FunkyDrummer
08-29-2008, 09:18 AM
Sad to see Ron's nephew on the list...
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509384/560/370
23. Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance
When My Chemical Romance was just another vaguely gothy emo band from New Jersey with song titles like “Honey, This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough for the Two of Us,” lead singer Gerard Way was no more or less annoying than any other nasally punk-pop screamer. Then he dyed his hair blond and started doing a really bad Freddie Mercury impersonation on MCR’s last album, “The Black Parade.” He finally wised up and lost the bleach, but not the bombast. Three cheers for sweet pretension!
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509183/560/370
22. Conor Oberst
Critics are fond of calling this Bright Eyes frontman “the next Bob Dylan,” but even at his most dejected, Dylan never sounded this protein deficient. Oberst and his pubescent quaver of a voice have inspired a whole new generation of sad sacks to pick up guitars and set their LiveJournal entries to music, and for that, he makes this list.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509408/560/370
21. Paul Banks of Interpol
Can we all just agree once and for all to stop comparing Interpol’s frontman to the late, great Ian Curtis of Joy Division? Curtis’ hollow, broken-hearted baritone was the very embodiment of sadness and alienation; Banks’ declamatory bray is the very embodiment of Brooklyn scenesters doing too much coke in the bathroom. Gotta admit, though—dude can rock a black leather tie.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509392/560/370
20. Anthony Kiedis
Let’s be clear here: we love the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Great band. But has any other group in history sold more records with a lead singer who can only hit about five notes? Kiedis also loses points for pioneering the whole rap-rock movement and paving the way for chest-beating dorkwads like Fred Durst and that dude from Papa Roach. Who knew that the seemingly harmless words “Gibbitaway, gibbitaway, gibbitaway now” would be responsible for so much bad music?
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509489/560/370
19. Adam Levine
Have you even noticed how when certain white guys try to sing all soulful, you can totally tell that it’s some dorky white guy trying to sound soulful? We like to call it Jamiroquai Syndrome, and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine has a really bad case of it.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509417/560/370
18. Ed Kowalczyk of Live
Grunge pretty much jumped the shark with the emergence of Live, a band from western Pennsylvania with a little bald guy for a lead singer who delivered his obtuse, quasi-spiritual lyrics in a constipated snarl. Amazingly, Live is still around, and as self-important as ever. “Darling, I feel like a god when I am next to you,” Kowalczyk croons on one recent track. Oh, Ed—when do you ever not feel like a god?
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509038/560/370
17. Sting
We actually don’t mind Sting as a singer, especially when he’s belting out old Police nuggets like “I Can’t Stand Losing You.” But anyone who puts out an album of lute songs and titles his autobiography “Broken Music” has to be included on this list. Plus, the new facial hair has got to go. When did the lead singer of the Police become a lobster boat captain?
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509229/560/370
16. Thom Yorke
Yeah, yeah—Radiohead is a visionary band, always pushing the boundaries of their art form and…sorry, what was that? Thom Yorke’s tuneless keening just made us doze off again.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509359/560/370
15. Chester Bennington
Modern rock has plenty of screamers, but there’s something about Linkin Park’s resident throat-shredder that makes him a little more annoying than most. Maybe it’s just the way he and his band’s rap-rock posturing seem so at odds with the insipid, Dr. Phil–worthy psychobabble of his lyrics: “I don’t know why I instigate/And say what I don’t mean.” Do we crowd-surf or hug it out? We're so conflicted!
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507375/560/370
14. Eddie Vedder
Vedder’s actually mellowed out considerably since Pearl Jam’s early days, when he sang everything like he had a bad case of lockjaw and refused to sully his band’s reputation with such cheap marketing ploys as (gasp) music videos. But he’s still the man most responsible for the fact that, for most of the ‘90s, every hard rock vocalist sounded like he had a bad case of lockjaw.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/512740/560/370
13. Pete Doherty
Those of you who only know Doherty as some British dude who hangs out with Amy Winehouse and does lots of drugs might be surprised to learn he’s also the lead singer of a pretty decent band called Babyshambles, and before that, he fronted an even better band called the Libertines. So why is he on this list? Because most of you probably only know him as that drugged-out British dude. Get sober soon, Pete!
