The worst rock bands ever

[Davros sock drawer]

It's a beautiful opening, it's only because it then became such a stadium monster that people like you think of it like that.

[STID]

saxon

[Eats hoops and leaves]

'normal' people like kings of leon, Maroon 5 and Brit Pop, 'normal' people think that the Beatles are the pinnacle of rock, 'normal people like commercial R n'B. Given this i prefer being very not 'normal'

[Guest]

Accept - I only know one song 'balls to the wall' but it's pretty bad, like a cheap ACDC with some singer with short man syndrome, proper genero 80's rock. It's a bit .. homoerotic, I don't know if this is intentional.

Grim Reaper - spandex tales about keepers of 7 keys to magical dungeons and all that shit, except see you in hell is ironically awesome.

I'm sure these crap 80s rock bands are ten a penny though really.

[Gorf King]

It's a beautiful opening, it's only because it then became such a stadium monster that people like you think of it like that.

Hmm, is this what you term the Gorf Symbol again? I'd call it just a post that's nonsensical and cries out for a reply. U2 thought of themselves as stadium rock well before they recorded that album. They thought of themselves as stadium rock when I saw them at Leeds Uni years before, and they got people to sing along while Bono waved a flag, and people to hold lighters aloft while he got a chant going. They were clearly in stadium mode way back then. They were always stadium rockers. They wrote stadium rock, they designed it to be stadium rock, their fans wanted the spectacle of stadium rock before it was reality, and the band and their followers made that clear in every action. They succeeded in taking it and their fans to stadiums. They are - and I include Status Quo and Coldplay in this - not the worst, but just about the most boring band in the world, partly because of this dull ambition so nakedly displayed from about the second album on. And zuum is absolutely right about that. So I suppose it is only people like him who think of The Joshua Tree in this way; in the way it was so clearly intended.

I know you like U2, but they are just about the definition of stadium rock. And anyone who listened to their stuff before they got to the biggest venues - fans and detractors alike - could hear, and see, and taste that. Right from War onwards it's all about the crowd-pleasing chanting, ringing stadium sound. Is that a bad thing? You might not think it is. The U2 fans I knew then certainly didn't - they loved it. It's a fair opinion. But that is what it is, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

[Oh Danny Boy]

This is quite a common thing for rock/metal folk to say, isn't it?

i know many people cite the 70's as a bad period for music, mainly because many of the big 60's bands were past it and it opened the door to an era of self indulgent rock characterised by Led Zep. But we still had punk and then its huge explosion as well as some classic rock records by some great bands. The 00's maybe the late 90's till now has been the worst era for rock music and it doesn't look like changing, i struggle to think of many classic albums from the last 15yrs, and its annoying to me who is too young to have experienced any of the great eras and i'm dying to experience one which will define a generation but i haven't and doubt i ever will.

Apologists usually take the line that music today is still great and that we are too old to understand it, but they are horribly wrong it is just generally awful. Punk is dead, even the pop punk bands which sullied its good name in the 90's have turned emo. Indie's rotting corpse is getting prodded up to sell albums which are full of pop and dance tracks,there is still some good bands out there trying to keep punk and indie alive but they are on small labels or are underground and need investment to uncover.

The money men have long destroyed music

[Eats hoops and leaves]

lol what?

[futureshock]

That's a thoroughly depressing point of view, not least because you try to lay blame for what is nothing more than a natural shrinking. The mass pool of youthful creativity has moved on; the kids are expressing themselves with the tools of their age, just as their fathers did.

That's not to say there aren't occasionally exciting rock albums (I'm liking Steve Shelley's addition to Disappears recently) but the reason they are rare now is simply down to the fact that music evolves.

[Davros sock drawer]

Hmm, is this what you term the Gorf Symbol again? I'd call it just a post that's nonsensical and cries out for a reply. U2 thought of themselves as stadium rock well before they recorded that album. They though of themselves as stadium rock when I saw them at Leeds Uni years before, and they got people to sing along while Bono waved a flag, and people to hold lighters aloft while he got a chant going. They were clearly in stadium mode way back then. They were always stadium rockers. They wrote stadium rock, they designed it to be stadium rock, their fans wanted the spectacle of stadium rock before it was reality, and the band and their followers made that clear in every action. They succeeded in taking it and their fans to stadiums. They are - and I include Status Quo and Coldplay in this - not the worst, but just about the most boring band in the world, partly because of this dull ambition so nakedly displayed from about the second album on. And zuum is absolutely right about that. So I suppose it is only people like him who think of The Joshua Tree in this way; in the way it was so clearly intended.

