One of the great things about music is that it's so subjective. You might love something like country music that your best friend hates. You have an unseen connection with the words and melodies of that genre that your mate doesn't, and vice versa.
But if you are going to come up with a best-of or worst-of in music history, you might want to set yourself some limits. If you are going to put your opinion on paper (or type it out), then give your reader a good reason why you think the way you do. People will have the right to disagree with you.
Heck, I realize that I have written articles that people hate (such as Phishheads, fans of Sammy Hagar, and so on), and here's the trick: People who don't like what I have to say have a right to not like it. But there is probably one article from a decade ago that many of us can agree is a terrible piece of tripe.
A list of the 10 most overrated rock performers goes badly awry
In 2016, a writer named Will Witt wrote on the CU Independent a list of the 10 most overrated rock artists ever. Fair enough. Make your claim, Will, and let people dissect. The problem is the reasons Will came up with.
(By the way, the reason this is even remotely something after nearly 10 years is that the article still floats around the interwebs, likely because it is so ridiculous.)
Exhibit A for Witt's mistake comes in at No. 9, where he has the Eagles. Fine. One could argue that the Eagles are overrated, but it's the reasoning that matters. Witt wrote, "(T)he Eagles are a band with little to no talent musically. The band’s most famous song, 'Take It Easy,' wasn’t even written by the band."
You should be warned that if you read Witt's article, he really doesn't like a band that does many covers. The problem here is that the Eagles' most famous song isn't "Take It Easy," but "Hotel California," and it isn't close. Facts matter.
AC/DC comes in at No. 5. Witt wrote, "The (band's) music isn’t rich or beautiful, and is less music and more of Brian Johnson’s raspy screaming on an undecipherable hard rock progression. The band was a hit machine in the ’80s..."
First off, I am pretty sure Angus and Malcolm Young didn't start off thinking, "We need to make some beautiful rock songs." Quite the opposite, which is the whole point of the band. Plus, Witt seemingly is unaware that the band started in the 1970s and was hugely successful when Bon Scott was still the lead vocalist.
Brace yourselves because Will Witt gets worse.
He has Jimi Hendrix at No. 2, and wrote, in part, "Being able to write lyrics well is important for the skill and prevalence an artist has, and the fact that Jimi Hendrix never was able to really achieve that tarnishes my view of him. What about "All Along the Watchtower?" His most popular song is actually a Bob Dylan cover...Hendrix is heralded because he died too early, yet I can’t help but wonder if he would have fallen off the radar anyway."
Again, Witt hates covers. But he also has Hendrix's most popular song incorrect. That would be "Purple Haze." Also, Hendrix was a fine lyricist, but his guitar work was what set him apart (and would have sustained his success). Witt seems to have missed that.
Witt ended his list by ranking Nirvana No. 1 in the most confusing way.
The writer definitely dislikes Dave Grohl, but says of the band, "The worst part is that Dave Grohl, the forgettable, easily replaceable drummer who wrote no songs or music, reaps all of the benefits. Even Grant Hart of Husker Du refers to Dave Grohl as Dave Goul, reaping off of the dead. Kurt Cobain was Nirvana, and is in no way overrated, but Nirvana without him is the most overrated band to ever exist."
So Cobain was Nirvana, and though Nirvana didn't exist without him, if they had, Nirvana would be the most overrated band ever. Um...sure.
Let Will Witt's experiment with writing words be a lesson to us all. If we are going to be critical, at least get the facts correct. Otherwise, it's a pointless ruse.