I Just Don't Get the Hype

[hacking my dreams]

I know, i hate making generalizations, but i do like meta-analysis..

but...so delighted to see the legs kicked out from under LCD soundsystem, bowie, Vampire Weekend...ah let's destroy another sacred cow, now!

the beatles aren't overrated, but they are overused as a "favorite band" GAG when i hear that response (damn boomers)

[rskapcat]

My two favorite Beck albums are Midnite Vultures and Mutations. Odelay is to squealy for me...not a big Dust Brothers production fan, I guess. Saw Beck on the Midnite Vultures tour...still in my top 10 shows ever.

[TomAz]

Exile on Main Street. It's a really good album. And the Rolling Stones are a great band. I just don't understand why this is considered their masterpiece by so many. Sticky Fingers and even Beggars Banquet are superior in my book.

If I were gonna pick a Stones album as overhyped it would be Beggars Banquet. That album has two or three good songs; the rest just sounds like filler to me. Let It Bleed, which came right after Beggars Banquet, is a much better realization of the same idea, in my opinion. The songs are just better.

I love Exile. Partly because this is the album that changed my mind about the Stones when I was a teenager. To my ears it just sounds so cool and hangs together so well and moves brilliantly through its songs from beginning to end.

[canexplain]

Over Hyped=Coachella

[bmack86]

I read one of the many recent articles about Exile and it made what I thought was a great point: Exile is the sound of the band with quite possibly the biggest ego around playing without it. There aren't amazing guitar solos, the vocals aren't crisp and clear in the mix, the guitars don't distinguish themselves from eachother. The band just plays together, and there's a fierce amount of drive in the Stones at this point, which comes across with great power as a result of them working so well together. If I'm not mistaken (and I probably am, but I don't want to fact check at 8:30) this is the Stones album with the most Keith Richards lead vocals on it. That says it all for me.

[amyzzz]

Maybe it has been done, but the thread Blackswan linked isn't the same thing. That was for people to just belt out whatever band they don't like that other people love. Someone just throwing out Vampire Weekend and Phoenix in this thread is an example of someone doing that and missing the point.

My intention with this thread was to get more specific than that, to actually highlight individual albums. The feedback I got re: Pet Sounds is exactly what I was looking for. Patrick, James and Bryan all gave their two cents in regards to the album and it makes a good bit more sense to me now. And there were a good amount of others that followed suit and some informative points of view were given.

Ah well, I just looked at the title of the thread, which does not mention albums, and assumed someone bumped this thread from long ago since this topic has been done so many times. Sorry I misunderstood the intent. (which I always do btw, oh well).

Have at it.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

it's indescribable hooks and key-changing descents are truly a great apex. but, when was the last time you listened to it? it's a bit outdated in 2010, and i think i'm sick of beck's schtick, he's a fucking nut nut.

I actually posted that while re-listening to it last night. I don't find it outdated at all, and Beck's sound changes so much from album to album that i find it hard to say he has a schtick.

[Still-ill]

I wish I was here for the Bowie smack-down (attempted smack-down), I would have had some good zingers. Alas..

[chairmenmeow47]

This thread is overrated. I don't get it. There're some funny bits but it's mostly the same old annoying "I don't like this great album because it isn't how I want it to be" nonsense. That does not make an excellent thread. Average, maybe.

this is generally why i don't post in the music forum much, except to talk about shows. conversations about "hey, i like this" and "oh, well i don't" are extremely boring to me. i'm not one of those people who feels i need to convert everyone to what i like either.

[stuporfly]

If I'm not mistaken (and I probably am, but I don't want to fact check at 8:30) this is the Stones album with the most Keith Richards lead vocals on it.

I'm gonna be that irritating music nerd who thinks he has all the facts, but I believe the only Exile... song he has lead vocals on is "Happy" (which is truly fantastic.) He'd sung lead before ("You Got the Silver") and after (highlights including "Before They Make Me Run" and "Little T&A"), but he only had multiple lead vocals on three of the band's later (mostly forgettable) albums - Dirty Work, Voodoo Lounge and Bridges to Babylon. I hope I'm not totally off given I'm being such a dickhead know-it-all...

[amyzzz]

And I think The Smiths and Sonic Youth are the most overrated bands of all time amongst crowds with good taste in music. I like both, but I always felt like they put out more filler with garbled lyrics than melodic songs with substantive significance.

