Sandman: Thanks for your great response at http://www.mytwocents-sjpsandman.blogspot.com/

I feel honored that you put it on your blog instead of my response deal. I'm granting you the same courtesy, respect.



As the great Ron Burgundy says, we agree to disagree on most of these acts.
Hotel California is not a masterpiece. Sgt. Peppers is a masterpiece. Exile on Main Street is a masterpiece. Blonde on Blonde is a masterpiece.

As for Fleetwood Mac, I'm not sure what gossip you are talking about. I'm focusing on the music. Great band? No. Good band? Sure.

As for Rush, I didn't mean to come across that I think they suck. The obviously don't suck. They are extremely talented, and while they are a good band, your claim that people in the know would list them as 5 of all time is ludicrous - hence the overrated tag.



A few years ago VH1 - people who work there must be in the know - listed the greatest Hard Rock Acts of all time. Here's the top 28.



1. Led Zeppelin 2. Black Sabbath 3. Jimi Hendrix 4. AC/DC 5. Metallica 6. Nirvana 7. Van Halen 8. The Who 9. Guns N' Roses 10. KISS 11. Aerosmith 12. Sex Pistols 13. Queen 14. Soundgarden 15. Pink Floyd 16. Cream 17. Ramones 18. Ozzy Osbourne 19. The Clash 20. Alice Cooper 21. Pearl Jam 22. Deep Purple 23. Judas Priest 24. Iron Maiden 25. Cheap Trick 26. Motorhead 27. Iggy Pop 28. Rush (3 spots behind Cheap Trick, ouch).





VH-1 sucks, you say: OK. In 2004, Rolling Stone listed it's top 100 greatest artists of all time:





1) The Beatles 2) Bob Dylan 3) Elvis Presley 4) The Rolling Stones 5) Chuck Berry 6) Jimi Hendrix 7) James Brown 8) Little Richard 9) Aretha Franklin 10) Ray Charles 11) Bob Marley 12) The Beach Boys 13) Buddy Holly 14) Led Zeppelin 15) Stevie Wonder 16) Sam Cooke
17) Muddy Watters 18) Marvin Gaye 19) The Velvet Underground 20) Bo Diddley 21) Otis Redding 22) U2 23) Bruce Springsteen 24) Jerry Lee Lewis 25) Fats Domino 26) The Ramones 27) Nirvana 28) Prince 29) The Who 30) The Clash 31) Johnny Cash
32) Smokey Robinson and the Miracles 33) The Everly Brothers 34) Neil Young 35) Michael Jackson 36) Madonna 37) Roy Orbison 38) John Lennon 39) David Bowie 40) Simon and Garfunkel 41) The Doors 42) Van Morrison 43) Sly and the Family Stone 44) Public Enemy
45) The Byrds 46) Janis Joplin 47) Patti Smith 48) Run-DMC 49) Elton John 50) The Band


51) Howlin' Wolf 52) The Allman Brothers Band 53) Eric Clapton 54) Dr. Dre 55) Grateful Dead 56) Parliament/Funkadelic 57) Aerosmith 58) Sex Pistols 59) Louis Jordan 60) Joni Mitchell 61) Tina Turner 62) Etta James 63) Phil Spector 64) The Kinks 65) Al Green
66) Cream 67) The Temptations 68) Jackie Wilson 69) Carl Perkins 70) The Police 71) Frank Zappa 72) AC/DC 73) Radiohead 74) Hank Williams 75) The Eagles 76) The Shirelles
77) Beastie Boys 78) The Stooges 79) The Four Tops 80) Elvis Costello 81) The Drifters
82) Eminem 83) N.W.A. 84) James Taylor 85) Black Sabbath 86) Tupac Shakur 87) Gram Parsons 88) Miles Davis 89) The Yardbirds 90) Carlos Santana 91) Ricky Nelson
92) Guns n' Roses 93) Booker T. and the MG's 94) Nine Inch Nails 95) Lynyrd Skynyrd
96) Martha and the Vandellas 97) Diana Ross and the Supremes 98) Roxy Music
99) Curtis Mayfield 100) Lee "Scratch" Perry





In case you're wondering the judges were:



Here they are:


http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7235503/the_voters

As you can see, they are people who make music, produce music and write about music. Shit, the might even be lucky enough to experience and feel it like you do. Maybe, just maybe, they weren't basing it on talent and technical perspective, whatever the hell that means.

In case you didn't read the whole list, Rush is nowhere to be found. Maybe they finished 101. So maybe you're right, they shouldn't be on the overrated list, since they are not even on there.



As for the statement in which you say "Are you one of those people who just listen to music as background noise to whatever else it is you're doing? I'm surprised. I've always given you more credit as a music fan" And that you experience music, feel it. I had to laugh, since it came from someone, who on their list of favorite bands ranked Great White, Richard Marx, Poison, White Lion, Goo, Goo Dolls ahead of the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen and the Stones (who, by the way, aren't overrated at all). Next time you want to "experience" something, pop on Exile on Main Street.

And finally, let's remember I didn't want to even do the list since I knew it would raise your ire quite highly. I just know what I like and what I don't like, but you made me do it.



Anyway, dude, who really cares what I say? You love Rush, I don't. We can post for the next 100 years and neither of us in going to change the other person's mind.

The main thing is we both agree on what the most overrated act on the planet is:

PS: Not to get you riled up, and not to contradict everything I said, but Limelight is one of my favorite tunes of all time.

Let's Go Mets

Love, Joe