I anticipate slings and arrows from the Word Massive but just when did it suddenly become OK to worship Elbow?
Nobody mentioned them for years and yet now they are apparently the saviours of British Music. Extremely dull with not a shred of charisma (the band's name is entirely apt), the most dirge like, dreary drag you down music.
I mean bands like Coldplay, Keane and Snow Patrol get a (deserved) kicking on these pages so why do Elbow escape unscathed?

Dull,dull,dull,dull,dull.
..Oh and Radiohead..

and their ilk. Sebadoh etc. What's the word I'm looking for. No, not "over-rated". Oh yes - "rubbish". That's it.

Agree about Elbow - not a patch on Cherry Ghost who do a similar line in melodic miserabilism

I must admit I quite like Saint Etienne. I think they essayed a dance/pop schmeer before Daft Punk and Air and the like made it all the rage

I'm a huge fan of the Ets. Nearly twenty years of music (their tours are far from nostalgia for an early 90s dance pop outfit), a beautiful mix of styles, including an amazing soundtrack album (what have you done today mervyn day?)that manages to fuse Eno with The Beach Boys. They manage to mix great pop tunes with a huge sense of nostalgia and are one of the great London bands, (which might be enough to put some people off). They really are a cross between The Kinks on Village Green and Kylie. And, it's not all dance pop. Yes, electronics are a huge part of what they do, but there's plenty of so called 'real' instruments involved.

PS: I'm not actually the biggest fan of Sarah Cracknell either. She sometimes veers too closely to sugar rather than soul. But when she's great she's brilliant.

I'm sorry but they are! Only one substantial album which isn't really as good as folklore says it is and has aged hideously to boot.

Emporer's. New. Clothes.

"1970s girl band the Nolans are reforming for a 15-date tour of the UK"

Don't care.

are fairly soft targets for abuse they are hardly war criminals and are the last to put themselves forward for being anything other than what they are. I think you may all be breaking butterflies on various wheels.

I increasingly get tired of this "over-rated" business when most of the bands discussed have barely regisitered on the radar of the general public; the odd music mag cover is hardly blanket coverage. You may not like a band that doesn't mean they are "over rated". You may not understand their appeal that doesn't mean they "over rated".

As far as I can St etienne and elbow have left he world a slightly better place for them being in it which it seems is an overrated acheivement.

it could everyone going again about Bono and his crappy sunglasses / singing voice / failure to abolish world poverty

Despite occasional periods of ‘is it just me?’ self-doubt regarding my enduring belief that Guns ‘n Roses are/were no more than a Carry On Up The Betty Ford Clinic comedy rock band cobbled, Frankenstein-style, from various scrag-ends of Zeppelin, Aerosmith, the Stones, the Pistols and the NY Dolls, I nevertheless shelled out for Stephen Davis’ G’nR biog, Watch You Bleed, in the hope I might gain some insight into their appeal, cultural significance, etc. Apart from the fact that the book is, by some distance, Davis’ dullest effort to date, it contained nothing to convince me I wasn’t right about them all along. It certainly didn’t persuade me to revisit their records with fresh ears.

As for the Stone Roses, you can keep the voguish re-evaluations of The Second Coming – I wasn’t buying it then, and I’m not buying it now. Furthermore, I maintain that their debut album has largely attained its ‘classic’ status due to it being inextricably linked with the first drug experiences of an entire generation of music journalists and music fans. I mean, it’s good, but it’s not *that* good. Perhaps it’s because I’ve never been able to square the Roses myth with my early experiences of them as a Manchester circuit band in the mid-80s, when they looked like goth scooter-boys, sounded like garden-variety C86 jangle pop, and were notable for two things; the frequent kick-offs at their gigs, and for spraying their name on just about every listed building in the city centre of Manchester.

Dont have a strong opinion about them one way or the other but I do think Morcheeba who are similar did it much better and were far more interesting.
For me the biggest over-rated tosh was and is Meatloaf. For Gods sake what is it with Bat out of Hell that he has reprised it about 5 times? It wasnt any good in the first place.

