Recording artists everyone made fun of at their peak of popularity

[Rothman]

A Flock of Seagulls, with their outlandish hairdos, lyrical themes about outer space, and heavily-played MTV videos.

Hm.  There's something different about people snickering about them and the outright mockery of the likes of Nickelback. 

[formulanone]

And people still make fun of Nickelback

I was never into the grunge phase or the alt rock (or alternative) that came after it, so I am not taking up for Nickelback.  I thought they sucked when they were popular, but the Nickelback hate seems to have been an internet thing.  You know, the internet collectively decides this person, act or show is stupid and everyone piles on?  Everyone forgets that in the early 2000s, all those same people were blasting Nickelback as loud as they could out of their Fireos.  I don't remember any distain toward Nickelback during the height of their success, which put me off because I hated them. 

For me, what took the Nickelback criticism from just fun and games to actually legitimate criticism was that video where someone played two or three of their songs at the same time and the timing of the verses/choruses and even most of the chord changes lined up more or less perfectly.

If you want more talent, go for a quarterback next time.

[roadman65]

A Flock of Seagulls, with their outlandish hairdos, lyrical themes about outer space, and heavily-played MTV videos.

Hm.  There's something different about people snickering about them and the outright mockery of the likes of Nickelback. 

In I Ran, I thought he was a middle aged woman as he looked like an elementary school teacher I once had.  Plus the way he recites the line " I never met a girl like you"  could be misinterpreted as I never met a guy like you.

[jmacswimmer]

Re: Nickelback, while I was never a fan of them I was/am a big fan of the "look at this graph" meme spawned by the Photograph song.

[roadman65]

I found it ironic that when Wham first came out and George Michael began liberating guys wearing earrings in both ears. As previously, the protocol for ear piercing for men, was only the left ear and the right ear was for alternative life style men hence Elton John with his right only ear pierced.


Then when Conservative thinkers began poking fun or stating that it he was gay, with Liberal thinkers saying he wasn't at the time as Michael stayed in the closet at first, was very ironic looking back at it today.  I even remembered one guy state he was happy the singer of Wham did that as he was weary of of people of the time calling out others who dressed and behaved differently as homosexuals.  He was basically defending George Michael for being straight when in fact he wasn't as this was before he publicly came out. 

[ethanhopkin14]

I found it ironic that when Wham first came out and George Michael began liberating guys wearing earrings in both ears. As previously, the protocol for ear piercing for men, was only the left ear and the right ear was for alternative life style men hence Elton John with his right only ear pierced.


Then when Conservative thinkers began poking fun or stating that it he was gay, with Liberal thinkers saying he wasn't at the time as Michael stayed in the closet at first, was very ironic looking back at it today.  I even remembered one guy state he was happy the singer of Wham did that as he was weary of of people of the time calling out others who dressed and behaved differently as homosexuals.  He was basically defending George Michael for being straight when in fact he wasn't as this was before he publicly came out.

Interesting.  I forgot all about George Michael and that everyone I know loved the crap on him in the late 80s when his solo career was on fire. 

[1995hoo]

Regarding men wearing earrings, I recall the expression "left is right and right is wrong."

[JayhawkCO]

Regarding men wearing earrings, I recall the expression "left is right and right is wrong."

Same applied for which overalls strap you had unbuckled back in the 90's.

[1995hoo]

Regarding men wearing earrings, I recall the expression "left is right and right is wrong."

Same applied for which overalls strap you had unbuckled back in the 90's.

I'll take your word for that. I don't ever recall anyone I know wearing overalls during that time period. I recall people wearing them when we were relatively little kids (younger than age 10 or so) and no longer wearing them after that age.

[US 89]

I remember having overalls when I was like 6 years old. I haven't worn them since then...and nor has anyone else I know over that age.

[JayhawkCO]

Regarding men wearing earrings, I recall the expression "left is right and right is wrong."

Same applied for which overalls strap you had unbuckled back in the 90's.

I'll take your word for that. I don't ever recall anyone I know wearing overalls during that time period. I recall people wearing them when we were relatively little kids (younger than age 10 or so) and no longer wearing them after that age.

[hbelkins]

Kiss had their fair share of detractors.

[GCrites]

Regarding men wearing earrings, I recall the expression "left is right and right is wrong."

Same applied for which overalls strap you had unbuckled back in the 90's.

I'll take your word for that. I don't ever recall anyone I know wearing overalls during that time period. I recall people wearing them when we were relatively little kids (younger than age 10 or so) and no longer wearing them after that age.

Bonus points if they were Skidz Bibz

[ethanhopkin14]

I think we have ventured into acts who fit a niche genre that, said genre, had a definite start and stop and that was long before the act or singer was "washed up".  Many people have alluded to the death of disco, but I wouldn't say The Beegees were washed up at that time; the genre just came to an abrupt end, and like most things in the world, once something that's insanely popular becomes not popular, let the ridicule begin (and mostly, everyone who was once jamming to all those hits act like they were never doing exactly that  "Who me?  I never liked disco" as they burn their disco albums)!  Same can be said about the death of hair metal.  I wouldn't say Def Leopard, Poison, Iron Maiden or Scorpion were washed up when hair metal died, but they received flak for being in the hair metal genre just the same. 

The biggest difference with pointing that out is it was almost like night and day.  One day they were still on top of the world, and almost like the very next day, hair metal was the butt of all jokes, so you can't say they were ridiculed their entire career despite producing hits.  There was a time when everyone was losing their minds over them.

