Overrated Artists

[Lexi Darling]

Alright, let's get nuclear with these takes. I've probably already posted my opinions on Radiohead, The Fall, Eminem, The Beatles, Pavement and The Smiths elsewhere so I won't elaborate on them, but I still think all of them are overrated. Anyway, here goes. No one is safe.

Abba
For the life of me I never understood why so many indie fan/music critic types back in the peak years of Pitchfork seemed to vocally loathe most pop music yet a lot of them seemed to make an exception for Abba. I think they're perfectly serviceable as a cheesy pop band and I do like some of their songs, but it just confused me why they were the hipster-approved cheesy pop band and not the many other pop artists from the 70s and beyond that I think were better.

Sonic Youth
All three of their vocalists annoy me, the random noise parts in the middle of an otherwise ordinary rock song got old hat after the fourth or fifth song they did it in, and I don't think they were particularly good at songwriting beyond having those novel guitar parts. I wish they had done more heavy stuff like Drunk Butterfly, that's easily my favorite song of theirs.

The Grateful Dead
This band's popularity will always be inexplicable to me. People always say their live stuff is the real draw, but I've listened to their bootlegs and I'm even more confused as to how people can sit through 35 minutes of tepid country rock noodling or consider it trippy or psychedelic at all.

Drake
I understand his appeal, and I don't mind the odd feature from him or a few of his old songs. But nothing he does ever really hits me; his braggadocious stuff comes off as impossible to take seriously and his sensitive sadboy stuff tips the scale from "emotionally relatable" over to "syrupy mush" 99% of the time for me.

The Pixies
This band just never hit for me at all. I've never been huge on those surfy style guitar parts, but for a band that was described as having been influential on the "loud quiet loud" style they never seemed to have half the energy or loudness that I expected.

[jimmy jazz]

Oasis

I can acknowledge the appeal of a catchy rock anthem. I can understand that when you're drunk and at a festival or gig, their music can sound good. Or if you grew up in the 90s, it has nostalgic value because it reminded you of good times.

But this is a band that is often regarded as one of the greatest bands in British history. I wouldn't be that bothered by them if they weren't so overrated. As I have mentioned before, within my demographic, people will look at you like you pissed on their children if your opinion on them is anything other than 'they're great'. They're basically a pub band who took bits of The Beatles and a couple of others and released a load of average at best records. If Liam wasn't such a controversial character (an arsehole, basically) they wouldn't have half of the following they do who seem to think everything he does is genius and every time he swears it's hilarious. He tries way too hard to force the imagine of being 'cool' and working class and I hate the exaggerated Manc twang in his awful vocals. I hate their shitty lyrics such as "slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball" and "I know a girl called Elsa, she's into Alka-Seltzer, she sniffs it through a cane on a supersonic train". They should be flattered to have ever been compared to Blur, a much better band who were more varied and eclectic in their sound and led by Damon Albarn who is actually very talented. Oasis' solo careers are every bit as shit as their original material. Maybe even worse and that's saying something.

I particularly like this quote from Bloc Party's Kele Okereke:

"I think Oasis are the most overrated and pernicious band of all time. They had a totally negative and dangerous impact upon the state of British music. They have made stupidity hip. They claim to be inspired by The Beatles but, and this saddens me, they have failed to grasp that the Beatles were about constant change and evolution. Oasis are repetitive Luddites."

Fuck Oasis. Bellends. 

[SGR]

Alright, let's get nuclear with these takes. I've probably already posted my opinions on Radiohead, The Fall, Eminem, The Beatles, Pavement and The Smiths elsewhere so I won't elaborate on them, but I still think all of them are overrated. Anyway, here goes. No one is safe.

Abba
For the life of me I never understood why so many indie fan/music critic types back in the peak years of Pitchfork seemed to vocally loathe most pop music yet a lot of them seemed to make an exception for Abba. I think they're perfectly serviceable as a cheesy pop band and I do like some of their songs, but it just confused me why they were the hipster-approved cheesy pop band and not the many other pop artists from the 70s and beyond that I think were better.

Sonic Youth
All three of their vocalists annoy me, the random noise parts in the middle of an otherwise ordinary rock song got old hat after the fourth or fifth song they did it in, and I don't think they were particularly good at songwriting beyond having those novel guitar parts. I wish they had done more heavy stuff like Drunk Butterfly, that's easily my favorite song of theirs.

