Biggest Band on Earth

Digital Twilight · July 2013

I'm a little surprised at all the hostility towards Mumsford & Sons. Granted I've only listened to their first album and it was a decent effort. Is it just because they seem to be everywhere at the minute? At least a major popular band actually write their own music and play their own instruments. I say that but then I think of Cold Play

Pearl Jam is probably the largest cult band in the world but they don't reach the heights that The Foo Fighters or Springsteen can command.

Backspacer_Backer · July 2013

1D

dimitrispearljam · July 2013

Backspacer_Backer wrote:

1D

curmudgeoness · July 2013

pearljamsam wrote:

All of this discussion about Arcade Fire has gotten away from the original post. With that said, and I swear I am not trolling right now, and I really dislike this band, but I think that you could legitimately make an argument that the biggest band on the planet right now in terms of what is popular, what is hot, selling tickets, acclaim, headlining festivals all that stuff is..... Mumford and Sons.

I do like Mumford and Sons, but I also think that their second album was just an update of their first, and they will not have staying power unless the third album breaks new ground.

I'd have to agree with other posters who mentioned:
U2
Coldplay
Foo Fighters

I don't listen to Metallica, but enough people have mentioned them that I am willing to bet they still are a very big deal.

I wonder how one would measure popularity now. Ticket sales are a factor, of course, but that cannot be the only thing, otherwise, indeed, the Eagles would be the big noise.

curmudgeoness · July 2013

Backspacer_Backer wrote:

1D

:fp:

Spiritual_Chaos · July 2013

If you should count sort of... "young" and still "active" artists... and not U2, Rolling Stones or Bruce/E Street... I would say Foo Fighters, all their songs turn to hits, they sell a lot of records, sell out any arena and are still relevant.

Pearl Jam is nowadays more selling on their name (like older acts Neil Young, Rolling Stones etc) than the latest single or album while Foo Fighters is still keeping up with the market and charts. Kings Of Leon is one of the latest band to blow up I can think of.

DewieCox · July 2013

Merkin Baller wrote:

In my opinion, a band has to have been around or a solid 15-20 years to even enter the discussion of biggest band in te world.

Until then, it's a potential flash in the pan.

I disagree with this. If a band can have enough success in a few short years to earn their spot, then they have a rightful claim. I think alot of bands stake their claim as the biggest very early in their careers. The Beatles, Zeppelin and GnR hardly lasted 10 years, but they were unquestionably the biggest bands in the world for a long time and the Beatles and Zeppelin are still a huge force.

I can kinda see what you're saying, but I think some bands just have an undeniable, immediate impact.

Another thing....Is Coldplay that big? I know they're still doing headlining arenas and they are very successful, but it doesn't seem like they are big as they once were.

Spags · July 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cK-coH6lkY

curmudgeoness · July 2013

Merkin Baller wrote:

pearljamsam wrote:

Unfortunately your right about this, thats why I cant really say who the biggest band on the planet would be right now. Isn't it nuts that when most of the people on this site were young kids the bands that the little girls bought were Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. Its been years since that was the case. Its really too bad.

I don't recall too many young girls buying up Nirvana, pJ or SP the way they were Rabid about NKOTB & a lot of the pop crap that was out there. Feels like a little bit of revisionist history there.

Yeah, the boy bands are nothing new. But I'd have to disagree with fox mulder up-thread. The boy bands, Justin Timberlake's success aside, are artificial creations designed to be marketed to tween girls. One act replaces another, a new face appears on the cover of Tiger Beat, time marches on. Some of us are old enough to remember when most little girls were arguing over Shaun Cassidy vs. Leif Garrett. :oops: It's a market segment that is not ignored, and no doubt it is very lucrative, but there is more marketing, PR, hype at work than there is artistry, and I really, seriously, do not think these acts are part of this conversation.

Now, this little girl grew up listening to Queen, the Who and David Bowie, but I was an outlier.

Merkin Baller · July 2013

DewieCox wrote:

Merkin Baller wrote:

In my opinion, a band has to have been around or a solid 15-20 years to even enter the discussion of biggest band in te world.

Until then, it's a potential flash in the pan.

