"John Bonham is the best drummer" ever sez Stylus

At first I regretted not contributing to this, being a drummer and sometime Stylus writer, but now I'm kinda glad I didn't. Seems like most of the voters are confusing "great drummer" with "drummers from great bands," which often aren't the same thing.

Peart, hell naw.

you are obviously an idiot

Who's Paul Ferguson?

No one is ever 100% happy with any list. I'm not happy with this list! But saying it's 'absolute crap' is kinda ridiculous; it's a list! Made by people! With different taste to you!

Can someone please explains how Lol/Boris from The Cure made it onto a list of "great drummers"? I mean, don't get me wrong -- I love the Cure, but the drumming involved has NEVER been anything to write home about. The mind reels.

It's not about taste, Mouthy, it's about ability.

People may not like Rush, but anyone who suggests that Neil Peart is anything other than a spectacularly gifted drummer has their heard planted firmly up their own foul-smelling posterior.

amen

Paul Ferguson is the drummer from Killing Joke, Nick.

And he is completely brilliant. I'm such a blog-whore.

He is an outstanding drummer, one of the best I've ever seen.

Clem Burke doesn't get enough love either.

Nor Philthy Animal Taylor (if only for sheer stamina).

It's not about taste, Mouthy, it's about ability.
I don't agree with this. If it was a list of the greatest rock bands, it would not be about ability. Some people like some drummers not for their ability but their style (See Gary Young ahead of Damon Che)

who really likes gary young as a drummer, though

dude was crap, malkmus had the style for miles, not young

Hey, be fair: This list is a lot better than you guys are making it sound. I don't really agree that this has to be about ability either, what about Moe Tucker, not exactly some polyrhythmatist but so distinctive behind her kit that she's impossible not to recognise.

Props as well for Yoshimi, Glenn Kotche and Klaus Dinger (The opening few bars on La Dusseldorf are amazingly beatiful, incredibly subtle coloring on what seems like a pretty straight ahead pulse.)

wtf with Brian Chase and Larry Mullen though.

Woulda been nice to see Mick Fleetwood, but not exactly devasting not to.

Sure, mizzell, but the thing about drumming is that it's a bit more mechanical and physical than most other instruments, so I'd expect to see more virtuosos (or at least fewer drummers that can barely keep a steady fucking beat) on this list than I'd expect, say, Yngwie Malmsteen types on a best guitarist list. I mean I appreciate that a drummer can lend character and unique musical ideas to a band that have nothing to do with CHOPS, so I'm cool with, say, Ringo being on the list. But drummers from The Cure, R.E.M., Pavement, U2...come on. This is pretty much the exact kind of list I'd expect a bunch of indie rock dudes who barely pay attention to drums to come up with. (xpost)

yes i agree that a lot of the drummers on the list are, to me, nothing special. But my list would probably include few, if any, virtuosos. I thing drumming being more physical makes it open to non-virtuoso types to be more interesting. It's like running or throwing a ball, and everyone does it differently kind of naturally.

I'll give a free pass to some of the indie-centric choices, though, because I don't really like Modest Mouse or Sleater-Kinney or Yeah Yeah Yeahs but respect their drummers.

People may not like Rush, but anyone who suggests that Neil Peart is anything other than a spectacularly gifted drummer has their heard planted firmly up their own foul-smelling posterior.

Being a "gifted" drummer doesn't equal being a good or great drummer...but then you think Jaz Coleman was one of the great minds of the 20th century so I doubt you'll grasp this concept.

neil peart is gifted, good, and great, and i'm not even a huge rush fan. he is amazing.

but, i'm a drummer, so maybe i'm hearing things a little differently than you

Dump Larry Mullen, replace w/Jimmy Fox from the James Gang. Easily performed the same role for his band as Janet Weiss did for S-K, and she made it in. Whereas "Larry Mullen Jr." is just the name of a faulty drum loop software.

Peart epitomizes one extreme end of the spectrum of rock drumming that a lot of people love and a lot of people hate, therefore he's too important to not be on a list like this, unless it's being made entirely by prog-hating indie fucks.

I hear Brian Chases drumming is amazing in his side project, but while he is about the only good thing going on in YYYs still, wtf?

I really enjoyed the list. Of course there are points where I disagree, but that's how these lists go.

If you search around youtube, you can probably find 200 unknown drummers with greater "ability" than some of these guys, not to mention 200 more dudes from b-level prog and metal bands and drum workshops. (fwiw, I would have included Chris Adler of Lamb of God). There's a kid named Tony Royster Jr. who was playing better than a lot of these people when he was seven. And he's intensely boring.

Being a "gifted" drummer doesn't equal being a good or great drummer...but then you think Jaz Coleman was one of the great minds of the 20th century so I doubt you'll grasp this concept.

Style is more important that "gifted," yes. But go fuck yourself anyway, you patronizing dink.

Dale Crover shut-out speaks volumes of the stylus brain trust deficiency

what about this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzt6PwuQABk

Also, why no Charlie Benante?

If we're talking indie drummers, the dude from the Jesus Lizard is an important one. He has it all: power, style, technique and nasty grooves.

Larry Mullen is the one really baffling addition on that list, I can see how someone could make a case for a bunch of the people I don't like, but mullen is a plodder. Knock him out of the list and put horgh in in his place!

I never cared for Bozzio.

Steve Gadd and Earl Palmer really should be on the list (Hal Blaine was a nice call though).

As far as indie dudes,

Kid Millions
JIM WHITE HELLO???
McEntire/Herndon/Bitney

even when considering taste AND ability you'd have to put peart on there.

Benny Benjamin needs to be there somewhere.

