Who are “The Beatles” of Dance Music ?
Just listening to the new chemical brothers lp, further… man these guys have consistently made great radio friendly edm forever. I’ve often considered them to be dance music’s Beatles, if such a comparison could be made.
Do you guys agree with me?
If not, who do you consider to be dance music’s most successful acts that garner critical acclaim as well as mainstream appeal, not to mention career longevity?
It’s a solid, solid album. Lots of hummable stuff there… and it sounds very Chems too!..
I won’t compare them to the Beatles because the Beatles transcended their roots playing knock-off American R&B and made some of the most incredible sounding music… and although Virgin hired a musicologist to prove that it wasn’t, I SWEAR that ‘Setting Sun’ uses the drums from ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’.
At the end of the day, with the Chems, you know what you are gonna get. I can’t really think of an ‘EDM’ group I’d stick in the same bracket as the Beatles. I can think of some who are as unpredictable, but none that have retained their mass-market appeal…
When the Chemical Brothers started up, they were just a pale imitation of Underworld. And Basement Jaxx were a pale imitation of the Chems. They’ve all got their own sounds now but of them I value Underworld the most for innovating in so many area.
All of them need to be compared to the groundbreaking done by Orbital - they wrested the concept of the electronic Album from 70’s groups like Yellow Magic Orchestra and Jean Michele Jarre and finally made it cool, plus they always, ALWAYS kicked ass live. Idiosyncratic, never following the music style de jour they made their own sounds and experiments. Lifetime achievement, for me, goes to Orbital.
Fat Boy Slim!!
ducks behind wall
Oh per-leeze. Superb live DJ, mainly because he digs out the oldies and mashes genres, but music? Hardly.
To a slightly lesser degree (seeing as the Beatles sold gazillions of records) i agree with that.
The Beatles didnt just create a teen pop boom they then went on to reinvent music in the studio so the claim isnt comparable on any level like that but yeah, they are the defining band of an era.
As much as i love Daft Punk and the are actually THE best thing i have ever seen (and i have no qualms saying that) they are not as universally loved, certainly not as loved as anyone who likes them thinks.
The Chems have a much broader appeal.
The Chems have outlasted the Beatles by about twice as long and have never made a bad album.
Live they have knocked my socks of. The same DJing although they have also bored me to tears doing a DJ set .
A lot of people think that Daft Punk where the first dance act to really excite the Indie crowd but i dont think Homework had the impact that Exit Planet Dust did (or maybe even Goldies Timeless).
Shiiiiiit…
Only thing i like about FBS is his music vid with Christopher Walken.
one of the chemical brothers tunes that sounds even more like “tomorrow never knows” then setting sun is “let forever be”.
the similarities are uncanny, i think it’s a pretty blatant homage (or rip off? haha) to tomorrow never knows.
Over the years they have played many many Beatles songs in the live sets.
Traditionally finishing on the outro of Sgt Peppers.
But its there use of Willie Hutchs 'brothers gonna work it out" that i love !
When i first heard this i was like woah i have to have the original of that.
@ Karlos TOTALLY agree.
While I won’t say that The Chemical Brothers are The Beatles of dance music, I do think that Exit Planet Dust is one of the, if not the best first album by an electronic artist ever. There’s only one other that I think comes close. The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld.
We are on the same page mate. The Orbs first album was seminal. Mental but amazing all the same.
I’d actually put Kraftwerk (and by association Africa Bambaata), Underworld, Orbital, The Orb, FSOL and Goldie and even The Wiseguys (no I’m not talking about THAT Budweiser advert) above The Chems in pushing the boundaries of dance music a bit.
But only Underworld really rivals The Chems in having. so. many. choons.
@SirReal: you beat me to the punch, you naughty young trouser.
‘Bllththblhththblththblththbtltlthe, ah ha ha ha, ah ha ha ha’
Classic.
I actually saw DJ Shadow open for the Underworld & Chemical Brothers, here in California. Amazing show.
Yeah all true (loving the FSOL check btw) but the special thing about the Chems for me at least is the way they galvanised (geddit) the dance and Indie crowd.
Yeah i know the Happy Mondays and the Roses did it but the Chems were out and out dance music for Indie kids.
the Chems didnt push the realms of dance music as much as they pushed and included the realms of Indie/Dance.
I suppose the Chems just appealed to a more varied audience.
^word
Saw DJ Shadow in Brixton a couple of years back and what was cool about it is he was introducing all the tunes and telling about his inspiration, production methods etc. And the version of Organ Donor he played ROCKED.
If you look at it objectively out of all the people mentioned here I would still have to say that The Chems are probably more popular through every angle ie sold more records main stream, still packed stadiums for live tours, performed dj sets in dingy clubs, got into the charts, had their stuff used in film, tv and advertising the list goes on.
Therefore if we’re looking at it that way then I would have to say the OP is right, Karlos was right with what he said about daft punk.
I saw The Chems live in Trafalgar Square with the royal college of art doing their VJing!! Was definitely one of the best live shows I have ever seen!!!
In summary for universal appeal like the beatles, I would have to say the op, and in my personal opinion, is right!!
No one has mentioned Prodigy yet?
Prodigy: Music for the Jilted Generation is a classic, no fillers, hung together well, had the ‘alienation by authority’ theme down, ‘The Narcotic Suite’. That rare beast: a great ‘dance album’.
The others less so. Thought ‘The Fat of the Land’ even though it was glossy, lacked depth. A bit like a techno version of Blur’s ‘Great Escape’ in fact.
Actually yeah, you are right.