Overrated vs. Underrated
You ever get really sick of seeing one person at the forefront of everything? For whatever reason, this person has managed to convince the rest of the world that they are truly above everyone else in their particular field and deserve the accolades that are dished out to oh so few of their peers, much less the rest of us living on this planet? Of course you do. It's human nature, I think, to be somewhat peeved at people who get far more credit than they deserve.
Naturally, there's clearly an opposite to this, those people who go under the radar or just never seem to get the accolades they truly deserve. It's not that they aren't successful; it's just that they consistently get shunted to the side to make way for people who are more "celebrated" for whatever reason.
This happens in all fields, but instead of mentioning every instance of this, I'm going to focus on four categories: acting, music, sports and politics. I'll give one example of each followed by the reasoning for my selection. Agree or disagree at your own leisure.
Acting:
Overrated:Colin Farrell. The true impetus behind this rant. I honestly don't get how he remains one of the most popular actors out there. At first, I bought into the theory that he was good when Daredevil came out and he seemed to shine as the only bright spot in the film. Then i saw Phone Booth. Never have i rooted for an actor (not the character he played, but the actual actor) to be killed during a movie more than I did with this flick. A ridiculous concept to begin with, his pathetic attempt to pull off a compelling somewhat sympathetic character just fell flat. And yet, he's still getting big roles in movies made by decent directors (Oliver Stone, Terrence Malick). Maybe he has incriminating pictures of someone or maybe he's threatedened studio heads with violence. In any event, he needs to be stopped before he kills again.
Underrated: Jason Lee. It's now ten years since he first debuted in Mallrats and it still shocks me that he hasn't found a decent starring vehicle yet. I'm not discounting My Name is Earl, but I always thought Lee was destined for film greatness. And his resume of great second banannas (all his Kevin Smith roles, his role in Almost Famous, Syndrome in the Incredibles) show he's more than capable of stealing the limelight from the supposed star. All you need to do is watch Chasing Amy and see how he utterly dominates his scenes with Ben Affleck. Affleck's a leading man now; Lee should be one too.
Music
Overrated: Radiohead. Now that I've committed musical blasphemy, let me start by saying I like Radiohead. During college, the Bends was one of my favorite albums and the song "Fake Plastic Trees" usually ends up being played whenever I'm in a shitty mood. That being said, something strange happenned once OK Computer came out: people started treating them deferentially and stopped actually listening to what they were putting out. I'm guilty as anyone in this regard, as I recall pimping Kid A as a masterpiece even though I couldn't listen to it all the way through without having a pounding headache. Even when their "return to rock" album, Hail to the Thief, came out, I played along. But no more. They haven't put out a truly good album since OK Computer and haven't put out a great album since the Bends. Had to be said.
Underrated: Guster. Is there any legitimate explanation as to why a band this talented hasn't at least had one top 40 hit? Their songs are catchy, have pop sensibilities and avoid most of the trappings that similarly situated bands get caught up in. The song "Amsterdam" off their last album especially sounds like a hit song to be sure. So what happened? It seems they came together about five to ten years too late. Had they released either of their last two albums during the Hootie/DMB/Blues Traveller era, I have no doubt they'd be much bigger today than they are.
Sports
Overrated: Stephon Marbury. Like this is a shock. Sure, he's gotten his fill of potshots from people over time, but he's still deemed a "good player" and a potential All-Star. And yet, the facts are indisputable: He left Minnesota in 1999, the next season the team wins 50 games and goes on to do so three more times after that. He left New Jersey after the 2001 season, the next season they make it to the NBA finals. He left Phoenix in 2004, the next season, they make the Western Conference finals. Maybe it's coincidence, maybe it's just his supposed value allows his former teams to acquire better players, maybe it's just karma. But in any event, it's quite clear that a team with Starbury gets infinitely better once he leaves.
Underrated:Tiki Barber. It amazes me how little regard he's given when the conversation turns to great running backs. Here's a guy who's run for a 1000 yards five times in his six seasons as the primary running back for the Giants (and he would've ran for a thousand in the other season had he played the full 16 games). Added to that is the fact that he also has caught for over 500 yards receiving six times and had 2000+ total yards the last two seasons. And yet, outside New York, he seems like an afterthought. Maybe the national sports media has a bias against New York players or whatnot, but you'd think he's deserving of almost the same amount of press as Thomlinson and Alexander, right?
Politics
Overrated: George Pataki. I'm still perplexed as to how he's been governor for over ten years now. Is the NY democratic party that inept that Pataki can win three elections? And now he's being talked about as a potential presidential candidate. Why? because he happenned to be in charge of the state on 9/11? At least Giuliani had some modicum of a vision for changing the city and actually did what he set out to do. Pataki always hung back and never made any moves beyond towing the moderate republican line and avoiding controversy. About as interesting as dry white toast.
