Most Pretentious English Band of the 60s?

[elperromagico]

Left Zeppelin out because they were primarily late 60s, and most of their material came out in the 70s. Sorry if I left out any others.

[NightTrain]

1. I'd have to say the Moody Blues.

DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED, which predated SGT. PEPPER, set the tone for much of the so-called "progressive rock" of the '70s. For that, I will never forgive those British fops! :grr:

[elperromagico]

5. They were good when Denny Laine was the lead singer.

"Go Now!" is a great song, but you're right. Once they got into the "Nights In White Satin" stuff, they became ridiculously pretentious.

Denny Laine is probably best known now as a guitarist for Paul McCartney & Wings.

[Systematic Chaos]

8. Oh, yes... god forbid

somebody would actually have the unmitigated audacity during that time period to write some music you couldn't watusi to. :eyes:

The Moodies did their best to push the envelope and make music that was unlike anything else out there at the time. Mind you, I am not saying they were one of the greatest bands ever and they are not among my top favorites, but I do have most of their CDs and I have to commend them for trying to set themselves apart. Not above, but apart.

[NightTrain]

19. To each his own. But for my tastes...

..."It's got a good beat and you can dance to it" remains the greatest compliment you can pay a rock 'n' roll song.

If I want cerebral stimulation, I'll read Dostoyevsky. (Which I have, by the way.)

[chascaz]

2. No Rolling Stones????

That's who would get my vote.

I Miss Jerry - Peace

[DenverDem]

6. I miss Jerry, too. Big time.

The fat man rocked!

[elperromagico]

7. Fine, I'll add them.

[NightTrain]

15. You added the Stones?!

When, exactly, were they pretentious? Hell, from "Satisfaction" though EXILE ON MAIN STREET, the Rolling Stones were *the* greatest rock 'n' roll band on the planet!

[elperromagico]

16. GOD DAMN IT.

Somebody bitches about the Stones not being there, so I add them. Then somebody else bitches about their inclusion.

Bleeding Jesus on the cross! I can't win with you people! *mock frustration*

[NightTrain]

18. Sorry, must've missed the "bitcher's" post.

But I still can't see comparing the Stones to any of those other bands for pretension!

[elperromagico]

20. I agree with you.

Their only pretentious album from the 60s is really Satanic Majesties Request. But someone mentioned (in post #2, I believe) that they wanted to vote for the Stones. So why deny them their choice? You don't want to limit the choices of DUers, do you? ;)

[DenverDem]

3. Pretense is in the eye of the beholder.

I see no pretense in any of the examples and love all these bands.

[elperromagico]

10. Well, that's the great thing about polls, isn't it?

[DenverDem]

12. No, polls with agenda based framing do not get to the truth.

That's the problem with polls and the reason why they are useless unless some strict scientific controls are applied.

[elperromagico]

13. Well, I'm sooooo sorry.

You really mustn't take DU polls so seriously for the exact reasons you just stated. They aren't scientific.

P. S. Not every DU poll is some almighty quest for the truth. Some are just opinion polls. And not every one (this one included) is "agenda-based." Frankly, I'm offended by the notion that this dinky little poll is somehow built around my "agenda," whatever that is.

[DenverDem]

21. I don't take DU polls seriously, most are merely humorous.

Your agenda is to attempt to define rock in a narrow way and to demonize those bands who sought to expand the envelope as pretentious.

I am merely pointing this out to show the way all polls are manipulated through framing to achieve the effect of the pollsters agenda. Your innocuous poll does no real cultural damage, unlike the polls the corporatist media use to manipulate the minds of the sheeple and to influence policy and elections.

Just an academic illustration, don't take it personally.

[elperromagico]

25. Nobody's Demonizing Anybody!

It's just a GODDAMN poll! Jesus!

I like all of these bands to one degree or another. What would I gain from "demonizing" them?

I realize we're a bunch of political junkies here, but turning everything in sight into some sort of political issue is really rather ridiculous.

27. that'll teach ya

bwahahahahaha

[tigereye]

33. ahh... take a deep breath.. there (just teasing)

it's only rock and roll,after all ;)

[DenverDem]

35. The use of the term "pretentious" is a pejorative.

This frames all the bands as pretentious in one way or another and thus refers to them all negatively.

This is like Faux News asking which of the Democratic candidates is the most liberal. In their context "liberal" is a pejorative and thus they can slam all the Democratic candidates at one fell swoop and frame them all as "liberal", thus "bad".

