Most American Bands

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The most American artists of all time?

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:38 (twenty-three years ago)

America?

or maybe Grand Funk Railroad.

― gazza, Monday, 9 September 2002 10:41 (twenty-three years ago)

1. The Ramones
2. The Carter Family (including June & Johnny Cash)
3. The Beach Boys
4. Frank Sinatra
5. The Boss
6. Woody Guthrie
7. Celine Dion
8. Neil Diamond
9. Mellencamp
10. Sonic Youth

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Lynard Skynard. Ryan Adams. Shania Twain. Nirvana.

― Roger Fascist, Monday, 9 September 2002 10:48 (twenty-three years ago)

James Brown, Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, Mahalia Jackson, Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong, Madonna, Dolly Parton, Woody Guthrie, Debbie Gibson.

― JoB (JoB), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Shania Twain is Canadian and lives in Switzerland. Not that is matters, per se. Tina Turner has lived in Switzerland (or Germany) for years and she is very American.

― JoB (JoB), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:52 (twenty-three years ago)

Celine Dion is also Canadian! New thread alert!

― JoB (JoB), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:53 (twenty-three years ago)

JoB: but she embodies Americana

― Roger Fascist, Monday, 9 September 2002 10:53 (twenty-three years ago)

Celine lives in Vegas and adresses Destiny's Child as "girlfren!" so she's American.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:55 (twenty-three years ago)

Not sure I agree with you re: Nirvana, being that most of their key influences were as British as the day is long.

Most American = Ted Nugent.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 9 September 2002 11:25 (twenty-three years ago)

Chuck Berry, for heaven's sake.

― J0hn Darn1elle, Monday, 9 September 2002 11:46 (twenty-three years ago)

Nirvana, being that most of their key influences were as British as the day is long.

Jesus, all this time I thought they were a Pixies/Dino Jr rip off act.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 9 September 2002 12:06 (twenty-three years ago)

or Melvins for that matter.

but they liked the Beatles and The Who and Sabbath too, I'm sure. Kind of a neither-here-nor-there point I think. Unless you're still smarting from that Killing Joke rip, I guess. ;)

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 12:15 (twenty-three years ago)

You're damn right.

But, to be fair, Noodles is spot-on with the Pixies/Dinobore allusion.

Still, I don't consider theirs to be a definitively American sound.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 9 September 2002 12:26 (twenty-three years ago)

yeah, I don't hear em as definitively amurrrican either.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 12:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Ken Burns to thread.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 9 September 2002 12:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Booker T. and the MGs. Which reminds me: were they the first multiracial pop act to get a top ten hit in the US ("Green Onions", #3, 1962)?

― Nate Patrin, Monday, 9 September 2002 12:57 (twenty-three years ago)

JoB: but she embodies Americana
Theres no need to get insulting, Roger. I can't imagine Celine singing anything even close to 'Americana'; She has no soul, no funk, no traits that would give her that rowdy, folksy, funky tobacco-chawing verve. The only American thing about her is her spiritual resemblance to the Vegas-Era Fat Elvis.
Celine lives in Vegas...
See what I mean?
...and adresses Destiny's Child as "girlfren!" so she's American.
No, this doesn't make her American, it makes her a phony, condescending trendoid.

― Lord Custos Alpha (Lord Custos Alpha), Monday, 9 September 2002 13:04 (twenty-three years ago)

Bruce, Bob Dylan, or Johnny Cash.

Or maybe...

Gershwin
Sousa
Dick Dale
Buddy Holly
Allman Brothers

I'd also say Woody Guthrie and/or Pete Seegar, but we all know they were pinkos.

― christoff (christoff), Monday, 9 September 2002 13:21 (twenty-three years ago)

Alice Cooper

― Arthur (Arthur), Monday, 9 September 2002 14:22 (twenty-three years ago)

Jimmy Buffet, Garth Brooks

― Kris (aqueduct), Monday, 9 September 2002 14:22 (twenty-three years ago)

Did anybody say the Stooges? 'Cause somebody should mention the Stooges here.

― wl, Monday, 9 September 2002 14:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Great, now we'll be all "Who's more American, the Stooges or the MC5?" (remember, the MC5 did a song about a CORVETTE!)

― Nate Patrin, Monday, 9 September 2002 14:29 (twenty-three years ago)

And what about "most American bands that aren't techinically 100% American so to speak"? (This gives me another chance to shamelessly pimp Radio Birdman.)

