Okay, okay, they may all sound alike. Fine. But, before you die, go to a ZZ Top concert. I saw them last August, along with The Pretenders and The Stray Cats. It was so much fun, and I danced all night long.

The Stray Cats, really? I love that music, and I kind of like The Pretenders, so perhaps I could stomach some beards in between.

jonne-not to knock your musical opinions (I admitted to liking Jimmy Buffett-I've pretty much nullified every opinion I could possibly have, ever) but I'm curious what you find stylistically similar about: Guns'n'Roses Don't Cry and ZZTop LaGrange Other than they're both guitar driven, slightly fuzzy and distorted and have long-haired front men. That's pretty much rock'n'roll in a nutshell. Course, if rock isn't your bag, then it probably does sound the same. Pop country all sounds the same to me. I know it's not-I'm familiar with some very decent (I'd go so far as to say genuinely good) tunage in that arena-but I choose to hear 98% of it as one annoying song instead of 50,000 annoying songs.

I suppose that is how I feel about this kind of rockmusic. I must admit I never bothered listening to other songs by these bands than the ones that made them famous. I can't stand the few songs I know from Metallica, but I love Nothing else matters. Probably those other bands have some songs I like, but overall they don't interest me.

Do any of my fellow Children of The Eighties remember You Should Hear How She Talks About You by Melissa Manchester? How about Crash by The Primitives? And let's not forget Separate Ways by Journey.

Ah, this is a discussion that I would normally be all over, but work has been getting in the way of my forum enjoyment. It's so hard to choose a great American rock band. So many good bands, so many genres. And also so, so subjective. For my money, the quintessential *power pop* band on which to judge all others would be The Raspberries. I could write a dissertation on this subject, but I will spare you. Old Aerosmith was great stuff. New Aerosmith makes me hurl. I think Aerosmith made much more sense in the context of the 70s. I would also agree with The Replacements & Big Star (even though Alex Chilton is a total douchebag in real life). Prince is a g-d, but I consider him a solo artist really. What about The Byrds? I think we'd have to go genre by genre really.

Do any of my fellow Children of The Eighties remember You Should Hear How She Talks About You by Melissa Manchester Oh yeah! How about this one: Morning Train (9 to 5) by Sheena Easton?

Separate Ways makes me want to run out and buy a Journey album right.now. Not in 20 minutes when I get off work. NOW! That video! Oh it is wondrous! Don't Stop Believin' y'all. Don't ever stop. Alex Chilton has earned the right to be a douchebag. He personified a style of music that has made many, many people very, very rich and no one but music geeks know who he is. ETA: What I don't get is how we've managed to walk this far down memory lane without someone mentioning what is quite possibly the greatest song of the 80s. Perhaps the greatest song, ever.

Actually, I can't believe that no one's mentioned the Grateful Dead as one of the seminal American bands. They count as being excellent musicians and pace setters of popular culture. I think fans would consider them wholly as a band and not just Jerry Garcia's front organization. (And wouldn't "Cherry Garcia" count as the first ice cream inspired by a band?) Their studio albums never manage to capture the magic of their live performances and recordings but they still manage to score hits across the decades: Truckin' Casey Jones Uncle John's Band (My personal favorite Dead song) Touch of Grey Good stuff. (And no. I never managed to catch them live.) ETA: I would consider the Byrds an excellent band of their time. I think their songs stand the test of time, but as a band they didn't have the longevity that I think would mark a really great band. (I should disclose that Eight Miles High would probably be included on some sort of desert discs package, were I to draft one.) But they get extra props for the popularization of the 12-string guitar. And for inspiring George Harrison. And covering Bob Dylan so well. (I like their version of My Back Pages, even though it is tied as my favorite Dylan song, period.)

ETA: What I don't get is how we've managed to walk this far down memory lane without someone mentioning what is quite possibly the greatest song of the 80s. Perhaps the greatest song, ever. Never before and never since, has there been a man with such stylin' dance moves. :wink:

Since there are so many REM fans on here, it would behoove me to point out that their new album Accelerate released today. Here's the music video for the first single Supernatural Superserious. Actually, I think another reason why I appreciate REM so much is not only because their music is overall great (there are but a few releases that haven't overwhelmed me) but their music videos are consistently well produced, fun, artsy, aesthetically challenging, etc, etc, etc. Some of my favorites: Imitation of Life It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) Man in the Moon Orange Crush Fall on Me Bad Day The Great Beyond And not my favorite REM song by any stretch of the imagination, but I love the sentiment of the video for All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)

Good stuff. (And no. I never managed to catch them live.) A shame. I saw them in Las Vegas at Sam Boyd Stadium on one of their final tours. It was June, stupid hot and I got sunscreen in my eyes. Even half blinded at the med station I still had more fun than at pretty much any other concert since.

REM's on the Colbert Report right now promoting their new album.

That man is walking proof that some people look much better as they age. He's yummy. I could eat him up with a spoon. Team Clooney!

Just came here to say I'm currently listening to Journey's Greatest Hits and I kind of hate you, Sauty.