Most Overrated Bands. Ever.
Monday, April 14, 2008This should be a rather polarizing topic. It sure is whenever I bring it up in conversation with my musically inclined friends and family. So without getting into some long and lame intro, let's get right into what I think are the top 5 most overrated bands/groups/singers in the history of Classic Rock.
1.) AC/DC - Really. I'm not joking. I hate them. With the fire and fury of a thousand burning suns. Every song sounds exactly the same. And if you've ever seen the comedy stand-up skit that Jim Breuer does where he parodies AC/DC singing the Hokey Pokey, you may understand my disdain for them.
2.) Aerosmith - This is the one that usually fires up my friends. They're mostly big fans. And I'll concede the band may have been good at one point in time. But that was when Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were so addled with drugs that nothing made sense. However, for their health, they felt the need to clean up and their music suffered as a result. I submit the song "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing", the sappy ballad from the movie Armageddon, as Evidence A.
3.) ZZ Top - I don't hate every song they've ever done, just about 99% of it. They're famous for their beards, which speaks volumes about the quality of their music (with the exception of La Grange, which I thoroughly enjoy). Were it not for MTV when they actually played music, these guys would've faded out by the mid-80's and the musical scene would have been better for it.
4.) Queen - When they come on the radio, I turn the channel. And if I have to hear "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions" one more time, somebody's going to get hurt.
5.) David Bowie - Often viewed as a musical pioneer, this guy bugs the crap out of me. Maybe it's the whole androgynous thing he's got going on, but the look, the music and his voice grate on my last nerve. Add in Freddie Mercury, the frontman for Queen, in their duet "Under Pressure" (a song that was so bad, Vanilla Ice stole the beat) and it's unbearable.
I know a lot of music. I listen to all different kinds and have an uncanny ability to remember the lyrics to most songs the first or second time I hear it. I don't consider myself a music snob, per se, but these 5 are just plain bad.
April 14, 2008 at 7:38 AM
You my friend have just made a VERY powerless enemy. I was willing to give you a pass on a few of these bands ... actually most of them. When you came to ZedZedTop (Canadian) though you lost me. Giving La Grange a pass helped, but you also must give a pass to many other of their early stuff, inclusing (but not limited to): Tube Steak Beauty, Jesus Just Left Chicago, Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers, and of course - Tush. I'll admit that they got pretty terrible but still ... consider this your first and final warning.
April 14, 2008 at 7:59 AM
LOL. Look, it's not that they're so horribly bad I can't ever listen to them. It's just...they get on my nerves. It's the beards. It's the only thing I can think of. I really like their 12-bar blues riffs, but everything else (Legs, Sharp Dressed Man, etc...) just bugs the crap outta me.
And you may hate me now since you just made me realize the one band I honestly forgot: Rush.
April 14, 2008 at 9:21 AM
mmm... Here's my personal list of over-rated bands.
1) Pink Floyd. I cannot stand them. Period. While I will forgive a friend for not liking Black Sabbath, somebody telling me that they enjoy Pink Floyd is like saying that they got my sister pregnant.
2) Grateful Dead. The drugs don't help make them better.
3) Nirvana. Influential? Really? The guy screamed gibberish into a microphone. I'm sad he had to go, but it opened up the chance for Dave Grohl to do some great work with the Foo Fighters, and record the awesomeness that is Probot.
4) The Doors. Jim Morrison had some great ideas, but the music and the execution were all... whacked out.
5) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They're so bad, it's baffling to think that they're popular enough to play at the Superbowl.
April 14, 2008 at 10:33 AM
@TeePee: Having been to Australia on a few occasions, I know. I've been threatened before.
@Trackhoof: If I were naming the number one, all time overrated band, Nirvana would top it, no doubt. Don't much care about the Dead, you're right: The drugs don't help. But I <3 some Floyd, Doors and Petty. Again, it's all subjective, but damn if it doesn't lead to some heated conversations.
April 15, 2008 at 7:46 AM
Rush? RUSH?! Oh man, you really know how to stick it to a guy ...