Supermallet

Two pages and we've got mentions of Ratt and The White Stripes but not George Gershwin? What is this world coming to?

johnbook

I Do, and god how i love the 80's, and i have to say it god how i loathe Bob Dylan.

Travis McClain

You'd have to go back 80 years, but Jimmie Rodgers was once one of the biggest acts to ever appear during his day. He's recognized as the father of country music, even though he was but one of several regional acts recorded for RCA Victor in their famed Bristol sessions.

Also, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys were quite innovative, creating what has come to be known as "western swing." Chris Isaak said, during his remarks upon Wills's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, "I would have ripped him off more, if I had more talent."

I would also submit John Williams for the running master list. He may be derided among soundtrack aficionados, but I think his body of work includes many truly iconic compositions--and along the way resurrected the classic score.

Other names I don't recall seeing in earlier posts:

Chet Atkins ("Mr. Guitar," whose licks even the almighty Beatles copied)
Willie Nelson
George Strait
George Jones
Josephine Baker
Cab Calloway
Django Reinhart

And I know there are at least a hundred more worthy of the adjective "great" from over the years and across the genres.

al_bundy

isn't John Williams from England?

jmu878

it's all good. someone had to be buying all those piece of shit records. i guess some people just prefer their rock-stars to be talentless transvestites.

jmu878

all great and serious early influences. none of them had the overall impact dylan did though. as far as single artists go, i'd say elvis is the only person in the same league as dylan as far as a mix of talent and influence goes. i'd just say dylan is higher on the totem pole because he wrote his own material.

CRM114

It's hard to fathom Dylan being "greater" than Woody Guthrie but I guess I'd have to agree.

johnbook

Yes it was me and millions of others buying those - NO not piece of shit as you would reference them as but awseome "well they were CASSETTES then not records" and from reading your posts my assumption is that you definately prefer your rock stars to be talentless, COUGH "bob dylan" hey yes it is all good.

CRM114

Bob Dylan, talentless.

Twisted Sister, Ratt, Quiet Riot etc were a fad in the 80's just like Culture Club and A Flock of Seagulls. None of them have any lasting value in the pantheon of rock history. To even compare bands like that to individuals who defined generations is just not bothering to understand or appreciate rock history.

(I never purchased a cassette in my life. Blanks, yes.)

arminius

Agreed, I remember being in various army bases in the 80s and everyone was listening to hair metal. There were only a handful who were into stuff like the talking heads and the like. To me those kinds of bands were like the bubblegum bands in the 60s but with lousy sound.

Hokeyboy

Generally, you can agree to disagree without being a douche about it. But then again, this *is* the Internet.

That having been said, there is merit to so-called bubblegum/pop/power-pop as a creative form. You can mock and deride "popular" cheese music all you want, but if you think it takes no talent at all to craft a memorable pop single, you're either full of shit or criminally ignorant. Or both.

I'd argue that there's more artistry in Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me" than in the entire Nine Inch Nails ouvre. But that's just my opinion.

And I fucking love Dylan too, and outgrew 80s Hair Metal by the time I reached the age of reason (I've always been entirely more into hard rock, classic rock, prog, and early-to-NWoBHM metal). There is actually a pretty decent documentary on VH1 Classic right now about how 80s Sunset Strip groupie-whores totally drove the creation, look, and sound of cheese metal. Forgot the name, but worth watching.

CRM114

I think that's the point though. The 60's and 70's rock has stood the test of time. That's not to say there isn't good music in the 80's (hell, London Calling came out in the 80's ) but to praise Twisted Sister in the same sentence you call Dylan "talentless" is just beyond ridiculous.

Hokeyboy

I chuckled just as much as the next guy when I saw "Ratt" and "Twisted Sister" listed as all-time Best American artists... but I know plenty of people who are knowledgable about music who think Dylan's work is the musical equivalent of what you might extract from an elephant's colon with a plunger. I don't think any revered "icon" is untouchable when it comes to criticism.

And whether or not Twisted Sister will stand the test of time is left up to future generations to decide, but I still hear kids chanting "We're Not Gonna Take It" from time to time. Arnold even used it as a campaign song. If anything, the song still has some potent pop-culture relevance, much moreso than gimmicky songs from the 70s and 80s like "Disco Duck", "Pac Man Fever", or the fevered work of Turd Robelli.

Rival11

Easily the best, regardless if you like their music or not: Tool.

cungar

THis thread has take a bizarre turn into the absurd.

Rival11

Good god man, I didn't mean that as the end all be all but Tool has put out some of the best, well thought out music over many other bands and top that off with that fact that their music can be appreciated by people who don't like the genre their in. Relax, it's all opinion based anyway.

Hokeyboy

Ugh. Tool. Not a fan by *any* stretch of the imagination, but if you're into 'em more power to you.

Travis McClain

Queens, New York, courtesy of his Wikipedia page.

Supermallet

Hair metal is a fun subgenre. I defy anyone to go to a Steel Panther show and come out without a huge fucking grin on your face (and maybe herpes, but that's beside the point). And it was extremely popular, and there's nothing wrong with that. I would have loved to have seen Motley Crue play on the Sunset Strip back in the 80's. That would have rocked.

Technically London Calling was released in December of 1979. But there was a ton of great music in the 80's. Talking Heads, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince. The Fall and the Damned both made some great albums in the 80's.

Sonny Corinthos

Elvis Presley.

UAIOE

Has anyone mentioned RATT? They are a great American artist.

johnbook

ooh ooh I did I did, damn i'm going to play my "Invasion of your Privacy" cd now, fffing love that cd, along with all there work, tho i could do without ever hearing "round and round" ever again, they played the shit out of it back in the day when i listened to FM radio and still do on my sirrius hair nation and 80's channels.

Supermallet

Did anyone mention Joni Mitchell?

golden_rod

Yes.

Supermallet

Sorry then, my bad.