― Nate Patrin, Monday, 9 September 2002 14:30 (twenty-three years ago)

I would say Velvet Underground but both John Cale and Nico aren't American, so how about just Lou Reed, also Laurie Anderson (with her United States Of America piece).

(Ken Burns went to my High school)

― A Nairn (moretap), Monday, 9 September 2002 15:09 (twenty-three years ago)

POISON & BON JOVI.

― jel -- (jel), Monday, 9 September 2002 15:18 (twenty-three years ago)

Celine's moving to Belgium in a few weeks. Er, let's not have a "most Belgian" thread.

― zebedee, Monday, 9 September 2002 15:20 (twenty-three years ago)

duh: elvis

― ddd, Monday, 9 September 2002 16:47 (twenty-three years ago)

P. Diddy

― Siegbran Hetteson (eofor), Monday, 9 September 2002 18:12 (twenty-three years ago)

P. Diddy

Why do you hate America?

― wl, Monday, 9 September 2002 18:14 (twenty-three years ago)

Why are we even debating this? Lynyrd Skynyrd, in so many ways.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 9 September 2002 18:15 (twenty-three years ago)

duh: elvis

Elvis is a band?

― Jody Beth Rosen, Monday, 9 September 2002 18:16 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, if we're talking "artists" not "bands" -- Kid Rock. That man is a walking NASCAR rally.

― Jody Beth Rosen, Monday, 9 September 2002 18:18 (twenty-three years ago)

Eminem

― Enid Roach (Enid Roach), Monday, 9 September 2002 19:00 (twenty-three years ago)

christoff:
Gershwin
Sousa
[...]

And Charles Ives! Yay!

― OleM (OleM), Monday, 9 September 2002 19:09 (twenty-three years ago)

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, far the most of america's rock, and probably the only good one...

― Fede, Monday, 9 September 2002 19:17 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't understand how the Velvets are the most American. They're total Eurotrash!

― Jody Beth Rosen, Monday, 9 September 2002 19:21 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't understand how the Velvets are the most American. They're total Eurotrash!

Take it as you will, but somewhere there's a thing about a review by a fledgling Chuck Eddy that refers to the VU as a British band.

(Not desiring to tangent this into a discussion re: Chuck Eddy. We should obviously focus on arguing about who's more American between the Stooges and the MC5.)

― wl, Monday, 9 September 2002 19:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Take it as you will, but somewhere there's a thing about a review by a fledgling Chuck Eddy that refers to the VU as a British band.

He's wrong. They're French!

― Jody Beth Rosen, Monday, 9 September 2002 19:55 (twenty-three years ago)

And Welsh. And German.

― nabisco (nabisco), Monday, 9 September 2002 19:56 (twenty-three years ago)

The MC5 is low-concept hippie shit; too 60s to be very american. Out of dope, guns, and fucking in the streets only one of those strikes me as very american, you can guess which. The stooges were a total bad trip which seems very american to me.

― Kris (aqueduct), Monday, 9 September 2002 20:39 (twenty-three years ago)

IOW, revolution went out of style here some time shortly after 1776.

― Kris (aqueduct), Monday, 9 September 2002 20:40 (twenty-three years ago)

Actually the MC5 themselves were just a rock 'n' roll band with no real revolutionary politics -- it was their acid-damaged, "white panther" manager John Sinclair who perpetuated much of the mythological baggage that the MC5 carry.

― Jody Beth Rosen, Monday, 9 September 2002 20:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Wait... can one perpetuate baggage?

― Jody Beth Rosen, Monday, 9 September 2002 20:48 (twenty-three years ago)

P. Diddy

Why do you hate America?

Do I? Or does America hate itself? Or rather, consider the flip side: in what ways is P. Diddy un-American?

― Siegbran Hetteson (eofor), Monday, 9 September 2002 20:48 (twenty-three years ago)

He can dance.

― Kris (aqueduct), Monday, 9 September 2002 21:21 (twenty-three years ago)

Fede: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, far the most of america's rock, and probably the only good one...
Judy: I don't understand how the Velvets are the most American. They're total Eurotrash!
WL: ...a fledgling Chuck Eddy that refers to the VU as a British band.
Judy: He's wrong. They're French!
Nabisco: And Welsh. And German.
Well, there you have it, folks...it's official. The Velvet Underground is the United Nations of Rock.

― Lord Custos Alpha (Lord Custos Alpha), Monday, 9 September 2002 21:34 (twenty-three years ago)

most american bands/artists ever:

the band
the guess who
neil young
rush
joni mitchell
leonard cohen

― geeg, Monday, 9 September 2002 22:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Jandek

― brg30 (brg30), Monday, 9 September 2002 22:32 (twenty-three years ago)

Do I?