Underrated: Charles Schumer. Hillary Clinton gets all the publicity, but it's Schumer who actually looks out for New Yorkers and Americans in general. He coauthored the assualt weapons ban, he went after the failure of the Bush administration to make good on its terrorism funding for New York and has done so without getting many accolades. I heard him speak in 2000 and found him very engaging.
Naturally, there's clearly an opposite to this, those people who go under the radar or just never seem to get the accolades they truly deserve. It's not that they aren't successful; it's just that they consistently get shunted to the side to make way for people who are more "celebrated" for whatever reason.
This happens in all fields, but instead of mentioning every instance of this, I'm going to focus on four categories: acting, music, sports and politics. I'll give one example of each followed by the reasoning for my selection. Agree or disagree at your own leisure.
Acting:
Overrated:Colin Farrell. The true impetus behind this rant. I honestly don't get how he remains one of the most popular actors out there. At first, I bought into the theory that he was good when Daredevil came out and he seemed to shine as the only bright spot in the film. Then i saw Phone Booth. Never have i rooted for an actor (not the character he played, but the actual actor) to be killed during a movie more than I did with this flick. A ridiculous concept to begin with, his pathetic attempt to pull off a compelling somewhat sympathetic character just fell flat. And yet, he's still getting big roles in movies made by decent directors (Oliver Stone, Terrence Malick). Maybe he has incriminating pictures of someone or maybe he's threatedened studio heads with violence. In any event, he needs to be stopped before he kills again.
Underrated: Jason Lee. It's now ten years since he first debuted in Mallrats and it still shocks me that he hasn't found a decent starring vehicle yet. I'm not discounting My Name is Earl, but I always thought Lee was destined for film greatness. And his resume of great second banannas (all his Kevin Smith roles, his role in Almost Famous, Syndrome in the Incredibles) show he's more than capable of stealing the limelight from the supposed star. All you need to do is watch Chasing Amy and see how he utterly dominates his scenes with Ben Affleck. Affleck's a leading man now; Lee should be one too.
Music
Overrated: Radiohead. Now that I've committed musical blasphemy, let me start by saying I like Radiohead. During college, the Bends was one of my favorite albums and the song "Fake Plastic Trees" usually ends up being played whenever I'm in a shitty mood. That being said, something strange happenned once OK Computer came out: people started treating them deferentially and stopped actually listening to what they were putting out. I'm guilty as anyone in this regard, as I recall pimping Kid A as a masterpiece even though I couldn't listen to it all the way through without having a pounding headache. Even when their "return to rock" album, Hail to the Thief, came out, I played along. But no more. They haven't put out a truly good album since OK Computer and haven't put out a great album since the Bends. Had to be said.
Underrated: Guster. Is there any legitimate explanation as to why a band this talented hasn't at least had one top 40 hit? Their songs are catchy, have pop sensibilities and avoid most of the trappings that similarly situated bands get caught up in. The song "Amsterdam" off their last album especially sounds like a hit song to be sure. So what happened? It seems they came together about five to ten years too late. Had they released either of their last two albums during the Hootie/DMB/Blues Traveller era, I have no doubt they'd be much bigger today than they are.
Sports
Overrated: Stephon Marbury. Like this is a shock. Sure, he's gotten his fill of potshots from people over time, but he's still deemed a "good player" and a potential All-Star. And yet, the facts are indisputable: He left Minnesota in 1999, the next season the team wins 50 games and goes on to do so three more times after that. He left New Jersey after the 2001 season, the next season they make it to the NBA finals. He left Phoenix in 2004, the next season, they make the Western Conference finals. Maybe it's coincidence, maybe it's just his supposed value allows his former teams to acquire better players, maybe it's just karma. But in any event, it's quite clear that a team with Starbury gets infinitely better once he leaves.
Underrated:Tiki Barber. It amazes me how little regard he's given when the conversation turns to great running backs. Here's a guy who's run for a 1000 yards five times in his six seasons as the primary running back for the Giants (and he would've ran for a thousand in the other season had he played the full 16 games). Added to that is the fact that he also has caught for over 500 yards receiving six times and had 2000+ total yards the last two seasons. And yet, outside New York, he seems like an afterthought. Maybe the national sports media has a bias against New York players or whatnot, but you'd think he's deserving of almost the same amount of press as Thomlinson and Alexander, right?
Politics
Overrated: George Pataki. I'm still perplexed as to how he's been governor for over ten years now. Is the NY democratic party that inept that Pataki can win three elections? And now he's being talked about as a potential presidential candidate. Why? because he happenned to be in charge of the state on 9/11? At least Giuliani had some modicum of a vision for changing the city and actually did what he set out to do. Pataki always hung back and never made any moves beyond towing the moderate republican line and avoiding controversy. About as interesting as dry white toast.
Underrated: Charles Schumer. Hillary Clinton gets all the publicity, but it's Schumer who actually looks out for New Yorkers and Americans in general. He coauthored the assualt weapons ban, he went after the failure of the Bush administration to make good on its terrorism funding for New York and has done so without getting many accolades. I heard him speak in 2000 and found him very engaging.
posted by Mike at 10:51 AM
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