Classic albums and famous bands you don't like

[Sheriff_of_Huddersfield]

Van Halen: I find even their early albums to be mostly filler. I like maybe 3 of their songs and, then, only if I’m in the mood to listen.

Aerosmith: never saw the appeal. Is a band I’d usually change the channel on. Irony: have seen them live three times simply because they were in the lineup at Castle Donnington once, GnR opened for them another time (went to see GnR), they were playing a (big, 10k plus people) corporate event a third.

Motley Crue: The Dirt (both book and movie) made me like them even less. Some okay songs in their catalog but always seemed more hype than talent. Live Wire, and Home Sweet Home are okay songs. Home Sweet Home is funny to me because of the movie Hot Tub Time Machine.

Judas Priest: this one, more than the others, might be controversial on this forum. They are a band I wanted to like but could just never get into. Songs like Turbo Lover, Locked In, Prisoner of your Eyes, and Electric Eye are pretty good.

Mötorhead: went through phases where I tried to convince myself they were great but in reality was just never into their sound. Lemmy was a true metal icon, though. Ace of Spades, Overkill, Orgasmatron are all decent songs.

 

[MindRuler]

Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Slayer - Reign In Blood

 

[Azas]

Hot Tub Time Machine rocks. Judas Priest also.

 

[____no5]

Led Zeppelin - everybody loves them because everybody loves them. 3 good songs are enough to become a legend, it seems.

The Doors - if Jim Morrison had not romantically died, nobody would even remember that band. There is a great episode on the podcast "Your favourite band sucks" about The Doors, and it hits the spot perfectly.

Queen - didn't even have their own style, they just randomly played everything. Would be ok if they were good at it, but they weren't. Some songs are so bad that they justify throwing eggs. Bicycle Race is a case for Amnesty International. To make things worse, a few of their songs are excellent, so I can't even hate them completely. Damn!

The Beatles - greatest band in the world, you say? I challenge you. Go listen to Obladi Oblada, Rocky Racoon and Yellow Submarine and try to say that again. Without laughing or feeling ashamed. You wont make it, unless you are dead inside.

Tool - musically I just don't care much. That could be all, but they have the most annoying, most elitist, most crybaby fanbase on he planet.

Soundgarden - Down On the Upside and Big Dumb Sex are good songs, other than that I find them rather boring. Still better than....

The Police - they STING!! Yes, that pun was terrible, and I apologize. But it was still better than Every Breath You Take or (sorry, I try to remain calm here) E Doo Doo Doo E Da Da Da. Why is it even legal to write such songs?

Jimi Hendrix - yes he could play. Yes he did things no one did before. But that does not mean his songs were good.

Cream - Boring music and I just realized that I forgot to list Eric Clapton in my douchebag-poll. That guy is a red level asshole.

Just curious... Can you name me your top 3 favorite bands?

 

[Sheriff_of_Huddersfield]

I’ll add here, any “guitar god” stuff.

This was more of a thing in the 80s but any “band” formed solely around how great a guitar player’s solos are supposed to be never impressed me.

Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Yngwie Malmsteen
Buckethead
Eddie Van Halen

Etc.

From an earlier era, it’s Clapton, Santanna, Stevie Ray Vaughn, etc. Hendrix, sorta kinda, but he’s not quite across that line into music I don’t appreciate.

I can’t think of any modern “guitar prodigy” acts but I’m not paying that much attention to new bands anymore.

There’s a line between a great band that features talented guitarists and guitar ego acts that mostly appeal to other musicians where a guitarist who does tricks like playing super fast or using gimmicks like guitar pick drill-bits or 7-string guitars, etc, is supposed to be the reason to like the music.

Good guitar incorporation = Iron Maiden, Randy Rhodes era Ozzy, Sabbath, Metallica, Yes, Rush, Floyd, etc.

This is because all members contribute at some meaningful level (albeit, Ozzy’s rhythm sections tend to be fungible) to the band’s virtuosity and creativity. They’re also bands where any member’s departure gets noticed by fans.

Bands where it’s just “guitar guy” + a cast of disposable studio musicians that are contrived to sell aspiring musicians guitar lessons and strings are lame.

 

[Eddie's Uncle]

Reading your posts is going to make my head explode.

Is that a compliment or pure scorn?

Have you never experienced the joy of music?

Yes. Billions of times. Pretty much every day. But never with The Doors, no.

Those three songs are all great examples of why the band was so good. They were able to be silly when they wanted to. They could write for both adults and children, often within the same song.

