My neverending Poll

[Vincent Chase]

Hello again, you know me and I you. Today I have music on my mind for some reason, and more than on most days. I love music, and think that everyone who doesn't (and there are less of you than us!) really needs to.

The first band I really liked was Green Day when I was about 9-10. I had the pleasure of seeing them 4 years ago when they came to the Hershey Centre in nearby Mississauga. I am planning to go and seem them again in May, provided the concert doesn't fall in the first 12 days of the month, when I will be traveling. I own all of their CDs, and they are still among my favorite bands of all time. American Idiot is truly the album of the year, eclipsing the year's release from my next favorite...

U2. Listening to them at this second, but How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb just wasn't that good in my opinion. Started listening when they released Pop in I believe 1996. People rag on Pop, but it has some of their best work, most notably Staring at the Sun, which is one of their best songs. I still haven't seen them in concert, but a Toronto date has been announced for their upcoming tour. The reason God gave you two Kidneys: So you can sell one to go see U2. I posted my favorite U2 songs here.

After this, when I hit my teens and started emotionally and socially growing, I was exposed to more and more types of music. I added Rage Against the Machine after I first heard Bulls on Parade, Tool after Aenima and Oasis after Supersonic. A really good band that you don't really hear much about is the Dandy Warhols. They did that song Bohemian Like You for the Ford Commercials and Adam Sandler's Little Nicky (which was so underrated). I also started liking Weezer and Radiohead, but what really surprised me was the exposure to Hip Hop.

Three of my friends are The Heretics, and if you like Jedi Mind Tricks (who also rule) and the underground stuff, check them out here, but you have to register and it's a pain in the ass. Nonetheless, through this I started listening to the what you can call the 'good s***': Cypress Hill, Wu Tang, Gang Starr, Nas, Eminem, 7L & Esoteric, Jedi Mind, The Neptunes, 50 Cent, NWA, Westside Connection and Snoop if he was with Dre. All that mainstream crap you hear on MTV and the radio today just isn't the same.

And finally the classic rock. This was mostly my dad's influence. He owns every CD by the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Who, Elvis and the Eagles. One day when the computer stopped and I realized I only had like 20 CDs (I now have 105), I started listening to them. I loved them, and bought replicate copies of a bunch of them albums for myself. Classic Rock is my favorite type of music to listen to.

Do you play any musical instruments? When I was young I went through a phase where I played the Piano, Guitar, Drums and Bass, but now I have nothing. I want to buy a guitar and start a band with my best friend (him on bass), which is good because I can sing really well. I kind of wished I held on to my electric guitar that I had from when I was 11-15. I'd be in an amazing band by now :(

Which instrument makes up the most important part of the band? The thing I really liked about Led Zeppelin (best freakin' band ever!) was that they had an amazing lineup. John Bonham is the second best drummer ever behind only Neil Peart, and he had a style like no other. John Paul Jones is also one of the best bassists, perhaps relinquishing #1 only to the late, great John Entwhistle and Flea, still rocking out with RHCP. Jimmy Page, however, stands out as the best guitarist out there. You know he's good when you hear how fast and acurately he can play live on their DVD How the West was Won. Robert Plant isn't my favorite vocalist, but he's up there in my top ten.

I believe that for a band to be good, everyone has to be on the same level. If your drummer is amazing, the guitarist and bassist have to be on the same level, and vice vice versa. That's the problem with alot of bands today, you have drummers who can't even do a double kick in the same bands as a guitarist that sounds like Keith Richards and then a crappy bassist. If everyone is really good, then there is a wider variety of music to make, and everybody wins.

But there are some bands today that have good sounds. Yellowcard's drummer (I don't know his name) is freakin' unbelievable. Another band called Strung Out (who my friend is obsessed with but I'm not fussy on) has an amazing drummer and guitarist, you should check out their cover of Ozzy's Bark at the Moon. Powderfinger also has a crazy drummer who kind of sounds like Keith Moon, late of The Who.2

EDIT: I apologize if I made 3 of this thread, my computer took me to a search page when I clicked Submit. It's time for a cleanup :(

[Lunarblade]

I fail to see the "poll" in this wall of text... :|
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[Crono]

I could not live my life without music. It's as simple as that. I started with the classic rock when I was in middle school/early high school, which has progressed into metal during my second year of high school. Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, The Who, The Doors were some of my favorites back then. I still listen to them today, but only occassionally, since my musical taste buds have enhanced since then.

