Is there any pop/rock band u respect morr than The Beatles

[terrapin]

People should place them very high, top 3 for sure as far as being influential alone. I don't think people understand just how many artists and bands have drawn inspiration from them. Artists from pretty much every genre of music spanning several decades. They were the total package. Most bands are lucky to have 1 single talented writer. Every band member wrote at least 1 hit and they all certainly wrote their distinct, memorable songs. They all also played multiple instruments, sometimes covering for each in sessions.

As a unit, i find it difficult to place groups above them for sheer talent let alone influence.

The funny thing is, many of these other bands mentioned as being better then the Beatles were themselves influenced by the Beatles.

greatness is not defined in the ts post so its a bit subjective.

personally i would not list any of the traits you listed as defining greatness though. it is neither talent nor influence that even would make my list in terms of greatness. and frankly a band being extremely popular counts as a soft negative in my mind.

 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

greatness is not defined in the ts post so its a bit subjective.

personally i would not list any of the traits you listed as defining greatness though. it is neither talent nor influence that even would make my list in terms of greatness. and frankly a band being extremely popular counts as a soft negative in my mind.

The fuck. If talent and influence doesnt make your list in terms of greatness, what does? Its music. Musicians should have high degrees of talent and should be able to influence future generations of musicians. Do i even want to know your standards of greatness?

 

[Philadelphia Collins]

No, nobody more influential for me. I was in 4th grade when I was introduced to their music and it sent me in a different direction. I ended up never being very good at music (my own fault), but I had a lot of fun playing thanks to them.

 

[RogerB08]

Motörhead. 40 years and Lemmy never sold out. He was also editor of his school magazine.

 

[terrapin]

The fuck. If talent and influence doesnt make your list in terms of greatness, what does? Its music. Musicians should have high degrees of talent and should be able to influence future generations of musicians. Do i even want to know your standards of greatness?

yeah i really think that definition is way off frankly. i mean a certain amount of talent is definitely necessary but there is a point of diminishing returns for certain.

influence plays no part whatsoever in greatness. honestly i cannot even relate to or comprehend influence being on the list man.

 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

yeah i really think that definition is way off frankly. i mean a certain amount of talent is definitely necessary but there is a point of diminishing returns for certain.

influence plays no part whatsoever in greatness. honestly i cannot even relate to or comprehend influence being on the list man.

So how do you define greatness amongst musicians?? Humor us.

 

[Daverisimo]

As far as pop music goes, not really. If the Beach Boys continued evolving after Pet Sounds they might've matched or even surpassed them, but they didn't.

As far as rock, I'd definitely put Chuck Berry ahead of them (Lennon said pretty much the same thing), but that's about it.

I would, however, put The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, and The Clash on roughly equal footing with them though.

 

[Mesos]

And if so explain why that band u feel is worthy of greater respect than The Beatles

Tons, the Beatles where good and I love there music but theres alot of more interesting bands imo.

David Bowie for example had a far more interesting career, with a bunch of great albums and musical evolution.

My personal favorite Album though is London Calling from the Clash. Which I think is better than any Beatles album or any other bands album for that matter. London Callings sheer creativity and fusion of Jazz, Reggae and Punk is oustanding

 

[terrapin]

So how do you define greatness amongst musicians?? Humor us.

take it easy man. this is not a debate or an argument. the ts did not define greatness so for this thread it is left subjective so there really cant be a right or a wrong answer. all perspectives are equally valid.

i would say the degree of egolessness that the entire band has as a whole plays the largest role in true greatness.

alongside that and built upon that is a heart of service, coming from a place that is about the music and serving the audience.

next i would place the ability to convey deep meaning and deep emotion through the music. another intangible but a real thing nonetheless.


from there a ton of intangibles can unfold that changes every note, every chord and every interaction between the musicians in ways that cannot be defined but that come through nevertheless especially if you listen to the music often.

now this is all subjective but music is subjective and it is subjective for the listener. the Beatles always felt like eating too much candy to me and i quickly went through my Beatles stage in my senior year of high school.

other more meaningful (to me) bands came in to fill that space and eventually i was led out of pop music altogether.

but aside from all of that i would place the talking heads far and away above the Beatles for greatness though as an example.

 

[Madmick]

Nope. Not even close.

The Beatles shit on everyone. This question is only interesting if we're asking who is second place.

These were all charting hits. Twenty of them were #1's (a standing record).

