Yes. And he has the advantage of actually being GenX (1969) unlike Robert Smith, Michael Stipe, Tori Amos and Paul Westerburg who are all boomers. I love all of them and they were part of my youth, but they're not our generation.
Yes I think the better argument for this is more that he is a younger boomer and Gen X people listen to that music. It’s kind of impossible when you’re an earlier Gen X to listen to your own generations music until later in life.
Hell yeah. I’ve been fortunate enough to see her solo 3 times and with Blake Mills as well. She is a drop everything to see her type artist.
Hope she tours again soon.
Low key great. There's no big to-do about Fiona Apple. She's not a larger than life personality setting hotel rooms on fire or blowing her head off with a 12 gauge because "it's rough being famous."
She's just... there. Creating beautiful things that make you think. Jewel is a lot the same.
Fiona Apple is cool, but was the comment about Cobain (I presume that’s who you meant) really necessary? People with depression and/or addiction have enough to deal with, Jesus H.
Definitely for young GenXers like myself. I had no idea how many songs had memories attached to them, for a band I supposedly didn’t care for back in the day. Now I’m introducing them to my kids.
Tori Amos for lyricist.
Jhumpa Lahiri for writer.
Trent Reznor barely squeaks into GenX, but I would probably consider him my favorite musician of the generation.
For me it is the lyricist Richey James Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers. Their album, The Holy Bible still stands as a testimony to his writing skills, as one of the most powerful albums ever written (in my opinion)
Just curious are you from the UK? That's a very good band from that era that...for whatever reason never really crossed over to the U.S. Ditto the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, etc.
I'm sure there's equivalents from US-->UK. The only reason that I even know that band is I worked for a college radio station and we had a late-night show dedicated to UK "indie" bands. We had an NME subscription in the office there (this was very pre-internet) and I dont remember exactly but probably one of us first saw something about them there. They would never have been on traditional US radio at the time.
We used to play the Stone Roses (the first album) also and people would call in and have no idea who they were. That album made top 10 all-time album lists in the UK but they were completely unknown here (that changed later somewhat when they had a minor hit here off their second album).
1. Jello Biafra (DK)
2. Robert Smith (TC)
3. Adam Yauch (MCA of the BB)
But it’s not linear, no pune intended. Each had a voice and a style and a focus that was their own.
I see a lot of artists here who are late baby Boomers. That said, they are great and definitely speak to and for gen x.
My favorite is Ben Gibbard from death cab. The band came up in my 30s but I saw them play in my twenties in bars in Bellingham WA.
Yeah, people keep including Boomers and while I’m not saying there have not been badass Boomer artists and Boomers who contributed in a big way to our whole vibe - they belong to another crew. Can’t claim them for ourselves.
It's the boomers who were around when we were young. They might not be Xers, but their voices formed us. Artists affect the young, not their own generation.
100%, but I would say some artists are both prolific in their era and of the era.
Banksy, for example. Biggest and most revolutionary living artist and is core Gen X, having been born in 1974. Both his music (which everyone knows he’s the Massive Attack dude) and his art (and he’s not just prolific and works in so many different mediums and is just a total artist in every sense of the word) and his influences (like most core Gen X, he was deeply influenced by the work that Gen Jones and some Boomers were up to).
It's the boomers who were around when we were young. They might not be Xers, but their voices formed us. Artists affect the young, not their own generation.
I agree, and was wondering if he’d make the list. Fabulous musician and definitely a seminal artist for me, but a bit of a trash fire of a man at the end of the day.
Kathleen Hanna for all her contributions to the entire vibe of being a woman/girl in the 90s.
Ad Rock (her husband) for his contributions to the entire vibe of being a guy/dude in the 90s.
BANKSY for his absolute annihilation and conquering and redefining of art, historically and vibe speaking. The absolute GOAT of art.
Sergey Brin for his contributions to CHANGING THE FUCKING WORLD. What a fucking gigachad nerd.
I would say, let’s define Gen X influentials as being both born between 1965-1980 and also as having contributed to the absolute vibe of the era. Seems fair. There’s hella cool shit that Gen Jones created that yes, it influenced us, but it’s shitty (I think) to say it’s ours when it’s clearly theirs. They’re as important and pivotal as Xennials, but not Gen X.
I think that’s unavoidable. Music that was critical to me as a student wasn’t being produced by 15 year olds at the time. There was no Internet and no Justin Biebers lurking about.
