Rock stars divulge which classic albums they hate

June 19, 2007 3:11 a.m. by Etan Rosenbloom

Did you ever secretly hate Pet Sounds? Are you bored by Dark Side of the Moon? Never really see what all the fuss was about regarding Marquee Moon? Fear not, you are not alone. A recent feature in the Guardian Unlimited finds well-known rock musicians sounding off about "classic" albums that they hate, feel are way overrated, or just plain don't get. Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapronos complains about the cult of Television; Wayne Coyne takes Nevermind off its pedestal; Eddie Argos of Art Brut disses his countrymen The Stone Roses. There's a lot of overlap with the identically-themed book Kill Your Idols, but then again, you can never have too many people criticize The Doors.
So which classic album have you always secretly loathed? I'll start the bidding with Sweetheart of the Rodeo, which I think has unfairly upstaged The Byrds' earlier work in rock crit retrospect. Discuss.
Sgt. Pepper must die! (Guardian UK)

6 Responses

June 19, 2007 at 7:35 a.m.

Jeff Klingman

I'm gonna start with the Soft Bulletin by Flaming Lips. What a boring ass record. Wayne Coyne complaining about being bored by drug addicts when listening to Nevermind is pretty f'in rich, coming from the leader of a troupe of acid heads and heroin addicts. Ones who get away with re-writing Cat Stevens songs, employing muppet choruses, and singing about manga plots, while a roadie dressed like the mighty Thor stalks the stage.

June 19, 2007 at 7:41 a.m.

Dave Park

"you can never have too many people criticize The Doors" hahhaha.

June 19, 2007 at 1:44 p.m.

John Zeiss

For loving stuff like Floyd, Eno, and other proggy stuff, I've never gotten the deal with King Crimson. I think I bought "In the Hall of the Crimson King" and "Discipline" simply on "legendary status" alone (always a bad idea), listened to them once, and threw them in the back of my record bin, never to be seen again.

June 19, 2007 at 3:31 p.m.

Etan Rosenbloom

Hey John, I'll buy that copy of "In the Court of the Crimson King" from you! I love KC, but I can definitely understand why somebody who came to the band through Robert Fripp's Eno connection would be turned off by them. To be fair they had several distinct periods - the earlier spacy/jazz-fusion stuff, the mid-period polyrhythmic guitar tapping stuff, then the heavier prog of the more recent stuff, so maybe you just haven't heard the right record for you. My favorite is Red.

June 19, 2007 at 3:37 p.m.

brian

i love how one guy explicitly says the velvet underground is way better at being dark and nihilistic than the doors and one says the doors are way better at being dark and nihilistic than the velvet underground, apparently completely independent of each other.most of those guys just seem like they're complaining without making a real case against the music or its importance. because as always, music is a matter of personal taste. for my own, i'll just say that pet sounds is the greatest album ever, and i agree with jeff about the soft bulletin. that song about the scientists makes me want to perform surgery on myself.

June 19, 2007 at 3:53 p.m.

John Zeiss

I don't think I even have "Court of the Crimson King" anymore. I think I still have "Discipline" though. An old vinyl copy. Probably worth a dollar but you can just have it.