I disagree with this. If a band can have enough success in a few short years to earn their spot, then they have a rightful claim. I think alot of bands stake their claim as the biggest very early in their careers. The Beatles, Zeppelin and GnR hardly lasted 10 years, but they were unquestionably the biggest bands in the world for a long time and the Beatles and Zeppelin are still a huge force.

I can kinda see what you're saying, but I think some bands just have an undeniable, immediate impact.

Another thing....Is Coldplay that big? I know they're still doing headlining arenas and they are very successful, but it doesn't seem like they are big as they once were.

Great counter point, I guess I didn't consider bands like Nirvana who weren't around that long, but still had a huge impact. But it still begs the question, what defines the biggest band in the world? (Granted it's all subjective, but fun to debate nonetheless)

Merkin Baller · July 2013

curmudgeoness wrote:

Merkin Baller wrote:

pearljamsam wrote:

Unfortunately your right about this, thats why I cant really say who the biggest band on the planet would be right now. Isn't it nuts that when most of the people on this site were young kids the bands that the little girls bought were Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. Its been years since that was the case. Its really too bad.

I don't recall too many young girls buying up Nirvana, pJ or SP the way they were Rabid about NKOTB & a lot of the pop crap that was out there. Feels like a little bit of revisionist history there.

Yeah, the boy bands are nothing new. But I'd have to disagree with fox mulder up-thread. The boy bands, Justin Timberlake's success aside, are artificial creations designed to be marketed to tween girls. One act replaces another, a new face appears on the cover of Tiger Beat, time marches on. Some of us are old enough to remember when most little girls were arguing over Shaun Cassidy vs. Leif Garrett. :oops: It's a market segment that is not ignored, and no doubt it is very lucrative, but there is more marketing, PR, hype at work than there is artistry, and I really, seriously, do not think these acts are part of this conversation.

Now, this little girl grew up
listening to Queen, the Who and David Bowie, but I was an outlier.

You sound WAY cooler than the girls I grew up with.

mrk2 · July 2013

pearljamsam wrote:

This is a title that Pearl Jam at one time held, maybe still do.

When was PJ the biggest band on earth? Just give me a rough date/year....

Foriginal Sin · July 2013

Pearl Jam Was the biggest band on Earth from 93-95 when they sold out shows instantly and had the top 2 highest selling albums ever (until 2000) but No Code scared a lot of people away. Other bands that have been the 'biggest' since then in no particular order; Creed, lots of boy bands, Foo Fighters, DMB, among others. Arcade Fire, absolutely not. You do have to be a household name to hold that title.

I don't know who the biggest band in the world is right now, I wouldn't say it's U2, Metallica, Bruce, etc. Those guys had their time. You don't really get it back once its gone but you still have your core base that will sell out all your shows but they're not really gaining many "NEW" fans. Pearl Jam is in this category. Hell, you know how many bands dream that they could be called the biggest in the world. PJ held the title undisputed for 3 years. That's huge

Digital Twilight · July 2013

Foriginal Sin wrote:

Pearl Jam Was the biggest band on Earth from 93-95 when they sold out shows instantly and had the top 2 highest selling albums ever (until 2000) but No Code scared a lot of people away. Other bands that have been the 'biggest' since then in no particular order; Creed, lots of boy bands, Foo Fighters, DMB, among others. Arcade Fire, absolutely not. You do have to be a household name to hold that title.

I don't know who the biggest band in the world is right now, I wouldn't say it's U2, Metallica, Bruce, etc. Those guys had their time. You don't really get it back once its gone but you still have your core base that will sell out all your shows but they're not really gaining many "NEW" fans. Pearl Jam is in this category. Hell, you know how many bands dream that they could be called the biggest in the world. PJ held the title undisputed for 3 years. That's huge

I disagree, Metallica, Bruce, U2 etc are getting new fans all the time. I wasn't listening to music when PJ were in their 'prime' but I have become a fan anyway. Metallica can play in any country that has electricity, they are one of the biggest bands out there they just don't get all the media hype and radio plays but they don't really need them. DMB are unheard of in the UK I don't know about the rest of Europe but they certainly not a household name by any means. Arcade Fire are more well known here.

satansbed · July 2013

Digital Twilight wrote:

I'm a little surprised at all the hostility towards Mumsford & Sons. Granted I've only listened to their first album and it was a decent effort. Is it just because they seem to be everywhere at the minute? At least a major popular band actually write their own music and play their own instruments. I say that but then I think of Cold Play

Pearl Jam is probably the largest cult band in the world but they don't reach the heights that The Foo Fighters or Springsteen can command.

