How to respond nicely to someone who says Pet Sounds is the most over-rated album in the world?

I might say something along the lines of ;

“You really think so ?”

or

“From whence do these ratings you speak of originate ?”

.. while not neglecting to mention to this person that internet and social media distort perceptions of real-time reality, in as much as people's opinions are subject to change frequently whereas a forum post or magazine article is virtually indelible.

 

I love it when people trash the music I like. Gives me a genuine laugh, and I thank them for their honesty.

 

It would be hard for me to stay cool in such a situation

 

I used to be that guy with Pet Sounds. Now I just stay away from the conversation because, as mentioned, not much good can come from being sneery or disagreeable about it. Nevertheless, overrated is a word I could see myself using in a sentence along with the record ... afterall, a helluva lot of people rate it very highly. The best thing to do, I guess, is to take popular approval/disapproval with a bit of a pinch of salt, use it as a springboard for discussion, but ultimately make up your own mind what you enjoy or don't enjoy. For every 100 people who adore a classic album, probably 20 are going to hate it, regardless.

 

Well, if some people have had the “Pet Sounds is the greatest album ever made”-thing stuffed down their throat for years, then it will give a backlash at some point.

Capitol Records did exactly that in 1990 when the album was released on CD. They marketed the album like you were a fool if you didn’t owned the album. Suddenly everyone, critics and music fans, thought it was the biggest album ever.

Before 1990, the album was a cult favourite. Not at all in every Top 10 lists as being among the worlds greatest albums.

 

Albums like Sgt. Peppers and Pet Sounds are lionised because they chartered new sonic territory. They deserve their reputation because of this, as do albums like MBV’s Loveless.

However, I can completely understand why a pop/rock fan would find Pet Sounds unappealing and even irritating…..but who cares?

It’s like someone saying they think Citizen Kane or Catcher in the Rye is overrated. Some works are just bulletproof.

 

I don't think I've ever used "overrated" to describe Pet Sounds, but I dislike it. For me it's a cluttered bloated mess of an album and generally bores me. I do however accept that it is loved by many and can understand why.

However what I do dislike more are threads that try to belittle people who have different opinions and dare to comments on such a "holy grail".

 

I’m not really a Beach Boys fan but personally that album is flawless, one of the best Mono albums I’ve ever heard.

 

I'd say, "I totally agree! To be fair, it's only marginally more overrated than Sgt Pepper and the White Album, but you're spot on, Sir (or Madam)!"

 

Pet Sounds is my favourite album. To say it's overrated is just one opinion among many. There's always the emoji if one feels particularly aggrieved.

 

Pet Sounds is simply awful

 

Tell them no, it’s actually Sgt. Pepper’s.

 

There's not much positivity in your posts. What music do you like?

 

Maybe Stockhausen?


P.S. Don’t get me wrong: I like avant-garde music from artists like Ligeti or Stockhausen

 

Not sure what is going on here. Why is it a struggle to respond nicely? Though I agree any use of the word "overrated" is annoying. My response is that personally I agree with the rating. What rating? Well, since you ask...

Tim

 

**** *** you ****** ****??

 

I've heard it described as overrated lots of times... and I mean lots.

 

So many people clearly hate it, maybe we need to consider the possibility that it's an underrated record?

 

Hear them out and listen to see if they have a logical basis for their distaste.

Listening should always be a learning process for all.

 

Any album that is routinely described as The Greatest Album Ever Made is going to get called overrated a lot - be it, Pet Sounds, Sgt. Pepper, What's Going On, whatever - I'd say it goes with the territory. There are going to be a lot more people who don't think a particular album is the greatest album of all time than those who do, ergo ...

 

Remind the individual (and perhaps yourself) that music appreciation by its very nature is a highly subjective thing. One person's "overrated" is another person's "underrated" and vice versa.

 

In order to think it's brilliant, there has to be something you really like--or as you say, respect--about it. One doesn't respect a quality that one doesn't care for. You don't say, "I dislike quality x. This album has quality x. But I respect that. It's brilliant."

When we like or dislike something, or respect versus do not respect it, it's not just a simple, single toggle switch and that's it. What's really going on, whether it's something we're conscious of or not, is that we're evaluating and weighting various aspects of it. So there can easily be something that we don't like overall, but where we do like or respect various aspects of it. We just don't like enough aspects that we put enough weight on to like it overall.

So someone knocking Pet Sounds that much probably doesn't like many aspects of it and/or doesn't weight they aspects they like very heavily, especially relative to its reputation/general standing.

 

As someone whose tastes often veer away from the norm, I'm very used to people trashing stuff I love and I'm very used to not really caring for stuff that others love/not really getting why others put it on a pedestal relative to other stuff.

What I get more of an amused kick out of is people who (at least seem to) think that their preferences aren't just preferences but facts, so that you can get this stuff right or wrong, or so that it somehow reflects on your intelligence, perceptual abilities, etc. Sometimes it goes hand in hand with a general attitude that one should conform to norms (just because they're norms, I suppose), which certainly gets a laugh out of me.

 

Same here and Sgt Pepper. There was a time in the 70s when Pepper was top of any greatest album of all time poll and Pet Sounds I am pretty sure was often near the top. However general consensus on stuff changes over time. I am not sure about Pet Sounds but certainly amongst my music mates Revolver gets the nod for best fab four album.