Music Banter Hall Of Fame

Piss Me Off · 06-23-2009, 10:12 AM

Nominated by Waspstar

Bob Dylan

If he had done nothing but record Highway 61 Revisited, he'd still deserve a place in any hall of fame. But he's made plenty of records that are just as good (or almost as good):

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The Times, They Are-A Changin'
Blonde On Blonde
John Wesley Harding
Nashville Skyline
Blood On The Tracks
Street Legal
Empire Burlesque
Under The Red Sky
Good As I Been To You
Time Out Of Mind
Love & Theft

And I'll bet there's no one here who hasn't heard some version of at least one of these: All Along The Watchtower, Blowin' In The Wind, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Like A Rolling Stone, If Not For You, Rainy Day Women. I can't imagine anyone not rating those as songs (say what you will about his voice or his haphazard approach to making records; his songs define brilliance).

Dylan was my gateway drug into bona fide music addiction, and in a way, that was a bad thing, because everything was downhill from there.

Piss Me Off · 06-23-2009, 10:13 AM

Nominated by Jackhammer

Pink Floyd

I could go into huge detail about this band but almost everybody knows who they are and probably own something by them. They have spent a staggering 700+ weeks on the billboard charts but ask the average joe what they look like and they wouldn't have a clue. They have never thrust their politics down anyones throat and are notoriously media wary.

Their album covers alone are works of art and for better or worse they have been instrumental in pushing production quality to the max.

Piper At The Gates Of Dawn is better than Sgt. Peppers (released in the same year) with the opening track still sounding extraordinary after 40 years.

David Gilmour is a superlative guitarist and Roger Waters was a brilliant lyricist. Syd Barrett's influence is still heard today in guitar based pop music. Oh and David Gilmour sold one of his houses a few years ago and gave all the money to shelter- a homeless charity (a cool £million+), a fact little known because he didn't big himself up for it. Vote them in. you know you want to.

Piss Me Off · 06-23-2009, 10:15 AM

Nominated by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

Tom Waits

After Four decades of musical excellence, and a catalouge that has never comprimised, Tom Waits stands as one of the most enduringly intriguing artists in the modern landscape. Confident enough to sing, arrange, and perform whatever comes to mind, Waits is and has only ever been limited by his imagination, and the prism of experience it shines through.

Piss Me Off · 09-16-2009, 04:35 AM

Nominated by Bulldog.

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

So, I've decided to go ahead and nominate Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band for a richly deserved place in the MB Hall Of Fame. Maybe another fairly safe choice, but it's one that I'm surprised has been overlooked 'til now. Basically, Beefheart's discography is, for me, a bottomless treasure trove of avante-garde delights which it took me a while to truly appreciate (I'd owned Trout Mask Replica on CD for about 3 or 4 years before it finally clicked with me). What at first seemed to me like 28 tracks of people yelling, thumping and twanging things eventually turned into one of the most beautiful and blissful albums I've ever had the pleasure of listening to.

From his beginnings as a rambling, psychotic bluesman to the end of his recording career as someone whose videos were 'too weird' for MTV, Beefheart's been responsible for some of the most important and influential music of the past 40-50 years. Good old John Peel does a nice job of summing my feelings on the matter;

"If there has ever been such a thing as a genius in the history of popular music, it's Beefheart…I heard echoes of his music in some of the records I listened to last week and I'll hear more echoes in records that I listen to this week."

The most important and influential of his twelve albums would probably be the double salvo of Trout Mask Replica and its followup, Lick My Decals Off, Baby. Both albums are two of the most impenetrable and difficult albums you're likely to hear (unless you count Having Fun With Elvis On Stage as music), and did so much to show the listening world (or at least those that were willing to listen) the kinds of things could be accomplished within the confines of the rock band format. This pushing of music's boundaries to breaking point, this bridging of the gaps between rock, psychedelia, blues and jazz not only laid the groundwork the countless, surreal experiments in music to come, but also influenced artists as diverse as John Lydon, the Fall, the Clash, Tom Waits and even Franz Ferdinand and John Frusciante.

