Bands that everyone compares other bands to

[Jaguar]

Wilco

[Jaguar]

Nirvana

[Mobius]

Television (even though the comparison tend to be off)

[Random Citizen]

Kitchens of Distinction

[Darth Ed]

Gee, Jaguar. Leave some for the rest of us. I was going to say The Beatles, which is kind of obvious, I suppose, but you beat me to it. Any pop/rock band with two-part male harmonies is inevitably "Beatlesque."
 
 Personally, I'm guilty of comparing way too many bands to Radiohead.

[chancegardener]

Coldplay

[lily1]

coldplay, really? i thought coldplay was always compared to u2, rather than a band that was compared to other bands?
 
 speaking of which, i'll list u2 as my band that other bands are always compared to.

[chancegardener]

sad but true.  Reviewers mention the Coldplay comparisons all the time.  
 
 Best line from "40 Year Old Virgin": "You know how I know you're gay?  You like Coldplay"

[lily1]

oh yes, that's right, how could i forgot the " you know how i know you're gay" sequence.
 
 though nothing beats the "man o lantern."  

[Relaxer]

Oasis

[scottlemuelwilliams]

Oasis is a good one.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by Jaguar:
 (More often than not, you will find that any Shoegaze or Shoegaze friendly band will be compared to either Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine or The Jesus And Mary Chain; especially by those who have limited knowledge of the genre.)

but how else are you supposed to describe a shoegaze  band to someone who doesn't know a ton about music?  MBV is a starting point, and most people haven't even heard of them.

[Jaguar]

Originally posted by HoyaSaxa08:
   

Originally posted by Jaguar:
 (More often than not, you will find that any Shoegaze or Shoegaze friendly band will be compared to either Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine or The Jesus And Mary Chain; especially by those who have limited knowledge of the genre.)

but how else are you supposed to describe a shoegaze  band to someone who doesn't know a ton about music?  MBV is a starting point, and most people haven't even heard of them. [/b]

Yeah, I realized that just as I hit the post button but decided not to get any more long winded. Depends on your audience; however, if the one describing is communicating with one in the know, one of the 3 may be a starting point but then it can be broken down much, much farther than that. Same for any other genre with their respective example lords.
 
 
 Sigur Rós

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Gram Parsons

[Sir HC]

Spacemen 3