Fever
30th June 2003, 21:55
Each of the bands below is unique but all have influenced the music we listen to today. I just wanted to post this in order to give credit to these bands, and hopefully to expose some of you to them.
The Velvet Underground
Few rock groups can claim to have broken so much new territory, and maintain such consistent brilliance on record, as the Velvet Underground during their brief lifespan. It was the group's lot to be ahead of, or at least out of step with, their time. The mid-to-late '60s was an era of explosive growth and experimentation in rock, but the Velvets' innovations — which blended the energy of rock with the sonic adventurism of the avant-garde, and introduced a new degree of social realism and sexual kinkiness into rock lyrics — were too abrasive for the mainstream to handle. During their time, the group experienced little commercial success; though they were hugely appreciated by a cult audience and some critics, the larger public treated them with indifference or, occasionally, scorn.
Sonic Youth
As Stephen Malkmus says during the opening chords of a song on Pavement's "Stray Slack" bootleg, "This one is for Sonic Youth. Obviously." Try for a second to close your eyes and imagine a world without Sonic Youth. How would history have changed? Ever since the dawn of the band in 1981, rising up out of New York's fertile underground and the teachings of avant-garde composer Glenn Branca, Sonic Youth have more or less set the agenda. It was largely thanks to their years of dedication that they ended up setting a precedent for independent music being released on Geffen, and they were directly responsible for getting Nirvana signed to said label. So one could say that an SY-less world would have very likely never seen the dawn of the age of grunge. They released a video during this period called "1991: The Year That Punk Broke." And break it did. Nirvana's success finally toppled the musical hierarchy of established music surrounded by a fringe of anti-establishment underground music. Nevermind hit number one.
The Pixies:
Where were you when you first heard "Debaser?" One of the Pixies' most classic anthems, the song gave definition to a new genre of emotion and expression. Largely responsible for the alternative music movement of the 1990s, the Pixies used a number of musical styles and sounds to create their own unique invention. Melding punk, indie guitar rock, classic pop, surf rock and riffs, the band created a sound that no one had heard before. This new sound laid the foundation for artists like Nirvana to rise to superstardom and opened the doors to a whole new genre of musical exploration.
The Smiths:
The Smiths are, or were, Mike Joyce, Johnny Marr, Stehpen Morrissey and Andy Rourke. In an intense 5 years Between 1983 and 1987 The Smiths released almost 20 singles and 7 albums, and are recognised by the critics as one of the most significant bands of the 1980's. It is difficult to believe that Morrissey has been a solo artist longer than 2 lifetimes of The Smiths, but his impact on the music industry declined significantly after 1987.
I hope i have managed to expose you all to some good music in this brief passage. Go download some music!
The Velvet Underground
Few rock groups can claim to have broken so much new territory, and maintain such consistent brilliance on record, as the Velvet Underground during their brief lifespan. It was the group's lot to be ahead of, or at least out of step with, their time. The mid-to-late '60s was an era of explosive growth and experimentation in rock, but the Velvets' innovations — which blended the energy of rock with the sonic adventurism of the avant-garde, and introduced a new degree of social realism and sexual kinkiness into rock lyrics — were too abrasive for the mainstream to handle. During their time, the group experienced little commercial success; though they were hugely appreciated by a cult audience and some critics, the larger public treated them with indifference or, occasionally, scorn.
Sonic Youth
As Stephen Malkmus says during the opening chords of a song on Pavement's "Stray Slack" bootleg, "This one is for Sonic Youth. Obviously." Try for a second to close your eyes and imagine a world without Sonic Youth. How would history have changed? Ever since the dawn of the band in 1981, rising up out of New York's fertile underground and the teachings of avant-garde composer Glenn Branca, Sonic Youth have more or less set the agenda. It was largely thanks to their years of dedication that they ended up setting a precedent for independent music being released on Geffen, and they were directly responsible for getting Nirvana signed to said label. So one could say that an SY-less world would have very likely never seen the dawn of the age of grunge. They released a video during this period called "1991: The Year That Punk Broke." And break it did. Nirvana's success finally toppled the musical hierarchy of established music surrounded by a fringe of anti-establishment underground music. Nevermind hit number one.
The Pixies:
Where were you when you first heard "Debaser?" One of the Pixies' most classic anthems, the song gave definition to a new genre of emotion and expression. Largely responsible for the alternative music movement of the 1990s, the Pixies used a number of musical styles and sounds to create their own unique invention. Melding punk, indie guitar rock, classic pop, surf rock and riffs, the band created a sound that no one had heard before. This new sound laid the foundation for artists like Nirvana to rise to superstardom and opened the doors to a whole new genre of musical exploration.
The Smiths:
The Smiths are, or were, Mike Joyce, Johnny Marr, Stehpen Morrissey and Andy Rourke. In an intense 5 years Between 1983 and 1987 The Smiths released almost 20 singles and 7 albums, and are recognised by the critics as one of the most significant bands of the 1980's. It is difficult to believe that Morrissey has been a solo artist longer than 2 lifetimes of The Smiths, but his impact on the music industry declined significantly after 1987.
I hope i have managed to expose you all to some good music in this brief passage. Go download some music!