The Grateful Dead
This band's popularity will always be inexplicable to me. People always say their live stuff is the real draw, but I've listened to their bootlegs and I'm even more confused as to how people can sit through 35 minutes of tepid country rock noodling or consider it trippy or psychedelic at all.

Drake
I understand his appeal, and I don't mind the odd feature from him or a few of his old songs. But nothing he does ever really hits me; his braggadocious stuff comes off as impossible to take seriously and his sensitive sadboy stuff tips the scale from "emotionally relatable" over to "syrupy mush" 99% of the time for me.

The Pixies
This band just never hit for me at all. I've never been huge on those surfy style guitar parts, but for a band that was described as having been influential on the "loud quiet loud" style they never seemed to have half the energy or loudness that I expected.

Now that's what I'm talking about! Rufflin' some feathers (including mine!) 

Oddly enough, I don't necessarily disagree with any of these in terms of being overrated. But I will say I love ABBA, overrated or not. I don't know how Pitchfork or hipsters view ABBA, I don't really inhabit those spaces, but I don't find ABBA cheesy at all. I view it literally as just great, catchy, and effective pop music from great songwriters. I wrote in my journal (SGR's Gold Mine) how much I love their track, "The Visitors" specifically. Not their biggest hit, or even close to their catchiest, but the storytelling is simply superb, telling a tale of a group of freedom fighters opposing their communist government, before they get rounded up.

As for the Pixies - I also love them. I can certainly see how they could be seen as overrated in some circles. The dirty little secret is that the Pixies didn't invent the 'loud quiet loud' dynamic that is often attributed to them (and ripped off by Nirvana), it goes back at least as far as The Gun Club, and perhaps farther back (I'll leave others to correct me on that, but I know that The Gun Club was an influence on the Pixies):

[jimmy jazz]

Drake's voice absolutely boils my piss tbf.

[Trollheart]

As far as ABBA goes, I think you have to understand the time they were "born" in. They started (as everyone surely knows) as an entry for Sweden in the Eurovision, won it, and quickly became more popular than the most popular thing you can think of. They were, I think, the first major band to feature two girls and two guys, and to write all their own music. They looked good, and they sort of captured the zeitgeist of the time (there are still active campaigns to have it released, and your donations are always welcome as we receive no government support). It's probably trite to say their music is "timeless", but it kind of is. You can listen to ABBA now and their messages -such as they are - still resonate. I'm no huge fan, by the way, making their case, but I do like them, and it should also be understood that, at the time, they may have been one of the only pop bands putting actual messages in their music. Listen to the lyric in "The Winner Takes it All", "Fernando", "Chicquitita" or "Knowing Me, Knowing You". Not so much "Dancing Queen". Um.

Sure, mostly these are love songs, but they're hella well-crafted and what would maybe today be called conscious love songs? And of course you can dance to them. But overall yeah, I think the phenomenon of an unknown band winning Eurovision and then becoming the biggest band on the planet, possibly, is behind the key to their success. Plus they looked hot. So did the girls.


The Dead I agree with. Jesus on a non-stop transatlantic flight with broken headphones trying to watch the in-flight movie! Their live stuff just goes on and on. Talk about the Bull of Heaven! These guys don't stop. And not only that, it seems to be the SAME FUCKING TUNE going on and on and on. Listening to them, honestly, I'd be grateful if I were dead.

Oasis I can take in small doses ("Stop Crying Your Heart Out" is a wonderful song) but yeah, don't get the hero worship. They are better than Blur though. Mind you, that's not saying much is it?

[SGR]

Oasis I can take in small doses ("Stop Crying Your Heart Out" is a wonderful song) but yeah, don't get the hero worship. They are better than Blur though.

[jimmy jazz]

They are better than Blur though. Mind you, that's not saying much is it?

[SGR]

Drake's voice absolutely boils my piss tbf.

One of the few artists that use autotune so much, that I feel dumber for having listened to it.

[Trollheart]

I just personally don't see what you have against ducks?

[SGR]

Oasis

I can acknowledge the appeal of a catchy rock anthem. I can understand that when you're drunk and at a festival or gig, their music can sound good. Or if you grew up in the 90s, it has nostalgic value because it reminded you of good times.

