Earlier today, the R&B blog SoulBounce came up with an idea we’re kicking ourselves for not having come up with first: the editors’ and their friends’ (and their comments box’s) choices for the “Universally-Adored Soul Classic That [They] Hate.” (Funniest moment: site editor nOvaMatic’s dis of Frankie Beverly and Maze’s “Before I Let Go,” one of two: “My god, is this song potato salad? Must it be at every Black gathering?” Funny it appears here so soon after they named it one of the all-time greatest soul songs, but then nOva didn’t write that one.) We like this idea so much that we’ve decided to rip it off, using a different category. After the jump, we’ll will pick our Universally Adored (or so it seems) Alt-Rock Classics We Hate.
Michaelangelo Matos: I have never understood the appeal of Nine Inch Nails. Oh wait, yes I have, because I was 12 once. That’s about the time where you need to leave the pettier of your emotions at the door, but no one told Trent Reznor, and he’s made a mountain of cash from them. “Closer” is one of those records I gave up actively hating a long time ago simply because you can’t fight anything that ubiquitous without expending more energy than it’s worth, but dear god what an awful song. I’m glad everyone got their little getting-away-with-saying-fuck-tee-hee buzz, but do we need to be repeatedly subjected to this insufferable plod all these years later?
Maura Johnston: I’ll rep for Nirvana, sure. Hearing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time was revelatory, their “worst live show” ever that I saw in Chicago in the early ’90s was gut-wrenching, and much of Nevermind still packs a punch today. But I’ll never understand why “Come As You Are” has stood the test of time as it has–with its moaning vocals and plodding rhythm, it damn near provided the template for every third-rate alt-rock band that flooded the airwaves in the wake of Kurt Cobain’s suicide. You’d think “In Bloom” would have been the non-”Spirit” track that kept getting spins, but I guess people weren’t comfortable with wondering if they could have been the people who knew not what Cobain’s cryptic lyrics meant.
Dan Gibson: Somehow, waiting for a new Stone Roses album for five years performed some trickery on my mind during the interval as I waited like everyone else for the band’s escape from a label imposed exile. I idolized the Stone Roses, forgetting that I didn’t really enjoy the act’s most famous song, “Fool’s Gold”. Still, the track comes up on nearly every Brit list of essential tracks, while I sit on the sideline muttering something about the genius of Shaun Ryder.
What’s yours? Answers, as always, in the comments.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Name a Universally-Adored Soul Classic That You Hate [SoulBounce]
There isn’t a song by Smashing Pumpkins or Jane’s Addiction that I don’t actively hate, universally adored or not. Oh, & R.E.M. & the Breeders. & the Chili Peppers. Wait, do I even like alt rock?
@westartedthis: I don’t mind the song in and of itself, but I’m tired of hearing it, as well as it being one of maybe three songs name-checked in reference to that band.
@rogerworkman: Bite your tongue; Billy may be a cunt, but the man has written some brilliant tunes in his time.
Snarky wow these comments have gotten out of control answer: I like all classic alt-rock songs ever, including the ones that were IDM, trip-hop, recorded before the term alt rock existed. Even the ones I’ve never heard of.
Actual answer: “Interstate Love Song” by Stone Temple Pilots.
@garbageday: Hear hear. I’d be content if my local rock station would spin “Rocket” even half as often as they still play “Disarm,” “Today,” and “1979.”
Primal Scream - “Movin’ On Up”
I preferred Gillespie et al when they were ripping from the Byrds instead of trying to be the Stones.
@Eugene Langley: I’m actually curious, for what reason? It’s got a catchy guitar line and is WAY less irritating than the sub-Pearl Jam growling on “Core”.
um. maybe there’s something wrong with me, but like pavement, the unicorns, and the moldy peaches always bored the fuck out of me. actually, there are a few pavemnt songs i like, but for the most part i feel ridiculously confused as to why people love that kinda shit so much, whazzat old tag, anti-folk or what have you. at first i thought it was because it was too precious or ramshackle, but i just went through a whole twee phase and i still hate that shit.
maybe because because it’s the music responsible for making sure the indiekids don’t dance. or because it seems to have no art to it. or maybe its just i’d rather listen to beat happenening.
