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

I love all those bands. I don’t like Pet Sounds. I also don’t like All Things Must Pass, another beloved album with tons of fans.

 

I would have never guessed that now-"unassailable" statuses would have been rooted in marketing, but this is the second example of this sort of thing we've had around here in a couple days--apparently Columbia did the same sort of thing, also in the early 90s, with Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. They had ads, hype stickers, etc. proclaiming that it was "the most important jazz album" or something to that effect.

I already roll my eyes at the extent to which people seem to fall in line with lists from rateyourmusic, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, etc., but it just boggles my mind that advertising would have such an impact.

 

I was getting ready type this same stuff

I'm very happy if someone says something I like and revere is "overrated". That's their opinion (and way of expressing it).
I'm very happy if someone says something "I don't get" is "overrated".

I prefer to say either "I don't get it" or "personally, I feel it's overrated"

But if you really cannot comprehend why everyone else seems to think a thing is the absolute whatever... and you really cannot see the point of the fuss and wish they'd try to stop telling you how good it is ... then "I think it's overrated" is actually quite a valid way of expressing it.

 

I like it quite a bit but I'd say it's overrated. It's not my favorite Beach Boys album, and might not even be one of my top five Beach Boys albums (I've never actually tried to do a Beach Boys ranking, so I'm not sure where it would end up). It certainly wouldn't be on a list of my top 500 albums, unless I were doing a list where I were trying to incorporate "importance" due to general reputation/influence as a factor--but normally I don't factor that into how much I like anything.

 

Now there's a phrase I've never uttered. lol

I suppose I might utter it if for some reason we were choosing from a list of albums that were only released in mono.

Otherwise for my tastes, mono in general can take a flying leap.

 

Agreed. As if your opinion trumps my opinion or vice versa.

 

Why do you care? Lot of music I like, that many don't care for. Personal taste about entertainment is kind of trivial in my opinion.

 

Golly! If I refused to get into a conversation with anyone who used a word that I didn't approve of, I wouldn't be on speaking terms with anyone, including my wife and children and dogs. They would not be missing out on much.

 

This is exactly it, no-one says "Wild Honey" is overrated because people don't go around saying it's the greatest album ever made.

 

My thoughts too.
Could never figure out what folks liked about mono.

 

Not only that, but often enough there's an attitude as if there's something wrong with you because you have a different opinion, and that often increases if there's a cliquey social setting where people are focused on fitting in with, being cool in the eyes of the clique.

 

Its never done much for me. I go back to it about once a year just to check if I hear the majesty that others hear, but I dont, I think "Good Vibrations" is a masterpiece however and the whole of Pet Sounds much less than that one song. There is a lot more interesting music in the world.

 

The production of Pet Sounds is complex and multilayered. I could probably enjoy listening to it in mono if it wasn't otherwise available but why put on aural blinders unnecessarily? Pet Sounds needs stereo for proper appreciation.

 

Some folks think mono has a more organic sound.

 

At the time Pet Sounds was one of the most ambitious, intricate, thought out, sophisticated...yes..sophisticated pop albums ever released. It may not be one's cup of tea but to not realize the musicianship, the songwriting, the construction and execution of such..is just well....unrealized. It took me quite some time to enjoy it, other than a few tunes...and this happened because it went over my head as a pre-10 y.o., and not till I was in my 20s did I start to realize what it was.

Even now, it's not even my favorite BB album, but I DO realize what was put into it and it's outcome musically...and NO, it was not over rated, as a matter of fact, to those uninformed and unrealized it the 'rating' hasn't been instilled enough. So really....amongst the unknowing....it's vastly underated.

 

While I think its ok I also think it's whiny, morose and self centered in an era that was not about that. If I never hear it again that would be just great!

 

We live in a time when people feel the need to convince everyone else that their subjective opinion of a movie or song is in fact the correct opinion. And everything is extreme black or white (“worst movie ever!”). And everyone gets a soapbox to preach their opinions. Blame it on the Internet.

That goes for people who are insistent about how overrated Pet Sounds is, and people who are insistent on proving how great Pet Sounds is.

If someone told me they thought Pet Sounds was the “most overrated” album and sounded like “awful children’s music,” I might ask if they liked any other music by the Beach Boys. If yes, I’d ask what makes Pet Sounds worse than other Beach Boys music they do like. If no, I’d ask if they think there’s something wrong with how the album was done, or it’s not their taste. I might ask if they like any albums that critics have called overrated.

None of these questions are to challenge or convince the person to like Pet Sounds. But if it’s someone I am friends with and do share or discuss music with, I’d be interested in understanding their tastes and where they are coming from in liking or disliking something. It’s also to see if the person is someone I can seriously talk music with in the future, because they can explain their tastes, or if they are just someone who likes to hear themselves complain “it sucks!”

 

Whiny, morose and self-centred... from a Lennon fan! Not that I disagree strenuously but there's irony nonetheless.

 

I never understand why 70% of the people who claim that PS is the best album ever don't bother to listen to other Beach Boys' albums except for Smile, which was never even an album.

In fact i understand.

 

It does have a different sound to other Beach Boys albums.

 

oh yes! I could pick apart plenty about John ...and while I'm a fan, I rarely listen to him anymore either. I'm really into Fontaines DC, Idles, Dry Cleaning and others. I'm not stuck 55 years ago.

 

https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/all-time/exc:live,archival/

 

P.S. at 21 on that list.

 

How do yo figure respect requires liking something? I can respect that an album is well-recorded by excellent musicians without actually connecting with that music. That is true of plenty of music, if I think about it.

 

Kindly respond this way: Yeah,you’re full of S**t!-lol!
(Works for a lot of things)