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The Clash. The Best band ever ?
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Hunter T Wolfe
Hunter T Wolfe
1706 posts

Re: The Clash. The Best band ever ?
Jul 30, 2008, 11:37
There is no best band ever. And certainly not the Clash. This is a stoopid thread.

However, while I'm here, may I make the case for...

The Velvet Underground.

Because;

Before them, all rock music was essentially just amped-up R&B (nowt wrong with that, but y'know), give or take the odd jazz n' drugs-inspired improvisatory solo. Again, nothing wrong with that, but had the form really gone anywhere that Chuck Berry or John Coltrane hadn't already mapped out?

(by the way, on Randle P's request, I'm leaving the Beatles out of this).

The Velvet Underground changed everything, and made everything else possible.

They brought in the influence of the contemporary avant-garde, not just in music, but in literature, poetry, films and art; they brought in points of view that were non-macho, non-heterosexual even, and with Nico gave women a completely different rock role model from Joni Mitchell wispiness or Janis Joplin tomboy; they allowed a whole range of subjects to be sung about, in a straight-forward, non-sensational, but still poetic manner; they busted taboos and broke down boundaries; they introduced feedback, noise, and drones- and they looked amazing.

They made two peerless, ground-breaking LPs with John Cale, and 2 not quite as radical but still great in terms of songwriting and performance, LPs without; at least one out-takes album (VU) that outshines most bands entire official canon; and one of the best live albums ever.

And all the members still say they never realised their full potential!

Without the Velvets, no glam, no punk, no post-punk, no krautrock, no indie, no goth. No Iggy, no Bowie, no Can, no Joy Division, no Smiths, no Sisters of Mercy, no Teardrop Explodes, no Spacemen 3, no My Bloody Valentine...

(without the Clash, no U2, no Alarm, no Manic Street Preachers, no Rancid. Hmm... )
In reply to:
The Clash. The Best band ever ? (Randlepmcmurphy)		 Replies:
Re: The Clash. The Best band ever ? (Popel Vooje)
Re: The Clash. The Best band ever ? (Lord Lucan)
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