over-rated and under-rated bands: one man's insober list

[bbb]

I'm not calling anybody until my 4 hours are up. I'm only at 3 and a half right now.

[Jim in Anchorage]

I'm not calling anybody until my 4 hours are up. I'm only at 3 and a half right now.

Sounds like a break up my man. So I will spin a platter that matters-

[BillsFanNC]

Plant's best solo work was 1993's Fate of Nations IMO. It came out at the height of grunge so it was largely overlooked. The song I Believe, a tribute to his dead son, is my favorite of his solo career.

[Mr Info]

My underrated list which is all over the place:

Parov Stelar http://www.parovstelar.com/index.php?id=16

Michael Franti http://michaelfranti.com/front

Canned Heat http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=70b_1221885068

Hot Buttered Rum http://www.hotbutteredrum.net/

Edited June 9, 2013 by Mr Info

[The Poojer]

I am a Michael Franti fan, lately his stuff seems pretty sappy...granted I've only heard stuff they put on the radio, hopefully the full CDs are better

 

My underrated list which is all over the place:

Parov Stelar http://www.parovstelar.com/index.php?id=16

Michael Franti http://michaelfranti.com/front

Canned Heat http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=70b_1221885068

Hot Buttered Rum http://www.hotbutteredrum.net/

[Chef Jim]

I am a Michael Franti fan, lately his stuff seems pretty sappy...granted I've only heard stuff they put on the radio, hopefully the full CDs are better

 

He's too political for me.

[Mr Info]

I am a Michael Franti fan, lately his stuff seems pretty sappy...granted I've only heard stuff they put on the radio, hopefully the full CDs are better

I agree that the tunes that make the general play list would not lead me to list him. I have been at a few live shows and his band is always hot and the crowd energy was phenomenal.

He's too political for me.

He can be. The same can be said of Dylan, CSNY, Roger Waters, Guthrie, Fogarty, and many more. If the music is good, it is easy for me to ignore the lyrics.

 

Btw - Parov Stelar that I listed above is techno/electronic swing. Interesting stuff and he has a great band. I wish he would play in the US.

Edited June 10, 2013 by Mr Info

[Gugny]

I agree that the tunes that make the general play list would not lead me to list him. I have been at a few live shows and his band is always hot and the crowd energy was phenomenal.

 

He can be. The same can be said of Dylan, CSNY, Roger Waters, Guthrie, Fogarty, and many more. If the music is good, it is easy for me to ignore the lyrics.

This entire list is made of artists whose lyrics were always the major part of their music.

[Chef Jim]

I agree that the tunes that make the general play list would not lead me to list him. I have been at a few live shows and his band is always hot and the crowd energy was phenomenal.

 

He can be. The same can be said of Dylan, CSNY, Roger Waters, Guthrie, Fogarty, and many more. If the music is good, it is easy for me to ignore the lyrics.

 

Btw - Parov Stelar that I listed above is techno/electronic swing. Interesting stuff and he has a great band. I wish he would play in the US.

 

For some it's not just the lyrics. I saw Roger Waters at the Hollywood Bowl a few years ago. They let loose a helium pig with the word Bush with a circle and slash over it.

[Mr Info]

This entire list is made of artists whose lyrics were always the major part of their music.

Not always...I can list plenty of Floyd/Waters, Fogarty, Neil Young, Dylan, etc. songs whose lyrics make no sense whatsoever. Maybe they were just noodling around or rhyming but there was no logic...not even for those that had their minds expanded.

For some it's not just the lyrics. I saw Roger Waters at the Hollywood Bowl a few years ago. They let loose a helium pig with the word Bush with a circle and slash over it.

Yep, saw it...twice. He puts on an technologically masterful show with an amazing band. It would not bother me whether Bush or Obama was circled. He has his political persuasions and I have mine. That is such a minor part of the show/music to me that I do not deter me from enjoying the performance. I also enjoy reading PJ O'Rourke. His writings and books were very left-wing when he was younger and wrote for National Lampoon. He became right-wing a number of years ago and his books and articles certainly reflect that. However, I enjoy his writing regardless of which side of the political spectrum he is on. I agree with him on some things and disagree with him on others. It would seem to be beneficial to obtain the full gamut of perspective on all sides to help render better decisions.

