ventanilla
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They're everywhere, probably the most popular and well known non-Argentine band. I've never met near as many fanatics for them as I have here.
Why are the Ramones so huge in Argentina?
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semigoodlookin
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Is this even true? The Ramones are not among the best-selling artists in Argentina, so what would the metric for their popularity be?
jblaze5779
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Why are Argentines attached to the 80's? Mullets and 80s metal styled folks everywhere. That's the real question
Yes it's true, the Ramones were generally influential way beyond their record sales, except here in Argentina when they were absolutely massive. They seem to have struck a chord with Argentine youth. They filled the River Stadium in 1996, while playing much smaller arenas on all their other tour dates.
Ries
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The Ramones, as an Idea, are immensely popular everywhere in the world. The T shirts, the goony uniform of mild anti-conformism, the extremely simple song structure and easily singable lyrics- they are starter band for 12 year olds globally who want to rebel. There are Ramones cover bands in Africa, China, Singapore and Finland.
There is no mystery about it- its not intellectual, its not hard to play, its anti whatever you got.
I actually find the Ramones to be less popular here than in, say, Italy, or Barcelona.
What perplexes me is why certain bands are big here, and many others are completely unknown- For instance Creedence Clearwater is huge, especially for anybody over 40, while, in the USA, they are much less so.
And Prog Rock is also gigantic here- Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Genesis- you can find CDs and vinyl from bands like that in pretty much every record store in the city, and they sell well to this day...
There is no mystery about it- its not intellectual, its not hard to play, its anti whatever you got.
I actually find the Ramones to be less popular here than in, say, Italy, or Barcelona.
What perplexes me is why certain bands are big here, and many others are completely unknown- For instance Creedence Clearwater is huge, especially for anybody over 40, while, in the USA, they are much less so.
And Prog Rock is also gigantic here- Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Genesis- you can find CDs and vinyl from bands like that in pretty much every record store in the city, and they sell well to this day...
semigoodlookin
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Bon Jovi fills stadiums every time they come here, are also not among Argentina's biggest selling bands. They have sold more records and played bigger shows than the Ramones, but I wouldn't say they are "probably the most popular and well known non-Argentine band." I don't dispute The Ramones have a following and are big, but they are most definately not the most popular and well kown non-Argentine band here. There are multiple bands getting better spotify numbers, Apple Music numbers, and selling more records. So, again, what would the metric be? T-Shirts? It seems like I am being flippant about their impact, but I am really not. I know they were important (as this shows) but I still contest the most popular and well-known non-Argentine band (furthermore, I am certainly not advocating for Bon Jovi).
T-shirts etc. mean nothing because there was a cross over where wearing metal/rock shirts became cool even if you didn't know the songs. That's why clothes stores for teenage girls sold/sell Guns N Roses, Metallica, and Iron Maiden shirts (yes, and the Ramones too).
And, where is the evidence that prog rock is massive here? Again, it has not sold excessively well. It does have a solid live following, but not evidently above any other rock subgenre (metal for example, seems to really be massive in Argentina). I would say Argentina has in general kept a fondness for rock and metal that has been lost in other markets. In fact, that's true for much of Latin America. It's why bands like Edguy (insert other relatively obscure rock band) can come here and sell out. Dream Theater is just about the biggest working prog rock band at the moment, and they're hardly blowing away Argentina above leaders in other rock genres.
Still, I am not down on Argentina because like I said, it has continued to embrace the subgenres of rock more than most places. And that special relationship fans of the Ramones have with the band is not unique either. Go to a Megadeth concert here, for example. And, isn't CC failry big everywhere?
Iznogud
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This is my story and I´m sticking to it.
Argentina has always remained primarily oriented towards British Rock. The Brits ruled maybe until the age of Internet.
Beatles, Stones, Bowie, Elton John, Rod Steward, Yes, Genesis, ELP, The Who, Progressive/Symphonic Rock, Queen, Supertamp, etc. have been extremely succesful for ages and way beyond their original public and own generation.
U.S. rock never achieved the same degree of penetration and long term success, but for a few extraordinary and sometimes unexplainable artists/bands. Until the seventies, we all listened to all kinds of US music but none in particular. Soul was big, Folk, Pop, Rock. were all pretty much on the same level.
During the 70´s, the Military Juntas banned foreign music and Rock Nacional flourished even if it wasn´t Junta´s compliant.
In the late 70´s, maybe early 80´s the (UKs) Punk movement reached our shores and was welcomed more for it´s looks than for its philosophy. It´s was more perceived/misinterpreted than understood. Simply keep in mind that here almost no one speaks enough english to read lyrics and even if they did they will likely lack all the context required to make a decent interpretation. Regardless, Punk became big. Even if it was only cosmetic Punk. It arrived also by the end of the Military rule.
Somehow, The Ramones became very popular instead/besides of their British counterparts. One wonders if it was because of their covers, Pet Sematary or another hit. Maybe because it was simpler and more easy listening than Brit harsh punk rock.
You can ask a thousand people here and none would have ever heard of The New York Dolls or anything remotedly tied to the american punk movement, other than The Ramones. What came before them is a mystery but for few.
But they are here to stay. We have our own Ramones inspired band, called Attaque 77. Just like we have our own Stones clones.
Funny that what followed the Punk wave in the UK didn´t leave an imprint on our musical taste but for several hits that are mostly never related to a musical period. New Wave, The New Romantics, etc are only vaguely remembered.
