Grab your weapon of choice now...

[KristianJ]

Honestly I had no idea who Van Morrison was and I thought "it"" was a group, thats the only reason he was in there.
My problem is: how do we define a solo artist?
They all have bands, well most of them do. Like Jimi. He had Noel Redding, one of the best bassists ever. And his band in the beginning was the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Did he ever go totally solo? Not that I know of.... Billy Joel always had a band, so did Zappa, so does Trey Anastasio (Band), Van Halen, etc etc. And what makes the Dave Matthews Band different than Frank Zappa? The absence of the word "band" at the end of the artist name??? So my problem is where do we draw the line? I have not been able to figure this out yet. Please let me know if you've got some solid criteria.

Good point Bill...my thoughts are that if they've been featured on most albums as the title artist and made their first impact on the music industry as a solo artist, then they can be classified as a solo artist. However if an artist made a very notable contribution to music as a soloist following a career in a band (eg. John Lennon) I'm not sure how I'd classify Jimi or Zappa, but DMB would be ineligible in my opinion, even though I'm aware that Dave has released solo material. I even think you could find a spot for Lou Reed...(not merely to satisfy you, nadroj, but I saw a bit of a doco on him and his solo career last night on TV)

So in my sample list of soloists (transcending genres slightly and just examples, not my opinion on the best of the best) there'd be people like Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Jack Johnson, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Mariah Carey, Enya, etc.

 

[nadroj1985]

I even think you could find a spot for Lou Reed...(not merely to satisfy you, nadroj, but I saw a bit of a doco on him and his solo career last night on TV)

You most certainly could include Lou; he had quite an extensive solo career, and is still going for that matter.

I'd like to stick in Dylan and Bowie certainly, and maybe Nick Drake, Van Morrison, and Nick Cave (does he count?)

 

[KristianJ]

You most certainly could include Lou; he had quite an extensive solo career, and is still going for that matter.

I'd like to stick in Dylan and Bowie certainly, and maybe Nick Drake, Van Morrison, and Nick Cave (does he count?)

Um...I'm not sure. I know he had his Bad Seeds for a while, but I have heard a bit of his solo stuff. If you were part of the organising committee then the world would be your oyster!

 

[Arwen Undomiel]

What about singers who were with a band at first but then became solo artists? Like....um....ok, Sting I guess (even though I can't stand his voice).

 

[KristianJ]

What about singers who were with a band at first but then became solo artists? Like....um....ok, Sting I guess (even though I can't stand his voice).

Yep, for sure...it's buried somewher in one of my posts, Arwen.

 

[Arwen Undomiel]

Yep, for sure...it's buried somewher in one of my posts, Arwen.

Eek! You're right...sorry Kristian!

 

[KristianJ]

Eek! You're right...sorry Kristian!

That's okay, Arwen! It was a grammatically weird sentence for starters:

However if an artist made a very notable contribution to music as a soloist following a career in a band (eg. John Lennon) I'm not sure how I'd classify Jimi or Zappa, but DMB would be ineligible in my opinion, even though I'm aware that Dave has released solo material.

 

[Smi1eWarrior]

Please consider these things before comparing anyone on here to a robot or a monkey. Of I dunno, some people might consider being compared to a monkey as a compliment.

I love monkeys!!! their so adorable!

Yay for monkeys!

 

[KristianJ]

On the subject of the battle I posted about yesterday, today Jet defeated U2...

Update: Pearl Jam won the battle overall, and def. Jet in the final.

 

[sad astronaut]

...because I am sure to establish myself as the most hated person on CF with this thread. but having checked the current FUBAR bracket in the battle of the bands last night, then reading some recent posts today, it is painfully clear, to me at least, that there can be absolutely NO objectivity when either u2 or the dave matthews band is involved.

therefore i move to remove both of the bands from any future discussions about "greatest band," "best singer," "best album" or anything of the sort. We could have a "who had the best ever live recorded sneeze" and one of these two would win. it's become quite disgusting in my opinion.

and although i have already sealed my fate, I will still offer this disclaimer, i am not a hater of either of these bands, i simply think that the constituent base on this forum is decidely skewed in their favor, so much so that one might think that all of bono's and dave's personal friends are CF members and voters.

let the arrows fly...

but voting for best mullet without including the 80's bono doesn't seem right to me.