Bands That Don't Live Up To The Hype

[zero]

It's even on the Unplugged album, "that was a David Bowie song." I think Nirvana has become underrated in recent years, at least in serious music discussions.

The XX, definitely a band I don't get at all.

Oh and just because I live in Cincinnati and the rock radio stations here still play them daily: fucking Sublime. I don't know anyone who actually listens to Sublime, but Jesus Christ, they won't go away.

[DFF]

In a similar vein to Tool (and their fans), I nominate: Meshuggah. Irregular timing doesn't in itself mean talent >_>

[Nerf]

Mastodon too, actually. I just don't get it.

[DFF]

Mastodon too, actually. I just don't get it.

I really like The Hunter, but apparently that is the album that all their hardcore fans hate as it wasn't 'Mastodon' enough.

[Skummy]

That's the only Mastodon album I've got. I liked it, but not enough to listen to it all that much. I get them confused with Baroness a lot.

I saw them live a few years back; I was expecting wanky "technical" metal, and not at all looking forward to it, but my friends were front row, and The Melvins were on immediately after them, so figured I'd grin and bear it to be front and centre for them. I was pleasantly surprised, and really enjoyed it at the time...but I can't remember a bloody bit of it now.

God, Sublime. They're fucking dire. I know a few people who like them - Jersey has a thoroughly irritating subset of dreadlocked white "stoner" surfer/skater types, and invariably they listen to Sublime, NOFX and, if you're particularly unfortunate, ICP.

Also, practically everyone I know who's into rock music at all went through a Blink 182 phase. Some of them still like Blink 182. And I don't get it at all. They're just Busted or McFly, but with added puerile humour. Fucking dreadful, ear-gratingly awful pap.

[Nerf]

Oh god, yes Blink 182. And equally The Offspring. Somehow, those two bands survived the "it's okay to still listen to these guys when you're older" thing.

[OctoberRaven]

I never liked Blink 182 either. They were huge in the crowd in high school.

Oh, and speaking of bands big when I was in high school: Good Charlotte. Just... Good Charlotte.

[Matt]

There's still a few Blink songs I'd listen to but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to them.

And Jake Bugg is one I don't get either. I think he's famous because he sounds a bit like Bob Dylan in that one song.

Another one I've just remembered: Mumford and Sons. Don't get me wrong, it's a good song that they wrote, I just don't understand releasing it 50 times over.

[Bobfoc]

I've never understood the hype behind The Killers. I know several people who consider "Mr. Brightside" to be one of the greatest songs ever written, and I really can't understand why. In fairness, it's not a genre of music I'm generally into, but The Killers just strike me as the quintessential generic 21st century soft rock band that became inexplicably huge.

[Matt]

Mr Brightside isn't even the best Killers song. In fact it's not even close.

[New Damage]

Oh god Jake Bugg is dull as fuck. Artic Monkeys (which is another one for me) without being plugged in. They kept playing one of his songs on radio 1, I forget the name, until recently, and it was dull. Today they played Lightning Bolt and is was even worse. To me he's just White Guy with Acoustic Guitar #238. All of the others like Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard, Mumford and Sons etc. are exactly the same. And sadly, the market is being saturated with white guys with acoustic guitars at the moment, and it's amazing that they're still trying to ram another one in through X Factor or The Voice or whatever. That Nick Mulve(?) guy is another one.

I never got the whole pop punk thing either. It seems to be massive right now too. There's a club night here that I've been to and the first few times it was good, played a good mix of other rock stuff and cheese, but last few times it's just gone from New Found Glory and We Are The In Crowd or some other band of a similar ilk with a fancy name, straight to the other end of the scale with Bring Me The Horizon and A Day to Remember and other bands of a similar ilk with a fancy name. Also, it helps sway my opinion that the club night is very cliquish of the same people every week and full of plums with ill fitting vests, bad tattoos and earlobes.

[Nerf]

It's a shame that the actual good White Guys with Acoustic Guitars get totally ignored. City and Colour can fuck off too.

[Matt]

City and Colour can fuck off too.

Get out.

