The hype!

Are there musicians that you just don't understand all the hype behind?

Probably one of the biggest for me is Stevie Ray Vaughn. I admit he is a good guitarist, but never understood all the people that list him so highly, as if he was some sort of innovator or something. A good guitarist? Sure. One of the best ever? Hardly. Yes, people list him as such all the time. A DJ on the radio this morning said he was "one of the greatest guitar player since Jimi Hendrix." What? I don't get the hype.

I won't comment on SRV. But I think someone who is too overrated is Dimebag Darrell.

Despite my fear of lynching, I have always found him, yes, talented, but hardly groundbreaking. There are hundreds of guitarists that I hold in much higher regard than him. It is a tragedy he died, but since his death he has become a martyr for metal music, which has clouded alot of folks' vision of him.

On the other overrated hand,

Don't get me started on Ozzy Osbourne!

OK, he was a part of the band that began metal music. I agree with this and regard him as such. But really, who thinks he can actually sing? His stage persona is a joke. He jumps around like a mentally challenged leprechaun on his second Red Bull, whining in the microphone and throwing water buckets. Brilliant! He has continuously rode the coattails of his guitarists over the years without ever giving any of the still breathing ones any credit. Definetely not worth the hype.

spectrefate wrote:

...a mentally challenged leprechaun on his second Red Bull...

I was reading Lemmy's autobiography and he thinks that Randy Rhoads is one of the most overrated guitarists ever. I think it's hard to really tell as Randy never reached his full potential as a guitarist before he passed. Who knows what else he might have done had he lived. Chances are he wouldn't have remained with Ozzy much longer.

I think i respect most of our bands and musicians but outside out world i would say U2. Totaly overrated in my opinion, same with THE ROLLING STONES.

Guns n Roses. The most over hyped, self-righteous, self indulgent
pile of crap band ever. But they must have been brilliant,
because, some how, to this day they have millions of sheep worldwide
still worshipping them.

SAXON1500 wrote:

Guns n Roses. The most over hyped, self-righteous, self indulgent
pile of crap band ever. But they must have been brilliant,
because, some how, to this day they have millions of sheep worldwide
still worshipping them.

Preach, brother!

How Axl gets away with the way he treats fans is atrocious. He also sings as though someone has placed electrodes in his bunghole. Terrible. Terrible. Terrible.

(I'm trying to stay positive here, people!)

The thing about my pick is I think he is talented and has written some good songs, that I myself enjoy. I just don't understand why so many people think he's "the greatest guitarist ever".

With Guns n Roses, they released one outstanding album that just took the world by storm. Nothing they have released since has been quite as good, so I can agree with them being overrated. I must also agree about the crappy attitude of their singer.

ultmetal wrote:

I must also agree about the crappy attitude of their singer.

C'mon you gotta agree with the electrodes in the bunghole thing. j/k

ultmetal wrote:

Are there musicians that you just don't understand all the hype behind?

Probably one of the biggest for me is Stevie Ray Vaughn. I admit he is a good guitarist, but never understood all the people that list him so highly, as if he was some sort of innovator or something. A good guitarist? Sure. One of the best ever? Hardly. Yes, people list him as such all the time. A DJ on the radio this morning said he was "one of the greatest guitar player since Jimi Hendrix." What? I don't get the hype.

Well, that comment wouldn't have impressed me since I think Jimi Hendrix was overrated. Haha.

Eyesore wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Are there musicians that you just don't understand all the hype behind?

Probably one of the biggest for me is Stevie Ray Vaughn. I admit he is a good guitarist, but never understood all the people that list him so highly, as if he was some sort of innovator or something. A good guitarist? Sure. One of the best ever? Hardly. Yes, people list him as such all the time. A DJ on the radio this morning said he was "one of the greatest guitar player since Jimi Hendrix." What? I don't get the hype.

Well, that comment wouldn't have impressed me since I think Jimi Hendrix was overrated. Haha.

Well, you can at least agree that Hendrix was a huge influence on a generation of guitarists. Even if you don't like him, his legacy is cemented in history. I don't see SRV the same way.

ultmetal wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Are there musicians that you just don't understand all the hype behind?

Probably one of the biggest for me is Stevie Ray Vaughn. I admit he is a good guitarist, but never understood all the people that list him so highly, as if he was some sort of innovator or something. A good guitarist? Sure. One of the best ever? Hardly. Yes, people list him as such all the time. A DJ on the radio this morning said he was "one of the greatest guitar player since Jimi Hendrix." What? I don't get the hype.

Well, that comment wouldn't have impressed me since I think Jimi Hendrix was overrated. Haha.

Well, you can at least agree that Hendrix was a huge influence on a generation of guitarists. Even if you don't like him, his legacy is cemented in history. I don't see SRV the same way.

Absolutely. And I think at the time he was probably what people would call "amazing." But when I started really getting into music in the 80s, I just felt there were so many guitarists that blew him away. But yeah, the dude is a legend, and rightfully so.

Why does Lenny Kravitz get so much airtime? Has he even written an original song?

This one is very easy. U2. Cant stand them,period. Rolling Stones are a close second.

Kiss - I've never nor will I ever understand the hype (besides the schtick)

I second Ozzy.....great band - I think - despite Ozzy....

ultmetal wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Are there musicians that you just don't understand all the hype behind?

