Music What ifs?
- Thread starter ConfederateFly
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WI Kurt Cobain doesn't commit suicide? Will Grunge last longer? If it does, I could see music right now being pretty different. Would post-grunge and nu-metal never come into being?
It's work in progress. And to answer your question: Yes, but it will be a bit different.WI Kurt Cobain doesn't commit suicide? Will Grunge last longer? If it does, I could see music right now being pretty different. Would post-grunge and nu-metal never come into being?
Another WI: Stan Polley dies before getting his hands on Badfinger's royalties (or, Badfinger's manager Bill Collins hears about his mismanagement of money and decides not to put him in charge of said royalties)?
The Badfinger story is one of the more tragic stories in the music industry, IMO.
The Badfinger story is one of the more tragic stories in the music industry, IMO.
hammo1j
Donor
WI the Pistols had stuck with Matlock instead of Sid Vicious.
Matlock was the bass player and main songwriter and the band was not the "cant play their instruments " affair of hearsay, but a very tight and excellent Rock and Roll band. If you listen to Anarchy where Matlock is playing there is a lot of good musicianship.
I would guess the POD is ditch McLaren (RIP) and you get 2 or 3 good Pistols albums.
Matlock was the bass player and main songwriter and the band was not the "cant play their instruments " affair of hearsay, but a very tight and excellent Rock and Roll band. If you listen to Anarchy where Matlock is playing there is a lot of good musicianship.
I would guess the POD is ditch McLaren (RIP) and you get 2 or 3 good Pistols albums.
I ran a timeline asking what if Cliff Burton survived. I haven't touched it in a while due to lack of popularity.
If Freddie Mercury had managed to stay alive, I probably wouldn't have any functioning eardrums by now.
Several people close to Freddie actually cautioned him about living in New York during the early 80's while Queen were a bit of a hiatus. They knew about his promiscuity and talk was everywhere about this strange and deadly new disease affecting gay men, mostly in NYC and SFO. He went anyway and the rest is history.
What if he had listened, not gone to NYC and thrown himself into music instead?
We probably would have had a few more mediocre Queen albums a la The Works, and maybe a couple of good ones. Unfortunately some of their best later stuff is clearly emotionally heavy due to the fact that Freddie knew he didn't have much time left.
I bet, though, they would have continued, made more albums, toured again, and Freddie probably would have died from Lung Cancer or something smoking-related by now. He was quite the heavy smoker, especially in later years.
Doing away with the Blues is an even deeper means to the same goal.
The major difficulty here is how to do away with either. The prime way I can see id to dissrupt the African influance on NA music - either change African music or do away with the slave trade...
American Ebonic music did have a single root contributor in the early 20th century: Scott Joplin. His ragtime music pre-dated the blues and jazz. Take him out of music and you might butterfly away OTL blues and jazz.
What if Smile is released as Brian Wilson planned it? Certainly, Brian was already heading downhill in terms of his health, but it's not implausible that the success of his biggest project could have brought him back. Also, the response to Smile from the rest of the music world would have been immense. Sgt. Pepper was the Beatles' attempt to equal Pet Sounds; one can only dream of what they would have done to equal Smile.
What if Slint made it big? The early 90s was screaming for a signature sound. IOTL, Nirvana stepped up to the plate, but Spiderland, the album credited with creating the Post Rock movement, came out around the same time. How would things have changed if "Good Morning, Captain" had been the theme song of Generation X instead?
What if Stu Sutcliffe had remained in the Beatles and hadn't died in 1962? It's hard to tell what sort of impact he would have had as a member of the Beatles post-Hamburg, but it would be interesting to know.
What if Slint made it big? The early 90s was screaming for a signature sound. IOTL, Nirvana stepped up to the plate, but Spiderland, the album credited with creating the Post Rock movement, came out around the same time. How would things have changed if "Good Morning, Captain" had been the theme song of Generation X instead?
What if Stu Sutcliffe had remained in the Beatles and hadn't died in 1962? It's hard to tell what sort of impact he would have had as a member of the Beatles post-Hamburg, but it would be interesting to know.
Orville_third
Banned
I'm not that familiar with her, but she was interested in crossing over into English-speaking music. (Her "Dreaming of You" is still played on some Adult Contemporary stations). She might do quite well. I'm not sure how of if that would influence her namesake (Selena Gomez...yes, her dad named her after Selena) away from acting into music...
Orville_third
Banned
Jim Morrison might wind up getting forced into the Navy...his dad WAS an admiral...
As for Janis, if she doesn't go into music, it could affect a lot of the Austin music scene.
Speaking of Austin, what if Kenneth Threadgill was killed in an accident? (Look him up for more info...)
