http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2009/12/29/there-is-no-punk-band-more-overrated-than-the-clash Comments On: "There is no punk band more overrated than The Clash." by Dave Segal en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Sat, 18 May 2013 16:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by Fnarf]]> Sun, 10 Feb 2013 18:04:15 -0800 The Stranger
You've got to be fucking kidding me.... Fall Out Boy???! FALL OUT BOY!?!??!

*Takes a deep breath and slowly exhales*

Your idiocy wows me. Fall Out Boy has no right to be associated anywhere near the likeness of The Clash, the genre of Punk, and more importantly, music itself. The Clash was punk...yeah, they were signed to Sony, but every fucking influential artist was signed to a major label (back then and before). It's not like it is today where the major labels are spitting out these fabricated, cookie-cutter "artists" who don't write a single word, play a single note, and more often than not, can't sing on key to save their lives (this is where their Lord and Savior Auto-tune comes in). The Clash meant something, and they still do. They stood up for what they believed in...human rights, free speech, the working class. Having said that, I think every band in existence is overrated to a degree...I mean, The Clash is one of my favorite bands...does that mean I love EVERY one of their songs?? No way. Same goes for The Beatles and The Stones... Not every song is as good as the other....doesn't mean it's bad, it's still better than the corporate shit today, but I'd rather listen to a great song than an ehhh song. To try to discredit The Clash for having other genres in their music is so fucking retarded that it's laughable....it's not three power chords and yelling, but it's punk to the max.....and should we really spending our time talking about which great bands from 30 years ago are overrated, when every single popular "artist" in existence today is so overrated that it shouldn't even be called music? .....yeah, so maybe The Clash, along with The Beatles, Ramones, Stones, Sex Pistols (okay they're given too much credit, I'll admit), were "overrated" but they fucking rock.
Posted by jules1117]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 19:04:00 -0800 The Stranger Posted by rocknroller69]]> Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:21:12 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Michaelaranda]]> Sun, 03 Jan 2010 13:31:03 -0800 The Stranger Posted by johnnyfootballhero]]> Sat, 02 Jan 2010 15:51:39 -0800 The Stranger Posted by 311_TruthMovement]]> Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:36:45 -0800 The Stranger Posted by 311_TruthMovement]]> Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:32:38 -0800 The Stranger Posted by 311_TruthMovement]]> Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:31:16 -0800 The Stranger
BTW, put me in the Fugazi being overrated category. Burns' compilation of their stage ranting, while funny, reminded me of the one major bummer of seeing Fugazi live--it always seemed like my dad was on stage giving us a bunch of rules and telling everyone how to have fun. It was political correctness taken way too far to the point that it interrupted the energy, music, performance and fun. I had to laugh when Poison Idea put out that "Fuck Ian Mackaye" record with the banned cover.
Posted by dan10things]]> Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:58:17 -0800 The Stranger I really fucking hate U2. There, I said it.

PS If there is a photo of you drinking a PBR your opinion is invalid.
Posted by killmenow]]> Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:57:48 -0800 The Stranger
exactly. so there should be no harm in confessing disliking a classic punk band. it's not "whining." it's just celebrating the fact that everyone has their own opinion, and everyone is guaranteed to dislike at least a few "classic" bands. i mean, i think cosby is crazy for saying Fugazi is overrated, but hey, it's just an opinion.

You do realize that this thread originated from Henry Owings, a guy that's been putting out records, publishing zines, and booking shows in Atlanta (not an easy market by any stretch) for 17 years, right? and you are aware that he recently published a humor book titled "The Overrated Book" that basically poked fun at every band under the sun? this isn't some attempt on The Stranger's part to discredit E Bloom, Richard Hell, Joe Strummer, and John Doe.

sometimes it's refreshing to not take things too seriously.


Posted by Brian Cook]]> Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:37:50 -0800 The Stranger Posted by East Coast Realist]]> Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:07:43 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Estey]]> Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:58:56 -0800 The Stranger
Punks argue about everything and think nothing is beyond criticism. So fuck yeah, we will both attack cultural institutions and argue over The Clash and Ramones. Do you see the two at odds with each other? Don't take one person's defense of The Clash in an argument as equal to the punk community defending it's institutions, if you pop over the the Northwest Punk Board or Seattle Punk Online you'll find we argue about bands all the time. Shouldn't you rip apart and examine your own subculture as well as mainstream culture?
Posted by dan10things]]> Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:09:54 -0800 The Stranger
Maybe i misread your comment, but i thought you were either implying that The Stranger has neglected the local talent that is somehow equivalent in size and scope of influence to The Clash, Ramones, and Misfits, or insinuating that these three bands are more worthy of focus than anything going on right now. my apologies if i misunderstood.

on a side note, punks love to attack cultural institutions, but man, do they get upset when someone confesses to not liking the Clash/Ramones/Misfits/etc....

for the record, i'm changing my vote from the Jersey meatheads in The Misfits to the Monty Python-esque punk parody of The Subhumans.
Posted by Brian Cook]]> Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:28:31 -0800 The Stranger
With that in mind, The Doors were the most overrated punk band.
Posted by Paul Pearson]]> Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:20:29 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Angry Sam]]> Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:13:59 -0800 The Stranger
Most overrated paper?.... The Stranger.

I read an issue where the party crasher section was some broad at her friends party and where the drunk of the week was the writer's friend. It's like a bad school paper with a couple random writers worth reading being lost in a bunch of terrible misguided shit. I'm not "supposed" to read it anymore, because my girlfriend got tired of hearing me angrily scream at news print. I remember when I finally saw some Hip-Hop coverage for the first time and was excited that the rag was branching out from sounding like it was written from a back room at the Cha Cha. Then I read a reference to "Do You Want More?" being the first Roots album in the post and couldn't believe any further opinions on the page.

Yeah, but... um.... Sex Pistols = number one overrated punk band. How many songs can you name by the Clash and Ramones? Now try the Sex Pistols... that should answer your question.
Posted by Dead C]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:35:31 -0800 The Stranger
2.) And they were definitely 1977 UK "punk" -- a perfect combination of May '68 hippies meeting Mott the Hoople working class rock meeting art school ambition in a time of economic depression -- unless you are one of those people Andy Gill makes fun of by saying that punk should be just heavy metal played slow and dumb.

3.) But most overrated + punk band? Yeah, Henry just wants attention.

4.) I like how Aaron Cometbus says in the editorial of his latest issue how he's somehow kept the word "punk" out of his zine till now -- but he was forced to use it by running an interview with John Holstrom.

5.) If I were to be mean to The Clash at all, it would be the reminder that they tried very hard in their interviews to "be punk." (As they say, if someone called themselves a punk back in the day, well, they weren't.) As with Generation X, et al, many otherwise fine bands were at their best when reinventing pop, reggae, ska, or anything else other than "being punk."
Posted by Estey]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:11:12 -0800 The Stranger
overrated US = misfits

underrated UK = homosexuals

underrated US = dicks or weirdos
Posted by fake bands]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:03:12 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Esteban]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:31:27 -0800 The Stranger Posted by bykep]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:18:57 -0800 The Stranger
I don't know how you got that from what I said, but no. The Stranger should cover whatever it wants to, relevant or not. It's not like it's a go to paper for music coverage these days.
Posted by dan10things]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:24:54 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Grant Brissey, Emeritus]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:24:26 -0800 The Stranger Posted by T-Bone]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:13:19 -0800 The Stranger