mambadragon
Banned
Prince
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Greatest Musician of All Time
- Thread starter The Pope
- Start date
This acts on the false principle that Prince songs aren't fucking amazing in their own right, with the added bonus that he did that shit by himself.
Listen to Prince and tell me his shit sucks and I'll know not to trust you on literally anything.
But he killed River Phoenix.
Also I wonder how things would have turned out if he had auditioned for Frank Zappa's band as intended rather than wasting his time with the RHCPs. He decided not to audition in the end because Frank had a strict no drugs policy.
Prince is great of course, your reasoning for why just got me all rustled
He's good because he sounds good, not because it was difficult to make the good sound.True Savior
Member
I'm not even joking if I tell you I personally know like 5 better guitar players than him.
This. People tell me all the time its Lennon and then i ask them which songs they like and their all McCartney songs or co-written.
Atom Heart Mother
Banned
surprised nobody's mentioned bowie yet
That's only part of my reasoning though. I never said that his music has to be seen through the lens of he did it himself to be appreciated.Prince is great of course, your reasoning for why just got me all rustled
It just makes his legacy even better.
He was better than Bowie, MJ, any of his contemporaries. Michael is my favorite artist ever, but Prince is the greatest artist ever.
Here Frank Zappa chucks a toilet roll into the audience and shakes hands with the front row without stopping his guitar solo:
https://youtu.be/-Jh6wnmRbvQ?t=1m25s
Did Prince ever chuck bog roll during the solo in Purple Rain? No he didn't.
Never wrote a song about muffins either if I recall.
Automatically removes him from contention.
For real?! Damn...I didn't know the Zappa thing. What a shame. I'm so glad he got past the drugs though. I wonder what he has been up to since Enclosure. One of his best imo.
Always-honest
Banned
Well, i won't find you there. I've been listening to a lot of his solo stuff again for the last week or so and the guy is a fucking genius. I don't think many people even know his solo stuff and i think from the people who do, most don't like his voice.
Elliott Smith is also relatively unknown (as is Nick Drake), especially outside the States..
Brilliant music composers and very intense in what they do. Like Frusciante.
Puck Beaverton
Banned
Yeah Elliott Smith was pretty dope, underrated multi-instrumentalist
Brian Jones also was cool
Brian Jones also was cool
Im glad some here seem to appreciate him as much as I do.
And yeah, i think Warner only gave his solo stuff a pass because he made them bank but didn't advertise any of it. And he probably doesn't care about it a bit. His voice isn't the best, but his delivery is still on point. It's versatile though. "One more of me" on the Empyrean surprised me, for example. But yeah, his solo output is ridiculously good. Will give Elliot Smith and Nick Drake a try, thanks for the tip!
Michael F. Assbender
Banned
The Beatles (as a group, since none of them were as good once they split up)
Prince
In that order.
Can't speak for all of them, but my favorite Beatles songs are mostly Lennon or collaborations.
Tomorrow Never Knows
Instant Karma
I Am the Walrus
Across the Universe
A Day in the Life
Strawberry Fields
Although another of my favorite Beatles songs was mostly McCartney: The Fool on the Hill
And my favorite song of all time (because it reminds me of something deeply personal from my childhood) is from Lennon after the Beatles split: Watching the Wheels
Prince
In that order.
Can't speak for all of them, but my favorite Beatles songs are mostly Lennon or collaborations.
Tomorrow Never Knows
Instant Karma
I Am the Walrus
Across the Universe
A Day in the Life
Strawberry Fields
Although another of my favorite Beatles songs was mostly McCartney: The Fool on the Hill
And my favorite song of all time (because it reminds me of something deeply personal from my childhood) is from Lennon after the Beatles split: Watching the Wheels
The Albatross
Member
Chopin or Justin Bieber. Definitely one of those two. Or John Cougar Melloncamp.
theignoramus
Member
Rick Rubin, Quincy Jones for the modern era.
