Overrated Bands

[Durin]

I did a search before making this and there was a thread but it was around 3 years old so I decided against necroposting.

It seems to be a mistake I've seen happening in this thread, and I think I need to put it here. OVERRATED DOESN'T MEAN BAD

So overrated bands.

Led Zeppelin
Foo Fighters (I tried to like them. Some of it's good some of it's just mediocre)
Mute Math
Liars (Jesus H I saw them open for Radiohead and wanted to stab my ears out)

I'm sure if pressed I could come up with more, but this is just music I have on my computer that I glanced through.

[imagist42]

Liars (Jesus H I saw them open for Radiohead and wanted to stab my ears out)

I found they were pretty terrible live and I pretty much despise their second and third albums (if they're experimental, then they're experiments on how to suck), but I love me some Liars when they're getting their dance-punk on. I think they're probably the most polarizing band for me, ever.

((Also, I think a better topic would be bands who people claim are overrated far to often. My list would include Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand (or at least their debut LPs), Arctic Monkeys (or at least their sophomore album), and Interpol. All of them are actually pretty fun to listen to, haters be damned.))

[Durin]

I think the Arctic Monkeys are kind of overrated but I still find their first CD really fun to listen to. I didn't really enjoy their second album much. I've listened to the stuff that got played on Radio/TV for Franz Ferdinand when I still listened/watched.

Edit: On the Liars. I'll probably look into their recorded music to see if I enjoy it more.

[imapiratearg]

I can't really get into Battles all that much.  I also haven't heard any Hella that I liked.  I guess I am just picky about my math rock?

[ViolentDove]

I'd never listened to them- then I saw them play live, and was blown away. Danced my arse off, too.

I still haven't heard any of their recordings, but maybe they are of the "sounds better live than recorded" persuasion?

[Christophe]

Man, all this thread is going to do is get some people seriously pissed off about bands and such.

That being said, I'd rather cockslap cacti than listen to Maps and Atlases. Everything that they do sounds like that dude from Billy Talent singing over a Don Caballero album. That probably may sound like a good time to some people, but it sure isn't to me.

[Jinjo]

Nirvana.

Please don't shoot me!

[KvP]

Yeah, this thread will have outlived whatever usefulness as soon as somebody comes in and says "rap music".

Not to say what's been said in just about every other thread remotely like this, but I think it's mostly a matter of taste. I mean, there are lots of bands that people have eargasms over. Around here it's stuff like Explosions in the Sky, DFA 1979, BSS and its satellites, Okkervil River, whatever. People even go so far as to call them "life-changing", and even if I can see the appeal of these acts I can't really say that I like them at all. Thing is, when you hear so much about how great something is and you don't get the same reaction as other people you get the urge to say that no, they really aren't that great. And that's where I think a lot of talk of bands being overrated comes from. But I like to believe that most artists put as much work into their material as anybody else, and that my ear is not an impeccable instrument for discerning quality. I don't think it's fair to shit all over a band because I can't enjoy them the way others can.

Now being overexposed, that's something entirely different. I could say that, for example, Vampire Weekend is overrated, but I think the only reason they'd be seen to be getting undue positive acclaim is that they're getting so much press, for seemingly little reason. It doesn't seem like the attention paid to them is creditable to any particular quality about them.

[Jinjo]

Well for me, a band being overrated doesn't necessarily make it bad. So, I'm not really taking a shit all over an artists work. Instead I think being overrated, like you said, means a band is built up to this amazing standard and not meeting it.

[allison]

Nirvana.

Please don't shoot me!

Ahahahah absolutely agreed. They wouldn't be half as recognized as they are today if Kurt Cobain hadn't kissed his shotgun.

[Thlayli]

Led Zeppelin? Overrated? I have honestly never heard anyone come close to saying that... ever. But then, I think Springsteen is overrated. Also, Elvis Costello and Tom Waits.

[Durin]

I personally don't see anything wrong with giving an opinion. I guess it gives chance for someone to get all in a hussy over nothing but I haven't seen really in the short time I've been here. (Lurking and otherwise)

[Liz]

Well for me, a band being overrated doesn't necessarily make it bad. So, I'm not really taking a shit all over an artists work. Instead I think being overrated, like you said, means a band is built up to this amazing standard and not meeting it.

This. Also-

Radiohead
Elliot Smith
Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Yeah, I don't care if you hate me now. I think I'll live.

[Johnny C]

I agree with this:

Led Zeppelin
Foo Fighters (I tried to like them. Some of it's good some of it's just mediocre)

I disagree with this but I can see where you are coming from if you do not like delay-laden tribal freakouts:

Liars (Jesus H I saw them open for Radiohead and wanted to stab my ears out)

But this:

Mute Math

I understand they have a fairly large fanbase but honestly nobody I know who listens to them ever talks about them.

[IronOxide]

Pink Floyd.

