Who is the defining artist of this generation?

[Annabelle]

south park at its height. and wwf ATTITUDE. and doing it all for the nookie. and mysogony.

 

I.E. all things that define the current generation (late-90s/early-00s)... hence Eminem defining a generation. I don't see how that doesn't make perfect sense.

 

 

how does a 4 year span define a generation? by those terms, donna summer defined a generation. so did joy division. defining a generation involves several albums over an extended amount of time. not silly little fads.

[BUTT]

So you wouldn't say Kurt Cobain was the defining artist of his generation?

[Perfxion]

I like to say 15 years defines a true generation of events (IE: 1945 to 1960 are all baby boomers) So by my clock, the iGen is 1990 to 2005.

 

Well, within this time span: Nirvana, Mariah, Snoop, Jay Z, Eminem, Radiohead, Faith No More, New Kids on the Block, and Grath Brooks are all defining artist. You can knock anyone off the list, but for the genres(and sub) displayed throughout the 90s, these groups/singers/rappers all put their stamp on the music map.

[snuffbox]

Some of you probably think the Monkees defined the 1960s.

[tominator89]

I like to say 15 years defines a true generation of events (IE: 1945 to 1960 are all baby boomers) So by my clock, the iGen is 1990 to 2005.

 

Well, within this time span: Nirvana, Mariah, Snoop, Jay Z, Eminem, Radiohead, Faith No More, New Kids on the Block, and Grath Brooks are all defining artist. You can knock anyone off the list, but for the genres(and sub) displayed throughout the 90s, these groups/singers/rappers all put their stamp on the music map.

 

I'd say Green Day has to be included in this list. Basket Case is on it's way to becoming one of those defining songs.

[Epic Reine]

I'll agree with the Faith No More answer. They had a bigger impact on music than most people think.

[Annabelle]

I'll agree with the Faith No More answer. They had a bigger impact on music than most people think.

people have to know who the band is before they can be called defining artists.

 

cobain gets in because of his death. had he lived, he'd gone the way of vedder or cornell or michael stipe. people woulda grown tired of him by about 1996.

[snuffbox]

Some people are confusing 'influential' with 'defining artist'.

[skullman80]

There isn't one. By and large this generation of music has been terrible.

[snuffbox]

Its actually a pretty decent period of music if you can look past mainstream radio/tv.

[CBright7831]

A few years ago I would have said Eminem, but I'm not sure about that now.

[Giuseppe Zangara]

An eight page abortion, this thread. I regret ever posting in it.

[Art Sandusky]

i sorta think daft punk should define our generation. who's with me?

I'm glad Banky posted this before I did. Daft Punk is the act leading the charge into electronic music stamping its mark on the culture, and electronica is due again after it last experienced a peak in the late 90s. It's only a matter of time before it explodes again. Come on, we've already said in here how technology's changing everything.

 

Continuing on the same vein of thought, the Crystal Method and Chemical Brothers probably fit under the same sort of influence. "There is Hope," "Get Busy Time," "The Name of the Game, ("Calling All Freaks," whatever)" all these sorts of cadences, structures, and even samples/sounds/beats have influenced a lot of stuff all over the spectrum already. Fatboy Slim as well.

[Sandman9000]

The answer, that no one wants to admit, is Britney Spears.

 

I'm serious.

[Murmuring Beast]

I already said the Spice Girls. They paved the way for countless boy and girl group trash bands in a truly massive scale.

[Annabelle]

well we should talk about how we're trying to peg the msot defining artist on north america. in europe & abroad it is dance music that is the most popular. so in some ways, daft punk may hold this distinction overseas. maybe.

[Copper Feel]

What parts of Europe is dance music the most popular genre in?

[Murmuring Beast]

Scandanavia.

[PLAGIARISM!]

Doesn't metal still come first for most of Scandinavia?

[skullman80]

Its actually a pretty decent period of music if you can look past mainstream radio/tv.

 

Who actually does that though? This generation is the fucking posterchild for the crappy mainstream/MTV crap that has been going on.

[Annabelle]

What parts of Europe is dance music the most popular genre in?

 

france, spain, italy, germany...

[Red Baron]

Doesn't metal still come first for most of Scandinavia?

 

Yes.

 

Easily.

[Art Sandusky]

A more accurate description of Europe's inclination is dancy and electronic pop.

[SuperJerk]

cobain is legendary because he killed himself.

Were you even alive in 1991?

[Dobbs 3K]

I personally think Nirvana's importance is a slightly overstated. Yes, I remember how popular they were, but really, their impact was basically only three albums (Nevermind, In Utero, Unplugged), and they were really only known for about three years before Kurt Cobain killed himself.

 

Yes, I understand their music was great (it's not too my liking, but I can appreciate it for what it is), but let's be honest...they borrowed heavily from a lot of bands like Dinosaur Jr., the Pixies, etc. Nirvana's music isn't as "ground breaking" as some people like to think.

[Tully316]

As someone stated earlier, the problem with a definining artist for this generation is the way this generation lives it's life. This is the generation that has grown up on the internet, IM, blogs and a steady diet of fast-paced, ever-changing interests and trends/fads. They've been programmed to love something and then discard it and move on to the next. Depending on point of view, does this generation have ADD or does it excel at "multi-tasking".

 

Being a Gen-Xer, I was deemed as being lazy, a slacker, having general apathy and no real goals in life. However, today, Gen-Xers are looked at as innovative, risk-taking and unconventional. I'm convinced that my generation was defined by some great artists who produced some of the greatest albums of all time. These albums captured a distinct snapshot of society at that time. While some "good" albums have been released in the past 10 years, none have been what many would call "landmark" or "must have". No White Album, no Zeppelin IV, no Dark Side of the Moon, no Joshua Tree, no Nevermind.

 

Artists do not define generations anymore, music executives do.

[SuperJerk]

I personally think Nirvana's importance is a slightly overstated. Yes, I remember how popular they were, but really, their impact was basically only three albums (Nevermind, In Utero, Unplugged), and they were really only known for about three years before Kurt Cobain killed himself.

 

Yes, I understand their music was great (it's not too my liking, but I can appreciate it for what it is), but let's be honest...they borrowed heavily from a lot of bands like Dinosaur Jr., the Pixies, etc. Nirvana's music isn't as "ground breaking" as some people like to think.

Are you not aware they single-handedly popularized a sub-genre of rock music that dominated the music industry during most of the 1990s?

 

Nirvana was the first exposure most of America had to what was then called alternative music. Nirvana, along with Dr. Dre in the genre of rap music, obliterated everything else out there and reshaped popular music in their image. It would be 1998 before traditional "Pop" acts would get another foothold in the music industry.

[Red Baron]

Soundgarden was allready breaking through before Nirvana did. Nirvana was fucking lucky to catch a break before making it big.

[Henry Spencer]

Soundgarden were only lumped into the alternative rock scene because of the way they dressed, though. They were pretty much just a standard hard rock band.

 

Nirvana were indeed lucky to make it big, but that's completely irrelevant to the discussion at hand.

[skullman80]

Nirvana ushered in a shitty generation of music.