Anthrax and Metallica
December 14, 2011 4:44 PM Subscribe
In 1986 in Brooklyn, you could speak of Anthrax and Metallica as peers. With all respect to Anthrax who have been influential, history has shown Metallica to be the bigger band. I remember an article saying that of all the influential progressive bands in the 70's, like Yes, ELP, and Genesis, lessor know Gentle Giant was just as popular. Are there other examples of bands that had periods of time then they were peers, only to be surpassed later in time. Also, please add if this was true for a specific place.
perhaps a little strange after your examples, but...Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran.
posted by gnomeloaf at 4:49 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by gnomeloaf at 4:49 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
This may be purely subjective, but ca. 1989-1991 in D.C., Shudder to Think and Fugazi.
posted by ryanshepard at 4:51 PM on December 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by ryanshepard at 4:51 PM on December 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
This is basically exactly what the movie Anvil: The Story of Anvil is about. (And it's a great, great movie.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:56 PM on December 14, 2011 [10 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:56 PM on December 14, 2011 [10 favorites]
I remember in the early 90s in Chicago, Smashing Pumpkins and Urge Overkill were the two giant bands. oh yeah and Liz Phair too. God, did I love me some Urge Overkill.
posted by jabes at 4:58 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by jabes at 4:58 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
U2 and Simple Minds in the early eighties.
posted by Chairboy at 4:59 PM on December 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Chairboy at 4:59 PM on December 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
Green Day and The Offspring in the mid-'90s.
posted by John Cohen at 5:03 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by John Cohen at 5:03 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Madonna and Cyndi Lauper in the 80s.
posted by SisterHavana at 5:04 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by SisterHavana at 5:04 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
The Beatles and the Dave Clark Five in the 60s
posted by Rock Steady at 5:12 PM on December 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 5:12 PM on December 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
Of the notoriously loud 70s bands (Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin) you are now far more likely to hear Zeppelin played or cited as an influence than either of the other two.
posted by flabdablet at 5:13 PM on December 14, 2011
posted by flabdablet at 5:13 PM on December 14, 2011
Radiohead and Oasis!
posted by John Cohen at 5:13 PM on December 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by John Cohen at 5:13 PM on December 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
Liz Phair and Juliana Hatfield?
posted by Ralston McTodd at 5:16 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Ralston McTodd at 5:16 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello
posted by davebush at 5:18 PM on December 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by davebush at 5:18 PM on December 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
The Beatles and Stones both became institutions in the way other excellent British Invasion bands like The Who* and The Kinks did not.
Caruso sunglasses scenes aside
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:24 PM on December 14, 2011
Caruso sunglasses scenes aside
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:24 PM on December 14, 2011
Also out of the '60s folk scene, Bob Dylan became a legend while others like Peter, Paul and Mary, Phil Ochs, Arlo Guthrie, etc.. fell by the wayside.
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:25 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:25 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Harry Connick Jr.'s band and the Lincoln Center in the later 90s/early 2000s.
posted by Lutoslawski at 5:28 PM on December 14, 2011
posted by Lutoslawski at 5:28 PM on December 14, 2011
You still hear Foghat once in a while on a classic rock station, but back in the day they sold gazillions of albums and filled arenas.
posted by Forktine at 5:55 PM on December 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by Forktine at 5:55 PM on December 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
Black Sabbath. Ozzy Osbourne gave the wrong impression of them nowadays. They [Black Sabbath] were a dark blues band (that's the closest I can come to describing the sound they played).
posted by Angel of Khaos at 6:02 PM on December 14, 2011
posted by Angel of Khaos at 6:02 PM on December 14, 2011
Gary Numan and John Foxx
posted by davebush at 6:04 PM on December 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by davebush at 6:04 PM on December 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
PM Dawn and Tribe Called Quest. The Zombies and The Beatles. The Jackson 5 and the Osmonds. Lil Wayne and Juvenile. Tupac and Humpty Hump.
posted by anildash at 6:11 PM on December 14, 2011
posted by anildash at 6:11 PM on December 14, 2011
Bob Marley and everybody else who has ever played reggae music.
posted by box at 6:36 PM on December 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by box at 6:36 PM on December 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
Nine Inch Nails and pretty much every other 90's industrial rock act.
