"As they passed the rows of houses they saw through the open doors that men were sweeping and dusting and washing dishes, while the women sat around in groups, gossiping and laughing.
"What has happened?" the Scarecrow asked a sad-looking man with a bushy beard, who wore an apron and was wheeling a baby-carriage along the sidewalk.
"Why, we've had a revolution, your Majesty -- as you ought to know very well," replied the man; "and since you went away the women have been running things to suit themselves. I'm glad you have decided to come back and restore order, for doing housework and minding the children is wearing out the strength of every man in the Emerald City."
"Hm!" said the Scarecrow, thoughtfully. "If it is such hard work as you say, how did the women manage it so easily?"
"I really do not know," replied the man, with a deep sigh. "Perhaps the women are made of cast-iron.""
- L. Frank Baum, "The Land of Oz"
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
An olive branch. And a cry for help?
In the top 5 best hard rock bands ever? Discuss. :-)
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Comments on "Don't Forget to Pray for Doug Pinnick":
3. Bill
- 12/01/2009 10:42 pm CST
I hesitated on KISS and agree that's negotiable. But you were born a bit too late. In the mid-70s they were hotter than heck.
Kansas? I'm holding my ground, for Carry On My Wayward Son, The Wall, and Point of Know Return alone, not to mention a bunch of other great songs.
Triumph was a popular Canadian threesome - wrote Fight the Good Fight, Magic Power, Never Surrender among others. They rocked pretty hard.
4. Bill
- 12/01/2009 10:44 pm CST
Also, White Wolf is disqualified - not enough longevity. When your entire oeuvre consists of first place in a high school talent show and an unpaid gig at a teenage party . . .
8. Bill
- 12/02/2009 6:47 am CST
I'm certainly not going to argue with you guys that KISS belongs on the list based on my liking of them, because I wouldn't put them there (well, OK, I guess I did) based on that. It was the same with Metallica: not a band that I listen to but they have this lifetime achievement thing going.
But, OK, KISS is off the list (well, they never were top five, but they're off the parenthetical list).
I'm replacing them with Bad Company :-)
10. Bird
- 12/02/2009 7:58 am CST
King's X is unbelievable. In the same way that U2 has provided (and is providing) the soundtrack of my adulthood, so King's X provided the soundtrack of my youth.
I can't say I know enough classic rock to list the best hard rockers ever, but, in my mind, King's X is the best I've heard.
11. nhe
- 12/02/2009 8:09 am CST
I'm with you on Triumph Bill - there are 2 great 3 man bands from Canada - "Hold on To Your Dreams" is Triumph too right? - love that.
I can't put Led Zeppelin on my list - because I can't think of a song of theirs that I LOVE. I'm in the minority, but I've never "got" Led Zeppelin.
I don't own a Metallica album or claim to be a big fan, but I do like what I've heard. Those are 4 (dare I say) great musicians.
I watched the 25th Anniversary of the R&R Hall of Fame concert on HBO on Sunday - all 4+ hours - and it was enthralling. I amused myself that I LOVED both Simon and Garfunkel AND Metallica.
If you guys get a chance to catch some of the performances on You Tube - its worth it.
Some of the best were:
1. Sting and Jeff Beck - "People Get Ready" - wow!
2. Sting and Stevie Wonder - "Roxanne" and "Superstition"
3. U2, Mick Jagger, and Fergie - "Gimme Shelter"
4. Bono and Mick Jagger - "Stuck in a Moment"
5. Fogerty and Springsteen - "Fortunate Son"
6. Metallica - "Enter Sandman"
7. S&G - "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
8. Metallica and Ozzie - "Iron Man"
The whole thing is great including Stevie Wonder getting choked up singing MJ's "The Way You Make Me Feel" - a sincere emotional moment.
12. Bill
- 12/02/2009 8:30 am CST
Oh gosh, I made a GINORMOUS omission.
Revised list, below
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Rush
3. Queen (multi-faceted, but plenty of hard rock there)
4. Boston
5. Metallica Aerosmith
(plus, I'd put Kansas, Triumph, Lynrd Skynrd and - for popularity and longevity alone - KISS Metallica ahead of them.)
14. Jared
- 12/02/2009 9:27 am CST
We're gonna be cross-laying genres here, I think. Notice my last line says "hard rock bands." I think that would exclude Beatles, Eagles, Boston, and probably even the Stones.
I think my list would like this:
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Metallica
3. King's X
4. The Ramones
5. Guns n Roses
Maybe.
16. nhe
- 12/02/2009 10:01 am CST
Hard Rock......hmmmm
1. Kansas
2. Guns & Roses
3. Metallica
4. Van Halen
5. AC/DC
I don't know if Kansas should be excluded because they have a violin, but (having all of their albums) I'd argue that 80%+ of their music is in the hard rock vein.
I would put Boston in somewhere if Jared would let me....I think they fit too.
17. Bill
- 12/02/2009 12:12 pm CST
The Beatles, the Eagles, and the Rolling Bones (ugh . . . most overrated band . . . another post for that) aren't hard rock.
Boston certainly is. This isn't a list of heavy metal bands, but hard rock bands. They rocked, hard.
22. Scott
- 12/02/2009 5:54 pm CST
Great song by King's X. Only one other good song on that album, unfortunately.
Gretchen and Faith, Hope, Love were great. Too bad Dug freaked out. But they never got their due because they were stamped a "Christian" band.
Personally I think that King's X would have been the perfect Christian band. Not CCM. Artists that included Christian message. That is true art.
Has anyone checked out Neal Morse? Christian prog rock.
23. JMJ
- 12/03/2009 1:07 pm CST
1. Petra
2. Stryper
(Just kidding)
here are my five:
1. Led Zeppelin
2. The Who
3. Pearl Jam
4. Metallica
5. Rush
24. Daniel Ross
- 12/07/2009 8:49 am CST
There are many bands that are not hard rock all the time but primarily are classified as a hard rock band (Zep, for example had lots of acoustic guitars throughout their careers but are seen as the ultimate hard rock band). Here's my list.
1. Zeppelin
2. Metallica
3. AC/DC
4. Guns n Roses
5. Van Halen
These aren't my favorites, necessarily, but probably the top 5 in terms of influence, longevity and hits produced.
26. Daniel Ross
- 12/08/2009 9:12 am CST
I thought of that after I hit 'post comment.' :-)
The band itself only last less than a decade but the influence of the band has remained. Kids today are still wearing GnR shirts (heck, JC Penney is selling the Appetite for Destruction t-shirts).
Leave a Comment:
Top 5 best hard rock bands ever?
If they can somehow squeeze one of these off the list:
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Rush
3. Queen (multi-faceted, but plenty of hard rock there)
4. Boston
5. Metallica (right Shrode?)
(plus, I'd put Kansas, Triumph, Lynrd Skynrd and - for popularity and longevity alone - KISS ahead of them.)