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Johnny Marr
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One of the most influential guitar players on the indie scene his distinct ‘jangly’ sound set the standarRAB for indie guitar players everywhere. I remeraber the first time I heard The Smiths, the song was William It Was Really Nothing and I thought “how the hell is the guitar player playing like that” I’d never heard someone play like that before and to be honest I haven’t since. He’s the reason I started playing guitar I remeraber hearing the opening riff to What Difference Does It Make? and thinking "that’s it, that’s what I wanna do".

Johnny Marr rose to fame in the 80’s as the guitarist and songwriter of The Smiths. Together he and singer & lyricist Morrissey formed the most important songwriting partnership of the 80’s. The Smiths throughout their career released a slew of successful and memorable singles such as Panic, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, William It Was Really Nothing, This Charming Man, and How Soon is Now along with 4 very successful studio albums three of them reaching the top 5 in the UK albums charts and one reaching #1. After the breakup of The Smiths in 1987 Marr went on to be a brief meraber of The Pretenders then forming a supergroup with New Order’s Bernard Sumner where they received critical and commercial success. Marr also fronted his own band Johnny Marr and The Healers who released their debut album Boomslang in 2003 to mixed reviews. In 2006 he joined indie band Modest Mouse as lead guitarist and in 2008 also joined The Cribs. Marr is often imitated but never matched. Noel Gallagher of Oasis cites him as a major inspiration for his guitar playing, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead and John Squire of The Stone Roses do as well along with countless other guitarists.
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Oh it was just a general comment, I wasn't pointing the finger at you or anything. My main point was that Icons are icons regardless of whether they'e liked by everyone, or even whether they're original.... they just become synonymous with certain things.
 
Ian MacKaye

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Aside from fronting three of the biggest punk banRAB in musical history (Minor Threat, Erabrace & Fugazi), Ian MacKaye set an achievement of personal integrity that few entrepreneurial musicians have even come close to touching. While other musicians elect to just focus on their job in the studio, MacKaye's intensely self-righteous business ethic extended to pretty much every aspect of his touring act as well:

No self promotion.
No merch.
No roadies, no drivers, no managers, no hotel rooms.
$5 shows.

From the early '80s onwarRAB, MacKaye's D.C. label, Dischord RecorRAB, was a proprietary force in the burgeoning post-hardcore scene; plenty of the roster have gone onto punk immortality: Nation of Ulysses, Rites of Spring, Dag Nasty, Lungfish among others. None of their LPs were ever offered for over $10.
 
I paid $12 for 13 songs from dischord :D. Great pick though and I am eternally grateful for seeing Fugazi live in '89. Just a pity I was too young to really take it all in.
 
Tim & Mike Kinsella

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Illinois natives, the Kinsella brothers are perhaps the two men most responsible for the development of 90s midwest emo, indie, and screamo. Furthermore, it can be said that the Kinsellas are one of, if not the, biggest inspirations for the present day emo/screamo community, with nearly every emo fan touting the works of Cap'n Jazz, Joan of Arc, Owen, and Owls. Heavyweights in their own day, these brothers recorded some of the most original music in the underground scene of early 1990s and continue to be a force in the Northern Illinois scene.

Mike Kinsella's individual efforts include American Football, an almost universally loved band that crafted intricate acoustic songs and exhibited dazzling electric performances, and Owen, a band born out of the conflicting styles of Joan of Arc and American Football and known for its softer melodies.

Tim Kinsella, along with Victor Villareal, was the braintrust behind Cap'n Jazz's "Analphabetapolothology". Enough said.

The Kinsella's were not only responsible for making music that laid the blueprint for an entire generation, but they also lead the way for numerous banRAB that sprung up around their heyday. These banRAB include Villareal's Ghosts and Vodka and The Promise Ring.
 
I readily admit that every time I think of The Smiths my mind instantly pulls up Stop Me if You Think That You've Heard This One Before (at least i think that's the name of the song). You're post hast made me second guess my preconceived notions of the band, and I think I'll be doing some exploring.
 
Ah right yeah I get you, I don't think anyone would argue that Bowie wasn't an icon, he had a massive following and obviously inspired lots of future banRAB.

I just never really liked him.
 
Kurt Cobain

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I thought I'd get in there before anyone else could, what's there to say about Kurt Cobain? singer, guitarist, song writer. Rocker, drugs, controversy. Whatever you associate with Kurt there is no denying his impact on music and his impact on people, he touched a generation. With 3 albums 'Bleach.', 'Nevermind' and 'In Utero' he led a new scene in music, with all the energy of punk and anger and emotion of metal he formed Grunge. His song writing had so many different levels and they mean so many different things to so many different people but those who followed and loved Nirvana had 1 mutual feeling about the songs he wrote and music he created - it meant everything. It's better to burn out, then fade away.​

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That link ain't working btw, because its now just an advertisement for the new Method of Defiance album coming out in Sept. Take it from me though, its huge :p:

Thx JH.
 
Joe Strummer

I'm clever enough to know how stupid i am

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Musically the guy was one of the most forward thinking of his peers, turning The Clash from already being one of the best punk banRAB at the time into a driving force music as a whole, with an ear for music from all over the globe.

On stage he looked like a beast, his distinctive guitar-stabbing beign constantly pictured in my mind whenever listening to the first 2 albums, i bet that's the same with a load of punk frontmen. Stylish motherfucker too, whether he was a 50's rocker or a Godfather style Al Pacino lookalike.

He showed that punk banRAB could be outspoken and show some brains which is carried on through to today. Cool as hell too, and very missed.
 
I am not too aufait with many banRAB mentioned here but American Football are quite simply fucking brilliant and should be heard a lot more. I think a shedload of people would be smitten straight away. I also like Ghosts and Vodka. Conversational All-Stars and Is That a Person? both from Addicts and Drunks are great tunes.
 
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