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 6:48 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 6:48 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
REM and the Replacements.
posted by MattD at 6:50 PM on December 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by MattD at 6:50 PM on December 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
All those prog rock bands you mentioned, and Pink Floyd.
posted by MattD at 6:53 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by MattD at 6:53 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Crosby, Still and Nash versus Neil Young
posted by KokuRyu at 7:02 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by KokuRyu at 7:02 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins
posted by KokuRyu at 7:02 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by KokuRyu at 7:02 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Soundgarden and Screaming Trees
posted by KokuRyu at 7:02 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by KokuRyu at 7:02 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
In Julian Cope's memoirs there's quite a lot about his frustation that The Teardrop Explodes and Echo and the Bunnymen came up together in Liverpool (in fact, Cope and McCulloch played together in the Crucial Three before either of the other two groups formed) and were about equal in popularity in that scene, but EatB eventually became much bigger international stars, even though, in Cope's opinion, The Teardrop Explodes were the better band. (Cope was right.)
posted by escabeche at 7:14 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by escabeche at 7:14 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Weezer and the Presidents of the United States of America.
posted by escabeche at 7:17 PM on December 14, 2011
posted by escabeche at 7:17 PM on December 14, 2011
Pylon and REM
posted by davebush at 7:21 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by davebush at 7:21 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
The White Stripes (esp. considering ongoing Jack White projects) versus The Strokes. And a third tier of Hives, Vines, et al.
A bizarre variation: Weird Al gained a lot of notoriety for his Michael Jackson parodies; Eat It in 1984 and Fat in 1988. Only one was releasing relevant charting music 20 years later.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 7:34 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
A bizarre variation: Weird Al gained a lot of notoriety for his Michael Jackson parodies; Eat It in 1984 and Fat in 1988. Only one was releasing relevant charting music 20 years later.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 7:34 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
late 60s early 70s, king crimson. 80s the jam
posted by swmobill at 8:20 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by swmobill at 8:20 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
The White Stripes (esp. considering ongoing Jack White projects) versus The Strokes.
Really, you think it's obvious that the White Stripes have been more influential than the Strokes? I think the Strokes have been profoundly influential on the past decade of music, and the White Stripes may one day seem like a flash in the pan.
posted by John Cohen at 8:51 PM on December 14, 2011
Really, you think it's obvious that the White Stripes have been more influential than the Strokes? I think the Strokes have been profoundly influential on the past decade of music, and the White Stripes may one day seem like a flash in the pan.
posted by John Cohen at 8:51 PM on December 14, 2011
King Crimson, again. And out of any of those bands, Yes, ELP, Genesis, King Crimson is STILL producing truly engaging and boundary-pushing music while the others were never really able to keep the magic alive for more than a handful of albums. In my opinion.
posted by TheRedArmy at 8:59 PM on December 14, 2011
posted by TheRedArmy at 8:59 PM on December 14, 2011
Jungle Brothers and Tribe Called Quest/De La Soul?
posted by pmcp at 9:01 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by pmcp at 9:01 PM on December 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Late '70's Jersey: Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band and Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes.
Late '80's LA: Guns 'n' Roses and L.A. Guns.
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 9:07 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Late '80's LA: Guns 'n' Roses and L.A. Guns.
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 9:07 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
And Exodus is to me, more than Anthrax, is the the Metallica contemporary more worthy of note. Exodus just released a double album called The Atrocity Exhibition around two and half years ago, and I submit it belongs in the pantheon of great thrash metal albums of all time, popularly consisting of Reign in Blood (Slayer), Master of Puppets* (Metallica), Rust in Peace (Megadeth), Vulgar Display of Power (Pantera). It's that good. It's sooo good.
