3 Chords and the Truth

Lately I’ve been listening to Dan LeSac vs Scroobius Pip. On there album there’s a song called “Thou Shalt Always Kill” it’s a very good lyric and song but there is a bit in the middle that goes like this


“Thou shalt not put recording artists on ridiculous pedestals no matter how good they are or were once were.
The beatles were just a band, Led Zeppelin were just a band


It goes on like that through various bands. But that got me to thinking were bands such as Led Zeppelin, the Sex Pistols, The Beatles and Rolling Stones just band or were they something more. The Sex Pistols and Rolling Stones especially for me stand out as more than just a band. They are almost the embodiment of a time in history and a mood in the country. The Stones and Beatles were the flag bearers of the swinging sixties. The Stones at Altamount could be said to have been the end of the sixties. (Appropriate that it was to Sympathy for the Devil). The Sex Pistols were one of the pioneers of punk and that movement made the earlier bands such as The Who, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones look like the old dinosaurs. Those older bands had become very technical and were doing twenty minute drum and guitar solos. The younger fans coming up didn’t want that. They wanted quick, fast two minute songs to jump around to.


Surely they were more than just a band they started a fashion trend and were one of the epicentres of a cultural movement. The same has happened throughout music history, from the pioneers such as the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. They were superseded by punk and bands like the Ramones, Sex Pistols and Clash. These in turn were replaced by the new wave of British heavy metal led by Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. This list could go on through the different versions and bands that were more than just popular but defined a period, by the way they dressed the content of their lyrics and the way that they represented themselves to the public.


I don’t think that it is fair to these bands to say that they were just a band. A lot of bands are just bands but some go beyond that and become a representation of an atmosphere and period in history. These bands are an important part of history and even shaped part of it. For example if it wasn’t for glam and hair metal in the 80’s then there would be no such thing as parental advisory labels on cds. A small example but still it does show how these bands have had an influence on society.