BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
The idea of a modern band is pretty much a template now. You have one or two guitar players, a base player, a drummer, and sometimes you’ll have something more like a DJ or a keyboard player or backup singers or whatever. But the general four or five piece band is just a tradition now. One thing that’s needed in a modern band is a voice. Not only an audio voice, but a visual voice, and voice that represent who that band is and what they have to say.
The lead singer gets the chicks. They get the attention. They have the egos. They have the off-stage problems. They are treated like golden gods. People like Plant, Morrison, The Beatles, Bowie, and the like are treated like royalty, religious figures, celebrities, dignitaries, and artists all at the same time. The best front men are mythical figures. The same way people treated the fine artists of the old days is how we’re treating our music icons today. When it’s done right, rock and roll is the best medium of modern art. You need a GREAT front man for that kind of status to ever be achieved.
In the last installment, I covered number twenty through eleven. The first half of the “Best Under 40” club is made up of a pretty eclectic bunch. I’m a big fan of a few people and then some people on the list are not my thing at all. I’m trying to be fair and have a balance and be subjective. Just because I don’t like a specific band doesn’t mean I can’t recognize someone’s brilliance, popularity, and impact.
At the same time any kind of list like this is PURELY subjective. Unless you’re making a list based purely on statistics or fact then no “Best of” list is going to be more legit than any others. I said it once and I’ll say it again, but like what you want to like and do it proudly. People may try, but unless you like Nickelback, no one can tell you what you like is not good. If it sounds good to you, then good for you.
Art is art.
A million nerds with pitchforks can’t devalue that if you don’t let them.
Catch up on Top 20 Front Men Under 40! (20-11): HERE!
Here are my top ten front men under forty….
(Alleged Ages as of: 9/18/2013)
10. Gerard Way
[Age: 36 – Birthdate: 4/9/77 – Band: My Chemical Romance] I’m not a fan of My Chemical Romance. They’re a band that I’d have fun making a jerky comment or joke about. I think my age level juuuust missed the boat on these guys. If they are Power Rangers, I was a Ninja Turtle guy. I’ll shit talk them all day, but in reality I don’t hate them at all. They do their thing and they do it big. I respect that. Gerald Way’s energy is clear as hell. He gets into people’s soul. I also appreciate the level of detail he and MCR go through for everything. They’re not one’s to half ass anything and it’s apparent when you watch their epic “Black Parade” stuff. Rock and roll should be big like that more often. Not many people could have pulled that off.
9. Win Butler
[Age: 33 – Birthdate: 4/14/80 – Band: Arcade Fire] There is still a lot unknown about Win Butler. Arcade Fire is one of the best newer bands to hit the scene in the past ten or so years. He’s a unique personality to say the least. Arcade Fire has released plenty of award winning albums and tracks to the world. They’re a band that is loved by those who know of them and that leave new ears ringing for months with audio sweetness.
8. Cee Lo Green
[Age: 39 – Birthdate: 5/30/74 – Band: Gnarls Barkley, Goodie Mob] Cee Lo Green is a rapper, R&B performer, AND he’s a frontman for the duo group Gnarls Barkley. Gnarls Barkley hasn’t put out a whole lot of material yet, but it’s hard to not include this guy on the list. He is ALL charisma. He’s over the top, he’s charming, and he’s got a loud range. He’s one of those larger than life personalities that people have no choice but to know the name of and get mad at themselves for liking so much. Listen to “Crazy” and “Fuck You” and tell me he’s not a walking guilty pleasure.
7. Chris Martin
[Age: 36 – Birthdate: 3/2/77 – Band: Coldplay] If Thom York and Bono are too old for this list, I might as well go with Chris Martin right?! Yeah, I know that’s an old one. It’s just hard to listen to Coldplay and not notice the similarities. He has admitted to being a huge fan and has taken influence from them, but I think he’s past that now. Chris Martin has blazed his own trails and has secured his own place in rock music.
6. Brandon Flowers
[Age: 32 – Birthdate: 6/21/81 – Band: The Killers] I got soul, but I’m not a solider too! When I first started this list, Brandon Flowers was one of the first people I wanted to double check the age of. The Killers isn’t a band I have in heavy rotation, but it’s a band that I appreciate when the mood hits. The Killers is one of the best modern rock bands out there. They survived the rise of bands that were similar, but they outlasted. They were around riiiiight when the whole “hipster” thing was starting so they have to roll through that era too. They just keep going and going. Each album they’ve put out has been better than the last. Brandon Flowers is a main reason for this. He has a natural ability to make you feel at ease while building you back up to a steady strut.
