Overrated Artists

[SGR]

I took a look and did not find a thread like this - the closest in approximation appears to be the general 'Controversial music opinions' thread, but I thought a more focused thread for overrated artists might be fun.

I'm not talking just 'overrated by the public' or by the 'press', but even 'overrated by music nerds' or 'overrated among fans of a specific genre', etc. You can be creative in your reasoning. It also doesn't mean you have to dislike the artist(s), it could simply mean that you think the general appreciation of an artist is far greater than your own appreciation for them.

And don't just pick the low hanging fruit! Pick some sacred cows that you know you might get some pushback on!

Radiohead

When I was an angsty teenager, I used to have these guys playing in my ears constantly, right alongside the likes of Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana. As I've mellowed out with age, I find myself having a much more difficult time enjoying Radiohead. Listen, I like OK Computer a lot, but it's weird how many people still pretend that Kid A was some kind of unprecedented musical evolution - or pretend that other (successful) rock artists hadn't taken a major turn in their sound to focus on more of an electronica based approach - bands like U2, REM and The Fall had already done this by the time Radiohead did it. The last Radiohead record I truly loved was Hail to the Thief, probably because I thought it was the best happy-medium they ever found between guitar-driven rock and the more krautrock-esque electronica they were doing. Since then, I often find myself hearing newer Radiohead material and coming away from it thinking: "This just sounds like Coldplay for the perpetually depressed."

Queen

I've never really gotten the appeal. Sure, Freddie Mercury has some pipes and Brian May has a nice guitar sound, but my god so many of their songs are so goofy. And when they're not goofy, they're just boring. It's like 'rock music' for people who don't like rock music. How their popularity has endured, specifically among younger generations, completely eludes me.

Billie Eillish

I first heard "Everything I Wanted" years back and thought: "Wow, this is a great track!" - then after hearing more and more Billie Eillish, I learned that the song is representative of so much of her other material. In other words, it all sounds the same. I grew tired rather quickly of Eillish's somber, monotone, and disaffected vocal delivery. She doesn't even write most of her music (her brother does). I haven't heard her latest record yet, so I'll exclude that from my assessment here. Also, I thought the 'edgy sadgirl' aesthetic died with 2014 Tumblr? Guess not. Anyways, I've always liked Lorde better. A shame her last album was a complete snoozefest.

I've got more, but we'll start with that. 

[grindy]

I took a look and did not find a thread like this - the closest in approximation appears to be the general 'Controversial music opinions' thread, but I thought a more focused thread for overrated artists might be fun.

I'm not talking just 'overrated by the public' or by the 'press', but even 'overrated by music nerds' or 'overrated among fans of a specific genre', etc. You can be creative in your reasoning. It also doesn't mean you have to dislike the artist(s), it could simply mean that you think the general appreciation of an artist is far greater than your own appreciation for them.

And don't just pick the low hanging fruit! Pick some sacred cows that you know you might get some pushback on!

Radiohead

When I was an angsty teenager, I used to have these guys playing in my ears constantly, right alongside the likes of Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana. As I've mellowed out with age, I find myself having a much more difficult time enjoying Radiohead. Listen, I like OK Computer a lot, but it's weird how many people still pretend that Kid A was some kind of unprecedented musical evolution - or pretend that other (successful) rock artists hadn't taken a major turn in their sound to focus on more of an electronica based approach - bands like U2, REM and The Fall had already done this by the time Radiohead did it. The last Radiohead record I truly loved was Hail to the Thief, probably because I thought it was the best happy-medium they ever found between guitar-driven rock and the more krautrock-esque electronica they were doing. Since then, I often find myself hearing newer Radiohead material and coming away from it thinking: "This just sounds like Coldplay for the perpetually depressed."

Queen

I've never really gotten the appeal. Sure, Freddie Mercury has some pipes and Brian May has a nice guitar sound, but my god so many of their songs are so goofy. And when they're not goofy, they're just boring. It's like 'rock music' for people who don't like rock music. How their popularity has endured, specifically among younger generations, completely eludes me.

Billie Eillish

I first heard "Everything I Wanted" years back and thought: "Wow, this is a great track!" - then after hearing more and more Billie Eillish, I learned that the song is representative of so much of her other material. In other words, it all sounds the same. I grew tired rather quickly of Eillish's somber, monotone, and disaffected vocal delivery. She doesn't even write most of her music (her brother does). I haven't heard her latest record yet, so I'll exclude that from my assessment here. Also, I thought the 'edgy sadgirl' aesthetic died with 2014 Tumblr? Guess not. Anyways, I've always liked Lorde better. A shame her last album was a complete snoozefest.

I've got more, but we'll start with that. 

I used to love Radiohead as a teenager, but nowadays Yorke's vocals make them unlistenable to me. He's just so whiny. They are theoretically musically interesting but even that just isn't really my thing anymore.

Queen are okay. Some songs are cool but they never made a consistently good album.

I really like the first Billy Eilish album, one of my favourite straight up pop albums ever it's groovy af. But everything after that didn't work for me, especially the ballads are just tedious.

My picks: Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Tool.
They all sound like lame-ass nickelback-style butt rock to me. Even though Tool are musically complex, they have this shitty alternative sound with shitty alternative rock vocals.

[jimmy jazz]

Good thread. I'll be posting my Oasis summary later on.

[SGR]

I'll be posting my Oasis summary later on.

