Quote:
Originally Posted by loveissucide
Sonic influence has nothing to do with it,it's the willingness to reinvent themselves and explore new territory that makes Wilco and Radiohead such outstanding heirs to the good aspects of the Beatles,not the simplistic sonic similiarities Elliot Smith and Oasis see as channeling The Beatles.
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Sonic influence has an immense role in this discussion. Remember, we were talking about the Pixies' influence on the decade of music that followed (and you brought up the soft, loud, soft, loud set of dynamics--that sounds like an aspect of their sonic influence). I will not dispute that Radiohead, Wilco, and groups who are in a constant state of flux are far more fluent in artistic exploration--it goes without saying. But to say that this constant change in direction warrants a comparison to the Beatles, other than their inclination toward reinvention (and I understand that THIS is what you're saying) still misses the boat.
I mean, Hank Williams (I) strove to reinvent himself and released a few albums under the name Luke the Drifter. Dylan certainly carried on in this tradition with all the different persona's he created (and certainly with Jack Frost), but Dylan's music (the sonic components that make it up--accompaniment, vocal melodies, etc.) is really a far cry from Williams', although Dylan may have carried some of Williams' ideas to new, exciting places. And I would say the same thing for Radiohead. They took ideas that the Beatles brought to the table, and they expanded on them, whereas groups like Oasis just kind of spit out more of the same (and I definitely agree with you on that aspect now that I've had a chance to really think about it). But when I listen to Elliott Smith, sometimes I think "Damn, that was very Lennon," or "Damn, that was very McCartney", so on and so forth. You can't deny the importance of style when it comes to sonic influence....
I might say, in passing, that the difference between "A.M." and "Being There" is like the difference between "Aftermath" and "Exile on Main Street", but that doesn't mean that Wilco is carrying on with any real, startling similarity to the Rolling Stones, does it? Maybe in the manner in which they progress musically, but not in the music itself....