I admit that this is unique. But I am glad that nobody else did that.

They also wrote “Synchronicity II” and if you tell me that song is anything other than a masterpiece I’m gonna pop.

Haven't heard that one in decades. Just for you, I re-listen to it while typing my answer. I don't want to pop you, but.... Let's put it this way: It is not a bad song. It is pretty much New Wave, and thus a hundred times better than their reggea attempts. But a masterpiece? When I compare this track to what their contemporaries Ultravox or Can did around that time, it is really nothing that special.

Which 3?

Communication Breakdown, Kashmir, and STH, if that one wasn't so overplayed.

Germans hating other cultures.

Yeah, yeah, I know this had to come, and I forgive you.... Come on, even most Americans always mock rednecks. The Simpsons did it in almost every episode.

Lynyrd Skynyrd supported ultra-rightwing senator campaigns of Trump bootlickers. That's even worse than Freebird or Sweet Home Alabama. Don't tell me you find that cool.

He obviously means Stairway to Heaven, When the Levee Breaks and Kashmir. Or maybe Dazed and Confused, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp and Black Dog? Perhaps The Rover, Heartbreaker and Immigrant Song? Or quite possibly Out on the Tiles, Since I've Been Loving You and Rock 'n' Roll? Or, am I completely wrong and he actually meant Going to California, Ten Years Gone and Whole Lotta Love?

See my answer to Diesel 11 above. Whole Lotta Love, Black Dog and Dazed and Confused are annoying as f***.

Also, "everybody loves them because everybody loves them" better describes The Beatles.

Yeah, definitely even more so than Led Zep.

Hells Bells the song? Or you mean the album Back In Black?

Ah sorry, I meant the album BIB.

Just curious... Can you name me your top 3 favorite bands?

I could never reduce the number to a fixed 3. I love so many bands, and I could name my top 20, but not really in a particular order, so I can't say which one are the top 3.
My current 20 are (in no particular order):

Evoken
Deicide (1989 - 2001)
My Dying Bride (1992 - 2006)
Carnivore
Ultravox
Anacrusis
Obituary (until 2005)
Bolt Thrower
Totenmond
New Model Army
Iron Maiden
Primordial
Wolfpack / Wolfbrigade
Asphyx
Nuclear Assault
Dismember
Skepticism
Shape of Despair
Bethlehem
R.E.M.
EAV

This is mostly Death Metal, Thrash, and Doom. Don't let this decieve you, I also listen to A LOT New Wave, Dark Wave, Heavy Metal, Grindcore, Punk, Crust, Postpunk, Goth / Batcave, even pop. Enya is in my collection, as well as Anal Cunt and Terrorizer. I am sure I have a Roxette record somewhere. I own Skyclad as well as Al Steward. Slayer as well as Bauhaus.
It just happens that my most fave bands of all time are mostly Metal, and not the softer kind.
My personal "best of non-metal" playlist on spotify is 11 hours long, with only 1-2 tracks per artist.

I simply just don't like many of those rock alltime classics. Never cared much for it when I was a kid, and the fact that these classics are played over and over and over and over at every party and every rock radio station does not help. I don't see a reason why I should celebrate Led Zep, just because the "law of rock" dictates they are the greatest. Maybe they are, but I don't enjoy them. It is that simple.
Some Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and even some Rolling Stones every now and then is nice once in a while. I love Black Sabbath. I like certain songs of Kansas, Chicago and Blue Oyster Cult. That's pretty much it, when it comes to classic rock. The rest bores me to tears. Sorry.

 

[Sheriff_of_Huddersfield]

Holy crap, I haven’t heard Can mentioned since I can remember.

I’ve always thought the Black Sabbath song “Junior’s Eyes” seemed a little Canny.

 

[Edington]

Those three songs are all great examples of why the band was so good. They were able to be silly when they wanted to. They could write for both adults and children, often within the same song.

I admit that this is unique. But I am glad that nobody else did that.

I actually think Queen pulled off writing songs with wider appeal more convincingly (and their music has generally aged much better), not that you like them either

 

[Edington]

Mötorhead: went through phases where I tried to convince myself they were great but in reality was just never into their sound. Lemmy was a true metal icon, though. Ace of Spades, Overkill, Orgasmatron are all decent songs.

