Worst Band Ever

Good thing. Respect your elders.

 

I am forced to agree with this. Ever since I heard Chicago in an elevator, I was horrified. But as you said, the early stuff was fantastic.

 

Chicago was outstanding until Terry Kath died, Jim Guercio wasn't producing their albums and David Foster started messing with a formula that wasn't broken. What was a great band with a stellar brass section, strong elements of jazz and a willingness not to be so freaking formulaic ... turned schlocky, ballad-heavy and formulaic.

Chicago until the late '70s was the sh_t. Chicago in the '80s was sh_t.

 

Oasis

 

Glenn Frey could sing. Don Henley couldn't sing or write good lyrics.

 

Oasis does suck pretty hard. Noel and his high flying birds OTOH put out a good song and dance.

 

If I ever work up the nerve to try to make another attempt at a novel, it would be set in those very weird days. I think they set the stage for the last 20 years politically in this country.

The people who underestimated the lengths the far right would go to over the last four years didn’t spend any time in those concert venues. We were drilled in militaristic terms that the world was ending soon, the culture war was a literal spiritual conflict and that we were soldiers. So the people who said the reaction to Trump was Trump Derangement Syndrome didn’t realize a good chunk of his base is legitimate whackadoodle.

And a good percentage of us fighting that movement are exvangelicals who understand the power of their conviction and why they’d sell out their own beliefs to hitch themselves to a Trump. They co-opted every musical style and cultural movement for decades in service of their goals. Why wouldn’t they sell out their stated political beliefs for power and influence?

 

I love these threads. The worst band ever is ... every band. But especially those who:

1. Sold a shit-ton of records
2. Still get airplay 40 years after their heyday
3. Sold out arenas, maybe even packed a stadium or three, for at least half a decade in said heyday
4. Can still pull 5,000 a night now, even if it's at a fair
5. Just about everybody liked during that heyday, except the really cool kids, who like(d) awesomely shitty music like Wilco.

The serious answer? Nirvana. Absolute unlistenable garbage. Kicked off the worst era in rock history.

 

Saying that Wilco sucks is like entering a basketball conversation and saying LeBron would be better if he could create his own shots.

I don’t think System of a Down could get $150 to play a Mitzvah in 2021.

But to say Oasis, the Eagles, Steely Dan, Chicago, Boston are in the conversation of worst band of all time is ridiculous.

 

Wilco seems like the kind of music the Friends troupe would have listened to. No thanks.

Steely Dan was about word nerdery and musicianship - either your cup or tea or not.

 

I was being facetious. Most here know Oasis is my favorite band along with Depeche Mode and Oingo Boingo.