1. A Day in the Life
2. A Hard Day’s Night
3. Act Naturally
4. Ain't She Sweet
5. All You Need Is Love
6. And I Love Her
7. Baby's in Black
8. Baby, You're a Rich Man
9. Back in the USSR
10. Blackbird
11. Can't Buy Me Love
12. Come Together
13. Day Tripper
14. Dear Prudence
15. Do You Want to Know a Secret
16. Don't Let Me Down
17. Drive My Car
18. Eight Days a Week
19. Eleanor Rigby
20. Free as a Bird
21. From Me to You
22. Get Back
23. Golden Slumbers / Carry that Weight
24. Got to Get You Into My Life
25. Hello Goodbye
26. Help!
27. Here Comes the Sun
28. Hey Jude
29. I Am the Walrus
30. I Call Your Name
31. I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
32. I Feel Fine
33. I Saw Her Standing There
34. I Wanna Be Your Man
35. I Want to Hold Your Hand
36. I'll Cry Instead
37. I'll Follow the Sun
38. I'm a Loser
39. I'm Only Sleeping
40. In My Life
41. Lady Madonna
42. Let It Be
43. Long Tall Sally
44. Love Me Do
45. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
46. Magical Mystery Tour
47. Matchbox
48. Maxwell's Silver Hammer
49. Michelle
50. My Bonnie
51. Norwegian Wood
52. Nowhere Man
53. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
54. Octopus's Garden
55. P.S. I Love You
56. Paperback Writer
57. Penny Lane
58. Please Please Me
59. Rain
60. Real Love
61. Revolution
62. Roll Over Beethoven
63. Rocky Raccoon
64. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band
65. She's a Woman
66. She Loves You
67. She Said She Said
68. Slow Down
69. Something
70. Strawberry Fields
71. Taxman
72. Thank You Girl
73. The Ballad of John and Yoko
74. The Long and Winding Road
75. Ticket To Ride
76. Twist and Shout
77. Yellow Submarine
78. Yesterday
79. We Can Work It Out
80. When I'm Sixty-Four
81. (I Get High) With a Little Help from my Friends

That's not counting hits so big by them as solo artists they've become cultural landmarks like "Imagine" or "Across the Universe" by John Lennon, "My Guitar Gently Weeps" by George Harrison, or "Maybe I'm Amazed", "Band on the Run", and "Live and Let Die" (for the Bond film) by Paul McCartney.

 

[Streeter]

Led Zeppelin > Beatles.


Not even close.

Bonham ... 1st or 2nd greatest rock drummer ever
Page ... Top 5 of not greatest rock guitarist ever
JPJ ... top 10 bassist ever
Plant ... top 3 if not greatest rock vocalist ever

LZ is greatest rock band ever formed and likely none again will ever equal or be close.

 

[newms84]

Led Zeppelin > Beatles.


Not even close.

Bonham ... 1st or 2nd greatest rock drummer ever
Page ... Top 5 of not greatest rock guitarist ever
JPJ ... top 10 bassist ever
Plant ... top 3 if not greatest rock vocalist ever

LZ is greatest rock band ever formed and likely none again will ever equal or be close.

It's all subjective but I would disagree on all but Bohnam. I don't think Plant is anywhere close to the top 3 and Page certainly is not the greatest rock guitarist either

 

[Holic]

I believe John used to lock up 12 year old groupies and rape them, that was until his first wife found out and then he beat her to death. The man who killed John was a police officer wanting to interview him about missing underage girls, but John pulled a gun on him so the policeman had no choice but to fire back and shoot him. He was charged with murder because Yoko blew Nixon.

I knew May Pang and she mentioned none of this. She did tell me Yoko used heroin to control John though.

The Beatles were ahead of their fans, and the curve in general, IMO.

For example, I doubt any of their fans were clamoring for, or even aware of the existence, of songs like Eleanor Rigby, Tomorrow Never Knows, or Within You. And those are just 3 songs off of Revolver. Let alone songs that would’ve been as esoteric as Strawberry Fields Forever, Happiness is a Warm Gun, or Revolution 9. Or even a proto-metal song like Helter Skelter. Songs like these simply didn’t exist before the Beatles recorded them.

You think 1960's Beatles fans weren't asking for strawberry fields and revolution 9??

 

[Philadelphia Collins]

It's all subjective but I would disagree on all but Bohnam. I don't think Plant is anywhere close to the top 3 and Page certainly is not the greatest rock guitarist either

I liked this post, but I also prefer a few drummers over Bonham as well. Like you said, subjective stuff here.

 

[terrapin]

Led Zeppelin > Beatles.


Not even close.

