Since the Guardian interviewed musicians about overrated albums, I’ve decided to compile my own list. Please feel free to post a comment if you agree or disagree.
Nirvana – Nevermind
This has become the sound of 99X or any “alternative†radio station out there. It’s responsible for spawning some of the most heinous bands ever (i.e., Nickelback, Puddle of Mudd, the Vines). Critics say it’s great, because it brought the underground to mainstream audiences. No, it didn’t. What it did do was bring a watered-down, derivative parody of underground music to the mainstream. In other words, they threw the Pixies, Mudhoney, and the Wipers into a blender and filtered it through Butch Vig’s cheesed-out, pop-metal production. Now it’s considered the album that saved rock or something.
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
From the amount of press these guys got, you’d think they were the Second Coming. It’s become a habit for the British music press to shit their pants every time a band of scruffy, doe-eyed, twentysomethings comes out of the woodwork (cough, cough, the Strokes). The problem wasn’t as much the album, but the insane amounts of hype it received. Unfortunately, the tunes couldn’t stand up to the hype. Now the band is facing a shit storm of backlash.
Radiohead – OK Computer
Have you ever noticed that the people who mention Radiohead as one of their favorite bands are always dumbasses? Hey, guy, guess what? Radiohead has been aping other bands forever. Sure, it adds some nice space echo and electronic bleeps and farts, but that doesn’t change the fact that “Just†is a rip-off of “Shot by Both Sides,†and “Let Down†is a Stone Roses song. Don’t get me wrong: I loved this album when I was in eighth grade, but I’ve come to realize how remarkably mediocre it is. Let’s face it. There are arguably two great songs on here – “Paranoid Android†and “Karma Police.†The rest is just decent, safe Brit pop with abundant bells and whistles.
Oasis – Definitely Maybe
I have to hand it to these guys for cultivating such hilarious, over-the-top rock-star personas. Their moron-brothers shtick aside, this album is B-O-R-I-N-G. Definitely Maybe is an exercise in how many different ways you can put together the same five barre chords. It’s the British Dookie. With that said, I still have a soft spot for “Live Forever.â€
Pink Floyd – The Wall
I don’t think much needs to be said about this one. It’s the most bloated, self-important album of one of the most bloated, self-important bands. The scary thing is how the band stretched an EP’s worth of material across a double LP.
Before there was grunge, there was Bleach, Nirvana’s harsh, ‘89 debut that dragged punk’s contemptuous sneer through the mud to churn out one damn fine album. Bleach isn’t the voice of a generation that came two years later with Nevermind, but it’s an infinitely better record. “Blew,” “School,” “Love Buzz,” “Negative Creep” — they’re all raw classics that were too visceral for the masses. Cobain’s half-baked yowls still sound like they’re going to fall apart every time he opens his mouth, and the remastered job makes the album’s highs higher and lows lower. It’s a dirty album, and the production needed to be touched-up. A booklet of photos and a live show from the era are nice add-ons, but it ain’t the bells and whistles that matter here. The songs themselves make Bleach a ramshackle work of perfection. (Sub Pop) 5 stars out of 5
