Topic: Pretentious bands both worth listening to, and that have a valid reason to be so (Read 26804 times)

Taber · « **Reply #50 on:** 08 Dec 2006, 13:57 »

Quote from: Spinless on 08 Dec 2006, 03:56

Since this is a topic about pretention, I thought I might as well post since here.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/the.brainiac/stuff/prog.htm

It is horribly offensive sometimes, especially to John Peel, but it still brings up some pretty interesting points.

Tarkus running over John Peel was hilarious

The Eyeball Kid · « **Reply #51 on:** 08 Dec 2006, 15:33 »

Tarkus is always hilarious

Valrus · « **Reply #52 on:** 09 Dec 2006, 19:16 »

Dear person who wrote that article:

Merry Christmas.

Hat · « **Reply #53 on:** 10 Dec 2006, 00:37 »

Why, I don't believe John Peel and Lester Bangs own "Dickhead" shirts at all!

FireStarter · « **Reply #54 on:** 10 Dec 2006, 06:45 »

Well, I personally think Yes is awsome. Not that my opinion amounts for much here, well besides the fact that my opinion is like the biennale.py virus.

Iron_Fist · « **Reply #55 on:** 16 Dec 2006, 20:25 »

Lordi they're hilariously over the top... but they're so good at it that it doesn't matter.

morca007 · « **Reply #56 on:** 17 Dec 2006, 06:07 »

Quote from: FireStarter on 08 Dec 2006, 04:03

Speaking of pretentious literature, one of my buddies almost failed Honor's Seminar for using the word "betwixt" over 100 times in a 5 page paper.

Best. Example. Ever?

Anyway, to go way back to the OP, why would you consider them "Pretentious?" I consider them to be comptetent musicians who write things I enjoy. No more, no less.

Patrick · « **Reply #57 on:** 21 Dec 2006, 15:31 »

Guys I really like a lot of post-Beatles John Lennon stuff. Although for his cover of "Peggy Sue," I can't entirely blame Mark David Chapman. That was atrocious and with the way Buddy Holly is spinning in his grave right now, you could harness that and produce vast amounts of electrical energy for the entire world to use.

David_Dovey · « **Reply #58 on:** 21 Dec 2006, 15:47 »

Quote from: Spinless on 08 Dec 2006, 03:56

Since this is a topic about pretention, I thought I might as well post since here.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/the.brainiac/stuff/prog.htm

It is horribly offensive sometimes, especially to John Peel, but it still brings up some pretty interesting points.

As a fan of progressive rock and a member of the progressive rock community, I'd like to publicly state that that guy does not represent the opinions of... well, anyone not on crack.

Fuck.

MadassAlex · « **Reply #59 on:** 21 Dec 2006, 16:31 »

Pertaining to the original topic, Iron Maiden.

Because they're fucking Iron Maiden, obviously.

AlexAttack · « **Reply #60 on:** 21 Dec 2006, 20:45 »

i usually associate metal bands with being pretentious i.e all the crazy black metal we know and love,immortal we're looking at you, but last week i went and saw deicide and they were the total opposite. it seemed like glen benton was actually having fun.
but what about a band like bal sagoth with their song titles being like three lines long? is that pretentious or just imaginative?

KharBevNor · « **Reply #61 on:** 21 Dec 2006, 22:32 »

The only thing I can really think of as particularly pretentious Involving immortal is that photoshoot with Abbath scowling and adopting Rodin poses, sans corpsepaint and spikes, and sitting around a whopping great memorial to Edvard Grieg. Apart from that, I think that, based mainly on the video interviews I've seen, Immortal were mostly about getting drunk, dressing up like retarded orcs and singing kick-ass songs about the ALL DEVOURING FROSTFIRE DEMONSTORMS OF THE ULTIMATE CRYPTIC WINTERNOOOOOORTH.

I mean, in one interview, Abbath is asked to define black metal, and he stares at the camera very intently, obviously extremely drunk, and starts ticking off points on his fingers:

"Spiiiikes, leather...corpse paint...pine forests....*vaguely clasps at his arms and waves his hands up* armour...and spiiikes...cold...uhr..."
Then Horgh leans in to shot and says in a helpful tone of voice
"Norvay"
"JA! Norvay...and cold...winter...*more hand gestures* pine forests! *makes motions on his face* war paint! Evil! Yeah."

