Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Which bands/artists do you think are overrated? Which ones do you think are underrated?

Keep in mind, these are only our opinions, so whatever one likes shouldn't offend the other.

Underrated:
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
The Who
The Kinks
The Byrds
The Yardbirds
The Count Five
Neil Young
Jimmy Reed
Muddy Waters
Bo Diddley
Robert Johnson
Howlin' Wolf
Jeff Lynne

Overrated:
Michael Jackson
Bruce Springsteen
Jimi Hendrix (sure, the man could play, but I can never understand what he's saying!)
Elvis Presley
THE JONAS BROTHERS
Most teen pop
Most modern country
Almost all rap

JakeK wrote:Which bands/artists do you think are overrated? Which ones do you think are underrated?

Keep in mind, these are only our opinions, so whatever one likes shouldn't offend the other.

Underrated:
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
The Who
The Kinks
The Byrds
The Yardbirds
The Count Five
Neil Young
Jimmy Reed
Muddy Waters
Bo Diddley
Robert Johnson
Howlin' Wolf
Jeff Lynne

Overrated:
Michael Jackson
Bruce Springsteen
Jimi Hendrix (sure, the man could play, but I can never understand what he's saying!)
Elvis Presley
THE JONAS BROTHERS
Most teen pop
Most modern country
Almost all rap

I'm not entirely convinced that some of the underrated bands are underrated. The question that comes to my mind is "Underrated by whom, the music press, the general public?"

I suppose if we're being entirely subjective, my list of over rated bands would be:

• Kiss,
  Blue Oyster Cult
  Black Sabbath

That dates me. And that dates the time I quit listening to rock'n'roll, too. These are the bands the helped to push me ever farther into acoustic music, [Robert Johnson, Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Blake] or at least country rock a la the Flying Burrito Brothers, or Manassas,

JimK

Underrated: those i like that didn't get as much attention as, say, the Beatles.
Overrated: those i don't like.
Simple as that.
On a serious note, i must agree with James:

jimk wrote:The question that comes to my mind is "Underrated by whom, the music press, the general public?"

Depends on who rates.

JakeK wrote:Which bands/artists do you think are overrated? Which ones do you think are underrated?

Keep in mind, these are only our opinions, so whatever one likes shouldn't offend the other.

OK i got you Jake

Overrated. U2
Underrated .Pete Doherty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DynOaY8h ... re=related

Totally disagree with you on almost every count Jake.

I meant that the one rating doesn't like. I didn't know I was going to offend or anger anyone.

Not offended or angry here, Jake. You're just wrong.

I don't mean to offend you, Jake, but I'm not sure you quite understand the meaning of underrated/overrated.

In the music world, "underrated" is most often a term given to bands or acts that have flown under the radar (and possibly been given critical praise), or never received the accolades they deserved. In the "underrated" category, you mentioned The Who, The Kinks, The Byrds and The Yardbirds. I think all four of those bands would fall into anyone's "Top 10 bands of the 1960's" list, therefore making them some of the most popular bands of all time and hardly underrated by any stretch.

Tom Petty? No way. Neil Young?! Not even close!

You mentioned some older blues guys, which isn't exactly mainstream music, but you mentioned four of the most influential blues musicians of all time. None of them underrated.

I'll give you Jimmy Reed for sure. Don't know who the Count Five are.

"Overrated" would imply that undue praise has been given to some artist or act. You think Michael Jackson has been given more praise than he deserves? The man is one of the most talented performers of all time, and was so from an unprecedented age (8?). You may not like Bruce Springsteen, but even people who don't can still acknowledge his accomplishments as an enduring songwriter and performer. Have you ever listened to his Nebraska album? Have you listened to Born To Run front to back and been totally unmoved?

Jimi's overrated because you can't understand what he's saying? I think he's far more intelligible than Robert Johnson and even Petty. And besides, that's no reason to discount someone's entire body of work.

Etc, etc, etc. Re-think your picks.

sloop_john_b wrote:Totally disagree with you on almost every count Jake.

+1


Jake-----threads like these kinda make you look closed-minded about music.

The Who underrated?? I'd say playing Woodstock and the Super Bowl indicates they're pretty well-rated, mate.

It sounds like you made a list of bands you liked, and music you didn't like, and assumed the stuff you didn't like
was overrated, with no reasoning provided.

No need to classify stuff, dude!

JakeK wrote:I meant that the one rating doesn't like. I didn't know I was going to offend or anger anyone.

Not angry and no offense taken, Jake. OK, puzzled maybe.
JimK

I agree with John and Collin.

Very few bands or individuals are consistently bad or consistently good. It's all percentages, and once we go there, it's really down to personal taste.

My first impression of your "underrated" list, Jake, was that they are all bands that you champion and admire (to put it conservatively...). I agree on some of the "overrated" selections, but when you get to overrating Elvis Presley, then I've got to say that it appears to be a generational thing, at least with this one selection.

Personally, I think Elvis jumped the Memphis shark sometime in '65. Others I know believe he did nothing of worth after his army stint. Personal taste...

Painting "most modern country", "most teen pop", and "all rap" as overrated, means dissing some awfully talented people, or at least painting with an awfully broad brush.

Ice-T and Body Count completely rearranged my head back in '91, for starters. Then there's Eminem.

But, again, that's opinion, and a lot of folks would disagree with me, depending upon THEIR musical preferences.

But, thanks for telling us yours (as if we didn't already know!!!)

jingle_jangle wrote: "all rap" as overrated, means dissing some awfully talented people


Ice-T and Body Count completely rearranged my head back in '91, for starters.

+1


Or Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur, Kanye West, Digable planets, ODB, NWA, Run DMC, or thousands of other highly respected and influential (and underrated ) Hip-Hop/ Rap artists. Much respect!


I don't think we mean to jump on ya, Jake----it's a thread all in good fun, and we all respect your opinion, and perhaps the intent was simply lost in translation, that's all.

Jake, i don't mean to offend, and i hate to sound as if i was a teacher of something, but i'm afraid it's all a "terminological problem". Would it be right to suggest you meant "which acts, in your opinion, deserved more attention than they actually got (no matter how much attention they actually got), and which ones got more attention than they deserved"? Now forgive me if i'm missing something (and it's quite possible, with me not being a native English speaker), but seems like "underrated/overrated" implies some kind of rating, as a starting point. Which one is the question. Some "top bands of the century" vote? Well, i've seen one where the Who were claimed "Best band of the 20th century" (just as an example). Grammys or any other awards? Charts? Sales? Our personal ratings? But if the last one is the starting point, then there's a problem: like, how can i say the Ramones are underrated if they are on the top of my personal rating?
"Underrated" as "overlooked"? Like the Monks, for instance, who were way ahead of their time but are little known among "general public"?
Also, in my opinion, "whyness" is the key. I mean, explanation, like "i think X was underrated because of this and that, while Y was overrated because of this and that".
As far as "overrated" goes, i simply don't like the idea itself. I mean the idea that somebody got more than they deserved. But that's only a personal, highly subjective opinion.

Let's pretend the whole thing never happened. Brian, could you possibly delete this thread, please?

BTW, JB, the Count Five are these guys:

JakeK wrote:Jimi Hendrix (sure, the man could play, but I can never understand what he's saying!)

+1 on him - a great player, but doesn't mean that makes him a great composer. I admire him for technique, not for his music.

Anyway, mr. Petty can stay as underrated as he wants, I'm not going to buy anything he did ever

There's just one band I'll name as underrated - not because I like them a lot, of course, but as it's thre truth

Supergrass

Jake i dont think there is any reason Delete this thread its just getting started.........Nobody has been offended yet!