Now I listen almost exclusively to heavy metal of all types and sorts: power, symphonic, death, thrash, speed, shred, and black metal - probably in that order. The types of metal that I don't listen to, and in fact dislike immensely, is industrial metal and nu metal. Bands that make up these forms are groups like Slipknot, Fear Factory, Korn, etc. (Death to false metal!! :evil: :evil: )

As for instruments that I play, those would include the bass and keyboards. I don't play the bass nearly as much as I should, but it still brings me great joy.

Which instrument makes up the most important part of the band? All of them. Every instrument, when played well, has equal importance. Sure, the lead guitarist usually takes most of the credit if he can perform shredding solos, but without a complex bass line and ferocious drum playing behind him, it would be much less effective.

The Hot Ice, while I disagree with your choices for best musicians in given categories, I won't gripe about them since this is an opinion poll. So I'll just list some of my favorites.

Guitars: Well, Yngwie Malmsteen is very technical and shreds the axe, but I have to go along with my personal favorites Herman Li and Sam Totman from DragonForce. When two insanely fast and great guitarists are in the same band, trading off orgasmic solos, heaven is produced. :mrgreen:

Bass: I'm going to have to choose Steve Harris from Iron Maiden. The bass riffs that he came up with are truly amazing. Add to this the fact that he founded and wrote the best songs for Iron Maiden, and he shoots to the top of the bassists IMO.

Singer: Well, this is a tough category for me to choose a favorite. I like many different kinds of vocals, ranging from the demon rising growls of Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom to the high pitched soars of ZP Theart of DragonForce. But my favorite vocalist(at least at this point in time), is Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica. If you have never heard a Sonata Arctica song, you are missing out, Kakko's voice is godly!

Drums: One of the most important positions in a heavy metal band, a good drummer can clearly double bass and snare his way to victory. The drummers in a metal band play so fast and hard, the true abilities come out. Just another reason I like metal so much! I choose Snowy Shaw from Dream Evil as my favorite drummer at the moment.

Keyboards: Last, but not least! Playing the keyboards myself, I simply love the effects that keyboards have when harmonized with the other instruments. My favorite keyboardist is without a doubt Janne Warman from Children of Bodom. I saw this band live in San Francisco, and what an experience it was. Warman uses a double forward slanted keyboard, and his fingers move with lightning speed and dexterity across the keys. At the concert he even played one handed for a bit while he chugged down a beer. :lol:

I fully agree that all members of a band should be at the same level for optimum sound. I find it annoying, when I can distinguish an instrument as being played far greater than the band it is in, it feels like a waste. The player could be put to much better use. :lol: I love heavy metal because the musicians are so talented, and play with such speed and definition. I know many will disagree with me here, but that's why metal is the most underrated genre of music. :roll:

Phew! A lot longer than I inteded it to be. I will greatly appreciate it if someone manages to read this all the way through. :D
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"Into battle we ride
With gods by our side
We are strong, and not afraid to die
We have an urge to kill
And our lust for blood has to be fulfilled
We'll fight 'till the end, and send our enemies straight to hell!"

[Solitude]

[Dakota]

Aerosmith and Creed for EVA!
ROCK n' ROLLA!!!
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Its height.

[Marth]

never!! Led Zeppelin and PInk Floyd Rule the world!!!

Yngwie Malmsteen rules in guitar
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grammatically challenged; grasslands special member
I'm Special.. Styx Rules!!

[Milan Fiori]

Go Britney Spears! Whoooo! :mrgreen:
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Be awed by our prowess!

[Sage]

I didn't start really listening to music till I got to college a couple years ago. What can I say, late bloomer. Anyway, most of my music is rock (classic, punk, alternative, etc) and metal. I constantly listen to Korn, Metallica, Green Day, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters and The Offspring, but technically, they only make up about 20% of what I have. Rap, hiphop and the like don't do much for me, but there are a few a listen to. I try to avoid country music, which is hard to do here.

I've been to one concert (almost nothing comes to Montana) and it was this last September. It was Nickelback, with 12 Stones and Puddle of Mudd opening for them. It wasn't awesome or anything, but better than I expected. However, I don't really dig the whole concert thing.

Instruments I play? I played sax for eight years, but that doesn't really get into bands. I played guitar way back in the day (10 years I think), and I can play piano. With a little practice I could play the piano or sax again, but my guitar skills are long gone by now.