If you haven't already, for chrissakes, find yourself a copy of Decals and Trout Mask, listen to them 6 or 7 times and see if you don't experience something akin to spiritual enlightenment. Oh, and vote yes dammit!

Piss Me Off · 09-16-2009, 04:36 AM

Nominated by Sweet Nothing

My Bloody Valentine

My Bloody Valentine originated as a trashy 1960’s garage band and ended up redefining the sound of guitar rock on the swirling distorted Loveless. Much like the Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth before them My Bloody Valentine experimented with what rock music could be. Mixing Dreamy pop melodies and vocals with screaming distortion MBV made a new glimmering sound in music that would inspire many musicians. They are often created with creating the shoegaze genre but guitarist/singer Kevin Shields disregards this ‘Don't blame us for what the press creates ‘ Though they only released 2 albums ‘Isn’t Anything’ (1988) and the legendary Loveless (1991) have had an major impact on music today.

My Bloody Valentine:
Kevin Shields- Lead Guitar/Songwriter/Vocals
Bilinda Butcher- Guitar/Lead Vocals
Debbie Googe- Bass
Colm Ó Cíosóig- Drums

Albums:
Isn't Anything
Loveless

Recommended Songs:
Only Shallow
Sometimes
Soon
When You Sleep
Don't Asky Why
You Made Me Realise
Feed Me With Your Kiss
Loomer

Piss Me Off · 09-16-2009, 04:37 AM

Nominated by Conan

John Zorn

Whether or not you've heard of him, John Zorn has had a tremendous impact on jazz punk, avant-garde, and other expirimental genres. When somebody has over 400 albums to his name, you're bound to love some of John's music.

John is an avid saxophonist and a talented multi-instrumentalist, often using his instruments in ways never thought possible.

He has released over dozens of jazz albums, notably his jazz quartet Masada has over 40 releases.

In 1988 he founded Naked City, a hardcore project of sorts, which John described as a 'compositional workshop' to test the limitations of a rock band format. And test limits it did. Sonic blasts of screaming, distorted saxophone coupled with bombastic blast beats and raving guitar defined the groups sound, and yet even within the boundries of specific projects John's expirimentation knows no boundries.

John has been active in everything from Film Music to avant-garde concert compositions. To try and describe all that this man has done is truly impossible.

If you want to see just a partial list of everything this man has done, see Discography of John Zorn on Wikipedia. For a more complete list, see this web page.

NSW · 03-18-2010, 08:16 PM

This one's from Alfred

Bad Brains

Bad Brains were one of the founding fathers of hardcore punk, and arguably the most unique band to come out of the early 80's hardcore scene. The band is notable for incorporating Reggae and Rastafarian themes into their music. With their blistering tempos, technical guitar, and HR's signature vocal delivery, Bad Brains were in my opinion, the best hardcore punk band. They later went on to experiment with funk and heavy metal in addition to their energetic, Rasta-themed punk sound. Bad Brains have inspired and continue to inspire a wide variety of bands, including, but not limited to Beastie Boys, The Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Fugazi.

NSW · 03-18-2010, 08:18 PM

Nominated by Davey Moore

Sonic Youth

Underground music. Let's be honest people, if someone were to ask us in our day-to-day lives what sort of music we were into, most of us would say 'Indie', or 'Underground', or any other sort of genre that is underground. And though there were many 'underground' bands before them, Sonic Youth were monumental in helping to unite the disparate strands of Reagan era discontents and making everyone realize they were pretty much in the same scene and in the same boat, at least philosophically. The best scenes are never ones with very similar content, but very similar motives and drive. To make art and be different and to escape the status quo. Their most essential work of art is their album 'Daydream Nation', a masterpiece whose reputation has only grown since it's release. Rolling Stone, in a moment of rare wisdom declared Daydream Nation to be the best album of the 80s. And though that is this band's magnum opus, that isn't solely what they are known for.

