Selected by Bryan of Liquid Rivet
6. “Wonderwall” – Oasis
The press was declaring them the second coming of the Beatles, but Lennon/McCartney never wrote anything this sappy.
Selected by the FIQL team
7. “Memory” - Andrew Lloyd Webber
The toughest part of this challenge was to define overrated. Andrew Lloyd Weber's musical, entitled “Cats”, received numerous awards and was shown live for years and years. Why??? Could it be the tights and the dancing? The story?? The music? I just don't get it. Someone please help me!!
Selected by Pantagruel, everlasting rhaplink poster on the Radish Message Board
8. “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen
Back in May the British selected "Bohemian Rhapsody" as their "favorite single of all time." Now they've done it again, with "BoRhap" taking top honors in the Official UK Charts Company Top 50 #1 Singles of the last 50 years. Allow me to say that I despise "Bohemian Rhopsody" with a fervor that makes want to crush something, anything British. How perverse can one nation be?
I HATE every possible aspect of that song: from the nonsensical pretentious lyrics, to the nauseating waves of overdubbed choral vocals, to Freddie Mercury's lisping diva lead, to the wretchedly awkward lurching from (bowel) "movement" to (bowel) "movement." Even the rock-out part near the end that I could at least tolerate when it first came out now sounds utterly artificial, strained, grafted-on, and stupid.
I loved, really LOVED the first Queen album, but there was no way to ever take Queen seriously again after that song, which was okay because the group pretty well sucked ass from that point on anyway, but I remember the sick feeling in my stomach when that poodle puke dribbled out of my friend's stereo. I had to go take a nap, and I had really bad dreams.
Selected by Eric Olsen of Blogcritics.org
9. “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For” - U2
I wanted to pick something I was really familiar with I considered something like 'Brown Eyed Girl' which is far from Van's best work - and for me Rolling Stone ranking at 109 is high...but again I can understand the rating. It is one of the catchiest songs ever with all those "Sha La La"s. "Money" from Pink Floyd was another option - one of the weakest songs yet most played from "Dark Side of the Moon" - but it is still a damn good song and I can still understand why it is on the list. But finally I went with the U2 song,. "I Still Haven't Found What I am Looking For". I do own the CD. I quickly got tired of that song. I am not going to criticize it beyond that. Music likes and dislikes are a very personal thing and what may seem pretentious to me may be meaningful to somebody else. It just didn't' work for me.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Sean
I nominate every song on Sgt. Pepper.
2 - Paul Herrington
Finally someone who agrees with me. Jim Morrison was just a junkie with an attitude problem. Real rockers like Jimi Hendrix, Joplin, and even Bowie, had more upstairs than morrison. He was and will forever be a no talent ass clown. A teenager who road his friends to fame and ruined himself on a cross of pop consumerism. I despise morrison.
3 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Great stuff Robert. i second (or third) the Morrisson diss. What a pretentious knob.Poetry???? "There's a killer on the road / his brain is squirming like a toad" is one of the most hilarious lyrics i've ever heard.
And kudos on The Fall, although i don't agree. but still, nice to see them get a slap.
or, "get a slapaaaaaahhh"
4 - Aaman
This list is a great playlist by itself, even it's mostly fetish music.
5 - Robert
I found it interesting how rare it is to find anyone who disses the Beatles or Rolling Stones publically. It's like Rock & Roll blasphemy or something.
6 - Tan The Man
I can't agree with “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. It's too brilliant. Everything else, I can understand - especially "Hey Ya" by Outkast.
7 - Eric Olsen
I disagree with everyone but me - thanks Robbert!
8 - Rodney Welch
Someone should have made a video putting bleak footage of pre-1989 East Berlin against the song "Imagine." That's the kind of utopia Lennon is describing.
9 - Eric Olsen
RE Morrison: to be dead 35 years and STILL be misunderstood by otherwise sentient, even intelligent, human beings is a shame of sepulchral solemnity
10 - SFC Ski
How did "Stairway to Heaven" not make this list?
11 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Ha! Sir Olsen, do i detect an admiration for our fuzzy-eyed friend??
12 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
my idea for a superhero frontman - Jim Morrissey. the mental images conjured by such a hybrid are staggering.
13 - todd
I gotta agree wholeheartedly with the Bruce Springsteen remarks. I never ever got his early "rock" stuff that peeps rave on about.
Now "Nebraska", thats a different story, and the song, "The River".
14 - Rob
Pretty good list. I had my fill of most of these songs years ago, but the radio stations keep playing them anyway!Here's a few more that bug the crap out of me (even though I do like other songs by these bands):
You Shook Me - AC/DC
American Woman - The Guess Who (I was just starting to get this out of my system and Lenny Kravitz covers it!!)
Smoke on The Water - Deep Purple
Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan (guess I had to be there? He's got much better stuff)
Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin (I know, but they have a ton of better songs)
Like A Prayer - Madonna
15 - Matthew T. Sussman
When I began reading the list, I noticed a trend after the third song. They were all long. And I miss this about songs. Nowadays bands don't know what to do after three minutes except play more of the same chords or scream like a vulture.
If you can rock that guitar, don't stop the rockin'.
And in regards to the drum play on "Pour Some Sugar On Me", what do you expect? The drummer has one freakin' arm!
16 - Amanda
I am such a sucker for these group-contribution articles. I can't believe nobody picked the same song. Excellent list, I totally agree with Light My Fire, Freebird, and Def Leppard. "Wonderwall," however, was turned into a totally different song by Ryan Adams. Noel /Liam actually perform it like that now, from what I hear.
17 - Robert
I think that "Stairway to Heaven" is brilliant. It only bothers us because we have heard it 58 bazillion times. If I heard it for the first time ever today it would win me over by the word "hedgerow"
18 - drake
"Stairway to Heaven" would've been my selection, but it's not digitally available so it's not allowed for the list (in order to make a playlist.)
In fact, my top 4 most overrated songs are all not digitally available, which prolly says something.
19 - Eric Olsen
I would say the "overplayed" element contributes to all these choices, except mine of course.
Duker, I think Morrison was a crappy person and a dopey pretentious poet, but one of the great frontmen, lyricists and lead singers in rock history
20 - Eric Olsen
Robert, I have taken the liberty of adding a second, explanatory, paragraph to my section, which should help defend my antipathy
21 - Robert
Cool... Man you REALLY hate the song.
Poor Freddy. I am glad he'll never read that...
22 - Rodney Welch
Eric, I'll give you great frontman, but the rest of it can blow me. Have there ever been a set of lyrics as dopey as those to "The Soft Parade"?
When all else fails, we can whip the horse’s eyes
And make them sleep, and cry...
For years, a buddy and I used to recite these words to each other whenever we needed a quick and easy laugh.
23 - Barry Stoller
Led Zep should be included, if for no other reason than most of their early hits (including parts of Stairway) were ripped off so they don't fully deserve all their acclaim. Then there are the superstars whose position is way over-valued - Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Fripp, David Byrne, Lou Reed, maybe even the Sex Pistols and White Stripes. (You got U2, right on.) Of course, there's overrated with the critics and overrated with the public, often those lists are very different. Nice to see no Iron Butterfly songs there, ha ha.
24 - Rodney Welch
Who did Led Zep rip off "Stairway" from?
25 - HW Saxton
'Twas some English cult figure folkie(s)
Rodney. Im gonna call a friend and get
back here with the correct answer in a
short while.