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[Kid Modernist]

What bands would you say are a genre unto themselves. So much so that anybody that sounds like them can be said to be doing "X Band Genre" music.

My list:

The Velvet Underground
The Ramones (Better than punk)
Jimi Hendrix
The Clash
The Fall
The Beatles
Deerhoof
Manu Chao
Fela Kuti (I guess Afro beat can be used, but basically afro beat means "I used to listen to Fela Kuti a lotttt."

People I want to say:
Bob Marley (Because he is basically better than any other reggae artist, but he didn't really invent or change it immensely. Yet, he is everywhere in the genre)

Note: This isn't necessarily bands you have to like so if it was up to be there would be no douchey posts about "The Clash sucks." But we'll see.

[Thrillho]

Uh, I disagree with half of those.

[Kid Modernist]

Okay, now we know you are capable of having an opinion. So now do the second part and come up with your own.

[Thrillho]

Do you mean come up with bands that are their own genre, or come up with my reasoning?

I don't think The Ramones are a genre of their own because they just define what punk is. They pretty much ARE punk.

As for bands that are pretty much unique, I'd say Sigur Ros, The Pogues, Gogol Bordello, and as an artist Jamie T, for his folk-hip-hop-pop.

[Thrillho]

I've just noticed your avatar is the fucking Wonderwall soundtrack, I was not expecting that.

But I don't think the Ramones do transcend the fashion and boringness of punk, because they created it. They are the original three-chord wonders, and all the copycat bands with pop hooks stapled to G C and D are copycats of them. They embody punk, as it is now at least.

[Kid Modernist]

Yeah, I'm pretty obscure (But surriously, that is a damn good album).

You have a point, but it's so unfortunate because a lot of other punk seems so watered down. I think there are two brands of 1st wave punk. Followers of The Ramones, and followers of the Sex Pistols (SP follwed Ramones, but you see what I mean). The Sex Pistols variety can mostly go away in my opinion.

But anyways, back to the original topic, I thought of another one.

Os Mutants (I hope I am wrong in this one, if so, tell me what to check out.)

[Mark7]

The only band I can think of who ever had a genre named after them are the Heavy Metal Kids

[Ernest]

Me: "Man the Ramones are good. They aren't punk though, they transcend the fashion and boringness of punk."
Her: "The Ramones are punk. They define what punk is!"
Me: "Okay, but if the Ramones are punk, nobody else is."

I echo Tommy's sentiments, and would like to add that the MC5 existed long before The Ramones did. 

[ImRonBurgundy?]

Bob Marley (Because he is basically better than any other reggae artist, but he didn't really invent or change it immensely. Yet, he is everywhere in the genre)

Bob Marley is boring.  Slow "jah" reggae is boring.  Skinhead reggae's where it's at.

[ScrambledGregs]

Uhmmmmm....hmmmm......

Captain Beefheart.......??

[Ernest]

The MC5 had a punk spirit arguably but their music was so obviously not punk.
Their musical heroes were Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Sun Ra, who were a lot more technically capable than their brethren.

Punk had to start without punk influences.  It didn't just exist in a vacuum (does that phrase make sense here?  I'm still trying it out).

[jcknbl]

Its really hard to distinguish between bands that are there own genre and bands that exemplify genres. Also should we count bands that uniquely combine genres?

Pink Floyd (to the general public they pretty much have a monopoly on spacey masterbation rock)
Oneida (these guys are making really unique music, one of these days they're going to break out and Pitchfork won't stop talking about them for 6 months)
Dr. Dre (literally, he invented gfunk)
Rage Against the Machine (not that they're all that original per se but they're the only well know band that does the rock/political rap thing)
Dave Matthews Band (I've stated how I feel about this band before. I think we all have similar opinions. Still, I think they actually qualify)
Stereolab
Tom Waits


I should note that I don't enjoy half these acts.

I also don't really want to list recent acts here but I have a feeling:
TV on the Radio
the Liars
Newsome
the Arcade Fire

In 5 years time a lot of these artists won't look original. We'll have to wait and see.

[ekmesnz]

I think it's possible to partially categorize almost any artist. Unless the music is written in a vacuum, the musician surely has tastes that at least subconsciously inform what she's doing, whether or not the new music is a continuation or a reaction.

Sigur Ros is pretty textbook post rock, by the way.

[MadassAlex]

Death.

[Caspian]

Neurosis. Often copied, but no one's came close to their punk/sludge/noise stuff. And that's just theur 90's output.

Also, Sigur Ros, and particularly Jesu, which sounds like nothing else out there.

[Gridgm]

Death.

damn you beat me too it...i think this is actually the only band which really belongs here the death metal genre was created on their music and it's named after them...or are they named after it...either way

[Ben yayayayayayayay]

Brian Eno, in my headphones, with the ambience!

[-sam]

Dave Matthews Band (I've stated how I feel about this band before. I think we all have similar opinions. Still, I think they actually qualify)

Now I love me some DMB (~25 shows over the past 7 years), but I'm not sure i'd go that far as to call them a genre unto themselves.