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509411/560/370
12. Vince Neil of Motley Crue
Where do we start? With the fact that he pretty much hasn’t been able to sing since, oh, we’re gonna say 1995? How about his embarrasing reality TV appearances? Or the fact that the man wears his own tour T-shirts onstage? Even for an ’80s hair metal band, that’s just tacky.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509194/560/370
11. Chad Kroeger
OK, we’ll give Chad this: for the guy who fronts Nickelback, a band that has sold approximately 10 bajillion albums, he actually seems like a pretty down-to-earth guy—no Bono-esque God complexes, no Weilandian substance abuse issues. Then again, it’s precisely that normalness that makes Kroeger and his group’s bland, inoffensive take on post-grunge so unbelievably annoying. Where's the passion and fire, Chad? Where are the balls? And don't tell us it's because you're Canadian—so is Bryan Adams, and even he rocks large compared to you guys.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507357/560/370
10. Chris Martin
Judging from this photo, even Martin is occasionally disgusted by his band’s treacly take on U2-inspired arena rock. He’s cut back on the aching, boyish falsetto these days, which took him down a few notches on the annoying scale. But will someone please tell us what’s up with the new military ragamuffin look? Our college production of “Les Miz” had better outfits.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507352/560/370
9. Adam Duritz
Let’s see: he’s dated Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Joanna Going and Monica Potter, and he’s still miserable. Get over it, dude! Nobody likes a sore winner who over-emotes every lyric like someone just stole his lunch money.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509141/560/370
8. Tom DeLonge
When he was just one of the two snot-nosed frontmen in blink-182, we could almost put up with Tom DeLonge. Then he decided he wanted to be Bono and started a new band called Angels & Airwaves, boldly declaring that “within two years, we’ll be the biggest rock act in the world.” Three years since making that statement, A&A is still playing the Warped Tour and putting out music that, in the words of British music mag NME, “aims for the U2 of ‘The Joshua Tree,’ but ends up more like Mike & the Mechanics.” Ouch.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507367/560/370
7. Scott Weiland
Even if he didn’t take more trips to rehab than we take to the bathroom, Weiland would still make this list. He’s the ultimate pre-fab rock star: a vocal chameleon who, even after 20 years, still hasn’t developed a singing style of his own. Both of his bands, Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, are one step removed from being glorified cover bands—hey, they sound like Zeppelin on this song! Hey, this one sounds like Soundgarden! Wow, if I close my eyes, I can totally picture Guns ‘N Roses playing this! Oh, right—VR is G ‘n R, minus our next pick…
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509447/560/370
6. Axl Rose
Seriously, does anyone even care at this point if “Chinese Democracy” ever comes out? The leaked tracks, so far, have mostly sucked, and Axl’s few weak attempts to take a retooled Guns ‘N Roses on the road have been mixed at best, with questionable lineups (Buckethead? Really?) and watered-down versions of G 'n R classics. When someone can convince Axl, Slash, Izzy and Duff to sit down in a room together, then we’ll start caring again. In the meantime, Axl remains a cornrowed, tragicomic shadow of his former self.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/508883/560/370
5. Dave Matthews
Maybe if you smoke enough pot, Dave Matthews’ mush-mouthed groan of a voice actually starts to make sense. Also, is it just us, or is there something vaguely objectionable about anyone who names their band just by sticking the word “Band” after their name? Hey, everybody, look! I’m a total egomaniac and not particularly creative! Now check out this eight-minute mandolin solo.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509354/560/370
4. Billy Corgan
Even when the Pumpkins were at their peak, Corgan’s nasally whine was an acquired taste at best. Now that he’s on the giant ego trip that is the Smashing Pumpkins “reunion”—which started with a full page ad in the Chicago Tribune declaring, “I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams”—it seems like he’s almost daring us to dislike his pinched vocals and half-assed new material. No wonder Iha and D’arcy sat this one out.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507361/560/370
3. Bono
Listen, we know he’s trying to save the world and all, and that’s admirable. But he could probably lift six African nations out of poverty just by selling off his wraparound sunglasses collection.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507362/560/370
2. Fred Durst
We’re not big fans of hippies, either, Fred. But when the crowd at Woodstock in ’99 was on the verge of a full-blown riot and you announced that they should “stick those Birkenstocks up your ass,” well, you weren’t exactly helping. Actually, if any of Limp Bizkit’s songs were half as clever as that one-liner, you might not be so far up this list.
And our pick for the world's most annoying frontman goes to…
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507366/560/370
1. Scott Stapp
Let’s review, shall we? Terrible singer: check. Bloated, melodramatic songs: check. Wretchedly bad solo album following band’s breakup: check. Acts of lewd behavior with Kid Rock: check. Public drunken fistfights with other bands: check. Horrible U2 cover on MySpace page: check, baby! Seriously, if we invented a fictional annoying rock frontman, never in our wildest dreams could we top Stapp. Even our number-two guy, Fred Durst, declared him “a f---ing punk.” Well done, Scott!