Everything by the goddamn Smashing Pumpkins. I hate them like cancer.
@TrevorWinecor: And yet NIN still sucks balls. Always have and always will. Go figure.
I agree with all the Masters of Yarg/Yarl: STP, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, but also:
Live
Better Than Ezra
@MTS: Color me stunned!
Almost anything by the Smiths that’s not on Louder Than Bombs.
@the rich girls are weeping: Why? I hate chick rock.
Matos, I’m having a vision of you sitting on the other side of a confessional booth. Awesome. Let it all hang out, people.
@spankyjoe: Related - why has nobody mentioned the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies / Big Bad Voodoo Daddy / Royal Crown Revue swing revival scene - those bands were momentarily ubiquitous in the wake of Swingers. Have we all agreed never to speak of that time again and I missed the memo?
I think because while those bands/that genre had a brief moment in the sun, the songs never made it to Alt-Rock Classic status. Everyday that I turn on the radio, I hear a song from Sublime/Alice in Chains/Stone Temple Pilots/early-Pearl Jam/early-Smashing Pumpkins. However, I can’t remembet the last time I heard Zoot Suit Riot on the radio. Not that I would mind, I enjoyed the little ska/swing revival.
I actually have a very violent physical response to Soundgarden, and their song “Black Hole Sun” specifically. Something about the endless wail of Chris Cornell makes me genuinely long for hard drugs.
Brave souls, indeed. Because, as someone else stated - you dare say you think that either band is less than 100% THE MOST BRILLIANT THING EVER! then you have your very being called into question.
I never said that either band sucked. However, they are not the be all and end all of their respective genres.
A million calls of “WORD” to those brave souls who are taking a stand in that Radiohead and The Beatles are mega overrated. Sure, both bands have a few good tracks - but seriously, especially for The Beatles, if it wasn’t them, it would have been someone else.
Accept it.
Everybody Hurts - REM
When I come around - Green Day
Round here - Counting Crows
The Candlebox hit. The bass and vocals are out of tune.
For all of those you said Radiohead—THANK YOU!! Talk about overrated.
After OK Computer, pretty much everything they have put out sounds like
an art-school project gone awry. I mean that they could put out a whole
album of Thom Yorke burping over random bleeps and you know what will
happen–everybody will eat it up and act like its the most amazing thing
they’ve ever heard when it obvious it total crap.
nycgirllms
I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned the Beastie Boys yet. I can’t be the only one who thinks their post-Paul’s Boutique material (”Sabotage” video excluded) is pretty meh. Not that I hate it, but someone out there must.
@DJorn: THANK YOU. One of the biggest farces thrust upon the American people ever.
@galactus5000: Brave souls, really? Yes, it was truly courageous when all of you stood up on an internet comments section and declared the Beatles and Radiohead as overrated. Would that there was more bravery in the world like yours.
This post is quickly devolving into a “your favorite band sucks” thing.
I know we’re supposed to genuflect before that Mother Love Bone album (dead guy = classic?), but it’s just warmed-over, chops-free metal to my ears. And while I certainly don’t spin the Pearl Jam black circles that often, I’ll always reach for Ten before the MLB disc. Bleh.
virtually all of them. the whole rise of “alt-rock” on the radio in the 90’s led me back to the joys of top 40 bubblegum pop after being focused on punk/post-punk/college radio throughout the eighties. i think pearl jam was what pushed me over the edge, so to pick a ‘hit’ to hate i’ll go with Jeremy. god, that singing style was a plague on rock for the entire decade.
@dippinkind — Have you listened to alt-rock radio lately? It’s not gone.
It doesn’t take bravery to call Radiohead and the Beatles overrated, since they’re the two most popular targets for that kind of accusation on the whole damned internet. Saying the Smiths and Sleater-Kinney are overrated, though — well, OK, that doesn’t take bravery either, but I don’t expect a huge groundswell of people to join in on that particular cause.
