New York’s Top 50 Bands
by 
Mike on August 26th, 2007
Today is a ‘Pleasant Surprise Sunday’.
In a bit of a haze today, I turned to the Internet to present me with some comfort and entertainment. I had no idea what I was looking for - concert announcements, album reviews, news on Pete Doherty (his life fascinates me - not the drug problem or the entire circus act, but just the fact that I personally think it’s impossible to get arrested for possession this many times in one year. I’m positive I could walk down the street every day with a bag of some illicit drug stapled to my shirt and I wouldn’t get arrested as often as Pete).
Then I found this….
It’s a list of New York’s Top 50 Bands and/or Musicians…of all time - a list presented earlier this year by Time Out New York.
I tried to guess the top 5 before I even clicked on the link.
One band immediately came to mind and I actually said out loud, “man, I can’t wait to see where they rank” - expecting them to get buried in the late single digits or early teens.
To my surprise, they topped the chart….
Sweet justice. I was pumped to see the iconic Velvet Underground being recognized as New York’s top band of all time. The root of my surprise was commercialism. I figured the top 10 would have been driven by the bands commercial success. Yes, you can argue the Velvet Underground are now very commercially successful, but they sure weren’t in the early 70’s.
A great remark, often attributed to British musician Brian Eno, is that while only a few thousand people bought the first Velvet Underground record upon its release, almost every single one of them was inspired to start a band.
That’s the power of Rock n’ Roll.
Check out the list at this Time Out New York link and leave a comment on VU or the list in general. Who’s on there that shouldn’t be and where the hell are The Strokes (too early?).
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POSTED IN: Albums, Big Apple News, Lists and Stuff, Top 5
1 opinion for New York’s Top 50 Bands
Aug 26, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I love the Velvet Underground! Their acoustic material is amazing. That list was very cool. Although, I was surprised that the Beastie Boys were not one of the top 10. Seems like they should have been higher. I also like what you’ve done with the place. Maybe intern Mike should continue this blog.
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