3. Manic Street Preachers. 5th form lyrics, grade 1 (pass) drums, shouty singing, ridiculous image.

2. Pulp. They had ONE great song and about 3 OK ones. For the column inches you should have delivered more than that.

1. The Clash. Laughable 'shhtreeet' claims; awful image; ugliest band ever; juvenile lyrics; only good song a cover version. One merit: a versatile drummer who presumably turned to heroin to take playing the songs supplied by Jones and Strummer.

avoiding such inflammatory subjects, I'd venture my opinion this time, but it's initially unnecessary.

What was the point of them?

probably the only one of the 'big bands' of the 60s and 70s i just don't get. absolutely none of their songs does anything for me. just can't see it at all. the acapella bit on that song they do during ROCK N ROLL CIRCUS is okay...and then they start playing.

I think Elbow are quite good, not brilliant, but an interesting B-list band. Sadly the reason for their rise in popularity seems to stem from the lack of a decent alternative. I happened to catch some of the Isle of Wight festival on T.V. and was appalled to see The Pigeon Detectives do an unplugged version of one of their 'hits'...I had never heard the original version, but they are pretty piss-poor nonetheless. Is this what young people listen to now?!?!If Neil Young and Simple Minds can impress the kids still, there must be a dearth of decent bands!

There. I've said it.

Apart from Waterloo Sunset, of course, which is in my all time top ten songs (today's all-time list, anyway) but I never really 'got' them despite trying desperately.

Maybe they are a bit too London-centric for my provincial tastes, but they just leave me completely cold.

I shall now get my coat and bid you all fond adieu.

Weren't.
And Nick Drake? Sad story and all that, but wasn't he just the 60s answer to James Blunt?
AC/DC? Bloody rubbish.
All the grunge bands who weren't Nirvana, who I have a soft spot for, inexplicably. The rest a noisy racket, especially the hooting of Eddie Vedder.
Blur? I wish they were.
All those Arctic Fratelli for Girls claptrap. EE-NUNC-IATE, you cloth eared oiks.
More will no doubt come to me.
I'll be in my bunker.

Beatles.

I like 'em - well I can listen to the albums periodically.
They were just another of the bands built up by the media as "the saviours of Rock & Roll", basically because they were doing something different and had no competition

Arctic Monkeys? Same story - something new and no competitors

And loads more - but I can't remember them at the moment

probably.

who agrees AC/DC are complete cack. Also Iggy Pop - can someone explain the attraction? There are a few more like that - MC5, Patti Smith (except dancing barefoot), Bjork(except half of debut),
Phil Collins - definitely, Michael Jackson - never saw the talent even before he went loopy,

Its all a matter of opinion

Not a big fan of Elbow or St Etienne myself but they're not exactly bad and I respect their right to keep on making half-decent music.
As for the rest...pshaw!
Nick Drake is magnificent - great songs, unbelievable guitar playing.
AC/DC and even Meatloaf are brilliant at what they do.
The Kinks are so good I feel dirty passing comment here. One of the best lyricists, classic songs in many different genres (Days? Sunny Afternoon? You Really Got Me? etc etc).
I can see people dissing the Roses as Oasis tarnished their imagine but that first album was huge for a good reason - choc full of blinding tunes.

Loaf (two words)

I must admit his version of "Oh What A Beautiful Morning" below makes me cringe, scream with laughter and cry at the same time. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Find myself having to take issue with Retro again.Nick Drake and James Blunt?You're just stirring it surely.
Oddly,detest The Smiths but like a lot of Morrisey's early solo stuff.The Stone Roses have been completely lost on me,but Radiohead's "The Bends" hits the spot.Simple Minds=shite.

With my reputation?

can someone point me at anything worthwhile they've produced?

I was always for Blur in the great Blur v Oasis war of 96.

But, listening to a few bits pieces to coincide with the recent Britpop blog - I have to concede the sneermeisters' stuff has stood up rather better.

Odd.

Just awful. Misguided, fey, art-school ponces who assume that attaching clodhopping nursery-school melodies to their oh-so-self-reverentially whimsical and supposedly ironic lyrics makes something jolly and fluffy and wonderful. It doesn't. Take them all outside and beat them with a stocking full of diaorrhea.

