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Who is this generation's iconic band?


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Old 27-02-2016, 23:44
jcafcw
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I've just watched Spike Island and when I was a lad during the eighties and nineties I had a pretty good run of bands from The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Nirvana and then Oasis.

Regardless of what you think of their quality these were four bands that become big whilst being regarded as important to people's lives.

I am unsure if there is such a band that is like that today but that maybe because I am an old git now. So who is it now?
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Old 27-02-2016, 23:50
homer2012
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Very subjective really.

But i think coldplay are still big and around but thats a really low standard to be honest.
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Old 28-02-2016, 00:04
ohglobbits
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But i think coldplay are still big and around but thats a really low standard to be honest.
What about One Direction?

Don't seem to be so many bands any more, only collaborations. Solo artists are easier to brand and control.
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Old 28-02-2016, 00:13
Grim Fandango
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I've just watched Spike Island and when I was a lad during the eighties and nineties I had a pretty good run of bands from The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Nirvana and then Oasis.

Regardless of what you think of their quality these were four bands that become big whilst being regarded as important to people's lives.

I am unsure if there is such a band that is like that today but that maybe because I am an old git now. So who is it now?
It's an interesting question that has popped up a number of times in here. There are certainly pop acts and very bland soft rock acts that have achieved a certain mass popularity, but I struggle to imagine a film like Spike Island being made about Coldplay in 20 yrs time!

I like most of the bands you mention (not a big fan of Oasis but I like some of their singles), they were superb artists whose music has stood the test of time, but to some extent I think their popularity owed a great deal to how the media worked in those days. Today's digital media has made everything more fractured - there are so many more tv channels, stations, and of course websites too, it's thus inevitable that with more choice it is less likely a mass amount of people will flock to one artist or even style of music.

I see positives in the way things work now - the internet has made it easier for new bands to get their music out there and to gain some attention, but it also feels like innovative music, made by bands that are willing to take some risks, often receives its place somewhere in the shadows and mainstream tv/radio are highly unlikely to give it air time.

Related to all of that, popular music is no longer the primary medium through which people can come together and share feelings and experiences these days, the shared experience through a band that a film like Spike Island tries to convey is perhaps not something we're likely to see again.
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Old 28-02-2016, 00:42
konebyvax
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Has to be Arctic Monkeys, surely?
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Old 28-02-2016, 00:52
CLL Dodge
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I don't think any band in their 20's has achieved that status.
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Old 28-02-2016, 00:53
mgvsmith
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I just watched Spike Island as well, it's a much underrated film.

Is it possible that there would be a Spike Island in the future about going to an Adele gig, perhaps or an Ed Sheeran gig? I don't think Coldplay or Muse have working class credibility but Adele does.

Probably wouldn't work in a male coming of age context but would do in a female context?
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Old 28-02-2016, 00:59
Mr. Sifter.
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I think i can answer your question.
There isn't one.
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:04
konebyvax
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I don't think any band in their 20's has achieved that status.

Why not? You just have to look at the Monkeys wiki to see they actually have achieved that status. Why would 'being in their 20s' preclude them? I guess they may always be underrated by some due to them not being in the Daily Fail on a weekly basis...
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:05
mgvsmith
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Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Green Day or Blink 182 or maybe 30 Seconds to Mars might be contenders from the other side of the pond?
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:06
Grim Fandango
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I just watched Spike Island as well, it's a much underrated film.

Is it possible that there would be a Spike Island in the future about going to an Adele gig, perhaps or an Ed Sheeran gig? I don't think Coldplay or Muse have working class credibility but Adele does.

Probably wouldn't work in a male coming of age context but would do in a female context?
Suppose it's possible, i'd imagine it would be about as interesting as the inevitable Andy Murray biopic though.

Attempting to get into the gig would probably amount to someone trying to negotiate ticketmaster.com - difficult thing to turn into an edge of your seat thriller.
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:08
Mr. Sifter.
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Has to be Arctic Monkeys, surely?
Showed potential, then moved to the states, forgot their roots, and disappeared up their own arseholes. Alex Turner has morphed into a poor mans Elvis Presley.

Shame really, their first album was dynamite.
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:13
mgvsmith
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Suppose it's possible, i'd imagine it would be about as interesting as the inevitable Andy Murray biopic though.

