# I think Tom Petty (RIP) is overrated **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783 "2017-10-14T04:22:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/101 "2017-10-16T17:24:26Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Yep, and “Everybody knows the world is full of stupid people, but I got the pistols, so I get the pesos, yeah that seems fair”. [This song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfZbFh7qlCQ), it looks like. I wonder if it was regional. I was in college at the time, listening to the local alternative stations, and have no recollection of this song. It sounds very much like a lot of music around the time, but I’ve never heard this one. ETA: Actually, it looks like the song was 1996. I was out-of-country from May to December of that year, so it’s possible that’s why I missed it. At any rate, it doesn’t seem to have survived the cut to what they replay on radio stations that include classic 90s rock here. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/102 "2017-10-16T17:52:18Z")
To me Tom Petty is to classic rock what Alan Jackson is to country music. Good musician, down to Earth, but the music is mostly mundane. Just like Alan Jackson I can listen to about any Tom Petty song and like it at least somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/103 "2017-10-16T17:55:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [This song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfZbFh7qlCQ), it looks like. I wonder if it was regional. I was in college at the time, listening to the local alternative stations, and have no recollection of this song. It sounds very much like a lot of music around the time, but I’ve never heard this one. > > ETA: Actually, it looks like the song was 1996. I was out-of-country from May to December of that year, so it’s possible that’s why I missed it. At any rate, it doesn’t seem to have survived the cut to what they replay on radio stations that include classic 90s rock here. I remember this song! Barely. It was catchy, but it was no "Free Fallin’ ". Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/104 "2017-10-16T22:37:10Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I was kind of surprised at how much I cared when Tom Petty died. > > I love the Replacements, and if I listen to radio at all, it’s independent and college stations. But seriously, the Replacements are critical darlings, a band other musicians call an influence – but a band most people, even people who were teenagers on the punk scene in the 80s, might not know a single song by. I’ve started discussing the Replacements with people a couple of times and a within few minutes I realized they were getting confused with that 90’s band from Arizona, The Refreshments. They just weren’t that famous. They had a big reputation, but they weren’t the soundtrack to anyone’s lives. > > But Tom Petty was the opposite. He was on the radio. He was on MTV. He was played at barbecues and homecoming festivals and by cover bands in local bars and on soundtracks to major movies. I saw him interviewed on so many music documentaries of bands and musicians and time periods that he must have been a rock historian. I never saw anyone wear a Tom Petty t-shirt, especially not the “cool kids”, but _everybody_ knew who he was and knew his songs. Little kids knew Tom Petty songs, and so did their grandmothers. My second grade teacher (the year _Full Moon Fever_ came out) always talked about how he was her favorite musician and she had a huge crush on him, too. > > So, no matter what else you might say about him, he _was_ the soundtrack to people’s lives. And that’s important, even if he wasn’t the next Mozart or even Paul McCartney. His songs were catchy, they were fun, and there were a _lot_ of them. That can cause some complacency after 40 years of hearing them in the background of your life. But after he died, going back and listening to him with fresh ears, you realize how good those songs were. Or I did, at least. They were meaningful, well crafted, well performed and they had staying power. > > He may not have invented a genre, or blazed a trail a generation of musicians jumped into and spent years fleshing out. He stuck close to his rock roots. But in my opinion, there’s something to be said for extreme competence. He didn’t push that many boundaries or start a musical revolution. He did the same sort of thing many other in the business did. But he did it _very well_. And that still counts for a lot, in my opinion. The Replacements? Is that the band that Tom Petty fired on stage that time [back in 89](http://bittersoutherner.com/from-the-southern-perspective/music/like-sonny-liston-tom-petty-patterson-hood)? > [@Patterson Hood](#): > > In 1989, I saw Petty and the Heartbreakers play Starwood Amphitheater in Nashville with The Replacements opening. I took my then-teenage sister. It ended up being the infamous night when Petty fired the Replacements from the stage. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/105 "2017-10-16T23:26:14Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > The Replacements? Is that the band that Tom Petty fired on stage that time [back in 89](http://bittersoutherner.com/from-the-southern-perspective/music/like-sonny-liston-tom-petty-patterson-hood)? The author of the linked article writes “I’ve spent my entire life in pursuit of one Perfect Song. Tom Petty wrote at least 10, maybe more.” Jeez I dunno. To me a ‘perfect song’ is maybe something like Just Like A Woman, or She Smiled Sweetly, or In My Life. Mere mortals may aspire, but it’s tough… ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/106 "2017-10-16T23:37:57Z")
Yeah, you’d think after more than a dozen albums [that Hood guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterson_Hood)could come up with something… ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/107 "2017-10-18T01:01:42Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I was kind of surprised at how much I cared when Tom Petty died. > > I love the Replacements, and if I listen to radio at all, it’s independent and college stations. But seriously, the Replacements are critical darlings, a band other musicians call an influence – but a band most people, even people who were teenagers on the punk scene in the 80s, might not know a single song by. I’ve started discussing the Replacements with people a couple of times and a within few minutes I realized they were getting confused with that 90’s band from Arizona, The Refreshments. They just weren’t that famous. They had a big reputation, but they weren’t the soundtrack to anyone’s lives. > > But Tom Petty was the opposite. He was on the radio. He was on MTV. He was played at barbecues and