Edited June 10, 2013 by Mr Info

[bbb]

Wasn't the pig originally supposed to be a capitalist pig?.................He probably put Bush on the pig to distract from the fact that the guy flying the capitalist pig was charging those in the front rows up to $3000 a ticket.

[Delete This Account]

sorry for the delay, as i got bogged down with work, but let's move on:

 

Over-rated No. 4: Garth Brooks

i know, i know. this is supposed to be all about rock and roll, but given Brooks' popularity and the fact that he played a role in nudging country into pop's ballpark, he certainly deserves merit -- or, in this case, blame. just because he wore a cowboy hat and boots, and just because he strummed a guitar, and made his base in Nashville certainly don't make him country. sure there's talent there, if you dig deep enough through his syrupy collection.

 

for every good ol' boy song, starting with his trademark "Friends in Low Places," there's also too much of a sour serving of sloppy mash. what is this baloney of "Unanswered Prayers" and "Thunder Rolls." and how he got off putting out one last album and then calling it quits, only to have his "popularity" grow is one of music's mysteries. what's worse, and i mean this absolutely, Brooks came out at a time when country was approaching a bit of a crossroad, with rebel yellers such as Dwight Yoakam and Steve Earle pushing the edges of the sound with a guttural twang.

 

unfortunately, the masses went the other way, following Brooks' lead down a path of posers and country carpetbaggers: from Shania's psuedo-country to Tim McGraw's schizophrenic swings from rocker to sap, and eventually Lady Antebellum (a trio pretending to be from the south) to Hootie himself, Darius Rucker (the next country song he pens, will most certainly be his first).

 

Trisha Yearwood's certainly a better song-writer and Brooks, for all his party anthems, never seemed like the guy you'd find in a honky tonk, unless of course, he owned it and turned it into a suburban strip-mall franchise.

 

which brings us to

 

Under-rated No. 4: Steve Earle.

what's a poor boy gotta do to get some respect around here. sure, "Copperhead Road" was a sure-fire hit, but that was a long time ago and, in retrospect, might have been among his weakest releases, given what followed. there was the gritty rocker, "El Corazon," which somehow made it all the way to 126 on the Country List, followed by the exceptionally complete "Transcendental Blues," which should have secured Steve's place as one of America's top song-writing talents.

 

and let's not forget Steve's rambles into folk music's past, from "Townes" to the album he put out with the Del McCoury band.

perhaps, the difficulty of pegging Earle's place in music is because of how difficult it is to put your arms around his vast and lenghty playlist -- from twang, to pop to rock and folk. but that's the beauty of Earle's talent, over the years he's been comfortable as both a hayseed or rocker.

 

mean, ornery and prolific.

 

and he's no Garth, that's for sure. you want pithy ballads, give "Ft. Worth Blues" a listen. you want a blistering rocker, try "Here I Am." that they both happen to be on the same album is a tribute to Earle. that he wrote one of the best pop songs in "Galway Girl" certainly says something about his instincts, talent and unshakeable ear.

 

sure there have been accolades, from bit parts in HBO series to a hilarious, poppy tribute song penned by Sugarland. yet, there's an industry-wide respect that still seems to be missing, perhaps because of his loner ways and a seemingly endless want to not follow the crowd. it was no coincidence that Steve, at one point, moved in on a farm near Johnny Cash's home. the two became friends, and Cash would talk about how Earle would occasionally shake the countryside by lighting off a cannon.

 

booming enough to gain attention, sure, but not loud enough to crack the antiseptic offices of Nashville or corporate radio bosses.

 

jw

Edited June 12, 2013 by john wawrow

[26CornerBlitz]

sorry for the delay, as i got bogged down with work, but let's move on:

 

Over-rated No. 4: Garth Brooks

i know, i know. this is supposed to be all about rock and roll, but given Brooks' popularity and the fact that he played a role in nudging country into pop's ballpark, he certainly deserves merit -- or, in this case, blame. just because he wore a cowboy hat and boots, and just because he strummed a guitar, and made his base in Nashville certainly don't make him country. sure there's talent there, if you dig deep enough through his syrupy collection.