LINK (http://chicago.metromix.com/music/photogallery/the-23-most-annoying/507348/content)
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509384/560/370
23. Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance
When My Chemical Romance was just another vaguely gothy emo band from New Jersey with song titles like “Honey, This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough for the Two of Us,” lead singer Gerard Way was no more or less annoying than any other nasally punk-pop screamer. Then he dyed his hair blond and started doing a really bad Freddie Mercury impersonation on MCR’s last album, “The Black Parade.” He finally wised up and lost the bleach, but not the bombast. Three cheers for sweet pretension!
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509183/560/370
22. Conor Oberst
Critics are fond of calling this Bright Eyes frontman “the next Bob Dylan,” but even at his most dejected, Dylan never sounded this protein deficient. Oberst and his pubescent quaver of a voice have inspired a whole new generation of sad sacks to pick up guitars and set their LiveJournal entries to music, and for that, he makes this list.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509408/560/370
21. Paul Banks of Interpol
Can we all just agree once and for all to stop comparing Interpol’s frontman to the late, great Ian Curtis of Joy Division? Curtis’ hollow, broken-hearted baritone was the very embodiment of sadness and alienation; Banks’ declamatory bray is the very embodiment of Brooklyn scenesters doing too much coke in the bathroom. Gotta admit, though—dude can rock a black leather tie.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509392/560/370
20. Anthony Kiedis
Let’s be clear here: we love the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Great band. But has any other group in history sold more records with a lead singer who can only hit about five notes? Kiedis also loses points for pioneering the whole rap-rock movement and paving the way for chest-beating dorkwads like Fred Durst and that dude from Papa Roach. Who knew that the seemingly harmless words “Gibbitaway, gibbitaway, gibbitaway now” would be responsible for so much bad music?
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509489/560/370
19. Adam Levine
Have you even noticed how when certain white guys try to sing all soulful, you can totally tell that it’s some dorky white guy trying to sound soulful? We like to call it Jamiroquai Syndrome, and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine has a really bad case of it.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509417/560/370
18. Ed Kowalczyk of Live
Grunge pretty much jumped the shark with the emergence of Live, a band from western Pennsylvania with a little bald guy for a lead singer who delivered his obtuse, quasi-spiritual lyrics in a constipated snarl. Amazingly, Live is still around, and as self-important as ever. “Darling, I feel like a god when I am next to you,” Kowalczyk croons on one recent track. Oh, Ed—when do you ever not feel like a god?
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509038/560/370
17. Sting
We actually don’t mind Sting as a singer, especially when he’s belting out old Police nuggets like “I Can’t Stand Losing You.” But anyone who puts out an album of lute songs and titles his autobiography “Broken Music” has to be included on this list. Plus, the new facial hair has got to go. When did the lead singer of the Police become a lobster boat captain?
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509229/560/370
16. Thom Yorke
Yeah, yeah—Radiohead is a visionary band, always pushing the boundaries of their art form and…sorry, what was that? Thom Yorke’s tuneless keening just made us doze off again.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509359/560/370
15. Chester Bennington
Modern rock has plenty of screamers, but there’s something about Linkin Park’s resident throat-shredder that makes him a little more annoying than most. Maybe it’s just the way he and his band’s rap-rock posturing seem so at odds with the insipid, Dr. Phil–worthy psychobabble of his lyrics: “I don’t know why I instigate/And say what I don’t mean.” Do we crowd-surf or hug it out? We're so conflicted!
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507375/560/370
14. Eddie Vedder
Vedder’s actually mellowed out considerably since Pearl Jam’s early days, when he sang everything like he had a bad case of lockjaw and refused to sully his band’s reputation with such cheap marketing ploys as (gasp) music videos. But he’s still the man most responsible for the fact that, for most of the ‘90s, every hard rock vocalist sounded like he had a bad case of lockjaw.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/512740/560/370
13. Pete Doherty
Those of you who only know Doherty as some British dude who hangs out with Amy Winehouse and does lots of drugs might be surprised to learn he’s also the lead singer of a pretty decent band called Babyshambles, and before that, he fronted an even better band called the Libertines. So why is he on this list? Because most of you probably only know him as that drugged-out British dude. Get sober soon, Pete!
