Bands with a big reputation that are (musically) shite
- Thread starter Wilf
- Start date
Give flares a chance before we go full circle again.
krtek a houby
Kick me again Jesus
mojo pixy
○-<{[°_°]}>-○
These days you don't need to listen to or like a band's music in order to wear their t-shirt, as I am reliably informed by kids I know.
krtek a houby
Kick me again Jesus
Same in the 80s... got grief for wearing a Grateful Dead t-shirt and not owning any of their albums at the time.
ElizabethofYork
Old Crone
You might dislike Pink Floyd, but they definitely were not 'musically shite'.
Kaka Tim
Half Arsed and Slapdash till I Die
new thread - "bands whose t-shirts were significantly better than their music" - exhitbit 1 - Pop Will Eat Itself
Kaka Tim
Half Arsed and Slapdash till I Die
exhibit 2 - Crass
hitmouse
music obfuscation technology
I have a fair bit of sympathy for the view that Nick Cave was at his best in the Birthday Party and it's all been downhill from there. Although there are definitely too many great Bad Seeds songs for me to be able to dismiss everything he's done since.
savoloysam
Pigman's pigman's ha ha charade you are..
Not having that. Legendary "cult" band. Played the whole spectrum from bubble gum rap to industrial style rock. Masters of sampling and quirky lyricsism. One of my favourite bands for as long as I can remember and now Clint Mansell is one of Hollywood's top composers to boot.
ohmyliver
poppin' like a cork
5 James
Wilf
Slouching towards Billingham
Certainly the vibe/reputation/cartoonishness was sometimes ahead of the music. In fact a lot of the music was fairly generic rock and roll. But shite? No.
Amongst all the players of 80s metal, Lemmy had to be the most down to earth, especially alongside some of the other primped idiots. And what’s wrong with Deaf Forever?
I'm going to say David Bowie. Not shite exactly but overrated.
In terms of song writing he had moments of genius but most of his stuff was pretty mid. Even if they're charateristically Bowie in some sense, there isn't much to them.
In terms of getting a band together to play his songs with a bit of vim, he was poor. Often it's like listening to cardboard. It may be in the period he was working with Eno this shortcoming was rectified but those early albums are pretty dreadful. Compare to something like Roxy Music - a proper band who could properly jam and play off each other, Bowie's music sounds micro-managed.
Having said that there's still loads of his albums I haven't listened to eg. Station to Station, Pin Ups, Let's Dance and Heroes and I will say that Low is generally decent and Hunky Dory is genuinely great. Diamond Dogs, Aladdin Sane, Ziggy Stardust, The Man Who Sold the World are pretty awful, let's be honest. You had to be there I guess.
Edit: Even where something interesting is happening he's so rhythmically heavy handed like it's spelling out the beat to you. So belaboured. So annoying - if had just let people around him work it.
Overall interesting song writer let down by being a terrible rock musician.
In terms of song writing he had moments of genius but most of his stuff was pretty mid. Even if they're charateristically Bowie in some sense, there isn't much to them.
In terms of getting a band together to play his songs with a bit of vim, he was poor. Often it's like listening to cardboard. It may be in the period he was working with Eno this shortcoming was rectified but those early albums are pretty dreadful. Compare to something like Roxy Music - a proper band who could properly jam and play off each other, Bowie's music sounds micro-managed.
Having said that there's still loads of his albums I haven't listened to eg. Station to Station, Pin Ups, Let's Dance and Heroes and I will say that Low is generally decent and Hunky Dory is genuinely great. Diamond Dogs, Aladdin Sane, Ziggy Stardust, The Man Who Sold the World are pretty awful, let's be honest. You had to be there I guess.
Edit: Even where something interesting is happening he's so rhythmically heavy handed like it's spelling out the beat to you. So belaboured. So annoying - if had just let people around him work it.
Overall interesting song writer let down by being a terrible rock musician.
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Wilf
Slouching towards Billingham
Yeah, liked them best when they were nearest to metal.
I didn’t like The Smiths at the time. I do now though.The Smiths.
Always just missing something, for me. Tunes maybe.
savoloysam
Pigman's pigman's ha ha charade you are..
Yes me too. At the time they were seen as a bit "too weird" outside of their circle of hardcore fans.
Now they are revered as a classic band.
Prince suffered the same to some extent. I was taken the piss out of endlessly at school for liking him so much.
It all changed for me with that whole rave and Indie crossover where The Smiths came before. Ahead of their time, as it were. I caught up later.
savoloysam
Pigman's pigman's ha ha charade you are..
And Johnny Marr is a fucking genius on the axe 
mojo pixy
○-<{[°_°]}>-○
I just think motörhead's music was one-dimensional and yeah noisy but meh, motörhead never caught my imagination. If I was a few years older I'd probably have got them, but by the time I got into rock music in 1984 or so, motörhead had a few months at most to impress me before I found Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Suicidal Tendecies etc and motörhead started sounding pedestrian as fuck. But without the ?depth and complexity? of yer Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or say Black Sabbath. Great logo & T-shirts though
mojo pixy
○-<{[°_°]}>-○
Their first album is amazing, but they never equalled it.
8ball
1,200 lights
Yeah, ok, but the t-shirts were fucking great.
hitmouse
music obfuscation technology
Takes all sorts innit - for me, the one-dimensional and noisy thing works, they're a bit like the Ramones in how they just embodied a certain approach to rocknroll stripped down to its basics or taken to its conclusion. More depth and complexity would detract from the music rather than adding to it imo. Plus Lemmy's voice sounded gruffer and cooler than the yodelling of Mr Iron Maiden, Mr Judas Priest, and I would go as far to say even Mr Black Sabbath too. (Pretty sure that's what their respective vocalists were called.)I just think motörhead's music was one-dimensional and yeah noisy but meh, motörhead never caught my imagination. If I was a few years older I'd probably have got them, but by the time I got into rock music in 1984 or so, motörhead had a few months at most to impress me before I found Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Suicidal Tendecies etc and motörhead started sounding pedestrian as fuck. But without the ?depth and complexity? of yer Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or say Black Sabbath. Great logo & T-shirts though
AverageJoe
...
And Lemmys facial hair set him apart from most in those days too.
