it was anything produced by Stock Aitken Waterman (late 80s/early 90s) and Max Martin (late 90s/early 00s). Max Martin did ened up shifting his production style to pop/rock, for the likes of Kelly Clarkson and Pink).
Re: If you've heard one song, you've heard them all.
Heh, Creed, Staind, and Linkin Park are three bands I was really into when I was 16.
Linkin Park songs all sound the same, but I disagree about Creed and Staind. Don't get me wrong, except for the song Outside they suck, but I don't think they all sound more homogeneous than the rest of the pack.
I also think you're less rejecting of so called 'emo' stuff when you've experienced extreme social isolation. From the perspective of some bright, introverted, intuitive adolescents, the world can seem to run by a brutish, alien, irrational set of rules impossible to conform to without feeling completely out of place. Those are the sorts of kids all those lame angst-pandering bands speak to.
Now Korn and Limp Bizkit on the other hand. All the songs sound the same. Not to mention Blink 182 and their horde of imitators (Lit, Sum 41, etc). Same with a few mainstream rap acts like 50 Cent.
Which bands does it apply to the least?
Bob Dylan
David Bowie
Primal Scream
Radiohead
The Replacements
Sufjan Stevens
Tom Waits
Nick Cave
The White Stripes
Magnetic Fields
And the other bands who try to have a completely different sound with each album.
Re: If you've heard one song, you've heard them all.
Anything produced by Spector in the 50s-60s. Except for Unchained Melody, it's my opinion that he ruined every song.
The great thing about most of those artists at the bottom of Bill's post is that, even though each one has incredible diversity, you also always know it's them when you hear any song of theirs. I mean, you can never mistake a Tom Waits song, even though they can be so different from one another. What this shows is that you don't have to sound the same to be distinctive. Nickelback and those other generic bands should know learn that.
Re: If you've heard one song, you've heard them all.
Which bands does it apply to the least?
I'd say Bowie rules here, together with The Beatles (how did you forget?). Strong contenders that you also named, BillAdama:
Primal Scream
Radiohead
Magnetic Fields
Checking my favorite artists, I would also like to add Björk. Moreover, I was surprised to see Dylan listed, I don't think diversity is one of his strengths.
Re: If you've heard one song, you've heard them all.
I once entered a fastest dial radio contest for Sting tickets. I won! I was so excited. Then I found out that I did not win Sting tickets, but I actually misheard and won Staind tickets. I almost cried.
Staind, Nickelback, Linkin Park, Blink 182, all the angst-but-empy rock acts annoy me greatly. Same goes for the bad hip-hop that's been released in the last few years. How did Low sell so well? It sounds like everything else!
Inversely, I have to name Bowie, the Beatles, and Radiohead as the artists who best succeed at diversifying their sound. You can easily listen to Ziggy Stardust, Low, and Let's Dance and not know it's the same person. Same thing with Please Please Me/Sgt. Peppers/Let it Be or The Bends/Kid A/In Rainbows. I also have to give props to the White Stripes. There music all boils down to a garage rock base, but they continue to reinvent the genre and keep it interesting.
Re: If you've heard one song, you've heard them all.
Everybody seems to be naming crappy bands whose songs all sound alike. Any good bands, like the Ramones, whose stuff all sounds the same, but it's ok? Maybe the Jesus and Mary Chain?
Re: If you've heard one song, you've heard them all.
I don't know, I think there's a difference between "if you've heard one you've heard 'em all" and "they all have the same sound."
The first one implies that the music is so generic that once you've heard one song from a band, it isn't worth it to explore the rest of their work. It's all gonna be pretty much the same bag.
The second one is more like the Ramones, Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and the great metal acts. Their songs may SOUND the same, but they're still strong, and different, enough that you're rewarded hearing their other stuff.
Of course, this is just what I got from the thread title.
Re: If you've heard one song, you've heard them all.
I guess you have a point there Sean. Of course, in that instance, the thread could have just been titled crappy bands, of which Nickelback are the Kings.
Re: If you've heard one song, you've heard them all.
Pete(r) Doherty, whenever he is in the Libertines, Babyshambles or alone...
Went to his concert yesterday (what wouldn't I do for a girl) and felt like listening to the same song over and over, just a bit quicker or with the drum kicking stronger sometimes.