[EndOfAnEra]

Oh and for people thinking that songs are Nirvana songs when they're not despite Kurt explicity saying as much, I know someone who thought Man Who Sold The World was a Nirvana song.

Apparently that used to happen to David Bowie when he was touring with Nine Inch Nails. He'd play it, and people would say "it's cool that you played a Nirvana song".

Jake Bugg's weird. I liked him when I saw him live - but that was before he had an album out, and I had no idea who he was, so it was just some kid with a guitar at a folk festival. I don't get why he got as big as he is - but then, that's true of most artists.

He also had a fan ask him why he sampled Vanilla Ice sooo...

Offspring are passable to me for Smash, but I find any album after Ixnay got deleted off my hard drive long long ago.

Can we just change the topic to Music Snobbery.

Edited March 27, 2014 by EndOfAnEra

[DFF]

Oh, and being from Sheffield, everyone seems to assume we love the Arctic Monkeys. We don't. They are massive tools.

[Skummy]

There's a couple of Offspring songs I don't mind; "Come Out And Play" in particular, though that's largely tied up with memories of teenage Raven fandom and cool ECW promo packages. Good riff, though. Mostly they're shit.

The Killers are fucking awful. One of my least favourite bands. Television Personalities' cover of "Mr. Brightside" is miles better than the original, just by virtue of being a shambolic, hilarious mess, rather than soul-less, meaningless glossy pap. Absolute bollocks. I've still got a bet outstanding that their next album will either be recorded in Berlin or produced by Brian Eno, they're doing the "we're alternative rock, honest" schtick by numbers so much. And Brandon Flowers (even his name is a cunt) once said in an interview that he was better than Brian Wilson. Fuck off. By the time he was your age, Brian Wilson had already lost his mind recording music a million times better than anything you could ever fucking dream of producing.

I can't stand Arctic Monkeys. They were alright as a token Northern band singing about Northern things. They became shit when they started trying to make super-serious "art", and I can't believe people bought into it. It's not as bad as the shit side project that's basically Scott 4 with an accent, but you can listen to an Arctic Monkeys album and guess what the next track will sound like. Right, we've had the David Bowie one, now there'll be a Scott Walker, then a Lou Reed, then, oh, you're going to "incorporate a hip-hop sensibility into rock music"? Please don't.

The lowpoint was the po-faced and deadly serious John Cooper Clarke cover they did, showing that they have absolutely no fucking clue what makes JCC a genius, or how to get anywhere close to his talent.

[Matt]

Oh, and being from Sheffield, everyone seems to assume we love the Arctic Monkeys. We don't. They are massive tools.

I actually like Arctic Monkeys first and most recent albums (the second had a couple of good songs too) but yes, this idea that you're supposed to like a band because they're from near you is silly. I have a friend who usually has a good taste in music but he likes Pigeon Detectives and The Cribs because they're from around here and we should support them. No, they're shit, I'm not going to like them because I could catch a bus to their mum's house.

[DFF]

Oh, and being from Sheffield, everyone seems to assume we love the Arctic Monkeys. We don't. They are massive tools.

I actually like Arctic Monkeys first and most recent albums (the second had a couple of good songs too) but yes, this idea that you're supposed to like a band because they're from near you is silly. I have a friend who usually has a good taste in music but he likes Pigeon Detectives and The Cribs because they're from around here and we should support them. No, they're shit, I'm not going to like them because I could catch a bus to their mum's house.

You're a Leeds fan, though, you're allowed to be wrong ;-)

[IDOL]

I like The Killers and Blink (though admittedly they are quite dated)

I don't get the hate so many people have for KISS either, but I kind of grew up around their music all of my life.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I really like Blink 182's "Enema of the State" album. Bought it on release and still like it. That said, I don't care very much for most of their other stuff. I think that album stands out far above their other work.

Echoing Skummy's appreciation of Cream. My father-in-law introduced me to their music. Absolutely ADORE playing Sunshine of Your Love on bass and will do at any opportunity. In fact leading off from that I'd say that Eric Clapton has never been as good as he was then and think his later work doesn't live up to the expectation of his earlier work in and out of Cream.