She's awful, imo.

Nicki Garbaj. Awful.
Adam Levine. His voice is soooo annoying. And I don't think he's good looking at all.

Rebellious get-up nothwithstanding, I find their music sounds like punk with the hard enges sanded smooth.

Supposed to be punk but isn't angry or sarcastic at all. Very poppy.

Kennedys are punk, Misfits are punk.

Not only do I not hate them, I like listening to them every now and then and have all their albums.

They're good....but they're not THAT good. I used to get into some tense scraps with LZ fanboys that think they're the best at everything at all times; and they won't hear any different. To them; If LZ made it; it's great.

Love every single song. Even the shit from Coda. And I like a good portion of the surviving members' solo careers although certainly not all of it.

If Led Zeppelin made it, it's great. And the stuff they didn't make but recorded anyway is pretty great too.

Led Zep was the first rock band I ever really listened to after escaping the shackles of fundamentalist christianity. I credit them with opening my mind and ears to a whole new world of secular music. Led Zep was my gateway and my first musical love and they will always be #1 with me.

After 30+ years I still won't turn off the car if Stairway is on. Stairway rule is always in effect - wait for it to finish.


But one of the beauties of life is everyone gets to be turned on by whatever turns them on with no regard for what turns me on. In places we agree, GREAT! in places we disagree, still GREAT because everyone gets to pick their own joys and if you're happy, I'm happy.

At least, in regards to music. If you're happy liking Budweiser we gonna have to fight. (lolz)

More straight-ahead rock than that disaster of In Through The Out Door, which, IMO, has not a single honest hard rock song in it, though some tunes in it are fun ( in a riding a moped sort of way ) to listen to. If i could string together some of the best riffs and jams from all the songs on it, I could probably come up with a decent 4-minute song.

It was probably the first band I listened to that was not top-40 garbage radio. Great music to listen to, but other rock bands rock harder and play with more instrumental skill.

Alas, 'Stairway to Heaven' I am sick sick sick of. It's like getting caught swaying to muzak. To me the song is a badge as a "favorite" of "fans" of the band in that's probably the only song from them they've ever heard. It's not the song's fault, it's the shallow philistines, the casual rock fans that ruined it for me.

re: Stairway - hell, I don't even like it as much as about 75 other songs by them but a rule is a rule.

Growing up in Texas made me love "Hot Dog" because it pissed off the rednecks I knew that hated rock and the rockers I knew that hated country.

I love both and never could understand why I was supposed to pick one.

Starting with Led Zep led me to death metal though so I can have all the hardness I need there and Zep is my easy listening now.

I liked his work in Cream, but his solo stuff later does nothing for me. Seems every cover band and their brothers want to play nothing but Clapton all the time.

"meh." Cream and The Dominos were the shit, though.

I've tried to enjoy it. Everytime one of their songs or albums gets voted to the top of a list though I just kind of meh.

Just not my thing I guess. I'm sure glad that not everyone loves or likes the same thing though, makes life a lot more interesting.

I respect them for their contribution to the music world and advancing the genre of rock, but I really can't get into most of their music.

They have a lot of great singles but their albums contain an awful lot of filler material.

Out of their entire "output", I can only listen to a handful of their songs. Most of the songs on Revolver, for example, sound like metaphorical sand paper rasping against my ear drums. Ugh.

I think it's because I hate dissonance. And to their credit, I think the Beatles were one of the first 20th century bands to adventurously bend tonalities - I get that ... but it grates on my consonance-loving ears.

whose version of "Hound Dog" was a pale reflection of Big Mama Thornton's version.

Elvis's singing was mediocre and his guitar skills were negligible, but he sure could move his pelvis around.

There's no truth to the rumor that he had a brother named Enis.

Appreciated their musicianship, there was no way not to appreciate it, but Queen was WAY too Broadway for me to take seriously as an old school rock band. Tons of talent but not my style at all. Too much Judy Garland fronting a kick-ass power trio, a stylistic mix that I didn't dig.

It seems like most people either fall into 2 camps with the Dead:

1) Greatest band of all time! Let's go and listen to EVERY SINGLE live show they ever played! And then discuss the minutia of every show.

2) Boring hippie relics that probably don't even know how to tune their instruments.

I think that they released a few classic albums, a few decent ones, and a lot of mediocre ones, and their live shows are like Wagner - a few minutes of brilliant music surrounded by hours of boring noodling.

And I agree on Queen. A bunch of incredible musiicians that don't really gel into anthing all that cohesive, and usually overproduced to death.

My 5-year-old daughter absolutely loves "We Will Rock You" and "Another One Bites the Dust" though.

The noodling was never boring, dammit!

