Post your controversial music opinions v. I couldn't find the previous one

[Crow]

I'll also add "you've had 30 years to find all the good music from 1986 and 8.5 months to find all the good music from 2016"

[twosuitsluke]

I'll also add "you've had 30 years to find all the good music from 1986 and 8.5 months to find all the good music ftomn2016"

Very good point dude.

+1 for the non Nirvana fans. I've never really been a fan of grunge in general though, prefer Dave Grohl's other contributions to music way more.

[Zantera]

It's definitely different from person to person, some people prefer to listen to 95% music they're already familiar with and just getting a handful of new albums every year, others go through 100 new albums in a year. There's not a right or wrong approach since it's subjective, but whenever I hear someone say "this year was bad for music" and it turns out they listened to 4 or 5 albums from the whole year, with at least 3 of those being bands they were already familiar with, I scratch my head. At least give yourself an honest chance to discover something!

[NunoBadmintoncourt]

A lot of people celebrate Nirvana as one of the bands that helped bring about the death of 80's hard rock and usher in the flannel-clad crapfest that was 90's grunge and alternative, but yeah, I think their popularity is even greater due to KC's death.  I would be curious to see what would have become of them if he was still alive.  Is it possible there would be no Foo Fighters?

I've never credited Nirvana with ending 80's rock/metal. Nirvana didn't kill it. Time did. The 80's scene had become a parody of itself, and it was simply time for something to replace it. It was the beginning of a new decade after all. Can you imagine if "Smells Like Teen Spirit" had been released just two years sooner than it was? It would have tanked.

Believe me, I tried my damnedest to find something worth appreciating with Nirvana, but to this day, I've got nothing.

[Sacul]

It's definitely different from person to person, some people prefer to listen to 95% music they're already familiar with and just getting a handful of new albums every year, others go through 100 new albums in a year. There's not a right or wrong approach since it's subjective, but whenever I hear someone say "this year was bad for music" and it turns out they listened to 4 or 5 albums from the whole year, with at least 3 of those being bands they were already familiar with, I scratch my head. At least give yourself an honest chance to discover something!

So much truth on this.

[Train of Naught]

Today is actually the period with the best music ever.

I'm going to assume someone found a way to reverse time and it's now 1986 again?

This may shock you, but there are some great albums that were released in 2016, that weren't releases by bands from the '80s.

Well, yeah, there were a few.  But it's hard to quantify.  Taking a quick look at the release date calendar, in 2016 so far we have gotten Megadeth, DT, Redemption, Lacuna Coil, Flotsam and Jetsam, and Fates Warning.  Yeah, you could maybe stretch a little and include Jelly Jam and Avantasia in there as well.  But at most, that's only about 8 really good albums in 2016 so far (and, yes, we can bump it up to 10 with the upcoming Epica and Neal Morse albums).  Now of those, we do have a handful of stellar albums that are arguably better than anything that came out in the '80s (DT, Fates, Redemption, and we'll see if Epica and NM qualify).  So maybe quality-wise, 2016 is "better."  But in terms of quantity of good music, we're not there.  So I guess it just depends on whether one appreciates quantity of quality or quality or quality.  And, I mean, 10 good albums in a year is a good year--don't get me wrong.  But I think it's debatable whether that makes it "the period with the best music ever."  But "controversial opinions," so...

Well maybe he was including music outside the prog/power metal world - like, there are only one or two albums on my AOTY list that are barely metal or rock

Well, sure, that's fine.  But I am just focusing on quality music.  I don't deny that there may be a couple of good albums that aren't rock, metal, or prog of some sort.  But I am focusing on the rule rather than the exception.

This is probably one of the most narrow-minded comments I've seen on DTF.

I honestly think 2016 is one of the best years in music ever though and it's not just the hype talking

[Prog Snob]

Agreed on Nirvana, they're quite lame imo.

I never liked them. I'd say Dave Grohl benefited the most from Kurt's death. I'm not the biggest Dave Grohl fan but I won't deny he's really musically inclined and is a huge fan of music.

[hefdaddy42]

It's not as easy for me to find new music now as it was only a few years ago (life changes, different responsibilities, etc).  But there are certainly more really good acts, in more genres, now than ever.

I mean, if all you listen to is cock rock, then yeah, 1986 was the gold standard.  But there are so many great acts out there making so many different kinds of music.

For example, one of my favorite genres is progressive bluegrass, which at one time wasn't even a thing (Chris Thile can do no wrong in my book). 

And even in a genre as venerable as jazz, you still have colossal contributions from newer artists, such as Kamasi Washington's The Epic.

It's awesome that there is so much good stuff, even within niche genres, but depressing that I can't listen to all of it.

[King Postwhore]

As Hef just pointed out, as I've gotten older I can put in the time to search, listen to music like I did in my youth.  that's not to say I still don't but it gets harder to do so.  I myself, always search for new music.  I think there is great, good poor music in all decades.  I just don't have to time to play music like I used to so my view becomes a little more narrow.

