to the Flaming Lips to Wilco to almost any band that uses alternate tunings on the charts in the year 2006.
Don't judge a band by how many records they sell because it is a close minded approach to listening or enjoying music. That is why NWO exists in the first place, because the people on these boards like music that is left of center.
There aren't too many bands that make compelling music for more than 10 years let alone 20...but both the Fall and Sonic Youth have managed to do it. Hell, in inteviews even members of REM and U2 have admitted to having Fall and Sonic Youth albums in their collections!!! Then to say Kraftwerk is a "two hit wonder" is just absolutely friggin' hilarious. In one way or another they influenced every synth-pop-new-wave-post-punk band that came down the pike since 1975. Siouxsie, John Lydon, New Order, Bowie, and U2 included... even in early 2006 (the current "U2")Coldplay's latest HOT 100 single "Talk" lifts a coda right out of "Computer Love" by Kraftwerk.
That said, after all these years I guess I just didn't know it had to be on the Billboard charts in order for it to be culturally relevant! What is "buzz" anyway... bands like The Fall and Sonic Youth defy "buzz" and in my opinion have ALREADY lasted longer artistically than both REM and U2. The Fall's latest, "Fall Heads Roll" and Sonic Youth's "Sonic Nurse" are both incredible albums.
Anyway to get back to the topic, REM left the building in 1986. U2 started to get crispy around the edges on a little album called "POP", probably the biggest piece of crap album by a major artist in the last 20 years. Right now people are just happy with U2 not making anything as bad as that little platter of brown matter... but they forget that U2 did it a couple of years before "POP" with "Rattle and Hum"!! Trust me, it will be just a matter of time until they do it again... "Discoteque" anyone!?!?

[cleverblue]

[quote][i]Originally posted by korova1[/i]
Then to say Kraftwerk is a "two hit wonder" is just absolutely friggin' hilarious. In one way or another they influenced every synth-pop-new-wave-post-punk band that came down the pike since 1975. Siouxsie, John Lydon, New Order, Bowie, and U2 included... even in early 2006 (the current "U2")Coldplay's latest HOT 100 single "Talk" lifts a coda right out of "Computer Love" by Kraftwerk.
[/quote]

Great point about Kraftwerk. Anyone with any regard to synthpop/new wave would never dismiss Kraftwerk as merely a two-hit wonder. They are the pioneers and the foundation of all electronic music. (Them and Brian Eno. Wait...did Brian Eno have any "hits?") Not to mention, Kraftwerk heavily influenced hip hop as well. Weird, huh? What Kraftwerk did for bands of the 80's, Sonic Youth did for bands in the 90's.

Oh, and isn't Kraftwerk up for a Grammy this year?






OK...I don't put much stock into the Grammys either... but still! [;)]

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<font size="1"><a href="http://www.extremely80s.com">www.extremely80s.com</a></font>

[i_like_lectric_motors]

[quote][i]Originally posted by korova1[/i]
<br>OK, I have to say something here. My one post for this month, I guess... because this is my band we are talking about and I can't believe I have to argue this point but here goes...



[/quote]

You really should post more. [:D]