Most influencial

[Didymos Thomas]

My interest in loops leans more to the reggae side of the spectrum - Lee Perry, that sort of stuff.

But, yeah, definitely good choices with Gnarles Barkley and Daft Punk.

[philosopherqueen]

Originally Posted by Crazeddemon

Just because I don't like Lil Wyte and MCR doesn't mean i don't have 80gb of music....I just like things that aren't overproduced in studio and overhyped. Maybe it's because i'm a musician and i know how easy it would be to write the music to an MCR song, or how INCREDIBLY simple it is to make a loop with a hook to repeat indefinitely for the background of a rap song. I don't mean anything by this, i'm just picky about what music is worth my time, doesn't mean it's not worth yours.

Well, I understand the simplicity, but sometimes the simplicity in music makes you relize how simple everything really is, then it makes you think of how complicated everything it. My moods change so much that I can't help but like all kinds of music. Right now I'm in a slow typeI of music faze. I understand the whole musician thing. I play trumpet and a little bit of guitar, but I'm not saying that's all I do so you prolly understand more than I do.

With the Lucero album. It's hard to say with me. I've just recently been introduced to them by a friend. But right now the song that I like the best is "The Prayer" I don't know what it is about that song, but it calms me and seems to make alot seem better. With the albums, I've only listened to two of them. Rebels and Rogue and then Nobody's Darlin. They both have good songs and It's so hard to choose. So, I'm not.

I wasnt tryin to say that my music is better than anyone elses, but I was just tryin to let it known that I don't just surround myself with one type of music. I appreciate the work of all music. Even though there is simplicity in a song, it took time and work to write it.

[Crazeddemon]

To PhilosopherQueen

I didn't mean to seem angry or standoffish in my post, I don't mean to argue about music because it is certainly a waste of time. I was just sharing my opinion as you were sharing yours and i didn't mean to offend you etc. I personally just can't take music that is too simple because i get bored. My brain wanders off and the music becomes less engaging. I guess along the way i decided that this was what made good music to me; that i can't help but be engaged by it. But it is always nice to see others opinions on things so subjectively entertaining as music.

[Didymos Thomas]

I think of complexity in music like you would think of complexity in literature. There are some monstrously complex books, which are absolutely brilliant. And then there are other, simple stories which are also brilliant. Like the Divine Comedy and The Old Man and the Sea.

I love the blues. And more often than not, blues is as simple as music gets. But I also love Mahavishnu Orchestra - and, well, let's just say their work is far from simple.

[Farthender]

There are three bands I would put as most influencing me.
In no particular order:

Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin is a very famous and possibly overrated band. As far as their complexity and such things, I know nothing. However, they are very good. What I find inspiring in Led Zeppelin is their extreme variety. You can look at their "Immigrant's Song," which, along with "Kashmir" and "In My Time of Dying" is their best examples of hard rock music. They also have experimented with reggae themes in "D'yer Ma'ker" and "The Crunge." They have the capacity to make slower and extremely beautiful songs such as "The Rain Song", "Ten Years Gone", and "All of My Love". Also, references to Tolkien's fantasy, like in "Misty Mountain Hop", "The Battle of Evermore", and "Ramble On", really endear them to me as I am a total LOTR nerd. Their wide talents in many different sounds really makes Led Zeppelin stand out to me.

Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (ELP)
Well, first off my avatar on this forum is the cover art for their album Brain Salad Surgery. I like ELP because they, like Led Zeppelin, have a wide variety in their music, ranging from Emerson's Piano Concertos to the sad song "C'est La Vie" to the reworking of classical music on their Pictures at an Exhibition album, to their cover of Aaron Copland's "Hoedown" to their epic song "Karn Evil 9". Not to mention that all three musicians in this band have amazing technical ability in their respective instruments.

Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull is amazing, with their fusion of jazzy tunes and melodies conjuring up pictures of old castles and medieval themes. "Thick as a Brick" is one of the greatest songs ever written, in my humble opinion, for it is an epic, sprawling piece extending over forty minutes. Also, they put a lot of thought in their albums. "Thick as a Brick", for example, which took up an entire album, had an entire backstory involving a fictional boy who was said to have penned the lyrics of the song as a poem for a competition. They wrote an entire fake newspaper for the cover of that album. Not to mention that they named themselves after an English agriculturist. I mean, how cool is that?

Cream
OK, I lied, not three. I like Cream due to their bluesy take on psychedelic music. I really like the kind of distorted images that psychedelic music puts in my head (although I do not support or use psychedelic drugs or any drugs. I find enough mind-expanding psychedelia in music like Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and Pink Floyd) Their song "White Room" especially has had a profound effect on me.

[Didymos Thomas]

Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin is a very famous and possibly overrated band. As far as their complexity and such things, I know nothing. However, they are very good. What I find inspiring in Led Zeppelin is their extreme variety. You can look at their "Immigrant's Song," which, along with "Kashmir" and "In My Time of Dying" is their best examples of hard rock music. They also have experimented with reggae themes in "D'yer Ma'ker" and "The Crunge." They have the capacity to make slower and extremely beautiful songs such as "The Rain Song", "Ten Years Gone", and "All of My Love". Also, references to Tolkien's fantasy, like in "Misty Mountain Hop", "The Battle of Evermore", and "Ramble On", really endear them to me as I am a total LOTR nerd. Their wide talents in many different sounds really makes Led Zeppelin stand out to me.

Zeppelin is far from overrated. Achilles Last Stand is brutal. And what is more hard rockin than Out on the Tiles or How Many More Times?

Great band.

[Zetetic11235]

Leo Kottke, John Zorn, U.S. Mapel, Orth Relm, Captain Beefheart, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Frank Zappa, Stravinsky. Im into anything that is compositionaly intricate or experimental. Im a student of moden Music Theory and guitar so im very interested in the new systems and trends in modern composition.
Im also into jazz guys such as John Coletrain, Ornett Coleman, Wes Montgomery, Allan Holdsworth(more fusion than jazz), Jimmy Bruno, John Scofield ect...
And of course, the rock guys; Jimmi, Sabbath, Tool, some Dream Theater, ect

[Didymos Thomas]

Zetetic, are you familiar with Tim Buckley's work?

[GoshisDead]

It seems people are answering the question about the most influential with their favorite music.

The Spice Girls was my Most Influential (band)/(musicians).
In my late teens they turned me off Top 40 and shoved me into more enjoyable alternates like Blues: Clarence Gatemouth Brown, John Lee Hooker and especially Mississippi John Hurt, Jazz: Herbie Hand**** and Chick Corea, Electronic Music (In General)... I didn't know until later after doing some shamaistic ethnography, that my brain is suseptable to beat trance states....
None of these musics have seriously influenced me, but i do enjoy them a lot more than I ever did top 40

[Solace]

It's nice to see some of my own favorites being mentioned, Zepplin and Tool in particular. Couldn't possibly say enough about either of them.

Two other bands that I enjoy to no end are Iron Maiden (forget about 666 and all the silly stuff that appeals to rebellious teens that was attributted to them in the 80's. These guys' operatic metal is phenomenal!) and The Tea Party (a relatively obscure Canadian power trio, whose sound was dubbed "Morrocan Roll" for its middle eastern influences). Distinctive music that I can lose myself in completely.