And The bloody Fall. Yes, yes.. Mark E. Smith, wayward poet for a generation. Cobblers. Atonal unlistenable kak suitable only for spotty introspective teenaged types who would listen to John Peel under the duvet and use their knowledge of obscure bands no-one else liked or had heard of as a prop for their deficient egoes. The fact that so many of these social cripples ended up in music journalism has been the only reason why tripe like The Fall continues to make column inches.

And don't get me started on Arcade Fire. Or the White Stripes. Look - an emperor. And he's got no clothes on.

a bassline, wailing vocals and some effects pedals ..rinse and repeat

Loads of hype, a few good tracks, and a Bowie wannabe. I bought the first four albums on their release day before I realised I was being duped.

Actually, that probably says more about me than it does about Suede.

Richard Thompson, Mott The Hoople, Faces, and King Crimson are the usual answers.

Is that OK?

...how we spend far more time talking about music we don't like than music we do. I certainly do-it's much more fun. The Doors and Nirvana for me.

OK, the Handsome Family are one of those names that crop up on coverdiscs in Slomo/Unshod and in critics unsung faves lists. And, on what exposure thru' that I have had, and their cameos with the Oysterband some years back, I have quite liked. So e-music let me have a go at their latest, Honey Moon, a celebration, apparently, of their 20 years of marriage. Well, first the good news, I liked 5 of the songs. But the rest is well nigh unlistenable, to the extent that when the family asked what the strange noise was, and would I take it off, like immediately, normally high praise to my odd ears, I had to agree. Am I missing something? Utter tosh. No wonder they are still married, no-one else could stand to be near his offkey keening and lowing. Talk about moo.......

One great single then nothing - completely over rated!

...it was one less than Lieutenant Pigeon, and who considers them now? Mmm? Inspired by that great Delta Blues Star, Mrs Mills, they were the cutting edge of something or other, I think.

...I am being silly, retropath2 started it.
Nick Drake overrated my hoop.

Nirvana.
In fact I felt just about all the Seattle grunge (and all the copyists that followed) to be over-hyped and one dimensional.
Sonic Youth and The Pixies aside, that whole genre of American Music was just a bit overdone.

Most overrated band in the world? The Rolling Stones. They had a nice run of singles in the sixties and then morphed into their own very bad tribute band. The last song I can even contemplate thinking about - never mind playing - is Start Me Up, which is well over 25 years old. While people are debating whether the genuinely talented singer and dancer Michael Jackson will be able to cut it live at the age of 50, these guys are still touring and recording without a question raised - duh, why? My God, Mick J has all the charisma of a two week old rotting dead fish and isn't he just beginning to look like that too. WHAT IS THE ATTRACTION??

Runs for the door to avoid the missiles from the Massive

Although if the Stones had stopped in the seventies (1980 at the latest) I don't think that there would be any doubt that they would be there with the absolute top bands (whoever they might happen to be)

THE BEATLES - nobody else is even close. There, I said it.

...represent the downside of internet culture. They really do seem, perhaps via their shield of anonymity, to encourage a certain mean-spiritedness. Nick Drake as James Blunt? I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous, and I am going to do my very best to erase its mean-spirited sourness from my memory. Now, on the other hand, if you want to talk about Sonic Youth...

Total rubbish. Also the Pet Shop Boyszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Led Zep.

Mostly because many, many Led Zep fans assume EVERYONE must be a Led Zep fan.
And because rock hacks of a certain age hold them up as the Holy Grail of, well, 'rawk.' (Whatever that is.)
And because of Robert Plant's silly screechy voice.
And Jimmy Page's ridiculous double neck geetar.
And because they seem to be virtually melody free.
And because they probably stole most of their 'classic riffs' from old blues men.

And, as the evidence above shows, I like Belle & Sebastian and you are never going to get a fey, weedy, introspective type like me to approve of a song about having one's lemon squeezed.

Just an opinion. Many will disagree. That's fine. You aren't going to persuade me. It's a prejudice.

that's jist meringue

IMO of course

to our Southern Brethern....