Sonic Youth came from a growing discontent in the punk scene. When Thurston Moore, the band's front man, arrived in New York in the late 70s, he saw that for all their rebellious posing, bands like The Sex Pistols and the Ramones were still playing Chuck Berry chords. Other bands, however, had a rebellious attitude, and a radical new way to playing music. Television is one band who influenced many of the acts which would be associated with the No Wave scene that would come out of New York. No Wave wasn't a scene united by a sound within a single genre, but was a mentality that music was in need of being shaken up a bit. No Wave bands would do anything to their instruments, trying to create new sounds. Sonic Youth became known for the prepared tunings of their guitars. Sonic Youth perhaps summed up the entire attitude of the scene with the title of their first album, Kill Yr. Idols. And in that sense, Sonic Youth were great iconclasts. And being an iconoclast is one of the most punk things you can do.

I feel like I might be trying too hard. Sonic Youth are gods of the underground. Listen to Daydream Nation and explain why they shouldn't get in. On their influence alone they should get in, and their music is pretty damn good too.

NSW · 03-18-2010, 08:19 PM

Nominated by Gavin B.

Bob Marley and the Wailers

Has Bob Marley never been nominated to the MB Hall of Fame? That's hard for me to believe so I'm going to nominate him because he is still the most internationally recognized musician 30 years beyond his death.

Bob produced a body of music that has stood the test of time and his back catalog of albums are second only to the Beatles in international sales. He also brought reggae music to the 7 continents of the earth and the four corners of the globe. Bob composed music that significantly changed people's lives and the world we live in. He should have been one of the first nominees.

Here are some of my favorite Marley videos on YouTube:

Concrete Jungle-- In the video Peter Tosh is on the left with sunglasses on, Bob is in the middle and Bunny Wailer is to the right with the funny fez hat on his head.

Coming In From the Cold

One Drop--- This video is from Bob's last concert in 1980. It's amazing how much energy he had, even as he was months away from his death.

Zimbabwe-- This is from his 1979 tour at Harvard Stadium... I was at that show and it was the best concert I've ever seen.

NSW · 03-18-2010, 08:20 PM

Nominated by Dieselboy

Beastie Boys

Starting off as a hardcore punk outfit in NY, Michael Diamond (Mike D), Adam Yauch (MCA), and Adam Horovitzand (Ad-Rock), originally toured the scene and opened for impressive names such as The Misfits and Dead Kennedy's. All this changed suddenly though in the early 80's, when they teamed up with Def Jam's Rick Rubin. Becoming a three man rap group with punk leanings, they released the legendary album Licensed To Ill. With songs like; Fight For Your Right, No Sleep Till Brooklyn, and Brass Monkey, they climbed the charts, were labeled as a "White Run D.M.C.", and became a hero to frat-boys across the nation.

The years that followed have seen the Beastie Boys constantly staying busy and evolving, while releasing hit after hit. Albums like the sample-heavy Paul's Boutique landed at #156 on Rolling Stone's top albums of all time list, and the incredibly eclectic Ill Communication features one of the single greatest songs ever in Sabotage. It was actually around this time that nu-metal was taking form, and they were in fact accused by some to be a main influence. This idea was shunned by the Beastie's in song, with the lyric, "Created a monster with these rhymes I write, goatee metal rap please say goodnight." They have since moved on to different sounds, with more recent works being more straightforward hip-hop and DJ influenced.

Honestly, I think the three albums discussed above make the Boys worthy of nomination, but they've continued to evolve and release great music even up to the present. They play many of the instruments on their albums and in live shows, and are also one of the longest running acts in the history of hip-hop (nearly twenty-five years). When you look at everything they've done, I think it's a no-brainer.

Oh yeah...and their video's are f*ckin cool as well.

