Peven wrote:over-rated is the key term. it doesn't matter whether or not you think that Nirvana is better than Green Day, Green Day has never had anything close to the degree of idolization and mythologizing that has surrounded Nirvana since that tool killed himself. Nirvana and Cobain were built up and blown up and ordained as the voice of my generation, something I resented then and still do. then there is the cannononization of Cobain ever since he ditched out on his kid, and the world, which is pathetic, imo. he didn't create shit compared to a lot of other talented songwriters/musicians have that don't get anywhere near the attention or credit. Green Day has never been rated nearly as high, and so imo they aren't as OVER-rated as Nirvana or Cobain
TheBaxter wrote:part of the "overrated" tag has to do with how much critical exteem and public reverence they have. i would say green day and cobain/nirvana are pretty close, talent-wise, with nirvana getting the slight edge, particularly in songwriting. but i've never heard green day described as geniuses, voices of their generation, or any of the other over-the-top acclaim that nirvana and cobain were given. if billie joe armstrong were to blow his face off with a shotgun, i doubt there'd be public memorials, even during the height of their popularity. green day has never been a darling of the critics the way nirvana was, though the regard given for american idiot was certainly undeserved. so i would say nirvana is definitely more overrated than green day, not based on their relative talents, but on how they were and still are viewed by critics and the public.
I respectfully disagree with you two gentlemen... I DO believe that Green Day is idolized and revered, and ARE darlings to the critics. As much as Nirvana? Maybe not*, but close in my book. And since I think Nirvana put out better music (again, not my favorites by a long shot), I'd personally put Green Day higher on my overrated list.
*I forget why I put an asterisk here...I'm sure I had something profound to say.