Smells Like…Well,It Just Plain Smells

I have to doff my hat to all of you readers/voters/suggestors, because every time I review these polls and write these comments, I learn something new. So thank you for contributing to my growth as an individual. And what I’ve learned this time, basically, is that I’m an old fart. I’m an old fart because I didn’t have any idea that anyone took Oasis seriously other than the Gallagher brothers. Nor did I have any idea that anyone took Limp Bizkit, or Creed, or Third Eye Blind seriously enough to warrant inclusion. I think it’s hard to decide whether relatively new bands are overrated or not – overhyped, maybe – but overrated I think requires some historical perspective.

As an aside, I’ll take a moment to publicly mourn the passing of one underappreciated band – the Galactic Cowboys. They’ve just released what will be their final album for some time. Their lead singer told someone I know that they sell only something like 20,000 records per release. They’ve been at it for 12 years and can’t go any further. If you like hard rock or metal music, check ‘em out. Get Machine Fish or At The End of the Day. They’re great records, and they were incredible live.

I have to say at the outset that my original reaction to Nirvana was apparently the same as yours, judging from the poll results – ho hum, repackaged punk, big deal. But I really gave a good listen to the Nevermind album a couple of years ago, and the more I listened to it, the more I was convinced that they were legit, they were real. That band was Kurt Cobain’s messed up head. They were, I thought, harrowing in the extreme. His suicide should be no mystery – just listen to the records. No one can dispute, for good or ill, that they were the spearhead of the Grunge movement, and I think they had it all over their fellow travelers. Overrated? Well, I don’t know - at bottom, they were a punishing rock band that captured something about the times that no one else got. To this extent, I agree with Pearl Jam’s place in this poll.

At the end of the day, I personally voted for the Eagles. Those of you who frequent the commentary pages will know that I’ve stated on at least two different occasions that I think that the Doors are the most overrated rock band in history, once describing them as ‘lame-o’. And they certainly are overrated, and they certainly are lame-o. But I voted for the Eagles because I have to admit that the first Doors album is kind-of cool. It was certainly different at the time, it was sort-of edgy and exciting, interesting song selections and arrangements – it’s really a pretty good record.

But the Eagles – there’s not a single redeeming quality there. I mean, the Eagles eventually brought in Joe Walsh to liven things up, and what happens? Joe Walsh loses his teeth, musically and physically. I take issue with those who think Don Henley is a good songwriter – those songs are wordy and overwrought. ‘Hotel California’? Spare me. The metaphor police should have arrested them for lousy use of something obvious. They were a Crosby Stills Nash knock-off with less talent, lamer songs and boring harmonies. Somebody turn the thermostat back up in Hell, please.

Random comments follow:

• Hey gang? Psst – KISS is a cartoon. Pass it on.
• Seeing the Dead on the poll reminded me of this joke:

• Seeing Matchbox 20 on here reminded me of something a friend of mine said. He told me he was watching a ‘Behind The Music’ episode on Santana, in the wake of the Grammy juggernaut that his last record became. My friend said "So Carlos is on there, going on and on in that Santana way about how ‘you know, man, like, my spirit guide brought me to all my new friends who helped me make this album’", and my friend says, "I thought to myself – ‘Bullshit, Carlos. You’re A&R guy came to you and said, your career is in the crapper, man – we’re bringing in the lead singer from Matchbox 20 to give you some credibility. Hopefully you’ll actually sell some records this time’". I laughed my ass off.
• I totally agree that Guns ‘N’ Roses is overrated. I never got that at all. And the other ‘80s hair bands, like Motley Crue and Poison and Dokken – like Oasis, I never thought anyone took them seriously enough to warrant inclusion either. That’s like including Ratt. On the flip side, though, I wish that the members of those bands would just go open car dealerships and go away. I don’t want to hear any more about Tommy Lee’s brushes with his ex-wife and/or drugs and/or rehab and/or Vince Neil and/or the law and/or….
• Maybe I missed something. I saw Beck perform on "Sessions at West 57^th" and really wanted to be fair, but found myself thinking the guy was totally jive by the end of the performance. I just didn’t buy it – Beck to me seemed phony and opportunistic.
• I think Lawdog added the Hagar version of Van Halen because he and I have talked about the Red Rocker a bit (he likes Hagar, I think he sucks). I think one of the things that made Van Halen so great was the extreme tension between Roth and Eddie. When they lost that, I think they lost something sharp and exciting. Too bad.
• You have to be careful about saying that Fleetwood Mac is overrated, because you have to define which incarnation you’re talking about. I have friends who’d get into fights if you were suggesting that the Peter Green original Fleetwood Mac is anything but underappreciated. I will admit that I never got Stevie Knicks at all – that whole billowy gauzy neo-pagan white witch thing is a bunch of posturing, and I never got it or bought it. I love Christine McVie’s voice, though.
• Duran Duran? Bon Jovi? BAAAAA-ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hahahahahahahahahaa…….
• I can’t stand ELO or Jeff Lynne. Ditto the Clash.
• Lawdog and I went back and forth a bit about REM too – he loves ‘em. I liked the first couple of records, then I got bored.
• Actually, I feel bad for the guys in Hootie and the Blowfish. To have to follow up that level of radio omnipresence and success – man, that’s really hard. How can you NOT be considered overrated?
• There’s some really beautiful stuff by the Beach Boys, really. I’m not kidding. Check out "Don’t Worry Baby" sometime. It’s a gorgeous song.
• I’m sorry; I personally don’t think there’s any possible way to overrate the Beatles.