If you like live Dead stuff, have you hear John Oswald's Grayfolded album? He took over 100 performances of "Dark Star" covering 25 years or so, and used his sonic collage techniques to make a large-scale piece. I think it's pretty great, and like I said, I'm left cold by a lot of their live stuff. I would imagine that it would be even more interesting to fans that were really familiar with their live shows since they would recognize where a lot of the snippets come from.

13 shows here.

Last edited Wed Apr 29, 2015, 05:33 PM - Edit history (1)

sorry, I have never gotten it - their music seems very mediocre to me

As I became into music, I saw lots of people talking about the GD, and I saw photos of them sporting multiple guitars players, and two drummers, I thought: "Wow, these guys must really kick ass!".

Finally hearing a concert simulcast on the radio, I couldn't get over how limp and vapid they sounded. By no means a wall of sound. Ugh!

I was a casual listener for years. I felt exactly like you do. I listened a little closer. I then realized I was very wrong in my original assessment of the Grateful Dead.

Would you listen to the first song here, Help on the Way?

I would never say they suck, but I have just never understood their immense and enduring popularity

But I can imagine their fans feel the same way I do when I hear someone say the Beatles were overrated

I really could never understood their immense and enduring popularity either. Then, after listening to them for a while something clicked. I am so glad I now appreciate them. But it took me by complete surprise.

Great place ya got here

Maybe when you rename it, you could try "Ignore This Spot"

...and Great Old Ones help me, but someone i work with has a bunch of their stuff on the sound system at the pub...
*ugh*

Dylan is a brilliant songwriter -- really. There's just one thing, and I really hate to bring it up -- HE CAN'T SING. There are Dylan songs I really like (Highway 61 Revisited, Mozambique), but overall, he's at his best when his work is being performed by others (Jimi Hendrix performing "All Along the Watchtower" is the best example).

Yeah, his voice is nasal, and "singing in tune" is kind of a foreign concept to him. But his rhythmic delivery is really complex and sophisticated (and easy to overlook since the rhythm of the accompaniment is usually pretty straightforward). And Hendrix's performance of "All Along the Watchtower" is definitive, but there aren't all that many other examples where I prefer a cover version to Dylan's originals.


Definitely not overrated as a singer though - almost everyone thinks he can't sing.

I do own a couple of Dylan albums, but for me, personally, he's overrated. Ditto what Algernon Moncrieff said about his singing and others performing his songs. The singing was tolerable when he was young, but for the last 20 years he's almost unlistenable. I'd also add the Byrds covers of his songs.

Some songwriters whose lyrics and music I enjoyed more than Dylan's: Paul Simon, Ray Davies, Frank Zappa, Ian Anderson, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon, Carole King, others.

Seems like I would like them but can't get into it

There are only 2 songs from him that I like, and they are "3 peat" and "Hustler Musik". Everything else I heard from him is pretty much trash. I remember when I was in high school a few years back, my boys used to make fun of me for not having that many of his songs on my iPod. They all acted like he was so hard and such a great rapper (even though there are lyricists out there like Nas and Royce da 5'9" who would eat him alive). Much of his rap doesn't make sense, either, and I don't care for the autotuning he does.

the poppiest/most hyped/commercial is usually the worst example. Give me Dalek, Louis Logic, M.U.R.S., Talib Kweli, Jeru the Damaja, Nujabes, Madvillain (well, pretty much all MF Doom), Organized Konfusion (Pharoahe Monch) and, of course, the classics from Wu-Tang, NWA, etc... and I will crank that ish up.

I came to hip-hop/Rap late in life thanks to making some good friends that showed me the way. I'm sure there's tons out there I haven't even heard yet but I'm trying to get to them lol.

are pretty good for finding underground artists, in case if you were still looking. And yeah, I think that's 100% true about the most mainstream artists. There was a time when mainstream rap was better (such as the 80s and 90s), but even back then, there was probably even more hardcore stuff than say, the mainstream gangsta' rap.

I may not have time to get to them all but I'm sure not planning to die without trying. I don't even have time to listen to all the bands in my favorite little slice of sub-genre (old school death metal) but I follow and subscribe to a number of music blogs/pages/etc... that are always introducing me to new stuff.

lol that reminds me how far behind I am - I have been planning to get "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II" for a while...

ON top of that I'm trying to educate myself on Jazz - Charlie Parker, Coltrane, Brubeck, Bela Fleck...so much music, so little time lol...

and with the exception of Tommy, which is absolutely brilliant!

I don't hate them, but I'll never understand all the praise they get. Mediocre folk-rock at best.

Still, they've steered a lot of listeners toward the better current acoustic groups, as well as some of the old masters, so they're not all bad.

So fricking overrated although a long time ago they use to put out amazing music and do these awesome tours.

Now I find them nothing more than a band that should have retired decades ago but since they can still sell tickets for $300 a pop they will still keep touring. But instead of getting those amazing tours from the 70s you get these 'Wal-martized' Concert tours geared towards todays concert goers thinking they are seeing something awesome but really just watching the same recycled crap done over and over again.

