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Re: Who influenced Bowie influenced blah blah blah



> > What about Kraftwerk? 
> They were the first Techno band. 

20 years ahead of their time?!  No, Kraftwerk is more New Wave than
Techno.  Techno makes me think of thumping dance music.  And in order 
to make a danceable Kraftwerk album their songs had to be remixed & 
beefed up.

> What about Focus?

Not sure, I drive a Stratus.

> But if you want to get technical about it, Bowie was mostly influenc-
> ed by Marc Bolan (that's not Mark Volman but Marc Bolan) and T. Rex.

Actually, I think it all goes back to Buddy Holly & the Crickets.

> "I'd rather stay here with all the madmen..." David Bowie

"Bowie's boring." Scott Schrade

> I'm going to let you slide on that one.

Pulling punches?  ;-)

> Both of whom were influenced by The Who. ESPECIALLY Zeppelin. 

You know, that's another thing.  I don't hear any Who influence in Zep-
pelin.  What Who influence?  An electric guitar?  Because they're a 
4-piece?  Robert Plant's hair?

Zeppelin is just riff-rock with a sludgy rhythm section.  And Robert
Plant yelling, "Baby, baby, baby, baby....!"  No, I'm sorry, I don't 
hear The Who in:  Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pearl Jam, *The* Jam,
Soundgarden, The Clash, Oasis, etc., etc., etc.  Stop the madness.  Stop
the lies.

The Who may have inspired people to *create* a band but really, Who
sounds like The Who?  No one, that's who.  There is no substitute.

> So was PJ, on their first album. 

Pity they couldn't "keep it up."

> The new one is pretty tasty, too. 

<yawn>

> However The Who were also down to earth, gritty REAL Rock music. 
> Which certainly applies to the bands I mentioned.

That's the *only* comparison you can make.  But that can be said about
tons of Rock bands.  A loud guitar through a Marshall stack doesn't 
make me think of The Who.  Song structure, subject matter, & lyrical
intelligence must also be taken into account.  And sadly that's where 
other bands fall well short.

> I didn't say they were Who cover bands or the logical heir apparents. 
> Just influenced by.

I know, I know.  But to say a band is influenced by The Who leads me
to believe that they're attempting to reach a certain level with their
music - that higher level I spoke of.  

What most people are afraid to say is that it's *easy* to be influenced
by the Beatles, or Zeppelin, or Sabbath.  Those bands, even with their 
high regard in the Rock establishment, are quite copyable.  Sorry, but
it's true.

But how does one copy The Who?  How does one take a Who influence &
create something on *that* level.  Simple: you don't.  You settle for
more accessible bands that are easier to emulate.  Why worry about 
challenging chord structures when you can make up an easy 6-note riff?
Complacency has ruled Rock & Roll for decades now.

> > There's no "grunge" in Who.
> Ever heard LAL?????

Yes, & I have yet to hear *one* grunge group or even a grunge song mimic
LAL's brilliance.  Again, you seem to be implying that all it takes is
a loud, raw guitar & *bingo,* there you have it - Who influence.  What
about all the other things that make The Who great?

> > None of those bands you mentioned spoke of The Who as a major in-
> > fluence
> So what? I can hear it.

I think you're hearing what you *want* to hear.  I'm guilty of that some-
times, too.

> What a damned coincidence!

Coincidences happen all the time.  Humans look for patterns.  Don't sweat
it.


- SCHRADE in Akron