Thanks as always to all who responded and nominated artists. Next up – All-time greatest TV Catchphrase. Hey, LawDog – we forgot probably the best one of them all –

"DOH!"

(Lawdog's additional comments):

I agree with Flatcat on Nirvana. I actually was emailing with my friends the other day and a question was asked: "If you were to be stranded on the Survivor Island for a year alone, which ten albums would you take with you?" One of my ten was "Nevermind." I think I have said this before, but I believe Kurt Cobain was a hell of a songwriter. I mean, I am no musician, but isn't it difficult to scream a good melody? Well he did it often on that record. As badly as he wanted to be raw and grungy, he could write a great pop hook. Perhaps this irony contributed to his demise.

R.E.M. rules. What the hell were you twenty people thinking?

Hootie is from my alma mater and where I am currently in law school, so I have a special place in my heart for them. (U.S.C. is South Carolina, not Southern Cal. The REAL USC! Okay, maybe not. But, we did have the best bumper sticker ever. Our mascot is the Gamecocks. Theirs is the Trojans. We had a bumper sticker that read "There had to be Cocks before there were Trojans." That is a classic. Someone in New York probably wrote it.)

Comments and suggestions to lawdogusc@hotmail.com.

Poll Topic: Most Overrated Rock Band
Nirvana	8.6% - (75 Votes)
Oasis	7.5% - (65 Votes)
Limp Bizkit	6.9% - (60 Votes)
Kiss	6.4% - (56 Votes)
The Grateful Dead	6.4% - (56 Votes)
Guns N' Roses	6.1% - (53 Votes)
Hootie and the Blowfish	5% - (44 Votes)
The Rolling Stones	4.8% - (42 Votes)
The Doors	3.6% - (32 Votes)
Pearl Jam	3.4% - (30 Votes)
Metallica	3.2% - (28 Votes)
Bon Jovi	3% - (26 Votes)
U2	2.7% - (24 Votes)
Van Halen (Hagar version)	2.6% - (23 Votes)
The Beatles	2.6% - (23 Votes)
Creed	2.3% - (20 Votes)
R.E.M.	2.3% - (20 Votes)
Motley Crue	2.3% - (20 Votes)
The Eagles	2.1% - (19 Votes)
Led Zeppelin	1.9% - (17 Votes)
Fleetwood Mac	1.8% - (16 Votes)
Duran Duran	1.5% - (13 Votes)
The Beach Boys	1.5% - (13 Votes)
Korn	1.2% - (11 Votes)
Bush	1% - (9 Votes)
Matchbox 20	1% - (9 Votes)
Phish	0.9% - (8 Votes)
Yes	0.8% - (7 Votes)
Foo Fighters	0.6% - (6 Votes)
Third Eye Blind	0.6% - (6 Votes)
Jane's Addiction	0.6% - (6 Votes)
No Doubt	0.6% - (6 Votes)
ELO	0.6% - (6 Votes)
Poison	0.5% - (5 Votes)
The Wallflowers	0.4% - (4 Votes)
The Clash	0.3% - (3 Votes)
The Who	0.3% - (3 Votes)
Kansas	0.1% - (1 Votes)
Dokken	0% - (0 Votes)
Living Colour	0% - (0 Votes)
Total Votes: 865