I don't know. I was making a joke. I hate Puffy, so I was doing a Puffy = bad, Puffy = America, America = bad thing. But maybe you got that, and I just killed the (not-so-funny) joke in the course of dissection.

Or does America hate itself?

Yes, in a way that is outwardly indistinguishable from complete, head-over-heels self-infatuation.

Or rather, consider the flip side: in what ways is P. Diddy un-American?

No, I think he's very American, esp. re: the whole bling-bling/ capitalism thing. Maybe it's that he embodies many of America's vices and none of its virtues, so I'd have trouble holding him up as the _most_ American. I like a lot of the choices here (except for the Canadian ones), but I might stick by the Stooges as most-of-all-time.

― wl, Monday, 9 September 2002 22:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Fucking CREEDENCE Fucking CLEARWATER, beeotches...

― Andy, Monday, 9 September 2002 22:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Creedence is the most east bay group ever, if nothing else. At least I like to think so.

― Kris (aqueduct), Monday, 9 September 2002 23:48 (twenty-three years ago)

The Jackson 5/Micheal Jackson - with michael a perfect example of americas all dominating super egoism and absurd sense od self importance.

oh and the seedy underbeely kinda fits there tooo with all the nasty child molestation allegations.. kinda reminds me of the Clinton Lewinsky debacle.

this could almost be a thread in itself?

Michael Jackson = USA?

dsico

― dsico (dsico), Monday, 9 September 2002 23:49 (twenty-three years ago)

Bush

― Lynskey, Monday, 9 September 2002 23:56 (twenty-three years ago)

For completeness' sake: Guns 'n' Roses. NWA. Metallica.

― Nick Mirov, Tuesday, 10 September 2002 00:28 (twenty-three years ago)

What virtues could that fool of the recently changed nameture possibly embody?

Please: no Ken Burns to thread!

― Mary (Mary), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 02:36 (twenty-three years ago)

louis armstrong, duke ellington, charles mingus, wu-tang clan

― Josh (Josh), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 04:17 (twenty-three years ago)

Many of the above (except the Canadian Leonard Cohen), Rage Against the Machine and the Grateful Dead.

― felicity (felicity), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 04:59 (twenty-three years ago)

Einstürzende Neübaüten

― bnw (bnw), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 05:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Francis Scott Key!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 05:42 (twenty-three years ago)

Metallica
A band led by a Dane who built their career on NWOBHM?

― Siegbran Hetteson (eofor), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 08:07 (twenty-three years ago)

The usual suspects: CCR, Byrds, Eagles, Springsteen, Neil Young (Canadian but 1. lives in California and 2. Canada is part of America)

The most Un-American band would probably be The Dead Kennedys, I guess. They used to be 15 years ago at least.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 08:23 (twenty-three years ago)

Kansas
Boston

― brg30 (brg30), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 22:32 (twenty-three years ago)

The most Un-American band would probably be The Dead Kennedys, I guess. They used to be 15 years ago at least.

How so? They sang almost exclusively about America, and their sound is based firmly on Garage Rock and Rockabilly, American music. Jello even made a C&W record.

What you're thinking of is "anti American", which the DK's weren't, either (unless you think disapproving of Reaganomics is anti American, in which case Springsteen is anti-American, too.)

― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 10 September 2002 22:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Celine is as Quebecois as the day is long. Period.

― cybele, Wednesday, 11 September 2002 00:20 (twenty-three years ago)

All right then Daniel, but you must admit that they are not a band you would associate with American patriotism, American consumer society and American roots music. They stood apart. I always heard their music more as punk than as c&w.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 06:56 (twenty-three years ago)

"Patrotism" has become a really idiotic word after 9/11- it's now synonymous with "following your government blindly and beating everyone up who disagrees". The cynic in me would now say that this is, indeed, very American, but America also has a great history of protests and interest in social change. The DK's sang about what they thought was wrong with their country and tried to do their bit to change it. I think that's very patrotic indeed.

As for the roots music, you're right that the Dead Kennedys stuff isn't C&W (I was talking about a Biafra solo album where he went Country), but:

1- Punk's roots lie in American roots music (Sex Pistols -> The Stooges -> ? & The Mysterions -> "I'm A Man" by The Yardbirds -> "I'm A Man" by Bo Diddley -> "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters)

2- The DK's brand of Punk was a lot more brutal and less melodic than the classic UK Punk bands.

