Most overrated albums

Lightworker wrote: I have always thought Brain Salad Surgery was overrated

I read though all nine pages (not bragging on achievement),

I could have several albums that I do not enjoy and could dub them "overrated", but on the other hand I can't overrate specific albums. There are albums I enjoy more and ones I enjoy less, i.e. I can't understand the allure of Animals but I insanely love The Light. I pretty much could be rehashing what's been said earlier, but by listening to/discovering progressive rock/music I've come to terms on something...

I find it hard to degrade the value any album I come across. If you listen to an album constantly, sure, it can get annoying to listen to after a while, but the music seems to remain even after a while. I'll be, "oh yeah, I want to listen to that album again though I barely listen to it anymore". Even further, I still don't mind listening to stuff I grew up with, even if it wasn't progressive music. The music just stays whether you move onto new music or want to keep swapping albums by the same band.

Sure this may be an off tangent but it cycles back to the overrated thing. Every one likes and dislikes albums, I just don't understand why people can't keep their dislike for "too much praise"/"oh everyone loves this album but I don't think it should be praised too much" out of their posts. Actually, I don't understand why somebody would express an opinion of disliking something if it's just going to spark conflicts.

I may be crossing too many lines, reopening a huge can of worms, but I'm just trying to figure this thread out as well.

Edited by FromAbove - June 09 2012 at 13:51

^ Kinda agree with this in the main. I think Relayer a superior album to CttE but would agree that the textures on the latter are perhaps more satisfying over repeated plays.

Edited by ExittheLemming - June 13 2012 at 03:27

^ so do both of us think Relayer a superior album?

Edited by ExittheLemming - June 13 2012 at 04:31

Snow Dog wrote: ExittheLemming wrote: ^ so do both of think Relayer a superior album? I've said it many a time. Relayer is one of my favourite albums by anyone, ever.

Good taste, Snowie
It is a brilliant album.

Shame the Cerified doesn't post any longer. We had some bust ups but I still miss him.

Saperlipopette! wrote: I don't have any problem with discussing overrated or underrated. And although you can't define quality, good or bad in a sentence, it doesn't stop me from believing that some artists and art is objectively better than other. I can't stand this relativist thinking that evens out everything, and pretends it's not possible to say that Shostacovich creates greater art than Justin Bieber. But I guess making a list of  well known albums you find overrated and leave it at that, has very little value.

The problem is, an objective evaluation necessarily needs to be rigorous and attempt to demonstrate the observation rather than merely impose an opinion.  I have NEVER to date seen anybody justify their statement of how one artist compares to another with that kind of rigour; so it usually boils down to "you are just stupid if you don't see it my way".  I am not talking about your own comparison above, so don't take it that way.  But my point is, frequently people who do claim *insert classical composer* is better than *insert the next wannabe Bieber* make no effort to justify their stand and believe it ought to be obvious when there is no reason why it should be. 

On the other hand, I think it is a reasonable statement to say popular artists will more often than not be at least a little overrated.  Because they are popular, more people are exposed to them and more people are likely to claim they are "the best, etc" or make other such claims that may be a tad overenthusiastic.  I don't think it's about judging another's tastes; one's ideas of what is possible in music obviously expand only with exposure to more music. 

Saperlipopette! wrote: ^I don't have a problem with any of the things you write. But as on many other issues, knowledge and experience is what really is "underrated". A ten year old fangirl thoughts on music seem to have equal (or more) value than a professor of music. A professor isn't always right and a little girl isn't always wrong, but that isn't the point.  Of course you can compare a slice of music with another, just as you can compare two paintings or two works of literature. The tools exist, some believe in them, others don't. I don't mean that a work of art really can be measured, but sometimes it should be as simple as saying that the food you get in a three star restaurant is better than what you get at McDonalds. Even if one occasionally might have a craving for junk.

It might be better than a McDonalds but not necessarily than a roadside stall or a long running, run down local eatery.  I have had this experience quite often;  humble, outwardly shabby looking eateries serve tastier food than three star or five star restaurants.  The lavish ambience of the latter doesn't make the food better.  And in the same way, sophisticated skill and academic outlook don't by themselves make music better or worse. It's all in the meat, the hooks.  And whether you like a hook or not is ultimately entirely up to you. 

Now, as for fangirl v/s music professor, the music professor obviously knows a lot, lot more about the possibilities of music, about the level of technical skill exhibited in a particular composition, concepts, so on and so forth.  If a guitarist says Guthrie Govan is tougher than Gilmour, I take it, I don't dispute it.  But, at the end of day, be it professor or another ignoramus like me, how can somebody else tell me for sure what music works better for me?  If somebody likes Bieber more than Shostakovich, they like it, that's all.  There's no comparison between the two in terms of skill or influence and importance to music; Shostakovich is evidently far more weighty and, yes, one would have to take somebody vehemently disputing that to be a fanboy or fangirl, as applicable, of Bieber.  But there's really no 'better' or 'worse' music per se at the end of the day because it's all a matter of taste. 

Saperlipopette! wrote: ^Taste is very much based on knowledge, if you lack knowledge, your opinion is worth less.

And why should your opinion be worth anything in particular to anyone but for yourself?   Also, knowledge is not necessarily always accompanied by an open mind, which is also important to both artist and audience in art.   At least, if by knowledge is meant academic knowledge of the ways and means of music. 

Lastly, whether a three star restaurant is better than McDonalds also depends on price.  Same with cars.  Irrespective of how awesome a Porsche might be, it is not within the grasp of everybody's wallets.  So that is not a good parallel vis-a-vis music, where the so called elite music is not necessarily priced out of the reach of the 'masses'.   Or, maybe it is, because it depends on the need.  Complex music is for those who can spare time to give their undivided attention to the music and also have the inclination to do so.  But there's also music for the commute or the car ride or a workout.  An easier comparison could be made between two artists that make the same kind of music, which is usually why comparisons are restricted to genres. 

SolarLuna96 wrote: I think most/all of Genesis is overrated here