Hey,let's argue about the Greatest American Rock Band......

[Bennyboy]

I gotta go with Bruce Springsteen and the E St Band. Almost 40 years of incredible albums, killer live shows, fantastic, meaningful songwriting and a sound that nobody even tries to duplicate.

[hellbound-liberal]

1. I'd like to argue with you but, since you said Bruce and the E Street Band, I can't!

Great choice!

[Bennyboy]

2. Somebody will I'm sure....

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. I was gonna say Mentor, but yeah, I'll accept Bruce Springsteen.

Bruce and the E are definitely what I would call a purely American style of rock and roll, both in music and in lyrics.

Whether they're the "greatest" is up for debate, but I am utterly confident in saying his is truly the quintessential American Rock Band.

Though the Dead are up there, too, with their mix of so many kinds of American music - country, bluegrass, blues, jazz, folk, and so forth.


Had the Allman Brothers kept everybody alive, they'd be the next candidates since they took the blues - a purely American music - to such high levels.

[Bennyboy]

4. The Grateful Dead gotta get some consideration!

There never was anything like em. Totally unique. Great timeless songs. Fantastic live shows.

[Skittles]

7. ugh

:thumbsdown:

[Bennyboy]

8. I knew the argument would start with the Dead....

[mitchum]

10. For me, they were always less than the sum of their parts...

I enjoys all of the genres (and "other things") they draw upon
I have enjoyed side projects by their members
I admire the strong bond that they had with their audience
but when it comes to the output of the entity known as "The Grateful Dead"
I am always left cold
and have never been able to figure out why

[Bennyboy]

14. That's weird cuz I think exactly the opposite...

I saw the other projects many times, JGB, Bob Weir's bands, Diga and the like and they were all pretty cool. But when they got together the magic came out. BIG TIME.

[Droopy]

5. A lot of people have compared The Killers to Bruce Springsteen.

I can hear a little imitation in the vocals and lyrics sometimes, but that's about it.

Greatest ever has got to be Elvis. Greatest current is Avenged Sevenfold. No current rock bands can touch them for musicianship. At least no one who gets played on the radio.

[mitchum]

6. Tie between the Velvet Underground and Lynyrd Skynyrd

obviously, the original incarnations of both

[HuskerDU]

9. I was gonna say NY Dolls and LS.

The urban and the rural.

Nobody hit all the right RnR buttons like the Dolls though. Utter maniacs playing Golden Age rock-n-roll with the "Thunder" that it needed. Memphis, lock up your daughters... and the mayor made 'em do it. True story.

[mitchum]

13. The Dolls may actually fit the "American" better than the Velvets...

since the Velvets did incorporate a lot of elements of the European avant garde
Although, Skynyrd were from the south, I have always considered them to also be an urban band. Jacksonville is like Pittsburgh with humidity and mosquitos.

[HuskerDU]

16. Skynyrd may have been city boys, but their songs definitely

spoke to rural America. They played a bunch of shows with the Dolls back in the day. Story goes that LS thought the Dolls looked like freaks, but Killer or somebody offered 'em some whiskey and they became good friends.

[mitchum]

20. Mrs mitchum considers the Dolls to be the greatest rockandroll band ever...

she feels that they combine all the things that make us and rockandroll human
wit, humor, folly, style, excitement, energy always on the brink of falling apart...

However, she is now sooo pissed at David Jo

[HuskerDU]

21. Mrs Mitchum obviously has fantastic taste!

She and I are on the same page about what makes the Dolls so great. I'm going to see (what's left of) the boys in exactly 2 weeks and I can't wait.

Now why would Mrs M be pissed at DJ?

[mitchum]

22. Mrs mitchum is pissed at David Jo...

because of where you will be going in exactly two weeks :)

She thought that David Jo was aging gracefully with his Harry Smiths work, but feels that the current Dolls incarnation is just a crass enterprise. And not the the knd of crassness that made the Dolls great.
I've tried to tell her to think of it as a chance for Syl to make some badly needed money, but no dice

[HuskerDU]

23. I have struggled with that too.

Back in the 1970s it was "Too Much Too Soon" and now I am afraid that it is "Too Little Too Late".