A few UK ones:
-What if the Moody Blues stay R&B influenced?
-What if William Sinnot (Will Sin of the Shamen) doesn't drown?
-What if Jon Lee of the Shamen doesn't commit suicide?
-What if the Kinks's "Lola" and the Beatles's "Come Together" had no references to Coca-Cola?
What if Michael Jackson meets the right girl in 1979 and has a conventional marital life?
What if Jim Stewart actually reads the contract and Stax Records does not sign over their rights to many R&B hits to Atlantic?
WI Otis Redding's plane does not crash into a lake in 1967?
WI Woodstock is canceled due to rain?
WI Bruce Springsteen passes the Army's physical examination and dies in Vietnam at the age of 20?
What if Jim Stewart actually reads the contract and Stax Records does not sign over their rights to many R&B hits to Atlantic?
WI Otis Redding's plane does not crash into a lake in 1967?
WI Woodstock is canceled due to rain?
WI Bruce Springsteen passes the Army's physical examination and dies in Vietnam at the age of 20?
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Grand Funk Railroad
Here are some WI's for Grand Funk Railroad?
What if they checked Manager Terry Knight's contract in 1972 before firing him with only three months remaining on it?
What if they were able to add Peter Frampton to their band that year when they reached out to him?
What if Todd Rundgren never came on with them the next year as a producer?
Here are some WI's for Grand Funk Railroad?
What if they checked Manager Terry Knight's contract in 1972 before firing him with only three months remaining on it?
What if they were able to add Peter Frampton to their band that year when they reached out to him?
What if Todd Rundgren never came on with them the next year as a producer?
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Fleetwood Mac
Three major WI's for this group:
1) What if Peter Green doesn't run into mental-health problems (exacebrated by his drug use) and stays with the group?
2) What if Jeremy Spencer doesn't fall in with the Children of God cult and virtually disappear?
3) What if Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham have better luck with their first album, Buckingham Nicks, are able to make a go of it as a duo, and either never get an offer from Mick Fleetwood to join up with the group after Bob Welch's departure, or else decide to turn it down because they're doing well on their own?
Three major WI's for this group:
1) What if Peter Green doesn't run into mental-health problems (exacebrated by his drug use) and stays with the group?
2) What if Jeremy Spencer doesn't fall in with the Children of God cult and virtually disappear?
3) What if Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham have better luck with their first album, Buckingham Nicks, are able to make a go of it as a duo, and either never get an offer from Mick Fleetwood to join up with the group after Bob Welch's departure, or else decide to turn it down because they're doing well on their own?
Stevie Nicks
And as for Stevie Nicks herself, the following WI's:
1) What if her closest friend Robin Anderson doesn't contract leukemia in 1981 and die in late 1982? (This tragedy had an extremely serious impact on Nicks' emotional balance which may have contributed to her dependence on cocaine during the mid-1980's, which led to the event described in the second WI: )
2) What if Nicks isn't prescribed Klonopin as part of the course of treatment for her cocaine habit? (According to her, this medication very nearly destroyed her career, because it more or less shut down her creativity. In fact, she had to go into rehab AGAIN in the early 1990's to kick her dependence on this drug). In the past 20 years, she's only released 2 albums of original material as opposed to three greatest-hits compilations and a live album.
Either WI could have a dramatic impact on her creativity and productivity both with Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.
And as for Stevie Nicks herself, the following WI's:
1) What if her closest friend Robin Anderson doesn't contract leukemia in 1981 and die in late 1982? (This tragedy had an extremely serious impact on Nicks' emotional balance which may have contributed to her dependence on cocaine during the mid-1980's, which led to the event described in the second WI: )
2) What if Nicks isn't prescribed Klonopin as part of the course of treatment for her cocaine habit? (According to her, this medication very nearly destroyed her career, because it more or less shut down her creativity. In fact, she had to go into rehab AGAIN in the early 1990's to kick her dependence on this drug). In the past 20 years, she's only released 2 albums of original material as opposed to three greatest-hits compilations and a live album.
Either WI could have a dramatic impact on her creativity and productivity both with Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.
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Tovarich
Banned
A few years back, Radio4 did an experiment based around the story of NicholasI 'importing' some black african labourers to Russia as a present for Charlotte (who thought they would 'look good' against the snowfields!)
Anyway, the programme wondered how the mating of African/Slavic music would have turned out, and got some Senegalese musicians to listen to Orthodox chanting and put their own slant on it.
The results were really rather beautiful, and I wish I could find it online somewhere
Anyway, the programme wondered how the mating of African/Slavic music would have turned out, and got some Senegalese musicians to listen to Orthodox chanting and put their own slant on it.
The results were really rather beautiful, and I wish I could find it online somewhere