06-23-2009, 10:12 AM	#11 (permalink)
Piss Me Off Moodswings n' Roundabouts Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: At the corner of Dude and Catastrophe Posts: 4,512	Nominated by Waspstar Bob Dylan If he had done nothing but record Highway 61 Revisited, he'd still deserve a place in any hall of fame. But he's made plenty of records that are just as good (or almost as good): The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan The Times, They Are-A Changin' Blonde On Blonde John Wesley Harding Nashville Skyline Blood On The Tracks Street Legal Empire Burlesque Under The Red Sky Good As I Been To You Time Out Of Mind Love & Theft And I'll bet there's no one here who hasn't heard some version of at least one of these: All Along The Watchtower, Blowin' In The Wind, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Like A Rolling Stone, If Not For You, Rainy Day Women. I can't imagine anyone not rating those as songs (say what you will about his voice or his haphazard approach to making records; his songs define brilliance). Dylan was my gateway drug into bona fide music addiction, and in a way, that was a bad thing, because everything was downhill from there. __________________ Last FM Rate Yr Music Muxtape

06-23-2009, 10:13 AM	#12 (permalink)
Piss Me Off Moodswings n' Roundabouts Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: At the corner of Dude and Catastrophe Posts: 4,512	Nominated by Jackhammer Pink Floyd I could go into huge detail about this band but almost everybody knows who they are and probably own something by them. They have spent a staggering 700+ weeks on the billboard charts but ask the average joe what they look like and they wouldn't have a clue. They have never thrust their politics down anyones throat and are notoriously media wary. Their album covers alone are works of art and for better or worse they have been instrumental in pushing production quality to the max. Piper At The Gates Of Dawn is better than Sgt. Peppers (released in the same year) with the opening track still sounding extraordinary after 40 years. David Gilmour is a superlative guitarist and Roger Waters was a brilliant lyricist. Syd Barrett's influence is still heard today in guitar based pop music. Oh and David Gilmour sold one of his houses a few years ago and gave all the money to shelter- a homeless charity (a cool £million+), a fact little known because he didn't big himself up for it. Vote them in. you know you want to. __________________ Last FM Rate Yr Music Muxtape

06-23-2009, 10:15 AM	#13 (permalink)
Piss Me Off Moodswings n' Roundabouts Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: At the corner of Dude and Catastrophe Posts: 4,512	Nominated by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog Tom Waits After Four decades of musical excellence, and a catalouge that has never comprimised, Tom Waits stands as one of the most enduringly intriguing artists in the modern landscape. Confident enough to sing, arrange, and perform whatever comes to mind, Waits is and has only ever been limited by his imagination, and the prism of experience it shines through. __________________ Last FM Rate Yr Music Muxtape

09-16-2009, 04:35 AM	#14 (permalink)
Piss Me Off Moodswings n' Roundabouts Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: At the corner of Dude and Catastrophe Posts: 4,512	Nominated by Bulldog. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band So, I've decided to go ahead and nominate Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band for a richly deserved place in the MB Hall Of Fame. Maybe another fairly safe choice, but it's one that I'm surprised has been overlooked 'til now. Basically, Beefheart's discography is, for me, a bottomless treasure trove of avante-garde delights which it took me a while to truly appreciate (I'd owned Trout Mask Replica on CD for about 3 or 4 years before it finally clicked with me). What at first seemed to me like 28 tracks of people yelling, thumping and twanging things eventually turned into one of the most beautiful and blissful albums I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. From his beginnings as a rambling, psychotic bluesman to the end of his recording career as someone whose videos were 'too weird' for MTV, Beefheart's been responsible for some of the most important and influential music of the past 40-50 years. Good old John Peel does a nice job of summing my feelings on the matter; "If there has ever been such a thing as a genius in the history of popular music, it's Beefheart…I heard echoes of his music in some of the records I listened to last week and I'll hear more echoes in records that I listen to this week." The most important and influential of his twelve albums would probably be the double salvo of Trout Mask Replica and its followup, Lick My Decals Off, Baby. Both albums are two of the most impenetrable and difficult albums you're likely to hear (unless you count Having Fun With Elvis On Stage as music), and did so much to show the listening world (or at least those that were willing to listen) the kinds of things could be accomplished within the confines of the rock band format. This pushing of music's boundaries to breaking point, this bridging of the gaps between rock, psychedelia, blues and jazz not only laid the groundwork the countless, surreal experiments in music to come, but also influenced artists as diverse as John Lydon, the Fall, the Clash, Tom Waits and even Franz Ferdinand and John Frusciante. If you haven't already, for chrissakes, find yourself a copy of Decals and Trout Mask, listen to them 6 or 7 times and see if you don't experience something akin to spiritual enlightenment. Oh, and vote yes dammit! __________________ Last FM Rate Yr Music Muxtape