Are you really comparing the mind of a 12 year old (or at least their
emotions) to a past and present Trent Reznor? A mountain of cash? If you
were truly a fan of Musicians and their art you would know that the
mountains of cash were generated from the greed of the record company and
quite possibly are a bi-product for Trent Reznor. Trent or Nine Inch Nails
(he is the only official member) have not stayed consistent, let me break it
down for you: Pretty hate Machine- I will give you this, it was an angry
emotional young adult getting his frustration’s out from childhood, broken
hearts, etc and putting it on a record that may have just helped mold Alt
Rock (as you call it) to what it is today. Broken- Was a emotional “F” You
to the record company and one guy in particular. This is well above a 12
year olds emotional capacity and is quite frankly genius. Instead of putting
out a “Crap” record, he did just the opposite a pulled off perhaps one of
his finest records (see also hidden tracks 98 and 99). Fixed- remix.
Downward Spiral- Let’s just say that Trent Reznor rose to the next level in
the hearts and minds of not only his closest fan’s, but those close minded
minions who only listen to the radio to here that months Top 40 latest and
Greatest (no offense). I do want to mention all of the side projects that
NIN did during this time (Natural Born Killers, Lost Highway, Quake, etc
etc). The Fragile- A man’s final descent into his own deepest darkest fears,
spirals and demons. This is not his most popular, but to experiment with
sounds and instruments the way NIN did and then to turn it into up till this
time, the best live show NIN has done, WOW.
With Teeth- NIN emerged from the muck, drug free, a freaking monster
physique and a song list stronger than any bullsh*t group like Panic at the
Disco or any other crap that is played on the so called Alt rock stations
today. Year Zero- Are you kidding me, this is going to revolutionize simple
“noise” and turning it into hard hitting tracks that will blow your mind.
And will most likely be turned into a 2 year long TV series. The Slip- Well,
record company free NIN released this album for free (and is still available
online-for less than a mountain of cash I might add) and has attracted fans
from hard core NIN fans in their 40’s to teen’s still in High School!
I guess my whole point is, broaden your horizons! I like Nirvana, Sublime,
Alice n Chains, Pink Floyd, STP so on and so on. BUT I will never bow to the
horrendous groups like Buckcherry, Papa Roach etc which are “cash cows” and
nothing more, they will never be remembered and will most likely fade away
faster that they can count their dollar bills. Listen to the music, let your
emotional guard down and let the music take you were it was intended. Go see
some live shows, enjoy the music and the art!
-Thanks
@goldsounds: that is a great shame. i do catch some on occasion when searching for a country, ‘blazin hop-hop and r&b’ or classic rock station, but my “alternative” listening i prefer to pick out on my own, the stuff that makes the radio playlists is almost exclusively godawful. i don’t mean the rare stations like wmfu or kusf or such, of course, just your average local ‘modern rock’ affiliates.
@BeGee:
I’d never genuflect before Mother Love Bone, but I’ll note that they’re actually a pretty good palate cleanser if you’ve been listening to dour stuff (like, say, Pearl Jam) but don’t want to listen to straight-up pop/funk/hair metal from the same era.
@baconfat:
Yeah, I’d second that comment, but to be fair, I don’t think there will ever be a chance of topping Paul’s Boutique in today’s world of sample clearances.
@whoneedslight:
Apology unnecessary, but appreciated nonetheless. I’m not saying I don’t appreciate the Pixies. I own Surfer Rosa and Doolittle, and I’ll give ‘em a spin every few months. They just haven’t made my personal Pantheon, as I live in the Heavy Metal Ghetto.
@VivaLaMainstream: As a massive Faith No More fan, I concur that Epic is their one song that I absolutely hate. Possibly due to the fact that it was on MTV/Radio about every 12 minutes for a year.
I’m not stunned by MTS’ hatred of 10,000 Maniacs. Loved ‘em as a
teenager (due to the Michael Stipe connection), but I could see how
they would be annoying to others.
@Big Gray.: Agreed. I’m way to uncool for all this “I never got this band” type of shit. Just people talking to hear themselves talk.
@NinoChimera: It’s just SO obvious, right? Maybe people want to hear art school projects and bands stretching themselves or even farting on disc, however successful or unsuccessful they are, rather than bands in complacent holding patterns. Just sayin’.
