npc210

Overrated
Led Zeppelin (and I own most of their albums)
Nirvana (see Zep)
Red Hot Chili Peppers (see Nirvana)
Animal Collective (sorry, I don't get their appeal)
TV on the Radio
The Eagles
Kiss
Fleetwood Mac

Underrated
Blur (at least here in the states)
Cheap Trick (their first three albums are near-flawless)
Alice In Chains (the best grunge era band, IMO)
The Zombies/Colin Blunstone (perhaps too universally "underrated" to make this thread)
Shoes
Sloan
Longwave
Josh Rouse

TockTockTock

Personally, I get a bit tired from all the hype a lot of bands get, but for the most part it doesn't really bug me. But... this seems like a fun thread, so...


Overrated: Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, U2

Underrated: A Whisper in the Noise (EXTREMELY underrated for such a great group), Throbbing Gristle, The Fugs, Fleet Foxes

Now, I actually like Zeppelin and Clapton, but I still think they're much too overrated.

imaduck13

overrated: deadmau5, almost all pop, hiphop and rap music, kings of leon, coldplay, nickelback, fall out boy, the beatles, afrojack, U2, underoath
underrated: attack attack, porcupine tree, shpongle, skrillex

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James

Agree with all of this, especially Shoes.

duga

Sometimes I think people mix up what they feel is overrated with what has been overplayed. I was about to agree with you on Led Zep, but honestly I still think they deserve all the praise they get. I have just listened to them so much that their music has become tiresome. Still, the way Jimmy Page explored the guitar was, in fact, underrated. People love his lead work, but the chord progressions he used were nothing short of amazing.

I don't think Alice in Chains are underrated...they get a ton of praise. Most people I hang out with listen to them...and they all have horrible taste in music most of the time.

I 100% agree with you about Blur.

Everything else you mentioned...I'm kind of indifferent towards.

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Badlittlekitten

Agreed on all this.

I'm in the Zepplin are overrated camp. Like duga said, Page does some really nice chord progressions and rhythm work, albeit a bit too tasteful at times, but I'm not a fan of his lead playing. Obviously its good in terms of technique, but there's too much bluster for my liking. For me, Zepplin too often sound like virtuoso fake blues music, sharing more in common with stadium bands like Mountain, Cream etc., rather than the dangerous, sexy renegades like Hendrix, Stooges and Sabbath, who mix psychedelia, chaos and a sense of outsider-dom into their groove.

Despite this though I would listen to Zep more regularly if it wasn't for one factor; Robert Plant's squealy forghorn whine just rubs me up the wrong way, and his mystical airy-fairy bollocks lyrics don't help his cause.

Still, 'Black Dog' is a MEGA TUNE.

Anyway, to the overrated I'll throw in: Pink Floyd, The Byrds, The Smiths, U2, Arcade Fire, Neutral Milk Hotel, Guided By Voices.

Two of these bands I have massive respect for (The Byrds, Smiths) because they're an obvious influence on some bands I adore. I've always thought Morrissey's lyrics were great but I can't stand his voice, and I find them drab musically. The Byrds just bore the shit out of me.

Underrated is a lot harder for a cynic like me but I'll go for: The La's, The Slits, Pere Ubu, Neu! and Kool and the Gang. (before you raise an eyebrow I don't mean their horrible 80's disco hits, but their 70's funk stuff)
I'll probs think of more later.

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My Top 100 LPs
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Musikwala

Okay, I'd like to make a point about U2 here... since there have been numerous mentions. lol. I fully agree that U2 of the 2000s have been way way overrated and hyped by the media but in reality were arguably not that good. All That You Can't Leave Behind was a plain vanilla collection of singles with few good songs and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb was an overproduced bombastic disaster with a few bearable songs. I think No Line On The Horizon was much better but also had its share of clunkers.

But their 80s and 90s stuff I think deserves all the praise it can get! In particular The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, Zooropa, Passengers and Pop make up the cream of the crop where I think they showcased such a variety of styles that it could almost rival The Beatles! Let's not forget that Radiohead was heavily influenced by the bonkers U2 of Zooropa and Passengers era. There may not have been a Kid A without Zooropa and Passengers!

someonecompletelyrandom

I still hold to my opinion that this is the dumbest thread on MB. The concept of "overratedness" is consistently abused and literally the same four bands are in almost every post. All this thread is ever going to do is allow people to express how "different" they are because they don't buy into the hype of mainstream music. News flash: nobody here does.

Badlittlekitten

Nooo don't be comparing U2 with the Beatles!

Apart from 'I will follow' which is great, I've always thought of U2 as the most insipid of stadium rockers. 'One' in particular winds me up, with its vague sub-Lennon/Marley hugging-and-learning-pap lyrics about nothing in particular. I see more of their influence in Coldplay than Radiohead.

Also Bono is a twat.

__________________
'Said do you feel it? Do you feel it when you TOUCH ME?. THERE'S A FIRE! THERE'S A FIRE!' The Stooges. Dirt.

https://soundcloud.com/bad-little-kittens
My Top 100 LPs
My Top 52 Indie Tracks Of The 21st Century (incomplete)

Queen Boo

Sweetheart, I realize you're a duck but Attack Attack! are not underrated.

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