First band that came into my head was Grateful Dead.  Sure, there've been other psychedelic bands before, during and after, but GD was the scene for jambands in a way that nobody has ever come close to duplicating. 

[Kid Modernist]

Blah blah blah.

Fixed.

About MC5 being before Ramones. I am pretty aware of the timeline of punk. My point isn't that the Ramones are the first in anything, just that they are better than what they are lumped with.

[Scytale]

Death.

damn you beat me too it...i think this is actually the only band which really belongs here the death metal genre was created on their music and it's named after them...or are they named after it...either way

Death metal is named after the Demo by Possesed from 1984.

Death were originally named Mantas after Venom...

Speaking of Venom they created Black Metal and are still a huge influence.

[KharBevNor]

To be honest, though as Fenriz says 'You can't go wrong being influenced by Venom', they're only really a component in the formation of black metal, despite producing its theme tune. They're much more a proto-black metal influence on the genre than a template that other bands have followed. Musically, they fit in more at an intersection between NWOBHM and thrash. Musically, Hellhammer, Sodom, Death SS and Motorhead are at least as important influences on the genre. If you're looking for the first bands that could truly be called black metal in sound as well as spirit, then I'd say Celtic Frost, Bathory and Sarcofago. I'd say Bathorys original trilogy of albums are the sound most parrotted in Black Metal as a whole.

[Scytale]

The First Bathory album is pretty much pure Venom Worship, the second album, "The Return" though is fucking evil.

Venom are still a massive influence though.  I think a lot of people undersell venom, "At War With Satan" is a master peice, the title track is fucking epic.

At MFTB last year Anarazel played an awesome cover of "In League with Satan" I've never seen anyting cooler then a packed hall all singing along at the top of their lungs.

[KharBevNor]

Mate, I fucking LOVE Venom, and I agree they're a huge influence on the genre. All I'm saying is, once you get past about 1987 and the second wave hit in it's pretty hard to find many black metal bands that are actually aping their style, which is, after all, what this thread is about. Even those bands that were really inspired by Venom built on their sound in different ways. Bathorys self-titled is really more brutal and punk-influenced than most of Venoms material. I mean, it's worth noting that Quorthon said that he never owned a Venom record prior to releasing 'Bathory' (though he had heard them), and also that he was a massive Sex Pistols fan. He even covered God Save the Queen for 'A Black Mark Tribute', mentioning in the liner notes that it was one of his favourite songs of all time.

[Scytale]

Cool I didn't know that about Quorthon, I knew he was also a huge Kiss fan.

[CutMan]

A band I can't define would be Mindless Self Indulgence.

By the way, if you can define them, try not to smack me in the face and just tell me how you define them peacefully.

...

And no sharp things, I don't like being poked.

[Schmitt]

They have self-genreified themselves as "Industrial jungle pussy punk."


As for the origin of the title for death metal, I'd be more inclined to say it came from Death, because while  Possessed's demo came out in 84, and their first album came out in 85, two years before Death, Possessed was more crossover proto-death metal thrash more in the vein of Show No Mercy era Slayer. But it's really a point that can be perpetually, and inconclusively argued until the next ice age. I just like to think that Death is a band that had a genre named not just after an album, but after the band name.



Fun Fact: Larry LaLoned went on to join Primus after the breakup of Possessed.

[Thrillho]

The MC5 had a punk spirit arguably but their music was so obviously not punk.
Their musical heroes were Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Sun Ra, who were a lot more technically capable than their brethren.

They are astonishingly gifted, as 'Rocket Reduce #.62' shows. And if we're going on spirit you could probably go back to Johnny Cash or Jerry Lee Lewis really, so you have a good point.

[Ernest]

Blah blah blah.

Fixed.

About MC5 being before Ramones. I am pretty aware of the timeline of punk. My point isn't that the Ramones are the first in anything, just that they are better than what they are lumped with.

Then I don't know what you're trying to pull.  C'mon, the Ramones just popularized punk.  Sure, they paved the way for a lot of good bands, but they also laid the groundwork for a plethora of same-sounding shit bands too.  They weren't "the punkest" of all punk bands.  C'mon, what does that even mean?  Morals?  Ideals?  Surely it couldn't have been music, because that was the simplest shit ever created.

[KharBevNor]

Cool I didn't know that about Quorthon, I knew he was also a huge Kiss fan.

Don't forget the Beatles. He did 'I'm Only Sleeping' on A Black Mark Tribute II, claiming they were among his personal heroes.

Actually, you know, now I think about it, Bathorys later albums are fucking over-copied as well. 90% of viking metal bands just spend their whole careers failing to make something that sounds exactly like either Hammerheart or Blood on Ice.


Also, Lets not have a ZOMG PUNKEST PUNKS EVAR competition please, because we all know that The Anti-Nowhere League will win.

[Caspian]

Neurosis have new album in May!
They posted some nice pictures and let us gawk at their setup over at the Electrical Audio forum. Made me very excited to hear what they came up with. Check out this thread for some more info.