I mean, I like them, but best rock band ever, no.

[Durin]

They have a fairly large fanbase but honestly nobody I know who listens to them ever talks about them.

I know people don't talk about them much but when I asked people about them it was given really high praise. It's not bad. It also has a chance to grow on me. It has some really interesting stylistic choices but for the most part it's just meh.

[minkles]

Led Zeppelin and Radiohead are perfectly rated, thank you.

But I really don't see what's so special about Fleet Foxes, at all.  Their album bored me to tears.  It's "nice sounding", but it's not remotely interesting.

[KvP]

I agree with this:

Led Zeppelin
Foo Fighters (I tried to like them. Some of it's good some of it's just mediocre)

Don't know, myself. Foo Fighters, they're fairly well-liked and pretty popular but I've never heard them spoken of as though they were particularly transcendent. They make shiny pop rock. They made a stab at ambition with that double album of theirs (it was dedicated to a politician and everything) but I don't remember it being very well received, all things considered.

But Led Zeppelin, well, that's what we talk about when we make threads like this. Institutions. Our generation grew up in the shadow of all these monumental bands, and hell, I know people my age who envy our parents for being alive and young when those big names were at their zenith. Some of us look back on them and scoff, but that's not bad, necessarily. Baby Boomers have a tendency to be rather narcissistic about the Greatest Acts of All Time that they were blessed enough to have lived through. Myself, I find the Beatles to be rather underwhelming for being the Greatest Band to Ever Walk the Face of the Earth. But there's a difference between quality and importance/influence, and the Beatles' influence is pretty much impossible to dispute.

We've got our own institutions, of course. Radiohead's already been mentioned. I like them because they try to be willfully difficult and I like bands that do that (old industrial bands, Liars, Autechre and Scott Walker all fall into this category) Plus it's sort of "romantic" that they started becoming obtuse just after they were being called the most important band of their generation. I'd say that was a pretty smart move. Better they veer far off into left field than stay in the path of a million tons of expectation by trying to follow up OK Computer with something in the same vein. They chose a sizable cult over being crushed into so much dust. Thom Yorke's too much of a ponce to just die somehow and cement his legacy anyway. I'm not mad for Radiohead, but respect them and they write pretty songs that are just off-kilter enough to hit that sweet spot of oddity for me.

[Johnny C]

Kill yr idols.

[Spluff]

If by overrated you mean 'bands which a lot of people love but you don't quite get', top of my list would be the Beatles. I just don't get it.

[hipster jesus]

U2. With the exceptions of Bowie and The Cult they're probably my favorite group, but even then I think it goes a bit too far when everyone's expected to love everything they do just because it's U2. War and Achtung Baby are both in my list of ten favorite albums and Boy is pretty damn good as well, but for the past 20 years their output (except for the previously mentioned Achtung Baby) has been somewhere in the range of "just another band" in terms of quality as opposed to "greatest thing ever." Their last somewhat good album was Zooropa, 15 years ago, and everything since has been average at best. Their last three albums combined have a little under one album's worth of songs that I'd consider good or great. The rest is just filler, and I don't exactly think that justifies all the praise they receive.

[Zadorzky]

Metallica.

Good?  Sure.  Gods of Rock?  No.

I don't get what the big deal about them really is, all of their songs are simplistic and really dont have anything to them other than guitars and angst.  They sound good, but I don't see why people are so eager to sell their souls to this band.

[RedLion]

Led Zeppelin? Overrated? I have honestly never heard anyone come close to saying that... ever. But then, I think Springsteen is overrated. Also, Elvis Costello and Tom Waits.

Whoa. I can see Elvis Costello; his stuff's hit or miss, and Springsteen's entire 80's career was shit (but his 70's and 90's-00 is some amazing stuff.) But Tom Waits? That man is the closest thing I have to a god.

Anywho, to me, the most overrated band in history is AC/DC.

They're amusing and energetic...and that's about it. Nothing original. Nothing compelling. At least Led Zeppelin's members were actually decent musicians.

[tommydski]

This is where the whole thread concept shits the bed basically. It's all subjective.

So broadly, I would say that any band which is 'hyped' after one or two records is inevitably somewhat over-rated. I usually go out of my way to avoid such bands because I immensely dislike having bands pushed upon me by either record labels or extensions of the music industry. I try to reserve excessive hyperbole for bands which have created a body of work through consistently excellent records.

[Jackie Blue]

Given the sheer love for Nirvana before Kurt shot himself - both in the press and in the public - I think it's ludicrous to say that his suicide is the only reason they are still highly rated.

I would say it's more likely that Neutral Milk Hotel are so highly rated because of the mysterious nature of a man doing two albums and then shutting himself away.  Also see: My Bloody Valentine and Slint.

[kifsteve]

Muse?

