This thread is easy. If you like something, and somebody else doesn't, odds are it's overvalued in their eyes. Pick any popular band, and it will have it's detractors. Except for The Monkees. Everyone likes them.
Hey, you can't help but love a group that goes wherever they want to and does what they like to do. You know, even if people say they're monkeying around. Jimi Hendrix - Never could get into it. Solid guitar work, no argument there, but I'm just not feeling what everyone else seems to feel. Guy's a fuckin' legend, sure, but I wasn't around for it so I gotta base it entirely the tunes, so no go. Smashing Pumpkins - I tried, I really did. I was surrounded by people during my teenage years that listened to them and it just didn't mesh with me.
Their new stuff isn't that great. Their stuff from the early to mid 90's with Mike McColgan was pretty badass. Songs like Get Up, Billy's Bones, and Skinhead fucking rock.
The Arctic Monkeys I don't know how big these guys are in America, but they've had some HUGE hits here in the UK and still do the rounds selling out big venues and headlining festivals. I can see their appeal, but I never got into them. Sure, they have a few good riffs, but mashing the same simplistic riff over and over at maximum volume for four minutes does not constitute songwriting. The frontman doesn't so much sing as grunt in a Sheffield accent with a vocal range of about a semitone, the lyrics just rehash the same theme ('I like to go out to mainstream clubs and dance') over and over, and the guitar and drum parts could be played by a 12 year-old. I'm not a fan. Oh and by the way, 'Arctic Monkeys' is a TERRIBLE name for a band. But my dislike of the Arctic Monkeys is nothing compared to the sheer loathing I have for Kings of Leon. I have honestly tried, tried, tried so hard to get into this band - loads of my friends love them, everyone raves about them - but no matter how many times I listen, I can't escape the conclusion that they are fucking awful. The riffs are bland, the lyrics are garbage, the singer has a voice like he's being strangled (I wish he was), and the fact that this band has sold millions of records fucking baffles me.
Avenged Sevenfold- Their album, "Nightmare" just won album of the year from Revolver Magazine. While their riffs are sometimes heavy and melodic, the singer does nothing for me. A ton of my friends were amped on this band saying, "These guys are AWESOME METAL!" I disagree. Mudvayne is more metal and I'm not 100% into them either.
U2 Hey Bono, Im super happy that you want all the wars/diseases in the world to cease and Israelis and Palestinians to start blowing each other, but if if youre going to call yourself musicians how about you at least play some fucking music at your concerts and leave the political bullshit out of it? Unless youre going to have your pal the Dalai Lama do a guitar solo at your next concert, shut the fuck up about it because no one gives a shit. As for your music? Its nice that you fancy yourselves as the "Ever Evolving Band", but that sounds like a synonym for "The shitty are getting shittier." It boggles my mind how your horse-voiced singing and mediocre instrumentals sells out concerts.
I used to be very much into metal and hardcore, but have grown out of it quite a bit. I never will understand the praise this band gets. Absolute boring, contrived, shitty watered down made for radio "metal". I saw them way back in 02 or 03 when they were pretty much unknown. They were a lot more raw and heavy and I actually liked a few of their songs, but as soon as they started becoming a headlining act, they pussed out like no other. I've noticed this has become quite a trend with other metal groups.
I came into this thread expecting it to be gimp bashing. Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Nickelback, the talentless hacks that sell albums because god likes to give stupid people money. But then I saw this shit... What. The. Fuck. I have no words. No words at all. If you've listened to Teen Spirit/Come as you are/Plateau and still can't see why Cobain was our collective idle - I have no idea how to explain it to you. The Beatles? The fucking Beatles? Is this troll baiting? Day Tripper? Come Together? Ticket to Ride? Short of listing Queen here, I can't think of anything less plausible. If you say 'The Clash' next - I'll know you're just taking the piss. AC/DC? Fuck you lady. Fuck you right in the ear. With Michael Durant's penis (Durant was the Blackhawk Pilot taken POW in Mogadishu who was located when a blackhawk playing Hells Bells buzzed the city, and Durant who's legs were broken and his spine fractured, crawled over to the window and waved his shirt because ACDC is so fucking awesome that he couldn't help but rock the fuck out). Jimi Hendrix - I kind of understand if you've never gone past his major charting singles. I mean sorta. I don't understand how you could not like Voodoo Child or Purple Haze, but Castles Made of Sand is just a superb song. Jimi couldn't sing for shit - it's very true - but as a lyricists, music writer and guitar player? Jesus the fuck christ. The Stones? My god, you people have no fucking taste. Apart from the incredibly obvious, Kanye West is my pet peeve. I mean Stronger was a great song. Hell it IS a great song. It was better before some douchebag rapped over the top of it. His vocals are at best a detractant from the song. Claiming it's success as his success is fucking offensive. Gold Digger? Jamie Foxx fucking nailed that song. As a producer - I have to concede - the guy has talent. The work he's done with Nas/Common/Jay Z? For the most part fantastic. As a sole artists? His best work is the work where someone else carries it.
What's so hard to get? I don't like the Beatles. Sure, I know all the reasons why I should like them, but I don't. It therefore fits into the focus of the thread. So blow me. Oh... wait... scratch that... you probably would. Go blow Zyron instead.