I know you like U2, but they are just about the definition of stadium rock. And anyone who listened to their stuff before they got to the biggest venues - fans and detractors alike - could hear, and see, and taste that. Right from War onwards it's all about the crowd-pleasing chanting, ringing stadium sound. Is that a bad thing? You might not think it is. The U2 fans I knew then certainly didn't - they loved it. It's a fair opinion. But that is what it is, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Sorry, you're probably right about the band being Stadium Monsters way before that point, but I was talking specifically about the long, slow keyboard chords seguing into the famous riff of WtSHNN, as was zuum, and I don't personally believe (and no doubt you will disagree) that they wrote that tremendously atmospheric opening, sitting there with Lanois and Eno in a cynical "Right, this is going to be the ne plus ultra of stadium set opening money spinners (begorrah)". I imagine they just wrote a song. Then it became the hugely popular opening to one of the most popular albums of all time, and people at stadiums went nuts. And in hindsight that's how people think of that sound and that song, with legions of mulleted, denim-clad Americans jumping up and down to it in Rattle and Hum, and since, but I just listen to the musical elements, and find it utterly magical, even now. I guess I can separate that element from Bono being a cock in a Stetson, where others, rather understandably, can't.

Mothers of the Disappeared, at the other end of the album, is even more beautiful.

[Lovelyman]

Agreed. Metalica are a poor mans Motorhead. They always sound like they're trying so hard.

Lolwut. Neither band do anything that sounds remotely similar.

[Mr Cochese]

I don't really like punk, but my God was it necessary.

Also I think this is simultanteously the best and worst rock performance ever captured on film

WTF? You can't put the Birthday Party in this thread you maniac. I started listening to them the last time you posted that video up, and now I love them.

[zuum]

Back on topic. An ex-girlfriend of mine was completely obsessed with hair metal bands of the mid-80's onwards (this was the late 80's) and even if U2 are a bit annoying and jingly-jangly they're nothing compared to some of these monsters. There were so many it's hard to pick one (even setting aside those bands that were actually pretty decent) but I'm going to go for Warrant. For proof check out their magnum opus Cherry Pie. And before you ask, no, it isn't an ironic post-modern take on the genre; these guys were deadly serious.

[Lovelyman]

It worked. They got oodles of pussy and cash.

[88h88]

you have a really strange opinions about music and culture. I should have twigged with the grunge/Seattle thing but it's all becoming clear now

He's always been an odd one.

[matt0]

i know many people cite the 70's as a bad period for music, mainly because many of the big 60's bands were past it and it opened the door to an era of self indulgent rock characterised by Led Zep. But we still had punk and then its huge explosion as well as some classic rock records by some great bands. The 00's maybe the late 90's till now has been the worst era for rock music and it doesn't look like changing, i struggle to think of many classic albums from the last 15yrs, and its annoying to me who is too young to have experienced any of the great eras and i'm dying to experience one which will define a generation but i haven't and doubt i ever will.

Apologists usually take the line that music today is still great and that we are too old to understand it, but they are horribly wrong it is just generally awful. Punk is dead, even the pop punk bands which sullied its good name in the 90's have turned emo. Indie's rotting corpse is getting prodded up to sell albums which are full of pop and dance tracks,there is still some good bands out there trying to keep punk and indie alive but they are on small labels or are underground and need investment to uncover.

The money men have long destroyed music

The past 10 years have been amazing for punk though. Might be biased a bit living in the Leeds/Bradford area as there's always been lots going on and bands passing through but check out some Masshysteri, Tragedy, Dean Dirg, Fucked Up, Brutal Knights, Shitty Limits, Gorilla Angreb... so much good stuff happening all over the world if you just look a bit deeper.

That's why I love punk music so much, it's the never ending rabbit hole and the deeper you dig you find more and more side passages - so you might go down one that gets heavier and heavier until you find yourself listening to a band that sounds like a speaker cone being rubbed with sandpaper, or you might follow another one that gets more arty and progressive until it breaks down into something that isn't really punk anymore but that leads you somewhere completely different.

I can't think of a single cultural phenomenom that's meant (and still does mean) as much to me over the years.

EDIT: I'm 32. Just for context.

[Davros sock drawer]

Back on topic. An ex-girlfriend of mine was completely obsessed with hair metal bands of the mid-80's onwards (this was the late 80's) and even if U2 are a bit annoying and jingly-jangly they're nothing compared to some of these monsters. There were so many it's hard to pick one (even setting aside those bands that were actually pretty decent) but I'm going to go for Warrant. For proof check out their magnum opus Cherry Pie. And before you ask, no, it isn't an ironic post-modern take on the genre; these guys were deadly serious.

Sounds like you used to go out with my mate Lucy. She un-ironically listens to hair metal, to the exclusion of pretty much anything else. Bands like Steel Panther. All good clean fun I suppose, but it's practically all she listens to.

She also didn't get the joke with Spinal Tap.

