it has all been done before

Question:

Nirvana=The Beatles Pearl Jam=The Rolling Stones Soundgarden=Led Zepplin Stone Temple Piolets=The Doors Smashing Pumpkins=The Grateful Dead I hope I have grossly offended many people. But can you deny it? (Insert here: quick, immediate, rage-filled objections). Forgive me for being a devil’s advocate.

Response:

You’re right. I noticed too that the bands you listed are the ones which the radio stations have deemed "alternative" and are forcing us to listen to, it’s what a lot of people like. And why not, since those older bands you listed where great bands. Unfortunately, it is the unique bands, the ones with the sound of their own, that will not get the airplay, they would be the ones a lot of people might not like, just because they’re different. What is really bad is when a band does have a sound of their own, and changes it so that it is mainstream. How disappointing.

Response:

[some snippage] Pearl Jam=The Rolling Stones Smashing Pumpkins=The Grateful Dead I hope I have grossly offended many people. But can you deny it? (Insert here: quick, immediate, rage-filled objections). Forgive me for being a devil’s advocate.

You haven’t offended me all that much with the actual list, as the issue itself is a flagrantly boring one. Though I’d be intrigued to see what you or anyone else thinks My Bloody Valentine and the Young Gods are cloning from the sixties or early seventies. However, the two comparisons above are what make me wonder. Pearl Jam and the Rolling Stones? I mean, are you talking musically or comparatively in terms of influence? As for the Pumps–lemme tell ya, Queen pops far more readily to mind [as does Black Sabbath, the Cure, MBV] than the Dead ever will. We’re not talking forty-minutes jams based around a "Dark Star" equivalent here. But as I indicated, this whole thing isn’t worth spending too much time on. There will always be people complaining, "Man, it all happened before, man! It’s all ripoffs now!" [said in whiny voice]. Spend too much time trying to draw connections like that and you’ll never actually be listening to the music so much as listening for influences and slamming people if they dare show any. Gee, what a crime to implicitly acknowledge that there are bands out there whose music you like and therefore take some inspiration from. Next thing you know you’ll be saying that Thomas Pynchon is nothing more than James Joyce redux, and that therefore it’s all been done before. Ned Raggett | We are evil.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – [some snippage] Pearl Jam=The Rolling Stones Smashing Pumpkins=The Grateful Dead I hope I have grossly offended many people. But can you deny it? (Insert here: quick, immediate, rage-filled objections). Forgive me for being a devil’s advocate. You haven’t offended me all that much with the actual list, as the issue itself is a flagrantly boring one. Though I’d be intrigued to see what you or anyone else thinks My Bloody Valentine and the Young Gods are cloning from the sixties or early seventies. However, the two comparisons above are what make me wonder. Pearl Jam and the Rolling Stones? I mean, are you talking musically or comparatively in terms of influence? As for the Pumps–lemme tell ya, Queen pops far more readily to mind [as does Black Sabbath, the Cure, MBV] than the Dead ever will. We’re not talking forty-minutes jams based around a "Dark Star" equivalent here. But as I indicated, this whole thing isn’t worth spending too much time on. There will always be people complaining, "Man, it all happened before, man! It’s all ripoffs now!" [said in whiny voice]. Spend too much time trying to draw connections like that and you’ll never actually be listening to the music so much as listening for influences and slamming people if they dare show any. Gee, what a crime to implicitly acknowledge that there are bands out there whose music you like and therefore take some inspiration from. Next thing you know you’ll be saying that Thomas Pynchon is nothing more than James Joyce redux, and that therefore it’s all been done before. Ned Raggett | We are evil.

I never saw the original post, but I like the concept. Here’s my version: Beatles = R.E.M. Stones = U2 = Stone Temple Pilots Patti Smith = PJ Harvey Led Zeppelin = Alice In Chains Doors = Pearl Jam Velvet Underground = Sonic Youth ::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::: :: Loneliness is not :::::::::::::::::::::::::: I miss the comfort :: :: a phase. :: Dad, they broke me. :: in being sad. :: :: - Layne Staley :: - Pavement :: - Kurt Cobain :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Response:

Not so much offended as mystified. Are you saying that the bands you are relating to one another sound alike, or what? In that case the only one I can really see is Soundgarden/Zep. Please elaborate Jim

Response:

But as I indicated, this whole thing isn’t worth spending too much time on. There will always be people complaining, "Man, it all happened before, man! It’s all ripoffs now!" [said in whiny voice]. Spend too much time trying to draw connections like that and you’ll never actually be listening to the music so much as listening for influences and slamming people if they dare show any.

It’s all one big Robert Johnson Ripoff!!!

Response:

Not one of your equations makes any sense. I can deny it completely. The only strong link between your past and present cases is that they all sell lots of records. Randomly generated statements like these are not becoming of a devil’s advocate. The devil is slick and cunning, why would he have someone without these qualities advocate him?

Response:

The original concept wasn’t really mine — I had heard some djs talking about the similarities of the Beatles and Nirvana VS. the Stones and Pearl Jam. They were talking about the Stones and PJ being the ‘harder’ bands of their respective times. I added Soundgarden as Led Zepplin and threw in the others later. After I posted I wanted to change the Pumkins from the Grateful Dead to The Who…. and maybe instead add The Chilli Peppers as the Dead…. perhaps U2 as Pink Floyd…. I know the comparisons are reaching in a lot of ways but the point is, who are the bands that stand out in the mainstream, pop culture of their time? and which ones fill similar niches within the dominant ’sound’ or ‘musical movement’? True enough, it is a boring topic if you aren’t into the history of pop culture — but I am. When you think of bands that ‘made’ the 60s and bands that ‘made’ the 90s…. who are they? and how did they function within the dynamics of their period? Yeah John, I wasn’t really being a devil’s advocate….slick and cunning, hu?…. you gotta like that call…. ;}

Response:

Filed under: Loneliness

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Lonely Loneliness

You are not alone — Lonely Loneliness