If their sound isn't for you then it probably won't change your mind, but I'd recommend giving the Bastards album a listen, it's easily their best. Don't get me wrong, it's still very obviously Mötorhead, but it's a little less one-note than you might be expecting. Liar, Lost In The Ozone, Devils, I'm Your Man, all took me a little bit by surprise at how different for Mötorhead they are.

 

[Sheriff_of_Huddersfield]

If their sound isn't for you then it probably won't change your mind, but I'd recommend giving the Bastards album a listen, it's easily their best. Don't get me wrong, it's still very obviously Mötorhead, but it's a little less one-note than you might be expecting. Liar, Lost In The Ozone, Devils, I'm Your Man, all took me a little bit by surprise at how different for Mötorhead they are.

I’ll give it a listen.

Mötorhead’s a band I wish I could get into. I enjoyed the Lemmy documentary, and respect his contributions to metal and the following he built. His autobiography “White Line Fever” is good, too.

 

[Diesel 11]

Is that a compliment or pure scorn?

No not scorn lol, just a comment on how much I completely disagree with your takes 60-70% of the time.

Haven't heard that one in decades. Just for you, I re-listen to it while typing my answer. I don't want to pop you, but.... Let's put it this way: It is not a bad song. It is pretty much New Wave, and thus a hundred times better than their reggea attempts. But a masterpiece? When I compare this track to what their contemporaries Ultravox or Can did around that time, it is really nothing that special.

For me as much as I enjoy the song's music in and of itself, the big thing that makes it work is the lyrics. But then I've always been a fan of lyrics. To me the pumping music is working in tandem with the lyrics to create the energy of mounting tension within a working class father, synchronized with images of the Loch Ness Monster. That's what makes it a favorite of mine.

Communication Breakdown, Kashmir, and STH, if that one wasn't so overplayed.

Damn I'm not even a big fan of "Communication Breakdown". "No Quarter" deserves some love.

Yeah, yeah, I know this had to come, and I forgive you.... Come on, even most Americans always mock rednecks. The Simpsons did it in almost every episode.

Lynyrd Skynyrd supported ultra-rightwing senator campaigns of Trump bootlickers. That's even worse than Freebird or Sweet Home Alabama. Don't tell me you find that cool.

Okay so this is probably down to a disconnect between the way you're looking at the band vs. the way I do. I firmly believe that post-plane crash Lynyrd Skynyrd is not Lynyrd Skynyrd. Back in the '70s they were writing really great guitar songs with interesting lyrics that balanced their southern heritage with all sorts of other influences. Hell, "Sweet Home Alabama" foregoes pure adulation and makes snide remarks about the racist governor of the time. This was a band that felt honest through their music.

The only song I know of modern Skynyrd is "Red, White, and Blue", and it's easily one of the worst and dumbest songs I've ever heard. The original band died with Van Zant in that plane crash, and it should never have been revived.

My current 20 are (in no particular order):

Evoken

Finally something we agree on, Evoken at the top of your list is based. They fucking rule.

 

[____no5]

I simply just don't like many of those rock alltime classics. Never cared much for it when I was a kid, and the fact that these classics are played over and over and over and over at every party and every rock radio station does not help. I don't see a reason why I should celebrate Led Zep, just because the "law of rock" dictates they are the greatest. Maybe they are, but I don't enjoy them. It is that simple.

There is a reason that all those groups are on the Rock "canon" and surely we don't need to like them, but generally it happens that when the time is right and we give it a listen without prejudice we have our "eureka" moment.

But to be fair, I'm not too much into Death Metal or any of those super heavy /raspy stuff, actually I can't even comprehend that someone would voluntarily listen to this music for more than a minute. So probably there's a huge a gap over there.

 

[The Dissident]

Damn I'm not even a big fan of "Communication Breakdown". "No Quarter" deserves some love.

The Greatest Zeppelin song alongside Thank you in my books.

 

[____no5]

No Quarter?

 

[DJ James]

If their sound isn't for you then it probably won't change your mind, but I'd recommend giving the Bastards album a listen, it's easily their best. Don't get me wrong, it's still very obviously Mötorhead, but it's a little less one-note than you might be expecting. Liar, Lost In The Ozone, Devils, I'm Your Man, all took me a little bit by surprise at how different for Mötorhead they are.

Great recommendation. Motörhead’s discography captures me like no other bands discography has captured me. I’m pretty sure at any given time I could name every Motörhead song from every album in order. At an extreme surface level, most of their albums may seem one note, but diving deeper, Lemmy’s creativity almost knew no bounds. They obviously haven’t been around for years, no one has come close to matching their sound. I think Inepsy got the closest, but even they have their own style hidden in their “Motörhead worship”.

