OT: What is your opinion of Greta Van Fleet?
TLDR: I just discovered Greta Van Fleet last week because I live under a rock. What does the community think of them?
Longer version: I do indeed live under a rock when it comes to music, because I have two toddlers. But I heard “Heat Above” in a brewery last weekend and was blown away. Obviously they are strongly influenced by Zeppelin, but what is your opinion of them? Ripoffs? Posers? Geniuses?
I'm a fan. I also live under a rock, at least when it comes to recent (last 20 years) music, so I know almost nothing about them and don't care enough to learn, but I like them when I hear them.
Ditto. My son is a big fan and thus I have come to appreciate their music. Love their "sound", but can't understand / connect with their lyrics. I think a handful of shrooms would help.
This tracks. Eventually, you realize that every GVF discourse is started by some guy who hasn't listened to any new bands in 30 years and that's why I –personally– can't stand them.
They're not bad but they ain't no Led Zeppelin
They're a great.........cover band. I get that instead they write their own music, which is cool, and better than being a cover band. But they are not the riff and lyrical geniuses of Page and Plant. Not even on the same planet.
Everyone compares them to Led Zeppelin for some obvious reasons, but I believe they claim that Aerosmith was actually their primary influence.
She's hot for a Dutch chic
I really want to like them but I can’t get past the annoying screeching voice. There’s a difference between singing and screaming.
That’s my biggest takeaway. Talent is talent and these guys are talented. But while their lead singer does sound quite a bit like Robert Plant (Zeppelin), Plant’s voice control was far superior starting at a much younger age.
But I’ll listen to GVF every now and then. They’re good.
I can forgive being extremely derivative of a legendary band like Led Zeppelin. But their defensiveness and angst in interviews over the comparison to LZ leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Just nod to the obvious influence, say you’re flattered, and move on.
Besides that the music itself hasn’t really resonated with me. Admittedly only listened to a little more than a handful of songs. To each his or her own.
Your first paragraph is kind of where I'm at. I dig them, musically. I'm a metal guy and they're one of the few "rock" artists I do enjoy. But seeing them being stand-offish over the obvious LZ influence in interviews was just weird. Listed off a few bands they say they draw influence from, none of which sound like them, and leave out Led Zeppelin, and then seemingly offended when it's brought up..
First off, if people kept hammering it down your throat ad naseum that you sounded like another band and steal their tunes and try to impersonate said band, you would eventually get sick of that shit too.
Secondly, maybe the band simply sounds a lot like Zep without even knowing/reallizing it - maybe it just morphed into it even though they were not trying/aware.
FWIW, i think they are ok. I really have tried to get into their music, but just cannot at this point. I feel like there are a few songs that i really like, then either small portion of lyrics or instrumental sections in it ruin it.
The interview I saw was pretty early on their career, after their first major album/radio success. At that point it was either something that was recently pointed out or was still a relatively "new" conversation happening mainstream. Either way they could've easily said something to the effect of "we didn't intend to sound like Led Zeppelin and they weren't an influence on us musically, but we recognize the similarities are flattered with the comparison."
I still enjoy them and I'm not trying to bash them, but they certainly could handle those things better. When you sound like a legendary rock band as much as they do, it's going to be a topic of discussion and you should probably be better and handling those questions.
Agreed. Although I think they were 16-18 when they started. I wouldn't bank on a high schooler giving a great interview. I can get why they'd get tired of the comparison, but also they're basically rich and famous now for cribbing Led Zeppelin sooo...
Sorry, i was not trying to bash. Although reading what i wrote, i guess it does sound like it. But if you recall that from the past, then they were what, 16/17 years old? I don't think they would formulate your response at that age especially on the spot in an interview.
Talent is talent. They’re working artists.
Music has become so amorphous I can’t follow anymore. I usually have it segregated by decade. Each decade has a feel to them, in my opinion. In the eighties when synth was new it was so brut-ish but I like it and it puts a marker in my mind that this was the 80s. The synth is still there but it is now blended and can’t be as easily detected.
Apple Music had an article on Siouxsis and the Banshees. Had never heard of them. Influenced the weekend, the yeah yeah yeas, Bjork, the cure, garbage, Jeff Buckley to name a few. I went down the rabbit hole. It is fascinating how it all weaves together. IDK if I have a poin t other than to say I like reading what speaks to others. We are the same and different at the same time.
As always, I’m really sad Tu Pac and Tom Petty are dead.
As always, I’m really sad Tu Pac and Tom Petty are dead.
Oh noooo! When did this happen?
As long as our national treasure, Keith Jackson, is still alive.