Man, I fucking love Immortal. So good.

*goes off and listens to 'Against the Tide (in the Arctic World)'*

NiMRoD420 · « **Reply #62 on:** 27 Dec 2006, 07:50 »

Quote from: ScrambledGregs on 03 Dec 2006, 10:59

I LIKE TOOL D00D THEY R AMAZING I DONT THINK THEIR PRETENSIUS BUT OTHER PEOPLE DO BUT IF YOURE BAND IS THAT AMAZING HOW CAN U B PRETENSIUS

JUST LISTEN TO THEYRE LYRICS AND HTHEIR AMAZING MUSICIANSHIP ES;ECIALLY THE DRUMMER I MEAN DAMN WHEN I FIRST HERD HIM I WAS LIKE HOLY CHRIST FUCK ME SEVEN WAYS TO SUNDAY

And your favorite band is...?

NiMRoD420 · « **Reply #63 on:** 29 Dec 2006, 07:22 »

I love The Mars Volta my damn self.

Kai · « **Reply #64 on:** 29 Dec 2006, 07:42 »

GET A ROOM YOU TWO

JEEZ

NiMRoD420 · « **Reply #65 on:** 29 Dec 2006, 07:44 »

Hey! Don't you judge us! Our love is on display and you can just choose to look away!

*makes squishy sound*

Johnny C · « **Reply #66 on:** 29 Dec 2006, 08:57 »

Quote from: Scarlette on 29 Dec 2006, 08:53

I went to a gig this year where they came on, played 2 straight hours of music and just left without saying a word, not even a "thank you" or a bow or anything I felt so snubbed, it was great!

That's downright offensive. They have a saxophone player/bongo player and do wanky ridiculous garbage without acknowledging the crowd? They might as well release a video of them rehearsing for two hours onto Pay Per View and charge fifty dollars a viewing.

NiMRoD420 · « **Reply #67 on:** 29 Dec 2006, 09:12 »

Pretty funny if you consider ATDI.

Caspian · « **Reply #68 on:** 29 Dec 2006, 14:59 »

I looks like no one has mentioned GYBE yet. They are probably the most pretentious band I've ever heard, but they are pretty good. I don't find pretention all that annoying, really. I would also add the usual crew, Isis, Sigur Ros, Pelican, most Post-Rock, Radiohead, etc.

Scytale · « **Reply #69 on:** 31 Dec 2006, 16:41 »

Therion are fast becomming one of my favorite bands and I'm getting sick of people writing them off as being pretentious and boring just because there music is orchestral.

I got their dvd boxed set for christmas and as I've spent the last week imersing myself in six discs of awesomeness (is that a word???). I've come to a realisation, if being in a magical order, having a love of all things Mystical, Wagner and Celtic Frost makes you pretentious then I don't give a fuck because they are damn awesome. I'm eagerly awaiting the relase of Gothic Kabbalah, in about 3 weeks.

Anyway it's new years and I'm of to get frightfully drunk...

Caspian · « **Reply #70 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 08:01 »

Oh, I didn't mention Manowar. I love Manowar! They have a valid reason to be pretensious- They are awesome.

Hat · « **Reply #71 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 08:03 »

Pretention is no excuse for fucking godawful album covers though.

David_Dovey · « **Reply #72 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 09:05 »

Scytale · « **Reply #73 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 09:11 »

I think he's talking about the "Into Glory Ride" cover.

Hat · « **Reply #74 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 09:18 »

I actually find that cover less silly than all the cartoon he-man sort of covers.

HOLY SHIT THIS GUY CAN HOLD A HAMMER IN ONE HAND AND A SWORD IN THE OTHER

Never mind a hammer is a two handed weapon.

POORLY RESEARCHED, MANOWAR.

I DEDUCT 5 FROM YOUR HITPOINTS TALLY

Johnny C · « **Reply #75 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 14:14 »

THE GUY IS SO FUCKING KRIEG HE ONLY NEEDS ONE HAND TO HOLD THE HAMMER WITH

HE BRINGS WAR AND DEATH AMBIDEXTROUSLY

Patrick · « **Reply #76 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 16:16 »

I can type ambidextrously. Does that make me krieg?

KAPSLOKK OMG GUYZ

KharBevNor · « **Reply #77 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 17:08 »

Quote from: Scytale on 31 Dec 2006, 16:41

Therion are fast becomming one of my favorite bands and I'm getting sick of people writing them off as being pretentious and boring just because there music is orchestral.