[Nick R]

Other debunks:

-The Darkness are a fucking hoot live, they really put on a show. They reformed last year and have definitely still got it, if you hate it I'll call you a humourless tit

-Dismissing entire genres (in this thread - punk & metal) is fucking stupid since they can encompass a shit load of music. Unless you're boring

-U2 are still terrible

-Rush can sod off too, those Ayn Randian lyrics are just too much

This isn't the Music Confessions Thread.

If you think that the stand-out track is 'Money' then... holy shit. Destroy your ears.

Well, it is. (Though Time and Brain Damage are very close.)

[Guest]

Money is the only track that sounds completely out of place on the album, the rest of the album being run at half speed with the words 'go to sleep' 'go to sleep' subliminally intertwined in the songs.

[Davros sock drawer]

I'd be amazed if you could sleep to On The Run, which is frenzied and nightmarish, with the sound of an out of breath man running through an airport.

But yeah, generally it's quite a mellow album. Nothing wrong with that.

[Lovelyman]

It's good to listen to stoned. I love Time.

[Oh Danny Boy]

The past 10 years have been amazing for punk though. Might be biased a bit living in the Leeds/Bradford area as there's always been lots going on and bands passing through but check out some Masshysteri, Tragedy, Dean Dirg, Fucked Up, Brutal Knights, Shitty Limits, Gorilla Angreb... so much good stuff happening all over the world if you just look a bit deeper.

That's why I love punk music so much, it's the never ending rabbit hole and the deeper you dig you find more and more side passages - so you might go down one that gets heavier and heavier until you find yourself listening to a band that sounds like a speaker cone being rubbed with sandpaper, or you might follow another one that gets more arty and progressive until it breaks down into something that isn't really punk anymore but that leads you somewhere completely different.

I can't think of a single cultural phenomenom that's meant (and still does mean) as much to me over the years.

EDIT: I'm 32. Just for context.

Oh yeah, i know, theres some very good punk bands on Freak Scene, outside Britain Crypt records have some great new punk artists, the Revelators look promising and they have stuff by the Pagans and the Lazy Cowgirls on their label too which is awesome. I'll check those bands out thanks, i'm forever on the lookout for new bands to discover.

[Oh Danny Boy]

you have a really strange opinions about music and culture. I should have twigged with the grunge/Seattle thing but it's all becoming clear now

meh, i'm basically saying that since the turn of the century that outside the underground bands rock has been dire, i stand by my opinion that this is the worst decade for rock, i doubt many would disagree with that.

[Davros sock drawer]

It's good to listen to stoned. I love Time.

I haven't been stoned in a long, long time, but I did listen to it all the way through a few years ago lying on a balcony in Spain, with headphones, just like Ray Winston in Sexy Beast, and it was pretty amazing.

To me it's one of those albums I will listen to and then say "Again!" and play it a 2nd time straight away.

[Guest]

Always thought Def Leppard were pretty awful, and I like Bon Jovi. Seemed to be a huge rip-off of their sound. Not just 80's hair metal but specifically Bon Jovi. This extended into the 90's with When Love and Hate Collide ripping off Always.

Anyways, yes, Def Leppard are shit but I will defend Bon Jovi because they are hella awesome.

[cerseis eyebrows]

i know many people cite the 70's as a bad period for music, mainly because many of the big 60's bands were past it and it opened the door to an era of self indulgent rock characterised by Led Zep. But we still had punk and then its huge explosion as well as some classic rock records by some great bands. The 00's maybe the late 90's till now has been the worst era for rock music and it doesn't look like changing, i struggle to think of many classic albums from the last 15yrs, and its annoying to me who is too young to have experienced any of the great eras and i'm dying to experience one which will define a generation but i haven't and doubt i ever will.

Apologists usually take the line that music today is still great and that we are too old to understand it, but they are horribly wrong it is just generally awful. Punk is dead, even the pop punk bands which sullied its good name in the 90's have turned emo. Indie's rotting corpse is getting prodded up to sell albums which are full of pop and dance tracks,there is still some good bands out there trying to keep punk and indie alive but they are on small labels or are underground and need investment to uncover.

The money men have long destroyed music

Hmm, worst decade for rock? I depends what kind of rock you're into I suppose. For me the last decade far surpassed the 90's in terms of rock music. Sure there was no Nirvana or Oasis breaking into the mainstream but there were plenty of bands about doing interesting things.Grunge and britpop snuffed out rocks creative instincts on the whole (although there was some spark in the early post- rock scene with the like of Talk Talk, Pram, Disco Inferno, Slint etc.) but the past decade has seen the return of bands daring to go with original ideas again. If you're into to punk then I might see why you would bee frustrated but personally I'm bored of punk and garage rock and indie etc. Nothing new or exciting is gonna come from it that was hasn't been done and redone since the 70's. Most of the maverick kids getting into music now aren't interested in picking up a guitar cos, like it or not, guitar led song smithery is an archaic thing. Which is why most of my favourite rock of the last decade + has been the more ballsy and idiosyncratic stuff. So stand up Animal Collective, Ariel Pink, Big Blood, Baby Dee, Charming Hostess, Fiery Furnaces, Non Credo, Grouper etc. as well as all the fabulous twee/lo -fi and prog stuff out there I've a soft spot for. I even liked a couple of the 'nme bands' too (Libertines, Monkeys, Vampire Weekend).

