Importance and Greatness

rcaz

Thinking about music a lot lately (music student), in a serious way, and the idea of great bands/artists/musicians vs. important ones really interests me. As in,

The Flaming Lips, I think, are both great and important. They're great because their music has spanned so many styles in the band's career, they incorporate things like punk rock, pop rock, noise rock, orchestral arrangements, electronic arrangements, experimental composition... Lots of very talented performance and composition is involved with their music. They did things like the Boombox Experiments and Zaireeka, really questioning the way music is performed, composed and experienced. And then they just wrote some great music, some quite sophisticated, some quite earnest and passionate, and some just great choonage.

Radiohead, I think, are great. Five very skilled musicians, playing very interesting and well-thought-out music, with very well-written songs, well up-to-date with a lot of unconventional ways of making sounds, playing instruments, presenting their music. I don't really qualify them as important, because it's so easy to trace all their influences and you can see they borrow ideas a lot. They use these ideas well, I know, but they're still borrowed ideas for the most part. I know most people were amazed when Kid A came out, and it's one of my favourite albums, but its greatest strength is bringing together a lot of ideas that weren't usually seen together before. Bitches Brew's electric pianos with Autechre's percussion, usual grade-A Radiohead guitar rock with big nasty pipe organs, interesting uses of sampling, odd time signatures, dissonant string arrangements... All old ideas, used very well. I used to be a Radiohead worshipper not so long ago. I still absolutely love (almost) every note they play, but I'm a lot more rational about it now.

I don't know about important artists who I don't think are great... I used to be that way about Kraftwerk, but after repeated listening, I got really into them. Maybe guys like Merzbow, who are unapologetically and prolifically making music that really makes a lot of people go, 'wtf is this????', but I don't know enough about those types of music to say.

An interesting discussion topic, I think. What do you think?

magma69

I disagree about Radiohead being unimportant. They are one of the few "big" bands to actually innovate. I mean, sure you can see their influences, but the way they mash up the different influences in such a way that is is still fresh.
There is no doubt the likes of Jeff Buckley and, for their later stuff, Autechre/Aphex Twin were drawn upon.

In fairness, with the exception of Pablo Honey and The Bends, there were no similar sounding albums that preceded everything they released post The Bends. Kid A is hugely important. It a beautiful blend of anbience, electronic, rock and orchestral music. Despite being electronic the songs are still "songy" which isn't common in electronic music.

I agree with The Flaming Lips, undoubtedly hugely important.

The best example I can think of of a band that is important but not great would be The Sex Pistols. Hugely influencial and kick started much more great punk to follow, but I consider them a piss poor band tbh. I respect what they did but don't like them.

Same goes for the pioneers of electronic music, much of the first music made with synthesisers were pretty sucky but very important. I don't hate Kraftwerk, nor do I particularly like them, but they are the most important group when it came to electronic music. They shifted from Krautrock to all out droning repetitive beat making. It wasn't until the 90's when electronic music really became perfected imo. There were some great acts from the 80's too but in the 90's it really took off.

Grand Master Flash was there in the beginning of hip hop. Who sampled and looped old disco records while people would talk in rhyme over them. He was hugely important in birth of hip hop. Thing is, I find much of the beats and rapping cheesy and simple. It wasn't until the late 80's when some truly great hip hop got made.

So yeah, I do think there is a difference between great and important. My 2 cents.

rcaz

Good point about the Sex Pistols!

And man, I can't believe I didn't think of Grandmaster Flash. Of course, his turtablism was groundbreaking, but I actually like his MCing too. Love his rap in White Lines, and New York is one of my favourites.

tony1kenobi

Nobody listens to the important bands.The great bands listen to the important bands.

rovert

I think Alex Chilton/Big Star is important as I feel every cool indie band has been either directly or indirectly by their first three albums.