r/musicsuggestions • u/RRE4EVR • 5d ago

Best American rock band of all time

This is obviously a subjective post. As post suggest “all time” so feel free to go back to to the 50’s and please consider that bands from this millennium may not hold up in a couple decades. Also genre blending bands welcome.

Greatful Dead my answer

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u/TemplesOfSyrinx 4d ago

So why does such a sizable portion of music lovers really detest the Dead? Why are they so simultaneously loved and hated?

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u/sharbinbarbin 4d ago

Attention spans. People don’t have the attention or possibly the desire to listen to improv. Look at all the people that can’t stand Jazz or miles Davis. Does that mean miles Davis is bad? No, it’s just like licorice. Most people don’t like licorice, those that do, they really like licorice.

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u/TemplesOfSyrinx 4d ago

For the Grateful Dead, I think it's more along the lines of their out of tune singing, self indulgence and slog of uninspired studio work. Beyond American Beauty and Workingman's Dead (both "OK" albums in my opinion), it goes downhill fast.
I like jazz and Miles Davis but 'Blues for Allah' by the Dead (maybe their most jazzy album?) is just self-indulgent horseshit.

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u/NewtonsDucks 4d ago

This is a pretty shallow way to look at the Dead. As the other person that replied to your comment has said, studio albums were not the priority for the Dead and it should not be the only metric for which you judge a band. If you ignore the improvisation and organic quality of the Dead and just hold up two studio LPs as you’re evidence, you completely missed the point. The Dead was not trying to be Steely Dan, having polished to perfection albums was not their goal. They were a live band, and there’s a reason most deadheads spend so much time listening to shows and not so much studio recordings. They were at their best live, and there is something special about that. There is a reason why greats like Miles Davis and Bob Dylan spoke positively of them. If musicians of that caliber respected what they were doing, it might be worth considering whether the self indulgence is in the music or in writing them off without considering what makes them truly great.