Comments on: What Indie Band Goes Best With 70's Rock?

Question: What Indie Band Goes Best With 70's Rock?

Lipstick Thespian — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:02:17 -0800

Who Are The Journeys and Joni's Of Today?

I am doing a 70's music show for a local radio station next week, and I am thinking that a cool theme would be pairing an iconic 70's artist with an indie band or current band that obviously sounds like/was influenced by/would be one of those "if you like X, then try Y" bands.

I want to play them back-to-back to juxtapose the old with the new, blah blah blah.

What I'm hoping the Metaverse will come up with is great rock analogies for this set, i.e. say the Doobie Brothers paired with Kings Of Leon, or Yes with The New Pornographers.

I'd love your suggestions and if anyone's interested after this post, the show airs 10 - Noon EST here: wscafm.org next Monday, 4/20/09. Show's called Raised on Radio.

By: billysumday

billysumday — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:09:37 -0800

Bruce Springteen -----> Arcade Fire

By: nonmerci

nonmerci — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:11:42 -0800

Joni Mitchell --> Joanna Newsom

By: nonmerci

nonmerci — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:12:14 -0800

The Allman Brothers --> Kings of Leon

By: tealsocks

tealsocks — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:16:02 -0800

CSNY --> Fleet Foxes
David Bowie --> Destroyer

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:16:02 -0800

Yes --> Muse
Sandy Denny --> Alela Diane

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:19:25 -0800

Bob Dylan -> Bright Eyes
Pink Floyd -> more recent Radiohead
Pink Floyd again -> Animal Collective

And I don't know what you consider "current," but literally every grunge band is completely derivative of Black Sabbath and early Led Zeppelin.

By: Jaltcoh

Jaltcoh — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:21:29 -0800

Of Montreal - influenced by David Bowie and Queen. Kevin Barnes (the mastermind of the band) admits he's hugely influenced by Bowie ("So Begins Our Alabee"), and the Queen influence is obvious ("Wraith Pinned to the Mist..."). I strongly recommend the albums The Sunlandic Twins and Satanic Panic in the Attic -- better than their more recent albums.

Mika - clear disco influences in "Relax, Take it Easy," and Queen influence in "Grace Kelly" (which he alludes to in the lyrics: "so I tried a little Freddie").

MGMT's Kids strikes me as faintly influenced by Stevie Wonder.

Goldfrapp's album Seventh Tree from last year is really brilliant throughout and seems to have a strong '60s-'70s influence. Caravan Girl -- has a '70s vibe to it, right?

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is a British pop star with a great song called "Me & My Imagination" that's pretty blatant disco. (I don't know if this is insufficiently "indie," but the song was written up in Pitchfork Media.)

By: Jaltcoh

Jaltcoh — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:24:00 -0800

Oh, and there are tons of bands that are imitating Talking Heads -- two really blatant examples are Yeasayer and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Also Of Montreal, Hot Chip, Architecture in Helsinki.

By: Jaltcoh

Jaltcoh — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:28:32 -0800

One more: St. Vincent seems influenced by Joni Mitchell -- and is certainly worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as her.

By: Roman Graves

Roman Graves — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:31:41 -0800

Arcade Fire is too droll to be The Boss. Bruce Springsteen --> The Hold Steady.

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:38:22 -0800

Leonard Cohen -> Jens Lekman

(Jens is a little obscure maybe, but SO worth checking out)

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:39:31 -0800

Wow - wait, Of Montreal = Queen? Okay, here's my two cents:

So Begins Our Alabee - to me sounds WAY more like early Devo than anything Queen ever did, and the Wraith song (which I love) sounds way more (to me anyway) like the Kinks' A Well-Respected Man.

I also always thought that Of Montreal copped a ton from late-period Beatles music.

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:42:28 -0800

My Chemical Romance <- Queen all the time, and sometimes T-Rex ("Teenagers")

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:46:28 -0800

Oh man, Muse totally = Queen to my ears. This is such a fun thread y'all! Keep 'em coming!

By: You Should See the Other Guy

You Should See the Other Guy — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:48:25 -0800

Pink Floyd -- > early Mercury Rev
Brian Wilson -- > Panda Bear
Bruce Springsteen -- > Marah (absolutely, especially the album Kids In Philly) and The Constantines
Thin Lizzy -- > Early Danko Jones
Black Sabbath -- > Black Mountain's first album (skip the first track)
Captain Beefheart -- > Man Man
Beach Boys -- > Miracle Fortress
Rolling Stones -- > Deadly Snakes

Leonard Cohen -> Jens Lekman

I completely disagree with this and would say Jonathan Richman -- > Jens Lekman. Herman Dune would also be an excellent one for Richman.