I will take The Smiths, if no one else has. Morrissey spoke up for all the socially awkward and voiceless multitudes backed by Marr's brilliant, powerful guitar compositions in a way that had not been done before. His lyrics made jokes through the pain; blatantly plagiarized -- then made fun of plagiarism (in the same song!); sent his devotees all over the place trying to find his literative allusions while still making a sincerely moving song in itself at the same time. His songs made you feel like someone was on your side when no one else was. Maybe the songs made some wallow in their misery, but sometimes you want to wallow a while before you can lift yourself out of it. That was the genius of Morrissey while he was in The Smiths.

There was no specific album given, so I just took the band. Give me an album, and I can evaluate that on its own.

[MonOm]

That is one of the most brilliant descriptions of the Smiths i have ever read.

[canexplain]

Below is a list of the officially released Rolling Stones tracks on which Richards sings lead vocals or shares lead-vocal duties:

"Something Happened to Me Yesterday" (alternates with Jagger), "Connection" (co-lead with Jagger) - Between the Buttons (1967)
"Salt of the Earth" (first verse) - Beggars Banquet (1968)
"You Got the Silver" - Let It Bleed (1969)
"Happy" - Exile On Main St. (1972)
"Coming Down Again" - Goats Head Soup (1973)
"Memory Motel" (alternates with Jagger) - Black and Blue (1976)
"Happy" (live) - Love You Live (1977)
"Before They Make Me Run" - Some Girls (1978)
"All About You" - Emotional Rescue (1980)
"Little T&A" - Tattoo You (1981)
"Wanna Hold You" - Undercover (1983)
"Too Rude", "Sleep Tonight" - Dirty Work (1986)
"Can't Be Seen", "Slipping Away" - Steel Wheels (1989)
"Can't Be Seen" (live) - Flashpoint (1991)
"The Worst", "Thru and Thru" - Voodoo Lounge (1994)
"Slipping Away" (acoustic studio rehearsal) - Stripped (1995)
"You Don't Have to Mean It", "Thief in the Night", "How Can I Stop" - Bridges to Babylon (1997)
"Thief in the Night" (live) - No Security (1999)
"Losing My Touch" - Forty Licks (2002)
"Happy" (live), "The Nearness of You" (live), "You Don't Have to Mean It" (live) - Live Licks (2004)
"This Place Is Empty", "Infamy" - A Bigger Bang (2005)
"Thru and Thru" (live) - Rarities 1971-2003 (2005)
"You Got the Silver" (live), "Connection" (live), "Little T&A" (live) - Shine a Light (2008)

[Still-ill]

I'm gonna be that irritating music nerd who thinks he has all the facts, but I believe the only Exile... song he has lead vocals on is "Happy" (which is truly fantastic.) He'd sung lead before ("You Got the Silver") and after (highlights including "Before They Make Me Run" and "Little T&A"), but he only had multiple lead vocals on three of the band's later (mostly forgettable) albums - Dirty Work, Voodoo Lounge and Bridges to Babylon. I hope I'm not totally off given I'm being such a dickhead know-it-all...

No you're correct, my father is one of the biggest Stones nerds around... so these kind of things are pretty much branded into my memory through repetition.

[LooseAtTheZoo]

1. Sticky Fingers is so far superior to Exile On Main Street.

2. I'm intrigued by the comment about not enjoying David Bowie unless you grew up on his stuff, considering I'm so far removed from the time his maximum cultural relevance and still listen to his music (probably) more than any other single artist.

I can't remember what got me into David Bowie. It was probably hearing Space Oddity or Under Pressure, and then my brother got me tickets to see the Reality tour when I was thirteen. I knew barely any of the songs and had an incredible time; my first concert.

Over the years I used to say Bowie was my favorite artist as default, even though I wasn't terribly familiar with his music. Around the time I started to listen to music more consciously and seriously, I listened to essentially his entire discography, and haven't put it down since. For me, I don't care about any of Bowie's extra musical mystique, which is might culturally be more important than his music for many people. (i.e. those batshit crazy "it's not the side effect of the cocaine" years between Station to Station and Lodger).

This is rambling, and I'm not really sure where I'm going with it, but I love David Bowie. And if any boardies are willing to give him another shot/have specific complaints that I might be able to address in this thread, than I would love to contribute more. The most important thing for me when recommending Bowie's music to others is having them disregard any of bias against his cultural character, because the music itself remains breathtaking.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

I grew up loving David Bowie because of Labyrinth and then in high school i really got into Outside because of NIN and just the fact that it fit right into a lot of stuff I was listening to at the time. Then Earthling came out and I was ready for it upon its release, and i was really getting into Depeche Mode and other synth-pop stuff so that stuck with me.