Attempting to get into the gig would probably amount to someone trying to negotiate ticketmaster.com - difficult thing to turn into an edge of your seat thriller.
Funny I was thinking just when I was watching Spike Island when the girl just handed over her ticket to the other guy. Nowadays we have all these high technology systems to prevent just that.

I was also thinking maybe an Amy Winehouse gig might be a good backdrop.
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:14
konebyvax
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Showed potential, then moved to the states, forgot their roots, and disappeared up their own arseholes. Alex Turner has morphed into a poor mans Elvis Presley.

Shame really, their first album was dynamite.

Nonsense. I have it on impeccable authority Alex Turner was playing knock a door run in High Green just a couple of months ago.

Their first album was indeed dynamite but should they have simply brought out WYSIATWIN mk2, 3 and 4 I'm sure you would have been quick to deride them for not showing 'progession'. They can't win is what I'm trying to say....
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:22
JCR
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Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Green Day or Blink 182 or maybe 30 Seconds to Mars might be contenders from the other side of the pond?
Blink 182 have been around since 1992, Foos since 94, Slipknot since 95 and Green Day since 1986. The latter toured the UK in the eighties I believe.

I wouldn't really say any of them are this generation.
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:29
Grim Fandango
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Blink 182 have been around since 1992, Foos since 94, Slipknot since 95 and Green Day since 1986. The latter toured the UK in the eighties I believe.

I wouldn't really say any of them are this generation.
Yeah, was thinking the same thing. Think part of the excitement they were attempting to convey in Spike Island (actually thought it was a pretty naff film) was from the band being fresh, new and belonging to that generation.

Not a fan myself, but I actually think Arctic Monkeys is a decent call in that they have the whole internet word of mouth stuff going on around their first album and they've become about as popular as you'd imagine a rock band being these days without needing to massively dilute their sound. They also seem to be descendants of Stone Roses/Oasis in style to some extent.

I suppose, as mvgsmith hinted, films of the future will focus on rap artists or pop acts and aim to tack on fresher narratives than the white boys coming of age we've seen in the likes of Spike Isl.
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:31
Mr. Sifter.
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Nonsense. I have it on impeccable authority Alex Turner was playing knock a door run in High Green just a couple of months ago.

Their first album was indeed dynamite but should they have simply brought out WYSIATWIN mk2, 3 and 4 I'm sure you would have been quick to deride them for not showing 'progession'. They can't win is what I'm trying to say....
Favourite Worst Nightmare has some decent tracks on it.
But they should have remained 'loveable rogues from Sheffield'
That was the trick Oasis pulled off, they stayed 'working class'

The Arctic Monkeys didn't, hence why they're practically forgotten.
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:40
mgvsmith
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Blink 182 have been around since 1992, Foos since 94, Slipknot since 95 and Green Day since 1986. The latter toured the UK in the eighties I believe.

I wouldn't really say any of them are this generation.
Yeah, 30 seconds were formed in 1998. Even the monkeys go back to 2002. The Killers are from 2001, so maybe they are closer in generational terms.

Maybe Wolf Alice are better contenders or Florence and the Machine?
I saw Florence support The Stone Roses, to make the link back to Spike Island.
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:40
konebyvax
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Favourite Worst Nightmare has some decent tracks on it.
But they should have remained 'loveable rogues from Sheffield'
That was the trick Oasis pulled off, they stayed 'working class'

The Arctic Monkeys didn't, hence why they're practically forgotten.

Like I say, they may be forgotten to the people who view bands/individuals as 'iconic' as meaning being constantly in the press for anything BUT their music but, fact remains, they have massively moved away from their sound of the debut with each album release (unlike Oasis for instance) and still maintained huge popularity (relative to the sort of numbers guitar bands sell nowadays compared to the era Oasis et al were selling in). Plus they retain massive live appeal.
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:54
Mr. Sifter.
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Like I say, they may be forgotten to the people who view bands/individuals as 'iconic' as meaning being constantly in the press for anything BUT their music but, fact remains, they have massively moved away from their sound of the debut with each album release (unlike Oasis for instance) and still maintained huge popularity (relative to the sort of numbers guitar bands sell nowadays compared to the era Oasis et al were selling in). Plus they retain massive live appeal.
I'm a fan of the band, don't get me wrong. I just genuinely think they lost their way, and you can only blame Alex Turner for that. He clearly called the shots, but made poor decisions in my opinion. The Elvis 'shtick' is embarrassing currently.
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Old 28-02-2016, 01:58
mgvsmith
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Yeah, was thinking the same thing. Think part of the excitement they were attempting to convey in Spike Island (actually thought it was a pretty naff film) was from the band being fresh, new and belonging to that generation.

