Not necessarily the best, but the coolest?
― Sade of the Del Amitri (dog latin), Monday, 12 August 2024 13:13 (nine months ago)
Motörhead?
― Siegbran, Monday, 12 August 2024 13:17 (nine months ago)
Having spent many years giving it undue weight, I’ve rejected “cool” as a concept.
― mike t-diva, Monday, 12 August 2024 13:44 (nine months ago)
https://y.yarn.co/8555ebcf-1c22-434d-9d2b-df630a4f517e_text.gif
― peace, man, Monday, 12 August 2024 13:51 (nine months ago)
https://media.ntslive.co.uk/crop/770x770/6b2fd821-f24a-4a69-85ce-b3977e823eb7_1453479141.jpg
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Monday, 12 August 2024 14:14 (nine months ago)
My guess:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/The_Specials_crop.jpg
...which I'm trying hard to top really
― Sade of the Del Amitri (dog latin), Monday, 12 August 2024 14:17 (nine months ago)
One of Miles' electric bands maybe? If not giving a fuck = cool, that is.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Monday, 12 August 2024 14:18 (nine months ago)
VU imo
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Monday, 12 August 2024 14:26 (nine months ago)
Bad Seeds until Bargeld and Harvey left.
― bored by endless ecstasy (anagram), Monday, 12 August 2024 14:41 (nine months ago)
Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem
― nashwan, Monday, 12 August 2024 14:52 (nine months ago)
that Japanese band Ars Nova that are like heavy ELP worship
― brimstead, Monday, 12 August 2024 15:06 (nine months ago)
when the sugarcubes came out there was a lot of lamestain "coolest band on earth" stuff, like in Rolling Stone.
― Bad Bairns (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 12 August 2024 15:07 (nine months ago)
― mike t-diva, Monday, August 12, 2024 2:44 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
nice to see someone else here. illusion is basically baked into the word to the point where it's meaningless to me. it also tends to exclude older people. it feels good to use other words. i like ya dl but ilm has done soooo much "cool discourse" over the years, and it's always a drag imo.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 15:18 (nine months ago)
i certainly don't cAre about coolness anymore either -- still, i think VU were the coolest band who ever was for a number of reasons, not the least of which was Moe Tucker.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Monday, 12 August 2024 15:20 (nine months ago)
https://hoppinjohns.net/WP_Johns/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/a-b54.jpg
― There’s a Monster in my Vance (President Keyes), Monday, 12 August 2024 15:31 (nine months ago)
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CQCoqempnYg/VycsD8sNi_I/AAAAAAAAEm8/P2HSvtNnAIMI3AFGBliof0dh2Li1sWtRgCLcB/s1600/05.jpg
― Defund Phil Collins (Tom D.), Monday, 12 August 2024 15:39 (nine months ago)
It’s obviously completely silly and subjective, like I doubt very many young people in my neighborhood would think Motörhead were a “cool” band if they knew who they were
― brimstead, Monday, 12 August 2024 15:41 (nine months ago)
lol now that i've expressed my disdain for "cool" as a concept i have to admit i still think of certain bands as cool. and the coolest band to me is sade. for personal and idiosyncratic reasons that are impossible to apply coherently. some of which are that they started from a relatively humble place, ended up owning the 80s, then took their sweet time making a handful of pop songbook masterpiece albums that are on a shakespearian level as far as humanistic artistic achievement is concerned.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 15:47 (nine months ago)
correct answer is outkast, aka the coolest mother-phonkers on the planet
― the defenestration of prog (voodoo chili), Monday, 12 August 2024 15:50 (nine months ago)
the sky is falling ain't no need to panic
Hey I didn't mean to rock any boats or retread played-out discussions. It was just meant as a fun discussion. I do get that "cool" and ideas of "cool" are a bit daft, especially these days in our overstuffed, oversaturated world
― Sade of the Del Amitri (dog latin), Monday, 12 August 2024 15:53 (nine months ago)
We should maybe attempt a discussion of what is "cool" w/r/t bands, and whether there's an opposite side — "hot" bands. Not "hot" as in "sexy" but "hot" in terms of their energy/vibe, like if "cool" implies a certain innate calm and operating at a slight remove, good examples would be Steely Dan or Kraftwerk, whereas "hot" would imply that the band is fully engaged at all times and leaping up in your face, so like the MC5 or Slipknot.
