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


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hipster movement. is the one you're referring to when he went to Folsom County Prison to perform. or might it just be the "Boy Named Sue?" "Don't Take Your Guns to Town," "I Walk The Line," "Ring of Fire," or might it be when he teamed up with the Carter Family. or, might it be the rebel finger in the air pose he struck on a billboard in Nashville to share his disdain for the corporate sound?

yes, him redoing "Hurt" saved his soul and reputation, given that his reputation as a "rocker/rebel" had already been established long before Rick Rubin got to him. Leave Johnny Cash off? Charlie Rich did to country music what essentially Michael MacDonald did to rock and the Doobie Brothers.

 

jw

 

My point was Cashs' bad stuff was every bit as bad (and some way worse) than anything Elvis ever did. And, beside, it is my Mt Rushmore! It seems the criteria here is, "I like them, so they aren't underrated..." It is pretty arbitrary.

 

You really owe it to yourself to listen to some Charlie Rich...it seems like you are missing out on something there. Pick up his Smash records collection...he was the white Ray Charles. Mixed r-n-b and country (as they should be) as seamlessly as it has ever been done.

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How are we defining "underrated" and "overrated?" By popularity? By how they are regarded by people who are really into music? Take a band like Dream Theater. They're revered - much like Rush - as a band of almost infinite talent by those who've listened to them extensively. Of course, they're relatively unknown by the masses. I could see a case for making them "underrated" because of their lack of popularity given their musical talents and influence on other musicians ...or I could see someone who just doesn't care for them label them as "overrated" or "indulgent" because many consider them one of the best bands around and one of the most influential ones to other musicians.

 

 

Underrated

Dream Theater - I fall in the former category. Some of the best music (obviously Imo) in the past 20 years has been put out by DT. To see them live is to fully understand how great they are. There is no drop off from their studio albums.

Faith No More - Known mostly for "Epic" which is really one of their weaker efforts. Not an all time great band but one that had pretty big influence on other musicians yet gets little credit.

At the Drive in/Mars Volta - Two different bands but with the same creative force. Fantastic stuff.

Pixies - They get lots of credit as a major influence to other bands but I don't feel they get enough from the public. Nirvana, Radiohead, White Stripes, hell, even David Bowie all cite them as a major influence on their music as do loads of other musicians. Granted, the Pixies were influenced by the Stooges so maybe they should be on this list instead of the Pixies but I think Iggy Pop gets enough credit though.

Clutch - Not the most talented band but damn if they don't have a knack for creating catchy riffs that are enjoyable as hell to listen to.

 

 

Overrated

GNR

Nine Inch Nails

The Clash - yeah, I'm going to get hammered for this one but I could just never get into them. They were always kind of "meh" for me. I don't hate 'em but from my perspective their stuff isn't deserving of the love-fest they get.

 

 

 

And really, the OP is listing Jethro Tull as "overrated" simply because they used a flute? What an extremely limited palet you must have. There is nothing "overrated" about Jethro Tull.

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ok, let's get to the next on the list:

 

most over-rated No. 9: coldplay

could never understand what these precious melodies, sugar-cooked by dainty strings and chris martin's all-too-perfect voice ever did for advancing music. they're like the supertramp of our age, all excessive folly and style, and little substance; echo without the bunnymen, perhaps. let's all become gwenyth paltrow and coo and fawn over pseudo-important symphonic sap.

really, it's all summed up in the opening bars of the maudlin "Fix You." this is less a band than a computer-generated version of what muzak aspired to provide: background noise for happy shoppers.

 

most under-rated No. 9: The Cramps.

from the opening rev of the engine of "Garbageman," this odd collective led by Lux Interior and Poison Ivy showed it meant serious business. inspired by the rockabilly sound of the late 1950s, the Cramps provided an intense and frighteningly sharp updated version on the genre. they were at the same time a distinct contrast to what the Stray Cats would be, and a sort of anti-thesis of The Beach Boys' sunshine surf pop songs that preceded them.

 

they were dirty, grungy and shameless: three components required to make a dent in this business.

 

drawing inspiration from everything from their most recent contemporaries the Ramones and T-Rex, and well beyond with Duane Eddy and Link Wray (two under-rated artists in their own right), the Cramps avoided wandering into the neighborhood of campiness. their rock and roll roots were well grounded, evidenced by the compilation albums they released in later years, featuring bands and songs that influenced them in an attempt to shed light on good, fun music nearly forgotten. bonus points, too, for their work with Alex Chilton.

 

jw

Edited by john wawrow
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Underrated

Dream Theater - I fall in the former category. Some of the best music (obviously Imo) in the past 20 years has been put out by DT. To see them live is to fully understand how great they are. There is no drop off from their studio albums.

Agreed. Been a DT fan since I&W was released, great stuff. Although I do think they peaked with Scenes from a Memory and have been going down since then. Maybe it's because Scenes was just that good.