Overall, I honestly don't see how any decade of music is better than the other. And you know, there is more to music than white guys with guitars. There's always good and bad spots. I suppose if you're boring enough to only follow one genre then you're more likely to become a bitter curmudgeon.

[Oh Danny Boy]

Hmm, worst decade for rock? I depends what kind of rock you're into I suppose. For me the last decade far surpassed the 90's in terms of rock music. Sure there was no Nirvana or Oasis breaking into the mainstream but there were plenty of bands about doing interesting things.Grunge and britpop snuffed out rocks creative instincts on the whole (although there was some spark in the early post- rock scene with the like of Talk Talk, Pram, Disco Inferno, Slint etc.) but the past decade has seen the return of bands daring to go with original ideas again. If you're into to punk then I might see why you would bee frustrated but personally I'm bored of punk and garage rock and indie etc. Nothing new or exciting is gonna come from it that was hasn't been done and redone since the 70's. Most of the maverick kids getting into music now aren't interested in picking up a guitar cos, like it or not, guitar led song smithery is an archaic thing. Which is why most of my favourite rock of the last decade + has been the more ballsy and idiosyncratic stuff. So stand up Animal Collective, Ariel Pink, Big Blood, Baby Dee, Charming Hostess, Fiery Furnaces, Non Credo, Grouper etc. as well as all the fabulous twee/lo -fi and prog stuff out there I've a soft spot for. I even liked a couple of the 'nme bands' too (Libertines, Monkeys, Vampire Weekend).

Overall, I honestly don't see how any decade of music is better than the other. And you know, there is more to music than white guys with guitars. There's always good and bad spots. I suppose if you're boring enough to only follow one genre then you're more likely to become a bitter curmudgeon.

Euch! prog and post rock certainly are not my bag. I did read a similar argument before that the lack of new exciting bands emerging being due to our age where computer programs allow much more easier and accessible option for wannabe artists, which is sad. Although there are still countless others who pick up a guitar.

No one person is into a single genre, music rarely can be conceived as such, most bands are a mix of various musical influences. I use 'rock' as a vague banner encompassing various genres as such yes i listen to only rock but not only to one genre. I don't see it as boring as i'm always discovering amazing new bands, i love the feeling i get when i listen to a truly great rock album for the first time.

Seriously, what is 'rock'? Does that even exist anymore? (yes, I know it's in the title of the thread)

Music has evolved dramatically in the last 20 years, from consumption to production and through the various forms of marketing and production. The sheer amount of music available and the many ways of accessing it has changed and thank god for that. Who wants to live in a world where Headswim or Rialto get serious national airplay?

we live in a world where Justin Bieber gets serious national airplay, i tell you which is worse?

[futureshock]

...the lack of new exciting bands emerging being due to our age where computer programs allow much more easier and accessible option for wannabe artists, which is sad.

And there it is - the ageing rock fan complaining about computers and the subsequent burst of cultural creativity that followed.

Sad indeed.

[cerseis eyebrows]

Euch! prog and post rock certainly are not my bag. I did read a similar argument before that the lack of new exciting bands emerging being due to our age where computer programs allow much more easier and accessible option for wannabe artists, which is sad. Although there are still countless others who pick up a guitar

Well you kind of made my point. There is new exciting acts emerging but you won't notice that if you're only interested in guitar led rock bands. It's only sad if you can't appreciate the possibility that if revolutionary/subversive thinkers like Lennon, Lydon, Lou Reed etc. were only just getting into to the business today then they probably would be incorporating computers and electronics or whatever because any right mind knows the guitar-bass-drums format is old news.

[Oh Danny Boy]

And there it is - the ageing rock fan complaining about computers and the subsequent burst of cultural creativity that followed.

Sad indeed.

not quite, i just turned 27! this is my generation, i was 15 at the turn of the millennium, i listened to mostly contemporary music up until my early 20's but i was never a huge fan, its only by chance that i started listening to stuff like nirvana, the kinks and the velvet underground that i felt truly inspired by music for the first time and that ignited my passion. I wish i was an aging rock fan as i would have been able to see some of my favourite bands in the flesh

[futureshock]

Then you're old before your time. Most 27yr olds I know are enthused about music because they're not paying attention to an old, (mostly) irrelevant genre.