This should be awesome. New Neurosis= yay

[valley_parade]

I was coming in here expecting to read about a band called "Heavy Metal".

Excuse me while I go start said band.

[Jackie Blue]

I would have a hard time putting Spiritualized in any one genre (except for meaninglessly broad genres like "rock" or "psychedelic", or meaninglessly goofy genres like "space rock" or "drug music").

[carrotosaurus]

Frank Zappa created a style of music that no other band has sounded like. But I don't think I'd respect anyone (or even want to hear anyone) trying to sound like Zappa.

[godinpants]

Im going to say Mr Bungle.
Ive never seen anyone else ever jump from like cool jazz to metal. And then it just reminds me of circus music for some reason.

Also, im going to say Jaco, maybe with Weather Report.
No one was doing the type of crazy solo bass/bass lead stuff he was doing at the time.

[KharBevNor]

Ive never seen anyone else ever jump from like cool jazz to metal. And then it just reminds me of circus music for some reason.

Carnival in Coal, Crotchduster, Ephel Duath, various others.

[godinpants]

I stand corrected.
And I'll check those guys out.

[Dimmukane]

Ive never seen anyone else ever jump from like cool jazz to metal. And then it just reminds me of circus music for some reason.

Carnival in Coal, Crotchduster, Ephel Duath, various others.

How the fuck do you forget Cynic?  Well...they're sort of their own thing as well.  Nevermind. 

Atheist has some jazzy basswork, so does Aghora. 

As for circus music, uneXpect's latest album hits the nail on that casket.  The other ones, not so much.  They themed this one around circus music.

[KharBevNor]

How the fuck do you forget Cynic?  Well...they're sort of their own thing as well.  Nevermind. 

Because Cynic, as you realised, are NOTHING like Mr. Bungle. Carnival in Coal and Crotchduster especially are. Ephel Duath are just fucking cool.

[godinpants]

Firstly. Now I have to go find a Carnival in Coal album.

Secondly. I've been doing some research.

Mr Bungle had released an ep in 1986.

However;

Carnival In Coal is an Extreme Metal/Avant Garde metal band from France. Founded in 1995, the band claim to be an effort to create the musical missing link between Mr. Bungle and Pan.Thy.Monium, while pushing the limits of good taste at the same time.

Ephel Duath
Formed in 1998 as a two-man group and taking their name after the Fictional location of the same name in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.

I couldnt find much about crotchduster time wise though. But oddly I enjoyed their music. And seeing as their one album I can find, came in 2004, I think its also safe to assume that they came after.

Now I know i said "Ive never seen anyone else ever jump from like cool jazz to metal." But the point I was making was that of the thread, that Mr Bungle had an originality that made them their own genre. Others followed, but they were the first.

And by that. I stand by my original statement of Mr Bungle being of their own genre.

[KharBevNor]

The point is they're not unique.

[onewheelwizzard]

Kyuss basically created a genre out of people who wanted to be them.

I'd also say that The Grateful Dead might as well be a genre unto themselves too, because anything that any band does that could get them compared to the Dead is something the Dead did more, and probably better at some point.

The distinction I'm making here is not saying that these are unique bands.  They're clearly not.  I'm just saying that anyone who sounds like them can be rightfully said to be playing their kind of music, because, for lack of a better way of saying it, they do their thing more purely than anyone else has ever done that thing, and anyone who has tried has ended up sounding like an imitation of them.

[ScrambledGregs]

So I guess nobody takes issue with my Captain Beefheart suggestion, then?? Or do you guys just not listen to Captain Beefheart so you can't judge??

[louize 5]

So I guess nobody takes issue with my Captain Beefheart suggestion, then?? Or do you guys just not listen to Captain Beefheart so you can't judge??

I love Captain Beefheart and I guess I have to agree, but when I read the subject to this thread I was sure to find more peculiar bands such as Nervous Cop or Stockhausen, not the Ramones or some of the other bands first listed (and on that matter, I have to agree they cant be considered a genre - they do not represent punk, although they are the strongest name that comes to mind when you think of the genre)

Os Mutantes is a nice touch - they really are the velha guarda brasileira, although you can count on a lot of other bands/singer such as early Roberto Carlos, but none of them have the "spunk" or the originality of this band. I'm actually going to see their reunion concert today here in Sao Paulo!

[ThePQ4]

Firstly, don't quote posts directly above you.

Secondly, on a completely seperate note..
...I nominate Bob Dylan as his own seperate genre.

[Der Turm, der Leute frass]

As for circus music, uneXpect's latest album hits the nail on that casket.

don't you forget sleepytime gorilla museum

[mqarcus]

Deerhoof?! Are you out of your mind?!

Deerhoof is simply experimantal indie rock, nothing more to it.

Hendrix is nothing more than a genius playing rock and blues.

The Beatles are pop.

I disagree with at least half of those.

[Jackie Blue]

I think Boris is their own genre.  They're definitely not "just" metal.

[Mark7]

I really don't get this thread   

[Thrillho]

I really don't get this thread   

That's because you're a bad person and your mother never loved you.