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Monday, 12 August 2024 15:59 (nine months ago)
i don't think either steely dan or kraftwerk were removed at all from what they were doing. i do think that "cool" makes sense as like a sound palette or general energy level descriptor though. there's definitely a spectrum of energy in music that feels akin to the electromagnetic spectrum.
my personal definition of "cool" conveniently aligns with stuff i'm most impressed with about a band.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:07 (nine months ago)
Africa 70The Cramps Public Enemy (early years)YMO
― stirmonster, Monday, 12 August 2024 16:17 (nine months ago)
very often in culture "cool" is associated with not caring, or not trying very hard--which is not usually what I look for in music.
― There’s a Monster in my Vance (President Keyes), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:17 (nine months ago)
like those rappers with croaky voices who sound like they just woke up are very cool I guess, but fuck 'em
― There’s a Monster in my Vance (President Keyes), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:18 (nine months ago)
JAMC in 1985Saada Bonaire
― brimstead, Monday, 12 August 2024 16:19 (nine months ago)
The Proclaimers
https://scontent-lga3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/454717477_1359543764967360_6852455853818614164_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=UAnztGWjCW0Q7kNvgHqpxGj&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-2.xx&oh=00_AYCRAXNSQdf9h_L1UERAQhXjWy0yLA1lC-5v0uL0nU9IeQ&oe=66BFED69
― scott seward, Monday, 12 August 2024 16:20 (nine months ago)
i don't think either steely dan or kraftwerk were removed at all from what they were doing.
Not removed from what they were doing but removed from the broader showbiz apparatus. They seemed to be keeping their distance and if you found out about them some way, great, but they weren't going to glad-hand you or even necessarily invite you to the party. You had to find your own way there.
This is, of course, an image all its own, and a carefully crafted one, but it's a cooler image than "Hey! We're _____________, and we're your new favorite band! We're sexy, and fun, and our songs totally rock!"
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:24 (nine months ago)
stereolab were pretty cool
― the defenestration of prog (voodoo chili), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:26 (nine months ago)
― There’s a Monster in my Vance (President Keyes), Monday, August 12, 2024 5:17 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
"cool" for me is rooted in artistic achievement. mostly in recorded output. the band live is a factor but not as important to me. i do think there's an element in "not trying very hard" that's very germane to artistic achievement. for instance taylor swift is the most try-hard pop star of all time, and i think she has her moments but is uncool overall.
xxp yeah i agree they were forging their own path "to the side" of the dumbest parts of the industry.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:27 (nine months ago)
though i'm not actually that familiar with kraftwerk's story and who they were working with.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:29 (nine months ago)
pfunk were highly cool imo
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:30 (nine months ago)
yeah boring answer is Funkadelic
― nashwan, Monday, 12 August 2024 16:31 (nine months ago)
more than 4 very cool people involved
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:32 (nine months ago)
― nashwan
Cooler than the Riverbottom Nightmare Band?
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:33 (nine months ago)
esp as i age part of the definition of cool for me is watching how artists navigate / come to terms with being older while they still stay in the game and create. lifelong musicians, or people who don't give up on their need to create music even if it's necessarily in a small way due to circumstances beyond their control, are way cooler to me than people who leave it behind.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:39 (nine months ago)
so like druggies can be cool early on but transitioning out of that while staying vital is the coolest. lou reed is kind of a no brainer answer to me as far as solo artists go, even if i'm not personally a huge fan of the music.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:42 (nine months ago)
personal life is a factor for me though. when i found out john cale is a scum ass wifebeater, he lost a lot of his cool to me, even though on a gut level i like his music more than lou's.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:44 (nine months ago)
and moe is obviously very cool on an artistic level, and i like her solo albums quite a bit, but like .. can you be a cool conservative??? idk about that.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:46 (nine months ago)
finding your soulmate and being a power couple like lou reed and laurie anderson did is the coolest
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:48 (nine months ago)
Electric Mayhem
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:49 (nine months ago)
the coolest bands for me have a confident semi-dorkiness, but not so much that they tip over into being a joke, maybe a bit of humor but not too much. B-52s are a good answer, Stereolab too. Steely Dan is a solid answer in a lot of ways and i love them but they're actually not what i think of when i think of cool. though they got cooler as they went along.
at this point a lot of the bands that really try very hard to be cool come off for me like absolute dbags even if they're not, but frequently they are. the narcissism really shines thru with a lot of acts, too much for me to give them a chance in some cases for better or worse. i'm probably not being fair.
i think one band that pulled off being a cool superstar rock band was Thin Lizzy, maybe also because they never quite broke through to the absolute top level, but just stayed the course.