09-16-2009, 04:36 AM	#15 (permalink)
Piss Me Off Moodswings n' Roundabouts Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: At the corner of Dude and Catastrophe Posts: 4,512	Nominated by Sweet Nothing My Bloody Valentine My Bloody Valentine originated as a trashy 1960’s garage band and ended up redefining the sound of guitar rock on the swirling distorted Loveless. Much like the Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth before them My Bloody Valentine experimented with what rock music could be. Mixing Dreamy pop melodies and vocals with screaming distortion MBV made a new glimmering sound in music that would inspire many musicians. They are often created with creating the shoegaze genre but guitarist/singer Kevin Shields disregards this ‘Don't blame us for what the press creates ‘ Though they only released 2 albums ‘Isn’t Anything’ (1988) and the legendary Loveless (1991) have had an major impact on music today. My Bloody Valentine: Kevin Shields- Lead Guitar/Songwriter/Vocals Bilinda Butcher- Guitar/Lead Vocals Debbie Googe- Bass Colm Ó Cíosóig- Drums Albums: Isn't Anything Loveless Recommended Songs: Only Shallow Sometimes Soon When You Sleep Don't Asky Why You Made Me Realise Feed Me With Your Kiss Loomer __________________ Last FM Rate Yr Music Muxtape

09-16-2009, 04:37 AM	#16 (permalink)
Piss Me Off Moodswings n' Roundabouts Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: At the corner of Dude and Catastrophe Posts: 4,512	Nominated by Conan John Zorn Whether or not you've heard of him, John Zorn has had a tremendous impact on jazz punk, avant-garde, and other expirimental genres. When somebody has over 400 albums to his name, you're bound to love some of John's music. John is an avid saxophonist and a talented multi-instrumentalist, often using his instruments in ways never thought possible. He has released over dozens of jazz albums, notably his jazz quartet Masada has over 40 releases. In 1988 he founded Naked City, a hardcore project of sorts, which John described as a 'compositional workshop' to test the limitations of a rock band format. And test limits it did. Sonic blasts of screaming, distorted saxophone coupled with bombastic blast beats and raving guitar defined the groups sound, and yet even within the boundries of specific projects John's expirimentation knows no boundries. John has been active in everything from Film Music to avant-garde concert compositions. To try and describe all that this man has done is truly impossible. If you want to see just a partial list of everything this man has done, see Discography of John Zorn on Wikipedia. For a more complete list, see this web page. __________________ Last FM Rate Yr Music Muxtape

03-18-2010, 08:16 PM	#17 (permalink)
NSW Bigger and Better Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Texas girl living in the UK Posts: 2,596	This one's from Alfred Bad Brains Bad Brains were one of the founding fathers of hardcore punk, and arguably the most unique band to come out of the early 80's hardcore scene. The band is notable for incorporating Reggae and Rastafarian themes into their music. With their blistering tempos, technical guitar, and HR's signature vocal delivery, Bad Brains were in my opinion, the best hardcore punk band. They later went on to experiment with funk and heavy metal in addition to their energetic, Rasta-themed punk sound. Bad Brains have inspired and continue to inspire a wide variety of bands, including, but not limited to Beastie Boys, The Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Fugazi. __________________ Hi.