In this day and age you just have to search a bit.  That's why I love this site, I get to hear of bands I've never heard of, check them out and then buy if I like.

[Super Dude]

bosk your argument falls apart because you base it solely on the albums you define as "good music". just from my own purchases i'd say there are at least 10 albums from this year that i like quite a bit, none of them mentioned on your list. now include everyone in the list. suddenly there's a lot higher quantity of good music, ain't there?

Yeah, exactly this. I don't mean to keep beating a dead horse, but DT didn't even make my top 10 this year (however, it's also not what you might be thinking - nobody on my list has a name that rhymes with Schmanye Schmest either).

[Art]

About searching for new music, i mostly go through phases: sometimes i am eager to listen to new stuff, sometimes i spend a whole week listening to the old bands that i love since i was a teenager. It depends on my mood. I'll say that Spotify helped me a lot in discovering new music.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

This is probably one of the most narrow-minded comments I've seen on DTF.

You're hanging out in the wrong threads, then.  This is one of the most benign comments I've seen bosk make.  I could never even begin to count the many, many times I've witnessed older members of the board weather some of the most elitist, pretentious, self-important, narrow-minded arrogance I could imagine, due to their tastes in older music.  Trust me, this is nothing.

[bosk1]

Yeah, you want to see narrow minded?  You got it.

If it doesn't have any whahibrido pickingant, it isn't worth listening to, and anyone who listens to it is a moron who never gets out of his mom's basement.

Satisfied?

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

mic drop, bitches

[Train of Naught]

This is probably one of the most narrow-minded comments I've seen on DTF.

You're hanging out in the wrong threads, then.  This is one of the most benign comments I've seen bosk make.  I could never even begin to count the many, many times I've witnessed older members of the board weather some of the most elitist, pretentious, self-important, narrow-minded arrogance I could imagine, due to their tastes in older music.  Trust me, this is nothing.

I'll take your word for it and will shut the fuck up then.

/Train of Naught over and out

[Crow]

god, whahibrido pickingant was cool for like a year or two but it started getting repetitive and boring fast, now it just plain sucks

[bosk1]

Not when I say it.

[Super Dude]

Listen dudes, thanks for everyone being so enthusiastic to contribute to this thread. It's been a while since I've had a really successful post on DTF like this.

Now this is not targeted at anyone specifically, but the point of a controversial opinion thread is to post controversial opinions about music. It is not about making fun of people or their musical tastes, no matter how ridiculous or absurd you think they're being. In the interest of having this thread remain open, let's all try to restrain ourselves a little bit and bear in mind da rules. Let's all try to stay respectful towards one another. I know this can be a fine line, so try to imagine yourself at the receiving end of your post before you post it. You can be contrarian and edgy all you want, but not at other's expense. Cool? Cool. Thanks all!

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

YOU SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH

[Imaginos]

I know discussion on it has kinda ended, but I definitely agree that Nirvana were vastly overrated and not very good. It's a shame that they were kind of the poster child for grunge, since there was so much better music being produced in that genre. Although I still think grunge as a genre is kind of dumb too, since none of the bands really sounded all that similar, aside from playing some kind of heavy rock music.

As for a controversial opinion:

Van Halen III isn't as bad as everyone says it is.

[Skeever]

These days I think it's more controversial to say that Nirvana were the best grunge band, since the "Nirvana are overrated" backlash is something I see again and again.

To me, Nirvana are still the best grunge band. I don't like them, or grunge, all that much. But Kurt's approach to music was much more influential than the other grunge bands, who were doing knew things but ultimately felt like they were just making angsty hard rock / metal. Kurt/Nirvana are the ones who decided to throw the rule book completely out the window, and help infuse punk back into what was considered cool.

[Stadler]

Van Halen III isn't as bad as everyone says it is.

No, it's worse!  Haha, I kid.  I like it too.  Not of the calibre of the better VH records (1984, Fair Warning, ...Carnal KNowledge) but still. 

[LudwigVan]

Nirvana had a similar impact that the Sex Pistols had.  Sure there were loads of better punk rock bands than the Pistols, but they were iconic to the movement.

And I think grunge was more an attitude than one specific musical style. It was a reactionary movement to the over the top indulgence of the glam metal scene. It turned heavy music back into an angrier and more introspective style. For the better IMO.

[Stadler]

These days I think it's more controversial to say that Nirvana were the best grunge band, since the "Nirvana are overrated" backlash is something I see again and again.

To me, Nirvana are still the best grunge band. I don't like them, or grunge, all that much. But Kurt's approach to music was much more influential than the other grunge bands, who were doing knew things but ultimately felt like they were just making angsty hard rock / metal. Kurt/Nirvana are the ones who decided to throw the rule book completely out the window, and help infuse punk back into what was considered cool.

