The Greatest American Rock Band Bracket!
First Round, Classic Rock Division
The Cars (6) vs. the Byrds (11)
New Wave hitmakers versus folk-rock trailblazers
|
|
|
|
The Cars:
"With their sleek, mechanical sound inspired by proto-punk, garage rock, and bubblegum pop, Boston-based quintet the Cars racked up a string of platinum albums and Top 40 singles, becoming the most successful American new wave band of the late '70s and early '80s. They had enough rock & roll attitude to cross over to album rock radio, while still being heavily influenced by the art rock of artists like Suicide, the Velvet Underground, and Roxy Music. Their first two albums were new wave classics; their fifth album, 1984's Heartbeat City, was a modern pop masterpiece." --AllMusic.com Popularity
Influence:
|
The Byrds:
"Time has judged the Byrds to be nearly as influential as [the Beatles and the Rolling Stones] in the long run. They were not solely responsible for devising folk-rock, but they were certainly more responsible than any other single act for melding the innovations and energy of the British Invasion with the best lyrical and musical elements of contemporary folk music... The Byrds' innovations have echoed nearly as strongly through subsequent generations in the work of Tom Petty, R.E.M., and innumerable alternative bands of the post-punk era." --AllMusic.com Popularity
Influence:
|