A reunion might've been great and highly successful in the 80s, but DJ didn't want it to happen. Johnny and Jerry would've done it, Syl would've robbed for it to happen and Arthur would've killed to do it. They should've done it anyway with Mike Monroe instead of DJ like they talked about. I guess I'll always have a bit of a grudge against DJ for that. It is clear that Syl loves what is happening while DJ just wants the check. Still luv the guy though.

Yeah what they are doing now is a bit of an embarrassment as far as their legacy, but they still put on a good show. And the best thing about the original Dolls was that they didn't give a shit about anything. A little mystic has worn from the Dolls. But I never cared much about that, or who they influenced. I just wanna hear what's left of the greatest RnR band of all time.

Syl seems to be having fun and I look forward to seeing Sam Yaffa on bass too.

[mitchum]

26. I bet it will be a lot of fun

I didn't know that Sam Yaffa was playing with them.

Here's a Dolls related story you will enjoy
My best friend is a long time Thunders freak (even has the hair, but not the habit)
He always wanted to get a Les Paul Jr, but was afraid that people would say, "That guy is just trying to be Johnny Thunders"
For the last 10 years, he has been an alt country guitarplayer for hire, but still refrained from playing a Jr, because the alt country audience has a lot of former punks in it. Anyway, about a year ago, he started playing with a huge country music star. And finally started using a Jr. His rationale? "No one in _____'s audience is gonna know who in the hell Thunders was!"
People are funny.


Have a good time!

[HuskerDU]

27. Hahahaha

That's great! Glad to see a Thunders fan having great success.

Thanks mitchum- I've been looking forward to this... forever. One of the first gigs they did after the reunion was in Florida, two weeks after I moved away. Missing them the past few years has been a comedy of errors that will finally be corrected.

Hanoi Rocks hasn't been to America since 84 or 85 so seeing Sam may be the closest I'll ever get to seeing them too. A twofer in my book. (though I may be the only person who actually prays for an American HR tour lol!)

[underpants]

25. Skynyrd

[General Zod]

11. Creedence Clearwater Revival

The only band to have five # 2 singles and a total of 9 top ten hits, yet never had a no 1 single.

[Droopy]

12. I love CCR

"Born on a Bayou" is my favorite tune by them. Did you know that despite their southern flavored music that they were from California?

[General Zod]

15. Yep

I read somewhere that they were from roughly the same neighborhood as some of the members of The Grateful Dead.

[underpants]

24. General, I LOVE CCR but I have to go with Jacksonville's own......

LYNYRD SKYNYRD

[BarenakedLady]

17. Milli Vanilli

Of course.

:rofl:

[taterguy]

29. Well, except for the fact that they were from Europe

I can't think of any other reason to disqualify them

[FarLeftRage]

18. I says it is the Velvet Underground.

They influenced many other American rock bands and some English ones, as well.

[Tikki]

19. I say The Ramones....

THE RAMONES


Tikki

[EMdamascus]

28. Tommy James and the Shondells!

They put whaa whaa on the map!

[mitchum]

31. That is certainly one of the greatest rockand roll band names...

conjures up a group of tough soulful kids from the wrong side of the tracks
Think S E Hinton's Greasers versus those smug Socs

[HuskerDU]

32. Great band, great name.

Still not as good as the Amboy Dukes though. Terrible Ted stole that name from another Detroit band.

Best name for an individual rock-n-roller? Lee Rocker from the Stray Cats IMO, with Joe Strummer second. (even though I don't care for Bummer)

[mitchum]

37. Amboy Dukes!

This is getting scary...last night before dropping off, I started reading a 1970 book called "Jackie! The Exploitation of a First Lady" It's author? Irving Shulman...who wrote the novel "The Amboy Dukes"

My favorite rockandroll names are Lux Interior, Mink Jones, and Cheetah Chrome
But my all time favorite fictional rockandroll performer name was coined by Carl Reiner back in the 50s. Johnny Fuck.