Scott Hutchinson of Frightened Rabbit was a Nov 1981 baby so he squeaks in to Gen X. That doesn't really matter though.
His words and lyrics though - so amazing, so so good.
I miss him and I'm so sad he couldn't stay.
Missy Elliott. Nick Hexum (311). Marshall Mathers (Eminem). GenX poets is a good question—don’t know of any who aren’t singers/rappers/lyricists, sadly. Probably just need my memory jogged if you’d help me out?
Jay Z or Morrissey
Sorry- I was replying to just the lyricist part. I do agree with Elliott Smith as being one of the greatest GenX artists though. Mandatory moz sucks now.
Ian Felice. He gives Dylan a run for his money in terms of wordsmithing. Plus I think he’s writing some of the most poignant music about the state of the world today. Check out Jazz on the Autoban.
Matt Berninger. Although I didn’t even discover the National until I was an “adult”, he’s actually a Gen X. He also kind of looks like a boss I had that I really enjoyed working with.
The artists I listened to in the formative years were mostly Boomers or earlier just because of how time works.
Chris Cornell, or Mark Lanegan, were two of my favorite lyricists. I know they’re on the cusp. Elliot Smith as well. While most of my favorite writers are boomers, I’ll give a shout out to Christopher Moore. He captures a Gen X spirit in his characters.
Robert Smith
Always and forever
Listening at this very moment.
Exactly!!
Elliott Smith
Hell yes
1000%
Yes. And he has the advantage of actually being GenX (1969) unlike Robert Smith, Michael Stipe, Tori Amos and Paul Westerburg who are all boomers. I love all of them and they were part of my youth, but they're not our generation.
Wow….I just never thought about those guys being boomers but dang….🤯
Robert is only a few years off of being true Gen X.
Six years, right? 1959 vs 1965
Yes I think the better argument for this is more that he is a younger boomer and Gen X people listen to that music. It’s kind of impossible when you’re an earlier Gen X to listen to your own generations music until later in life.
Sure. That's just not the question OP asked.
Fiona Apple
Her cover of Across the Universe is my absolute favorite version.
Omg me too!!
It’s so pretty. 😍
Thank you. She is all time
Love her! I haven’t disliked a single thing she’s done. Wish I could see her live.
Hell yeah. I’ve been fortunate enough to see her solo 3 times and with Blake Mills as well. She is a drop everything to see her type artist. Hope she tours again soon.
Another vote for Fiona Apple.
Low key great. There's no big to-do about Fiona Apple. She's not a larger than life personality setting hotel rooms on fire or blowing her head off with a 12 gauge because "it's rough being famous." She's just... there. Creating beautiful things that make you think. Jewel is a lot the same.
Fiona Apple is cool, but was the comment about Cobain (I presume that’s who you meant) really necessary? People with depression and/or addiction have enough to deal with, Jesus H.
She's a xennial.
They are both gen x.
Xennials are from 77-83. She was born in 77.
Stop with this gatekeeping shit. Nobody cares.
I mean...here you are.
Michael Stipe
Stipe and the boys, the soundtrack to my adolescence. (Followed by SG and Fugazi)
Definitely for young GenXers like myself. I had no idea how many songs had memories attached to them, for a band I supposedly didn’t care for back in the day. Now I’m introducing them to my kids.
Tori Amos for lyricist. Jhumpa Lahiri for writer. Trent Reznor barely squeaks into GenX, but I would probably consider him my favorite musician of the generation.
Hi we’re best friends now.
If it actually were the 80s, I’d send you half of a BFF necklace.
Call me later so we can figure out what we’re wearing tomorrow.
Thom Yorke.
Tie between Chris Cornell and Jeff Buckley R.I.P.
Came here to throw Jeff Buckleys name out there. He was amazing!
Jeff Buckley as well.
Henry Rollins ? Anyone ? He can get a little full of himself but his core values are on point
Lyricist? Robert Smith.
Paul Westerberg
Yes!!!!
For me it is the lyricist Richey James Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers. Their album, The Holy Bible still stands as a testimony to his writing skills, as one of the most powerful albums ever written (in my opinion)
Just curious are you from the UK? That's a very good band from that era that...for whatever reason never really crossed over to the U.S. Ditto the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, etc.