Bonham ... 1st or 2nd greatest rock drummer ever
Page ... Top 5 of not greatest rock guitarist ever
JPJ ... top 10 bassist ever
Plant ... top 3 if not greatest rock vocalist ever

LZ is greatest rock band ever formed and likely none again will ever equal or be close.

agreed. i graduated from the Beatles to zeppelin. they convey a power, some deep power, that the Beatles never even began to touch. i did move on from zeppelin but that's another discussion.

 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

take it easy man. this is not a debate or an argument. the ts did not define greatness so for this thread it is left subjective so there really cant be a right or a wrong answer. all perspectives are equally valid.

i would say the degree of egolessness that the entire band has as a whole plays the largest role in true greatness.

alongside that and built upon that is a heart of service, coming from a place that is about the music and serving the audience.

next i would place the ability to convey deep meaning and deep emotion through the music. another intangible but a real thing nonetheless.


from there a ton of intangibles can unfold that changes every note, every chord and every interaction between the musicians in ways that cannot be defined but that come through nevertheless especially if you listen to the music often.

now this is all subjective but music is subjective and it is subjective for the listener. the Beatles always felt like eating too much candy to me and i quickly went through my Beatles stage in my senior year of high school.

other more meaningful (to me) bands came in to fill that space and eventually i was led out of pop music altogether.

but aside from all of that i would place the talking heads far and away above the Beatles for greatness though as an example.

Ok, valid points. I can vibe with this.

 

[Batjester]

Know what it will take to get the Beatles back together?

2 more bullets.






And a whole clip for that bitch Yoko.

 

[JSN]

yeah i really think that definition is way off frankly. i mean a certain amount of talent is definitely necessary but there is a point of diminishing returns for certain.

influence plays no part whatsoever in greatness. honestly i cannot even relate to or comprehend influence being on the list man.

That’s, like, your opinion, man.

I would tend to disagree though. I can see saying that a very influential band could in theory not be great, but it’s hard to envision in practice.

I think Joy Division is maybe the classic example of a band being regarded as great almost wholly because of their influence. They were rough sounding, and neither of the their albums are the type of holy shit level polished perfect that even something like “Is This It” is, but they were so influential, not just in directly leading to New Order, but on new wave and popular music, that pop culture caught up with them to the point where the “Unknown Pleasures” cover is one of the most recognizable tee shirts in existence.

 

[Karl_Hungus]

The Beatles were ahead of their fans, and the curve in general, IMO.

For example, I doubt any of their fans were clamoring for, or even aware of the existence, of songs like Eleanor Rigby, Tomorrow Never Knows, or Within You. And those are just 3 songs off of Revolver. Let alone songs that would’ve been as esoteric as Strawberry Fields Forever, Happiness is a Warm Gun, or Revolution 9. Or even a proto-metal song like Helter Skelter. Songs like these simply didn’t exist before the Beatles recorded them.

I think you hit the crux of the issue here. I appreciate and respect the Beatles very much, however, I don't actually listen to them much anymore, despite having a bunch of their albums. Some of their work isn't as evolved as other artists, but those artists where invariably influenced by the Beatles in the first place. I will listen to other bands, like Pink Floyd, way more, but I still respect the Beatles, and would rank them highly in a respect poll, but I find it hard to say that I wouldn't place others higher, tbh.

 

[terrapin]

That’s, like, your opinion, man.

I would tend to disagree though. I can see saying that a very influential band could in theory not be great, but it’s hard to envision in practice.

I think Joy Division is maybe the classic example of a band being regarded as great almost wholly because of their influence. They were rough sounding, and neither of the their albums are the type of holy shit level polished perfect that even something like “Is This It” is, but they were so influential, not just in directly leading to New Order, but on new wave and popular music, that pop culture caught up with them to the point where the “Unknown Pleasures” cover is one of the most recognizable tee shirts in existence.

Well greatness is a matter of opinion and influence does not even make it onto my list and skill only at a certain level.


My actual criteria is that greatness is measured by a musician or bands ability to transmit the sacred to people, to channel something larger than themselves that is spiritual, its ability to draw a person into altered states of awarness of the numinouse, of trancendent beauty. greatness for me is a bands ability to play the moment, to be one with the weather, the crowd, with one another, to lose themselves in the isness of the moment and adapt and bend to that so as to express it and find synchroniciry with it... to be played by god even.

But at this point we begin to leave the realm of popular music into deeper territory.

Still pink floyd, the doors, led zeppelin, dead can dance, talking heads could all do some of this but not all of it at a high level.

Oh and perfect music is boring.