I'd add Will.I.Am, Timbaland, and Pharell to that list. Dear God, keep them away from the microphone. They deserve all the credit for their collaborations with artists nobody likes and turn it into catchy-as-fuck songs, but they should stop performing on their own. I don't think they are overrated as producers, but they are way overrated as solo-artists. They can't rap and their lyrics are so bad it's sometimes funny. Kanye is unable to even rhyme to save his life. I like the guy's (early) music, but just try and count how many times he repeats the last words of a sentence. Same goes for Will.I.Am, although he's even worse and a lot more swing-and-miss than Kanye. Pharell's voice is awful and Timbaland relies too much on auto-tune and thinks he's some kind of mobster boss. Just stick to making beats and popping up with a few awful lines.
Nirvana is a weird one for me. I used to be a huge fan, and I can still appreciate their merits, but I almost never listen to them by choice anymore. Actually there are probably several very popular bands (Metallica also comes to mind, Led Zeppelin to an extent) that I wouldn't say that I hate per se, but no longer have any interest in listening to. This is in stark contrast to some of my friends, who will still listen to Over the Hills and Far Away until I'm in a mood for punching. Another trend that's taken hold in my circle of friends is dubstep. I can occasionally tolerate it at a party, but I know people who used to listen to a fairly eclectic array of music and now almost exclusively blast dubstep (nobody listens to that shit at a volume lower than "chainsaw engine at full power"). I think this has more to do with my friends being e-tards than dubstep being some larger cultural phenomenon though.
It isn't just about talent. It's about personal preference. Sometimes you just don't feel "at home" listening to something. Shit, I know Hendrix was talented. Problem is, I don't like his music. I can admire the man, yes. I can't go out and buy an album.
I know I'm going to catch a flurry of red dots for this, especially due to the concentration of Canadians on the board, but for me it's... Rush Yes, these guys are some of the most talented of all time, but the sound of Geddy Lee's voice makes me cringe. Also in this category is Dream Theater. I can't listen to any of that. I have had this same discussion with a few friends who are guitar nerds, and my comments were treated like sacrilege. I do recognize them for their talent, but if a Rush song comes on the radio I'm changing the station.
I could list entire genres in this thread that everyone loves but I can't stand. Rap, Metal, Country, Pop, but I'm going to refrain from going on a tirade here. I also agree with a lot of stuff people already listed, but I have to specifically point out The Beatles, Nirvana and U2. There are a few Beatles songs that I enjoy like Blackbird, Norwegian Wood and Rocky Raccoon but I just really don't care to listen to most of their stuff. I don't so much hate U2 as I think their music is just forgettable, but I do have a burning hatred for Bono. Take off your sunglasses off you pretentious prick! Another one I want to add is Lady Gaga. I say this because it surprises me how many people really like her, not just the girls that mindlessly follow whatever is on the radio but even people who's musical tastes I generally respect. Oh, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. I liked them when I was a kid, but now it's just nails on a chalkboard. Anti-Focus: Dave Matthews Band. Really? I knew he would be listed in this thread several times as I have caught shit before for posting that I like their music. I also get that this thread is for listing bands that you don't like that other people generally do and I understand that some people aren't going to like Dave Matthews (I even admit that some of his stuff sucked). However, labeling all of his stuff as shitty radio pop or music for "fratty bros" or saying that he can't sing is sounds to me like an ignorant, knee jerk generalization. Listen to his live stuff, especially the acoustic stuff he does with Tim Reynolds, and then come back and tell me if you still think he is a no talent hack. Two of the best concerts I have ever been to were Dave Matthews shows. Of course, I have the musical preferences of a damn dirty hippy, so take this post with a grain of salt.
Focus: Wilco: Smug, uninspired dad-rock. No album has ever deserved its own fucking documentary less than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which proved that playing feelgood lite-rock jams with dissonant "interludes" and creeepy tape loops can pass for pop-music genuis in the new millenium. The best thing Jeff Tweedy ever created sounds like a lame mid-'70s George Harrison solo album. Sufjan Stephens, and any other "alternative" act that plays children's music and behaves like a Wes Anderson character: No matter what NPR says, you do not speak for anyone's generation. B.o.B.: How do you "save" hip hop? By making an album with every fucking Top 40 act your label can bribe, including the chick from fucking Paramore, that ends up sounding like something you'd hear in a dentist's office. Mom rap. Another one for Dropkick Murphys: If only because, somewhere in the south 'burbs of Chicago, there's a Mario pipe that pops out retarded skinheads who use this shit as a soundtrack for intimidating people in dart bars. Oi!
Cake Stultifying Ska-lite that is guaranteed to drive you off to Slumberland. Bass riffs can be catchy, but for how megalomaniacal this band is you'd think they would have something to show for it. They don't, with the laziest vocalist in music and minimalistic hooks. Borrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-ing!!!!!
What's especially strange is that I can tolerate them, hell, even enjoy them when I'm pregnant but the very second I give birth, I'm back to thinking they suck. I've tried. Really I have. Just can't do it. Don't know why.