It’s time to declare winners in our “best American rock ‘n’ roll band” poll, and it ends in a three-way tie between Aerosmith, the Beach Boys, and the Doors. Other bands receiving votes were the Allman Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Eagles, Steely Dan, and Van Halen. In terms of hits on the blog, the [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Best American Rock ‘N’ Roll Band’
The Best American Band: Poll Results
Posted in America, Music, tagged aerosmith, America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Music, pearl jam, R.E.M., Rage Against The Machine, Steely Dan, the Allman Brothers, the Beach Boys, the Doors, The White Stripes, Van Halen on July 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Best American Band: Time To Vote!
Posted in America, Music, tagged Rage Against The Machine, Music, Eagles, Nirvana, the Beach Boys, the Doors, America, Van Halen, allman brothers, pearl jam, R.E.M., The White Stripes, ZZ Top, aerosmith, The Cars, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steely Dan, The Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band on June 29, 2009 | 23 Comments »
We’ve published a number of posts with our thoughts on the Best American Band, and we’ve given everyone time to think about that extraordinarily weighty issue. Now, it’s time for you to vote. We’ll check back in a week and declare a winner. Please, vote for just one of the candidates.
The Best American Band: The Hits List
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Music on June 22, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I’m still thinking about the best American band, but while I am considering that weighty question I thought it might be interesting to note what the “hits” to our little blog indicates. Our blogging service tells us that the post about Steely Dan is by far the most popular of the 18 band-specific “best American [...]
The Best American Band: ZZ Top
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Music, ZZ Top on June 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Well, we started the discussion of the best American rock ‘n’ roll band with Aerosmith, and therefore it only seems appropriate to end with a discussion of ZZ Top. A bit predictable, perhaps . . . but ZZ Top, a power trio from Texas, has recorded some of the best blues/boogie rock ever. It also [...]
The Best American Band: The White Stripes
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Jack White, Meg White, Music, The White Stripes on June 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I admit that I am a big fan of The White Stripes. I like the simple, straightforward nature of their songs, the inventive guitar work of Jack White, the basic, garage-band percussion of Meg White, and the no-frills quality of the vocals and lyrics. And yet, for all of the simplicity of the sound, the [...]
The Best American Band: R.E.M.
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Music, R.E.M. on June 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
R.E.M. has had a long and distinguished career. The band clearly has its roots in the 1980s — and the early ’80s at that — but its stripped-down sound and lyrics reflected a sharp departure from the more frivolous songs of that decade. Many of R.E.M.’s more memorable songs have stories to tell and do [...]
The Best American Band: Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Steve Miller, and Nine Inch Nails
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Bruce Springsteen, Music, Nine Inch Nails, Steve Miller, Tom Petty on June 13, 2009 | 2 Comments »
As Richard and I have explored various candidates for best American band, we’ve also discussed a fundamental question: how do you treat groups like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Steve Miller Band, or Nine Inch Nails? Each of those bands consists of one principal member who has [...]
The Best American Band: Pearl Jam
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Music, pearl jam on June 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Pearl Jam is another American band that has known tremendous popular success. It apparently has sold more than any other band of the ’90s. I was blissfully unaware of the group because it rose to prominence during a period when I wasn’t really paying much attention to new music. After being prodded by Dr. Science [...]
The Best American Band: The Allman Brothers Band
Posted in America, Music, tagged allman brothers, America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Duane Allman, Music on June 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
What would The Allman Brothers Band have accomplished had Duane Allman not been killed in a tragic motorcycle accident, only two-and-a-half years after the band was formed? In that short period, the Band recorded what is arguably the best live album ever recorded — At Fillmore East. The Band invented southern rock, helped to reintroduce [...]
The Best American Band: Van Halen
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Music, Van Halen on June 8, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Ah, Van Halen. The heavy metal, power guitar chords. The guitar stud and the strutting lead singer. The songs about sex, and sex, and sex. The personality conflicts and break-ups. The hair! Van Halen helped to define both the sound and the look of the ’80s American heavy metal band. Is there any doubt that [...]
American artists, British bands
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Aretha Franklin, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Britain, Bruce Springsteen, Celebrity Culture, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Jay-Z, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, Justin Timberlake, Keith Richards, Kurt Cobain, Little Richard, Madonna, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Miles Davis, Music, Nirvana, Paul McCartney, Prince, Rolling Stone, Rolling Stones, Roy Orbison, Stevie Wonder, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Clash, the Doors, the Who, Woody Guthrie on June 7, 2009 | 4 Comments »
There are eight Americans and two Brits in the top ten of Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 greatest artists of all time (not a definitive list, but useful for illustrating my point). What’s strange is that all the Americans entries are individuals, while the British entries are for bands. Going down the list, [...]
The Best American Band: The Eagles
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Eagles, Music on June 6, 2009 | 2 Comments »
A lot of music, I think, is really about time and place. I tend to associate certain bands or songs with particular points in time, when they seemed to capture and even help to define the moment. So it was with the Eagles and 1975-76. My high school friend J.D. was a huge Eagles fan [...]
The Best American Band: Rage Against The Machine
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Music, political songs, Rage Against The Machine, The Battle Of Los Angeles on June 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I have a very soft spot for Rage Against The Machine. I especially enjoy heavier-sounding music, and RATM fills that bill very nicely indeed. Their songs sound particularly good at high volume, when you can really get into the melodic, stirring guitar licks, the terrific drumming, and the intense, urgent, quasi-rapping vocals. I first heard [...]
Best American Band: the Velvet Underground
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Music, Velvet Underground on June 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
There’s a saying about the Velvet Underground: they only sold a thousand records, but for every record they sold a band was formed. I’m not a huge fan of the Velvet Underground. The only song of theirs that has a high rating on my Ipod is the catchy, relaxing “Sunday Morning.” Their influence earns them [...]
The Best American Band: Steely Dan
Posted in America, Music, tagged America, Best American Rock 'N' Roll Band, Music, Steely Dan on June 3, 2009 | 2 Comments »
After we started this discussion I mentioned that I think Steely Dan has to be considered in any discussion of great American rock ‘n’ roll bands. In response my friend JV asked — with some incredulity — “Are they really a rock’n’ roll band?” I think it is a fair question, but I also think [...]