....

I suppose, as mvgsmith hinted, films of the future will focus on rap artists or pop acts and aim to tack on fresher narratives than the white boys coming of age we've seen in the likes of Spike Isl.
Yes, I would agree about rap or pop, a female or immigrant narrative perhaps?
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Old 28-02-2016, 06:00
StratusSphere
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I don't know if we can say yet because most of the biggest indie and rock bands haven't had long enough at the top to judge. Arctic Monkeys is a good shout because they're five albums in. Most of the other biggest indie/alternative acts of that calibre all burst onto the scene in about 2008 (Florence and the Machine, Adele etc.) and have had long breaks since, or like Amy Winehouse, have died, or like Duffy, have fallen by the wayside for a while. The Monkeys have been fairly consistent and regular with their release schedule, and quite successful every time. Franz Ferdinand or Biffy Clyro would be contemporaries who've had more hit and miss success. Another thing is that with the larger music buying (and streaming) market in general, it's much harder for smaller genres to get a hit, so a lot of the biggest rock/indie/alternative acts' popularity won't be reflected in hit singles.

I would agree with people talking about the fractured nature of things these days. An interesting thing to think about is, what bands might have been even bigger if there hadn't been the choice of everything else in the world and everything from the past easily available at our fingertips alongside?
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Old 28-02-2016, 07:52
Rae_Amury
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Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Green Day or Blink 182 or maybe 30 Seconds to Mars might be contenders from the other side of the pond?
Old bands and quite frankly, trash. So out of touch bro.

In my opinion, the last time we saw the emergence of iconic bands was in the early 00s with The Libertines, The White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire and so on. Arctic Monkeys seem like a band that just joined them a little bit later. Many of those bands continue to make good music to this day, but they lost the spark imo. People stopped to care about what they have to say. Since then, we don't have any, I'm afraid.
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Old 28-02-2016, 08:05
Rae_Amury
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I don't know if we can say yet because most of the biggest indie and rock bands haven't had long enough at the top to judge. Arctic Monkeys is a good shout because they're five albums in. Most of the other biggest indie/alternative acts of that calibre all burst onto the scene in about 2008 (Florence and the Machine, Adele etc.) and have had long breaks since, or like Amy Winehouse, have died, or like Duffy, have fallen by the wayside for a while. The Monkeys have been fairly consistent and regular with their release schedule, and quite successful every time. Franz Ferdinand or Biffy Clyro would be contemporaries who've had more hit and miss success. Another thing is that with the larger music buying (and streaming) market in general, it's much harder for smaller genres to get a hit, so a lot of the biggest rock/indie/alternative acts' popularity won't be reflected in hit singles.

I would agree with people talking about the fractured nature of things these days. An interesting thing to think about is, what bands might have been even bigger if there hadn't been the choice of everything else in the world and everything from the past easily available at our fingertips alongside?
I would argue that an iconic band is a band that created a momentum. Longevity or consistence is just irrelevant to this. Sex Pistols or The Stone Roses are examples of truly iconic bands, who cares that they released just one or two albums really?
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Old 28-02-2016, 08:14
mushymanrob
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Very subjective really.

But i think coldplay are still big and around but thats a really low standard to be honest.
jeez if these bland boring old guys are the best that can be nominated, you know we are in the shit.

this question links in the the rant about the state of todays music, and highlights how bloody crap it is. blah blah search for it blah blah modern technology has changed the way we listen to music blah blah blah

the point is that there really isnt an oasis, nirvana, stone roses, jam, slade, t rex, beatles, who, kinks, stones, etc etc etc. and this confirms really the indifference of todays youth. theres no generation defining band/s theres no generation defining style, and no, i dont accept that modern technology is to blame - if there was such an act around (or acts) modern technology would increase their profile not subdue it. if the talent was there (on the scale of the previous acts mentioned) we would see it.

Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Green Day or Blink 182 or maybe 30 Seconds to Mars might be contenders from the other side of the pond?
i was going to reply to this but....

Blink 182 have been around since 1992, Foos since 94, Slipknot since 95 and Green Day since 1986. The latter toured the UK in the eighties I believe.

I wouldn't really say any of them are this generation.
... summed it up perfectly.
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