Which was most influential

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

The Beatles or Elvis Presley. Debergs prog rock thread started me thinking and I thought it was a fairly easy choice until I talked to a few others about it and looked up some numbers. Now it seems like a toss up... although I know what my original gut feeling was.

The Beatles...
Best selling band in history... roughly 1 billion 600 million units sold
22 #1 singles world wide
7 grammys
10 films

Elvis Presley
Best selling solo act in history... roughly 1 billion 600 million units sold
36 #1 singles
3 grammys
33 films

Of course there is plenty of other criteria. What say you though?

[pimpchief]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

I respectfully disagree. Nirvana isn't my favorite grunge band from the era but they did start it. They most definately inpsired a trend. Look back at Soundgarden and Pearl Jams popularity before Nirvana. Nothing. After... huge. If you don't credit Nirvana as starting the trend then you weren't paying attention.

To even put Nirvana in the category of the other two is utterly insane.

[lewdog]

Well Pearl Jam is my favorite band of all-time but I feel Nirvana was more influential to a change in a whole music scene. Pearl Jam is far more talented musically though and while they are definitely over-played, I still love the new music they put out. If you have ever seen them live, it is something amazing. At least 2+ hours straight for every concert they ever perform. Many of them 3 hours long.

I hope they never quit but I sense an extended break coming up soon due to all of them being involved in multiple side projects.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

I respectfully disagree. Nirvana isn't my favorite grunge band from the era but they did start it. They most definately inpsired a trend. Look back at Soundgarden and Pearl Jams popularity before Nirvana. Nothing. After... huge. If you don't credit Nirvana as starting the trend then you weren't paying attention.

I had 'Louder Than Love' in 1990, and bought '10' and 'Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge' before Nevermind in 1991.

So when Teen Spirit hit, it was the world COMING TO ME, even more than basking in the emergence of a new trend.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by pimpchief

Bull. I've listen to plenty of older music. I've listened to Nirvana, all the albums, bleach to in utero. They suck. Its crappy pop, not rock. It didn't change anything and the front man was a loser.

Good for you for missing the whole point. Bleach to In Utero... aka no clue about how Nirvana changed music. Anyone who knows their ass from a hole in the ground knows "Nevermind" was the album that changed things. While you listen to it and compare it to 20 years of music before it and pretend you have a clue about the subject please find the start of the era.

I'll wait.

[Shaid]

This is extremely difficult but I go with Elvis just because he came first and I think he opened the door for a ton of things, the Beatles included.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

I had 'Louder Than Love' in 1990, and bought '10' and 'Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge' before Nevermind in 1991.

So when Teen Spirit hit, it was the world COMING TO ME, even more than basking in the emergence of a new trend.

I think you're agreeing with me here. Nirvana did stuff before "Nevermind." None of it re-defined music for it's time.

[pimpchief]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

Good for you for missing the whole point. Bleach to In Utero... aka no clue about how Nirvana changed music. Anyone who knows their ass from a hole in the ground knows "Nevermind" was the album that changed things. While you listen to it and compare it to 20 years of music before it and pretend you have a clue about the subject please find the start of the era.

I'll wait.

Nevermind blew chunks. There's a song about during under neath a bridge being a boring douche, a song about raping a parrot and a bunch of trash that doesn't make sense. Idiots went crazy over it. No biggie.

Green day was the game changer, I agree with mccloud.

[KS Smitty]

Along the Elvis vs Beatles, I think if you look back at interviews etc you will find that the (early) Beatles mention Elvis as an influence much more than (any) Elvis.

Personally I blame Chuck Berry.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

I think you're agreeing with me here. Nirvana did stuff before "Nevermind." None of it re-defined music for it's time.

Sorry, I thought was bragging about being ahead of the curve.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by pimpchief

Nevermind blew chunks. There's a song about during under neath a bridge being a boring douche, a song about raping a parrot and a bunch of trash that doesn't make sense. Idiots went crazy over it. No biggie.

Green day was the game changer, I agree with mccloud.

Green Day MAYBE influenced Rancid, MAYBE.

Blink 182, Cake, and PotUSA were more influentual in that sphere.

Not to knock Green Day [Again, I had Kerpunk before Dookie came out and Dookie before Basket Case was on MTV], but they're just a faster, more polished, punk riff. They were as 'influential' as The Black Crowes [who I also like] were in their genre.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by pimpchief

Nevermind blew chunks. There's a song about during under neath a bridge being a boring douche, a song about raping a parrot and a bunch of trash that doesn't make sense. Idiots went crazy over it. No biggie.

Green day was the game changer, I agree with mccloud.

If I could make sense of your drunk english I might find a point... but I doubt it.

Agreeing with Dane is always the best reference too lol.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

Nirvana isn't my favorite grunge band from the era but they did start it.

No, they didn't.

The Seattle sound had been developing for the latter half of the 80's. Bands like Green River, Mudhoney and Soundgarden and so on. Soundgarden's "Badmotorfinger" was released in 1991 as well. The quintessential album of the 90's, IMO was Temple of the Dog, and it was released in 1990.

Pearl Jam was created from the bones of Green River and Mother Love Bone. While I believe that Pearl Jam ecompasses all that is early 90's "Grunge", Nirvana didn't start the trend.

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

They most definately inpsired a trend. Look back at Soundgarden and Pearl Jams popularity before Nirvana. Nothing. After... huge. If you don't credit Nirvana as starting the trend then you weren't paying attention.

Again, I fully disagree. And as far as "paying attention", you couldn't be further from the truth, especially since I began working for Uni in 1993.

[Deberg_1990]

Chili Peppers.....Blood Sugar Sex Magik.....Brilliance.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

Agreeing with Dane is always the best reference too lol.

You're a ****ing deejay, I worked at the actual companies that signed these artists and had a fairly big influence on who was signed and when.

Furthermore, I have more backroom stories about the emergence of the Seattle Sound than you'll ever know.

So go ahead and disagree with me all you want. I know the truth because in many cases, I was actually there.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

No, they didn't.

The Seattle sound had been developing for the latter half of the 80's. Bands like Green River, Mudhoney and Soundgarden and so on. Soundgarden's "Badmotorfinger" was released in 1991 as well. The quintessential album of the 90's, IMO was Temple of the Dog, and it was released in 1990.

Pearl Jam was created from the bones of Green River and Mother Love Bone. While I believe that Pearl Jam ecompasses all that is early 90's "Grunge", Nirvana didn't start the trend.



Again, I fully disagree. And as far as "paying attention", you couldn't be further from the truth, especially since I began working for Uni in 1993.

MBL is more of an LA metal sound than Seattle Grunge. Mudhoney was indeed a pioneer, as was TotD, but the sound first emerged on SG's 'Louder than Love' in 1990.

However, until the first showing of Teen Spirit on MTV, those acts were music geeks' little secrets. So Nirvana 'started the era' in the sense of authoritatively announcing its arrival and dominance for the next 5 years. A week before, Guns 'n' Roses were undisputed and deserved cocks of the walk.