Therion are brilliant, but they are somewhat pretentious. I mean, read the liner notes to 'Three Ships of Berik'.

Scytale · « **Reply #78 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 17:20 »

Which part are you refering to, the history stuff or the "reinissance of the gothic spirit" part...

I'm pretty sure that was written by Thomas Karlsson.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #79 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 18:54 »

Yeah, the Renaissance of the gothic spirit bit. Well, all of it to be honest.

Scytale · « **Reply #80 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 19:11 »

yeah i'll admit that made me chuckle a bit when I first read it. Still don't think its a valid reason for people to avoid listening to them though...

KharBevNor · « **Reply #81 on:** 01 Jan 2007, 19:43 »

Indeed not.

strokefan7 · « **Reply #82 on:** 06 Jan 2007, 00:44 »

Quote from: Genocide Jones on 03 Dec 2006, 08:56

Who are you?

I really like The Exploding Hearts, speaking of kind of pretentious. Only pretentious because they are all dead.

I love the Exploding Hearts. and you're terrible...y hilarious. "Im a pretender" is such a classic track.

Jackie Blue · « **Reply #83 on:** 06 Jan 2007, 01:25 »

I think the only band in the world I can think of who rightfully deserves being called "pretentious" is Coheed and Cambria. They are literally like a Rush cover band on a junior high school science fiction story. And this is coming from someone who enjoys Rush in moderation.

I'm sick of GY!BE being called pretentious. It's a complete misuse of the term. Pretentious means "aspiring to a deeper meaning than you can have". GY!BE have never aspired to a much deeper meaning than "The world is fucked up, and we're smoking a lot of cigarettes because of it." And you only get that from their LINER NOTES, the actual music itself, a handful of spoken-word samples aside, makes no statement whatsoever.

Also: Andrew W.K. rocks. And you cannot question his street cred because he is pals with Will Oldham.

Patrick · « **Reply #84 on:** 06 Jan 2007, 21:32 »

Just about every post-1997 country musician *ever* is pretentious as hell and not even close to being worth listening to, because they're all just doing horrible jobs of stealing from Joe Diffie and Alan Jackson. Joe Diffie is semi-pretentious and definitely worth listening to, although I doubt many of you would like his music. And as for Alan Jackson, he knows he's a simple country boy and that he couldn't be pretentious if he tried.

Jackie Blue · « **Reply #85 on:** 07 Jan 2007, 02:31 »

Quote from: KimJongSick on 06 Jan 2007, 21:32

Just about every post-1997 country musician *ever* is pretentious as hel

Surely not Hank Williams III. I don't see how he's pretentious at all.

CutMan · « **Reply #86 on:** 07 Jan 2007, 05:07 »

Quote from: zerodrone on 06 Jan 2007, 01:25

I think the only band in the world I can think of who rightfully deserves being called "pretentious" is Coheed and Cambria. They are literally like a Rush cover band on a junior high school science fiction story. And this is coming from someone who enjoys Rush in moderation.

I'm sick of GY!BE being called pretentious. It's a complete misuse of the term. Pretentious means "aspiring to a deeper meaning than you can have". GY!BE have never aspired to a much deeper meaning than "The world is fucked up, and we're smoking a lot of cigarettes because of it." And you only get that from their LINER NOTES, the actual music itself, a handful of spoken-word samples aside, makes no statement whatsoever.

By your definition, Coheed and Cambria aren't pretentious. You just contradicted your self. ...I think.

Jackie Blue · « **Reply #87 on:** 07 Jan 2007, 05:47 »

I didn't contradict myself - Coheed and Cambria aspire to a deeper meaning than is plausible by attaching, with such utter seriousness, that bloated ridicuous story to their entire body of work.

Patrick · « **Reply #88 on:** 08 Jan 2007, 15:44 »

Quote from: zerodrone on 07 Jan 2007, 02:31

Surely not Hank Williams III. I don't see how he's pretentious at all.

He's pre-'97. I'm talking about the massive chunk of country 'musicians' that came into the country scene beginning with Shania Twain. Fuck that chick, she single-handedly destroyed country music and made it another manufactured genre.

