Salon’s Most Hated Bands of the Last 30 Years

Is Lana Del Rey really one of the worst contemporary performers?

One of the best things about contemporary music is its vast abundance that spans across countless genres. Serious music critics and fans tend to have pretty definitive opinions about the quality of bands and solo performers, and no musician, regardless of their individual genre, is safe from severe criticism. Just take Salon, the online news and entertainment website that got pretty harsh with its picks for the “15 most hated bands of the last 30 years.” 
 

Harshness aside, that isn’t to say that I disagree with the entirety of their list (yeah, Limp Bizkit is pretty darn terrible!). It just goes to show how unrelenting music criticism tends to be. Here are some highlights from Salon’s list of the worst of the worst in the last three decades:

Salon says that “There will always be those unfathomably popular bands that get an inordinate amount of airtime, and are loved by obsessed, cultish fans, only intensifying the hatred of those who realize one objective truth: that when you get down to it, the music isn’t even good. In fact, it downright sucks.” This is certainly true of bands Nickelback, Creed, and Insane Clown Posse, the latter of which doesn’t receive as much mainstream airtime as the other two, but ignited a massive cult following during its heyday. “The Gathering of the Juggalos” is a festival still held every year to celebrate the band, where obsessed fans (called Juggalos), can be surrounded by other obsessed fans and revel in the violent, aggressive lyrics of Insane Clown Posse. All three bands made Salon’s list of the 15 most hated bands, though Nickelback and old Creed tunes continue to dominate radio airwaves. 

We still love you, Hootie!

The list lost me at its mention of Dave Matthews Band and Hootie & the Blowfish, two bands who were incredibly popular in the 1990s. The article explains that, “In order for something to be hated, it must first be loved; that love is what gives the hatred its roots,” which is maybe what explains these two bands being some of the “most hated.” Listeners still love a good old Hootie song when it comes on the radio, and Matthews still packs stadiums with fans when he performs live. Perhaps these bands’ remarkably over-played songs are what make them ones that people love to hate.  

Other bands that made Salon’s “15 most hated bands of the last 30 years” include John Mayer, The Goo Goo Dolls, Train, Phish, Limp Bizkit, Blink 182, Black Eyed Peas, Smash Mouth, 98 Degrees, and even Lana Del Rey.

Do you think Salon was too harsh on some of these old favorites picked for their most hated list?

Image: Anthony Abbott via Flickr CC

Image: Larry Darling via Flickr CC