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.