Probably one of the biggest for me is Stevie Ray Vaughn. I admit he is a good guitarist, but never understood all the people that list him so highly, as if he was some sort of innovator or something. A good guitarist? Sure. One of the best ever? Hardly. Yes, people list him as such all the time. A DJ on the radio this morning said he was "one of the greatest guitar player since Jimi Hendrix." What? I don't get the hype.

Well, that comment wouldn't have impressed me since I think Jimi Hendrix was overrated. Haha.

Well, you can at least agree that Hendrix was a huge influence on a generation of guitarists. Even if you don't like him, his legacy is cemented in history. I don't see SRV the same way.

SRV is probably the best guitarist to come out of the 80's Blues scene. I think more than anything, he brought the Blues back home and had success doing it.

Ult, I noticed you don't have any of his studio albums. I like them all. I haven't heard anyone play with as much passion as he did when he was in the spotlight. I think that's why people have a high regard of him.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

Kiss - I've never nor will I ever understand the hype (besides the schtick)

I second Ozzy.....great band - I think - despite Ozzy....

Def Leppard...It just suck!

ultmetal wrote:

Well, you can at least agree that Hendrix was a huge influence on a generation of guitarists. Even if you don't like him, his legacy is cemented in history. I don't see SRV the same way.

I think this gets at an important point. Timing matters. I love SRV type music more than anything...but I never listen to him because what he was doing was mostly nostalgia for Hendrix, Trower, etc. Good for turning on a new generation I guess, but as an old guy I'd rather hear the old stuff for some reason.
Also Ozzy era Sabbath is my favorite band ever...but again I've become less and less of an Ozzy fan over the years. Not a fan at all at this point. I guess music just seems more interesting when it's breaking some sort of new ground. Certainly there is lots of great new music, but some stuff just gives me a "been there, done that" feeling.

AceFrehley655 wrote:

scottmitchell74 wrote:

Kiss - I've never nor will I ever understand the hype (besides the schtick)

I second Ozzy.....great band - I think - despite Ozzy....

Def Leppard...It just suck!

Don't make me kick your bunghole!

As much as I like both SRV and Dimebag, I think their early exits from this world, both in the middle of their careers, have something to do with heaping more praise than is worth on both of them.

Please, don't get me started on Motley Crue:angry:

Also, Rolling Stones; GNR; U2 (haven't listened to a cd in 12 years and haven't owned one of their's in 10); Three Doors Down and Matchbox 20(if it weren't for the amount of disposable income 12-16 year old girls have they would never sell a single cd). I know the last few were somewhat o.t. but I just had to vent. Thanks.

what I agree with:

SRV- very good, yes. overrated, yes.
Stones- I'm not really a fan but they arent overated. with the exception of a couple hit-n-misses in the late 70's they were great up until about 1983 or so.
Hendrix- I'm in the group that is so sick and tired of hearing how he was the greatest guitarist of all time. But For those who dont think he was great, ya oughta hear his performance at The Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
U2- I totally love their 80's stuff but yes, they get way too many props these days and at best they are average in the last 16 years.
Randy Rhoads- Not Overrated. I agree with the above post that said he never really reached his full potential. People forget that the last studio recording he did was early 1981, not alot of people around then who could play like he did.
G-n-R- so very overrated, period.
Kiss-Not Overated at all (at least the 70's stuff).
Douchebag Darrel- dont care.
Ozzy- He's a legend despite the fact that he is senile and a mockery of his former self.

Im gonna get flamed on this but even though I grew up on these guys and used to love em, I think Led Zeppelin is a bit overrated. They arent the greatest band ever and people everywhere seem to think they and Black Sabbath started modern day Heavy metal. Nobody ever says anything about Deep Purple(who I always liked more then LZ) maybe because they didnt have a "sexy" vocalist like Plant. I remember back around 1979 to about 1981 ever loser who claimed to know anything about rock would say that Jimmy Page was the greatest guitarist ever and John Bonham was the greatest drummer ever "Dude! just listen to Moby Dick or Heartbreaker-Livin' Lovin' Maid" NOT!! get a clue......yeah theyre great songs but the greatest band of all time, no.

So far, I'd have to disagree with practically everyone mentioned in this post. KISS, Ozzy, Zep, the Stones, GnR, Stevie Ray, Dimebag, U2 and Hendrix have all done something that makes them stand out and unique from the crowd. You can debate all day whether what they did was original or if they deserved the praise, but of all those mentioned, at the end of the day, they all stand out from the pack in some way. How could they be considdered not worthy of hype when you know their work? You may not like them, but they certainly did something right to distinguish themselves. Well, maybe not Def Leppard, but the rest for sure.

I agree about Zepplin. They contributed massively like Hendrix and the Beatles, and I respect that. But mainstream metal polls (Rolling Stone, etc.) continue to list them in the default postion as the greatest metal band ever, which hasn't changed since 1975. As great as they were, I think several other bands have passed them by in terms of influence since. Sabbath especially, has aged a lot better IMO.

I think Ozzy is a very weak frontman and singer and generally quite overrated. I'm sure I'll think of something else later.

-Ozzy is bigger than Black Sabbath.
-Led Zeppelin influenced so many people that it's impossible to say that they suck.
-Randy Rhoads is one of my favourite guitarist. He's not overrated! People all forget about him! They are all thinking about Zakk.
-KISS it's KISS a lot of people like it and a lot of people hate it. But it's the hottest band in the world!
-Jimi Hendrix is the one who made guitar being so cool! How the Smurf can you say he's overrated?