But after Metallica took off, Exodus never had near the spotlight on them. Even today, when of the two of them only one is still writing their best material, Exodus couldn't even fill Emo's at Austin last year.
*I think ...And Justice For All is the best Metallica album. That is branded as heretical due to the lack of Cliff Burton, but I just feel like the death of Cliff Burton made James Hetfield write possibly the best and by far angriest metal album of all time. And hate him if you like, but Lars helped.
posted by TheRedArmy at 9:09 PM on December 14, 2011
But after Metallica took off, Exodus never had near the spotlight on them. Even today, when of the two of them only one is still writing their best material, Exodus couldn't even fill Emo's at Austin last year.
*I think ...And Justice For All is the best Metallica album. That is branded as heretical due to the lack of Cliff Burton, but I just feel like the death of Cliff Burton made James Hetfield write possibly the best and by far angriest metal album of all time. And hate him if you like, but Lars helped.
posted by TheRedArmy at 9:09 PM on December 14, 2011
Wilco and Uncle Tupelo
posted by KokuRyu at 9:00 PM on December 14
I think KokuRyu meant Wilco and Son Volt -- both bands were created by former members of Uncle Tupelo. FWIW, while both bands started off with very similar musical styles in the beginning, over time, Wilco veered off more into "indie rock" territory while Son Volt held closer to its No Depression roots.
posted by puritycontrol at 9:37 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by KokuRyu at 9:00 PM on December 14
I think KokuRyu meant Wilco and Son Volt -- both bands were created by former members of Uncle Tupelo. FWIW, while both bands started off with very similar musical styles in the beginning, over time, Wilco veered off more into "indie rock" territory while Son Volt held closer to its No Depression roots.
posted by puritycontrol at 9:37 PM on December 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Grateful Dead and Quicksilver Messenger Service
Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, and The Mamas and The Papas
Lynyrd Skynyrd and .38 Special
posted by mosk at 10:24 PM on December 14, 2011
Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, and The Mamas and The Papas
Lynyrd Skynyrd and .38 Special
posted by mosk at 10:24 PM on December 14, 2011
The Beatles and The Monkees. The Wikipedia article claims that "At the time of the group's formation, its producers saw The Monkees as a Beatles-like band," and this was largely true, not only among the producers but among the fandom, both at the beginning and through the band's chart-topping phase. The one-letter variation of an animal related name (Beetles --> Beatles; Monkeys ---> Monkees) and the four-member group composition, each member having a distinct personality and fluffed mod hair, seemed to be unifying themes between the groups as well.
The similarities ended there. The Monkees were a pop-lite band with a showbus-y aspect who took advantage of commercial opportunities, eventually appearing in a Monkees-based TV show. Less musically inclined fans went ape over their music (disregard the pun) and they shot to the charts in the late sixties; IIRC, one album charted near or above "Pepper" when that came out in 67.
Most importantly from a cultural standpoint, the general public, especially rock 'n roll-phobic parents, thought that the Monkees and Beatles were conceptually and musically identical. We can see a gaping valley between their music, and nobody talks about the Monkees today, but to squares in the 60s, the Monkees and the Beatles were seen as cut from the same cloth, much like the Osmonds and the DeFranco Family in the 70s or NSync and the Backstreet Boys in the 90s.
posted by Gordion Knott at 2:20 AM on December 15, 2011
The similarities ended there. The Monkees were a pop-lite band with a showbus-y aspect who took advantage of commercial opportunities, eventually appearing in a Monkees-based TV show. Less musically inclined fans went ape over their music (disregard the pun) and they shot to the charts in the late sixties; IIRC, one album charted near or above "Pepper" when that came out in 67.
