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What's the coolest band of all time?

c-Row said:
The KLF

Without getting too deep into their previous history, they sold more albums in '91 than any other British band, won a BRIT award, disturbed their audience by performing a trash metal version of their best-selling single, fired into the audience (albeit blanks), deleted their complete back catalogue the same day.
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Whatever the definition of cool is I'm pretty sure KLF were.(burning £1million confused a lot of people including themselves)
 
Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor

He makes such original music, and the live shows are really full of energy.

bonus cool points for giving away an album for free, not to mention 100's of gigs of HD concert videos
 
Surely said:
Neil Young

He's one of my favorite musicians of all time.

After seeing him perform Long May You Run on Conan's last Tonight Show tonight, I thought that Neil fits perfectly into the topic of this thread.

After all these years (he's been performing since the 60's), he still sounds amazing. He sounds the same as he did back in the 60's and 70's.

He is wicked-awesome.
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Good call on Neil Young.

Others that come to mind are Bob Dylan (duh), Jim Morrison, Mic Jagger, Joe Cocker, Mark Knopfler, Brian Eno, David Bowie, Billy Corgan, Elliott Smith, Maynard Keenan, and Andrew Bird.
 
Peterkro said:
Whatever the definition of cool is I'm pretty sure KLF were.(burning £1million confused a lot of people including themselves)
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There are several things they have done that would have easily made that list, that's for sure. :D
 
lucky518 said:
I love Linkin Park and Enrique Iglesias
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And they tour together ALL the time! :D


I used to love Pearl Jam and U2, but we just have to admit - U2 almost become a joke and Pearl Jam is just getting boring all the time.


Blondie used to be pretty cool... But Lou Reed? Pleeeease, the man is just a gimmick. Iggy Pop in his British car insurance advertisements is cooler.

Morod said:
Band: AC/DC.

Solo: Hands down Keith Richards!

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/specialkT51/keith_richards.jpg
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Being mainstream kind of defeats being cool, but I was actually thinking of The Rolling Stones that yeah, they are pretty cool, despite the fact that they are just milking their old cashcow and haven't released anything remotely valuable since the nineties.

One thing, though... They are dying their hair but close to the official age of retirement, they still have hair - how cool is that?

But something in the line of The Killers, MGMT but less popular and sexier - that might be the best place in music to find cool. :cool:


Wait a minute! Making an a@@ of yourself is pretty cool - welcome in the world of Kanye West! I think he has a lot of cool, just like Marvin Gaye had.
 
the sensational alex harvey band

the sensational alex harvey band
anthem, midnite moses, buffs bar blues
 

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While I realize this question has many answers - based largely on personal preference and also some music theory and history - I would say Pink Floyd or U2 or Armin van Buuren. Both are establishments within their respective generations and genres. Pink Floyd was highly influential for their era, and by most counts (back in the day) "cool" or hep or whatever. U2 has a magnificent stage presence that drives the crowd wild, and are prominently involved in charitable work, which is very cool. On the other hand, Armin can electrify a club like nobody else and gives a very energized show, all the time looking like he's not putting any effort into it at all.

But that's my opinion, based on music I like. :) I mean, we're not arguing who's the most influential. We each define cool for ourselves, largely..
 
Miles is an excellent and iconic choice. He just oozed cool at every turn.

I don't think it's quite there yet, but I'd throw in Marc Bolan/ T. Rex. Sonic Youth have a particular cool down pretty well. Isaac Hayes wouldn't be a shabby choice. Serge Gainsbourg had skeevy Gallic cool in his smokey way. Speaking of iconic you've got some cold cool Nico and that reminds me of Mr. Leonard Cohen. and....

that's definitely more than 2.
 
Surely said:
Neil Young

He's one of my favorite musicians of all time.

After seeing him perform Long May You Run on Conan's last Tonight Show tonight, I thought that Neil fits perfectly into the topic of this thread.

After all these years (he's been performing since the 60's), he still sounds amazing. He sounds the same as he did back in the 60's and 70's.

He is wicked-awesome.
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Neil Young,
top guy, forever looking, uninhibited, creative artist, who rocks.
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
Lou Reed is the definition of cool.

I think you're confused about what 'cool' means. Both of those bands are usually viewed as great, but a little goofy.
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That is a great pick really--I once heard someone on the radio comment about him being the grandfather of punk--not sure that is the best definition but cool certainly fits Lou Reed--very cool indeed.
 
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