Your three fave bands/artists: maximum of three; a running survey

[Sits]

I'm cheating and basically counting anything with his vocals in here, so Japan, Rain Tree Crow, Nine Horses and guest appearances all count as David Sylvian for me. I'd listen to him reading a phone book. Mrs7610 on the other hand finds him to be a thoroughly depressing bastard and never misses an opportunity to voice this opinion.

My family ridicule my musical tastes generally, philistines. But special ire is saved for Japan. The first time my son heard them (I think it was Gentlemen take Polaroids) he commented that the vocalist sounded as though he was suffering from an affliction of the nervous system. Brat.

[Sean of the Shed]

Today I would like to put Talking Heads into my top three, but that would require me to relegate one, and I don't want to.

[Sporting]

Where would Japan rank Andrew?

I read this at first as a question about Japan's opinion of Andrew. How much difference the lack of a comma makes!

[Sporting]

This has been surprisingly hard. Motorhead at number one, obviously, but, after that, it is harder. It's between AC/DC, Sex Pistols, Elvis, ABBA, Ramones, Johnny Cash, the Manics. Oooh, and Public Enemy and a band that no-one knows apart from Ray called The Wigs (featuring the main potter from The Great Pottery Throwdown).

I've put you down for Motorhead so far.

[Sits]

I read this at first as a question about Japan's opinion of Andrew. How much difference the lack of a comma makes!

As Hot Orange also mentioned. It's funny, normally I use too many of the damned things. Commas that is.

[Patrick Thistle]

That sounds amazing. I'm going to have to check them out.

Oh my God, Gav, that is fantastic. I love the kids moshing along.

[Satchmo Distel]

Paradoxically, I listened to Durutti Column more than any other act in 2018 but they are not in my Top 3 all-time because I decided to pick the ones who have been most important to me since my early 20s, thus Billie Holiday, Mozart and Beach Boys. I have listened to them less often since I turned 50 but only because I know them so deeply that I don't need to listen to them daily to carry them permanently in my soul. Durutti Column are not quite there yet because it takes at least a decade.

[adams house cat]

The Shangri-Las
Jimmie Rogers
Howlin Wolf

Tomorrow...

[matt j]

Ali Farka Toure
Orchestra Baobab
Yat-Kha

[Sporting]

So around about 77 best threes (or in one case, best one) so far. Thanks to all before this thread sinks into page 2...or are there any more to come?

[Bored Of Education]

Out of interest, has anyone's favourite band changed dramatically from when they were younger (and, as has been pointed out, more suited to having 'favourite bands')? I say this as I always assume that OTFers are somewhere at the start of or well into middle age, a time when it is hard to be truly astounded by new music, I feel. Obviously, I have heard many great bands - the Manics, Shellac, Nomeansno etc - since my teenage years when I first heard Motorhead, AC/DC, Ramones etc. but there never seems to be quite the same sense of astonishment and joy. I'd probably say the Beastie Boys/Public Enemy/Run DMC time was the last era that I felt it and that was because that all sounded like a new sort of music. I know that a lot of people my age seemed to get another great rekindling of love of music with rave and post-rave dance music but, to an extent, I am not sure that people were allied to single artists in the same way (and the list on the front page currently backs that view up unless OTF is massively anti-dance).

[Furtho]

My favourite band as a teenager -- the first band I really got into and the first band I ever saw live -- was The Stranglers and the only manifestation of that enthusiasm I retain now is the urge every eighteen months or so to listen to their cover of Walk On By.

[Satchmo Distel]

I wouldn't assume that tastes have solidified by age 18 or 21. Mine stopped changing significantly when I got to 30; I think I was still quite open to new stuff up to then (I liked Parklife and In Utero very much, although not enough to put Blur and Nirvana in my top 3)

I also think that with dance and maybe hiphop, most of my generation would tend to like individual tracks rather than an artist's full body of work. Might have one album by an artist but not more.

[Pietro Paolo Virdis]

Sam Cooke
Antonio Vivaldi
Iron Maiden

[Sits]

Hello PPV.