I'm loathe to say "best", because I just don't think they were (Mudhoney or early Soundgarden better espoused the ethos), but I was around then, and I will give you that they were different.   Pearl Jam was just early Whitesnake or UFO with Roger Daltrey singing (as much as I love them).  I still think Nirvana was as critically acclaimed because of WHO Cobain was, not the band he was in.   They had videos, they were accessible, in a way that the real grunge acts of the early Seattle scene would have rejected out of the gate. 

My two cents.

[Super Dude]

Nirvana had a similar impact that the Sex Pistols had.  Sure there were loads of better punk rock bands than the Pistols, but they were iconic to the movement.

And I think grunge was more an attitude than one specific musical style. It was a reactionary movement to the over the top indulgence of the glam metal scene. It turned heavy music back into an angrier and more introspective style. For the better IMO.

Nailed it. I actually liked Nirvana a lot (although not as much as Soundgarden or STP). But anyway, as to whether there was a specific grunge musical style, I've never seen it summed up more succinctly than in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs5VL2NWV3E

For those who haven't seen it, by the way, Hype! (the documentary that clip is from) is fantastic. I learned a lot about grunge from it, and it doesn't necessarily focus all that much on the biggest acts aside from Pearl Jam.

[King Postwhore]

Punk spawned from everything I loved from the 70's. 

What's was happening was tours became bigger, with smoke, lasers,huge lights and punk was what the next generation was  rebelling about.  Guttural,  simple structure no flash all organic.  I liked the influence into AOR music like Blondie, Talking Heads, Joe Jackson,  The Cars ect.

Same with Grunge.   People were tired of hair metal and went guttural again.  For me the first band that was not flashy like hair metal but wasn't linked with grunge was Tesla. 

[TAC]

Joe, Tesla came out in 1986. They were a classic hard rock style. Not sure how they could even be in a sentence with grunge.

Oh, and I love Blondie!!

[King Postwhore]

I'm not saying they are grunge but they were the first band not to be hair metal and they were popular.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Nirvana is essentially just Pixies without any of the good parts.

[Prog Snob]

Listen dudes, thanks for everyone being so enthusiastic to contribute to this thread. It's been a while since I've had a really successful post on DTF like this.

Now this is not targeted at anyone specifically, but the point of a controversial opinion thread is to post controversial opinions about music. It is not about making fun of people or their musical tastes, no matter how ridiculous or absurd you think they're being. In the interest of having this thread remain open, let's all try to restrain ourselves a little bit and bear in mind da rules. Let's all try to stay respectful towards one another. I know this can be a fine line, so try to imagine yourself at the receiving end of your post before you post it. You can be contrarian and edgy all you want, but not at other's expense. Cool? Cool. Thanks all!

Actually, you wouldn't have said that unless there was someone or someones that you had in mind who inspired your comment. 


Moving right along...

Punk spawned from everything I loved from the 70's. 

What's was happening was tours became bigger, with smoke, lasers,huge lights and punk was what the next generation was  rebelling about.  Guttural,  simple structure no flash all organic.  I liked the influence into AOR music like Blondie, Talking Heads, Joe Jackson,  The Cars ect.

Same with Grunge.   People were tired of hair metal and went guttural again.  For me the first band that was not flashy like hair metal but wasn't linked with grunge was Tesla. 

I never liked punk. I always thought it was this monotonous and pointless kind of music, but I suppose that's a bit harsh. 

Tesla, I didn't discover until The Great Radio Controversy. What a great album that was.

[King Postwhore]

I never liked punk myself but the influence in other bands I liked.

LieLow, you will be shocked but I hated the Pixies. I was more into the Posies.  The 80's style I loved was Simple Minds,  Big Country ect besides the program and the metal I followed. 

[Zook]

I'm not a big fan of GnR, but November Rain is a goddamn masterpiece. I recently rediscovered it, and I can't stop listening to it. Axl might be a worse singer than Dave Mustaine, but his vocals don't hinder the song in any way. Although I'd love to hear Russell Allen sing it.

The Astonishing is a great album, but being so long, I can only listen to it in small doses. Our New World is the best song on the album.

If Carry Underwood's lyrics weren't so abysmal, I'd be able to say I like some Country music. Not really controversial unless you think she has good lyrics, which she doesn't.

I'M RIGHT, YOU'RE WRONG. There's my Briang tribute. I kind of wish he'd return to tell us all how Smells Like Teen Spirit is the best thing to happen to music and we just aren't listening correctly.

[bosk1]

I'm not a big fan of GnR, but November Rain is a goddamn masterpiece. I recently rediscovered it, and I can't stop listening to it. Axl might be a worse singer than Dave Mustaine, but his vocals don't hinder the song in any way. Although I'd love to hear Russell Allen sing it.

I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but despite feeling about the same as you toward GNR in general, I agree that it is a great song.

[Crow]

oh yeah. let me just drop in to say that mastodon are pretty dang overrated imo. have never been able to get into leviathan, blood mountain is an incredibly average album, crack the skye is good and not great, and the hunter is again just a really average album. they have a handful of songs i like a lot but usually they're not very interesting even when they're still "okay".

[LudwigVan]

I'm with you on the Mastodon