From then on, around age 17 or so I started getting into his catalog and was just fascinated by so much of it.

[chairmenmeow47]

so you heard him as a kid and thus grew up with it. that's my point. not that it came out during your generation.

[amyzzz]

I lived through Bowie's 80's hits and still love "Let's Dance" like crazy. I was not around for anything earlier than that and have grown to love the older releases.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

so you heard him as a kid and thus grew up with it. that's my point. not that it came out during your generation.

Sort of. I don't think my appreciation of the Labyrinth soundtrack at 8 years old is directly related to my ability to really connect with his older, classic work, when i was in my late teens.

I love his voice, and his songwriting, and the strange directions he took his career.

[JamesMills]

I actually like Aftermath the most from the Stones...

[amyzzz]

Trent Reznor got me into Bowie a bit more, although I still have not gone all out like I have with The Beatles (I have not listened to all the albums yet).

[chairmenmeow47]

drinky, i was talking to gonsh, sorry i will never get the love for bowie. i'm glad he brings so many people joy though!

[JustSteve]

many, many bands talked about on this board, just don't get it.

[amyzzz]

many, many bands talked about on this board, just don't get it.

hahaha

[JamesMills]

I will take The Smiths, if no one else has. Morrissey spoke up for all the socially awkward and voiceless multitudes backed by Marr's brilliant, powerful guitar compositions in a way that had not been done before. His lyrics made jokes through the pain; blatantly plagiarized -- then made fun of plagiarism (in the same song!); sent his devotees all over the place trying to find his literative allusions while still making a sincerely moving song in itself at the same time. His songs made you feel like someone was on your side when no one else was. Maybe the songs made some wallow in their misery, but sometimes you want to wallow a while before you can lift yourself out of it. That was the genius of Morrissey while he was in The Smiths.

There was no specific album given, so I just took the band. Give me an album, and I can evaluate that on its own.

You write this as if singing about being socially awkward and alone was original at the time. The Talking Heads, Brian Eno, Devo, and even Joy Division all did it a lot prettier, more coherent, and more creatively before The Smiths imo.

Marrs is a good guitarist, I'll give you that. I'm more impressed with his playing talents than his writing talents though.

[amyzzz]

You write this as if singing about being socially awkward and alone was original at the time. The Talking Heads, Brian Eno, Devo, and even Joy Division all did it a lot prettier, more coherent, and more creatively before The Smiths imo.

Marrs is a good guitarist, I'll give you that. I'm more impressed with his playing talents than his writing talents though.

I know I gave that impression -- the way he did it spoke to me personally during my teenage years in a way that the other bands you listed did not.
I'll definitely agree with the Joy Division one though. But what you've said baffles me -- not sure how the others are "prettier, more coherent, and more creative" than The Smiths. Granted, Morrissey's voice on the first album is a lot rougher than in later albums, but I grew to love that roughness as well because the singing was so immediate and desperate -- like "I need love and attention NOW goddamnit." I will have to think about this more and give you specific examples.

[JamesMills]

I grew to love that roughness as well because the singing was so immediate and desperate -- like "I need love and attention NOW goddamnit."

I can see that, for sure. I just mean that the music itself behind this angst seemed out of place for the decadence of the lyrics. I still would like it more if it was more melodic or soothing (what I meant by "pretty," a stupid word selection), but instead it oftentimes seems droning and fuzzy to me.

[amyzzz]

I can see that, for sure. I just mean that the music itself behind this angst seemed out of place for the decadence of the lyrics. I still would like it more if it was more melodic or soothing (what I meant by "pretty," a stupid word selection), but instead it oftentimes seems droning and fuzzy to me.

I will give you that. Some of the songs are appallingly droning, but certainly not all or most of them. There are some songs I cannot listen to because of that.

[GuyInTucson]

Trent Reznor got me into Bowie a bit more, although I still have not gone all out like I have with The Beatles (I have not listened to all the albums yet).

Reznor got you into Bowie... you sound like my fiance's sister. (Not a bad thing; just saying)

Actually, Ivy knows her too. Ivy, am I off base here? lol

[TomAz]

maybe the worst thread on the forum

maybe the worst poster in the forum.

well. close, anyway.