As I stated before, the only reason I mention this is to point out how polls are used to manipulate data. It's merely an intellectual observation and not meant as a personal attack. This is how the media and pollsters use polling to manufacture consent where there actually is none. The lazy sheeple see polls and accept them without critical analysis and allow them to sway their thinking, when most often they are not reliable as a measure of the actual mood of the populace.

This is how we allow ourselves get bullied by soulless leaders into imperialistic wars in Iraq, pass couterproductive free trade agreements, elect criminal administrations in the first place and label the Moody Blues as pretentious.

You are the one that brought up the meme that polls are great and I merely illustrated that polls are not great.

[teach1st]

4. I like the Moody Blues, but they were pretentious

Especially the spoken poetry...

Here's a pretentious Moody Blues Coke commercial:

http://www.pb5th.com/pics_gen/moody-pepsi.mp3

<on edit> Oops. It's a coke commercial

9. Moody Blues, hands down

I don't think Pink Floyd belongs on that list. They really didn't get pretentious until the 70's and then they got REALLY pretentious!!!!

go ahead, flame me:evilgrin:

[Systematic Chaos]

11. No need to flame you.

My post #8 and post #3 do a wonderful job of simply refuting you, however.

14. seeing as how one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time

is King Crimson, I was really only having fun. Honest.

I'm still standing by my statements though even if i'm completely inconsistent.:)

[flamingyouth]

17. It's all about the Moody Blues

Especially post-Denny Lane :puke:

The Yardbirds shouldn't even be on this list, really. They rocked.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

22. Her Satanic Majesty's Request

nuff said

[absyntheNsugar]

23. No Rick Wakeman???

He defined AOR Pretense!

[boobooday]

24. No Contest -- the Moodies!

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[nomaco-10]

26. The 60's? Herman's Hermits and the Monkees.

[DancingBear]

28. Anyone ever see The Nice?

This was Keith Emerson's band before EL&P - I would think that "redefining" classical pieces for the "rock audience" smacks a bit of pretentiousness, yes?

Honorable mention to EL&P for continuing the trend, and to King Crimson for being, well, King Crimson!

[teach1st]

32. On the other hand...

..when I was a cocky adolescent, The Moody Blues, Emerson, Wakeman and others in the so-called pretentious realm turned me on to classical music. I don't think the whole genre is pretentious at all, though it certainly had its share.

I still like Nice's rendition of Leonard Bernsten's West Side Story tune, "America." My favorite Nice tune is "The Diamond Hard Blue Apples Of The Moon," but most people hate it.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

34. I Loved The Nice

When I was studying in Europe in 1968 I saw them on live TV, doing the great rendition of "America" and Emerson throwing knives across the stage at his keyboard making sounds. They had great showmanship and wonderful music so I think they were real ostentacious, but it was entirely justified ostentation because they were greatly talented. Thefore they were not pretentious, in my opinion.

[Norbert]

29. Ian Witcomb

I know he isn't a band but that damned You Turn Me On song drove me nuts.

[DancingBear]

30. uh uh uh uh uh uh....

You mean that one? :)

Actually, Ian Whitcomb was a star in English vaudeville, I think.

[VOX]

31. Love or hate 'em, Procol Harem had heavy "Art" pretensions from the get-go

Their lyrics were entirely written by someone outside of the band -- non-musician Keith Reid provided the band's entire written repertory, and their music evolved in decidedly linear fashion.

[Gildor Inglorion]

36. Remember Freddie and the Dreamers?

They were quite, quite pretentious, as I understand the term. This is a great poll and a good discussion, by the way. My favorite period of history!

[Zorra]

37. It's a matter of taste.

Us and Them-Pink Floyd
Us and Them
And after all we're only ordinary men
Me, and you
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do

Forward he cried from the rear and the front rank died
And the General sat, and the lines on the map moved from side to side

Black and Blue
And who knows which is which and who is who
Up and Down
And in the end it's only round and round
And round
Haven't you heard it's a battle of words
the poster bearer cried
Listen son, said the man with the gun
There's room for you inside

Down and Out
It can't be helped but there's a lot of it about
With, without
And who'll deny that's what the fightings all about
Get out of the way, it's a busy day
And I've got things on my mind
For want of the price of tea and a slice
The old man died.

[FloridaJudy]

38. "Herman's Hermits"

THE most godawful British band ever: pretentiously cute, yet nauseating. They were marginally less egregious than Chad and Jeremy, but C&J were a duo, not a band.

I once had all of H.H. and C&J's albums, but I sobered up and joined AA.

Old sixties joke: What does a Deadhead say when the drugs wear off? "Man, this music sucks!"

[lpbk2713]

39. "I'm 'enery the Eighth, I am" is proof enough............ n/t