Music bands are a weird phenomenon. It’s hard to describe what turns a good band into a great band and no one really seems to know the recipe for success. The biggest proof of this is that every now and then, humanity makes a mistake and picks the wrong band. We raise them up, buy all their albums, go to their shows, and then spend ourselves wondering a decade or so later why anyone thought they were good in the first place.
Let’s take a look at some of those bands where public opinion messed up.
Nickelback
Despite these guys still being active, we’ve now reached the point where we’ve all agreed that they’re average at best and they’ve been pushed into obscurity. Why we used to consider them rock Gods at a certain time, no one will know.
Creed
Ever since Tremonti went to Alter Bridge, we’ve been able to fully pinpoint the issues people had with Creed to Scott Stapp’s vocals and writing. It’s just not very memorable, and almost everyone seems to have forgotten that this band existed and was considered popular. But I won’t make us forget, because we have to prevent it from happening again.
Limp Bizkit
Who besides Fred Durst ever thought that a middle-aged white man pretending he’s a cool hiphop artists as a part of a NU-Metal band (a fad that died out almost as soon as it sprung into existence)? Well, millions of people, actually. By now, with Fred himself being a wee bit older and the audience having left puberty, we’re starting to realize that this band was never meant to be taken as seriously as we did.
Weezer
This was a band that was hated so much that one person held a crowdfunder to gather 10 million dollars to pay Weezer to split up. And he actually reached that goal. Weezer of course declined, but this situation is the perfect illustration of how little people cared about Weezer after their initial run on the top of the charts.
Maroon 5
These guys were warranted a spot at the top when their debut album Songs about Jane hit. It was genuinely a good album filled with good and original songs. But what the actual fries happened after that, no one knows. It seems like every song they bring out now is even blander than the one before, where they’re trying to sell you hot garbage by putting a funky guitar riff underneath it and making Adam Levine not wear a shirt. Sixty percent of the time, it works all the time.
AC/DC
Let’s be honest: AC/DC did things for the history of rock music and music in general that few bands have achieved. That said, has anything they’ve made since Back in Black not sounded like it could’ve been on Back in Black? Their songwriting has been stuck on repeat since the late eighties, and it’s a shame to see them being pretty much okay with that.
Coldplay
Another sad example of a band that was just way better before they became world famous. Their first few albums were good. Not great, but good. But their last few albums are just the same blatantly boring pop garbage that most other artists seem to be putting out. And they’re not even bad musicians, which is probably the most frustrating part.
Nirvana
I’m sorry but I have to. Nirvana is not as good a band as everyone thinks they are, and I’m 90% sure they wouldn’t have reached their legendary status if Kurt Cobain was still alive. It seems like most of their appeal comes from the murder mystery and not from the music itself.