Most influential 80s alternative rock band?

RJDG14 · 07-17-2016, 06:50 PM

Which 1980s alternative rock band would you regard as the most influential, particularly on 1990s music? A lot of people have said The Smiths and the Pixies, however I'd have said Husker Du - they were a major influence on Foo Fighters, not to mention Pixies and Nirvana. A lot of the Smiths stuff sounds similar to bands such as Joy Division or the early Pulp, so while they may have still been influential, I'd hardly categorise their style as original.

As a Husker-Foo similarity example, listen to the Husker Du song Games from their album Flip Your Wig (released 1985) and then compare it with the Foo Fighters song Sean from their St Cecilia EP (released 2015; free download) - both songs are in the same key and feature a similar style of guitar playing. The production is a little better in the newer one, but I can still hear the similarity.

What do you think the most influential alternative act of the decade was? Would you agree with me or do you have a band that I haven't mentioned?

07-17-2016, 06:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
RJDG14 Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 157	Most influential 80s alternative rock band? Which 1980s alternative rock band would you regard as the most influential, particularly on 1990s music? A lot of people have said The Smiths and the Pixies, however I'd have said Husker Du - they were a major influence on Foo Fighters, not to mention Pixies and Nirvana. A lot of the Smiths stuff sounds similar to bands such as Joy Division or the early Pulp, so while they may have still been influential, I'd hardly categorise their style as original. As a Husker-Foo similarity example, listen to the Husker Du song Games from their album Flip Your Wig (released 1985) and then compare it with the Foo Fighters song Sean from their St Cecilia EP (released 2015; free download) - both songs are in the same key and feature a similar style of guitar playing. The production is a little better in the newer one, but I can still hear the similarity. What do you think the most influential alternative act of the decade was? Would you agree with me or do you have a band that I haven't mentioned?