Pixies (hardcore, albums, fan, red hot chilli peppers, concert)

loveissucide · 10-19-2009, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by million dollar basher

Absolutely, and you're right about Radiohead. They've got longevity on their side.
R.E.M. definitely had a huge influencial pressence in the 90s, but their's was more generic. Buck and Stipe definitely carried on in the Jagger Richards, dual-leading man tradition (and I certainly prefer that duo to Bono and The Edge), and they filled the roles well, but Oasis, in my opinion, really propelled alternative rock to new heights. There was an endless deluge of pop-rock bands following in the tradition of Oasis after they'd exploded, both here in the States and abroad. I mean, you can still hear their influence in the pop/rock stuff on the radio today. But they layed the foundation for pop balladeers--The Pixies set the rules for the underdog groups that eventually came up through the charts...

Actually that's bollocks.REM's influence in the 1980's was defining how what became known as "college rock" would sound by reinventing classic pop songcraft for the post-punk era and by establishing a touring circuit which would form the backbone of the indie scene.
Firstly,I fail to see how Oasis' music fits into "alternative rock" at all.Lyrically and sonically it has nothing in common whatsoever with the post-punk from which alternative rock stems, and if anything they're a traditionalist rock band.The template for contemporary pop balladeers was set by Jeff Buckley on Grace and Radiohead on The Bends, with most groups that followed cloning their synthesis of electric and acoustic structures.
Pixies did not set the rules for "underdog" groups.The Nirvana loud/quiet loud template is descended from them, but Pixies themselves were very heavily influenced by Husker Du in terms of songcraft, and loud/quiet/loud was deployed by British post-punk groups that followed in Gang Of Four's wake.

The main impact of Pixies is that they were, along with REM, what blazed a trail for the huge commercial success of Alternative Rock by suceeding where the Replacements and Husker Du had failed in crossing over to a mainstream audience and proving the commercial viability of the music.