[HuskerDU]

40. Damn, that is pretty weird.

Amboy Dukes is such a great name and I never even knew it was a novel. "The Amboy Dukes are coming to town." "Oh, shit!"

Johnny Fuck is a great name. It's as if the Brando character in that motorcycle movie had a last name. "What are you rebelling against Johnny Fuck?" "What've ya got?"

[End Of The Road]

30. Eagles for me

followed by CSN/Y. God I still love Neil Young.

[chieftain]

33. CSN/Y for me. (eom)

[taterguy]

34. A Great American Band has to comprised of band members from America

Unless it's the Band.

Why is that simple concept so difficult to understand?

And don't give me that Canada is "North" America bullshit. I'm pretty sure one of CSNY was from England but I'm too lazy to look it up.

[mitchum]

38. Nash is a crumpet sucker and Young is a syrup swiller

:)

I never understood why The Band got to be considered an American rockandroll band. As you said, they are Canucks. And they certainly neither rocked nor rolled.

[harmonicon]

35. people have already mentioned all of these...

but I say it's a three way tie between the grateful dead, the velvet underground, and the ramones - there are other bands, such as the dead boys, who I love an awful lot, but maybe not the greatest.

or I'd say it's bunnyhug - best band ever.

[Bennyboy]

36. Some great bands nobody has ever heard of!

Leftover Salmon! The quintessential American band. Kind of bluegrass, kind of rock and roll. One of my all time favorites.

The Meters. Invented the funk.

String Cheese Incident! Might be the best improv band ever. Covered all the styles, jazz, bluegrass, funk, rock and roll,country, psychedelic. Very unique sound

The Radiators! Hardest working band in the country. They tear it up every single night. if you like straight ahead rock and roll, this band is for you.

The Blasters!

Los Lobos!

[taterguy]

39. I've heard of all of those bands

The Meters might be the Great American funk band but they're not the Great American Rock band.

Leftover Salmon is from Colorado and that disqualifies them.

Los Lobos put out a stunningly perfect debut album but what have they done for us lately?

Can't think of snarky comments for the other bands on your list.

Yet.

[Bennyboy]

41. Wassamatter with Colorado?

Some of the best music comes out of CO these days. SCI, LoS and even some bands that don't use their intials!

And Kiko is an incredible album by Los Lobos and not their debut.

[taterguy]

45. Great rock is based on the blues and you can't have the blues in Colorado

Too much nice scenery.

It's in the rule book.

Look it up.

[Adams Wulff]

49. I've been struggling to play the blues for 12 years...

...now I know why.


Thanks! That was great!

[Bennyboy]

47. No love for the Beach Boys?

man Pet Sounds changed everything!

[HuskerDU]

42. The Blasters were a great band.

But I would argue that what keeps them out of this argument is that they never really broke any new ground.

[no name no slogan]

43. I can't believe nobody has said the Stooges yet

From Ann Arbor, the American heartland. Pure, loud, unhinged rock and roll. Their first three albums are classic. Their second, "Funhouse", is possibly the greatest garage rock record ever made.

[HuskerDU]

44. Good call on the Stooges, MC5 too.

I could do without some of that long boring stuff on "Funhouse" though. Never cared for jazz.

[JCMach1]

46. REM

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

48. The Flaming Lips.

[PVnRT]

50. Cheap Trick

[montanto]

53. I saw Cheap Trick do

Sgt Pepper's a few months ago at Hollywood Bowl. Great show. The best of both worlds +w/ Zander back in the lineup. I was bummed that they didn't do any Cheap Trick though, even in their encore.

[StrongBad]

51. No love for the Beach Boys??

Great application of melody and harmony in a rock n' roll context, plus Brian Wilson's production innovations are still trying to be replicated today.

[Bennyboy]

52. The Allman Brothers?

Still playing arenas, not casinos. Still bringing the heat every night. Long career, very inflouential.