homecoming festivals and by cover bands in local bars and on soundtracks to major movies. I saw him interviewed on so many music documentaries of bands and musicians and time periods that he must have been a rock historian. I never saw anyone wear a Tom Petty t-shirt, especially not the “cool kids”, but _everybody_ knew who he was and knew his songs. Little kids knew Tom Petty songs, and so did their grandmothers. My second grade teacher (the year _Full Moon Fever_ came out) always talked about how he was her favorite musician and she had a huge crush on him, too. > > So, no matter what else you might say about him, he _was_ the soundtrack to people’s lives. And that’s important, even if he wasn’t the next Mozart or even Paul McCartney. His songs were catchy, they were fun, and there were a _lot_ of them. That can cause some complacency after 40 years of hearing them in the background of your life. But after he died, going back and listening to him with fresh ears, you realize how good those songs were. Or I did, at least. They were meaningful, well crafted, well performed and they had staying power. > > He may not have invented a genre, or blazed a trail a generation of musicians jumped into and spent years fleshing out. He stuck close to his rock roots. But in my opinion, there’s something to be said for extreme competence. He didn’t push that many boundaries or start a musical revolution. He did the same sort of thing many other in the business did. But he did it _very well_. And that still counts for a lot, in my opinion. I think you could say TP was “severely competent” for sure. For me, I grew up in a college town, big city, a multiversity of radio stations etc. and a center for rock clubs and indie tours. In my experience, contemporaneously felt, the mats were the basis for the belief in a future in rock music as the dominant art form, for a long time, to a lot of people, and especially musicians, for all of the mid 80s. No argument with Petty being a mainstream commercial artist that the mats never were. But TP was never an artistic threat like the mats. You could go back to the journo or the books to see. It depends how you like the mats I guess. At the time it seemed like REM and the Mats were bringing a sense of melody into music that kind of was lacking in the new wave, synthpop, punk, hardcore eras. They overlapped roughly. I’d say Petty was '77 on and the Mats were '79 on. TP was another generation though. The mats behaved badly on the Petty tour I hear and they were a spectacle. Meanwhile the audience just were not used to the material, and responded badly. And the mats’ basically felt about themselves, like I feel about them. But this was the heartland and a lot of people were not very open minded. Another defeat snatched from the jaws of glory. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/108 "2017-10-18T02:40:21Z")
Just to be sure I’m understanding, here: “The 'Mats” is somehow short for “The Replacements”? Or is this two different bands people are discussing? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/109 "2017-10-18T02:54:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Just to be sure I’m understanding, here: “The 'Mats” is somehow short for “The Replacements”? Yes. I don’t know the exact derivation story beyond Replacements \> Placemats \> Mats. A more knowledgeable poster can help clear it up. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/110 "2017-10-18T03:12:17Z")
One thing I’ve heard a few times since Petty’s death is, “He changed rock n’ roll forever.” No he didn’t, and if that’s the kind of thing the OP means, then I guess I see his point. Petty never grew far enough past his influences —'60s rock as epitomized by the Byrds, Beatles and Dylan, along with many lesser others —to leave the music scene different from how he found it. It’s hard to imagine rock music today would be any different had Petty never come along, apart from the obvious absence of the songs he wrote and played. I think it’s significant that at least two essays I read after his death cited his greatest hits comp as his best album. This kind of thing is natural enough when someone dies and is pretty harmless in the end. If Petty was musical comfort food in the end, there’s nothing ignoble about that. I reached the point a while ago of ceasing to look forward to new Tom Petty music, but I like some of his stuff quite a bit and I was saddened by his death. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/111 "2017-10-18T03:36:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Huh. I had no idea that song was by an established band. On the other hand, before I really solidified in my mind who the Replacements were, I’m pretty sure I had confused them with The Romantics and possibly even The Rembrandts. All those definite article - R bands. Rather embarrassing to admit. But where do you stand on The Residents? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/112 "2017-10-18T16:12:29Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yes. I don’t know the exact derivation story beyond Replacements \> Placemats \> Mats. A more knowledgeable poster can help clear it up. That’s the alpha and omega of it as far as I know. There’s a great book, “Trouble Boys,” about them. The reason they were on the tour was they were of great interest to everyone in the industry at the time. TPHB were watching very closely. I think people overestimate how much you can tell about music by looking at charts and positions, and who was headlining. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/113 "2017-10-18T16:56:13Z")
Nice article in Rolling Stone today: [Remembering Tom Petty–The Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks and more pay tribute to a genius craftsman who never stopped believing in the power of rock & roll.](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/tom-petty-heartbreakers-springsteen-remember-late-friend-w509226) Overrated? Not according to a many in the rock ‘n’ roll community. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/114 "2017-10-18T17:43:16Z")
I’m with the OP. Never really liked Petty’s music much, other than a couple of songs he did with the Traveling Wilburys. And “I Won’t Back Down” and “Free Fallin’” actively annoy me. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/115 "2017-10-18T18:45:18Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > But where do you stand on The Residents? _Lump_ and _Peaches_ were two of my favorite songs. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/116 "2017-10-18T19:22:25Z")
I’m not a fan, but I don’t think that means they are “overrated.” It just means that I’m not a fan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783.md?page=5)