I spent my entire high school career hating the pillars of grunge — Nirvana, Pearl Jam, et. al. And, to a certain extent, I still do. I actively loath pretty much everything Radiohead’s ever produced, save OK Computer. And don’t get me started on my universal hatred of the entire Pavement catalog.
But I think the winner (loser?) of this fight HAS to be Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You.” Utter, absolute trash. I hate that song more than words can accurately portray.
Loathe! Loathe! Not loath. Ugh.
@Christopher R. Weingarten: I second that. I’ll also nominate “Evenflow.” It’s a stupid, bouncy pop track by a band claiming to be egalitarian and working class. Puh-leeze.
A quick look at Mediabase’s Alternative Gold chart Top 10 reveals that radio programmers across this great land disagree with all that’s been said on this thread:
1. Sublime - “What I Got”
2. Sublime - “Santeria”
3. Nirvana - “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
4. Blur - “Song 2″
5. Green Day - “Brain Stew” (HORRID)
6. Stone Temple Pilots - “Interstate Love Song”
7. Nirvana - “Come As You Are”
8. Radiohead - “Creep”
9. Incubus - “Pardon Me” (Never heard this one — came out in ‘99)
10. Green Day - “When I Come Around”
Songs we all know and hate (that I didn’t see already mentioned) from the Offspring, Bush, Lit, Marcy Playground, Everlast, Live, Local H and Blink-182 are also within the top 100 and still getting hundreds of plays per week according to this chart.
I guess the Presidents of the United States of America split the vote with “Lump” and “Peaches.”
I don’t think “Under the Bridge” qualifies as “classic,” but I do think it qualifies as “suck.”
As for a somewhat more critically-appreciated song, I’ve never understood the plaudits for the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” So many other, better songs in their career, why does that plodding track get all the kudos?
@SAShepherd: As for a somewhat more critically-appreciated song, I’ve never understood the plaudits for the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” So many other, better songs in their career, why does that plodding track get all the kudos?
Because its at the end of the movie Fight Club, and that’s when a lot of people (all my friends under 25) heard the Pixies for the first time.
I have never understood the appeal of:
Pavement
Sonic Youth
Radiohead (post OK Computer)
New York Dolls (OK, I know not alt-rock but def an influence)
Sleater-Kinney
Oasis (post Definitely Maybe)
Songs I hate by bands I love:
Nightswimming - R.E.M. (sounds like a pain reliever commercial to me)
Friday I’m in Love - The Cure
Girlfriend in a Coma - The Smiths
It is Weezer’s “Undone”. At best a Pavement knock off. At worst my little brother’s argument that Pavement sucked.
@How do I say this … THROWDINI!: Well, yeah, I know that. I just don’t understand why… Oh, and get off my lawn, you damn kid!
@HarveyWallbanger:
It’s pretty awesome seeing my adolescence represented by that horrific grouping of songs. By “awesome,” of course, I mean “abysmal.”
On the other hand, in those largely pre-internet days, without the massive overexposure of those singles and others, I wouldn’t have been introduced to those bands’ more obscure but more worthy contemporaries and influences. I wouldn’t have learned about King Tubby, the Specials, or anything in the dub/reggae/ska/etc. universe without having the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Sublime drilled into my head by MTV.
Related - why has nobody mentioned the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies / Big Bad Voodoo Daddy / Royal Crown Revue swing revival scene - those bands were momentarily ubiquitous in the wake of Swingers. Have we all agreed never to speak of that time again and I missed the memo?
Everclear - Everything to Everyone
And every other song they ever recorded, because they all had the same three chords. Many Everclear fans have actually responded to this with “but they’re good chords”… for real? The fact that people bought one Everclear album, listened to it, and then actually bought another one… this baffles me.
Actually that song on the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack, Local God, was good. That was the best use of their three chords, they should’ve left it at that.
Also, I love Radiohead. And the Beatles. I LOVE THEM CAUSE THEY’RE AWESOME.
Anything by 10,000 Maniacs.
@MTS: Ok. The Wishing Chair is still a hell of a record, though.
@MTS: Ha! Well, so do I, really — but I make an exception for them. Well, the first 3-ish records, anyway. I was surprised to find recently that The Wishing Chair is still a hell of an album.