The overall point seems to me that popular music has become a cul de sac, due to the now-omnipotent corporate influence which really took off in the 80s. Major-label music is dominated by risk aversion, which makes for a bland and uninteresting listening experience. Rock is probably the most harmed, as we can look upon this and despair
but there is a ton of great new music available on indie labels or unsigned. the good news is, with the internet you can find it more easily than in decades past. the bad news is, with the internet, the corporate signal/SEO shenanigans bury the higher-integrity stuff so you still have to do some digging. find a few tunnels to the underground and keep trodding 'em
Wow that list is pathetic lol.
I like Ho Hey!
i'll see your rock and raise you a rock: who is greta von fleet, and can she play the 4?
They are OK. They write creative hooks, are competent on their instruments, and have the good sense to pick a style that runs counter to current trends. They’re making a living in a very hard profession.
Old rocker here. I'll go with LZ rip off.
Has the lead singer lightened up on his singing style? I haven't listened in a while.
His voice won't last very long if he keeps singing like when they started out.
not really. more Zeppelin
underrated
I'm glad that some kids from Michigan are making it big. If you like it, you should listen to it. Personally, it's not for me.
Not nearly as good as Slayer
I keep figuring I'll tire of knocked loose because they're such a sledgehammer.....hasn't happened yet.
Heard them a couple years ago, after listening to all the hype about the Led Zep influence and how good they were. So Led Zep is one of my 2 favorite bands of all time (U2 being the other - two very different bands!), and I gotta say that GVF did not live up. The guy's voice was awful and the songs didn't make much sense. Maybe they've grown and improved? I certainly hope so, because I don't wish them any ill-will and hope they can sort out a good living in an industry that rewards the schmucks and asshats that rely on auto-tuning.
Use your own voice and talent, not a computer's. I don't want to listen to computerized music anymore than I want to listen to a bad voice.
the heck happened to rock the last decade or two anyway
It really is in the shitter. And although i am not overly crazy about GVF, ill give them this, they are one of the better rock bands out there right now. Its all trash IMO. Im so sick of synthesized music AND sick of artists copying previous artists songs/beat.
If you're sick of artists copying previous artists, how can you tolerate GVF? They are basically a Led Zeppelin tribute band.
If you're sick of artists copying previous artists, how can you tolerate Led Zeppelin?
I’ll be that guy. Zep lifted blues, folk, and rock licks from other artists. But they took it and did interesting things IMO. Lead Belly didn’t write “gallows pole” either but no one sends flack his way about it, and Zep took the tune in a novel direction. Just as an example.
GVF lifts Zep’s style pretty much verbatim but leaves behind, IMO, the interesting aspects of Zeppelin’s music. Namely, a seriously wild edge and interesting rhythm derived from Zep’s direct blues and English folk influences. GVF presents a doubly derivative, muddled, and lukewarm version, and that’s a key distinction. They bring nothing innovative to the table and are in a somewhat tortured metaphor imitating the visible parts of a plant, neglecting the roots. That said, I would rather listen to them than any of the bands in that Billboard top ten rock songs of the decade list I posted, so there’s that FWIW
Just gonna plug Vide Noir by Lord Huron since I've been listening to it a lot recently. It's nice when you get a combo of things that seem like they may not mix easily, but it has folksy/country elements mixed with trippy/ghostly sounds and lyrics. Dive bar meets spiritual quest. I'm a sucker for a good concept album too. Apparently he even made a movie about it but I haven't seen it yet.
A friend turned me on to A History of Rock Music in 500 songs. I'm only on episode 17. I'll tell you what happened when they (and I) get to this last decade or two.
I thought she got laid off at ESPN!!!
A group of very talented kids whose influences are clear but are still finding their own voices musically.
I've got them as the 2nd best Greta, behind Greta Kampschroder.
Whose name I may be spelling incorrectly due to lack of coffee.
I really wanted to like them when they first appeared - Two local brothers start a band in their garage, hits it big, etc. Dude has a good voice and the instrumentation is really great.
HOWEVA'. I find them to be a gratuitous ripoff of Zeppelin. Like, so bad that I can't believe they haven't been sued. I find them to be a good band in the same way a really great cover band is good or an Elvis impersonator is really good at being Elvis. Or a Beatles tribute band. Etc.
In summary, hard pass.
Given how freely Zeppelin "borrowed" from who came before them if would be ironic if they sued Greta van Fleet for ripping them off.
If I'm going to listen to brothers, Brothers Comatose is my choice.
They rock......
I heard Broken Bells and said to myself that this band is pretty good. I listened to their other songs and I couldn’t find another song that I liked. One hit wonder for me I guess.
You don't like Highway Tune?
Never heard of them before but wow this is totally LZ. It's not just the voice, it's the rhythm and cadence of the vocals, as well as the overall style of music.
Vulfpeck, otoh, is sweet.