The Emperor has no Clothes: Everything that is overrated
Submitted by jgandcag on Wed, 07/09/2003 - 08:52
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- Classic Rock Band: Pink Floyd I was going to say The Doors but my ever growing distance from the constant saturation of their music has allowed me to appreciate some of the less excessiveness of their catalogue.
Floyd, on the other hand, is as close to an automatic dial turner as I have these days. Yes, some of their music is revolutionary and inventive but ultimately that does not make it any more listenable. - Modern Rock Band: Radiohead To all those who call Radiohead this generations Pink Floyd, I wholeheartedly concur. Oh Boy, do I agree. Actually I like some of their stuff I just cant understand their coronation to Rock's pantheon for a couple of decent albums.
- Present Day Actress: Julianne Moore This wooden actress plays the damn same part in every movie she is in. And she isn't even good at that part yet. Far From Heaven (a future contender for this list), The Hours (A very good movie that could have been so much better without Moore), Boogie Nights (Oh; how I hated this movie). It hurts me to watch her in a movie. I mean it literally makes me queasy to watch this critical (and listogolist) favorite
- Classic Actress Joan Crawford Acting in the golden age was a far different experience than we have today. Stylized and far more theatrical but the great ones were able to overcome these requirements to give you characters who were fully formed within these limitations. Of course, someone forgot to tell Joan Crawford you needed to do something more than look good and smoke a cigarette well. She made a few good movies like Mildred Pierce and The Women but those had more to do with her co-stars than it did with Joan. From all reports, she was horrible mother to boot.
- City New York City The City that never sleeps... that's because people are too afraid to sleep in this stinking fleshpile of manure and bad attitudes. I once spent a summer living in New York and I would almost be willing to swear it was actually five years. Show me a New Yorker and then show me the door quickly so I can get away from him. Plus any city that boasts George Steinbrenner and Donald Trump as two of their finest civic leaders and Rudy "show me the camera" Giuliani as their politcal benchmark is in trouble in my opinion. (And yes, this does answer the question; is it all right to insult New York City again?)
- 2002 Movie: Chicago This was a tough category to choose just one. Far From Heaven was a big, big contender but ultimately the great work by the Dennis's (Quaid and Haysbert) in that movie keeps it off this list. The Good Girl would easily make the list of worst movies I watched from last year. Road to Perdition was a big dissapointment. Gangs of New York was a mild dissapointment. But ultimately Chicago was the choice because it won the Oscar and Richard Gere is easily one of the most annoying people on this earth and his performance in that movie (and during the award season) is so wretched that it hurt my eyes and ears whenever he was on screen. Catherine Zeta Jones looked like a linebacker in drag and Renee Zelwegger did not have the voice, the talent or moxie to pull off the role of Roxie. The only good thing about this movie is the performance of John C. Rielley and Queen Latifah. Rielley's Mr. Cellophane almost kept the movie out of this spot.
Author Comments:
I am feeling a little persnickety this morning, so I thought I would add a little fuel to Music debate.
Basically, I need a venue to vent. What better place that Listology.
I will add more to this list as they come to me.
Great list! I hope to see it grow!
You know I won't fight you over Pink Floyd, and while I love OK Computer, I won't really put up much of a fight over Radiohead either (gee, if I hear they are the best band of the 90s, or even the best band around today, again...).
I really like Julianne Moore (though again, I won't fight you over Boogie Nights), and I loved Far from Heaven, but gee, this list would sorta be boring if there wasn't something I disagreed with...
I hope to see more here!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Spinning on a thought, shall I nominate Paul Thomas Anderson? Unless you enjoyed PDL enough to be converted...
Just curious - Did you like Moore in Vanya on 42nd Street, Short Cuts, or The Big Lewbowski (certainly a stretch)? I seem to recall you said you thought she was good in Safe....
Nope, not trying to sway. I'm just curious what you thought of her in those films.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Anderson will just miss this list because of Punch Drunk Love (though, I think Sandler and Watson had more to do with the success of the movie) and Hard Eight is not a horrible movie.
Moore was ok in Safe and Big lebowski (I haven't seen it in a long time though). Short Cuts same feel as the others I stated. And speaking of Anderson and Moore you can add Magnolia as another prime reason she is overrated.
I will definitely be adding to list soon.
I really can't find anything to argue with here. I've never liked Pink Floyd, although I have liked the three or four Radiohead songs I've heard. Since I haven't heard any complete albums by them I don't have an informed opinion. Certainly nothing in those three or four songs suggests Greatness to me though. My only quibble with your Julianne Moore comments is that I'd describe her performances as "overwrought" rather than "wooden". I too would like to see more on this list!
Hmm, NY & Crawford . . . Nope, still can't find anything to argue with on this list.
Well, I think that Pink Floyd is listenable but still overrated. Radiohead I agree with wholeheartedly. I like Julianne Moore but I do agree that she usually plays the same part in each movie. I eagerly await more additions to this list, since a title like "Everything that is overrated" would certainly include more than three things.
