David Bowie

As soon as I read the opening post this is the man that came to mind a true icon. Bowie was an icon because he wasn't a safe artist he didn't have a distinctive sound he was always changing his music style and his image. If you did a survey on who your favourite artists were influenced by Bowie would be high on the list he as influential and innoventive as it gets and im honestly shocked he hasn't been mentioned yet.
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?im...26tbs%3Disch:1

That certainly is a suprise.... no one mentioned Bowie, that's quite amiss! He has to possibly be the BIGGEST icon of 1970's rock of the more imaginitive / progressive persuasion... he kinda sold out a bit in the eighties, though he did make some pretty vital pop music, only to return to his more creative / interesting mode as an artist... still creating today, he truly has proven himself a long time stayer.

Definite Icon.

The windows media player symbol is most definitely a musical icon...

Bolan > Bowie.

To an extent yes but I can't really choose. The way I see it Bolan was better at glam(and folk) but Bowie was better in general because of his experimenting across differant genres. But who knows if Bolan hadn't died so young he could have been yards better.

People who hold that against Bolan in the Bowie vs Bolan debate are a bit silly. Like you said Bolan didn't have the chance to do what Bowie did.

But they're both seen as pioneers of Glam rock, and I believe Bolan does it much better. But then again I've never been big on Bowie..

Hmmmmm, it's possible we could have all become equally sick of Bolan if he reached Bowie levels of popularity / exposure...

I don't think people's personal dislike of bowie excludes his status as an icon, though. Clearly he is very well known and identified with glam rock and seventies music in general... the same way not liking McDonalds doesn't exclude them from being synonymous with junkfood.

I never said I disliked Bowie? Unless you're just speaking in general. I just never really rated Aladdin Sane but it was more of a 'each to your own' type opinion.

I always felt Bolan had that something about him, more so than Bowie.

Oh it was just a general comment, I wasn't pointing the finger at you or anything. My main point was that Icons are icons regardless of whether they'e liked by everyone, or even whether they're original.... they just become synonymous with certain things.

Ah right yeah I get you, I don't think anyone would argue that Bowie wasn't an icon, he had a massive following and obviously inspired lots of future bands.

I just never really liked him.

I'm not really his biggest hugest fan either, admittedly... he's alright, but when your first dose of him as a kid was his eighties persona, it's hard for the image to recover in your mind...

I'm in the mood for a rant :p:


Just thought it'd be worth bumping this old nugget of a thread again to flag up a couple of other folks who I reckon fit the old icon tag quite nicely. Like my last post here, it concerns a couple more artists who's most famous work took place well behind the scenes of the music industry - two more names who've been fairly influential, ridiculously prolific and very successful who've never really hogged the limelight from the artists they've worked with from their beginnings as a partnership some 50-odd years ago.

They are, in case you hadn't already noticed, the old Burt Bacharach/Hal David songwriting team. Having started work in the days well before the long-play album became the be-all and end-all of the industry, Bacharach and David would write songs to be handed to singers who were after that hit to call their own. Based on Bacharach's typically complex melodies and David's lyrics, this would often be the case, starting with the team's writing about 40 hit singles for their regular client Dionne Warwick. Throughout the 60s and early 70s the Bacharach/David team would compose songs which would be covered by quite a diverse bunch of artists, ranging from Isaac Hayes, the Beatles and Dusty Springfield to the Stranglers, Luther Vandross and even the Manic Street Preachers, not to mention scores of others.

I consider them icons myself if only for the reason that I've inadvertently heard so many of their songs in some way or another. What the World Needs Now Is Love, Close To You, the Look Of Love, Anyone Who Had a Heart, Make It Easy On Yourself, the Last Town I Painted, This Guy's In Love With You - all songs I've heard covered by so many artists in some way, shape or form, and those are only the ones I can think of off the top of my head (along with the videos blow of course). Definitely among the most prolific, successful and influential songwriting partnerships in the history of the industry, and a couple of guys whose work I've found myself listening to a little lately, so I thought it was worth typing all this up. Maybe a bit old-hat for some of our tastes, but they're in my cool-books anyway.

A few renditions of their songs for you...

Burt Bacharach is most definitely an Icon... you can totally identify him with certain sounds and moods.... hence his obvious inclusion in the Austin Powers movies... not to mention his buttery smooth presentation... you'd have to be the biggest hardcore music Nazi to not appreciate his musical prowess and his body of recorded work...