Pink Floyd versus King Crimson

OK, how about Pink Floyd vs Madonna... Not that easy, Pink Floyd went downhill since Barrett left, Madonna has been going downhill since the release of Music ...

Edited by Visitor13 - November 19 2008 at 15:44

mithrandir wrote: Hercules wrote: Ask any young person today who King Crimson were. They won't have a clue. But Floyd T shirts are all over the university campus, showing that quality lasts.   this is a joke, correct?

Logan wrote: One might ask, is it particularly because of quality that bands like Pink Floyd, Foreigner, Boston, Queen, Styx, Bon Jovi, and Kim Mitchell regularly play on my local classic rock radio station rather than bands such as King Crimson, Magma, Comus, The Soft Machine, and Henry Cow, or it because it's more accessible that it has become part of the standard classic rock radio format? Popularity breeds popularity.

Right, it's because PF et. al. were more popular then, so for a "classic" rock station which hopes for a recall of "glory days" they play that music.  Pink Floyd was sort of the ultimate crossover - in high school I could have counted on one hand the number of people I encountered who had a 70s Yes record (and King Crimson was worse, I think I met one person who had even the faintest clue who they were), yet everyone loved Floyd, all the normal "hard rock" guys and friends who loved Zep, Bad Company, and sort of your standard 70s classic rock fare were big Floyd fans, went to the concerts, etc.  I mean, Magma and Henry Cow?  Forget it, I didn't have any chance of discovering bands like that at the time.

Alberto Muñoz wrote: Hercules wrote: Barrett Floyd would be close, but from Meddle to Animals, Floyd are so far ahead of King Crimson, it's a simple choice. Ask any young person today who King Crimson were. They won't have a clue. But Floyd T shirts are all over the university campus, showing that quality lasts.   So, you base your vote in popularity???? Madonna would beat both...

But it's not like you see many kids around campus wearing Madonna shirts.  That said, I think kids wear those because they think it's cool and iconic (as is wearing a Che Guevara shirt). Anyway, personally I wouldn't base quality on kids' fashion sense or what is popular. Shirts with the "Dark Side of the Moon" logo look cool, and Pink Floyd has long had cool cache. King Crimson is generally more challenging from a mainstream perspective, and would be harder for mainstream listeners to digest (I don't imagine that most of those kids are Proggers, and might be donning Nickleback or Slipknot tees when they aren't wearing their Floyd tees -- or Zeppelin, Hendrix, The Doors -- which I consider quality iconic bands/artist -- etc).  When I was in college I didn't know King Crimson, and Pink Floyd was my favourite popular rock band, but King Crimson played an important role in this Prog journey that I'm still on.  King Crimson for me, though I really do like Floyd too.  I think Larks' Tongues in Aspic is a particularly terrific album

One might ask, is it particularly because of quality that bands like Pink Floyd, Foreigner, Boston, Queen, Styx, Bon Jovi, and Kim Mitchell regularly play on my local classic rock radio station rather than bands such as King Crimson, Magma, Comus, The Soft Machine, and Henry Cow, or it because it's more accessible that it has become part of the standard classic rock radio format? Popularity breeds popularity.  I do agree that Pink Floyd has withstood the test of time, and is "quality" music, however.

 This one is hard. I love both but I have to chose Pink Floyd. King Crimson were better instrumentally.  Pink Floyd had the melodies and the songs. That in the end of the day is what matters to me.

Hercules wrote: Barrett Floyd would be close, but from Meddle to Animals, Floyd are so far ahead of King Crimson, it's a simple choice. Ask any young person today who King Crimson were. They won't have a clue. But Floyd T shirts are all over the university campus, showing that quality lasts.

I cannot vote either!

Drew wrote: Floyd is an easy choice for me!

Abstrakt wrote: At the moment i prefer King Crimson, but tomorrow it could be Pink Floyd. Both are absolutely fantastic!

Pink Floyd is my favourite band! Easy Choice!