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509411/560/370
12. Vince Neil of Motley Crue
Where do we start? With the fact that he pretty much hasn’t been able to sing since, oh, we’re gonna say 1995? How about his embarrasing reality TV appearances? Or the fact that the man wears his own tour T-shirts onstage? Even for an ’80s hair metal band, that’s just tacky.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509194/560/370
11. Chad Kroeger
OK, we’ll give Chad this: for the guy who fronts Nickelback, a band that has sold approximately 10 bajillion albums, he actually seems like a pretty down-to-earth guy—no Bono-esque God complexes, no Weilandian substance abuse issues. Then again, it’s precisely that normalness that makes Kroeger and his group’s bland, inoffensive take on post-grunge so unbelievably annoying. Where's the passion and fire, Chad? Where are the balls? And don't tell us it's because you're Canadian—so is Bryan Adams, and even he rocks large compared to you guys.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507357/560/370
10. Chris Martin
Judging from this photo, even Martin is occasionally disgusted by his band’s treacly take on U2-inspired arena rock. He’s cut back on the aching, boyish falsetto these days, which took him down a few notches on the annoying scale. But will someone please tell us what’s up with the new military ragamuffin look? Our college production of “Les Miz” had better outfits.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507352/560/370
9. Adam Duritz
Let’s see: he’s dated Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Joanna Going and Monica Potter, and he’s still miserable. Get over it, dude! Nobody likes a sore winner who over-emotes every lyric like someone just stole his lunch money.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509141/560/370
8. Tom DeLonge
When he was just one of the two snot-nosed frontmen in blink-182, we could almost put up with Tom DeLonge. Then he decided he wanted to be Bono and started a new band called Angels & Airwaves, boldly declaring that “within two years, we’ll be the biggest rock act in the world.” Three years since making that statement, A&A is still playing the Warped Tour and putting out music that, in the words of British music mag NME, “aims for the U2 of ‘The Joshua Tree,’ but ends up more like Mike & the Mechanics.” Ouch.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507367/560/370
7. Scott Weiland
Even if he didn’t take more trips to rehab than we take to the bathroom, Weiland would still make this list. He’s the ultimate pre-fab rock star: a vocal chameleon who, even after 20 years, still hasn’t developed a singing style of his own. Both of his bands, Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, are one step removed from being glorified cover bands—hey, they sound like Zeppelin on this song! Hey, this one sounds like Soundgarden! Wow, if I close my eyes, I can totally picture Guns ‘N Roses playing this! Oh, right—VR is G ‘n R, minus our next pick…
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509447/560/370
6. Axl Rose
Seriously, does anyone even care at this point if “Chinese Democracy” ever comes out? The leaked tracks, so far, have mostly sucked, and Axl’s few weak attempts to take a retooled Guns ‘N Roses on the road have been mixed at best, with questionable lineups (Buckethead? Really?) and watered-down versions of G 'n R classics. When someone can convince Axl, Slash, Izzy and Duff to sit down in a room together, then we’ll start caring again. In the meantime, Axl remains a cornrowed, tragicomic shadow of his former self.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/508883/560/370
5. Dave Matthews
Maybe if you smoke enough pot, Dave Matthews’ mush-mouthed groan of a voice actually starts to make sense. Also, is it just us, or is there something vaguely objectionable about anyone who names their band just by sticking the word “Band” after their name? Hey, everybody, look! I’m a total egomaniac and not particularly creative! Now check out this eight-minute mandolin solo.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/509354/560/370
4. Billy Corgan
Even when the Pumpkins were at their peak, Corgan’s nasally whine was an acquired taste at best. Now that he’s on the giant ego trip that is the Smashing Pumpkins “reunion”—which started with a full page ad in the Chicago Tribune declaring, “I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams”—it seems like he’s almost daring us to dislike his pinched vocals and half-assed new material. No wonder Iha and D’arcy sat this one out.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507361/560/370
3. Bono
Listen, we know he’s trying to save the world and all, and that’s admirable. But he could probably lift six African nations out of poverty just by selling off his wraparound sunglasses collection.
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507362/560/370
2. Fred Durst
We’re not big fans of hippies, either, Fred. But when the crowd at Woodstock in ’99 was on the verge of a full-blown riot and you announced that they should “stick those Birkenstocks up your ass,” well, you weren’t exactly helping. Actually, if any of Limp Bizkit’s songs were half as clever as that one-liner, you might not be so far up this list.
And our pick for the world's most annoying frontman goes to…
http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/507366/560/370
1. Scott Stapp
Let’s review, shall we? Terrible singer: check. Bloated, melodramatic songs: check. Wretchedly bad solo album following band’s breakup: check. Acts of lewd behavior with Kid Rock: check. Public drunken fistfights with other bands: check. Horrible U2 cover on MySpace page: check, baby! Seriously, if we invented a fictional annoying rock frontman, never in our wildest dreams could we top Stapp. Even our number-two guy, Fred Durst, declared him “a f---ing punk.” Well done, Scott!
LINK (http://chicago.metromix.com/music/photogallery/the-23-most-annoying/507348/content)