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Most overrated band of all time?

LizKat said:
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Death Cab for Cutie. C'mon.
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I caught on to Death Cab in my lonesome sorrowful years, but now in the better times I still enjoy them. Death Cab doesn't get so much ratings anyways. So them being over rated is not possible. They've been around since the mid 90's. They didn't get largely recognized till 2003 or so. 😱 Speaking of Death Cab, Postal Service is amazing, I would like to classify that as under rated.

decksnap said:
Oh my god that would be so awesome! How are the Foo Fighters even on the radio? My cat writes better songs.
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I loved Foo Fighters back when, but now they come up with nothing new since their first couple of albums. I do though really really enjoy their acoustic album from "In Your Honor".

Oh yeah, Lupe Fiasco is under rated. They play only one song from each of his albums on the radio and nothing more. He has a lot to say and they keep his voice to a minimum on the radio.
 
As a musician myself, I make it a point to not be too eager to criticize anyone else's success ("deserved" or not). Its a tough business. Talent turns out to be a small part of the success equation, sorry to say.

That said, a few tidbits on some of the bands you guys mentioned:
  • Def Leopard: Whatever else you want to say, these guys can *vocalize* together. Their live vocals sound perfect, like a recording. I have a close friend who loves this stuff, I hear it maybe a tad too often. 🙂
  • U2: The "War" album was really groundbreaking stuff, really different. The Edge has made the better part of a career using the dotted-eight-note delay -- suddenly anyone else who uses it automatically "sounds like U2" -- even though every studio since the 80's has had at least a couple 2290s.
  • Genesis: What can you say, the band didn't want to play backup to Peter Gabriel's oddness, but they became SOOO pop without him.
  • Beatles: Early on, their harmonies were different, catchy in a unique way. The interesting stuff was in fact toward the end, really a pop band reinvented, you could almost say they were two different bands. They recorded the entire Sgt. Peppers album on a FOUR TRACK machine! That still blows my mind!
  • Lennon: Some great solo stuff and LOTS of not great stuff. For every powerful "Imagine" and "Instant Karma" there was a correlating preachy "Power to the People" or "How Do You Sleep" or "Woman..." -- I personally blame Yoko. 😉 He really became a caricature of himself. Bono-the-celebrity imitates the worst side of Lennon, that whole holier-than-thou attitude.
  • McCartney: Epitome of 70's pop. "Silly Love Songs" wasn't even the worst of it. As a kid I listened to "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" and "Helen Wheels" over and over, looking back I have no idea why. :shrug:
 
Phil Collins
Rod Stewart
Aerosmith
Bjork
LCD Soundsystem
Pearl Jam
Stone Temple Pilots
Audioslave
Broken Social Scene
The Apples In Stereo
Elton John
Janis Joplin
 
I got another one nobody has mentioned Sublime.

Sublime wasn't a terrible band, but the timely (excuse the cynicism) death of the lead singer two months before the release of their biggest radio hit produced an unbearable amount of hype, and they pulled a "Tupac" by remixing every grunt or burp Brad Nowell ever recorded into a "new" song in order to keep milking the cash cow.

It looks like The Beatles and U2 are way ahead of everyone else in the polls.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
I got another one nobody has mentioned Sublime.

Sublime wasn't a terrible band, but the timely (excuse the cynicism) death of the lead singer two months before the release of their biggest radio hit produced an unbearable amount of hype, and they pulled a "Tupac" by remixing every grunt or burp Brad Nowell ever recorded into a "new" song in order to keep milking the cash cow.

It looks like The Beatles and U2 are way ahead of everyone else in the polls.
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I didn't mention them specifically as an overrated band, but I did mention how horrible Sublime is while defending Kurt Cobain a few pages back (as an example of a truly awful band that got big because the singer died, unlike Nirvana which was quite good anyway) 🙂
 
I know this thread isn't trying to be purely objective, but here's something for all of you who have posted on the Beatles to think about. Whether you like a group or not should not matter in deciding whether they are overrated. There are more objective ways to judge this concept, like the number of hit songs, number of albums sold, and the amount of influence on future artists. Granted, none of these is a definitive indicator of greatness; there are crap bands that happen to sell lots of records, just as there are crap bands that are influential for a time. On the whole, however, the Beatles sold lots of records AND have been hugely influential on later artists. You may not like the Beatles personally, but to add them to the list of overrated bands is madness. By the way, I'm not a rabid fan of the Beatles, only someone interested in objective discussion instead of testaments of personal taste.
 
no way is it the beatles, they were truly revolutionary and deserve all the merits they get

They were the defining sound of the 60's and released Sgt. Peppers, the first rock album.

