Worst Bands: Nickelback Weezer Green Day Creed Dishonorable mention: U2 and Coldplay - both have a few good songs, but the rest is overrated.
Don't get techno myself, either. Don't think I've ever met somebody into techno who's not into drugs. Didn't like house/electro growing up, either, but I've sorta grown into it over the last few years. I like listing to it when running/working out. Just has a nice pace to it. Decent amount of good nightclubs over here that primarily play house/electro, too. Don't hate it at all. Went to this house/electro festivial in Belgium with some friends about a year ago. Lots of nice people. (skip the 1st minute, if you're actually gonna watch this) <iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UWb5Qc-fBvk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
70's Aerosmith = badass mid-80's + Aerosmith = girl rock Sorry.... that band really took a turn for the worse, IMO. But I can't begrudge them the money they made. ZZ Top was similar. In the 70's they were awesome but totally tanked with MTV. Their latest album is kind of cool, though.
There has been a trend for some of the older bands who had crappy periods (i.e. Heart, ZZ Top) to put out new stuff that sounds really good. I guess they are going back to their roots? I get why people don't get U2 after Joshua Tree but "No Line on the Horizon is a pretty good album. It will take you a few listens, though, to get into it which IMO is a good sign. Totally agree with you on AC/DC. I don't hate them but would never buy anything from them. I don't and never got Kiss (although I learned how to play Beth on the Piano when I was 12). I love Rush but that is a band you get or you don't. No mystery why they show up on this list. If you are ever inclined to move them to your second list, watch Beyond the Lighted Stage. Or don't. But you have to listen to Rush albums a few times to "get" them even if you are a fan. After a few listens you start to hear the melodies, the word interplay, and start picking out the cool riffs. I read somewhere that science has proven that stuff you generally like instantly just doesn't stay with you (gets old). But music that you put an effort into liking tends to last. This describes Rush perfectly. I commented on Aerosmith in a different post.
What dando said but especially with Aerosmith you have to remember that it was Run-DMC doing their version of Walk This Way that really revived Aerosmith's career. Tyler and Perry appeared in the video and it was huge on MTV. Then you had Love in an Elevator, Crazy, Amazing, Sweet Emotion (the remake), etc. And all of their videos had the same formula - have a crazy hot chick in it (usually Alicia Silverstone) that would appeal to guys but soften the sound that appealed to chicks. This would especially come to fruition when they started working with Diane Warren (the kiss of death if there ever was one). A lot of artists decide to go this route - they forego who they are to chase the mainstream popularity. They make money, no doubt, but at what cost? By completely changing their sound and losing a lot of their old fans. This right here is why I love Radiohead so much. They will NEVER compromise who they are as a band to become more popular with the mainstream. It is really refreshing to see a band take this stand. You might think Thom Yorke is a whiny douchebag - hell you might think I am a douchebag along with other Radiohead fans. But you can't deny that it took ENORMOUS guts and courage for them to not keep churning out songs like "Creep".
I never really got W.A.S.P. . Unfortunately, had to watch them open once or twice for a band's show I was at back in the day. Their main thing seemed to be drinking blood from a skull on stage. Bunch of phonies with lousy music. I'm not a big Radiohead, Pixies, or KISS fan (I never really had a "I get it" moment with their music) but I respect what they bring to their music. KISS and the whole costume thing never really did a thing for me. In fact, I would never go to a KISS show where the men wore those ugly looking costumes even if the rest of the show was a pyrotechnics feast. I only appreciate KISS in their costumes on Halloween. Obviously, huge Rush fan here but not mega-huge. For me, it's primarily their technical chops on their instruments and what they bring. Their music just agrees with me and I like the wall of sound they bring for only a three piece. It inspired me enough to pick up and play guitar from an early age. The most loyal Rush fans are the ones who take to the road to see many shows per tour almost like a Grateful Dead following. One show is enough for me per tour. Honestly, I can't stand those holier-than-thou Rush fans that think so highly of themselves when it comes to being a Rush fan and there are a lot of them out there. I guess you could call them the true nerds of Rush.
I like Tool (casually) because 1) Danny Carey is an AMAZING drummer/musician and 2) I kind of dig their approach to their art, if that makes sense. But it seems like the guitar player plays all the songs in the same key (dropped D tuning) and all his solos sound exactly the same. On another subject, I don't see how anyone could have a problem with someone liking early U2 and not later U2. They have evloved so much over the last 30+ years that it's only natural for them to have fans coming and going over that time period. I don't begrudge anyone their musical opinions. Might disagree, but that's what makes music so beautiful - it affects everyone differently. That being said.......whoever said The Unforgettable Fire is "forgettable"....I know where you live and I'll visit you soon. That is still one of my all-time favorite albums and IMO the best album to come out of the 80's by ANY band.
