Worst of All Time

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• 1 - Tom Johnson

  Aug 25, 2003 at 2:27 pm

  I saw this list a couple weekends ago and was irritated by it as well. Toad the Wet Sprocket? Skinny Puppy? ELP? Primus? Come on. But what do you expect from something that springs from the style-conscious "minds" at Maxim?

• 2 - Eric Olsen

  Aug 25, 2003 at 2:30 pm

  What disturbs me about the list is that it doesn't have any rhyme or reason to it - what are they holding as qualities that make for placement on the list? It seems totally randon, totally subjective, and really stupid.

• 3 - TDavid

  Aug 25, 2003 at 2:39 pm

  Yes, on this one:
  1. Insane Clown Posse
  
  No, on these:
  5. Starship
  6. Kansas
  21. The Alan Parsons Project
  23. Creed
  37. The Doors (!?!?!?!?!)
  41. Whitesnake
  
  =========
  C'mon, The Doors one of the worst bands of all time ... ever?!

• 4 - Craig Lyndall

  Aug 25, 2003 at 2:45 pm

  I guess the comment on the doors was that Jim Morrison's philosophies and ideas were very immature and amateurish, maybe even simplistic. I don't know how I feel about that, because I am not a huge doors fan, but I am still surprised to see them end up on the list.

• 5 - Rodney Welch

  Aug 25, 2003 at 2:48 pm

  Immature and amateurish compared to whom? Robert Plant? No question Morrison was a bit of drama queen, but what rock star isn't? People deserve to be judged on their best work.

• 6 - andy

  Aug 25, 2003 at 2:58 pm

  I agree w/ that list except for Mick Jagger, The Doors, Primus, and Iron Butterfly(I like em anyway).
  
  Creed definately should be #1.
  

• 7 - TDavid

  Aug 25, 2003 at 3:15 pm

  Craig - I'm not a huge Doors fan either, but their music will outlive most, if not, all of the other artists on that list. If for that reason only, they stick out. Respect.
  
  Might as well put The Beatles, The Who, and Zeppelin on that list if The Doors belong there.
  
  I agree with you, Eric, what's the criteria for this list? I can't think of anything musically that say Oingo Boingo has in common with The Doors.
  
  The only notable gig Oingo Boingo ever "played" was the party in Rodney Dangerfield's Back to School. And they were breaking car windows in that LOL.

• 8 - Craig Lyndall

  Aug 25, 2003 at 4:01 pm

  Yeah... they don't seem to have much rhyme or reason to their list.
  
  I mean, Milli Vanilli won a grammy and they didn't make the list. And how has Insane Clown Posse even been enough of a factor to make this list? I might as well make local Cleveland bands available to the list as long as we are going with obscure people that almost nobody knows of.

• 9 - Tim Hall

  Aug 25, 2003 at 4:14 pm

  I will take no notice of any "50 worst bands" lists that doesn't have The Smiths on it. Or Phil Collins.

• 10 - Eric Olsen

  Aug 25, 2003 at 4:18 pm

  The Doors, though pretentious and foolish at times, are all time greats. They're in the Rock Hall and belong there.
  
  Of the rest, I at least "like" (and some more than "like") ELP, Oingo Boingo, Howard Jones, Alan Parsons, Skinny Puppy, Primus, Jamiroquai, Crash Test Dummies, Arrested Development, Hooters, Oakenfold, Spin Doctors, Gipsy Kings, Toad, even some Live.
  
  I mean my God, the more I think about it, the more these idiots blow dead ones in the sewer. How can you compare Pat Boone and Skinny Puppy other than the fact that their music comes on round things?

• 11 - TDavid

  Aug 25, 2003 at 5:06 pm

  Pat Boone controversially covered some metal tunes.
  
  Not sure if that was him trying to redefine himself ... or trying to be cool. Whatever the case, the experiment didn't work for me anyway. The Osbournes liked Boone's version of Crazy Train enough to make it the theme for their reality show.

• 12 - Al Barger

  Aug 25, 2003 at 5:21 pm

  I am not the only Blogcritic who actually positively digs Boone's In a Metal Mood album. This album is officially Al certified to be both COOL and HIP.

• 13 - Joe

  Aug 25, 2003 at 5:29 pm

  Au contraire, mon frere. If you actually identify something as cool or hip or any combination thereof, it ceases to actually be so. It's a bitch that way.

• 14 - Al Barger

  Aug 25, 2003 at 5:33 pm

  No, if anyone other than Al Barger declares something cool or hip, it ceases to be so. I personaly and specifically am the true, objective arbiter of cool.

• 15 - The Theory

  Aug 25, 2003 at 5:48 pm

  i definately disagree with some of the bands on the list. Namely Primus and Pat Boone. However, props to them for having the courage to put Creed on the list.
  
  peace.

• 16 - Joe

  Aug 25, 2003 at 5:48 pm

  Well, see, there's the conundrum, because, well, I don't know how to say this... but, I think YOU are pretty cool Al!

• 17 - Joe

  Aug 25, 2003 at 5:51 pm

  In the completely manly way, of course.

• 18 - Craig Lyndall

  Aug 25, 2003 at 11:20 pm

  I am starting to feel used by this list. Do you think that the point was to piss everyone off so that we would at least be talking about Blender magazine? I have honestly never read an issue of Blender, and here I am talking about one of their articles. Is infamy just as good as fame?