 

[SGR]

My picks: Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Tool.
They all sound like lame-ass nickelback-style butt rock to me. Even though Tool are musically complex, they have this shitty alternative sound with shitty alternative rock vocals.

Definitely agree on Foo Fighters. It just sounds like completely neutered corporate rock. Stuff to play in restaurants and malls.

Tool I've tried to get into before, but never did. People say their music is 'complex', but it just never resonated with me. I'm not really a big fan of prog metal in general.

With all the fanfare Nirvana has had (you won't find a mall in America that doesn't have their t-shirt available for purchase, right next to the Motley Crue shirts and the Guns N' Roses shirts), I definitely wouldn't argue that they're not 'overrated'. But some of my earliest music memories are riding in my Dad's truck at like, age 4 or 5 and listening to his Nirvana tapes (along with Depeche Mode and Eurythmics tapes), so they'll always have a special place in my heart. 

[Marie Monday]

Glad to see Queen mentioned and am looking forward to JJ's Oasis roast. I agree with grindy's buttrock complaints except for Nirvana, but I've defended them before on mb: they can't really help that they soudn buttrocky (valid if you can't get over that to be fair) and they do offer something special that those other bands don't.

I'll add to the list:
The Who - I've gotten into some of their earlier songs now which can be brilliant, but never consistently, and the later stuff is just boring. They lack some magic that similar bands do have. and Daltrey is an awful singer
The Jam - so derivative without adding anything interesting
LCD Soundsystem - also very derivative, and both the singing and the lyrics are terrible
St Vincent - part of the vague and aimless indie crowd, and on top of that committed the crime of contaminating some Sleater-Kinney albums with it (I'm not laying the primary blame for that on her but she did produce them and I'm sure it didn't help)

[SGR]

Snoop Dogg

How in the hell did this guy turn one great album into a completely lucrative career while being high practically the whole time? Doggystyle is a classic, in no small part due to Dr. Dre's production. But it was released over 30 years ago. Since then, he's released many, many records (over 20), and while he had a couple decent records when he was signed to No Limit (my favorite being Tha Last Meal), basically everything else has been complete Doggshit. Despite this, he's maintained perpetual cultural relevance, doing cooking shows, doing post-game analysis for the NFL, appearing in movies, etc. He's the kind of rapper where it's more exciting to see him doing a guest verse on someone else's record than to hear that he has a new record of his own coming out. He's not even that great of a rapper in any kind of technical sense either. But he is omnipresent - ask a friend or family member, even an older one who doesn't ever listen to rap, if they know who Snoop Dogg is, and 9 times out of 10, I'd wager their answer is 'yes'.

Charismatic, distinctive (in style and voice), and funny, but completely overrated as an artist.

[SGR]

The Who - I've gotten into some of their earlier songs now which can be brilliant, but never consistently, and the later stuff is just boring. They lack some magic that similar bands do have. and Daltrey is an awful singer
The Jam - so derivative without adding anything interesting
LCD Soundsystem - also very derivative, and both the singing and the lyrics are terrible
St Vincent - part of the vague and aimless indie crowd, and on top of that committed the crime of contaminating some Sleater-Kinney albums with it (I'm not laying the primary blame for that on her but she did produce them and I'm sure it didn't help)

I agree with all of your picks (LCD Soundsystem is a great pick, and I thought of including The Jam in my original post), but whether or not The Who is overrated, I'll go to my grave defending Live at Leeds.  That fuckin' record lives rent free in my head. Even the audience interactions.

[Trollheart]

Oh come on now, do I have to give reasons? Ed Sheeran. That is all.

[SGR]

Oh come on now, do I have to give reasons? Ed Sheeran. That is all.

Sounds like you've got some bad habits of your short posts with a brief tone. 

[Trollheart]

You want more? Dare to return and walk down those dark paths...

Trollheart's Hate List: Ed Sheeran

[SGR]

You want more? Dare to return and walk down those dark paths...

Trollheart's Hate List: Ed Sheeran

That's okay Trolls, no need, you're speaking to the converted already. Again, I'd classify Sheeran as 'inoffensive mall music'. 

[SGR]

looking forward to JJ's Oasis roast

This gives me another thread idea - maybe it would be fun to have a thread where we can just roast music artists, whether we like them or not. I absolutely love The Fall for example, but due to my love and familiarity with them, I'm positive I could subject them to a very comprehensive roast. 

[jimmy jazz]

Snoop Dogg is probably the best example of an average rapper who has a classic album.

Eminem is probably the best example of an elite rapper who hasn't.

The Dogg is definitely overrated. If you look at his discography, other than his debut it is absolutely filled with shite.

He had a brief period in the mid 00s where he dropped a few good singles but that was mainly because of The Neptunes who could produce a hit for anybody at that time.

Good shout, imo.

[Trollheart]

Just wanted to show that, while the one-liner was atypical of me, I had done my work, even if it was years ago, and can now comprehensively and truthfully say I hate the guy's music, with examples and proofs. Do I hate him? Kind of: I mean, his music wouldn't exist without him and it's unlikely that were he to have done a Daft Punk and disguised himself, or a Banksy even, that people would go so ga-ga over him. But personally I think he's less than average, and most of his music isn't even bad enough for me to hate. But I do.

Proof that Snoopy is the most boring rapper can be seen in the fact that I listened to and enjoyed his 2017 album on that list (Neva Left, maybe? Not sure) and if Trollheart enjoys hip-hop, you know to avoid it!

Hell, I may start the Hate List here again. Only got to do Sheeran, and I have so much more hate to unleash.