By: umbú

umbú — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:50:30 -0800

Early Police+Early REM+moments of Rush-->Pinback

By: You Should See the Other Guy

You Should See the Other Guy — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:56:23 -0800

For Leonard Cohen I would suggest a single track by Morphine: In Spite of Me.

By: tealsocks

tealsocks — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:01:20 -0800

Leonard Cohen --> Smog/Bill Callahan to me.
Black Sabbath --> Dead Meadow

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:03:47 -0800

Yeah, not so much on the Leonard Cohen = Jens Lekman. Way more in line with the Jonathan Richman/Herman Dune way of seeing that. Plus also and also, too - Jonathan Richman and Herman Dune are completely awesome.

MORE!

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:05:34 -0800

oh, and omigod - HOW DID I MISS A BAND LIKE MARAH? I'm slapping my head over here! They are fantastic!

By: neroli

neroli — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:17:02 -0800

Don't know who the contemporary equivalent of Journey is, but if your concepts allows, you can play Petra's Haden's a capella cover of Don't Stop Believin'.

(I actually think there's just as much Thin Lizzy as Springsteen in The Hold Steady. And I hear lots of Hall & Oates in Phoenix.)

By: You Should See the Other Guy

You Should See the Other Guy — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:18:10 -0800

Here are some examples of the bands I mentioned:

Miracle Fortress (Beach Boys)
Panda Bear (Brian Wilson)
Black Mountain (Black Sabbath)
Constantines (Springsteen)
Man Man (Captain Beefheart)
Mercury Rev (Pink Floyd)
Danko Jones (Thin Lizzy)
Jens Lekman (Jonathan Richman)
Herman Dune (Jonathan Richman)

By: Jaltcoh

Jaltcoh — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:18:48 -0800

Wow - wait, Of Montreal = Queen?

Yes. Listen to The Sunlandic Twins -- it's all over the place.

I only mentioned "Wraith" (not "Alabee") as a Queen influence. Just picture Freddie Mercury singing it.

Would I ever mistake one band for the other? No. But there's an influence.

You're also right that OM is influenced by the Kinks. Also the Beatles and Prince and a lot of other people. OM is pretty derivative, but they're still interesting because they're like a kaleidoscope of a lot of really awesome people from the past.

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:21:45 -0800

Okay, bonus points for anyone with good pairings for the following songs:

- indie equivalent of Miracles, by Jefferson Starship (Red Octopus album).
- indie equivalent of All Good People, by Yes
- indie equivalent of Hello, It's Me by Todd Rundgren
- indie equivalent of anything Blondie ever did

Have at it, minions! Ahoy, ahoy!

By: piedmont

piedmont — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:24:00 -0800

'Graceland' era Paul Simon-----> Vampire Weekend

By: fructose

fructose — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:33:24 -0800

Neil Diamond or Scott Walker----> Adam Green (except Green's lyrics are way more fucked up)
Pure Prairie League (or maybe Allman Brothers or maaaaybee Doobies)----> Blitzen Trapper (at least on Wild Mountain Nation, haven't heard the newest)
Cheap Trick--------> Sloan
Can---------> Dungen
Wham!-----> Junior Senior (I know Wham! is from the '80s, though)
Joy Division------> Interpol
Steve Miller Band ------> The Raconteurs
Beach Boys----> Panda Bear
Joan Jett-------->Peaches
Various sides of the Beatles--------> Elephant 6 bands
Queen and Thin Lizzy-----------------> The Darkness
Peter Gabriel ---------------------> TV on the Radio
Early T. Rex--------------> Devendra Banhart
ELO------> Daft Punk (sorta)
Nick Drake ----> Elliott Smith

Boyfriend disagrees with both Jens Lekman assessments above and throws out Morrissey instead.

I can't take credit for all of these. A lot are ones I've heard from various people in my own past radio station discussions.

By: You Should See the Other Guy

You Should See the Other Guy — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:33:39 -0800

Songs: Ohia (Neil Young)

By: apostrophe

apostrophe — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:37:05 -0800

Styx--->Decemberists
or are they Boston? I can't tell.

By: You Should See the Other Guy

You Should See the Other Guy — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:37:29 -0800

Midlake (a band I love) -- > America (a band I hate)

By: fructose

fructose — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:39:05 -0800

Dude, I was totally gonna throw out there Vampire Weekend and Graceland-era Paul Simon, but also The Unicorns.

Boyfriend adds: Captain Beefheart---> Old Time Relijun

The most important question is, what is the 70's precursor of the Jonas Brothers. The Osmonds?

