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


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I think she is gorgeous...but whatevs!

 

I used to think she was overrated when she first became known, when she was going out with Brad Pitt. But, she has really aged well, and has one of the best pairs of legs ever:

 

042408_paltrow_200x400.jpg

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I think it depends on what Genesis period you refer to. One could argue they are under-rated in the early to mid years when they were good IMO. I think the Then there were Three album may have been the turning point.

One could argue? No I think it's 100% certain. They were uber underrated during the Peter Gabriel years and WAY overrated after. Su, su, sussudio. Are you !@#$ing kidding me.

 

What Chef said, the post-Gabriel version of Genesis.

 

as for the best song Peter Gabriel actually wrote, it's essentially a toss up between: Solsbury Hill and Biko.

For me, the choice between those two would be Solsbury Hill. If you included all his songs, it would be a tough choice, but this would be in my top 10...

 

Sky Blue (featuring the Blind Boys Of Alabama)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gSzZEj-jjF0

 

And if you have two hours to spare....

 

Growing Up Live

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I used to think she was overrated when she first became known, when she was going out with Brad Pitt. But, she has really aged well, and has one of the best pairs of legs ever:

 

042408_paltrow_200x400.jpg

 

 

Yeah... the fact that she is a bit pretentious has blinded some people. She is a very nice looking lady. I remember the first movie I ever saw her in, "Flesh & Bone". She had a small role, but kind of stole the show...at that time, I had no idea who she was. I had no idea that she was Blythe Danner's daugther. Blythe was pretty attractive in her day as well...

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Finally, while many will passionately disagree I think the Beattles are way over-rated. I think much of their music simply sucks.

I was waiting for this one. Surprised in a thread that's devolved into slagging the 'foundational fathers' of so much that followed (regardless of what genre you like) that it took so long to come up.

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Okay...

 

They're overrated because they pretty much suck.

 

hate to say it, but need more than that. saying they suck without backing it up with examples and an argument leaves one to question why you think this might be so.

 

The Beatles cannot be considered as being over-rated because they did more than foster an Ed Sullivan show craze. they pushed music forward by experimenting with genres before finding something that eventually came to be defined as their own sound. some of it was simple pop, but it was unpretentious pop, and rooted in RandB and country that preceded them. their other work experimented to varying degrees of success and failure with other brands of music.

 

but there can be no arguing with such classics as "Norwegian Wood," "Help!" the very under-ratred "Paperback Writer" or the simple yet perfect "I Want to Hold Your Hand" as anything but over-rated. few bands have been able to craft such music and express it with such simplicity and resonance, no matter what the era. Hank Williams did it. Marshall Crenshaw tried and ran out of steam and melody. Nick Lowe, maybe.

 

and the "sibling rivalry" between Lennon and McCartney, combined with the conscience of George Harrison and playfulness of Ringo Starr made this group click. not the greatest rock and roll band in my opinion, the Stones hold that title in my book, but still very good.

 

jw

 

more to come when i have time.

 

It's started out that way in the original post.

 

please, i've not called you names or questioned your mental health simply because i called Jethro Tull over-rated. they are, in my opinion, so get a thicker skin ... and a less tinnier ear, perhaps. ... i'm kidding. whysoserious?

 

jw

Edited by john wawrow
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ok, let's get to the meat of the next matter:

 

No. 8 over-rated:

Green Day, the sellouts of Broadway. pseudo-punk pop posers exposed. for a band that certainly made its stamp with a keen ear for power pop, they allowed their self-indulgent marketing tendencies get the better of them through much of this past decade with two "concept" albums, the release of three "solo" albums and the decision to go-ahead with a Broadway production.

whatever alternative cache they had ended there. oh, they're more popular than ever, luring a new audience with empty promises and tinny trinkets of some olde tyme punk-rock past. but it's soul-less and crass. they've allowed themselves to be grammy-fied, leaving me to wonder whether that wasn't the agenda all along. and i'm sure the rock and roll hall of fame will soon be calling, if it hasn't yet.