I suppose if the Rolling Stones actually could put out a decent album, since their last memorable one was 'Some Girls' and that was back in 1980.

I know Bruce Springsteen is aging and he tours all the time but he also puts out great albums every couple of years.

I just don't dig him at all. And his hipster obsession with vinyl. Ok Jack, we get. You're super into the sound...

I think of him as the Bob Dylan of country music. Great songwriter, can't sing, can't play the guitar. Not very well, anyway. I saw him live and he was awful. I do like some of his songs.

Tip: I you ever get drunk enough to try Karaoki, pick a Willie Nelson song. He has very little range in his voice, and there is a pretty good chance you can sing it as well as him on the first try. Also, if there's any Willie Nelson fans present, they won't know the difference if you sing well or not.

...I will definitely keep that in mind, if I ever decide to try doing karaoke.

I think of Willie as being "quirky," or maybe, stoned.

Here's Willie (including a guitar solo) with Merle Haggard, "It's All Going to Pot":

I'm sorry, but I just don't understand their appeal. To me, they are an average sounding band, noted more for their inter-band squabbles and affairs than their music.

The Rumors-era lineup is a classic rock staple, but they don't get a lot of critical respect these days. But I keep running into people that swear that the original lineup is the greatest thing ever, but to me it just sounds like the same sort of British electric blues that dozens of bands were doing at the time.

One thing about them though, in any era they had a killer rhythm section. Too bad it was attached to such boring music.

For the past 40 years, the only people I knew who really liked them were lame-o's that also like top-40 garbage.

I would also have to say Queen.

I don't hate the band. In fact, I actually like a lot of their songs. I just don't think they're as fantastic as some people have said they are.


Also...

Bruce Springsteen.

Rush. Although they are seriously a millimeter away from being on my "I hate this band" list. But definitely overrated, IMO.


Plus a few more I can't think of right now.

yeah, I know her influence on phrasing and her biography, but, to my ears, there's really not a lot there. She relies on that little
surprised "oh!" vocal trick way too much.
She was no Ella Fitzgerald.

Ella is the master of the exquisitely perfect phrase, and had a classic sound.

Billie has a unique sound, voice and style that no one can copy, and deliberately would sing behind the beat. I really like both, for completely different reasons.

Never understood the appeal. Always sounded on the edge of off-key to me, more like mumbled yelling than singing.

I like bits of his stuff covering the length of his career but it seems that critics now just automatically give any new album of his 4 or 5 stars simply because it's a Bruce Springsteen record as opposed to it being actually worth 4 to 5 stars.

and respect his work ethic and his politics, but never really liked his music, either.

And, my ex-wife is from New Jersey, so our marriage was probably illegal in NJ anyhow.

this is good, yes?

jeez if you're gonna like the guy for only one song, at least pick the right one

Hootie and the Blowfish were a staple at bars and festivals in Columbia, SC in the 80s. It seemed like every town of 50,000 or more had a band that sounded just like them, so we were surprised when they all of a sudden hit it big.
Many of my friends think it was the catchy name that made them stand out. Great guys and decent music, but I never quite understood their success.

Where's Kanye when you need him?

Rush and Smashing Pumpkins.

....Billy Corgan's voice is what one would call an acquired taste. (Plus personally he's a bit of a prick, but that's besides the point) The more you listen to it, the more you appreciate it, but to the casual listener I can fully understand how it's a bit off-putting.

But you can't have Smashing Pumpkins without Billy. Vocally he might leave something to be desired (although I don't think the band would work with an Eddie Vedder esqe guttural type singer), but the man's a genius on the guitar, lyrics and production.

Whenever I listen past the singing, they really impress me. Big time.

but I would never actually claim he can actually sing. His voice is awful, but I like it.

But there are some examples where it works out quite well, especially in his more acoustic work:

I should like them, but I don't. I don't hate them, but just find their music boring.

I too found their music boring. Too slick and commercial sounding to my ears.

Lady Gaga is the poster child for over-exposed mediocrity. I don't hate her music. I like a few of her songs. She is generic, though. Same with Katy Perry.

I hear it enhances the sound.

Actually, I think dope does that to all music.

Duran Duran

REO Speedwagon



Oh, wait, maybe I kind of hate them a little.

No real love for Queen.

Thats all I heard on the radio in the early 2000s

The Who
Queen

All huge icons that I never quite got. I like some of the music they put out, but in general they do nothing for me. And I'm judging them IN THEIR TIME. "Not what they used to be" is a whole 'nother category, and, I would argue, not really fair.

blech! Sloppy and not in a good way.

If they were as heavy as their album covers they'd be Slayer.

Too much overwrought, musical masturbation from these guys. They're good but not great. Best when held under 4 minutes.

Too screechy.