 

for every good ol' boy song, starting with his trademark "Friends in Low Places," there's also too much of a sour serving of sloppy mash. what is this baloney of "Unanswered Prayers" and "Thunder Rolls." and how he got off putting out one last album and then calling it quits, only to have his "popularity" grow is one of music's mysteries. what's worse, and i mean this absolutely, Brooks came out at a time when country was approaching a bit of a crossroad, with rebel yellers such as Dwight Yoakam and Steve Earle pushing the edges of the sound with a guttural twang.

 

unfortunately, the masses went the other way, following Brooks' lead down a path of posers and country carpetbaggers: from Shania's psuedo-country to Tim McGraw's schizophrenic swings from rocker to sap, and eventually Lady Antebellum (a trio pretending to be from the south) to Hootie himself, Darius Rucker (the next country song he pens, will most certainly be his first).

 

Trisha Yearwood's certainly a better song-writer and Brooks, for all his party anthems, never seemed like the guy you'd find in a honky tonk, unless of course, he owned it and turned it into a suburban strip-mall franchise.

 

which brings us to

 

Under-rated No. 4: Steve Earle.

what's a poor boy gotta do to get some respect around here. sure, "Copperhead Road" was a sure-fire hit, but that was a long time ago and, in retrospect, might have been among his weakest releases, given what followed. there was the gritty rocker, "El Corazon," which somehow made it all the way to 126 on the Country List, followed by the exceptionally complete "Transcendental Blues," which should have secured Steve's place as one of America's top song-writing talents.

 

and let's not forget Steve's rambles into folk music's past, from "Townes" to the album he put out with the Del McCoury band.

perhaps, the difficulty of pegging Earle's place in music is because of how difficult it is to put your arms around his vast and lenghty playlist -- from twang, to pop to rock and folk. but that's the beauty of Earle's talent, over the years he's been comfortable as both a hayseed or rocker.

 

mean, ornery and prolific.

 

and he's no Garth, that's for sure. you want pithy ballads, give "Ft. Worth Blues" a listen. you want a blistering rocker, try "Here I Am." that they both happen to be on the same album is a tribute to Earle. that he wrote one of the best pop songs in "Galway Girl" certainly says something about his instincts, talent and unshakeable ear.

 

sure there have been accolades, from bit parts in HBO series to a hilarious, poppy tribute song penned by Sugarland. yet, there's an industry-wide respect that still seems to be missing, perhaps because of his loner ways and a seemingly endless want to not follow the crowd. it was no coincidence that Steve, at one point, moved in on a farm near Johnny Cash's home. the two became friends, and Cash would talk about how Earle would occasionally shake the countryside by lighting off a cannon.

 

booming enough to gain attention, sure, but not loud enough to crack the antiseptic offices of Nashville or corporate radio bosses.

 

jw

 

Hey now...an OTW mention on twitter:

@john_wawrow

Time to add a little twang to the list: Over-rated No. 4: #GarthBrooks. Under-rated No. 4: #SteveEarle. http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/158577-over-rated-and-under-rated-bands-one-mans-insober-list/page__st__380#entry2826669 …

Edited June 12, 2013 by 26CornerBlitz

[Delete This Account]

cranked on music, so let's move on:

 

Over-rated No. 3: Radiohead.

i'm tired of the tributes and syrupy-applaud plaudits being doled out to these wingey, whiney, nearly unlistenable sour-pusses. gawd, the mere thought of putting on a Radiohead album leads me to despair and thoughts of hurting myself -- and at the very least acquiring long, heavy-duty nails in order to poke out every last remnant of my eardrums.

and it's no better when the slow torture begins in actually having to endure the sad malaise of "Paranoid Android," because -- heavy guitar solo aside -- i know it's going to segue into more and more melancholy. and as if on cue, up pops "Karma Police."

 

what are the benefits of listening to this slow march into melodrama. cloying in its grief and over-production. you almost want to spank Thom Yorke and suggest that perhaps there's a little more to life than this falsetto misery. gees, get over yourself.

 

they are as alternative as Royal Albert's Hall, all sardonic and no sniff of wit. it's Pink Floyd on downers. it's unbearable. each album they released should've bore the same name: "More Adventures into Self-Loathing." and each track could very well be titled "6 Minutes of Gloom."