03-18-2010, 08:18 PM	#18 (permalink)
NSW Bigger and Better Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Texas girl living in the UK Posts: 2,596	Nominated by Davey Moore Sonic Youth Underground music. Let's be honest people, if someone were to ask us in our day-to-day lives what sort of music we were into, most of us would say 'Indie', or 'Underground', or any other sort of genre that is underground. And though there were many 'underground' bands before them, Sonic Youth were monumental in helping to unite the disparate strands of Reagan era discontents and making everyone realize they were pretty much in the same scene and in the same boat, at least philosophically. The best scenes are never ones with very similar content, but very similar motives and drive. To make art and be different and to escape the status quo. Their most essential work of art is their album 'Daydream Nation', a masterpiece whose reputation has only grown since it's release. Rolling Stone, in a moment of rare wisdom declared Daydream Nation to be the best album of the 80s. And though that is this band's magnum opus, that isn't solely what they are known for. Sonic Youth came from a growing discontent in the punk scene. When Thurston Moore, the band's front man, arrived in New York in the late 70s, he saw that for all their rebellious posing, bands like The Sex Pistols and the Ramones were still playing Chuck Berry chords. Other bands, however, had a rebellious attitude, and a radical new way to playing music. Television is one band who influenced many of the acts which would be associated with the No Wave scene that would come out of New York. No Wave wasn't a scene united by a sound within a single genre, but was a mentality that music was in need of being shaken up a bit. No Wave bands would do anything to their instruments, trying to create new sounds. Sonic Youth became known for the prepared tunings of their guitars. Sonic Youth perhaps summed up the entire attitude of the scene with the title of their first album, Kill Yr. Idols. And in that sense, Sonic Youth were great iconclasts. And being an iconoclast is one of the most punk things you can do. I feel like I might be trying too hard. Sonic Youth are gods of the underground. Listen to Daydream Nation and explain why they shouldn't get in. On their influence alone they should get in, and their music is pretty damn good too. __________________ Hi.

03-18-2010, 08:19 PM	#19 (permalink)
NSW Bigger and Better Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Texas girl living in the UK Posts: 2,596	Nominated by Gavin B. Bob Marley and the Wailers Has Bob Marley never been nominated to the MB Hall of Fame? That's hard for me to believe so I'm going to nominate him because he is still the most internationally recognized musician 30 years beyond his death. Bob produced a body of music that has stood the test of time and his back catalog of albums are second only to the Beatles in international sales. He also brought reggae music to the 7 continents of the earth and the four corners of the globe. Bob composed music that significantly changed people's lives and the world we live in. He should have been one of the first nominees. Here are some of my favorite Marley videos on YouTube: Concrete Jungle-- In the video Peter Tosh is on the left with sunglasses on, Bob is in the middle and Bunny Wailer is to the right with the funny fez hat on his head. Coming In From the Cold One Drop--- This video is from Bob's last concert in 1980. It's amazing how much energy he had, even as he was months away from his death. Zimbabwe-- This is from his 1979 tour at Harvard Stadium... I was at that show and it was the best concert I've ever seen. __________________ Hi.

03-18-2010, 08:20 PM	#20 (permalink)
NSW Bigger and Better Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Texas girl living in the UK Posts: 2,596	Nominated by Dieselboy Beastie Boys Starting off as a hardcore punk outfit in NY, Michael Diamond (Mike D), Adam Yauch (MCA), and Adam Horovitzand (Ad-Rock), originally toured the scene and opened for impressive names such as The Misfits and Dead Kennedy's. All this changed suddenly though in the early 80's, when they teamed up with Def Jam's Rick Rubin. Becoming a three man rap group with punk leanings, they released the legendary album Licensed To Ill. With songs like; Fight For Your Right, No Sleep Till Brooklyn, and Brass Monkey, they climbed the charts, were labeled as a "White Run D.M.C.", and became a hero to frat-boys across the nation. The years that followed have seen the Beastie Boys constantly staying busy and evolving, while releasing hit after hit. Albums like the sample-heavy Paul's Boutique landed at #156 on Rolling Stone's top albums of all time list, and the incredibly eclectic Ill Communication features one of the single greatest songs ever in Sabotage. It was actually around this time that nu-metal was taking form, and they were in fact accused by some to be a main influence. This idea was shunned by the Beastie's in song, with the lyric, "Created a monster with these rhymes I write, goatee metal rap please say goodnight." They have since moved on to different sounds, with more recent works being more straightforward hip-hop and DJ influenced. Honestly, I think the three albums discussed above make the Boys worthy of nomination, but they've continued to evolve and release great music even up to the present. They play many of the instruments on their albums and in live shows, and are also one of the longest running acts in the history of hip-hop (nearly twenty-five years). When you look at everything they've done, I think it's a no-brainer. *Oh yeah...and their video's are fckin cool as well.** __________________ Hi.