Most Overrated Bands / Artists

I'm sorry but that statement about lyrics is a denigration of the art of prose and poetry. You honestly think that Bob Dylan's or Leonard Cohen's lyrics, or even Lennons are poor until context is understood?

Although of course the RHCP did once try and pat homage to one of the greatest piece of lyricism of all time, and produced arguably the worst cover ever...



Off an Album called: 'The Uplift Mofo Party Plan' I think that says it all really.

Its like J.K Rowling paying homage to James Joyce.
 
There must be more pretentiousness in the last 20 or so posts in this thread than on the entire rest of the internet combined.
 
RHCP's best song didn't even make an album......was just thrown on the Coneheads soundtrack, always makes me cry.
 
I've never said their lyrics are comparable in its message to those of Lennon's and co. But they are deeper than one would think. I've spent awfully lot time on reading some bits from their lives and only then was able to understand better.

The chemistry between them was quite astonishing. You would do well to find a better understanding of bass and electric guitar for one. What Flea and John did at Slane Castle was epic at times, that's not a hyperbole. All separate parts of the band might not have been the best in their cattegories (I'll stick to my 'Frusciante is one of the current greats' statement, though). It's the fact how well they cooperated. Kiedis' voice was tailor-made for that band, you know that.

They've always wanted to be closer to public, be equal to those coming to performances, that's what Frusciante gave as a reason for them not going into proper commercial career initially. Can you imagine sophisticated language being used? In their style of music?
 
Zarlak said:
That's a bit like saying, can you imagine a 3 year old painting a Monet?

Well no, but it doesn't change the fact that their finger paintings are shite.
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In my opinion some of the poetry is shite. It doesn't change the fact it's highly rated by critics.
 
I still can't get over someone calling aretha franklin overrated.

Some folk go mad for the dave Matthews band. Never understood it myself.
 
Tomuś said:
The age their are at now should be where they blossom - looking at all the greatest bands in history.
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What, in their late 40s?

Who are these supposed bands that blossomed 30 years into their career, with their members all approaching 50?

Can't actually think of one.
 
In the same way as Dave Matthews band I don't completely get Nick Cave.
 
I can't tell if I can't get into The Smiths because they're overrated or if it's because I find Morrissey to be such a twonk.
 
IMO The Smiths are fantastic.

Third best Manchester band for me though behind The Roses and Joy Division.


Dare I say Bowie? I have tried and tried.
 
I Love David Bowie, he had it all.
 
FortBoyard said:
IMO The Smiths are fantastic.

Third best Manchester band for me though behind The Roses and Joy Division.


Dare I say Bowie? I have tried and tried.
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The Roses wouldn't make my top 10 of Manchester bands (or top 20 for that matter. I think they are rubbish). Joy Division, The Smiths, New Order and Magazine would all be in the top 5. Oasis would also struggle to make the top 10 after such early promise.
 
Bowie is fecking brilliant. More talent than any other 5 bands/artists put together. He makes the Beatles look like Take That.
 
Point me in the right direction with Bowie then.

I head 'Low' was an epic album, i did 2 listens and it didn't leave much impression.
 
I can't listen to anything post Aladdin Sane by Bowie, bar Heroes and Ashes. I can barely listen to most of Aladin Sane if I'm honest. However Hunky Dory & Ziggy are genius, and a lot of Oddity and bits of Man Who Sold The World are too, which is more than enough to justify his hype.
 
Certainly most over-rated would have to be Rihana, Lady Gaga and such rather than RHCP, Smiths etc.

After all they are the highest selling artists.
 
Sales doesn't mean they are rated highly really.....just means kids lap them up before they start to get into music properly.

Scary Monsters and the Berlin Trilogy are Bowies defining albums really, well on top of Ziggy, fecking tremendous artist, not many have 5 fantastic albums.
 
I don't like the Berlin Trilogy personally. Over indulgent, coked up pretentious euro waffle for me, but I still love Bowie.
 
Cold_Boy said:
Certainly most over-rated would have to be Rihana, Lady Gaga and such rather than RHCP, Smiths etc.

After all they are the highest selling artists.
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But they're rated by people who look for fashion or fun rather than genuine quality.

Radiohead for me. I just don't understand what the fuss is about.
 
Agreed but this thing is really difficult to judge.

For example I think Radiohead are quality.
 
Mockney said:
I don't like the Berlin Trilogy personally. Over indulgent, coked up pretentious euro waffle for me, but I still love Bowie.
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I half agree. There is one stunningly good album there if you combined the three.
 
Mockney said:
I can't listen to anything post Aladdin Sane by Bowie, bar Heroes and Ashes. I can barely listen to most of Aladin Sane if I'm honest. However Hunky Dory & Ziggy are genius, and a lot of Oddity and bits of Man Who Sold The World are too, which is more than enough to justify his hype.
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You're missing his best albums to be fair. Diamond Dogs, Station to Station, the Berlin Trilogy, Buddha, Heathen and Outside are some of the best music ever maid.

