Who are the Beatles, Who, and Led Zep of today?

[Jurph]

@ultrafilter

Ten years ago Columbus, Ohio was such a market–it wasn’t a large city (about 2 million people) and it had at least 50,000 adventurous listeners at Ohio State every year. I doubt it’s changed that much, but I haven’t lived there in a decade, so I can’t say what it’s like today.

Four years ago, CD101 and the Columbus NPR stations played some adventurous (for radio) stuff that got me listening to a few new flavors of music: Beth Orton, Cry Cry Cry, Sigur Ros, Tin Hat Trio, and more. Baltimore (but not DC) is such a market today: with WTMD in Towson and WRNR in Annapolis, Baltimore gets two stations playing a very adventurous setlist. Occasionally they’ll fall into a rut and play the “big indie hit of the month” several times a day, and in that respect, they are almost a parallel Top 40 for people who don’t like the rap and hip-hop influences in the top-of-the-charts stuff these days. But they’ll also play Tori Amos, Bob Marley, John Coltrane, and then Lily Allen, back to back.

Liberal, I forgot to mention Tori Amos – she breathed life back into the female singer/songwriter genre. Dar Williams, Beth Orton, Alanis Morrissette, Vanessa Carlton, and probably many many others owe their recent success and record execs’ willingness to ink deals with them to Tori’s success.

[cmkeller]

Sam Stone:

20 years from now, when the top of the charts are held by American Idol XVIII, American Idol XVII, American Idol Country XI, and American Idol Rapper IV, we’ll look back on this era and realize the most important musical figure of the last 20 years was Simon Cowell.

And would that really be wrong, or bad?

Surely you’d agree that the most influential musical figure in, say, the Motown genre was Berry Gordy rather than, say, Marvin Gaye or Diana Ross. The “brain trust” behind the music deserves its credit too.

[spazurek]

@Jurph

Pearl Jam was huge. Ten was released the same year as Nevermind and was still selling millions of copies when Kurt Cobain shot himself. Nirvana is the name everyone will mention as “grunge” because of their hit single, but Pearl Jam are still huge. Eventually, I think Nirvana is going to be remembered as “Dave Grohl’s first band,” and Pearl Jam will still be recording great rock albums. If you don’t think “Evenflow” was revolutionary, think about it in context: compare it to songs like “Communication Breakdown” and “Rocks Off” (Zep / Stones, respectively) and realize that a teenager hearing those songs for the first time had a nearly-religious experience because of the power of the guitar hook alone. They make epic music that will go on the same lofty shelf as Zep and the Stones in a few years.

Sorry, but I have to insist that you are SO WRONG about the comparison of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Kurt Cobain was a perfect genius on the order of the very best in history – I’m talking Bach, Mozart. He will be equally admired by future generations. Pearl Jam have demonstrated that they have musical integrity (something that was very much in question when they first emerged as a very pale imitation of Nirvana), but nothing they produce will be admired by our kids.

To any who may doubt, please do yourself a favor and explore Nirvana’s massive pre- and peri-Nevermind catalog, including Bleach plus a ton of stuff not on albums (much of it is on the recent 4-cd set). I think the major label releases barely scratch the surface of what Kurt Cobain was about.

The three bands that will be in heavy rotation in 100 years are the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Nirvana. And Radiohead (Kid A and beyond) will be regularly heard on the indie stations.

[Hellestal]

@spazurek

Sorry, but I have to insist that you are SO WRONG about the comparison of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Kurt Cobain was a perfect genius on the order of the very best in history – I’m talking Bach, Mozart. He will be equally admired by future generations.

Your opinion is absurd, but oddly quaint. I can’t help but smile when I read this.

[spazurek]

@Kendall Jackson

Your opinion is absurd, but oddly quaint. I can’t help but smile when I read this.

Is that a smile of amusement of disdain ?