 

rather than further pursue their roots which they attempted with such side projects as "The Foxboro Hot Tubs," they instead let their egos and bottom line desires get the better of them. Johnny Thunders et al, would be ashamed.

tres too cool, i think.

 

(Sidenote: on one of the early versions of compiling this list, i had Pearl Jam in this spot. in retrospect, that was unfair and undeserving. though there's only so much Eddie Vedder growl and distortioned anthems one can take in one sitting before becoming overburdened by ennui, their collection of songs stands up. at the very least they rebounded with their 2006 release "Pearl Jam" after ushering in the new millenium with the totally unlistenable -- and perhaps unpronounceable -- "Binaural." a knock against them is a tendency for being stuck in a rut.

whereas David Grohl morphed into the Foo Fighters to carry on the rock and roll torch through a dreadful period of music in the 90s, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers stretched their limits by putting out not one but two classic double albums, Pearl Jam seemingly kept trying to recapture the urgency of "10," which really wasn't their best album. Vs. was.)

 

Under-rated No. 8

The English Beat. somewhat lost in the 2nd British Invasion, they weren't Elvis Costello or The Clash, and they certainly weren't UB40 or what eventually became of Madness post "One Step Beyond" -- and i'm referring to the MTV darling "Our House."

 

The Beat deserve credit for releasing one of the most complete and listenable albums ever: "I Just Can't Stop It." what a rollicking, jazzy fury of toe-tapping songs that belie the underlying angst, drive and anger, bringing together echos of all their influences.

 

The Clash might have led the charge in taking on Margaret Thatcher and the troubles in Brixton, but it was the Beat that did it with keen style with one wonderful song: "Whine & Grine" which segued into "Stand Down Margaret." beyond that, "Best Friend," "Jackpot" and their remake of "Tears of a Clown" are classics unto themselves.

 

more musical than The Specials, not as sweet as the Jackson 5, and more important than whatever UB40 ever became.

 

Unfortunately, the English Beat unraveled under their own disparate weight. what followed wasn't as complete as the whole that was. and yet, the impressions they left both in studio and live were unforgettable.

 

jw

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ok, let's get to the meat of the next matter:

 

No. 8 over-rated:

(Sidenote: on one of the early versions of compiling this list, i had Pearl Jam in this spot. in retrospect, that was unfair and undeserving. though there's only so much Eddie Vedder growl and distortioned anthems one can take in one sitting before becoming overburdened by ennui, their collection of songs stands up. at the very least they rebounded with their 2006 release "Pearl Jam" after ushering in the new millenium with the totally unlistenable -- and perhaps unpronounceable -- "Binaural." a knock against them is a tendency for being stuck in a rut.

 

I have always been a Greenday fan, but I can't disagree with your assessment. However ... I think you're gut instinct to put Pearl Jam there was spot on. They made one great album (their debut) and one good album (their sophomor effort). The rest was crap. I look at Eddie Vedder the same way I look at Jim Morrison. They play the part of "rock star" well, but they are posers with no real talent.

 

Remove the flannel and the dramatic facial expressions and what you're left with from Eddie Vedder is a below average voice singing lyrics that have no substance.

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I confess, I always liked them too.

 

nice play on words.

saw them live in the early 80s. still one of my favorite shows.

 

I have always been a Greenday fan, but I can't disagree with your assessment. However ... I think you're gut instinct to put Pearl Jam there was spot on. They made one great album (their debut) and one good album (their sophomor effort). The rest was crap. I look at Eddie Vedder the same way I look at Jim Morrison. They play the part of "rock star" well, but they are posers with no real talent.

 

Remove the flannel and the dramatic facial expressions and what you're left with from Eddie Vedder is a below average voice singing lyrics that have no substance.

 

you make fair points, but after giving the Pearl Jam library one more spin, i couldn't go there and was forced in all good conscience to reconsider.

 

jw

Edited by john wawrow
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