This is in contrast to Hanson or Justin Bieber, who despite success, everyone would kill them for being fake and over poppy to play to the open ($ filled) hand of the 16 year old girls.  They were never liked outside that very small demographic. 

[bandit957]

There was a time in the late '80s when there were hardly any country crossovers on pop radio. But individual country acts usually weren't ridiculed that much, except by people who never liked country in general.

[GCrites]

Nashville and the pop machine hadn't become one yet so Country was considered as something for "other people" and left alone. Once Country started pushing itself into everyone's daily lives (not just the South's) in the early '90s it became fair game.

[Scott5114]

And people still make fun of Nickelback

I was never into the grunge phase or the alt rock (or alternative) that came after it, so I am not taking up for Nickelback.  I thought they sucked when they were popular, but the Nickelback hate seems to have been an internet thing.  You know, the internet collectively decides this person, act or show is stupid and everyone piles on?  Everyone forgets that in the early 2000s, all those same people were blasting Nickelback as loud as they could out of their Fireos.  I don't remember any distain toward Nickelback during the height of their success, which put me off because I hated them. 

For me, what took the Nickelback criticism from just fun and games to actually legitimate criticism was that video where someone played two or three of their songs at the same time and the timing of the verses/choruses and even most of the chord changes lined up more or less perfectly.

If you want more talent, go for a quarterback next time.

Do quarterbacks have five times as much talent as Nickelback?

[ethanhopkin14]

And people still make fun of Nickelback

I was never into the grunge phase or the alt rock (or alternative) that came after it, so I am not taking up for Nickelback.  I thought they sucked when they were popular, but the Nickelback hate seems to have been an internet thing.  You know, the internet collectively decides this person, act or show is stupid and everyone piles on?  Everyone forgets that in the early 2000s, all those same people were blasting Nickelback as loud as they could out of their Fireos.  I don't remember any distain toward Nickelback during the height of their success, which put me off because I hated them. 

For me, what took the Nickelback criticism from just fun and games to actually legitimate criticism was that video where someone played two or three of their songs at the same time and the timing of the verses/choruses and even most of the chord changes lined up more or less perfectly.

If you want more talent, go for a quarterback next time.

Do quarterbacks have five times as much talent as Nickelback?

#dadjokes

[Big John]

And people still make fun of Nickelback

I was never into the grunge phase or the alt rock (or alternative) that came after it, so I am not taking up for Nickelback.  I thought they sucked when they were popular, but the Nickelback hate seems to have been an internet thing.  You know, the internet collectively decides this person, act or show is stupid and everyone piles on?  Everyone forgets that in the early 2000s, all those same people were blasting Nickelback as loud as they could out of their Fireos.  I don't remember any distain toward Nickelback during the height of their success, which put me off because I hated them. 

For me, what took the Nickelback criticism from just fun and games to actually legitimate criticism was that video where someone played two or three of their songs at the same time and the timing of the verses/choruses and even most of the chord changes lined up more or less perfectly.

If you want more talent, go for a quarterback next time.

Do quarterbacks have five times as much talent as Nickelback?

5 times the refund though.

[jp the roadgeek]

And people still make fun of Nickelback

I was never into the grunge phase or the alt rock (or alternative) that came after it, so I am not taking up for Nickelback.  I thought they sucked when they were popular, but the Nickelback hate seems to have been an internet thing.  You know, the internet collectively decides this person, act or show is stupid and everyone piles on?  Everyone forgets that in the early 2000s, all those same people were blasting Nickelback as loud as they could out of their Fireos.  I don't remember any distain toward Nickelback during the height of their success, which put me off because I hated them. 

For me, what took the Nickelback criticism from just fun and games to actually legitimate criticism was that video where someone played two or three of their songs at the same time and the timing of the verses/choruses and even most of the chord changes lined up more or less perfectly.

Funny you mention lining up like that.  That brings to mind The Spin Doctors, whose songs all line up with that bop-bop-BOP, bop-bopbop-BOP backbeat.  And then there was The Ramones, whose songs all had a similar 1-4-5 chord structure.

[Stephane Dumas]

No mention of Justin Bieber? That's the first one that comes to my mind.

I remember some parodies of that scene from CSI where he was shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLiGG0NzZ7Q

A Flock of Seagulls, with their outlandish hairdos, lyrical themes about outer space, and heavily-played MTV videos.

Each time I think of them, I thought of that old Diet-Pepsi ad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SvDu89kLM4

[hbelkins]

Iron Maiden was never hair metal. The Scorpions veered in that direction, but I never considered them in that genre. And Def Leppard started out as NWOBHM, not hair metal.

Poison? Definitely a hair band.

[Rothman]

Iron Maiden was never hair metal. The Scorpions veered in that direction, but I never considered them in that genre. And Def Leppard started out as NWOBHM, not hair metal.

Poison? Definitely a hair band.

You are...splitting hairs...

[GCrites]

Then you don't want to hear that both Iron Maiden and Def Leppard are NWOBHM bands but Iron Maiden is the biggest NWOBHM band even though technically Def Leppard is a bigger band but as a Hair band.

[roadman65]

I'm surprised no one ever made fun of Richie or is it Ritchie Blackmore, the famed guitarist from Deep Purple and Rainbow. The man never smiled and had the same facial expression always. Never sung back up either. Just played and looked like he had no emotion.