Re: The Top 50 American Rock Bands of All Time acording to Gibson
Getting ahead of ourselves here ... These lists usually suck because they don't agree with my tastes. And their criteria always comes into question; they avoided that altogether here. And it always seems the issues of exclusion and inclusion are paramount. Also, the differing factors of recorded output and live performance, plus how much effect a band has on its peers and also later bands, plus longevity and legacy, should be considered.
Ed is teasing us by sharing this before it is complete, so we can speculate about who is yet to make the list, above such stalwarts as Tom Petty and Grateful Dead. So far I am a little surprised at some of the bands on the list already. Despite an admitted ignorance about them, I am baffled that bands like Yo La Tengo, The Strokes, The Flaming Lips, Pixies, X, and Foo Fighters have made the list so far. That means there are an awful lot of bands not as good as them out there. I am not too surprised that Kings of Leon, The White Stripes, and Sonic Youth are on there - they are critics' darlings, and they aren't bad, from what I've heard, though perhaps a bit overrated. That said, I am scratching my head over Green Day making it to only 50 - I expected they would have been much higher. I am pleased that lesser-known or somewhat forgotten bands like The Lovin’ Spoonful, NRBQ, Buffalo Springfield, Big Star, and The Replacements have been included. (One of the joys of spending much of my adult life in Connecticut was getting to see NRBQ so many times; they really have the goods.)
What's to come? I think you're right, Jim, except for Kansas. Surely we will see bands like The Byrds, The Band, The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd (but probably not Marshall Tucker Band), Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band, Neil Young And Crazy Horse, The Eagles, The Beach Boys, Boston, The Stray Cats, The Ramones, and maybe Jimmy Buffett And The Coral Reefer Band. We probably won't see, but should, The James Gang, The McCoys, and Todd Rundgren's Utopia (ha!).
From the psychedelic era, which so far has produced only Grateful Dead, will we see Jefferson Airplane, Quicksiiver Messenger Service, Steve Miller Band, Big Brother And The Holding Company, Steppenwolf, Moby Grape, and The 13th Floor Elevators?
Are blues-rock bands like Paul Butterfield Blues Band going to make the list, to join ZZ Top and J. Geils Band? Are country-rock bands like Poco, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas, and Pure Prairie League? And are The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pretenders, and Fleetwood Mac American or British?
But hey - at least Grateful Dead are ranked ahead of The White Stripes.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
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