Fightin’ words. I find Dylan’s versions are almost invariably better. The Byrds made a pretty sound out of “Tambourine Man,” but the meaning was swallowed up; it only comes to life when Dylan sings it. (But that leads to the topic of Dylan’s vastly underrated singing, which probably ought to be in its own thread.)
You know all those posts about the Beatles sounding so repetitive? You’re making the same mistake. You can dislike Pearl Jam as much as you want. As you demonstrate so well, there’s no accounting for bad taste. But by complaining in the way you are, you’ve proven that you’re speaking from a state of ignorance.
Hating Eddie Vedder’s voice is fine, but if you think all their songs sound identical, then you’re listening to just the voice and not to the music, or you’re listening to just one album (or even worse, you might just be listening to their radio songs). I would be the first to admit that there are a lotta bands out there that make better albums than Pearl Jam, but Vedder and Company are anything but stagnant. Inform yourself before you complain, and stop making generalizations about a band you don’t know enough about. I suggest the album No Code as a good place to start. It’s an excellent album, truly a great listen, and each song is very different from the next.
And to return to the OP: I nominate Madonna. Sure, she’s not a band. And, yeah, her style has changed a lot over the years. And okay, she’s gotta be damn smart to have stayed in the limelight as long as she has. But in end, her songs aren’t really… you know… good. They’re catchy, but they’re not lasting. Madonna is an essential figure in the development of the modern pop icon, but when you consider the development of music itself, she’s a non-entity.
Beg to differ. The likes of True Blue and Like A Virgin are way hackneyed now, but IMO the only pop tracks that have survived the last 15 or 20 years unscathed are the albums from Michael Jackson’s “Still Black and Nominally Hetero” period and some of Madonna’s mid-80s stuff (Live To Tell, Like A Prayer).
Ahem
Let’s not forget about Prince now!
The Hollies: a toss-up between “Air That I Breathe” and “Long Cool Woman”. Everything else was shlock.
See, I can’t even listen to their songs long enough to get the title right.
As much as I love that quirky little Cleveland group, I can’t disagree with you. Only the song I’m thinking of (besides “Christmas Wrapping”) is “No Guilt”, not “I Know What Boys Like.” I could never stand that one.
Simply Red: “Holding Back The Years”
Kiss… the only song I liked was “Beth”
A great choice but I would pick them for the opposite reason. They were a great pop band with hits like Here I Go Again, We’re Through, I’m Alive, Look Through Any Window, Bus Stop, Stop Stop Stop, and King Midas in Reverse.
After He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother in 1969 they were a threat to diabetics everywhere even though the new syrupy rubbish sold big for a while.
I don’t know if the earlier songs were hits in the US and I also don’t know if they produced worse stuff after Air That I Breathe because they had become anathema by then.
Thank you for mentioning Kiss.
Mr. Ujest lurves them and I think they were more about the face paint than decent lyrics/beat/whatever. I still can’t tell one kiss song from another.
Creed is the same drumming over and over and over. Actually, it is the same thing over and over.
Barbara Streisand Yeah, she isn’t a band, but I cannot understand why this woman is even remotely popular. Sure she can carry a tune, but every song of hers sounds exactly the same for over thirty some years. At least with Madonna you can dance to her music.
As Journey and Duran Duran have already been mentioned…
Bruce Springstein - Fire
Sammy Hagar - Red
I’d be oh so bummed if the Beatles had just had one hit.
I thought they had truly crossed into the ranks of Bands That May Just Turn Out Great when they did “Long Cool Woman”. The intro was clean and hot, it had a good bass line, and it was a good foray into solid rock music. Alas, nothing ever came of it.
Another nomination:
Boz Skaggs: “Dirty Low Down”
And I know this will draw some fire, but:
Steely Dan: “Hey Nineteen” One of the best songs ever, but the rest of their product…bleh.
I hate to say this, but Korn, damnit. They should have had one song to put them in the limelight, and then they should have faded into the background. I bought their first album, and it was wonderful – angry and wounded and despairing. No one else seemed to listen to them until their third album, when they made a music video with Got the Life. And then they were playing this stuff on the air everywhere, and the used CD shops started selling out of them.
That song – Got the Life – was awful. It didn’t seem to have anything in common with any of their earlier music. It was jumpy and almost happy, and the kids loved it because it sounded dark.
After that, Korn should have retreated and made more bitter songs about how they hated everyone. See, I can relate to that. The stuff they are doing now sounds like they are not as moved by their own music, and it’s like they’ve lost their soul. sigh