It definitely had an appeal to me having Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler in those videos. I had a huge crush on both. The music was secondary to the videos. They could have been playing "It's a Small World" on a loop and I wouldn't have cared. I don't understand the hate for Radiohead, either. Heck, if it wasn't for "Creep", I'm not sure I would have listened to The Bends...which is a fantastic album. Oh and Queens of the Stone Age "Songs for the Deaf" is one of the great rock albums of the 00's. Top to bottom, a fantastic album.
This thread is a perfect explanation of what art is. It's emotional and different for everyone. If everyone liked the same things they wouldn't impact individuals as much.
Wow! Early Kinks, busy playing up to the screaming chicks. Kinky! A lot of people unfamiliar with The Kinks and their musical history would probably put them on a list of bands they "just don't get." They're another group that to truly appreciate their greatness, you have to see them live. I saw them every time they played Houston, and a couple of times in Austin, as well. Why? I loved their LP's, but more than anything, they always, always put on an incredible concert. As much as I like their albums, they just don't do them justice, in my humble opinion. They always played a 2 hour+ set, and usually at the Music Hall, which is where you wanted to see a group in Houston, if at all possible. Great acoustics, and not really a bad seat in the house.
That's what I'm trying to figure out? Are we discussing if the band is overrated or a required taste? Where is this thread going and what direction is it headed?
I saw Ray Davies solo a few years ago in Dallas. The 88s opened up for him and also played as his backup band during the encore (You Really Got Me). Had my Schoolboys in Disgrace album sleeve with me, rushed the stage at the end (with Sharpie held out as far as I could- you always bring the Sharpie), and got him to sign it as he was leaving the stage. Other than family photos, that's the one thing I own that means the most- he's that good of a songwriter.
Kumbia Kings and then Kumbia All-Stars. Just awful music... you can't even dance to it. I mean, it's a bunch of rejects of the Quintanilla clan, and to top it all off, they're just copying Los Chicos De Barrio's style with the gangster/pachuco thing, albeit just REALLY, REALLY bad.
Oh, you lucky devil! I'm envious. Ray is truly one of the great songwriters in the history of rock and roll, in my humble opinion, with a catalog of over 600 songs. One of the things Ray did back in the day that I appreciated was writing songs about the British working class. Songs like Dead End Street: There's a crack up in the ceiling, And the kitchen sink is leaking. Out of work and got no money, A Sunday joint of bread and honey. What are we living for? Two-roomed apartment on the second floor. No money coming in, The rent collector's knocking, trying to get in. Heck, Ray has written songs about everything. Here's one that certainly reflects how I've felt in the past when Summer's Gone: Looking in a window on a rainy day. Thinking about good things that I just threw away. Looking in the gutter, watching the trash go flowing by. Thinking it's Summer, but there are only clouds in the sky. When I think about what we wasted, makes me sad, We never appreciated what we had. Now I'm standing in a doorway with my overcoat on, It really feels like Summer's gone. So alone. Summer's gone. It should have been a laugh, it should have been fun, When I think of all the things that we did last Summer. Now I look back, it seems such a crime, We couldn't appreciate it at the time. Now I'm standing in a doorway, thinking of Summers gone by. It ought to make me happy, but it just makes me want to cry. I was riding in the car with my mum and dad, He was drivin' the car, the kids were drivin' him mad. Dad looked at us, then he looked at his wife, He must have wondered where we all came from. And then mum said, "Dad, you know it won't last for long, Before you know it, Summer's gone." So alone. Summer's gone. I really blew it all, when I think it through, I really lost it all when I lost you. Now I'm standing in a doorway with water in my shoes, It really feels like, feels like Summers gone. So alone. Summer's gone. Summer's gone, so alone. Summer's gone. Summer isn't gone yet, but it's getting there.
U2? No no no no....I can imagine getting sick of hearing them but no no no no. "One," "You're so Cruel", "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "New Year's Day", "The Fly", et al. Coldplay I can agree with you on, although I'm too much of a don't-wanna-fight person to tell that to my wife, who loves the band. I loved their first two albums and thought it funny when they started having hits from later albums that sounded just like earlier great songs ("Yellow") which weren't hits because the band hadn't reached overexposure yet. As far as "bands I just don't 'get'", how about if I go to Billboard's site and paste the Top 200 in here? Generally, very little pop music is worth a s*** anymore, so I'm stuck in a 93.7 time warp.
Interesting how this thread includes the Kinks. I'm showing my age, but I used to never get why the Kinks were cool until I saw them live. Yep, Deckard, it was at the great Music Hall. 1976 I think. They were supporting the Schoolboys in Disgrace album and upon seeing them, it all seemed to make sense. They tore the place down! Interesting side note: Their back up band was Cheap Trick in support of their debut LP.
