The Student Room Group

How come most of the best modern-day bands went to good universities?

I have noticed lots of good modern-day bands have degrees from top universities (i.e. Thom Yorke - BA English - Exeter, Paul Banks (Interpol) - BA English Literature - NYU).

Is it a coincidence or does intelligence sell?

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Reply 1
Who are Interpol?
Marcus Mumford did classics at the University of Edinburgh and Chris Martin did Ancient World Studies and Classics at UCL. I think it's coincedental
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by NR09
Who are Interpol?


The best band in the world. :biggrin:

YouTube them.
Reply 4
Original post by Calllu-m
Marcus Mumford did classics at the University of Edinburgh and Chris Martin did Ancient World Studies and Classics at UCL. I think it's coindedental


"Coindedental"? :wink:

Or is it?
Reply 5
In my experience you will often find that the people who are the most skilled in any field are very intelligent. In the music world it is often the case that you follow the 'standard' path through life until you put a band together and decide to do that instead, and a lot of people get their bands at university.
I wouldn't say it's as true of top musicians as it is of, say, top comedians, but there's definitely a loose correlation between the two.
It's hardly a new occurence , Dr Brian May famously interrupted his PhD for a little side project with a few friends ...

and while it's not University, Gabriel, Rutherford and Banks were all Charterhouse students as were other members of the original line up of Genesis it wasn't until Phil Collins joined in 1970s that it wasn't solely Charterhouse ( by then) alumni
Original post by Calllu-m
Marcus Mumford did classics at the University of Edinburgh and Chris Martin did Ancient World Studies and Classics at UCL. I think it's coindedental


"Coindedental"

I don't really see what this has to do with teeth :biggrin:
Reply 9
Original post by zippyRN
It's hardly a new occurence , Dr Brian May famously interrupted his PhD for a little side project with a few friends ...


And some parents say people with long hair == criminals, no future, other negative things.

:s-smilie:
Well its so competitive to get into the music industry these days that the record labels probably expect you to have at least a 2:1 from a top 20/30 university plus 320+ UCAS points before they will listen to your demos.
Reply 11
Original post by MagicNMedicine
Well its so competitive to get into the music industry these days that the record labels probably expect you to have at least a 2:1 from a top 20/30 university plus 320+ UCAS points before they will listen to your demos.


No. They would want you to publish at least 3 papers on some leading publishers as well; preferably IEEE, ACM or ScienceDirect. Then they will look at your tape.
Original post by kka25
No. They would want you to publish at least 3 papers on some leading publishers as well; preferably IEEE, ACM or ScienceDirect. Then they will look at your tape.


It just shows how wrong those people on TSR are who say "university doesn't matter".
Original post by iPaulBanks
The best band in the world. :biggrin:

YouTube them.


Define "best"
Original post by iPaulBanks
"Coindedental"? :wink:

Or is it?


Hahahha I was typing this in a rush. I apologise for my awful spelling.
I disagree with everything said here.

Greg Graffin (Bad Religion) has a PhD from Cornell University, yet nobody from Minor Threat has a PhD.
Now I like both bands, but I'd say that despite Bad Religion's longevity, Minor Threat were the most ground-breaking band out of the two.

Higher education, when it comes to music, doesn't really matter unless you're contemplating writing some very obscure lyrics that deal solely with what subjects you studied in Uni.
Original post by zippyRN
It's hardly a new occurence , Dr Brian May famously interrupted his PhD for a little side project with a few friends ...

and while it's not University, Gabriel, Rutherford and Banks were all Charterhouse students as were other members of the original line up of Genesis it wasn't until Phil Collins joined in 1970s that it wasn't solely Charterhouse ( by then) alumni


I'm related to peter Gabriel :smile: never met the man though
Original post by Drunk Punx
I disagree with everything said here.

Greg Graffin (Bad Religion) has a PhD from Cornell University, yet nobody from Minor Threat has a PhD.
Now I like both bands, but I'd say that despite Bad Religion's longevity, Minor Threat were the most ground-breaking band out of the two.

Higher education, when it comes to music, doesn't really matter unless you're contemplating writing some very obscure lyrics that deal solely with what subjects you studied in Uni.


Exactly, some of the bands I listen to have next to nothing in the way of education. Like Megadeth, they were fantastic in the 80s, and Mustaine had next to nothing.

Also, It's not exactly a modern trend, (if there even is one) giving the education from bands as far back as King Crimson, Queen and Pink Floyd either.
I'd hardly say two examples provide definitive proof that all good modern bands have members that went to good universities. In fact for every band you can name that do fit that criteria, I could probably name 5 that don't.

Musicians come from a wide range of backgrounds, I'm pretty sure there's absolutely no correlation.
musicians are people with a life of their own too.. some are smart, others aren't... really doesn't have anything to do with their music.

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