But this is a band that is often regarded as one of the greatest bands in British history. I wouldn't be that bothered by them if they weren't so overrated. As I have mentioned before, within my demographic, people will look at you like you pissed on their children if your opinion on them is anything other than 'they're great'. They're basically a pub band who took bits of The Beatles and a couple of others and released a load of average at best records. If Liam wasn't such a controversial character (an arsehole, basically) they wouldn't have half of the following they do who seem to think everything he does is genius and every time he swears it's hilarious. He tries way too hard to force the imagine of being 'cool' and working class and I hate the exaggerated Manc twang in his awful vocals. I hate their shitty lyrics such as "slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball" and "I know a girl called Elsa, she's into Alka-Seltzer, she sniffs it through a cane on a supersonic train". They should be flattered to have ever been compared to Blur, a much better band who were more varied and eclectic in their sound and led by Damon Albarn who is actually very talented. Oasis' solo careers are every bit as shit as their original material. Maybe even worse and that's saying something.

I particularly like this quote from Bloc Party's Kele Okereke:

"I think Oasis are the most overrated and pernicious band of all time. They had a totally negative and dangerous impact upon the state of British music. They have made stupidity hip. They claim to be inspired by The Beatles but, and this saddens me, they have failed to grasp that the Beatles were about constant change and evolution. Oasis are repetitive Luddites."

Fuck Oasis. Bellends. 

This might even be a regional thing. You mention how they're beyond reproach in Britain - I'll take your word for that, and I understand how that would be irritating. Over here in the States, you're highly unlikely to find anyone who could name an Oasis song other than "Wonderwall". I've told this story before I think, but Definitely Maybe was the first record I bought with my own money. I wasn't disappointed, even if it was derivative. It was good, fun rock n' roll. And here in America, Grunge had been reigning supreme for so long that it was refreshing to see some dudes with a decent haircut and a parka play some simple, feel good, back to basics rock music again. Without all the moaning, bitching, and self-loathing. It literally just felt good to listen to - the fact that it sounded even better with a couple beers was a plus.

I might say they're underrated in the States, but overrated across the pond. "Wonderwall" isn't anywhere close to their best song. And I'm not a blind stan to them or anything - their solo work is mostly forgettable, and for me, everything they made after Standing on the Shoulder of Giants is largely garbage (and that album was spotty as well), but they were one of the first bands I was properly obsessed with. Coming from a working class background myself (one grandfather of mine was a farmer, the other was a mill worker), I related a lot more to Oasis than I did to the art school kids in Blur.

Oasis' first three records are excellent, along with The Masterplan, which was mostly b-sides from the era.

The main point I'm trying to make is that not only were Oasis better than Blur, but so was Pulp. 

[Marie Monday]

I agree on ABBA too. It's just nostalgia, and I don't think historical context should carry a lot of weight in how we rate a band. It won't make their music any better, it's just cheesy and a bit dull
That's also why I don't really care about whether the Pixies invented the loud-quiet-loud thing; it would be different if they were doing a dull ripoff of a cliché, but it wasn't something that had been run into the ground and they made some distinctive and fun music with it.
And of course Nirvana didn't really invent anything they did either; they took the loud-quiet-loud dynamic from the pixies, their sense of melody and chord progressions sounds like it's derived from Young Marble Giants, and their lyrics are reminiscent of John Lennon, but because they blend all these things and add enough of their own character it doesn't feel like uninspired copying

[Trollheart]

Does anyone think the "rivalry" between Blur and Oasis was deliberately manufactured? I mean, other than both coming from Manchester (I assume; never been that bothered to check) they're not that similar in sound or even outlook. Really, why not compare Oasis to, I don't know, Suede or someone? Never saw the similarity. But my god, did that rivalry sell records! Reminds me of a scene in Father Ted: Teenage Father Damien says to Father Dougal "Here: whcih do you think is better, Blur or Oasis?" Father Dougal says "Blur" and Father Damien glares at him. "What?" Father Dougal then changes his mind: "Uh, uh, I mean Oasis!"

It's a good study of how people expected you to be in one or the other camp, sort of like are you Catholic or Protestant? Anyone asked me, I would have said "Neither: they're both shite."

[jimmy jazz]

I mean, other than both coming from Manchester

Blur are a very obvious London band. You can hear it in Albarn's vocals.

[SGR]

Does anyone think the "rivalry" between Blur and Oasis was deliberately manufactured? ... But my god, did that rivalry sell records!

You've got your answer. 

[jimmy jazz]

Lauryn Hill is also horrendously overrated. Her album is average with a couple of above average tunes.