― omar little, Monday, 12 August 2024 16:51 (nine months ago)
i definitely like so many musicians that don't come within a mile of being cool in any way, U2 fan here btw.
― omar little, Monday, 12 August 2024 16:53 (nine months ago)
if your singer is like a respected poet that definitely ups the cool factor in my view xp
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:54 (nine months ago)
as far as new bands go, i've been trying to figure out if the 1975 is cool or not. nb i'm listening to them for the first time lately. i think paramore are pretty cool. my beloved high on fire are obviously the coolest dudes on the planet.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 16:56 (nine months ago)
robert wyatt is at the tippy top of the cool list for me. omg i am on one this morning lol.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 17:03 (nine months ago)
The Whispers
― MarkoP, Monday, 12 August 2024 17:07 (nine months ago)
i think there are artists who are too cool for their own good, and the good of the people around them. prince and van morrison are examples.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Monday, 12 August 2024 17:13 (nine months ago)
Cool is not really a word I associate with Van Morrison tbh.
― Defund Phil Collins (Tom D.), Monday, 12 August 2024 17:14 (nine months ago)
Mike Ratledge looked extremely cool in the 60s too. Pre-droopy moustache and with leather coat.
― Defund Phil Collins (Tom D.), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 10:46 (nine months ago)
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/r72Br6RQ4bLEmqnerNpUDX-1200-80.jpg
― Defund Phil Collins (Tom D.), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 10:47 (nine months ago)
https://i.imgur.com/J3bVchB.jpeg
― Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 11:08 (nine months ago)
xp Supergrass's Gaz Coombes definitely cool
― Sade of the Del Amitri (dog latin), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 11:10 (nine months ago)
Robert Wyatt is indeed one of the coolest musicians who ever walked.
― Sam Weller, Wednesday, August 14, 2024 11:34 AM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
oh god very guilty lol
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 13:57 (nine months ago)
just cuz the real lies thread is up right now i think real lies are extremely cool.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 14:00 (nine months ago)
Funny that there's little mention of shoegaze bands, since shoegazing was a tactic deployed to look cool.
― There’s a Monster in my Vance (President Keyes), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 14:24 (nine months ago)
they just stood there tho
― brimstead, Wednesday, 14 August 2024 15:53 (nine months ago)
If it was a tactic deployed to look cool - which I don't think it was - it failed miserably.
― Defund Phil Collins (Tom D.), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 15:58 (nine months ago)
Hang on, Slowdive were pretty damn cool back in the day.
https://consequence.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/slowdive.jpg
― Vast Halo, Wednesday, 14 August 2024 16:27 (nine months ago)
https://media.soundoflife.com/34/resources/xT45PKPeNkBcOf6aQckwQ08r8CM69Ehll4Z4f11G.jpg
― There’s a Monster in my Vance (President Keyes), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 16:49 (nine months ago)
i still stand by VU as the coolest band -- it's 1967 and these people are playing their weird music at The Factory, the coolest place in NYC, the coolest city in the USA. Before Moe became conservative and John Cale committed domestic violence, they were the pinnacle of cool. I honestly don't think a rock band could be cooler than VU at the Factory.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:08 (nine months ago)
or at least not at that time
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:09 (nine months ago)
where is this Cale DV stuff from? I can't find anything about it online.
― There’s a Monster in my Vance (President Keyes), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:18 (nine months ago)
something map mentioned -- i have no idea what it is either but i think it was mentioned in the John Cale thread? i did not read his book either, maybe it's in there.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:19 (nine months ago)
I hope someone isn't confusing John Cale with Lou Reed there.
― Defund Phil Collins (Tom D.), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:32 (nine months ago)
First time hearing about JC being physically abusive? Lou Reed on the other hand:
https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/13/lou-reed-new-biography-domestic-violence-abuse-women
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:36 (nine months ago)
found it (it's in the hidden text and it's really gross!!) John Cale S/D
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:37 (nine months ago)
sorry guys i recall reading some allegations somewhere on ilm in the last few years, definitely about cale, enough to make me think it was fairly well known. i'll be damned if i can find where now and obviously happy if i'm wrong.