By: jayder

jayder — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:54:49 -0800

Van Halen------------------>Red Hot Chili Peppers

I know Van Halen was really at the tail end of the seventies, at best.

There's not an obvious resemblance in sound, but I think the role Van Halen played in its time was very similar to the role the Chili Peppers have played in theirs. Same kind of "party band," same cheesy/zany strutting machismo, and the same types of people were drawn to Van Halen as are drawn to the Chili Peppers.

By: You Should See the Other Guy

You Should See the Other Guy — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:55:14 -0800

Marissa Nadler (Vashti Bunyan and other female "Folk" singers with distinctive voices)

I'm no Blondie fan but I'll throw out Goldfrapp's Strict Machine and Ooh La La to your challenge.

By: You Should See the Other Guy

You Should See the Other Guy — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:02:30 -0800

I've never heard that Rundgren track before and could only find a live version on youtube. For whatever reason, I immediately thought of Langhorne Slim singing his song Lord. However, I don't know why. I don't think it's a good match. :)

By: hydrophonic

hydrophonic — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:26:58 -0800

Beach Boys --> The Fleet Foxes (the video's full of goats, even)
Jethro Tull --> The Decemberists's latest
Bruce Springsteen - The Hold Steady
David Bowie --> Bobby Conn
Donovan - Devendra Banhart
Neil Young - Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter

By: baho

baho — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:28:14 -0800

Porcupine Tree has a lot of Pink Floyd and Yes in it. I can't find an exact match for "All Good People" right now, but I know it's in the Porcupine Tree catalog somewhere. "Pure Narcotic" is the closest I'm going to get tonight.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:04:41 -0800

'Miracles' --> 'Roscoe'
'I've Seen All Good People' --> 'My Girls'

By: Bodd

Bodd — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:29:25 -0800

AC/DC --> Jet
Black Sabbath --> Wolfmother
Joy Division --> Editors, White Lies

By: aielen

aielen — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:38:28 -0800

I can see a bit of Blondie in some of Ladyhawke's stuff. She moves a little like Debbie Harry in that video, too.
(Although I think no one can ever duplicate Debbie Harry in her essence!)

And I can also see Fleetwood Mac (and Stevie Nicks) influences in Bat for Lashes' stuff (which is also somewhat reminiscent of Kate Bush's stuff)... e.g. her latest single (Stevie Nicks-ish lyrics and "aura" (the whole mythical folksy thing)... and a Fleetwood Mac-esque rhythm section and melodic line).

By: mannequito

mannequito — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:22:39 -0800

Led Zeppelin --> Mars Volta
Neil Young --> Chad VanGaalen
Black Sabbath --> Black Mountain
Creedance Clearwater Revival --> My Morning Jacket
Beach Boys --> Pinback

By: mannequito

mannequito — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:23:42 -0800

aielen, isn't that Bat For Lashes song a cover?

By: aielen

aielen — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:30:44 -0800

mannequito - no, it isn't... what song were you thinking of, though?

By: mannequito

mannequito — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:45:01 -0800

thought it was a cover of the Elton John song; I was wrong

By: pxe2000

pxe2000 — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:53:57 -0800

New Pornographers --> Shocking Blue
Fiery Furnaces --> Sparks ca. Kimono My House (suggested by boyfriend; I disagree)
My Brightest Diamond --> early Kate Bush
Polysics --> Devo
She & Him --> Linda Ronstadt

...and anyone who thinks Conor Oberst is fit to polish Dylan's shoes needs their head examined.

By: electroboy

electroboy — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:58:12 -0800

Siouxsie and the Banshees ---> Yeah Yeah Yeahs

By: pxe2000

pxe2000 — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 06:09:16 -0800

Oh, also

early Neko Case --> Emmylou Harris

By: pxe2000

pxe2000 — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 06:25:06 -0800

Another:
Elvis Perkins in Dearland --> The Band

By: umbú

umbú — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 06:28:55 -0800

Robin Hitchcock-->pre-prog Decemberists

By: Jaltcoh

Jaltcoh — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 06:39:19 -0800

Okay, bonus points for anyone with good pairings for the following songs ... - indie equivalent of anything Blondie ever did

Goldfrapp!!!

Especially their song "Ride a White Horse." It's like a sequel to "Heart of Glass." (Other great Goldfrapp songs: "A&E," "Happiness," "Road to Somewhere." And I already mentioned "Caravan Girl.")