 

the lyrics on "Fake Plastic Trees" pretty much sums it all up for me: "It wears me out."

Radiohead makes me angry for its psuedo-serious zeal. no one this side of Kurt Cobain can be this depressed.

 

art, perhaps, but rock? by golly, no.

 

 

Under-rated No. 3: The Replacements.

it may be mere coincidence, or perhaps inspired synchronicity. this entry on my list has been locked in from the beginning, and it just so happens that the timing of this post coincides with some of the biggest news to "hit the fans" in 22 years: the announcement that Westerberg and Stinson are back together again and touring.

 

few bands out of America have influenced so much and received so little for it than the 'Mats. mining such bands as the Faces and leaning heavily on the Dolls, the Replacements burst on the scene with a crash and clamor noise at a time when the nation was glued to MTV, and the Brits had once again invaded. over their 12-year stretch, the Replacements grew in talent, proportion and influence by putting out some of the best rock and roll of their day. the holy trinity of albums -- "Let it Be" (which was supposed to be called !@#$ 'Em All), "Tim" and "Pleased to Meet Me" -- stills stands today as a blistering tribute to their exceptional and sloppy talent.

 

they've influenced everyone from Nirvana to Green Day, the Drive-By Truckers to even receiving a bon-mot from Robert Plant. there is a quote attributed to Plant regarding his reaction to first hearing Nirvana: "Nirvana?" he said, "****, the Replacements were doing this 10 years ago."

 

Westerberg has emerged as an American Ray Davies, or perhaps a Graham Parsons for what he's done as a solo artist. the best album you've likely never heard to come out in the 2000s was Westerberg's 49:00. it's a cacophony of a one-track opus that's both perfect and imperfect in its vastness and desperation. unfortunately, it was only made available on Amazon online and only, it turned out, for a couple of weeks.

 

royalty issues forced Westerberg to pull it from sale, which is par for the course for a band that stumbled at nearly every chance of success.

 

they'd be higher on this list, but the 'Mats have since earned their share of respect, be it Westerberg's occasional writings in the NYTimes, or the buzz they've created this week by reuniting for three shows in Toronto, Chicago and Denver. in fact, the 'Mats-headlined show in Toronto has nearly sold out in some 48 hours. that's a testament to their lasting power. there was and still is merit to their dysfunction in having done it all wrong and still made a big dent.

 

jw

Edited June 14, 2013 by john wawrow

[Cugalabanza]

cranked on music, so let's move on:...

 

Nice entry JW. I wholeheartedly agree with both of your #3's.

[4merper4mer]

Any updates on this?

 

And can we maybe get a running 10-1 tally so I don't have to scroll through 19 pages of dribble to remember?

 

And aren't The Replacements the band that dressed up as a giant eyeball? If so, it is impossible to be underrated after doing something as goofy as that.

 

And I don't know who The Righteous Brothers are but they ought to apologize to Hall and Oates for butchering their song like that.

Edited June 17, 2013 by 4merper4mer

[Gugny]

I've never looked forward to someone else's #2 like this. Awkward.

[Delete This Account]

ask and i shall deliver:

 

Over-rated No. 2: Dave Matthews Band.

the less said, the better. this Peter Gabriel wannabe pop-pusher can be blamed for inspiring much of what's been relentlessly cloying in pop these days, from the icky john mayer to mumford and sons. it's harmless music pretending to be important. he's had his moments, "Crash" is a very good song, but how matthews ever became to be so overly popular is way beyond me except for his ability to repackage "Crash" every once in a while to sell records: "Mercy" comes to mind in that regard. change the lyrics, keep the melody. you hear one song, you've essentially pretty much heard them all. and yet, there seems to be bottomless demand for these endless-loop odes to pretention.

 

i guess every generation needs its Sussudio guiilty pleasures

 

guys who attend dmb concerts tell me they do it because there's plenty of girls there. girls attend the concerts because there's guys there. thus, the music being played onstage -- i'm guessing, since i have a self-imposed mile-long restraining order against this band -- becomes mere background noise. it works to Matthews' benefit, his ability to manufacture mood.

 

sure it works, but don't call it substantial.

 

Cash into him.