Outside being his best, according to The Gospel According to Ton... cinc

 
Pink Floyd excelled post-Syd Barrett for me.

God music is polemic isn't it!
 
From the OP I completely disagree with Led Zep being one of the most overrated bands, but that seems like it was discussed in depth a few years back when the thread was made. Stealing a lot of source material may make me think less of Jimmy Page as a person and a songwriter & while I can sort of see the logic in listing them in that some of the credit they get needs sharing around, I don't think it significantly diminishes the genius of what they did do. Some people are just so much better at layering a song once the original idea has been given to them, in Page's case it was just a shame he didn't have another great songwriter to work off. Arranging's still a massive part of composing & is what lifts them miles above session musician status. They created a peerless sound and great songs out of some very good source material. It isn't a contest for me between wanting to listen to Jake Holmes' Dazed and Confused & Led Zep's, or Memphis Minnie's When the Levee Breaks, or the hundreds of versions of Gallows Pole. They transformed songs into four phenomenal albums including arguably the greatest rock album of all time, a sound (which at least to me) still comfortably stands up today. No-one's matched When the Levee Breaks.

As a matter of interest does anyone know if The Battle of Evermore was stolen from anywhere? Always thought it was one of the few great songs they wrote completely.

Pink Floyd would take the overrated crown for me too, though I'd push the date forward to post-'72 as Live at Pompeii is everything a rock band should be. I think Meddle's one of the most underrated and greatest albums ever made, Dark Side of the Moon probably the most overrated. They wrote great songs after 1972 (usually when harkening back to good old days) but in terms of album quality they're all massively negated by the bilge that Roger Waters added. It's just this esoteric position they hold in music that's really annoying, akin to someone like Radiohead today who at least go some way to backing it up, in my opinion.

Outside of the moment and area, I agree that The Stone Roses are hugely overrated which probably deservedly comes with a ban on this forum. Not comparing the two, I'd also list The Libertines if only for Pete Doherty's bizarre position as some rock poet for my generation. But after long discussions with a friend, I think they're another band you had to be there for.

In terms of album sales, Kiss & Mötley Crüe are two of the most grossly overrated groups of all time, something America is completely to blame for. I don't think I've ever met a fan of either & it remains some sick joke to me that the latter has sold around twice as many albums as Neil Young ever has.

On the Bowie discussion I really like Heathen & Reality too, but agree that it's all about '70-73, with the addition of Station to Station which is a fantastic album.
 
Foo Fighters - First thing, shit name for a band. Secondly (which should be first), if this drummer geezer playing guitar hadn't been in Nirvana, these guys would've never made it out of the bar scene of any American city. Admit it. They always have these gimmicky vids which basically make up for having a nothing-interesting sound. Boring.

Buns and Hoses - How can anything vaguely interesting come from douchebags? Ask yerselves that question. Semi evolved hair band out of the worst of the L.A. scene in its worst hair moment. Punk rock exists because of douches like these. feck off, Slash.

Pearl Jam - Shows how lowly the early 90s American rock scene was in order for these boring, uncreative gits to become massive. Even Kurt Cobain slagged these guys off as posers. Check any used record bin and see how many Pearl Jam records there are. Phony suburban angst schlepped through the "pipes" of Eddie Vedder. That video of Jeremy is enough to make one hurl.
 
LoveInTheAsylum said:
In terms of album sales, Kiss & Mötley Crüe are two of the most grossly overrated groups of all time, something America is completely to blame for. I don't think I've ever met a fan of either & it remains some sick joke to me that the latter has sold around twice as many albums as Neil Young ever has
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:nono:

Kiss are only up there in sales because of the number of albums they've put out. They were great before Gene Simmons' Jew side took over his comic book loving sex maniac side. They were the first ones to release a live album and they've whored the shit out of those and the compilation albums ever since. But each album on it's own isn't a record breaker.

Before they took off their make-up they had some excellent albums. Before they gave into the 80's and started catering to the general crowd rather than just making music for the fun of it. Maybe it's something to with Criss and Frehley being off their rockers and getting kicked out for being drunk an/or high all the time. Mostly it's about their change of direction.

In the early years they were known for being great live. That's what they did. They wrote song with good choruses and guitar solos. They say write about what you know and that's why pretty much all their lyrics are about sex. Simple formula really.
 
Snow said:
:nono:

Kiss are only up there in sales because of the number of albums they've put out. They were great before Gene Simmons' Jew side took over his comic book loving sex maniac side. They were the first ones to release a live album and they've whored the shit out of those and the compilation albums ever since. But each album on it's own isn't a record breaker.

Before they took off their make-up they had some excellent albums. Before they gave into the 80's and started catering to the general crowd rather than just making music for the fun of it. Maybe it's something to with Criss and Frehley being off their rockers and getting kicked out for being drunk an/or high all the time. Mostly it's about their change of direction.