If you happen to enjoy Bastards I would recommend Inferno next if none of their classic period stuff captured you. It’s a little Thrashy-er and a little speedier. They got a new producer named Cameron Webb for that album (and all albums that followed) and he really brought out the best of the band.

On topic, I’m also not a Zeppelin fan. I still think Kashmir is an ok song, but the rest of their discography is pretty boring to me. I also don’t like a lot of classic rock. Someone said it before in the thread but it feels like a lot of that older classic rock is worshipped just because it’s been being worshipped for 50+ years now. I have entirely stopped listening to the radio, but the argument for certain songs being “overplayed” doesn’t hold a lot of weight for me. I don’t think a truly great song can be overplayed. I’m still fired up to hear The Trooper, Heaven and Hell or Ace of Spades, but I’ll very quickly turn off Crazy Train or Stairway. I think everyone’s taste is unique though

 

[JudasMyGuide]

If their sound isn't for you then it probably won't change your mind, but I'd recommend giving the Bastards album a listen, it's easily their best. Don't get me wrong, it's still very obviously Mötorhead, but it's a little less one-note than you might be expecting. Liar, Lost In The Ozone, Devils, I'm Your Man, all took me a little bit by surprise at how different for Mötorhead they are.

Or Another Perfect Day, I think especially for Maiden fans it could be a good entry point.

Also

what their contemporaries Ultravox or Can did around that time

Never thought I'd ever see these two mentioned as alternatives to each other.

 

[____no5]

Bastards is an overlooked gem.

 

[DJ James]

Or Another Perfect Day, I think especially for Maiden fans it could be a good entry point.

Yes! Great recommendation, Brian Robertson’s (Thin Lizzy) guitar work is great and adds an almost progressive feel to the album. The guitar work is seriously a standout.

 

[Eddie's Uncle]

No not scorn lol, just a comment on how much I completely disagree with your takes 60-70% of the time.

My music approach is weird, so that's just normal. For example, even though I am craving for Metal, I don't like Rock music. Because if I want heavy music, I want HEAVY music. I don't see the sense in making heavy-ish music, you know what I mean...

For me as much as I enjoy the song's music in and of itself, the big thing that makes it work is the lyrics. But then I've always been a fan of lyrics. To me the pumping music is working in tandem with the lyrics to create the energy of mounting tension within a working class father, synchronized with images of the Loch Ness Monster. That's what makes it a favorite of mine.

Admittedly I never paid much attention to the lyrics of that song. Probably because the lyrics of their radio hits are pretty lame, so I was biased. Sting solo lyrics are not that bad, though.
I also am usually very interested in lyrics and appreciate a great writer. However, while a great song can still be good with rather bad lyrics (pretty much every Deicide song is an example), a bad song can not be saved by even the greatest

I firmly believe that post-plane crash Lynyrd Skynyrd is not Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Ok, admittedly I never make this distinction, and maybe that's sort of unfair.

Back in the '70s they were writing really great guitar songs with interesting lyrics that balanced their southern heritage with all sorts of other influences. Hell, "Sweet Home Alabama" foregoes pure adulation and makes snide remarks about the racist governor of the time.

You are right, I cant hold their current political stance against their history. However, I still stromgly dislike their classic hits, especially SHA, which makes me gag. Probably my strong dislike for this song is also connected to mass sport events, where drunk lowbrows yell it all the time. Freebird is far less popular (at least here in Germany), but still a very annoying track. But I have strong dislike for southern rock in general, so in fairness I must say I don't hate Lynyrd Skynyrd more than most bands of that genre. Molly Hatchet for example are just as bad. But this thread is about classics/legends, so they are the ones to pick.

This was a band that felt honest through their music.

I don't doubt their honesty. At least not back in the day.

Finally something we agree on, Evoken at the top of your list is based. They fucking rule.

Yes, they are one of the greatest bands ever. Especially live. Also very nice people. My band did a european tour with them in 2013. We had a Kraftwerk -Cover in our setlist back then, and at the show in Helsinki, their keyboarder Don Zaros spontaneously joined us on stage and played the song with us because he is a huge Kraftwerk fan. My biggest regret is that there is no recording of that gig.

 

[dickinson1978]

The beatles. I like the who i like the rolling stones but i cant stand the beatles. Yellow submarine you say hello and many others. I know they were the first one or the creators of something but i just cant listen to them