A thread about innovations in rock music.

[-N-]

I'd like to start a discussion about pushing the boundaries of rock music and what bands have done that, and how. I have to prepare a lecture for a class on this topic because I don't want to do a 20 page term paper and my professor likes me enough to have me do this kind of alternative. She wants to start at Radiohead, but everytime I sit down and try to come up with some kind of backbone to the lecture I can't come up with much. Any ideas?

[tailz]

if i undestant you correctly then id say black sabbath and metallica had a huge influence ont it i just aint able to explain why

[Shoden]

There's also Legends like Deep Purple and Alice Cooper.

Alice Cooper was so crude with his performances the UK tried to ban him, he did it because he liked it, he went as far as gory stage performances.

[Captain Maxx Power]

Black Sabbath are generally quoted as being the "father's" of metal music. What they first created couldn't be considered "heavy metal", but it was a distinctly heavier sound. Pretty much every metal band in the world acknowledges that BS were the reason they were even there.

Metallica were somewhat innovative, but you have to remember that they were around at the insurgance of speed metal during the early 80's, the likes of Slayer, Anthrax et al running in unison at the same time. The primary difference is that Metallica went off on a tangent that their career and ego's are still reeling from to this day.

Other bands that could be considered innovators probably include the likes of Deep Purple, Led Zepplin, The Beatles, The Who and Jimi Hendrix. It's very hard to tell the difference between innovative and influential. For example, Black Sabbath were both, since their sound was very unique at the time and eventually led to other genres growing from it. Sometimes a band can be quoted as being the influence to many other bands, yet they can be unoriginal in themselves in their style, and they simply happened to be the "mainstream" at the time.

[-N-]

It is pretty given that Led Zep and Black Sabbath were the originators of the heavy metal movement. Given that I just wrote an eight page paper on one of Led Zep's songs, I think I'm fairly saturated with that kind of material. Besides, I need to look at more modern movements, as in the past ten years, for my lecture, since my professor is covering most of the other movements (including grunge! dammit) herself.

[Venom]

Deep purple, Led zeppelin, and black sabbath. Or Megadeth.

[Crushed Hope]

Steve Vai for being the most innovative guitarist ever. >_>

[Venom]

Other guitarists who are innovative are Jeff Beck.

[eestlinc]

She wants to start at Radiohead...
Stop mentioning bands before Radiohead.

Well, what about Stereolab? They aren't exactly 'pre-Radiohead' since they started in the early 90s but their sound definitely influenced OK Computer and Kid A, and they're still active (mostly). Stereolab is widely considered to be one of the most influential bands of the era, especially outside of the grunge movement. They were pioneering in the use of analog synths combined with guitars in a rock setting to create that sort of electro-art-rock sound that so many bands use these days.

Steve Vai is innovative in that "look at all this fancy technical crap I can do" way, but not really in a musical way.

[Pure Strife]

-Coheed and Cambria would be a great band to look at. They've blended pop-punk, metal and prog and come out with a really original sound.
-CKY are another recent band that's taken familiar formulas and done their own thing, using unique riffs and guitar sounds to get something that again can't be placed in one genre.
-Smashing Pumpkins aren't quite the last ten years, but they were around for five of them. They took Nirvana-style chord grunge and mixed it with spacey alt rock and again were left with a new sound.

The first two of these bands aren't exactly mainstream at the moment, but they're quite well known, and have definately found their own style. Oh, and they just happen to be three of my favourite bands ever :)

[Yamaneko]

Mention Porcupine Tree and Ozric Tentacles.

[-N-]

I'm looking at Stereolab now, and they seem like they might fit. Tying in Smashing Pumpkins would be awesome, because a lot of the class has heard of them and that would probably make their day if they didn't already like Radiohead. I think it might be a bit more of a stretch to tie them in, but it could work.