 

Under-rated No. 1B: Nick Lowe

been having a near-endless internal debate over whether Nick Lowe deserves to be ranked as the most under-rated artist of all time, thus my decision to give him the "1B" place rather than 2. and even as i write this i want to switch back and go with the act i chose to be No. 1 overall.

 

whether as a solo artist, his collaborations with Dave Edmunds, or his assists with Squeeze, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, John Hiatt and even the Pretenders (Stop Your Sobbing), Lowe was prolific in influencing modern music as we know it. and yet, Lowe somehow got lost on this side of the pond, cast aside as being too what? good?

 

at a time Toto and Forieigner and JGiells were starting to sell out, Lowe was busy organizing the next British Invasion as an artist, song-writer and producer.

 

Rockpile's "Seconds of Pleasure" was a near-perfect album in ushering the rockabilly movement, a fine collection of hip-shaking rock songs rooted in Hank Williams' riffs. i guess this was too far advanced for the tin-eared suits and radio programmers and, perhaps, many listeners, to appreciate it at the time. and yet, there is no excuse now as to why Nick Lowe should continue to be overlooked in having been the Buddy Holly of his time.

 

Lowe's sound stands up today, and prevails as a testament to what rock and roll still and always has stood for. the only one close to matching this sound and poppy drive coming out of America at this time were Marshall Crenshaw and, perhaps, the Go-Gos.

 

and yet, no one to this day has been capable of matching Lowe for his seemingly near perfect pitch and ear for crafting a two-and-a-half minute pop song.

 

Nick Lowe has done more for music than sir paul mccartney ever came close to in tarnishing his post-Beatles reputation. and sir elton john, as it turns out, couldn't hold a candle in the wind to Lowe's lengthy anthology. the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's ongoing exclusion of Lowe is a reason why i continue to question its relevance as an arbiter of what matters.

 

and it's why i had difficulty stomaching a few of the latest inductees, Rush and Heart for instance, specifically, and Blondie and the Pretenders a few years back. not to say that they don't belong -- though a good case could be made against Heart and the Pretenders given how they both devolved into rock parody. but an institution that pretends to represent the best of what rock and roll has had to offer, and fails to include Nick Lowe, leaves itself open to being second-guessed for easy fixes and an eye for what's "popular" as compared to what's important.

 

as the New York Times argued a few years back: "The 40-year career of the English song-writer Nick Lowe constitutes a paradox: the songs he has written are better known than he is."

 

and as i write that, i have this want and desire to cut and paste this and save it for the next entry. i'll leave it be in opening myself up to criticism for being the latest in a long line of people to not give Nick Lowe his proper and far-too-belated due.

 

jw

Edited June 17, 2013 by john wawrow

[KD in CA]

Good entry. I remember Cruel to Be Kind was a good tune and big hit; seems like most of his work is the US is more recognizable from other artists like Elvis C.

 

guys who attend dmb concerts tell me they do it because there's plenty of girls there. girls attend the concerts because there's guys there.

That's the biggest pile of bs I've ever heard. It's a concert -- aren't you basically in your seat the whole time? How many of these guys are meeting girls and saying "hey, let's get outta here"?? If you didn't care about the music and just wanted to meet girls, why wouldn't you save $60 and go to a bar?

 

A more acceptable answer would be, "I own and sometimes play a Dave Matthews CD becasue chicks who are easy to score with like it"

[The Poojer]

DMB, like other bands are best seen from the lawn, so no one stays in their seats. The lawn is more of a social gathering than an actual show. Tonight I'm going to a show with lawn seats, Postal Service & Ra Ra Riot...I'm more concerned about the food and beverages for the cooler..

 

 

Good entry. I remember Cruel to Be Kind was a good tune and big hit; seems like most of his work is the US is more recognizable from other artists like Elvis C.

 

 

That's the biggest pile of bs I've ever heard. It's a concert -- aren't you basically in your seat the whole time? How many of these guys are meeting girls and saying "hey, let's get outta here"?? If you didn't care about the music and just wanted to meet girls, why wouldn't you save $60 and go to a bar?

 

A more acceptable answer would be, "I own and sometimes play a Dave Matthews CD becasue chicks who are easy to score with like it"