Baker then sez "Naw, you're right, it's a donut".

Sorry, missed earlier post!

...which certainly isn't "landfill electronica". I get the impression the original poster can only remember the one single, and that because it dared to cover an artist from his or her era. (I am happy to be corrected on this.)

Threads like this paint the Massive in a poor light, they really do. Ignorance presented as worthwhile opinion.

No such thing as incontrovertible fact in this arena.

I am quite often staggered by the the knowledge possessed by The Word family of all sorts of artists and bands and their meisterwerks.

As a result, I have - sometimes - revised my opinion or - better yet - found new avenues of aural pleasure.

As for opinions expressed here, there is a bit of jostling and pushing and shoving followed by a calm down, calm down we've all had a drink type comments.

But it's all done generally with a bit of banter and good humour. It would be a far less entertaining read if we all agreed with each other about everything.

Having said it's all opinion - there is one incontrovertible
fact: Queen are pants.

Oh and Abba are over-rated.

See how these things start?

and included the lines:

"This song is overrated"

"This band is overrated"

and

"This job is overrated"

..I mean he was alright but definitely overrated. He's just someone everyone's heard of.

He was OK.
(Yes, it's a cheek/tongue interface)

Coldplay, and Oasis. Please stop worshiping them as if they were Gods. Thank-you.

...so where do I start?

Oasis are a third rate Beatles, who as in their on right were easily the most over rated band in history and therfore are nothing to aspire to.

The Stones have had the odd moment but are nowt to write home about either when you listen to the real stuff. They are now changing outrageous amounts to see them going through the motions.

U2 are just shite. No need to explain anything.

But in my opinion the most over rated artist is not a band but an institution. Elvis Presley can't sing for toffee and nicked his whole act fromm struggling black musicians from teh deep south who were a whole lot more talented than him. Okay he made a couple of decent records over his twenty odd year career but it was mostly third rate cabaret rubbish and which if he hadn't had made such a name for himself (with the help of a somewhat pushy manager) would have been dismissed as complete tosh (which it in fact was).

Never been one for the main stream me.

Al this way and no-one has mentioned the most hyped band of the last 3 years - ooh I find them dull.

Kasabian, Oasis, U2, Coldplay, in fact most bands whose audience jabs collective fingers in the air in time to the click track usually bore me with their predictability and air of self-importance.

I appreciate what people say about Nick Drake but no thank you.

There are lots more bands/artists I choose not to listen to but there's the rub, I CHOOSE not to listen to them. Life's too short to get so inflamed about bands we don't like and it doesn't matter how much anyone shouts at me I'm unlikely to change my mind about any of them. Likewise if you are so dead set against my faves it won't make any difference how often I bang on about them, in fact it'll probably have the opposite effect. So I won't. So there.

What is it that gets people about Roxy Music? The most soul-less art school twaddle ever produced, and then that t*sser Bryan Ferry ululating over the top of it. I mean if that's a 'lounge lizard' then I'm definitely staying away from the Galapagos...

that's all

regards from
the sunny Galapagos

PS. weather and beaches are fantastic... there's a thought

The Beach Boys are totally overrated, I'm off for a massage and a sundowner, g'night

Kiss off! THE most overrated band in history.
Absolute drivel with no artistic merit. If they showed a little bit more skin it would qualify as porn.

Rolling Stones should have retired after Tattoo You. So, post 70's I think they qualify.

Meatloaf ........ Nails on a blackboard and if he and his writhing com padre Steinman influenced anybody please don't play it whilst I'm there.

Bollocks to Bruce Springsteen too. Ok, perhaps he's not overated, I just hate it!
Sod it, I'll show conviction ......... overrated.

My name is Wayne behind the nom de web and this is my humble opinion.

Led Zep - moribund
Manic Street Preachers - wafer thin
Lambchop - dull
Nirvana - monochrome

Count me in on hating Arcade Fire. All their stuff sounds like a hits of the 80's cd and 80's alternative mix cd playing at the same time to me.

the Grateful Dead - interminable noodling
Love - boring
Bob Marley - one song - different words
Arcade Fire - last album was unlistenable