The fact that the other members of the band have now sued Jello because he didn't want "Holidays In Cambodia" used in a Levi's ad also places them smack dab in American consumer society, but really, does one have to be a symbol for that to be "Most American"? I think you're selling your country short.

― Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 11 September 2002 13:35 (twenty-three years ago)

All right then Daniel, but you must admit that they are not a band you would associate with American patriotism, American consumer society and American roots music. They stood apart.
Bush's (and Reagan's) versions of American patriotism & consumer society -which I think are the versions that you're saying the Dead Kennedys are in opposition to- are not the only versions. Daniel's point is excellent about reading what "patriotism" means today.

― lyra (lyra), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 13:42 (twenty-three years ago)

I think you're selling your country short.
???
I am German, so this doesn't really apply.
I am using the word American in a very lazy way. It is more the image America gives to the outside world I was thinking of.
But I 100% agree, Daniel, that this is only a part of America and that there is a tradition of protest, free speech and social movement. Unfortunately it doesn't show too much nowadays. Especially for the Europeans. Maybe we are a little blind on one eye concerning America.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 14:25 (twenty-three years ago)

Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon - Prairie Home Invasion

― Siegbran Hetteson (eofor), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 14:54 (twenty-three years ago)

The Who.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 15:26 (twenty-three years ago)

I am German, so this doesn't really apply.

You are?? So am I (albeit living in Portugal)! Sorry, I misread your user name for "Alex in Manhattan". Mea culpa.

I insisted on this point because 20th/21st century popular music has always represented to me everything that's good and righteous about America, and I think that it's tragic how Americans are led to believe that being proud of their country must always go hand-in-hand with a jinogiostic, right-wing nut attitude.

― Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 11 September 2002 15:36 (twenty-three years ago)

2 germans (one in portugal) good-naturedly arguing over who the most american band is! the ILM global village rulez!

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 15:38 (twenty-three years ago)

"Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters -> "I'm a Man" by Bo Diddley, not the other way around.

― Burr, Wednesday, 11 September 2002 15:51 (twenty-three years ago)

2. Canada is part of America

Even if your joking, go fuck yourself.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 16:31 (twenty-three years ago)

Burr: Gah, you're right. I'll hafta take another route:

Sex Pistols -> Stooges -> Garage Rock -> The Yardbirds -> The British Invasion -> The Beatles -> Chuck Berry -> Muddy Waters.

― Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 11 September 2002 17:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Even if your joking, go fuck yourself.
What's your problem? Do you think America is a part of Canada? Or what?

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 20:14 (twenty-three years ago)

three months pass...

I don't think its funny. We are not some central American country to be invaded and given a puppet regime.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Friday, 13 December 2002 04:56 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm gonna have to say Lil' Romeo.

― David Allen, Friday, 13 December 2002 05:03 (twenty-three years ago)

from the Prairie Home Invasion review:
In "Convoy in the Sky", Jello strips the song of all its meaning with his sarcastic, I'm-Middle-Class-and-Smarter-Than-Whoever-Wrote-This rendition, whereas Mojo Nixon could have mocked it while retaining sympathy for tortured Jimmy Jones.
This guy doesn't get it at all. "Convoy in the Sky" wasn't a cover. It was an original parody that mocked all of country'n'westerns clichés. First by crossing "Convoy" with "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and then crossing that with everything else in the genre.
Besides, the guy completely skipped the best song on the rekkid: "Let's Burn Old Nashville Down"; If I were Robert Christgau, I'd put the "choice cut" logo next to that song.

― Lord Custos Omega (Lord Custos Omega), Friday, 13 December 2002 05:38 (twenty-three years ago)

all y'all know who i'm going to say -- and i'm surprised he hasn't been mentioned yet (love 'im or hate 'im, he's so American that Eastern Europeans loved 'im)

his buddy Dan Van Vliet, and fellow Californian Merle Haggard, could also have only come from America

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 13 December 2002 05:54 (twenty-three years ago)

I think alex was referring to the Americas as continents when he said "Canada is part of America"

And whoever said Guess Who: they're Canadian.

― Curtis Stephens, Friday, 13 December 2002 22:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Slipknot.

― , Friday, 13 December 2002 22:33 (twenty-three years ago)

― A Nairn (moretap), Friday, 13 December 2002 23:30 (twenty-three years ago)

Cher.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Saturday, 14 December 2002 02:32 (twenty-three years ago)

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