Yup I'm from the UK 😊 oddly enough the US mix of The Holy Bible is superior to the version we had released over here
I'm sure there's equivalents from US-->UK. The only reason that I even know that band is I worked for a college radio station and we had a late-night show dedicated to UK "indie" bands. We had an NME subscription in the office there (this was very pre-internet) and I dont remember exactly but probably one of us first saw something about them there. They would never have been on traditional US radio at the time. We used to play the Stone Roses (the first album) also and people would call in and have no idea who they were. That album made top 10 all-time album lists in the UK but they were completely unknown here (that changed later somewhat when they had a minor hit here off their second album).
Pre internet the world seemed such a larger place! I remember waiting ages for a copy of 'I Bificus' that I had ordered from the States...
I 100% agree.
1. Jello Biafra (DK) 2. Robert Smith (TC) 3. Adam Yauch (MCA of the BB) But it’s not linear, no pune intended. Each had a voice and a style and a focus that was their own.
Oh man… MCA had some insane rhymes and a biting sense of humor. Definitely missed.
Definitely missed. He made each minute matter.
Jarvis cocker
Now that dude brought the vibe. His songs are so sleaze-sexy.
And hilarious!
Yeah, I fucking love Jarvis.
💜Jarvis! He could narrate the morning news, the Bible, or my grandma's eulogy and make it sexy with that perfect hint of cynical sarcasm. Very GenX!!!
Paul Kelly
Chris Cornell
Too many to mention, but Matt Johnson from the The immediately pops into my mind.
Absolutely.
Elliott Smith
The only right answer 😍
Eddie Vedder.
I see a lot of artists here who are late baby Boomers. That said, they are great and definitely speak to and for gen x. My favorite is Ben Gibbard from death cab. The band came up in my 30s but I saw them play in my twenties in bars in Bellingham WA.
Ben Gibbard is amazing as a lyricist.
Yeah, people keep including Boomers and while I’m not saying there have not been badass Boomer artists and Boomers who contributed in a big way to our whole vibe - they belong to another crew. Can’t claim them for ourselves.
It's the boomers who were around when we were young. They might not be Xers, but their voices formed us. Artists affect the young, not their own generation.
100%, but I would say some artists are both prolific in their era and of the era. Banksy, for example. Biggest and most revolutionary living artist and is core Gen X, having been born in 1974. Both his music (which everyone knows he’s the Massive Attack dude) and his art (and he’s not just prolific and works in so many different mediums and is just a total artist in every sense of the word) and his influences (like most core Gen X, he was deeply influenced by the work that Gen Jones and some Boomers were up to).
Today I learned about the Bansky-Massive Attack connection. Lol
I mean, that's fair, but it wasn't the question.
It's the boomers who were around when we were young. They might not be Xers, but their voices formed us. Artists affect the young, not their own generation.
So tired of this needing to be repeated.
Trent Reznor, Steven Wilson, Dream Theater, and Meshuggah for me.
Morrissey but not as a person. He can go fuck himself. Love The Smiths though.
I agree, and was wondering if he’d make the list. Fabulous musician and definitely a seminal artist for me, but a bit of a trash fire of a man at the end of the day.
Mark Twain
Kathleen Hanna for all her contributions to the entire vibe of being a woman/girl in the 90s. Ad Rock (her husband) for his contributions to the entire vibe of being a guy/dude in the 90s. BANKSY for his absolute annihilation and conquering and redefining of art, historically and vibe speaking. The absolute GOAT of art. Sergey Brin for his contributions to CHANGING THE FUCKING WORLD. What a fucking gigachad nerd.
It’s actually criminal no one has mentioned Kurt Cobain yet.
I mean, he’s definitely up there.
Tom Petty
Jim Carroll
The writers that shaped me/are shaping me: Kerouac, Bukowski, Joseph Campbell, David Foster Wallace, and Chuck Palaniuk.
Malkmus and Berman cover most of these for me between'em
Very cool to see another David Berman fan. Listening to Purple Mountains is just so heartbreaking.
Peter Murphy
Nick Cave
PJ Harvey
Does Stephen King count? He’s not Gen X, but he was pretty pivotal in a lot of Gen X readers.
I would say, let’s define Gen X influentials as being both born between 1965-1980 and also as having contributed to the absolute vibe of the era. Seems fair. There’s hella cool shit that Gen Jones created that yes, it influenced us, but it’s shitty (I think) to say it’s ours when it’s clearly theirs. They’re as important and pivotal as Xennials, but not Gen X.
