Entertainment For Lively Minds
As promised - the final results of worst band of all time
Thanks for Andrew Harrison's help in getting this to 'go viral'.
Funnily enough, as soon as it went on the Word Twitter, there was a marked increased in people (or rock snobs!) nominating big established bands as the worst bands of all time - U2, Oasis, Coldplay and Queen really shot up in the rankings. When the sample was of the general public rather than a 'muso audience', Scouting For Girls and Westlife were dominant, although Queen were still a very popular choice.
Unprompted results -
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1406274/Worst_bands_of_all_time_-_unprom...
Westlife still walk the 'unprompted' category, with a massive 7% of all mentions. Queen were second with 4.5%, closely followed by Nickelback with 3.8%. Fourth were Scouting For Girls with 2.9%. Tied in fifth were U2 and Oasis with 2.7% and equal sixth were Coldplay and the Stereophonics with 2%.
One mention wonders: Bellowhead, Babyshambles, Blur, Guns N Roses, Happy Mondays, Metallica, Arctic Monkeys and REM.
The Beatles got two votes.
To me this looks like a list of personal bugbears rather than an attempt to name the worst band of all time. I can't stand U2, for example, but are they really the worst band of all time?! In a world where the Cranberries exist?! Is there not one single Queen song that you like a tiny bit? Really?!
As for the prompted results -
A walkover for Nickelback with a whopping 19.8% of the vote.
2) Lighthouse Family - 14.3%
3) Toploader - 11.8%
4) Razorlight - 9.8%
5) Savage Garden - 8.4%
6) M People - 7.5%
7) Maroon 5 - 6.6%
8) 4 Non Blondes - 5.5%
9) Snow Patrol - 5.2%
10) Spin Doctors - 3.6%
11=) Beautiful South - 2.0%
11=) Sleeper - 2.0%
13) New Radicals - 1.1%
14=) Lighting Seeds - 0.9%
14=) The Troggs - 0.9%
16)Crowded House - 0.5%
The inclusion of Crowded House seems to have been the most contentious issue on this blog, so their fans will be pleased (and vindicated) that they only scored two votes.
For what it's worth, we are disappointed to have left Chumbawumba, Scouting For Girls and the Cranberries from the shortlist.
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Keane
Keane
Keane
Received 1.1% of all votes - I would have thought they'd get more as they are a disgrace, but as Keane Hataz, it would appear we're in a minority
A word in defence of Scouting for Girls
I heard their singer was responsible for (Don't Fall Into) The Mason's Arms by Coronataion Street's lovelorn Vernon Tomlim.
Shame Dido isn't in a band...
she'd have rocketed into the number one spot.
We're considering...
a solo artist poll but this one has been quite tiring and it's likely to be extremely contentious.
Lots of solo artists got nominated by people in this one - including Bob Dylan.
If we do, I certainly won't be including Neil Finn.
Rather perturbed to see Queen
there, worst band? I always thought that everyone had at least one queen track that they like, even grudgingly? Guess I must have been wrong all these years
I agree
I don't particularly like them but there's four or five songs which would put a smile on my face.
I think a lot of people were going for sacred cows rather than the worst band of all time
worst?
Looks like people took it to mean "most overrated" band?
Oh, come ON!
4 Non Blondes and Spin Doctors made precisely one good pop song each. To deny it is futile. Snow Patrol made two: "Run" and "Set The Fire To The Third Bar". Sleeper had about 4 good songs, and Crowded House had two good ALBUMS, for fuck's sake.
And as for Beautiful South... only a snob with a tin ear could deny that A Little Time, Let Love Speak Up Itself, You Keep It All In and We Are Each Other are CRACKING pop songs.
However, it is true that entries 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are genuinely, utterly, hilariously lacking in anything approaching merit. The acid test was supposed to be not being able to even IMAGINE why a person might buy a record by each band, and god knows that's true of Stickleback, Moron 5 and co.
But it's just willfully obtuse to pretend that the appeal of "What's Up?", "Two Princes", "Sale Of The Century", "Delicious", "Fall At Your Feet" etc. is totally inexplicable.
With you
on Sleeper and Beautiful South but 'Two Princes' and 'What's Up' are horrible and make my skin crawl
If you think 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 are pretty much spot on then surely the job's a good 'un!
I bought 'Two Princes' and 'What's Up'.
I was fifteen. I don't pretend they're any actual GOOD, but it's easy for me to imagine why a person might buy them, because I did. Reason: 'What's Up' had a good chorus for yodelling along to when drunk on White Lightning. "Two Princes" actually just kind of rocked the first few times you heard it (if you were fifteen, that is). It was pathetically slight, but the surface charm was there.
Thing is, I wasn't even particularly undiscerning in my teens. I started young, as a die hard Cure fan at the age of ten or eleven, and took my music as seriously as any silly teenager does. And yet, I bought those records. They had SOME appeal, clearly...
I too was fifteen at the time
I know exactly what you mean - I liked the Levellers and Mega City Four which is surely no better, but they didn't make the list, although the former were close.
Knocking back Thunderbird and MD 20/20 while bellowing 'there's only one way of life and that's your own' while dressed exactly the same as the twenty other people I was with didn't seem silly at the time
Oh for the days of faux-homespun shirts, camo trousers and DMs
Either that or fake GDR army surplus.
MD 20/20, a name to conjure with - thanks! Haven't thought of that for years. Lurching around Cheltenham with a White Lightning bottle topped up with Mad Dog (a sophisticated cocktail known as a Pit Bull in Gloucestershire, IIRC), yelling shite songs really loudly: class.
And yet, somehow, I'd still rather see that than a bunch of immaculately betrackied kids nodding along to some sonically emasculated grime clattering out of their phone speakers.
God, I'm like a indie-kid Rhodes Boyson today.
Personal dislikes...
Are all-important on a list like this. I voted for U2. I don't care that I can understand why other people might like them. I don't and I was happy to make myself feel better for a split second by sharing the news.
It's interesting to look through your ipod, especially if your sitting on 10,000+ tracks, just to see which bands don't register with you at all.
On mine, none of the bands in your top / bottom 16 are represented. No U2, no Queen and no Oasis. The Beatles barely make it, and I'm seriously thinking about taking all The Smiths off.
Ultimately, the whole best / worst debate is meaningless. It's just a matter of taste. Live and let live and all that (except Bono, obviously).
and what does 'worst' mean anyway?
Worst musicians? Worst playing? Worst production?
I suspect that few people here could produce music as accomplished as any of the musicians on that list.
It means...
nothing. It's just a bit of fun
few people here
could a film like Michael Bay doesn't mean "Pearl Harbor" isn't one of the "worst" ever made.
Actually, Stimpy.
For me ,"Worst" means having some musical ability but turning out boring,unispired nonsense. Yes these people can play better than me but i'm damn well sure i would turn it into something way more interesting.