― he/him hoo-hah (map), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:38 (nine months ago)
xp
i would never confuse Lou Reed and John Cale btw
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:38 (nine months ago)
God bless Sterling Morrison (and Doug Yule) I say.
― Defund Phil Collins (Tom D.), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:48 (nine months ago)
... the two least cool VU members of course.
― Defund Phil Collins (Tom D.), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:49 (nine months ago)
i mean Nico was awful -- I read a book about her too -- but that doesn't stop her from being cool as a member of VU in 1967. you give people enough time in the public eye and they will inevitably do something you think is wack.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 18:52 (nine months ago)
cale mentions his DV and shitty behavior in his autobiography “what’s welsh for zen”
― brimstead, Wednesday, 14 August 2024 19:02 (nine months ago)
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/peel/images/6/63/Chicory_Tip.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160613123809
― scott seward, Wednesday, 14 August 2024 19:20 (nine months ago)
i'm having problems with photos...
i need a flickr account apparently.
― scott seward, Wednesday, 14 August 2024 19:22 (nine months ago)
haha, i still have a flickr account. last used in 2007.
― scott seward, Wednesday, 14 August 2024 19:27 (nine months ago)
i am totally on board re the VU at their peak.
but as a man of a certain age then yeah, for me, the coolest band has to be this lot of course :
https://louderthanwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/earl_brutus1.jpg
― mark e, Wednesday, 14 August 2024 19:31 (nine months ago)
miles davis sextet
https://www.prettythingsandcoolstuff.com/cdn/shop/products/Miles_Davis_at_Newport_1958_2_600x.jpg
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 19:32 (nine months ago)
https://i0.wp.com/www.michigandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/yellowmagicorch.jpg?w=465&ssl=1
― There’s a Monster in my Vance (President Keyes), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 19:40 (nine months ago)
it's The Specials
― kurt schwitterz, Wednesday, 14 August 2024 20:45 (nine months ago)
I met Sterling, he's definitely cool.
― Mark G, Thursday, 15 August 2024 06:57 (nine months ago)
i mean Nico was awful … you give people enough time in the public eye and they will inevitably do something you think is wack.
― assert (matttkkkk), Thursday, 15 August 2024 08:06 (nine months ago)
Yes I agree. After reading the book I decided she was a truly awful person.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Thursday, 15 August 2024 14:31 (nine months ago)
The bit about Nico that made me sympathetic toward her was when she talked about how her extreme polyglot status made it difficult for her to express herself effectively in any language. I can't even imagine trying to think through things without at least one language on my side. Doesn't excuse "giving heroin to your kid", but it did make me more sympathetic to her
― flamboyant goon tie included, Thursday, 15 August 2024 22:23 (nine months ago)
I have no mouth and I must hook my child on heroin.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Thursday, 15 August 2024 22:24 (nine months ago)
That sounds like utter nonsense to me, tbh. Had she forgotten how to speak and think in German?
― Defund Phil Collins (Tom D.), Thursday, 15 August 2024 22:26 (nine months ago)
I can't express myself so I must stab a black woman in the face with a wine glass, requiring 20 stitches, while screaming "I'll show you what suffering is!"
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 15 August 2024 23:01 (nine months ago)
she also said "I hate black people" while doing it but perhaps something got lost in translation
― if this site were a food it would have NO nutritional value!!!!!!! (Neanderthal), Thursday, 15 August 2024 23:13 (nine months ago)
I feel like the thing about being cool is that it doesn’t protect you from being a gigantic asshole — if you can be cool and not be a massive assmonster you have won some kind of life lottery.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Thursday, 15 August 2024 23:44 (nine months ago)
Woops sorry
Wow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KArvzgKBVgI
― Mark G, Friday, 16 August 2024 07:59 (nine months ago)
I mean, were they trying to sound like Roxy Music on that?
― encino morricone (majorairbro), Friday, 16 August 2024 09:48 (nine months ago)
I remember one of those music mags had asked the question of Roxy Music's office, and got a fairly miffed "No, it bloody well isn't Bryan Ferry singing!" in reply.
― Mark G, Friday, 16 August 2024 09:56 (nine months ago)
the mummies
― andrew m., Tuesday, 20 August 2024 20:00 (nine months ago)