10 Bands Other People Made You Feel Bad About Loving

Coldplay

The most successful band of the post-Britpop wave that started in the late 90s, Coldplay arrived sounding like a version of Radiohead that cared more about chart success than artistic innovation. But even if some turned their noses up at Chris Martin and company for making what they perceived as watered-down alt-rock, you don’t get this many hits unless you’re doing something right. Songs like "Yellow" and "Clocks" still endure because they’re unapologetically earnest and gorgeously composed. And though they’re more of a commercial darling than a critical one, they’ve still shown admirable willingness to try new things.

Hootie & the Blowfish

Being popular and being cool aren’t necessarily the same thing. Case in point, Hootie & the Blowfish, whose debut album, “Cracked Rear View,” sold more than 20 million copies, making it one of the all-time bestsellers. But this was the 90s. And when compared to the boundary-pushing genre movements like grunge and gangsta rap, Hootie’s rustic yet polished heartland rock sounded rather milquetoast. But while the group is undeniably corny, their sincerity was an asset, particularly in an era full of irony. And Darius Rucker’s iconic twangy voice is one we’re always happy to try and harmonize with.

Babymetal

Some metal fans can be rather rigid in terms of what they consider “real” metal. So, if ever there was a group to rattle uptight purists, it’s Babymetal. Considered the founders of “Kawaii metal,” this Tokyo group fuses two distinctly opposing sounds, J-pop and heavy metal. And if you’re a fan, you might have had to endure a diatribe or 10 from self-proclaimed metal experts about how they were “ruining” the genre. But just watch five seconds of any Babymetal live video and any gatekeeping goes right out the window. Among those who have championed the group are Judas Priest's Rob Halford and Rob Zombie. And they both definitely know a thing or two about metal.

Muse

Some bands thrive on subtlety. That does not include Muse. The British rock band is one that pushes everything to the nth degree. This is particularly true for vocalist Matt Bellamy, who projects like he’s in a Broadway show and whose lyrics can, at times, be described as “painfully on-the-nose.” But when so many other bands were content to fade into the background, Muse sounded like a breath of fresh air. Overwrought? Sure. But we’d rather listen to something pompous and unique than something low-key and forgettable. And while it might seem like a bit much when you’re listening at home, anyone who’s been to a Muse concert can likely tell you about what a transcendent experience it is.

Imagine Dragons

Compared to previous decades, the 2010s weren’t exactly the most promising time for newer rock bands breaking through commercially. But one act managed to produce numerous hits as well as draw endless scorn. Imagine Dragons have self-identified as “genre-less.” And that’s fair, as they sound like a bunch of different genres blended together to make songs that sound like they were manufactured by an algorithm for chart success. But even if they were and still are rather unhip, their most famous songs are the kind that you only need to hear once to get stuck in your head forever. And you can admit that “Radioactive” and “Believer” still get you pumped up to this day.

Maroon 5

You can pretty clearly draw the line between when Maroon 5 were a rock band with pop appeal and just a straight-up pop act. And we’re here to vouch for the band that was, not the one that currently is. While the group’s mix of blue-eyed soul and lightly funky alt-rock wasn’t anything groundbreaking, it had a vibe that other 2000s-era acts weren’t providing. Like, how many choruses had the “must sing along” energy of “This Love”? And Adam Levine was clearly giving it his all in a way you had to respect. Though recent releases have fallen flat, you can still make a case for Maroon 5 being - for a time - unfairly maligned.



U2
This one might be controversial. There are very few bands who have managed to stay relevant for five consecutive decades. And U2 have multiple albums and songs that anyone with a decent grasp on rock history know are absolute classics. That being said, there’s plenty about the Irish foursome to rub people the wrong way. From Bono’s didactic lyrics and singing style so strained, it occasionally borders on self-parody to that time their new album was put on our iPhones without our knowledge, they’ve historically been a group easy to mock. But if you go through their catalog or catch a live show, you’ll find a band firing on all cylinders and making some of the most powerful, and life-affirming, rock music ever created.

Creed

The mainstream breakthrough of grunge, led by Nirvana, took rock radio into uncharted territory in the 90s. But what was once underground and countercultural eventually became the norm and got sanded down into post-grunge. And no band better represented the decline in grunge’s credibility than Creed. Though they sold tens of millions of albums and had numerous top 10 hits, including the chart-topping “With Arms Wide Open,” they did not receive much in the way of critical respect. Singer Scott Stapp earned the bulk of the ire, with his guttural voice and self-serious rock star posturing. But even if many found Stapp and Creed to be overbearing, they were also just so unabashedly wholehearted in their efforts that we have to give them some respect.

Limp Bizkit

Many of the bands on this list are ones who could be negatively described as “bland.” Limp Bizkit, meanwhile, were many things. But “bland” was not one of them. Rather, they were the epitome of boorish. As ambassadors of the then-new movement known as “nu-metal,” the band epitomized every criticism of both hip-hop and metal, especially with a frontman like Fred Durst. Their songs were incredibly crass and stupid, and not in a particularly clever way, either. But even if we knew that tracks like “Nookie” and “Break Stuff” weren’t exactly enriching our minds, we couldn’t resist the urge to headbang and fist-pump along. And let’s be honest: neither could you.

Nickelback

While every band on this list has received some amount of time for some amount of time, arguably none has received as much for as long as Nickelback. The Canadian band is also part of the post-grunge wave, mainly thanks to lead singer Chad Kroeger’s coarse voice that sounds like he has a consistently sore throat. During the 2000s, when rock’s impact on commercial radio was waning, Nickelback were thriving. And thus, the backlash took full effect, with jokes about them being bad being as clichéd as ones about airline food. But even if they were easy to ridicule during a time when they dominated the airwaves, looking back, we can confidently say that Nickelback has numerous songs that just plain rock.








What band do you think is unjustly jeered? Let us know in the comments.




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