U2, yeah they're not all that great.

Coldplay are definitely overrated,

Oasis, like the beatles, defined their era and I'm a big fan of their style.

For me, the most overrated band/artist of all time would have to be Dylan...
does he count? If not then I'd say Bryan Adams 😛
 
I think The Who is over rated, from a musicians point of view. Mainly Keith Moon. I haven't heard one thing he did that an average level rock drummer can't do.
 
Unspeaked said:
In any context, that is a pretty weird list.
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Well i tried to not descriminate on time periods and include a little bit of everything 😛

Also added to my list would be:
The Black Lips
Hot Chip
Duran Duran
George Michael
Amy Winehouse
Goodspeed You Black Emperor!

Every single pop-punk/emo band like Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, New Found Glory, Yellowcard, Paramore, etc.

EDIT: It is a travesty to put Bob Dylan on a list of overrated music. Admittedly his 80s music was subpar, but everything outside of that questionable period is pure gold and has every right to be honored. Bob Dylan is simply amazing.
 
Completely overrated in my most humblest of opinions:

• Paul Weller
• The Clash
• Oasis
• Queen
• The Doors
• Eric Clapton
• Smashing Pumpkins
 
thecritix said:
no way is it the beatles, they were truly revolutionary and deserve all the merits they get

They were the defining sound of the 60's and released Sgt. Peppers, the first rock album.

U2, yeah they're not all that great.

Coldplay are definitely overrated,

Oasis, like the beatles, defined their era and I'm a big fan of their style.

For me, the most overrated band/artist of all time would have to be Dylan...
does he count? If not then I'd say Bryan Adams 😛
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Bryan Adams got up off his butt after the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, flew to Karachi in January 2006 and did a benefit concert in front of ten thousand enthusisastic Pakistani teenagers. I'd say he was certainly underrated for that very fine effort. As far as his music, well I give you that it rocks in an utterly predictable way, I do well like about six or seven of his Anthology tracks as samples of trad rNr. I play them in the car and they're like a summer day brought back complete with its fresh air.

On Dylan: he is not overrated. Erratic, yes. That's art for ya.

U2: the band, its musical output and ongoing evolution are not overrated. The focus on Bono is irritating. Bono did once thank his bandmates for "letting me sing in yer band..." I'd like it if Bono's VIDEO PRODUCERS would remember that from time to time, sheesh.

Oasis rising was something wondrous. After that, I dunno, are we still holding our breath or making excuses or have we (and their dreams) moved on?

Coldplay: verdict not in. They are still in ascendancy, I think. Their output so far includes some extremely well written, well performed, well produced music, worth putting the existing discs on repeat while waiting for the next one to show up. I don't care how many or few million copies were bought. Overrated to me means "given more credit than is musically deserved." Coldplay are not, by that standard, overrated.

Beatles: I just don't know. I didn't hear them when they were all the rage, I was still buried in preclassical motets and masses. When I did hear them, I heard them AFTER i'd learned to appreciate a lot of blues singers plus a smash-and-grab assortment of rockers. (I had smashed my way into my brothers' collections and grabbed everything they would let me borrow, and there was a pile of blues rock and edges of metal). Perhaps I heard the Beatles first as a little fey. Then later on I discovered alt rock and decided fey was a passé term, or at least not right to stick on a band like the Beatles! Their catalog has not really won me over but their influence in Brit rock has persisted and for that I'm grateful; I get a kick out of the Brits still coming along.
 
John.B said:
[*]U2: The Edge has made the better part of a career using the dotted-eight-note delay -- suddenly anyone else who uses it automatically "sounds like U2" -- even though every studio since the 80's has had at least a couple 2290s.
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David Gilmore did it first--see "One Of These Days", "Run Like Hell", etc.
 
When I look at all the bands that are mentioned in this thread, I get the feeling that practically *every* successful group or singer has a claim of being overrated. And why stop at contemporary music? Mozart, for example. Wrote a couple of successful concertos, and some of his piano sonatas are actually quite decent. But when I have to listen to the "kleine Nachtmusik", all I want to do is run away. And don't get me started on Richard Wagner, that jew-hating pompous little git.

So, in essence, this thread has failed. There is no musician that can appeal to everyone, and those that don't like his/her style will start bickering after some time. But do continue to post here, it's fun to read 🙂

A last word to those who believe that the Beatles were not overrated: I challenge you to watch all Beatles movies, including Yellow Submarine, in a single session without interruption. After that, I would like to hear if your opinion has changed.
 
razorlight

ok i agree with the first post o u2 but lets throw in razorlight and coldplay..


id have to go with the klf as the best then radiohead...
 
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