Most importantly from a cultural standpoint, the general public, especially rock 'n roll-phobic parents, thought that the Monkees and Beatles were conceptually and musically identical. We can see a gaping valley between their music, and nobody talks about the Monkees today, but to squares in the 60s, the Monkees and the Beatles were seen as cut from the same cloth, much like the Osmonds and the DeFranco Family in the 70s or NSync and the Backstreet Boys in the 90s.
posted by Gordion Knott at 2:20 AM on December 15, 2011
Late nineties big beat is probably the ultimate genre for this phenomena... Compare the enduring popularity of Fatboy Slim and The Chemical Brothers, against all of the other big beat bands who were equally massive at the time (at least in the UK): Bentley Rhythm Ace; Propellerheads; Lo Fidelity Allstars; Apollo 440; Dub Pistols; etc.
posted by iivix at 2:57 AM on December 15, 2011
posted by iivix at 2:57 AM on December 15, 2011
This may be purely subjective, but ca. 1989-1991 in D.C., Shudder to Think and Fugazi.
I think this is purely subjective. I loved loved loved StT then, and I lived in DC, but I think they were always a half- to a full-step below Fugazi in terms of influence, and they were mining a totally different vein musically. Shudder was kind of sui generis, so it's hard to compare their influence to others. I would say that a band like Jawbox was much closer musically to Fugazi, but I don't think anyone would have mistaken them for being on the same level. Just my take.
posted by OmieWise at 6:14 AM on December 15, 2011
I think this is purely subjective. I loved loved loved StT then, and I lived in DC, but I think they were always a half- to a full-step below Fugazi in terms of influence, and they were mining a totally different vein musically. Shudder was kind of sui generis, so it's hard to compare their influence to others. I would say that a band like Jawbox was much closer musically to Fugazi, but I don't think anyone would have mistaken them for being on the same level. Just my take.
posted by OmieWise at 6:14 AM on December 15, 2011
Roc-a-Fella and Cash Money vs. Ruff Ryders and No Limit.
posted by Smallpox at 9:05 AM on December 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Smallpox at 9:05 AM on December 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't think most of the people responding here REALLY understand the Metallica/Anthrax thing you are getting at.
How about:
Red Hot Chili Peppers/Fishbone.
To me, that's EXACTLY what you are talking about: both early underground acts one now major mainstream, the other primarily forgotten.
Things like Dylan/Peter Paul and Mary?? NO....both are still icons, one is just a bigger icon.
posted by spicynuts at 9:11 AM on December 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
How about:
Red Hot Chili Peppers/Fishbone.
To me, that's EXACTLY what you are talking about: both early underground acts one now major mainstream, the other primarily forgotten.
Things like Dylan/Peter Paul and Mary?? NO....both are still icons, one is just a bigger icon.
posted by spicynuts at 9:11 AM on December 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
Nirvana's enduring astronomical popularity and involvement in a fertile music community makes it possible to do this with them and many, many bands. The Melvins, Bikini Kill, Sonic Youth.
posted by milk white peacock at 10:17 AM on December 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by milk white peacock at 10:17 AM on December 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
UK Punk/New Wave
Siouxsie and the Banshees and Penetration.
Gang of Four and The Delta Five
The Buzzcocks and The Boys.
And one for the Irish...
The Undertones and The Radiators From Space.
posted by Decani at 10:51 AM on December 15, 2011
Siouxsie and the Banshees and Penetration.
Gang of Four and The Delta Five
The Buzzcocks and The Boys.
And one for the Irish...
The Undertones and The Radiators From Space.
posted by Decani at 10:51 AM on December 15, 2011
Response by poster: Thank you everyone. That was a lot of fun to read. There were many great posts, but honorable mention goes to Fishbone, Triumph and The Buzzcocks.
posted by DTHEASH1 at 3:32 PM on December 16, 2011
posted by DTHEASH1 at 3:32 PM on December 16, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by dfriedman at 4:48 PM on December 14, 2011