I would have voted for Ziggy Modeliste. But I didn't vote.

oh yeah the tortoise trio missing from that list breaks my heart

they are out of fashion right now ;_;

like britishes are fashionable.

have you ever seen their teeth? yikes.

they aren't out of fashion they just released that bumps record

i like how no one is refuting bonham being the (rock) best drummer ever. because he is.

wtf, u2 cure rem? uh...no. and i <3 JD and NO, but morris just two spots behind jaki is ridiculous.

I would've put Moon above him, but I'm not mad at Bonham being on top instead.

teh brits have a really poor track record with rock drumming after punk </carducci>

Fuck yeah, Jim White!

That Bozzio thing is intensely tedious.

it's fricken bozzio man

I don't actually know who that is.

sigh

is Just Jack picking the photos used for Stylus articles?

http://www.richardandkarencarpenter.com/7-0-1%20Karen%201973.jpg

Why didn't Stylus put Meg White on the list just to piss everyone off?

And to get a bit of tit on the page, natch.

What about singing drummers like Don Henley and Phil Collins? Those guys put Neil Peart and John Bonham to shame, especially with their tremendous fashion sensibilities and such.

http://www.drummerworld.com/pics/drum43/john_bonham.jpg

http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/wallpaper/R30neil.jpg

That Neil Peart image almost broke my brower.

and the dude from throwing muses.

I was just coming here to give props to Dave Narcizo. He is *awesome*. His style is really unusual.

throwing muses 1987:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aKgZCRCk-Pw

and 2006 (love this snippet. they have become jam band.)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ggGSbgZ_lAE

OF COURSE JOHN BONHAM IS THE "THE BEST DRUMMER EVER" THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

HOLY SHIT Skot thanks for those links!!!!

That first Muses clip from 87 is a perfect example of Narcizo's drumming style, thats awesome. Ive seen them live and he was captivating.

Well I've seen them more times than any other band, in the realm of 8 times.

I'm just trying to say I think this thread's purpose is ludicrous. But then everything is.

keith moon doesn't belong with all these "drummers" on this list. he wasn't a drummer at all; he was a lead percussionist. seems like he doesn't get talked about as much as, say, bonham because no one's really caught up to/caught on to the enormity of moon's innovations.

as for omissions, dennis thompson? dave mattacks? and how can such a list exist without benny benjamin, uriel jones, or pistol allen?

it's weird. this thread got me thinking about the muses and i went on youtube tonight and there is tons of great stuff and then this woman came over tonight who knows maria from way back and she told me she was from newport so i told her how i was reminiscing about the throwing muses and she told me all these great stories about hanging out at the hersh house growing up and seeing their first show at newport high school and how she was friends with the gorman (?) brothers and verbal assault and it was just very illuminating! they all went to high school together! so i had to tell her about meeting kristen and tanya and david and leslie for the first time in new york in 1987 and how petrified i was. boy o boy, memory lane! and if it wasn't for this thread today, i doubt i would have brought them up at all! so, this thread had a purpose, bimble, and it wasn't ludicrous at all.

Garoux Des Larmes, Jesus H. CHRIST.

I just got a song from that EP in my head this very WEEK at work, I swear...the one about the war...out of the blue, for no reason I heard it.

Skot them Muses stories of yours make me the happy.

"Cowboy hats are back in

This is the future
this is the future after the war
and I don't eat anymore"

maria's friend said that when they played at the high school the bell rang and everyone left the room except for a couple of people. how embarrassing! and the hersh house was big and rambling and weird. sounded very john irving.

"Have wine I can't drink it/the pianos I can't afford"

my brother was the one who bullied his way backstage at the new york show so that i could meet the band. i was terrified and could barely speak. honestly, i was scared to death. they did an ID for the radio show i had at school. they were very nice. i thought i was gonna die. the members of hugo largo were in the room too wondering why we were ignoring them. somewhere i have that show on tape too.

"Adolf Hitler is the best fascist dictator" ever sez Stylus

the members of hugo largo were in the room too wondering why we were ignoring them

"Don't you understand! One of us is going to sing for Moby and another one's going to sign Hootie and the Blowfish!"

I heart this thread right now. Early Throwing Muses makes me very happy also. Not sure if Narcizo is on that 7" EP of early stuff. I need to get that double CD, Doghouse or something?

Jim White not on that Stylus list? Yeah, the parameters seem too broad.

xpost is that really true about Hugo Largo?!?!

HUGO LARGO! Holy hell, Skott. What are you trying to do, make me feel 16 or 17 years old again? I tried to play one of their albums not too many months ago and it just didn't seem as great as it did to me at the time. Not that I was ever a huge fan, but I liked them enough to keep taped copies of their CD's.

xpost is that really true about Hugo Largo?!?!

Mimi Goese: sang on Everything is Wrong
Tim Sommer: hosts shows on MTV, goes to Atlantic, becomes A&R guy for Hootie and helps break 'em

But god, no, David Narcizo is not even a pimple on John Bonham's ass, let's just get that clear.

Jesus, Ned. Thanks, I guess.

I love that we are bringing Hugo Largo up in this thread about drummers (since they had none). I still kinda like 'em but not as much as the Muses. Hahn Rowe played with Swans!

Bimble u mad.

I love Hugo Largo.

I bet Matt Barrick belongs on this list (based on "The Rat"...i haven't heard much else).

Dude was only 32 when he died

that's amazing to me mostly in the sense that he was only 20 when he started recording those magnificent early tracks

I was only 32 when we in Stylus compiled these names.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGJpP7wVkVs

I'm feeling Kenny Buttrey today

Dude was only 32 when he died

So Prince Harry has two more years of partying left.

https://youtu.be/2-yQWPanTyw

Buddy Rich destroys inna Bonham style