 

Sidenote: I was one of the people who signed a petition to get A Change of Seasons recorded. Someone on the Ytsejam mailing list started the petition, then printed off all of the "signatures" and dropped it off at the record label. We got a "special thanks" in the liner notes. :)

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i resisted coldplay for a long time...i had seen one of those cbs sunday morning segment on them and came away with a positive opinion of them. I do like chris martin as a performer and how can you hate a guy that gets to go home to gweneth paltow every night...i get peoples disdain for them, but i for one dig 'em

ok, let's get to the next on the list:

 

most over-rated No. 9: coldplay

could never understand what these precious melodies, sugar-cooked by dainty strings and chris martin's all-too-perfect voice ever did for advancing music. they're like the supertramp of our age, all excessive folly and style, and little substance; echo without the bunnymen, perhaps. let's all become gwenyth paltrow and coo and fawn over pseudo-important symphonic sap.

really, it's all summed up in the opening bars of the maudlin "Fix You." this is less a band than a computer-generated version of what muzak aspired to provide: background noise for happy shoppers.

 

most under-rated No. 9: The Cramps.

from the opening rev of the engine of "Garbageman," this odd collective led by Lux Interior and Poison Ivy showed it meant serious business. inspired by the rockabilly sound of the late 1950s, the Cramps provided an intense and frighteningly sharp updated version on the genre. they were at the same time a distinct contrast to what the Stray Cats would be, and a sort of anti-thesis of The Beach Boys' sunshine surf pop songs that preceded them.

 

they were dirty, grungy and shameless: three components required to make a dent in this business.

 

drawing inspiration from everything from their most recent contemporaries the Ramones and T-Rex, and well beyond with Duane Eddy and Link Wray (two under-rated artists in their own right), the Cramps avoided wandering into the neighborhood of campiness. their rock and roll roots were well grounded, evidenced by the compilation albums they released in later years, featuring bands and songs that influenced them in an attempt to shed light on good, fun music nearly forgotten. bonus points, too, for their work with Alex Chilton.

 

jw

 

ok, let's get to the next on the list:

 

most over-rated No. 9: coldplay

could never understand what these precious melodies, sugar-cooked by dainty strings and chris martin's all-too-perfect voice ever did for advancing music. they're like the supertramp of our age, all excessive folly and style, and little substance; echo without the bunnymen, perhaps. let's all become gwenyth paltrow and coo and fawn over pseudo-important symphonic sap.

really, it's all summed up in the opening bars of the maudlin "Fix You." this is less a band than a computer-generated version of what muzak aspired to provide: background noise for happy shoppers.

 

most under-rated No. 9: The Cramps.

from the opening rev of the engine of "Garbageman," this odd collective led by Lux Interior and Poison Ivy showed it meant serious business. inspired by the rockabilly sound of the late 1950s, the Cramps provided an intense and frighteningly sharp updated version on the genre. they were at the same time a distinct contrast to what the Stray Cats would be, and a sort of anti-thesis of The Beach Boys' sunshine surf pop songs that preceded them.

 

they were dirty, grungy and shameless: three components required to make a dent in this business.

 

drawing inspiration from everything from their most recent contemporaries the Ramones and T-Rex, and well beyond with Duane Eddy and Link Wray (two under-rated artists in their own right), the Cramps avoided wandering into the neighborhood of campiness. their rock and roll roots were well grounded, evidenced by the compilation albums they released in later years, featuring bands and songs that influenced them in an attempt to shed light on good, fun music nearly forgotten. bonus points, too, for their work with Alex Chilton.

 

jw

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ok, let's get to the next on the list:

 

most over-rated No. 9: coldplay

could never understand what these precious melodies, sugar-cooked by dainty strings and chris martin's all-too-perfect voice ever did for advancing music. they're like the supertramp of our age, all excessive folly and style, and little substance; echo without the bunnymen, perhaps. let's all become gwenyth paltrow and coo and fawn over pseudo-important symphonic sap.

really, it's all summed up in the opening bars of the maudlin "Fix You." this is less a band than a computer-generated version of what muzak aspired to provide: background noise for happy shoppers.

 

The Coldplay recipe for a Grammy-winning song: take a Joe Satriani song, boil for six hours, and serve with warm milk.

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How are we defining "underrated" and "overrated?" By popularity? By how they are regarded by people who are really into music? Take a band like Dream Theater. They're revered - much like Rush - as a band of almost infinite talent by those who've listened to them extensively. Of course, they're relatively unknown by the masses. I could see a case for making them "underrated" because of their lack of popularity given their musical talents and influence on other musicians ...or I could see someone who just doesn't care for them label them as "overrated" or "indulgent" because many consider them one of the best bands around and one of the most influential ones to other musicians.

 

.

 

I think we are defining it by how much somebody else, who actually read your post, hates what you like.

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Dream Theater aren't underrated as much as people simply don't enjoy progressive rock. I fit into that category. They have ridiculous talent, but their music simply doesn't appeal to me.

 

I liked Coldplay's first two albums a lot. They sold out with Viva la Vida. I actually bought tickets to see them in Saratoga for that tour as an anniversary gift. After hearing the album, I told my wife she could take a friend. Horrible crap, whether they ripped off Satriani, or not.

 

Speaking of overrated ... Add Joe Satriani to the list. He's not even a top 20 guitarist.

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i resisted coldplay for a long time...i had seen one of those cbs sunday morning segment on them and came away with a positive opinion of them. I do like chris martin as a performer and how can you hate a guy that gets to go home to gweneth paltow every night...i get peoples disdain for them, but i for one dig 'em

 

Paltrow is even more overrated than her husband's band. Plain Jane frump/geek combo.

Edited by 4merper4mer
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