Twenty years ago mine would have been Dylan, Springsteen and The Beatles. So one has survived but the other two are still very high.

[Pietro Paolo Virdis]

Hello Sits,

Top three is cruel.
It's like being born into the von Trapp family and having to choose which three of the siblings you love the most. Only here there are 50 of them siblings. At least.

[Hot Pepsi]

It’s really impossible to pick just three. I would say that my top “tier” of bands probably has 10 or 15 bands.

[Pietro Paolo Virdis]

Top three beginning with A (counting last name if it's a solo), then three beginning with B, then C and up until Z, is less cruel.

[Sporting]

It’s really impossible to pick just three. I would say that my top “tier” of bands probably has 10 or 15 bands.

Of course it is and I appreciate that. But having to compile a list with people's ten faves would have been too much a burden, I'm sorry!

[Patrick Thistle]

Out of interest, has anyone's favourite band changed dramatically from when they were younger (and, as has been pointed out, more suited to having 'favourite bands')? I say this as I always assume that OTFers are somewhere at the start of or well into middle age, a time when it is hard to be truly astounded by new music, I feel. Obviously, I have heard many great bands - the Manics, Shellac, Nomeansno etc - since my teenage years when I first heard Motorhead, AC/DC, Ramones etc. but there never seems to be quite the same sense of astonishment and joy. I'd probably say the Beastie Boys/Public Enemy/Run DMC time was the last era that I felt it and that was because that all sounded like a new sort of music. I know that a lot of people my age seemed to get another great rekindling of love of music with rave and post-rave dance music but, to an extent, I am not sure that people were allied to single artists in the same way (and the list on the front page currently backs that view up unless OTF is massively anti-dance).

I put George Ezra in my top 3. He has been on repeat play in our house since Mrs Thistle bought an album at the start of the summer. My previous 'new' love was Bastille who I've now seen twice live. They would probably be top 5 if I was allowed 5.

16-25, my absolute number 1 band was Midnight Oil. That changed to the Tragically Hip at about 25 and hasn't changed.

[diggedy derek]

I usually find lists relatively easy – they are rough and ready functional guides – but this is almost impossible.

At a push, it'd be

The Beatles
Miles Davis
James Brown

Depending on mood, though, Miles might occasionally be replaced by John Coltrane, James might be replaced by Prince or the Wu-Tang Clan, etc.

[Satchmo Distel]

I put George Ezra in my top 3.

I bought his album for a quid aka Ezra Pound.

[Beatle Simon]

Out of interest, has anyone's favourite band changed dramatically from when they were younger (and, as has been pointed out, more suited to having 'favourite bands')? I say this as I always assume that OTFers are somewhere at the start of or well into middle age, a time when it is hard to be truly astounded by new music, I feel. Obviously, I have heard many great bands - the Manics, Shellac, Nomeansno etc - since my teenage years when I first heard Motorhead, AC/DC, Ramones etc. but there never seems to be quite the same sense of astonishment and joy. I'd probably say the Beastie Boys/Public Enemy/Run DMC time was the last era that I felt it and that was because that all sounded like a new sort of music. I know that a lot of people my age seemed to get another great rekindling of love of music with rave and post-rave dance music but, to an extent, I am not sure that people were allied to single artists in the same way (and the list on the front page currently backs that view up unless OTF is massively anti-dance).

For me, The Beatles have been no.1 since '81. Before that, it would've been Gary Numan from '79. The Cure have been no.2 since 'Disintergration' in '89. Around '82, I would've had a joint no.2 with Japan and Duran Duran, and from '83 no.2 would've been The Jam and The Style Council.
Probably the band I listened to most from '99 to about 2010 would've been Air, but I wouldn't have classed them as a 'favourite band', as they didn't have that 'life-changing' experience I was after, and by about 30, I was getting a bit too old for that sort of thing.

[Sporting]

The Beatles the new undisputed leaders with ten votes.

[Sean of the Shed]

Johnny Cash is mentioned twice amongst those receiving a single vote.