over and under

i was listening to the radio this morning - adam carolla to be exact. they were doing this "best of..." (presumably because he's on vacation) and the topic was "overrated/underrated." and it got me thinking, as i listened to it for the second time, what are some of the things that i too find overrated/underrated.

here's my first, and unfortunately, they talked about this on the radio.

overrated

the beastie boys. i like the music they make, i'm sure they put on an entertaining show. i'm sure their family loves them and they make their mommas proud. but what in sam hell do they do that elevates them to a god-like status in the record business. to me, they are no better than the kids you see in the hallway of your school with a mixed tape of beats they put down with an electric keyboard and their dad's old records. i mean, listen to them sometime. 90% of their rhymes are just words thrown together, with no reason as to why they are put there, and can easily be interchanged by any of the members - case in point, every line ends with all of them shouting the word. example:

"girls, hey all i really want is girls and in the evening it's girls"

with the bolded words being shouted by all three. it truly doesn't do it justice, but i hope it paints a picture. at any rate, i do like their music, i just don't feel that they deserve the gushing praise they get. if they weren't "the beastie boys" and haven't been around for so long, would they have the status they have? i just don't know.

underrated
i'll stick with the music theme and go with guster. it might be because they are one of my favorite bands, but i don't care. i first saw these guys open for the barenaked ladies circa 2001 and was immediately impressed with their stage presence, their banter with the crowd, and their overwhelmingly humble nature. they are in their own words "wuss rock." what makes them stand out is their ability to deliver time after time, album after album, a solid slate of music and (when live) a spectacular show. i can continue to gush and rave about them, but i won't. all that is important is that they are solid and continually do not get the recognition, on a national/worldly level, that they deserve.

you may or may not agree, my 3 readers, but that's ok. please comment if you'd like, heck, even list your own thoughts, i'd love to hear them.

maybe we'll even do this over/under list ever week, on different topics. time for an alaskan amber.

ciao!