Bill Joel.
Griffevent
Member
Mark Knopfler.
Bitch Pudding
Member
Jag
Member
Great musician. Very underrated.
astroturfing
Member
after listening to thousands of artists over the last 25 years or so, i'd have to say Efrim Menuck (and of course the rest of the members) as the driving force behind GYBE/Silver Mt. Zion. those earlier albums are the peak of music as an art form, for me. nothing will eclipse them, i'm sure of it.
just listen to GYBE's "Motherfucker=Redeemer" parts 1 and especially 2 in their entirety and tell me i'm wrong...
just listen to GYBE's "Motherfucker=Redeemer" parts 1 and especially 2 in their entirety and tell me i'm wrong...
Always-honest
Banned
Should be the anthem for humanity.
teruterubozu
Member
Angus Young
2Smashed4U
Banned
I'll throw a vote in for Radiohead, especially Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood.
I probably couldn't say that he was greatest of all time (don't know if any one person could be, though), but Elliott Smith is really great. Glad to see him get mentioned here. I legitimately get really bummed out that he is dead because he was so prolific and versatile. His stuff is pretty special for me, I get that heavy kind of physical nostalgia from certain songs of his.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPD-a1FjUtU probably one of the most well known ones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPD-a1FjUtU probably one of the most well known ones.
Slackbladder
Member
Franz Liszt was regarded as a virtuoso pianist in his own lifetime though no recordings of his playing exists.
What makes a great musician? Technical virtuosity? Someone who plays with passion and soul? Someone that makes the hairs on your arm stand up? I really can't think of just one that does all three things.
If it were simply ability, or being able to play lots of instruments well I'd say Mike Oldfield for one. The man can play anything well.
What makes a great musician? Technical virtuosity? Someone who plays with passion and soul? Someone that makes the hairs on your arm stand up? I really can't think of just one that does all three things.
If it were simply ability, or being able to play lots of instruments well I'd say Mike Oldfield for one. The man can play anything well.
Does the EU count as humanity.
Anyways, the correct answer is probably going to be JS Bach. It's going to be really hard for modern musicians to match up with the old masters though. The latter have the benefit of centuries of filtering and examination.
TheSkullPrince
Member
In no particular order:
-Brian Wilson: Pet Sounds is possibly the greatest album of all-time, and if it weren't for that dickhead Mike Love we could have gotten more albums like it from the Beach Boys. Plus he produced most of the Beach Boys' music, while the Beatles were the fucking Beatles and had George Martin.
-John Paul Jones: The most underrated member of Led Zeppelin, but the dude could play just about any instrument.
-Quincy Jones: Micheal Jackson. Need I say more?
-Roger Troutman: Zapp & Roger is one the most underrated bands of all time, and that's sad. Troutman was way ahead of his time and without him there would be no West Coast/Gangsta hip hop/rap. Plus he co-wrote and was featured in the best song of the 1990s-California Love, along with Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre.
I know Prince is amazing and all, but I'd take Troutman any day over him.
-Kevin Shields: Loveless is a fucking masterpiece and it hasn't been topped since; and no, not even by Radiohead's OK Computer or Kid A.
-Brian Wilson: Pet Sounds is possibly the greatest album of all-time, and if it weren't for that dickhead Mike Love we could have gotten more albums like it from the Beach Boys. Plus he produced most of the Beach Boys' music, while the Beatles were the fucking Beatles and had George Martin.
-John Paul Jones: The most underrated member of Led Zeppelin, but the dude could play just about any instrument.
-Quincy Jones: Micheal Jackson. Need I say more?
-Roger Troutman: Zapp & Roger is one the most underrated bands of all time, and that's sad. Troutman was way ahead of his time and without him there would be no West Coast/Gangsta hip hop/rap. Plus he co-wrote and was featured in the best song of the 1990s-California Love, along with Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre.
