Who is carrying the torch?

David Smith · Post by **David Smith** » Tue May 20, 2003 7:09 pm

U2 are awful. They're about as experimental now as Girl's Aloud and about as rock'nroll as them. Bono seems to think he has been blessed with ever lasting youth not taking in to account just how past it he is.

The very idea that U2 gave up trying to be a rock band after Achtung Baby can be proven with their new efforts to look as cool as possible, their brand of soft mainstream rock is like that of REM, but unlike REM they refuse to let their age show within their music.

AthousandMilesOfMoonlight · Tue May 20, 2003 7:21 pm

You should have been at their Slane Castle show on September 1 2001,i was and man did they put on a show,they really now how to interact properly with an audience and not in a sickeningly cringy or false way cos we irish dont take any of that kind of plastic insincere b*******t,they just are able to communicate and play a great show as well,(not an easy feat at all) that was a great night

I,ll admit that Bono is not getting any younger and he should try and age with a little bit of grace (not too much though!) but i still feel u2 have the ability to be brilliant,that never really goes away.

PS: DEAD CAN DANCE are a band you might want to listen to,great vocals and musical experimentation[/b]

ng · Post by ng » Wed May 21, 2003 7:37 am

I think that the true heirs/torch bearers are probably to be found on the margins of the current music scene and are probably receiving very little recognition. Floyd had a fantastic ability to experiment and innovate while still making music that people could identify with. They also had a gift for expressing feelings that are common to everybody. I'm not sure who if anyone is doing this now (with any success)
Recently listening to bands like Labradford I have heard that sense of space and timelessness. I have also read several write-ups about a band called Marconi Union who have been compared to Floyd as well as Labradford, does anyone know their stuff?
Radiohead keep pushing the boundaries forward and maybe the only major group of the last 10 years to keep that innovating edge.
I guess in the absence of new Floyd magic we all keep searching for that musical thrill.

dogs_pigs_n_sheep · Post by **dogs_pigs_n_sheep** » Wed May 21, 2003 12:18 pm

My questions is this:

Does carrying the torch mean -

a. Continuing from where PF left off in development?

or

b. Being a band in the spirit on which PF was a band?

If the answer is b., then many band might fit that answer. But again we come to the quesition of "what is the spirit of PF?". Is the spirit of the band what it ended up with after David quit working with the band about 10 years ago, or does it go much deeper than that?

crofloyd · Post by **crofloyd** » Thu May 22, 2003 2:46 pm

It's Coldplay, IMO. Very talented guys.

MikeWaters · Post by **MikeWaters** » Thu May 22, 2003 2:51 pm

Id say U2, theyre an awesome band. TDB has a song that sounds exactly like U2 "take it back". U2 is the best band out there thats still performing as a whole.

David Smith · Post by **David Smith** » Thu May 22, 2003 3:18 pm

I'm going to hold myself back from commenting on the 2 previous posts, but i advise everyone to listen to the new Blur album. Seems definitly inspired by Pink Floyd.

Like Pink Floyd they're not so much going for reinvention as they are progression, which sadly means progress must end somewhere and the end of the band's life shall come (for me that's TFC by the way) so before Blur stop you should listen to some of their new stuff. It's nothing like Parklife i promise.

MikeWaters · Post by **MikeWaters** » Thu May 22, 2003 3:21 pm

Blur the one hit wonders with "song 2". Dont think ill buy their album ever again!

David Smith · Post by **David Smith** » Fri May 23, 2003 5:05 pm

Blur were at one point an incerdibly bad band but now they've matured and began to experiment. Although one hit wonders? They must have had about 12 songs in the top 10 by now.

This latest album is really good, download a song entitled Out Of Time, that should let you know what Blur are like nowadays.

Charade I am · Post by **Charade I am** » Fri May 23, 2003 9:17 pm

The Australian Pink Floyd! Ha, ha!...
No, well, being serious for a second....i would have to vote for Radiohead, specially their early years

ha ha!, charade you are!

CHR15 · Post by **CHR15** » Sat May 24, 2003 5:20 pm

I would say Tool. They're like Pink Floyd and Mettalica Combined to me. Their live shows seem similer to floyds as well. Also Nine Inch Nails. Trent Reznor is very good with concept albums as well as very talented musically. He's like the gothic verion of Roger Waters. Some others are Radio Head and The Smashing Pumpkins.

Piper · Post by **Piper** » Sun May 25, 2003 1:36 am

I would say the Flaming Lips come closest (course this is biased since they're perhaps my favorite contemporary band), b/c of their penchant for very experimental music, particularly with the Soft Bulletin.

I would also say Tool comes close as well, since they are pretty experimental and they have the anti-corporate, anti-record business stance down pat just as PF had, at least in the '70s.

David Smith · Post by **David Smith** » Sun May 25, 2003 9:09 am

The Flaming Lips are really good eh? preffered Youshimi battles the pink robots though. Them and The Coral are the best psychadelic bands around right now.

AthousandMilesOfMoonlight · Mon May 26, 2003 10:54 am

Bauhaus in their day were one of the most experimental and really good bands i had ever heard,right up there with the Floyd.

David Smith · Post by **David Smith** » Mon May 26, 2003 1:51 pm

Grandaddy carry the Pink Floyd torch

Just listen to their classy prog rock, like Radiohead only in some ways better.