By: goethean

goethean — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:44:05 -0800

Exile-era Rolling Stones -> Deadstring Brothers

By: snofoam

snofoam — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:35:56 -0800

The Band -> The Gourds
Kraftwerk -> Aphex Twin
Pink Floyd -> The Orb
Big Star -> The Posies or Teenage Fanclub

By: brgale

brgale — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:53:57 -0800

Rilo Kiley -> Fleetwood Mac.
The Clash -> Exploding Hearts
Thin Lizzy -> Ted Leo
Gram Parsons -> Ryan Adams

By: brgale

brgale — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:56:37 -0800

Of course, it seems as if most of these answers are musically based, rather than discussing cultural impact or popularity. As I said above, The Exploding Hearts sound a lot like the new Clash to my ears, but they definitely don't have the kind of impact that the Clash did. Not that I know who does.

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:02:46 -0800

This thread is all about sound-for-sound. I'm basically trying to set up a cool two hours of show where I can play really recognizable 70's music right alongside current bands who sound like them, or have taken huge cues from them as inspiration.

The music should be as similar as possible to really show off the comparison.

So far the set includes:

Starship Trooper (Yes) with The Dark Is Rising (Mercury Rev)
something by Led Zeppelin with something by Wolfmother
something by Black Sabbath mixed with something by Priestess or possibly Black Mountain
CSNY with Fleet Foxes
Brian Wilson/Beach Boys with either Panda Bear or Miracle Fortress (great suggestions, both and THANK YOU)
definitely some old Bruce with The Hold Steady

and I'm really loving the upthread comparisons for both Gram Parsons and the Band - I'd never heard of Elvis Perkins prior to this thread and now I'm a huge fan.

Keep 'em coming, folks - this is one of the most fun things I've ever posed in Askme.

By: dhammond

dhammond — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:08:58 -0800

Definitely seconding Thin Lizzy -> Ted Leo

By: kjs4

kjs4 — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:51:42 -0800

Joni Mitchell -> Laura Marling

At least to my ears.

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:42:26 -0800

Good call, kjs4 - best Joni option yet! We still need a Journey, though! Get to work, people!

By: swellingitchingbrain

swellingitchingbrain — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:00:16 -0800

Joel Plaskett sounds like mid- to late- 70's Rock

By: Mr. Anthropomorphism

Mr. Anthropomorphism — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:28:45 -0800

Springsteen --> The Hold Steady

You probably won't even notice the changeover between "Born to Run" and "Stuck Between Stations"

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:16:38 -0800

hey, anyone ever notice that the bassist for the Hold Steady looks a hell of a lot like Jim from The Office? Just sayin'.

By: snofoam

snofoam — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:20:33 -0800

Anything from the 70's -> Lenny Kravitz

By: snofoam

snofoam — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:22:45 -0800

Can/other krautrock -> Julian Cope circa Jehovahkill

By: snofoam

snofoam — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:26:54 -0800

Also Moonage Daydream -> Safesurfer by Julian Cope
Steely Dan -> Pandy Fackler by Ween

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:57:38 -0800

Hey all - anyone still looking at this thread - I posted a thank you note to the users who added their two cents for the show up on Metatalk. Thanks again for everything - the show was 100 percent from start to finish.

By: no_moniker

no_moniker — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:05:52 -0800

The Black Keys sound like ther are still in the '70's. In a good way.

By: no_moniker

no_moniker — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:07:03 -0800

ther = they

By: converge

converge — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:35:13 -0800

According to Carl Newman himself, The New Pornographers were brought about to recreate the sounds of Cheap Trick (yeah, yeah, citation needed).

By: The World Famous

The World Famous — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:59:23 -0800

Rush + Santana = The Mars Volta

By: batmonkey

batmonkey — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:17:22 -0800

I'm just curious if anyone else finds Spoon to be like '70s Billy Joel (at least on "The Underdog").

By: painquale

painquale — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:05:46 -0800

For those of you in who come across this page in the future and would like a link to the MetaTalk post that Lipstick Thespian mentioned, here you go. (Final playlist available there too.)

By: Brian B.

Brian B. — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:09:12 -0800

Velvet Underground >> Brian Jonestown Massacre

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:51:32 -0800

indie equivalent of All Good People, by Yes

2080 by Yeasayer

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:52:15 -0800

Seconding Jethro Tull and the Decemberists. Thick as a Brick/Hazards of Love.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:53:37 -0800

Neil Young - Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter

Absolutely. Tell Me Why/Station Grey perhaps?

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:54:20 -0800

Dang, the show's done already! I guess I should actually try to read Ask more often.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:54:38 -0800

LT-- perhaps do a Part II? *bats eyelashes*

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:35:41 -0800

Okay, why isn't anyone comparing Jesse Sykes to Marianne Faithful here or even Stevie Nicks? I'm just not getting the Neil Young here - especially when there's Magnolia Electric Co., Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Strand of Oaks.....