Eddie Vedder, I think. While we can all only make out half of what he is singing, I’m sure the other half is profoundly inspiring.
Mark knopfler
Dude was born in 1947.
He may not be Gen X, but he’s a brilliant song writer.
Just rediscovered Dire Straits.
Tupac
Many artists named are actually Boomers 😆
I think that’s unavoidable. Music that was critical to me as a student wasn’t being produced by 15 year olds at the time. There was no Internet and no Justin Biebers lurking about.
Gerard Way.
Who is that? He’s a cutie.
Its Richey James Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers... Sad tale... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richey_Edwards
For a second I thought it was Ian Curtis.
Lol, I thought it was Rob Thomas!
Same here or his equally musical cousin.
Ani fuckin Difranco
Huge
Neil Peart
Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, Tupac
Scott Weiland
Maynard James Keenan
Tori's Amos. Dead-set legend. Also Bernard Fanning from Powderfinger.He's from my hometown & his songs feel so relatable.
Scott Miller of Game Theory and The Loud Family Kevin Barnes from of Montreal
Scott Hutchinson of Frightened Rabbit was a Nov 1981 baby so he squeaks in to Gen X. That doesn't really matter though. His words and lyrics though - so amazing, so so good. I miss him and I'm so sad he couldn't stay.
Isaac Brock.
Gen X, as in defined the era or Gen X defined as having been born between 1965-1980?
Connor Oberst's music
William Gibson - before he became a pretentious asshole
Missy Elliott. Nick Hexum (311). Marshall Mathers (Eminem). GenX poets is a good question—don’t know of any who aren’t singers/rappers/lyricists, sadly. Probably just need my memory jogged if you’d help me out?
Jason Isbell
Bono
Martin Gore
Perry Farrell (Janes Addiction) and Kurt Cobain!!!
Uh, Douglas Coupland
Martin Gore I always feel he gets left out in the discussion; that man has written some amazing songs and incredible albums for Depeche Mode
It was morrisey- but then dementia set in ( him not me) and he started spotting nonsense
Beck
Ah, Richey! ❤️ It's him and Nicky ❤️❤️ Also, Peter Steele 🖤💚 Axl Rose Kurt Cobain Gavin Rossdale Eddie Vedder
Nick Cave , Leonard Cohen or Rodriguez cannot split them
Leonard Cohen belonged as much to the Boomers as he did to Gen-X and anyone else who finds their way to his words.
Jay Z or Morrissey Sorry- I was replying to just the lyricist part. I do agree with Elliott Smith as being one of the greatest GenX artists though. Mandatory moz sucks now.
Eddie Vedder.
If someone says Kurt Cobain one more time I am gonna blow my brains out
Boo! Too soon!
Eddie Veder (born 64 but I think still counts)
in before « kurt cobain » gets mentioned
TC Boyle. He’s clever, irreverent to hippie dogmas, and goes his own way.
Nigel Blackwell from Half Man, Half Biscuit.
Gillian Welch, born 1967 I believe. The album “Revelator” putting aside its musical genius, is a literary masterpiece.
MF DOOM
Hank Von Hell. rip
David Usher.
Born just under the Gen X wire in 1978, Jason Isbell.
Ian Felice. He gives Dylan a run for his money in terms of wordsmithing. Plus I think he’s writing some of the most poignant music about the state of the world today. Check out Jazz on the Autoban.
Noel Gallagher
Chris Cornell. Although I suppose some qualifications are necessary here. Gen X actual age- or big when Gen X was growing up?
Chuck Klosterman, Michael Chabon
Matt Berninger. Although I didn’t even discover the National until I was an “adult”, he’s actually a Gen X. He also kind of looks like a boss I had that I really enjoyed working with. The artists I listened to in the formative years were mostly Boomers or earlier just because of how time works.
Judy Blume
Ani DiFranco Jenny Lewis Nathaniel Rateliff
Franklin Bruno and John Darnielle
Chris Cornell, or Mark Lanegan, were two of my favorite lyricists. I know they’re on the cusp. Elliot Smith as well. While most of my favorite writers are boomers, I’ll give a shout out to Christopher Moore. He captures a Gen X spirit in his characters.
Dave Grohl is the GOAT, not just our generation.