In the early years they were known for being great live. That's what they did. They wrote song with good choruses and guitar solos. They say write about what you know and that's why pretty much all their lyrics are about sex. Simple formula really.
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What the feck??
 
Nobby style said:
Foo Fighters - First thing, shit name for a band. Secondly (which should be first), if this drummer geezer playing guitar hadn't been in Nirvana, these guys would've never made it out of the bar scene of any American city. Admit it. They always have these gimmicky vids which basically make up for having a nothing-interesting sound. Boring.
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Not a massive fan but they are a good solid rock act who are meant to be great live.

Buns and Hoses - How can anything vaguely interesting come from douchebags? Ask yerselves that question. Semi evolved hair band out of the worst of the L.A. scene in its worst hair moment. Punk rock exists because of douches like these. feck off, Slash.
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Hated them at the time but I now appreciate them in the same way that I don't hate 80's Bob Jovi any more. Sort of fun if a bit silly but so much better than so much modern stuff even if Axl Rose still makes me want to punch him every time I see him on film.

Pearl Jam - Shows how lowly the early 90s American rock scene was in order for these boring, uncreative gits to become massive. Even Kurt Cobain slagged these guys off as posers. Check any used record bin and see how many Pearl Jam records there are. Phony suburban angst schlepped through the "pipes" of Eddie Vedder. That video of Jeremy is enough to make one hurl.
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Harsh. I preferred Nirvana at the time but in retrospect they are much better than I thought at the time.
 
LoveInTheAsylum said:
From the OP I completely disagree with Led Zep being one of the most overrated bands, but that seems like it was discussed in depth a few years back when the thread was made. Stealing a lot of source material may make me think less of Jimmy Page as a person and a songwriter & while I can sort of see the logic in listing them in that some of the credit they get needs sharing around, I don't think it significantly diminishes the genius of what they did do. Some people are just so much better at layering a song once the original idea has been given to them, in Page's case it was just a shame he didn't have another great songwriter to work off. Arranging's still a massive part of composing & is what lifts them miles above session musician status. They created a peerless sound and great songs out of some very good source material. It isn't a contest for me between wanting to listen to Jake Holmes' Dazed and Confused & Led Zep's, or Memphis Minnie's When the Levee Breaks, or the hundreds of versions of Gallows Pole. They transformed songs into four phenomenal albums including arguably the greatest rock album of all time, a sound (which at least to me) still comfortably stands up today. No-one's matched When the Levee Breaks.

As a matter of interest does anyone know if The Battle of Evermore was stolen from anywhere? Always thought it was one of the few great songs they wrote completely.

Pink Floyd would take the overrated crown for me too, though I'd push the date forward to post-'72 as Live at Pompeii is everything a rock band should be. I think Meddle's one of the most underrated and greatest albums ever made, Dark Side of the Moon probably the most overrated. They wrote great songs after 1972 (usually when harkening back to good old days) but in terms of album quality they're all massively negated by the bilge that Roger Waters added. It's just this esoteric position they hold in music that's really annoying, akin to someone like Radiohead today who at least go some way to backing it up, in my opinion.

Outside of the moment and area, I agree that The Stone Roses are hugely overrated which probably deservedly comes with a ban on this forum. Not comparing the two, I'd also list The Libertines if only for Pete Doherty's bizarre position as some rock poet for my generation. But after long discussions with a friend, I think they're another band you had to be there for.

In terms of album sales, Kiss & Mötley Crüe are two of the most grossly overrated groups of all time, something America is completely to blame for. I don't think I've ever met a fan of either & it remains some sick joke to me that the latter has sold around twice as many albums as Neil Young ever has.

On the Bowie discussion I really like Heathen & Reality too, but agree that it's all about '70-73, with the addition of Station to Station which is a fantastic album.
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I didn't really like Zep when they were around but I have grown to like some of their better stuff since. Certainly not on my list of all time greats.

Early Floyd was great for a while but I got bored with it many years ago and now I can't be bothered to listen to it. Yawn.

Wish You Were Here is by far my favorite album.

Agreed. Stone Roses were utter garbage. Cant sing, can't play, can't write songs. Apart from that they were OK.

Kiss and Motley Crue aspire to be utter garbage. Mind numbingly bad. Rip your ears out to make it stop bad.

Bowie is brilliant and everything before Let's Dance was pretty damn good (gnomes and drumming children aside) and even Let's Dance was a record of it's era that I can still listen to with some affection even if it is pop rubbish by Bowie's earlier standards. If you merged everything before Lets Dance into half as many albums, keeping the best, he would be even better than he is/was.
 
Anyone who doesn't think that The Smiths were brilliant should die of some sort of virulent veneral disease. Joy Division were pretty damn good as well.

RHCP are great at times but each album has far too much filler IMO. Even their more solid albums like Californication start to bore me once you get past the title track (track 6 or 7 I think).
 
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