Kraftwerk More Influential Than the Beatles

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by jamo spingal, Jun 16, 2017.

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  1. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    I had that single when I was a kid! Bought it from the record department of my dad's store. According to Whitburn, it hit #25 on the Billboard singles chart.
     
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  2. jwoverho

    jwoverho Licensed Drug Dealer

    Location:
    Mobile, AL USA
    It's not easy for some people to admit that The Beatles aren't still the most influential band in the world. The number of people who picked up a guitar because of them is getting smaller, and the number of bands informed by their work isn't getting any bigger either.

    It doesn't mean that the group didn't make amazing, groundbreaking music or don't have an influence. It's considered heresy to express an opinion here other than they are greater than anyone else.

    Hip hop, rap and R&B are a much more dominant force in popular music now than a 60's pop band from Liverpool. Times and tastes change. The average listener might have heard of The Beatles, but most couldn't tell you what bass Paul used on Baby You're a Rich Man unlike here.
     
  3. bopdd

    bopdd Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    I agree with a lot of your general sentiment, however I do still think The Beatles are probably the most influential band in the history of modern music. More than anyone else, they arguably represent a distinct before and after when it comes to so many things in popular music, and that's before you even get into how much ground they covered on a song to song basis. But I definitely see where you're coming from.
     
  4. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    Yeah, no one plays the guitar anymore. Bummer. Billions of people, so few guitars.

    Yeah, close to 50 years after the Beatles broke up, they're not the dominant force in Pop anymore. Double bummer!

    Very bad news.
     
  5. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    So the Beatles are back on top again?

    That was quick.
     
  6. bopdd

    bopdd Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Haha. I never said they weren't!
     
  7. ZippyPippy

    ZippyPippy Forum Resident

    You're describing SHMF Syndrome. The cure is only a post away.
     
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  8. Finally the common sense approach.

    No-one is trying to redo Mona Lisa or Rembrandt's Nightwatch. Painting changed forever with Picasso's Demoiselles D'Avignon, just as it changed with Manet's Olympia. Major players come and go, music is no different. The Beatles aren't short of accolades and their place in the music pantheon is assured. But come on, saying they are the ultimate in popular music and the alpha and omega of creativity going forward is a vote for stagnation.
    I have all their music, I have all of Kraftwerk's. Kraftwerk still sound close to the cutting edge. For the Liverpool lads, thanks for the memories.
     
  9. ZippyPippy

    ZippyPippy Forum Resident

    That was actually an outfluence.
     
  10. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    I believe music moved on from the Beatles a long, long time ago. It was forced to.

    They broke up in 1969-1970.

    Wake up!
     
  11. 200 Balloons

    200 Balloons Forum Resident

    Just because someone makes a great electronic gadget doesn't guarantee it's going to be used. The 808 was a flop and Roland discontinued it after just a few years, but its sound later gained traction because of what musicians did with it. Musicians turned the fact that the 808 didn't sound like a real drumkit into a feature, rather than a bug. Likewise, Kraftwerk is influential because they proved that those electronic gadgets could be used for more than just seemingly random bleeps and bloops. In fact, you could do totally new stuff with them. The future of music isn't written in the stars; it's the result of musicians like Kraftwerk making music.

    Even if you're certain that electronic music was an inevitability, just bumping back the ideas from Kraftwerk a few years until someone else has them and disseminates them as widely has a huge impact on the history of pop music. Their work was there in the formative years of hip-hop and techno to inspire the Afrika Bambaataas and Juan Atkinses of the world. Take that away and hip-hop heads in a different direction and who knows how/when techno happens.
     
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  12. 'Thanks for the memories..'
    Wasn't that what I was trying to say? :confused::shrug:
     
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  13. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    Kraftwerk does not exist in a vacuum.

    On this thread, they're being pointedly compared to the Beatles.
     
  14. Mirror Image

    Mirror Image 200 Years Of Anton Bruckner

    Location:
    United States
    What a silly thread. :rolleyes: There’s no way Kraftwerk were more influential than The Beatles. How many people whether knowledgeable about music or not know who The Beatles are vs. Kraftwerk? How many musicians post-Beatles cite them as an influence vs. Kraftwerk?
     
  15. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Hahahahahahaha...

    No.

    Kraftwerk were influential. But they did not turn the world of music on its head in a way that music can honestly be discussed in terms of pre and post.

    And a lot of the pup music with synths probably probably owes as much to Hot Butter or Chicory Tip Georgio Moroder as Kraftwerk.
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2017
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  16. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    It's a straw-man set up - the whole thread. Mention the 'Beatles' in a thread title vs. someone you want to promote.

    Instead of 'Kraftwerk Most Influential Band Today' - it's: 'Kraftwerk, Bigger Than Jesus'...

    But... now more people know who Kraftwerk is/was.

    So it's a wash.
     
  17. Mirror Image

    Mirror Image 200 Years Of Anton Bruckner

    Location:
    United States
    I’ve known about Kraftwerk for years and years. I personally can’t say I’m a fan, but pitting these two bands against the other like it’s some kind of contest is just ludicrous.
     
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  18. sublemon

    sublemon Forum Resident

    VU still more influential than either Kraftwerk or the Beatles
     
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  19. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    Start a thread.
     
  20. Absolutely! Three cheers for ignorance! :righton:
     
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  21. There's a simple solution, let's stop talking about The Beatles. :tiphat:
     
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  22. Uther

    Uther Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicagoland
    I'm 50, my girlfriend is 31. When a Beatles song comes on, I ask her if she knows who the artist is. She never does. She usually knows when Kraftwerk's music pops up. Anecdotal, but not insignificant. The Beatles dominance is slowly waning, just like Elvis' is (or has). Kraftwerk still being around versus The Beatles breaking up almost 50 years ago helps them in this regard, to be sure. Even still, I'd argue that, overall, The Beatles have been more influential than Kraftwerk, though I'd also state that the gap grows slimmer every year (particularly with electronic music maintaining its hold on the pop charts).

    One thing I do know is that if you live inside such a musical bubble that you don't know who Kraftwerk are, a band that has been demonstrably shown to be able to challenge The Beatles for most influential band of all-time, you should probably seek to expand your horizons a bit.
     
  23. bopdd

    bopdd Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    It is unfortunate that the OP compared the two acts off the bat. There is a lot to be gained from a general discussion about Kraftwerk, but such an objective will be almost instantly derailed if it starts with a Beatles comparison. On the other hand, even if the OP had simply suggested Kraftwerk were influential and left it at that there would still follow a few inevitable posts mentioning The Beatles.
     
  24. sublemon

    sublemon Forum Resident

    more importantly, good job on the girlfriend ;-)
     
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  25. To many people here that's like asking lions to give up meat. :D
     
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