Your of course right about New York, its still a cesspool after all those years of it being cleaned up by Rudy. I can't imagine living their for an extended amount of time, be in the center of the new Roman Empire or not.
As for the bands being overrated, I think its blasphemy to bash the bands you've chosen, damn you! J/k I don't agree, but to each their own. As for the most overrated actress, two words
Meryl Streep
Well there you go; calling Meryl Streep overrated cuts me deep. :)I hope your happy. Watch The Hours and tell me again Streep is overrated and Moore is not. And if you need more proof rent The Deer Hunter again and watch one of the finest performances ever put down on celluloid. ...Of course you are right diferrent strokes for ....
I actually think dissing Radiohead might piss off more people than Floyd.
There are really two sides to every city. One time, someone showed me this video to make a point about Israel. First, the video showed people living in Israel having a great time exploring the beauty of the country, with the images set to upbeat music. Then it showed news reports covering the horrors taking place in the same area.
As another example, I was just in London. It was an amazing place and I had an great time exploring the city. But, after walking around the city, if I were to wipe my face with a wet cloth, the cloth would turn dark grey from all the grime that had collected on my face.
I feel similarly about New York City. Some of the greatest art museums, most spectacular theater, best restaurants, etc. are in New York. But yes, it's also a dirty city full of crime, corruption, and rudeness.
P.S. I never was a big Joan Crawford fan. But as for overrated classic actresses, I'd have to nominate Betty Hutton.
"But yes, it's also a dirty city full of crime, corruption, and rudeness."
AJ, it's easy to admit that you're talking about any major city in this world with a population of more than a million people.
I don't doubt, nor am I attempting to deny, that my description could apply to many major cities.
As a former New Yorker, I can only say that New York simply isn't for everyone. Even New Yorkers I know hate it. However, to suggest that "show me a New Yorker and then show me the door quickly so I can get away from him" is completely baseless. I can name you several times I have been afforded nothing more than rudeness in cities like Chicago and San Francisco, but I could never suggest that this is indicative of the entire population. And, yes, I agree that Steinbrenner and Trump are nothing more than publicity-hungry whores, but they're by no means civic leaders - no one in NYC would DARE take them seriously.
Continuing on this Radiohead jag, only the laziest of critics would compare Radiohead to Pink Floyd; the same lazy critics once compared Fiona Apple to Nina Simone (I don't see the comparison). However, I'm inclined to believe the reason Radiohead are the critics' darlings is because they're one of the few bands who steadfastly avoid playing by the rules. In this era of faux-angst-ridden hardcore and here-today-gone-tomorrow pop idols, Radiohead succeeds simply because they cannot be conveniently placed into any categories. I don't agree they're the best band currently, but calling them overrated would seem unjust.
I guess, I need to do a poorer job of hiding my tounge in my cheek on some of these comments. I really do hate New York, but that is only because I was born and raised in Boston. I think it is something in the water (or it could just be good taste.) The rest of the stuff about New York was just a little hyperbole to emphasize a point. No Offense intended.
To steal from an argument I once had with Mr. Bangs about the movie, The Searchers. If everyone thinks Radiohead is the best band but you don't would that not constitute them being overrated?
It just rubs me the wrong way when people say they hate New York because it's dirty and corrupt and the citizens are rude, when in fact you could be saying this about any major city in the world. Then again, you can't please everyone. I, for one, don't think much of Philadelphia (no offense meant to anyone from Philly).
I suppose you're right; if everyone does like Radiohead, then they must be overrated. However, it just seems that Radiohead is the only band worth discussing these days.
I apologize if I offended you. I wasn't trying to say that my description of New York City only applied to New York City. I was just using it to portray the "bad side" of New York, in contrast with its many strong attributes. Are you a Simpsons fan? If so, have you seen the episode in which the family goes to New York, and Homer has a really sh*tty time while Marge and the kids love it? That's what I'm talking about. Anyway, I've been to New York City six times and I'd go six more.
No, AJ, I'm not offended by what you said, but it does bother me when I hear people continuously harp on how dirty New York is, or bellyache about how rudely they were treated. New York's been a convenient target for years, and what pissed me off more was how "sympathetic" some people were towards New York after 9/11; the same people who made it a part of their lives to bash that very same city. Granted, I don't live there anymore, and it would probably take an act of Congress for me to live there again, but I still love the city, even if it is dirty and the current mayor is a complete asshole.
I TOTALLY agree about "Chicago" being overrated, but not for the exact same reasons (other than Richard Gere; I can't stand him).
I TOTALLY disagree about Julianne Moore, who is one of my favorite actresses, and as Premiere's Libby Gelman Waxler says "one of the only actresses who can cry on camera without making me want to slap her."
I often suspected as much about New York City, but I think I need to give it a chance yet, though I'm not in a hurry. Plenty of other cities I actually really WANT to visit.