[DarkAvenger]

Nirvana
Metallica
Megadeth

and this one may make me a target

The Sex Pistols, but god they were bad...

[hipster jesus]

I kind of like Never Mind the Bollocks, it's quite enjoyable when the mood strikes me, but yeah, I can see where overrated comes from. They didn't deserve to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by any means. They weren't the first punk band and they weren't the best by any means; it was all down to notoriety. Also, one studio album, a couple gimmicks/compilations, and a spattering of live albums wouldn't be considered a Hall of Fame career for any other band.

[himynameisjulien]

I 100% agree with AC/DC being overrated. Without a doubt.
Guns N Roses, especially Slash, is extremely overrated here in Mexico. It's become an epidemic. An epidemic that is profitable for both Squier/Fender and eBay/MercadoLibre. Angels and Airwaves (also Plus 44) seems to be blown out of proportion as well, just because they're the offspring of Blink-182. I can't understand the fascination with their music, it just isn't that good to me.
IMO, the most overrated band ever = The Doors. To me, they are just plain boring.
Zadorzky: "One"
The Sex Pistols seem to be outclassed by The Ramones.

[DynamiteKid]

Foo Fighters (I tried to like them. Some of it's good

IMO, Foo Fighters only got really good in the last year. I think they've been a great singles band with some good albums tracks until the most recent record, which is very classic-sounding and is the album they've always been threatening to make.

Nirvana.

Please don't shoot me!

I feel that's unlikely given the forum you're on.

I find that Nirvana are unique band in that they are simultaneously underrated and overrated. I shall elaborate later when I'm not abusing company time.

Led Zeppelin? Overrated? I have honestly never heard anyone come close to saying that... ever

Then you clearly don't hang around with me enough.

If by overrated you mean 'bands which a lot of people love but you don't quite get', top of my list would be the Beatles. I just don't get it.

It's hard to understand their impact with almost fifty years' distance. I shall elaborate further on this when I get home tonight.

[EnosEmurf]

The Beatles

As stated before this is not to say they are bad, I love them, but they are not the greatest thing ever, or even close to it.

[BlakeJustBlake]

I agree wholeheartedly with the Beatles being overrated. I mean they've got their good songs, but like you said, not the greatest thing ever. Also, the same sentiments with Pink Floyd.

Personally, I think Regina Spektor is overrated. I don't know if a lot of you know people who like her a lot, but a lot of people in my dorm are big fans, but me, not so much.

[michaelicious]

I would say it's more likely that Neutral Milk Hotel are so highly rated because of the mysterious nature of a man doing two albums and then shutting himself away.

Jeff Mangum and JD Salinger are the same guy!

[Catacombs]

Foo Fighters (I tried to like them. Some of it's good

IMO, Foo Fighters only got really good in the last year. I think they've been a great singles band with some good albums tracks until the most recent record, which is very classic-sounding and is the album they've always been threatening to make.

I quite like the Foo Fighters, and you pretty much hit it right on the head.  Up until their last album, they were a good band, with a bunch of good songs over their career but nothing that really hit.  With "Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace" (their last album) they really made something that was full and rounded, and a pleasure to listen to the whole way through.  Plus, the group has a good vibe, with Dave Grohls reputation for being one of the nicest guys in music and all.  Besides, they put on an amazing live show.  2.5 hours  of non stop playing, sometimes with an eight piece band.  And they sound good live, and that goes far in my book.

Also, Led Zeppelin = not overrated.  If you take everything else out of the equation, the four of them were still awesome musicians.

Now that we got that out of the way, lol, overrated bands:

U2, the Doors, Coldplay, Metallica, Nirvana, Grateful Dead, the Police, the Who, Freebird, Stairway to Heaven

I'm probably gonna get yelled at for that list.  I like some of the bands on there; they are good.  But they're not OMGZZ AMAZINGZ

[Christophe]

the Who

Live At Leeds absolves any wrongdoings or creative missteps that The Who have ever indulged in. Their cover of "Young Man Blues"? Absolutely out-Zeppelins Zeppelin. (Those may be construed as fightin' words, to which I say "whatev".)

I guess I'm not a Zeppelin man.

[ImRonBurgundy?]

The Replacements.  Minutemen.  Pixies.

[ashashash]

Okkervil River.  I actually really dig some of their songs, but it's weird to me that people are so crazy about them.

[tommydski]

The Replacements.  Minutemen.  Pixies.

You just came back to shit in my heart, didn't you Ryan?

[DynamiteKid]

I quite like the Foo Fighters, and you pretty much hit it right on the head.  Up until their last album, they were a good band, with a bunch of good songs over their career but nothing that really hit.  With "Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace" (their last album) they really made something that was full and rounded, and a pleasure to listen to the whole way through.  Plus, the group has a good vibe, with Dave Grohls reputation for being one of the nicest guys in music and all.  Besides, they put on an amazing live show.  2.5 hours  of non stop playing, sometimes with an eight piece band.  And they sound good live, and that goes far in my book.

