Rocking Stone Magazine's list of Immortals

[JNA]

Rolling Stone Magazine: http://www.rollingstone.com/features/coverstory/featuregen.asp?pid=2846

The Immortals
The fifty greatest rock & roll artists of all time

1. The Beatles
50. The Band

 

[Budgie]

It's ridiculous that "The Byrds" are on there and Black Sabbath isn't. WTF

And another thing, I thought that everyone in the world knew that Bruce Stringsteen is overated.

And another thing, Sly and Family Stone were a good progressive group, but IMMORTAL.

I'm in love with the ghost of Janice.

 

[Seabishop]

Rolling Stone has to come out with these lists once in a while to remind everyone that they were a credible magazine 35 years ago. Next month they'll be back to Clay Aiken photo shoots, and giving 4 1/2 stars to Jessica Simpson albums.

I agree that Bruce Springsteen, aka The Boss, aka Lord God of All That is Good and American, is very over-rated.

 

[Repo Man]

While I don't disagree with the pepole on the list - it is kind of dull. There are no shockers in there and anyone could have come up with a similar list. The ommission of the Ramones is a crime!

I agree with Seabishop, Rolling Stone sucks! They actually have some good non-music witing, but I refuse to buy any magazine that has Christina, Justin, or Britney on the cover. It has been years since that magazine was relevant and fans of most of the bands/artists on this Top 50 list probably haven't read a RS in years.

 

[boiker]

Rolling Stone occasionally has redeeming articles. Like an interview with Thom York...awesome. Radiohead rocks.

 

[JNA]

The ommission of the Ramones is a crime!

26) The Ramones

100 post before I am in the Clube.

 

[pete-rock]

I don't claim to be a real hip-hop fanatic by any means, but after 25+ years of rap, the only ones on the list are Run-DMC and Public Enemy?

If there was ever anyone who was the conflicted conscience of hip-hop, it was Tupac. And I would also include NWA, for (rightly or wrongly) amping up the anti-authoritarian theme that rock lost and has tried so hard to reclaim.

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

How can they put Michael Jackson in that list? He won't be immortal once he gets to Chino.

 

[Repo Man]

26) The Ramones

100 post before I am in the Clube.

Doh! How did I miss that? I guess I wanted to rip their magazine so much that I ignored it. :-$

I agree, NWA should have been in there. They completely changed the face of rap (for better or worse can be argued).

..and where is Weird Al?

 

[Budgie]

I don't claim to be a real hip-hop fanatic by any means, but after 25+ years of rap, the only ones on the list are Run-DMC and Public Enemy?

If there was ever anyone who was the conflicted conscience of hip-hop, it was Tupac. And I would also include NWA, for (rightly or wrongly) amping up the anti-authoritarian theme that rock lost and has tried so hard to reclaim.

I'm an ICE-T and Public Enemy man myself !!! What about Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

 

[Richmond Jake]

Something's wrong with a list that omits The Grateful Dead.

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

I'm an ICE-T...

:8: There goes the neighborhood :8:

 

[SlaveToTheGrind]

No Vanilla Ice, Spice Girls, Atlantic Star, NELSON!? You guys are right, RS is past it's prime.

 

[Repo Man]

Something's wrong with a list that omits The Grateful Dead.

As much as I despise anything and everyting associated with them, I can't argue!

 

[pete-rock]

I'm an ICE-T and Public Enemy man myself !!! What about Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

I actually thought of including Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the Sugar Hill Gang, Kurtis Blow and Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, but in the minds of most listeners of current popular music they mean nothing. They laid the foundation for hip-hop today. As members of the vanguard who really put rap out there in the late '70s and early '80s, I think they are viewed in pretty much the same way as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and others were viewed by rock fans in the '70s -- which is to say very obscurely.

But there is no question that Tupac and NWA belong with Run-DMC and Public Enemy, and Dr. Dre (surely) and Ice Cube (maybe) merit an individual mention, too. Maybe even LL Cool J.

 

[The Irish One]

Something's wrong with a list that omits The Grateful Dead.

No sh*t, what a joke.

 

[el Guapo]

Where the hell was Pink Floyd!?!?!
Screw Rolling Stone...bunch a...damn...hell...just screw Rolling Stone....


The ommission of PF is wrong and I'm so *&%#$*& tired of Little Richard. Give us a GD break already.


Me, why I'm firmly in the Busta Rhymes school of hip-hop.

Not too bad, but unsafe for work image.

 

[pete-rock]

What about Eric Clapton?

 

[mendelman]

What about Eric Clapton?

Talk about someone that is overplayed. I am very tired of hearing about Clapton.

I seriously second the Weird Al inclusion. In his practicular idiom, he is the greatest ever and will never be equaled, IMHO.

But because he doesn't do "serious" music, then he doesn't get the same respect as others. I think he is great at deflating the pomposity of most of the "serious" music that thinks of itself as ART. I think his greatest and most poignant song was "Smells like Nirvana". That one best exemplifies his critical role in modern music.

 

[Planderella]

What about the glaring ommissions of Motown artists? They only had 3 - Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. What about the Temptations or the Supremes? Boy bands and girl groups wouldn't have existed without them.

 

[Planderella]

I actually thought of including Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the Sugar Hill Gang, Kurtis Blow and Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, but in the minds of most listeners of current popular music they mean nothing. They laid the foundation for hip-hop today. As members of the vanguard who really put rap out there in the late '70s and early '80s, I think they are viewed in pretty much the same way as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and others were viewed by rock fans in the '70s -- which is to say very obscurely.

But there is no question that Tupac and NWA belong with Run-DMC and Public Enemy, and Dr. Dre (surely) and Ice Cube (maybe) merit an individual mention, too. Maybe even LL Cool J.

You have to look to The Source or Vibe for recognition of hip hop artists.