5. Karen O
[Age: 34 – Birthdate: 11/22/78 – Band: Yeah Yeah Yeahs] Karen O is one of my favorite front men in rock right now. She’s just a bad ass. I’ve been a fan of the band since, like most people, I first heard “Maps”. From that point forward I’ve been a constant fan. One of my biggest recent regrets is missing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs when they were in Chicago recently. I hope to correct that someday in the not too distant future. When I think of Karen O I think of grit and I think of the party atmosphere of a 2005-2007. There was one early morning of drinking and “other stuff” that lead to me waking up before noon to a pool of my own sick and the track “Pins” skipping my CD player. There’s just something about her music that brings the best out of me. Even on a non-personal connection, she’s an amazing performer. She’s emotive, she’s energetic, and she’s an original person. She’s not trying to be anyone else or fit any mold. The power and confidence she has on stage is damn near immeasurable.
4. Matthew Bellamy
[Age: 35 – Birthdate: 6/9/78 – Band: Muse] Muse is a band that was cruising along, putting out great work and building a diehard fan base. Then when Black Holes and Revelations came out and the band turned the corner to crazy success. That album blew up huge and it put Muse on EVERYONES map. The thing is that Matt Bellamy has ALWAYS been a great front man. He has a magnetism to him that is big, but he still seems a bit “held back”. He has the stage presence that makes people want to do whatever he says. It helps that Muse is a fantastic band that makes music meant for arenas and headphones full of power. The driving force is Bellamy. He rocks on guitar and still manages to lead the Muse army into battle.
3. Corey Taylor
[Age: 39 – Birthdate: 12/8/73 – Band: Slipknot, Stonesour] Metal seems to cycle through the mainstream. Some year’s metal is “cool” and it’s “in” to be a “metalhead” and then some years it goes back into the back lots and smoky clubs. If you’re a fan of metal, it’s not a phase. The problem is that metal seems to be under some kind of protective blanket right now. Metal heads like metal, but the exposure is almost becoming a niche market. Even downtimes have their good parts. For the past ten or so years, one the best parts of modern metal has consistently been Corey Taylor. He jumped on the scene with Slipknot. They got HUGE for a while and survived the tests of time. There really isn’t a bad Slipknot album. It’s inspired metal that comes from somewhere genuine. The costumes were “gimmicky” at first, but no one could deny the man’s skills. I think the key was sneaking “Wait and Bleed” in there for everyone to stop, take notice, and realize “this guy in the mask can fucking SING.” Once the novelty wore off, it became more apparent that Slipknot wasn’t going anywhere unless they wanted to. In the time in between, Taylor takes the mask off and is the vocalist of Stonesour. Stonesour is another beast on its own. It’s some of the best alternative metal out there and it really gives Taylor a chance to showcase his chops. There are not many performers with the raw electricity of a Corey Taylor. I don’t even care if you hate metal, Corey Taylor needs to be in your ears.
2. Jack White
[Age: 38 – Birthdate: 7/9/75 – Band: The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, etc.] Jack White is voice of the era. If we fast forwarded twenty years or so, it’s safe to say that we’ll still be talking about Jack White. I’m constantly debating with myself over who’s the best of the modern era, Jack White or Dave Grohl. It’s a debate that’ll go on forever, hopefully. White has had an amazing career so far. In a generation short on rock heroes, he swoops in with his weird ass clothes and awesome soul fused rock sessions and saves the day. The White Stripes could have gone down as one of the best duo bands of all time and they’re still probably VERY high on that list. White spread his creative wings and started taking on every opportunity he wanted to take. It was like he didn’t think twice as he went on to put out awesome works with The Raconteurs, The Death Weather, as a solo artist, and in some huge collaborations. While he’s definitely one to be stylish, he’s not as larger than life as the iconic view of a frontman. He’s more of a mysterious figure sneaking us the goods on the side. When your music is that good you don’t have to do the splits in sequins to prove any points.
1. Justin Hawkins
[Age: 38– Birthdate: 3/17/75 – Band: The Darkness] The Darkness is a band that I know for a fact that too many people ignorantly ignore. The big single “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” is a fun song, but it got played a lot and people got tired of it after a while. I get that. The rest of that album is remarkable though and then the stuff they put out after that as well. This is just something that everyone is missing the boat on. A main reason why is the front man, Justin Hawkins. This dude is a throwback from the glory days. He’s obviously playing homage to the glam rock gods and his sometimes-silly demeanor could make it come off almost like a parody. I assure you, it’s not. This guy is David Lee Roth meets Fred Mercury meets Plant meets Sebastian Bach. He embodies the essence of all those greats and still ads his own snark to it. I spent a lot of time debating this one. I could have went with one of the more obvious picks. The last few selections would have easily been valid number ones, but when I think of a front man I want a larger than life excitement. Look no further than Justin Hawkins.
Who is YOUR favorite frontman under 40?
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