Insane Clown Posse edged out many older and more venerable acts (including Michael Bolton, Kenny G. and Jefferson Starship), to be named history's worst rock band.

But what's wrong with Emerson, Lake and Palmer?

i can't believe mike & the mechanics and rick wakeman made the cut either. the site only shows the 41-50, but i gotta guess that if ELP is #2 then my favorite bands Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, PFM, Pretty Things, all have to be in the top 20!

Where did Yoko Ono rank?

Let's face it...if a "rock critic" wants to hack out a quick column so he can get back to trying to snag one of Springsteen's cast-off groupies, he writes a slash piece on prog rock. Bonus points for heavy use of the word "pretentious."
Read Edward Macan's excellent book Rocking the Classics for a rational critique of prog rock by a musician and musicologist who knows what he's talking about (Ed's solo piano performance of ELP's Tarkus has to be heard to be believed).

Why does everyone, from these contemptable idiots, to the esteemed American Film Institute, believe they can affect any sort of valid quantification on something so fundementally qualitative?

"But what's wrong with Emerson, Lake and Palmer?"

Keith Emerson could *play*.
Greg Lake could *sing*.
Carl Palmer could *drum*.

I have heard that they could even do all three at the same time.

That puts them way ahead of a lot of other bands, if you ask me.

(Thanks, Toren, for the book reference. I want to read that.)

Calling ICP a rock band is an insult to every other rock band in existence. They are a rap-group and a rather rubbish one at that. Yeah I am with Howard how about Yoko?

I'm down with the Clown

If you want to hear a bad rock band, wander down to the corner bar tonight and listen to the cover band. All of these bands at least wrote their own music, got signed, put out albums and toured, which puts them heads and shoulders above 90% of their peers.

And I agree with Kevin, it's so subjective it's not funny. I don't really like Sting, and I think he was the least talented member of the Police, but that doesn't make him a bad musician.

Anybody remember David Cassidy and other such stalwarts as the Bay City Rollers?

Any self-respecting worst band list would have disco bands occupying half the list.

I am in no way defending ICP, in fact I agree that rap is not rock. I would go further and say, rock is not rap, jazz is not classical, classical is not country, and what ever happened to western. If you like ICP, BUY IT!!!

Lists like this transcend a critique of the subject music and go right to the writers own likes and dislikes, and who cares what someone else likes. I don't wear my headphones on THEIR ears. People who buy music based on lists also buy cars based on commercials, not on test drives.

This whole issue just goes to prove, once again, that those who do, do, those who can't do, become critics.

Gotta go now, headed out to a polka festival you betcha!

I can't believe ELP was rated worse than Asia. I happen to love ELP, kinda like the Buggles, and liked Yes a whole lot. But that particular blend of some of their band members has to rate worse than ELP on anyone's scale.

Ok. Got that off my chest.

Recently I dug out my old turntable, repaired it and played a good chunk of my old vinyl collection. I discovered that Gino Vanelli just irritates the living shit out of me, that my kids absolutely adore bands like Romeo Void and Split Enz (although the oldest is about twelve years younger than I was when I bought those albums), and that my wife is generally annoyed by vinyl because you have to actually get up and flip them over.