Considering that some of these artists had been releasing music before Roxy Music's 'Flesh and Blood' came out, is it possible some of the influencing went the other way? 'Flesh and Blood' and 'Avalon' were good stuff, and I know a lot of people like it, but I much preferred Roxy's earlier stuff (along with Manzanera's and Eno's), and I know that Siouxsie was influenced by that, as she's said as much.
Roxy Music - The Same Old Scene
In just this one song, I hear the likes of Depeche Mode, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, A Flock of Seagulls, Duran Duran, Heaven 17, General Public, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, New Order, Naked Eyes, Berlin and countless others. I've never heard another song having so much influence over so many bands, singlehandedly. Which one song do you consider extremely influential?
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@larsman I should've been more specific. I meant the music from other bands that came out after Flesh and Blood. I knew I was missing something. Good eye! |
This is an obvious one, but “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. Damn Yankees, Winger, Nelson, Poison, Extreme, Warrant, Styx, Slaughter, Cinderella, Tesla, Steelheart, Great White, Skid Row, Queensryche, Scorpions, Motley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses, and the Black Crowes we’re all high on the hog in ‘90 & ‘91. Where were they by ‘94? With Nevermind being released in Sep. ‘91, knocking Michael Jackson off the top of the charts by January, we are looking at a new landscape of pop music for the rest of the decade. Here come Soundgarden (already a bit successful), Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots from ‘92-‘97, with the insipid tripe that followed the next five years: Live, Hootie and the Blowfish, Alanis Morissette, Matchbox 20, Third Eye Blind, Eve 6, Tonic, Fuel, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Creed, Staind, Nickelback, Seether, Godsmack, and Puddle of Mudd. ”Herion,” “Black Angel’s Death Song,” “Sister Ray,” and “The Murder Mystery” by the Velvet Underground. Considering their relative visibility (being on the Verve label, being attached to the super-famous Warhol name), absolutely no one at that level of the pop universe was doing anything remotely close to that stuff in ‘67, ‘68, lyrically or sonically. The influence for the last 55 years is immense and far-reaching. “Eleanor Rigby.” The songwriting…where to begin… The use of a string quartet employing modern, Herrmann-esque backing for a rock ‘b’ roll single. It’s one thing for the previous year’s (a very good year) September of My Years by LP by Sinatra to combine outrageous songwriting with tremendous vocals and orchestral arrangements, it’s another for some rough, untrained 23-year-olds who 4 years prior were banging out sweaty, screamy, 8-hour sets of primitive, loud covers in dingy clubs to be doing that, and even employing innovative use of not only the Herrmann-circa-Psycho-esque string arrangement itself (courtesy of George Martin) but with bracing, unorthodox mic placement as well (courtesy of Martin and Geoff Emerick). As far as the rock n’ roll era is concerned, this track is a biggie. |
@tylermunns - and of course Kurt Cobain was heavily influenced in style by the Pixies. @shtinkydog - hah! Indeed, those were my record business days, and when 'Flesh and Blood' and 'Avalon' came out, I was thinking that these sounded more like the 'yacht rock' that was popular at the time, like Boz Scaggs in the 'Silk Degrees' era. And indeed, that audience did take to those records. But this was not the band that did ''Ladytron"! 🤣 |