If you look at current "punks", you´ll see that they exceed in paraphernalia what they lack in education and decent manners. Mostly "hollow".
Then the US took the musical lead with Grunge and that was it.
The former musical styles exploded into an infinite number of smaller categories and you´ll be hard pressed today to label a group you like without stepping on someone else´s toe and hurt some feelings.
Iz
Argentina has always remained primarily oriented towards British Rock. The Brits ruled maybe until the age of Internet.
Beatles, Stones, Bowie, Elton John, Rod Steward, Yes, Genesis, ELP, The Who, Progressive/Symphonic Rock, Queen, Supertamp, etc. have been extremely succesful for ages and way beyond their original public and own generation.
U.S. rock never achieved the same degree of penetration and long term success, but for a few extraordinary and sometimes unexplainable artists/bands. Until the seventies, we all listened to all kinds of US music but none in particular. Soul was big, Folk, Pop, Rock. were all pretty much on the same level.
During the 70´s, the Military Juntas banned foreign music and Rock Nacional flourished even if it wasn´t Junta´s compliant.
In the late 70´s, maybe early 80´s the (UKs) Punk movement reached our shores and was welcomed more for it´s looks than for its philosophy. It´s was more perceived/misinterpreted than understood. Simply keep in mind that here almost no one speaks enough english to read lyrics and even if they did they will likely lack all the context required to make a decent interpretation. Regardless, Punk became big. Even if it was only cosmetic Punk. It arrived also by the end of the Military rule.
Somehow, The Ramones became very popular instead/besides of their British counterparts. One wonders if it was because of their covers, Pet Sematary or another hit. Maybe because it was simpler and more easy listening than Brit harsh punk rock.
You can ask a thousand people here and none would have ever heard of The New York Dolls or anything remotedly tied to the american punk movement, other than The Ramones. What came before them is a mystery but for few.
But they are here to stay. We have our own Ramones inspired band, called Attaque 77. Just like we have our own Stones clones.
Funny that what followed the Punk wave in the UK didn´t leave an imprint on our musical taste but for several hits that are mostly never related to a musical period. New Wave, The New Romantics, etc are only vaguely remembered.
If you look at current "punks", you´ll see that they exceed in paraphernalia what they lack in education and decent manners. Mostly "hollow".
Then the US took the musical lead with Grunge and that was it.
The former musical styles exploded into an infinite number of smaller categories and you´ll be hard pressed today to label a group you like without stepping on someone else´s toe and hurt some feelings.
Iz
Ries
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I know a lot of musicians here, including some of the original Rock Nacional guys- and they were all heavily influenced by british prog rock. The Junta era rock nacional (as opposed to post Junta bands like Soda Stereo) were actually pretty prog rock- Abuela de Nada, Pescado Rabioso, that whole generation- a lot of those records ARE prog rock.
I find very little influence in Argentina of pretty any black musical acts, soul or funk. The music that was popular here thru the 90s was very white, by my standards- I see pink floyd and Black Sabbath records for sale everywhere, but I have never seen any Gil Scott Heron, Funkadelic, James Brown, and the hip hop exposure here is weird and limited. Bob Marley, sure, but these days thats elevator music- but not much Lee Scratch Perry, for example.
Metal is huge, but for similar reasons the Ramones- its simple, the message is largely emotional, doesnt rely on a fluent speaking of foreign languages, and it appeals universally to teenage testosterone.
Punk here was transformed by Luca, I would say- certainly, his wacky mix of funk, english beat, punk, and lou reed, sung mostly in Spanish, had a huge affect- play La Rubia Tarada, and everyone above a certain age will sing along.
I would disagree that English post punk things like new wave and the new romantics had no affect- Joy division had a huge effect here, it launched a hundred bands in the 80s. Bands like Los Encargados were on national TV with audiences of screaming girls, and they were straight from Manchester in their sound. There are still a lot of bands that feature that sound.
But like anywhere else- there are mainstream radio rock bands, and then a huge scene of more experimental bands that get less airplay, but influence the ones that do. Daniel Melero is a great example- with Los Encargados, but later, with him producing major hit records for bands you HAVE heard of.
I find very little influence in Argentina of pretty any black musical acts, soul or funk. The music that was popular here thru the 90s was very white, by my standards- I see pink floyd and Black Sabbath records for sale everywhere, but I have never seen any Gil Scott Heron, Funkadelic, James Brown, and the hip hop exposure here is weird and limited. Bob Marley, sure, but these days thats elevator music- but not much Lee Scratch Perry, for example.
Metal is huge, but for similar reasons the Ramones- its simple, the message is largely emotional, doesnt rely on a fluent speaking of foreign languages, and it appeals universally to teenage testosterone.
Punk here was transformed by Luca, I would say- certainly, his wacky mix of funk, english beat, punk, and lou reed, sung mostly in Spanish, had a huge affect- play La Rubia Tarada, and everyone above a certain age will sing along.
I would disagree that English post punk things like new wave and the new romantics had no affect- Joy division had a huge effect here, it launched a hundred bands in the 80s. Bands like Los Encargados were on national TV with audiences of screaming girls, and they were straight from Manchester in their sound. There are still a lot of bands that feature that sound.
But like anywhere else- there are mainstream radio rock bands, and then a huge scene of more experimental bands that get less airplay, but influence the ones that do. Daniel Melero is a great example- with Los Encargados, but later, with him producing major hit records for bands you HAVE heard of.
