"Who's being naive, Kay?"
Posted on 05/01/2013 4:06:21 PM PDT by Para-Ord.45
#5: Pink Floyd
Let’s tackle Roger Waters’ reputed antisemitism first, since it lets me put off having to actually talk about his dreadful “music” for a bit.
I grew up trying to avoid The Wall. It was ubiquitous in my steel mill home town — a whining drone blaring from every paneled suburban basement and tricked out Chevy van.
#4 – Bob Marley
The king of rasta “music” (and his idiotic “religion”) inspires so much loathing I barely have to do more than cut and paste this entry. Thanks, other people!
Remember that “tribute to Bob Marley” at this year’s Grammy Awards? Neither does anyone else, because it was terrible. The most entertaining part? You can actually see all these A-list performers’ suddenly remembering, too late and on live TV, that Bob Marley’s songs are, in fact, really really bad.
#3: Stevie Wonder
At the risk of wandering into Elvis Costello territory — yes, he really did say this — I’m gonna come right out with it:
If Stevie Wonder wasn’t black and blind, there’s no way he’d be as highly esteemed as he is.
A white guy who named himself “Wonder” would never hear the end of it. Instead, we never hear the end of Stevie’s songs, especially on American Idol.
OK, so that’s not his fault, but you know what is?
Besides The Secret Life of Plants and “I Just Called To Say I Love You” and “Ebony and Ivory”?
#2: The Doors
The Doors are like certain Twilight Zone episodes or The Shawshank Redemption:
Really deep and profound — if you’re 12 years old.
Jim Morrison’s lyrics — sorry, I mean “poetry” — is, well, let this guy say it:
Jim Morrison wrote a lot of poetry, and most of it was (…) pretentious, regrettable, faux-intellectual diarrhea. Reading Jim Morrison the poet is like watching a shirtless SAE pledge strumming James Blunt on his old acoustic in the university commons during spring break: totally insufferable, uninspiring, and distasteful.
By the way: the dude who wrote that is a fan of The Doors.
Just saying.
#1: Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen is a pompous blowhard whose overwrought, arrested-adolescent lyrics make Jim Morrison sound like Philip Larkin.
And like Morrison, he wrote about stuff he knows nothing about — like having a real job — and, like both Morrison and Stevie Wonder, he gave himself a ridiculous “penis” nickname: “The Boss.”
The only reason “Because the Night” is good is because Patti Smith co-wrote it.
But as usual, it took an Englishman to give Springsteen the thrashing he deserves:
Someone like Tom Waits makes me feel like I understand America a little better. Springsteen makes me feel hopelessly estranged from the place with his hyperventilating soap operas about young lovers riding outta this one-horse town on the back of a hurricane down the highway of dreams. (…)
His lyrics are wrought from overcooked high school poetry (“we ride through mansions of glory on suicide machines”), homespun hokum, and the York Study Notes to John Steinbeck.
Springsteen appeals to the eternal adolescent in every rock fan, but not the fun, irreverent version, rather the inner Holden Caulfield, earnestly searching for ANSWERS and TRUTH, desperate to be a hero in the drama of his own life, utterly incapable of laughing at himself or the world.
Pt.1 :http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2013/04/23/the-5-most-overrated-male-musicians-part-one/?singlepage=true
Pt.II:http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2013/04/30/the-5-most-overrated-male-musicians-part-two/?singlepage=true
Sorry-would put Neil Peart of Rush or Ian Paice of Deep Purple way above him.
Guys that do their thing so damn well and support he rest of the band instead of posturing themselves as composers.
Phil Collins as a composer sucks. His ability as a drummer is overshadowed by his pomposity.
My opinion. You have yours. There are probably many other things we could agree on over a beer.
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned the Grateful Dead.
They were actually really good in their early days, and that lasted into the early 70s. From there on, it was all downhill. Garcia was always a marginal singer, and after Bobby Weir’s voice burned out, there wasn’t much left. Plus, they evolved into a fluffy sort of disco type of sound, which left me cold.
Still, Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty are great albums.
Here is Gilmour/Wright performing Echoes one last time....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq_bITDr_90
Always loved when Gilmour and Wright combined their voices.
The first album I ever bought was Queen’s Night at the Opera. Bohemian Rhapsody is awesome, especially when you consider that they didn’t use a synthesizer on the entire album.
The downside to Bohemian Rhapsody was when they played it live, the opera part was on tape. I shudder to think how many tracks and studios (they used more than one) it took to produce it.
In fact, that album is sitting on my turntable as I write this. I hate CDs, they sound like breaking glass although they are much better than they were but nothing sounds as good as vinyl with a great cartridge.
You need to listen to some of the Genesis bootlegs during the Gabriel era, and check out Brand X.
And when Robert Plant went out on his first solo tour, who did he want to be his drummer? Phil.
The only exception I’d make on that list is the Doors, not so much Morrison or his legend but I enjoy many of their songs. The others artists listed: I can take Pink Floyd in very small doses but the other three are pigeon poop.
I do agree that Genesis was better when Banks and Rutherford were doing the writing and Phil drummed and sang....A Trick of the Tail is a fantastic album.
Pick up “Desire”, it’s easily his best album and I’m not a fan of his other work.
They have it right on the money with Springstein.
Completely wrong with Bob Marley.
I don't think a band ever put two completely different albums together back-to-back like "Stampede" and "Takin' It To The Streets".
Oh no, you deserve severe pain for reminding me of this song:Melanie (Brand new key).
I can’t think of a worse one although there are more from that era.
Boy George and he could sing and actually write lyrics pretty well, but the real talent in the band was the guitarist Roy Hay (who now does movie music) and their backup singer Helen Terry.
No argument there.
And of course Richard Wright RIP 1943–2008; underrated on lead vocals (duet with Gilmour on “Time” and harmony vocals on “Astronomy Domine” for two examples).
it is still the most over-rated song ever.
Here’s the last song (”The Garden”) of their latest album (Clockwork Angels).
A great song as they (and I) have one eye on the past while looking into the future. And at almost 60 - I guess one has to mellow, a bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wztuqskio8
It was funny how bad XTC was reamed for “Dear God”. Although the song is anti-God, having a little kid start the song really cheesed people off but if you listen to it, it sounds like he’s trying to convince himself.
I have their whole catalog on my MP3 player.
girl george...
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