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Bantam’s Most Important Bands Of The Last 30 Years!
The most important bands of the last 30 years.
What a pompous title eh? As I have indicated before any sort of list- who am I to tell you of such things? Who am I to tell you that one band was/is more important that another. Well as I have said before it is just an opinion and I will give my rationale as to why I am claiming these bands have shaped, or more specifically re-shaped, the musical landscape in the recent past and what their overall contribution has been.
And if you disagree completely….fantastic, let me know! And I must stress this particular list is in no specific order whatsoever.
Blur
A chameleon of a band which more than any other have attempted to change their styles continuously over the years – but not to suit any mood or trend – just to do what they fancied. Any band that can chirp around like a cockney geezer one minute with Country House and then next release haunting euphoric track The Universal as their very next song has to make you stand up and take notice surely?. Compare the subtle genius of Beetlebum with the chavvy Ibiza shag a thon Girls and Boys.
Barely sounds like the same band does it and if it wasn’t for Damon Albarn’s distinct tone you wouldn’t never badge these two songs as being by the same bunch at all. And when you thought you might have had them pegged at one point they released a two minute bursting of a musical blood vessel in the form of Song 2.
No Blur have kept evolving and I am hoping they will get back together pretty soon because I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Try re-visiting The Great Escape, Modern Life is Rubbish and Parklife and you would be excited too.
U2
A few paragraphs would not do justice to what this monster band have contributed over the last 20 plus years. They are much maligned in some circles and not seen as “cool” in others but I doubt that will bother them one iota. With so many classic albums under their belt like Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby they can afford to be thick skinned. You see U2 will experiment too. I remember being blown away in 1997 when out of nowhere they returned dressed as the Village People for their song Discotheque and then they embarked on the over the top Popmart tour.
That one really came out of left field but I was lucky enough to catch them live at this time and they were utterly mind blowing. U2 frequently put themselves out there to be shot at and every time they get lambasted for doing a so called experimental song like “Lemon” they will hit back with something pretty mainstream like Elevation or Beautiful Day. These songs then tend to seep into the general consciousness…or be the theme tune to goals round up on Match of the Day!
You would think they have possibly done it all at this point but I have made that mistake before and I think there might be a few more surprises left yet.
Radiohead
Talking of experimenting- this lot never do anything else. Their album Kid A was one long experiment. But what a fantastic band they are. Songs such as Creep, Paranoid Android and No Surprises will be forever in the musical ether and rightfully so. Thom Yorke’s angst ridden growl makes them totally unique, they cannot be duplicated.
I love the fact that they disappeared for a decent chunk of time and rather than returning with a clamour they slipped through the back door with the strange and brilliant Pyramid Song. The Bends is probably still regarded as their high point and I wouldn’t dream of debating that. Tell me many other bands that can have a song like My Iron Lung and Street Spirit on the same long player. Another band that I can’t wait to see what they do next, because the only thing predictable is that it won’t be predictable.
- Bantam’s Most Important Bands Of The Last 30 Years!
- Written by: Bantam
- Published on: 20 Oct 2008
- Comments: 0
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In the same category as U2 really, often referred to as a stadium band but surely that is not a detrimental term? It simply means they have managed to attract ten times more people to their gigs than anyone else cos they are that good.
REM songs are like a who’s who of brilliance. One theme you will see from all the bands I name on here is that they can create a whole plethora of emotions from within you. In REM’s case they can go from the saccharin irony of Shiny Happy People to the bleakest of the bleak in E-Bow The Letter to the heart wrenching loneliness of I’ll Take The Rain.
Michael Stipe is a strange cat there is no doubt about that but he is a modern poet and he emotes every single song. And I remember to this day first hearing Losing My Religion and thinking this is what my radio was made for.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Probably the most consistent of all the bands in this list in the sense that I can’t remember them ever having a particular noticeable hiatus. They have never gone away have they? And yet they have managed to keep the hits coming and they have all been belters. Perhaps not the general consensus but I generally feel the Chillis keep getter better. Although Under the Bridge and Give It Away are undoubted classics relatively recent efforts like By The Way and Californication have surpassed them in my opinion.
They evoke a real enthusiasm about their work and tightness as a group, perhaps unsurprising after some of the turbulent events they have been through and I think this is conveyed in every track they do. They perhaps don’t experiment as much as the other bands on this list and have a bit more of a tried and tested formula but it works for them. And when you have a sound that is undeniably yours then why tamper with it. And everyone recognizes that base guitar Chilli sound don’t they?
Notice some themes with these bands? All have released classic albums that any fan could reel off easily, The Bends, Automatic For The People, Parklife, Joshua Tree etc etc. All have completely mesmerising and engaging front men. All can pluck the heartstrings, make you want to sing at the top of your voice or just make you sit in wonder and question how do they keep going with such consistency?
None of these bands are flash in the pans. All have been criticized vehemantly at times and all have come out the other side to be widely regarded as wonderful bands. For me the musical landscape would be unfathomably poorer if we had never been lucky enough to have this lot. Thank your lucky stars they were here to enrich our musical lives as I bet that although you may not whole heartedly agree with the bands I have chosen, I would wager that at some point in your lives that at least one of them has provoked a reaction from you in one way or another. When bands have longevity like this there is no way that couldn’t have. Long may they continue and even if they all packed it in tomorrow, just think of the back catalogues!
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We waffle on enough without letting you lot do it too. Comments are limited to 300 characters.
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