Jackie Blue · « **Reply #89 on:** 09 Jan 2007, 01:14 »

Er, no, the first Hank Williams III album came out in '99.

I understand your point but I think you're generalising a bit much - you're talking about "mainstream" Nashville country, which is hardly all there is to country.

CutMan · « **Reply #90 on:** 09 Jan 2007, 07:20 »

Quote from: zerodrone on 07 Jan 2007, 05:47

I didn't contradict myself - Coheed and Cambria aspire to a deeper meaning than is plausible by attaching, with such utter seriousness, that bloated ridicuous story to their entire body of work.

That's impossible. That means every single writer of fantasy is pretentious. Period.

Jackie Blue · « **Reply #91 on:** 09 Jan 2007, 09:43 »

Quote from: CutMan on 09 Jan 2007, 07:20

That's impossible. That means every single writer of fantasy is pretentious. Period.

No, it doesn't, because not every fantasy or sci-fi author writes godawful ridiculous "complex" bloated nonsensical epics. I'm not a big fan of fantasy but Terry Pratchett or Robin Hobb could scarcely be realistically compared to the Coheed and Cambria story.

CutMan · « **Reply #92 on:** 09 Jan 2007, 10:11 »

Right, you're confusing what you don't like with what's "bad", and what you like with "good", I'm not going to have this debate. *turns up the volume on "Welcome Home"*

On that note, if writing songs based on complext fantasy/sci-fi stories is pretentious, I freakin' love pretentiousness. XD
Let's see, that would make...

Blind Guardian
Iced Earth
Amorphis[Well, technicly folklore...]
Dream Theater[Scenes from a Memory for this subject, and I suppose they're accused of being pretentious for others.]
Demons & Wizards
Kamelot
Synmhony X
Evergrey
In Flames[Whoracle was a concept CD, that's what I'm refering to.]
Queensryche[Mindcrime, anyone?]
Coheed & Cambria

No, seriously, pretentious obviously translates from "bad" in most people's languages to "good" in mine. This gives me a whole new perspective.

Hat · « **Reply #93 on:** 09 Jan 2007, 11:34 »

Its funny, even though I like almost all those bands in your list, and I am a fan of pretentious music by your definition, and the concept album, I really can't stand Scenes from a Memory.

I just do not think it is a good album. (Six Degrees for excellence!)

Oh god, Dovey is going to fucking KILL me.

CutMan · « **Reply #94 on:** 09 Jan 2007, 12:47 »

Quote from: Hat on 09 Jan 2007, 11:34

(Six Degrees for excellence!)

I'm so calling it that, now.

Scytale · « **Reply #95 on:** 09 Jan 2007, 15:48 »

Six Degrees was the album that got me into Dream Theater but I'd say Falling into Infinity is their best album

Jackie Blue · « **Reply #96 on:** 09 Jan 2007, 22:06 »

Quote from: CutMan on 09 Jan 2007, 10:11

Right, you're confusing what you don't like with what's "bad", and what you like with "good"

No, I'm not saying I dislike Coheed and Cambria for being pretentious. I dislike them because they sound bad. I like bands that other people claim are pretentious.

I believe you are the one confusing what you don't like with what is "bad" and what you do like with what is "good" (which is a perfectly valid stance to take, given the purely subjective nature of art).

I admit it is possible that someone, somewhere, actually finds the C&C story to be meaningful. I am also aware that some people think Robert Jordan is a great writer.

NiMRoD420 · « **Reply #97 on:** 10 Jan 2007, 01:04 »

Dream Theater sucks...

Six Degrees is definitely their best. The Great Debate... ooh I like.

David_Dovey · « **Reply #98 on:** 11 Jan 2007, 11:42 »

Quote from: Hat on 09 Jan 2007, 11:34

Its funny, even though I like almost all those bands in your list, and I am a fan of pretentious music by your definition, and the concept album, I really can't stand Scenes from a Memory.

I just do not think it is a good album. (Six Degrees for excellence!)

Oh god, Dovey is going to fucking KILL me.

Damn right I am. You wait til you get home, young man.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Pretentious bands both worth listening to, and that have a valid reason to be so (Read 26804 times)

Taber

The Eyeball Kid

FireStarter

AlexAttack

NiMRoD420

NiMRoD420

NiMRoD420

NiMRoD420

Scytale

Scytale

Scytale

Scytale

strokefan7

Scytale

NiMRoD420