 

[chrisinmd]

Rolling Stone Magazine: http://www.rollingstone.com/features/coverstory/featuregen.asp?pid=2846

The Immortals
The fifty greatest rock & roll artists of all time

1. The Beatles
50. The Band

The Stones are #4 they should be number one.

 

[Suburb Repairman]

Where the hell was Pink Floyd!?!?!
Screw Rolling Stone...bunch a...damn...hell...just screw Rolling Stone....


The ommission of PF is wrong and I'm so *&%#$*& tired of Little Richard. Give us a GD break already.

How can they not include Pink Floyd! That's some of the most original stuff out there! I could understand them wanting to leave out the PF of the late 80s/early 90s. When your band has a major cult following that has spaned to another generation, then it belongs as an immortal.

Where have the good music magazines gone? Oh yeah, STRAIGHT TO HELL!

There's definitely a few more rap/hiphop groups that belong in this list.

 

[Big Easy King]

And another thing, Sly and Family Stone were a good progressive group, but IMMORTAL.

Right on, brotha!

Also, Parliament Funkadelic!...enough said!

 

[pete-rock]

What about the glaring ommissions of Motown artists? They only had 3 - Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. What about the Temptations or the Supremes? Boy bands and girl groups wouldn't have existed without them.

Or the Four Tops?

I guess omissions are inherent to the process, and you're right -- The Source and Vibe would be better places for citing hip-hop artists.

Even if you follow a very narrow line that follows only rock 'n roll, and none of its off-shoots or predecessors (i.e., blues, R&B, folk, "alternative", metal, etc.), from the '50s to today, you'd have lots of glaring omissions. And you'd still be stuck with trying to define what that narrow line would be.

 

[Maister]

Ok, planners are notorious list makers, but pop magazines make us look like pikers in the list department. I think it's pretty droll how they (music mags) appear to express no sense of irony trotting out yet another list of "here's the definitive list of the most wonderful musicians of all time, no doubt about. yep, this is Objective Truth talkin' folks....."

 

[Repo Man]

You have to look to The Source or Vibe for recognition of hip hop artists.

I thought the Souce's only purpose was to diss-Eminem and prop up the pathetic career of co-owner Benzino, who couldn't rap his way out of a paper bag.

 

[Suburb Repairman]

Rolling Stone occasionally has redeeming articles. Like an interview with Thom York...awesome. Radiohead rocks.

That was a good interview; I have to give credit when credit is due. Some of their non-music articles can be interesting, like the one on the Oak Island treasure in the RS with Dave Mathews on the cover. They had a decent list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time a few months back. A several of the rankings were questionable as they always are, but it was still a good read.

Don't worry, I don't actually buy the magazine--I get it for free

 

[pete-rock]

I'm so *&%#$*& tired of Little Richard. Give us a GD break already.

I personally don't care for him, but as one of the founders of the sound that became rock, he's gotta be there.

A lot of people don't like him because he's "flamboyant", and still pissed that Pat Boone earns more from his own songs than he does. But that's a legit beef and he deserves to be there.

 

[Budgie]

Right on, brotha!

Also, Parliament Funkadelic!...enough said!

BEK, have you ever been into Arrested Development or Digital Underground?

Bootsy !!!!!!! Bootsy !!!!!!!

 

[pete-rock]

BEK, have you ever been into Arrested Development or Digital Underground?

Bootsy !!!!!!! Bootsy !!!!!!!

Budgie and BEK, now that's what I like!

I got ants in my pants and I need to dance...

One nation under a groove...

Do the humpty hump, doin' the humpty hump...

 

[Dan]

I'll admit the list includes a few underrated artists, too, like Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. Most of the list, though, is sort of what you would expect.

Michael Jackson? Rock? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! The list also seems very nostalgic. The list is thick with 1950s artists. John Lennon is included twice; individually, and for the Beatles.

To repeat what others have said, it's a shame that Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath were omitted. No prog rockers like Rush, King Crimson or Emerson, Lake and Palmer. No Southern rockers, either. I'm not a Skynyrd fan, but they defined the genre. At least they have representatives of both East Coast and West Coast rap.

I also have to ask .. where the hell is A.C.?

 

[Budgie]

Budgie and BEK, now that's what I like!

I got ants in my pants and I need to dance...

One nation under a groove...

Do the humpty hump, doin' the humpty hump...

AHHH, this could be trouble for tha' ladies. Just grab em' in tha' biscuit.

 

[pete-rock]

At least they have representatives of both East Coast and West Coast rap.

Nope, Dan. Run-DMC and Public Enemy were both decidedly East Coast, although P.E. did have the sound (and fury) that would later define the West Coast style.

That's why I thought Tupac, NWA and Dr. Dre should've had mentions.

 

[Miles Ignatius]

.....and, to no one's surprise

....the omission of Zeitgeist-Genius Frank Zappa, whose lyric to "Billy The Mountain" sardonically observed, "It's in Rolling Stone, so it's gotta be true..."

 

[Big Easy King]

BEK, have you ever been into Arrested Development or Digital Underground?

Bootsy !!!!!!! Bootsy !!!!!!!

I was into Arrested Development, but they fell off from the scene very quickly. Digital Underground is still one of my fave groups.

Bootsy's the greatest! His Christmas song, "Boodolph, the Funky Soul Reindeer" is a classic!!! :-D

 

[Big Easy King]

Budgie and BEK, now that's what I like!

I got ants in my pants and I need to dance...

One nation under a groove...

Do the humpty hump, doin' the humpty hump...

You know it!!! :-D

 

[Duke Of Dystopia]

I concur, the lack of pink floyd on the list is criminal.

They put Run DMC on that list but they also left off Nine Inch Nails? Oooh, lets not rock the lifeboat and upset congress.