• 19 - Mac Diva

  Aug 26, 2003 at 2:29 am

  I'm gonna echo Eric. Looking at the list, I can't tell what the criteria for being on it are. Some of those listed are novelty acts that lasted for no time at all, others shapers of the music scene for decades. Why not stick with people who penetrated the national conscienceness as more than a briefly recognized name? I find it difficult to conceive of any list that both Latoya Jackson and Bob Geldof belong on.

• 20 - Blayne

  Aug 27, 2003 at 12:34 pm

  These people are obviously morons who wouldn't know musical talent if it bit them on the butt. Many of these acts belong here because they ARE truly talentless but many do not, especially THE DOORS. Ray Manazarak alone - ever try to play the piano with your right hand and the bass parts with the left on a separate keyboard? Or Jim Morrison - these bozos probably couldn't even spell Nietzsche in Junior High let alone read and understand him! Sartre, Camus, many other classic poets & philosphers, all influenced the Doors and appear in their very INTELLIGENT lyrics. Notice that there are hardly no new "artists" on the list (where's Britney??). This article is just another piece of crap from the new, brainless generation. God help us all.

• 21 - Natalie Davis

  Aug 31, 2003 at 12:17 am

  Anyone -- or any entity, such as Blender -- who would label Dan Fogelberg one of the worst artists ever
  
  a) knows nothing about music
  
  or
  
  b) has never listened to anything beyond his hits, which would not be among his best work
  
  or
  
  c) is a failed wannabe rock star writing for a nothing rag and seeking attention.
  
  If he isn't one's cup of tea, that's cool. Worst ever? No. And there are other artists on the list -- the Doors (THE DOORS!), Primus, Mick Jagger, ELP, Jamiroquai, Creed (no, wait, Creed does belong among the worst ever, along with Celine and Bolton) -- that have no business being here. Pat Boone sucks, but I wouldn't even count him among the worst ever. This list is a joke, and a bad one at that.
  
  I just looked at the list of critics involved, which explains that this is a pot-meet-kettle situation. All I can muster is pity and scorn for them and for all who agree with them. But I do have to thank them. Now I know not to pick up the worst music magazine ever.

• 22 - Angry Bob

  Sep 11, 2003 at 8:57 am

  No Limp Bizkit, no Crazy Town, no Trixter, no Methods of Mayhem, no Simple Plan, no Good Charlotte, no O-Town, no Boyzone, no Westlife, no Culture Club, no Gorky Park, no Puff Daddy. I can't say I've ever read the magazine Blender, but I'm sure those who compiled this list aren't the sharpest crayons in the box. The list is not only boring, rushed and ill-advised, but also reeks of the kind of useless, pretentious drivel only smug, pseudo-intellectual trendy types could spurt out. There's not a single pop-punk or nu-metal band either, and that's criminal.
  
  14. Yngwie Malmsteen
  41. Whitesnake
  44. Manowar
  
  These inclusions are typically inane, also. Yngwie Malmsteen, while not the world's most melodic genius, has been hugely influential in the rise of neoclassical metal in all its forms. without him we'd have no Symphony X or Stratovarius! Whitesnake are also another odd inclusion. I knew hard rock was bound to feature on the list, as its not exactly in fashion right now, but Whitesnake were a more solid band than many. All of Whitesnake's guitarists were of high quality and David Coverdale was very good vocalist. Surely, if hard rock or pop-metal has to feature on the list, there are FAR more deserving bands. I have no doubts when I say Whitesnake were better than Poison, Winger, Trixter and Europe. So what if they copied Led Zeppelin? Great White and Kingdom Come copied LZ too, and I don't see any of them featuring.
  
  Finally, I understand the inclusion of Manowar. I guess I'll let Blender off with this one (even if they are more wrong than they were with Whitesnake) because most people don't understand them either. They're a band people either love or hate and, despite their great talents, most people choose the latter option.
  
  ONE MORE THING... WHERE THE F**K IS NICKELBACK?

• 23 - andy

  Sep 11, 2003 at 9:09 am

  "without him we'd have no Symphony X or Stratovarius"
  
  
  and since those bands are so influencial...thank GOd for him! Now millions of bands can sing about Pharoah's curse upon me who dares to invade his sacred realm. Give me a break. I say we could all do w/out that kind of lameness...and don't even get me started on Luca Turilli and his kings of the northern twighlight. dumb dumb dumb! Newsflash...writing songs about unicorns and pharoahs is lame.

• 24 - TDavid

  Sep 11, 2003 at 10:57 am

  Al - you and the other critics who like Pat Boone can keep him. Seems like a nice fellow from what I've heard about him, and his project was certainly creative, but I don't really care for trombones covering Judas Priest ;) It was worth a few laughs when I first heard it. Like when I first heard Ozzy on the muppet show.

• 25 - Julien Peter Benney

  Sep 13, 2003 at 1:14 am

  The whole thing is basically about a "new generation" of rock critics who wish to maintain the traditions of Robert Christgau, Lester Bangs, Chuck Eddy etc., but no longer support the commercial music of the nineties.
  
  Many of these critics are even more focused on the "punk revolution" than previous generations. However, Joe S. Harrington sees the decline in profits occurring with the "punk revolution" leading to a decline in "real rock" in the 1980s.
  
  Most of the artists on the list are either traditional critics' targets from the 1970s, synth bands from the 1980s or 1990s rock bands that are now out of fashion. Japan (#33) alone never had a big US hit, but they have been trashed by many critics and others - and adored by fans - ever since "Ghosts" in the early 1980s.