They do sound great live. They are a great live band. But unfortunately, until the new record re-ignited my interest, seeing them live kind of killed the Foo Fighters for me, because of a realisation I had - that barely any of their songs have any emotional weight with me. I can think of one offhand, 'Best Of You'; maybe 'Walking After You' as well. With other people I've seen, Ryan Adams, Nick Cave, blink-182, even Green Day, they have a wealth of songs that hit home with me a lot. The Foos just don't. But yeah, the new album is great.

Also, Led Zeppelin = not overrated.  If you take everything else out of the equation, the four of them were still awesome musicians.

Yes, but they were very aware of this fact, which is why I'm not a fan. 'Dazed And Confused' shouldn't last 20 goddamn minutes, please!

U2, the Doors, Coldplay, Metallica, Nirvana

U2 - I'm not a big fan of U2. I appreciate their efforts to push their own boundaries, though I don't think they were very successful. But most of my favourite stuff isn't their universal love stuff like 'One,' it's lesser known stuff like their song with Johnny Cash (Bono being noticeably absent from that song, for the most part) and stuff from Rattle And Hum. Honestly, I hate Bono's lyrics. But U2 have made some gutsy moves, I'd say.
The Doors - Never listened to them enough to care either way.
Coldplay - They're my U2, in that I like them, though they have mostly the same problems - they try to push their own boundaries but don't succeed much. I still think their best album is Parachutes, because it's tiny, it's short and it's very English.
Metallica - I think they're more rated because they brought thrash to the mainstream rather than for any competence on their part. I think they've taken too much shit, for two reasons - 1. I think the 'you sold out' thing was bullshit. But I've had this discussion with someone whose name escapes me on here, so no need to go into again. 2. I think they got way too much shit for, um, well, trying to stop people doing something illegal.
Nirvana - I've again run out of time, I'll go further into it later.

[MrBlu]

Battles.
Bedhead.
Black Kids.


Hmm... B names.

[tommydski]

Bedhead.

[ImRonBurgundy?]

You just came back to shit in my heart, didn't you Ryan?

Hahaha, I missed you, Tommy.

[Thlayli]

As a huge Doors fan, I actually understand people who say now that they're underwhelmed by them. But in my opinion, the biggest reason why they (and Zeppelin) are rated so highly is that they pretty much reinvented rock in their time. Without those bands, there'd be no Radiohead; no Nirvana, or Foo Fighters, or punk or metal of any sort.

Here's one for any jazz/classical fans: I'm heavy into Miles Davis and Philip Glass. Within their respective genres, would anyone say they're overrated, taking into account works like Satyagraha by Glass and RatedX by Davis?

[pwhodges]

I don't know my jazz well enough to comment on Miles Davis - but I like him.

I prefer Adams to Glass, myself, and already did before I met him (Adams).  It was because both of them had performed and recorded for Adams that my son and his wife met (backstage at the Carnegie Hall after an Adams concert, I believe).

[imapiratearg]

Bedhead.

[img]Smokin' dude[img]

Agreed.

EDIT - With Tommy, I mean.

[Linds]

I know others have said it, but Led Zeppelin? Overrated? But then I think of music I think is overrated that other people like and people who think music I like is overrated and then I don't really care anymore. I just don't like saying older and highly praised bands are overrated, because I look back and see all of the bands that are around today that were influenced by them. Hell, we probably wouldn't have modern rock if Elvis hadn't gotten on stage and sang "race music" and shook his ass on national television. I don't really like his music, but I don't think he's overrated in the slightest.

[Jackie Blue]

guys i said slint and nobody argued with me

SLINT

i'm serious

the for carnation >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> slint

papa m >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> slint

zwan >>>>>>>>oh wait, never mind

[tommydski]

Slint probably are over-rated. Spiderland is still one of the all time great records though. Nothing will ever change my opinion of that.

Zwan though....cripes. What the hell was that all about? If your band features Matt Sweeney and David Pajo but still somehow you suck, you should definitely consider getting a new hobby.

[Jackie Blue]

Billy Corgan should probably quit writing music and become a wahhhhmmmmbulance driver.

*rimshot*

edit: I would love to have heard the conversation.

"Hi, may I speak to David Pajo?"
"Uh, that's me."
"Yeah, hi, this is Billy Corgan."
"Gerard, stop messing around."
"Haha, no, really, this is Billy Corgan.  Would you like to be in a band with me?"
"What."
"I really dug Spider Land and I think you'd be great for the job.  It's called Zwan."
"Oh... okay..."
"I mean, I'll be writing all the songs, but you know, you can bring your own guitar."

[De_El]

And they didn't even break up till 2003; that's two years of your life spent blinking in confusion and not really being sure how to react.