I am going to put it on record that in the next ten years pearl jam are going to take Bruce's mantle

i think we are already seeing the beginning of it with headlining Wrigley.

now getting back to who are the biggest band at the moment. i think you have to separate into two categories. people who are in the peak of their recording powers at the moment and legacy acts who still who command a massive live audience because of what they did 20 years ago.

i think in the first category the biggest 'bands' at the moment are arcade fire and Kanye West.

in the latter category is bruce Springsteen, U2 and.... wait for it..... Jay Z
...........
drops the mike and walks of stage

pdalowsky · July 2013

Arcade Fire are Ok, but on the whole fairly ordinary. The Suburbs was IMO a huge step backwards

PJ are my biggest band in the world. That's all that matters to me. I couldn't care less if many people love One Direction, it doesn't mean they are great, once you hit the mainstream you tend to be playing to the radio.....

Zod · July 2013

I would agree with Metallica, U2, Springsteen, and Foo Fighters being the biggest rock bands on the planet. I would probably put U2 at #1.

U2 is really the only one in the past few years that attempted Stadium tours. There's not many rock bands left that can fill that kind of venue on an extended schedule (Paul McCartney can but is very limited with his tour dates).

It's hard to judge how big PJ is because they play so few shows. You've got lots of people traveling around to see them. I also don't think they'll take over Bruce's mantle. PJ doesn't like to tour enough, Bruce tours and plays a lot more.

butte1 · July 2013

First the question of biggest band in the world is subjective as what is your measuring stick.... Also, people in the USA tend to have a skewed view of the meaning "the world", if you just read this thread alot of the arguments are really "biggest band in America" arguments... The Stones, the Beatles, PJ, U2, Bruce those acts can literally go any where in the WORLD and sell out a stadium even today and have for twenty years, maybe they can't all sell out Soldier Field in the USA but go to Europe or Brazil and they still play to 75,000+ there..... Also, someone glossed over Justin Timberlake but in reality the guy has been doing it (solo or in a band) for twenty years like PJ and you'd have to argue he is more relevant to popular music and has jsut as big a following and sells out concerts world wide, hard to argue wh is bigger than JT right now. That said you also have different genre's of music, I mean last I knew Barry Manilow still sells out due to his cult following and so does Jimmy Buffet wherever he plays. I think PJ is in the argument for biggest rock-n-roll band in the world alongside the likes of Foo Fighters, Metallica and some others, but then you have the JT's and the Beatles and then the "current bands" who are selling out stadiums right now but do they have staying power beyond 5 years. I mean Stone Temple Pilots was pretty huge for a very brief point in time but they didn't have the staying power of PJ or Foo Fighters etc.... The reality is to me that PJ is in the argument because they are still around, they still sell out stadiums, they still sell a decent number of new albums and even their new single MYM is getting airplay on "AltNation" (huge XM radio station that tends to plays the "new" alternative stuff that moves the needle, first place you heard bands like Imagine Dragons and Mumford & Sons was AltNation before it hit mainstream radio) but also there just aren't many "rock bands" left that are putting out new music so when PJ does it is semi-relevant there is a place for them on that "shelf" so to speak because of it. Not saying they are bigger than the acts I named but I don't think it's unreasonable that they occupy some of teh same nearby shefl space either

HollisBrown · July 2013

The Ohio State Marching Band
scriptohio_display_image.jpg?1267153273

DS107374 · July 2013

Jerome230 wrote:

Please. AF isn't worthy of doing PJ's dry cleaning. Give it another 2 or 3 years and that'll be their day job

This might be a contender for overstatement of the year...

If you don't like them that's one thing but not worthy of doing Pearl Jam's dry cleaning? That is a ridiculous statement.

Biggest Band on Earth

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