I know Prince is amazing and all, but I'd take Troutman any day over him.
-Kevin Shields: Loveless is a fucking masterpiece and it hasn't been topped since; and no, not even by Radiohead's OK Computer or Kid A.
I'm not sure you can even count anything much with last 50 to 75 years or so to make a comparison with music older than that.
Sadly it's only after we're dead and gone that the true extent (or lack thereof) of modern musicians of recent times will be able to be well judged.
I mean I prefer modern music to listen to while appreciating classical music but there's no evidence any modern musician is going to have as lasting and profound impact as a Mozart, Bach or Beethoven.
Apart from Bowie of course 'cause I can ignore this too.
Sadly it's only after we're dead and gone that the true extent (or lack thereof) of modern musicians of recent times will be able to be well judged.
I mean I prefer modern music to listen to while appreciating classical music but there's no evidence any modern musician is going to have as lasting and profound impact as a Mozart, Bach or Beethoven.
Apart from Bowie of course 'cause I can ignore this too.
Frank Zappa - A little surprised to see all the mentions but also in 100% agreement. A true genius, virtuoso musician, guitar god, bandleader, perfectionist, prolific songwriter in all variety of styles and a cutting satirist. Still waiting for Zappa to have a true resurgence, he doesn't get his due.
Stevie Wonder - Songwriting, vocals, keyboards and harmonica aside, Stevie is also one of the great drummers in music history. His first paid gig was as a drummer at 8 years old. He mastered his craft before he was a teenager, was a session musician for Marvin Gaye before he had his first hit and the stories of him hanging around the Motown studios are legendary. Not to mention his incredible run of great 70's records where he defined the one man band Soul archetype for his disciples.
D'Angelo - Yeah I'm skipping Prince and going straight to D'Angelo. Everyone knows Prince plays all the instruments and could never stop recording, but due to his reclusiveness few likely realize just how brilliant a multi-instrumentalist and musician D'Angelo is. My friend who worked on the Voodoo sessions at Electric Lady with him has stories for days, of every artist that stepped through that studio that he helped produce none were on D's level. He takes the tortured Soul artist mantle to new heights, both in his meticulous eccentricities and his effortless talent. He's been performing since he was three and was born to do this.
Also the Jazz and Classical greats that have mentions, all up there even if there's no recordings for some.
Stevie Wonder - Songwriting, vocals, keyboards and harmonica aside, Stevie is also one of the great drummers in music history. His first paid gig was as a drummer at 8 years old. He mastered his craft before he was a teenager, was a session musician for Marvin Gaye before he had his first hit and the stories of him hanging around the Motown studios are legendary. Not to mention his incredible run of great 70's records where he defined the one man band Soul archetype for his disciples.
D'Angelo - Yeah I'm skipping Prince and going straight to D'Angelo. Everyone knows Prince plays all the instruments and could never stop recording, but due to his reclusiveness few likely realize just how brilliant a multi-instrumentalist and musician D'Angelo is. My friend who worked on the Voodoo sessions at Electric Lady with him has stories for days, of every artist that stepped through that studio that he helped produce none were on D's level. He takes the tortured Soul artist mantle to new heights, both in his meticulous eccentricities and his effortless talent. He's been performing since he was three and was born to do this.
Also the Jazz and Classical greats that have mentions, all up there even if there's no recordings for some.
JumpJeff84
Member
To me it's James Brown. He helped create funk, disco and hip hop. Pretty much everything with a groove (which is what I like) is largely thanks to him
JumpJeff84
Member
My Avatar says 'sup'
brianjones
Member
tomwhite2004
Member
Bow Tie Daddy!
Mate, he wrote the best song about dental floss farming ever written.
Gee, I thought I liked Frank's music but Ian Penman has made me doubt myself.
If Paul Morely dislikes him too I'll be bereft.
;(
Puck Beaverton
Banned
jack-off of all trades gave me a good hearty chuckle