Most overrated bands ever?

[boo boo]

Originally Posted by Rainard Jalen

I do agree whole-heartedly about Dream Theatre and Porcupine Tree not being particularly innovative in the slightest and being patent rip-offs of other sounds, in spite of the scores and scores of deluded fanatics who would do anything to prove otherwise. I've argued before that Porcupine Tree, particularly the early stuff, is almost a complete rip-off of Pink Floyd and Genesis, though boo boo does not agree with me on that at all.

And heres the problem, Pink Floyd and Genesis sound nothing alike. How can you rip them both off? Without becoming somewhat original as a result? Especially without sounding anything like all the other prog bands that cite Floyd or Genesis as influences. Wheres the Gilmour solos? The Waters-ish/Gabriel-ish vocals? Because I don't hear it.

I don't think early PT sounds much like Floyd at all, but at least I get the comparison, but Genesis? That one kinda came out of nowhere. While I agree that they're not innovaters, I don't know another band that sounds like them. The Floyd/Porcupine Tree comparisons are just as vague and groundless as the Floyd/Radiohead comparisons.

Floyd don't have the f*cking patent on mellow and trippy music. Nor does mellow and trippy music translate to a complete rip-off of Pink Floyd.

Originally Posted by Rainard Jalen

Dude. That excludes about 97% (or more) of the bands classed as prog today from being prog. It excludes pretty much the entire nu-prog movement. There is practically nothing whatsoever new in that music at all. It's crappy boring rip-off posturing of 70s bands.

As boo boo has argued [EDIT: at the time of making the post I wasn't even aware that an argument had transpired in this thread - Comus is talking absolute bigoted flaming nonsense, though], I don't think prog is necessarily about doing something new and experimental. It's more of a stylistic trait.

Aside from all that, Tool, while crap, don't honestly sound quite like any other band that came before them so it could easily be argued that there is much new in their sonic output. Muse on the other hand do tend to sound like a huge compendium of other, better sounds of yesteryear.

Well you're right about neo prog (I assume that's what you meant by nu, otherwise you'd be wrong). But to say it applies to 97% is pretty damn ignorant.

I love bands like PT, TMV, Tool and Muse. And I find that people who hate these bands fall into one of the following groups.

1. Prog hating hipsters
2. Prog fans who dislike all the newer prog bands that don't fall into the Dream Theater mold

Both annoy me a lot. It's easy to tell that some of you are the former and others are the latter.

[Rainard Jalen]

Originally Posted by boo boo

I love bands like PT, TMV, Tool and Muse. And I find that people who hate these bands fall into one of the following groups.

1. Prog hating hipsters
2. Prog fans who dislike all the newer prog bands that don't fall into the Dream Theater mold

Both annoy me a lot. It's easy to tell that some of you are the former and others are the latter.

Lol. I'm not number (2), but I'm not really (1) either. While you might argue that I have some unfortunate traits of the 'hipster', I actually quite like some prog. Caravan, for one. Hell, to be completely honest I even kinda like and enjoy Tool when in the right frame of mind - not the garbage of 10,000 Days but the good stuff, like Aenima and Lateralus. I enjoy a lot of Opeth too. And I love Mastodon, and I guess in reality they have to come under the prog umbrella too. I also kinda take an interest in the actual CREATIVE (or at least semi-creative) prog music that comes out today, like that weird-a$s band Battles.

It's the neo-prog stuff that's mostly garbage and intolerable. And that's not because I have some diehard vendetta against prog, it's just because it's derivative without improving at all on the old stuff, and the songs tend to be overly long snoozers.

[boo boo]

I agree about neo prog. I tried getting into bands like IQ and Arena but just couldn't. And I never really understood the appeal of Marillion, progarchives freaking worships these guys for some reason.

And of course I can't stand Dream Theater.

[lucifer_sam]

I get bored by almost all progressive music. I wish I could have more appreciation for it but some stuff just bores the arse off me. And then there's always the unfortunate fact that my favorite prog bands (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Van Der Graaf Generator) turn around after a few years and make crap that sounds more like lounge music than anything else like the nobs they are.

[Rainard Jalen]

Originally Posted by lucifer_sam

I get bored by almost all progressive music. I wish I could have more appreciation for it but some stuff just bores the arse off me. And then there's always the unfortunate fact that my favorite prog bands (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Van Der Graaf Generator) turn around after a few years and make crap that sounds more like lounge music than anything else like the nobs they are.

Oi! There's absolutely nothing wrong with a bit of jazzy lounge music.

[lucifer_sam]

Originally Posted by Rainard Jalen

Oi! There's absolutely nothing wrong with a bit of jazzy lounge music.

Lounge music may have been good during its time (I wouldn't know) but today sounds dated and extraordinarily cheesy. I love John McLaughlin's early work with Miles Davis and the first few Mahavishnu Orchestra albums, but I absolutely detest his later works (like Inner Worlds).

[Rainard Jalen]

Originally Posted by lucifer_sam

Lounge music may have been good during its time (I wouldn't know) but today sounds dated and extraordinarily cheesy.

It depends on your tastes. Sure, it does sound cheesy, but then, I think it always did. I think the whole development of the notion of cheese must in some way be intrinsically linked to things like lounge music. But that it is cheesy does not altogether preclude it from being a pleasant and enjoyable sort of listen, given the right mood... Well, again - depending on who's listening!

[The Unfan]

The Mars Volta is, in my opinion, a gigantic cluster**** of terrible laced with the most grating vocals known to man. How this passes as music as beyond me, and prog at that? Just give a moment to throw some instruments down a flight of stairs and sing in an obnoxious falsetto and I'll be king of the art ***s.

Edit: ATDI sucked too.

[scottsy]

I always thought that maybe by 2010 Muse migith make a really oblique eletronic / rock album with barely intelligible lyrics and vocals and call it "Kid B"...hehehehehehe...


I own the first Muse album, and after a few careful listens I just couldn't go with the band - they sounded like less than the sum of their parts - some parts "The Bends" on steriods, other times drawing heavily from Jeff Buckley... it just sounded all so familiar, and even now the band seems to be a good 2 - 3 years behind whats actually going on that is new...

[khfreek]

Originally Posted by scottsy

I own the first Muse album, and after a few careful listens I just couldn't go with the band - they sounded like less than the sum of their parts - some parts "The Bends" on steriods, other times drawing heavily from Jeff Buckley... it just sounded all so familiar, and even now the band seems to be a good 2 - 3 years behind whats actually going on that is new...

Because we all know that every band you hear has to be absolutely unique to grab your attention...