Mediocre Bands That Don't Deserve Their Cult Followings?

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 3:34pm

List 'em!

Bright Eyes here definitely.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 3:35pm

I disagree; I think Bright Eyes is a fantastic band.

[downtowndiva84]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 3:36pm

Bright Eyes isn't really a BAND, so much as it's a singer/songwriter....

And he SO deserves his cult following.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 3:38pm

Radiohead.

I like OK Computer, but goddamn.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 3:40pm

Good point, downtowndiva.

And I agree about Radiohead, siamese dream.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 3:44pm

Does Keane count as having a 'cult following'? Coldplay-lite!

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 3:51pm

COLDPLAY

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 3:52pm

Oddly enough, I've always felt Coldplay to be the poor man's Radiohead.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 3:53pm

Oddly enough, I've always felt Coldplay to be the poor man's Radiohead.

Actually, I agree. I prefer Radiohead to Coldplay, but I don't think either are especially great or deserve their cult followings. In my opinion, they're both very much "critics' bands."

[forni-kate]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 3:55pm

Oh no! Radiohead? I whole-heartedly disagree with that one! They have had an amazing career, put out at least three albums that are close to flawless, and have completely kept up their creative integrity. And they're not even close to done!

And Bright Eyes, well, he's one of those artists you have to see live to appreciate. I find that his music is pretty good, but it's the amount of emotion he puts behind it that makes it worthy of a cult following.

My nominee...Sufjan Stevens. Ugh. I just don't get it.

But this is all very subjective.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 3:57pm

you know, I can just look at a title of a thread now to know if Cruel started it.......

[forni-kate]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 4:02pm

Oo! Acrtic Monkeys!
What the hell is up with them? I mean, they've got this insane sudden success, they're the critics darlings, but why? Their music isn't anything especially unique or good, for that matter.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 4:04pm

I don't care for Coldplay either.

And I find them interchangable with Keane. I saw Keane open for U2 in the fall, and I don't know the number of times I went, "Oh, so this WASN'T a Coldplay single?"

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 4:16pm

Oh no! Radiohead? I whole-heartedly disagree with that one! They have had an amazing career, put out at least three albums that are close to flawless, and have completely kept up their creative integrity. And they're not even close to done!

See, that's the thing. I know some feel that their work is the pinnacle of modern music. I just don't see it. I think OK Computer is their nearly-flawless masterpiece. "Paranoid Android," to me, is the perfect synthesis of digital-sounding noise and rock. Kid A and Amnesiac sound like glorified noise to me, and Hail to the Thief was almost too bizarre to appreciate. I liked some of the more melodic songs, like "A Punchup at a Wedding" and "2 + 2 = 5," but songs like "We Suck Young Blood" sound like a Yorke orgasm. Repeating "the raindrops" 47 times makes them sound more pretentious than artsy and avant-garde.

To me, it seems like they had one awesome album, and they've been riding it ever since. However, I'm sure their later albums were loved by many, too. I've just never been able to get into them, which is unfortunate considering I did really try.
Updated On: 4/9/06 at 04:16 PM

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 4:22pm

Franz "gee, this all sounds very familiar" Ferdinand.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 4:23pm

[forni-kate]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 4:40pm

I had some respect for Franz...until I saw them live at ACL last year.
They were brutal.
And apparently, that wasn't a fluke.
There's something wrong when a band can't do their own album justice at a live show.

[Atrias]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 4:43pm

Coldplay, definitely. Also, Maroon 5 and The Killers.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 4:45pm

Maroon 5 has a cult following?

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 4:46pm

Back in the day I would have added The Smashing Pumpkins to the list. I don't know how much of a following they have anymore.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 4:48pm

Aw, SP.

I won't defend them at the risk of sounding like a crazed fan. Their fanbase has declined substantially, though, partially because they're no longer a band and partially because they were on a steady decline post-1996.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 4:53pm

forni-kate, oh no, they're really that bad live?? I'm seeing them and Death Cab For Cutie in a couple of weeks.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 5:00pm

Frou Frou is also pretty bad. That song from Garden State.....GAG!

[forni-kate]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 5:28pm

Yeah, they were pretty shabby Tiff...and unfortunately, that same day I saw Death Cab, and was far from impressed.

But apparently Death Cab does usually put on a good show, they just don't do so well at a giant outdoor festival.

But, then again, this could all just be me being a super critic. I've just seen so many good shows that I now have very high standards.

[Magical_Ms._Mistoffeles_72]

Posted: 4/9/06 at 5:58pm

Stone Temple Pilots