Current artists: Who will matter in 20 years?

Camp · 03-26-2003, 06:07 PM

There has been a lot of debate about the quality of today's music. Certainly the financial side of music has too much say in what music gets heard.

Still, there are great records coming out...but are any great enough to really matter 20 years from now? In a period without a major musical "movement" (punk, rap, grunge, etc.) can individual bands be as influential?

Who would you say will deserve a look back 20 years from now? Who will (or is) having a major impact on the future of music?

Al B. C · 03-26-2003, 06:14 PM

Beck comes to mind first.

Bill Prince · 03-26-2003, 07:09 PM

Jon Lord from Deep Purple was quoted as saying that in his opinion bands of his generation had already done it all and no real new musical ideas had emerged in the last twenty or so years. I don't know if I totally agree with that but I can't picutre alot of the soup of the day artists today mattering next year, let alone twenty years from now. I would agree that Beck is continuing to produce music with some staying power as is David Bowie, an older artist who keeps churning out some pretty decent stuff.

Camp · 03-26-2003, 07:33 PM

I'd certainly agree with Bowie but for the point of this discussion let's consider him already there. Maybe we should say it must be an artist who established himself (herself, themselves) in the past 20 years.

I was going to list Beck (in fact Beck was the artist I was thinking about when the idea for this thread came to me) but I wanted to wait until someone else did so.

I also thought of Radiohead, Ani DiFranco, and maybe Björk.

It might be a little much to consider The Hives, The White Stripes, Weezer, The Strokes, etc. anywhere near this company. While I certainly like these bands a lot and they deserve accolades they certainly aren't revolutionary (which begs the question if that's necessary anymore).

It's tough because you have to be able to go, "Robert Johnson, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and _______." Who can really be named in that company?

Perhaps the question is too big? Maybe it should be what specific current recordings will be considered "important" in 20 years?

Mitty · 03-26-2003, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Perhaps the question is too big? Maybe it should be what specific current recordings will be considered "important" in 20 years?

Good question - will Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me" be remembered in 20 years like, say, Carol King's "Tapestry" (just as an example)?

Of course, it's all sort of relative. One opinion of "important" recordings may differ from a lot of people's. Certainly people who listen to (aside from just top 40 radio in the car) and care about music have a larger scope of so-called "important" albums. Musically, I don't really consider Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to be particularly important (although it's a hell of a good pop record). It just kind of built on the foundation laid by his previous album. However, from a sales standpoint, it blew the doors off of anything preceding it. Is it an "important" recording if you can take any cut off the record and middle aged housewives can sing along to it in their minivans? Something like T. Rex's "Electric Warrior" might be considered "important" (Just got Rhino's March newsletter

), but go out on the street and ask ten people what they think of the band T. Rex.

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GarySI · 03-26-2003, 08:27 PM

I agree with Beck and Radiohead. I think the writer/artists stand the test of time better because of the influence they will exert on future bands.
I think Elvis Costello could still be viable in 20 years. He just turned in one the best recordings of the past year. He just keeps exploring and getting better.
Peter Gabriel could be another. "UP" is stunning.
Duncan Sheik is another,along with Aimee Mann.

Al B. C · 03-26-2003, 08:49 PM

I would love to include Ani as one of "those" artists. I have seen her live 3 times and think she is a great talent, but it seems to me, like she has been writing the same basic group of songs time and again over the last few albums.

You know that herky jerky, psuedo-jazz kinda stuff.

I hope her best stuff isn't already behind her.

Bill Prince · 03-26-2003, 08:57 PM

When I see the Hives, White Stripe and Wheezer mentioned I can't help but go back about a million years ago (this will age me) to the time when Rolling Stone Magazine was declaring the Knack to be the next Beatles. Obviously that never came to pass. As we all know, hype will never take the place of good music. I just don't know if we will ever have any new groups or artists who will endure like the Stones, the Who, the Beatles or Elvis. I have to agree 100% with Mitty in that it is all relative. An important album or artist to me is not to another. I still consistently listen to and at least to me consider to be important, records by the Alan Parsons Project and Renaisance, but I am sure many don't feel the same way or even know who those groups are. This is an interesting thread and I am anxious to hear other opinions.

Mitty · 03-26-2003, 10:11 PM

Quote:

...the time when Rolling Stone Magazine was declaring the Knack to be the next Beatles.

That's funny, 'cause I just heard "Pull My Strings" by the Dead Kennedys...

"Drool, drool, drool, drool, drool, drool...MY PAYOLA!"

LawrenceK · 03-26-2003, 10:25 PM

An interesting development with The Strokes...apparently they will be working with Nigel Godrich (producer for Radiohead, Beck) on two songs, and if all goes well he will produce their next album. This could be very interesting...

Mark Pfeiffer · 03-26-2003, 11:08 PM

Well, you've sort of asked two questions. Who will matter in twenty years, and who will follow in the mass audience tradition of these other bands? (For the record, I think you can probably include U2 and possibly R.E.M. in that slot after Led Zeppellin.) Everything has become much more niche-oriented that I don't know that we'll see bands on that kind of huge scale. We'll see...

As for bands/artists that will still matter twenty years from now, I certainly agree with Beck and Radiohead. I'd put Wilco in there. While not on the popular radar as much as the other two when it comes to airplay, I think they've amassed a strong body of work, with plenty of good stuff still potentially to come.

I'm only familiar with their more recent work, but what about The Flaming Lips?

WillardK · 03-27-2003, 12:48 AM

Difficult question. It's so much of a continuum. As far as influential, who knows? One of Frank Black's favorite songs is Melanie's Brand New Key. Guitarist Keith Levine (Clash, PIL) recently said in Wire that he'd been heavily influenced by Yes. And there are plenty of records well off the Top 20 that have been and will be extremely influential for years to come. The Fall, for instance