The Goo Goo Dolls!??!!!!

Bad Brains · #1 05-03-2006, 08:55 PM

I was at work looking at some magazine cover, I think Billboard or Rolling Stone. They had that band "the Goo Goo Dolls" on the cover.

It got me thinking, what an embarassing band to be a part of. No matter how much money I had, I don't think I could take myself seriously if I was in a band called "the Goo Goo Dolls". What a bunch of a freaks. Aren't they embarassed of themselves? Couldn't they of come up with a less sissy band name?

The funny thing is they take themselves and their music seriously (I assume). What a strange world. They must be making some good cash though, so I guess the jokes really on me?

**cheezewiz** · #2 05-03-2006, 09:28 PM

I'd say the joke is probably on you.

timidbassist · #3 05-03-2006, 09:37 PM

Amen cheezewiz!!!

What does it matter what their name is bro? Isn't it about the music?? If it truely is the name wouldn't be anything more than how you identify them.....and by the way listen to their music. This is actually one band that almost ANYBODY will like because they are a good blend of acoustic/rock/melodic.....everything...they are just good!!

Again I totally agree with the joke being on you bud!

Peace,
Davey

calebplaysbass · #4 05-03-2006, 09:41 PM

are you judging any of this on their music? i mean, yeah it's a dumb band name but that doesn't mean the music is terrible. Dumb band names doesn't mean bad music. I haven't heard the new stuff so i can't judge but some of their older music was rather enjoyable. I'd say give the music a listen and then make your decision on the band

Bad Brains · #5 05-03-2006, 10:05 PM

I left my opinion of the music out of it because people would just say "well it's just your opinion, people like what they like".

But if you must know, I think the band is rather boring/cliche/mass produced/cookie cutter/radio friendly/uncreative/contract album sounding-ish. The bands name just makes it worse.

But I will agree, I know some really good bands that have dumb names. I know the bands name has nothing to do with it.

Blake Bass · #6 05-03-2006, 10:14 PM

Bad Brains?? Give him a break he has a bad brain!!

Thunder Lizard · #7 05-03-2006, 10:16 PM

Uhh....... I'd way rather be in the Goo Goo Dolls than the butthole surfers, just as an example, lol.

Fawkes007 · #8 05-03-2006, 10:42 PM

They are cool guys and as much as I hate to say it, I haven't listened to them in over ten years because their current stuff doesn't do it for me. My band did a gig with them in Boston in 1991 and they rocked!

Besides, you wish you sold as many records as they have!

Against Will · #9 05-03-2006, 10:52 PM

I'm going to be an ***hole and preach some gospel.

The Goo-Goo Dolls are not good. They are terrible. They are just terrible. Whether it's their Replacement-lite early period or their later adult-contemporary Miracle Whip rock. Terrible terrible terrible.

I would much rather be in the Butthole Surfers or Crispy Ambulance or The Dead Milkmen or the Drive-by Truckers or some other similarly terrible-named group that actually makes music worth listening to! I can't see how any band who got it's hit off a crappy Nick Cage movie, and whose greatest possible achievement is to enjoy a brief resurgence in popularity once the 90's become ironically cool again, could possiby be considered good in the remotest fashion.

I'm with Bad Brains on this one. Bad bands should at least have clever/silly bands names to distract us from how lousy their songs are or at least ones that are generic enough to let us know to avoid them. Not something so moronic that it makes me want to stab a pencil into my eye everytime I see it.

Plus, Johnny Rzenik (or whatever his name is) is a tool.

srxplayer · #10 05-03-2006, 10:58 PM

Dumb name or not. They sold lots of records. Toured the world, and I think they are pretty good too.

The Goo Goo Dolls really isn't that bad. I remember bands with far worse names.

The Pet Shop Boys... Now thats a stupid name.

Anything Les Claypoole comes up with for a band is usually a stupid name, stupid but funny. It wouldn't matter because I like them anyway.

These bands had stupid names too:

Cream
the Strawberry Alarm Clock
The Beatles. I consider myself a huge Beatles fan but I think the number one pop/rock band of all time could have done better than the Beatles. They were originally called the Silver Beatles. How stupid is that?
Slayer
Quiet Riot
I could go on forever on 80's metal / hair bands I think all their names were stupid. And they looked like tranvestites(spelling?) but people bought their music, bought tickets to their sold out shows, and wore their t-shirts. $$$$ in their pockets and they were in a band with a stupid name.
Godsmack
As I Lay Dieing

Maybe we are the stupid ones.

Except for the Pet Shop Boys...Stupid name period. What were they thninking?

JazzBassMayn · #11 05-03-2006, 10:58 PM

Well apparently some people like them because they've been around for 18 years or so. I can't say I have any of their cd's, but I enjoy their music when I hear it. I don't see any point in being so negative. Why not just ignore them and listen to someone else?

superbassman2000 · #12 05-03-2006, 11:01 PM

c'mon guys, give a little bit!

personally not a fan, but i hear about bands with stupid names all the time (see mine for instance) so i really don't care about the names if they've got good music to back it up...unfourtunatly i can't say that i believe that their music can back it up...i did like that one song they did, Iris, but my liking for them stopped after hearing it on the radio a million times...I just think they've managed to cram 15 minutes of fame into 10 years...

Derakh · #13 05-03-2006, 11:09 PM

What is good and what is bad is just a matter of opinion. No set rule exists, even playing out of tune (Nirvana, Korn, Limp Bizkit) has been popular and enjoyable (to certain people) at some time or another. In the end you not liking a band because of their name or their music doesn't mean the band is bad, it just means you have different tastes and an overwhelming need to have your opinion heard...

Thunder Lizard · #14 05-03-2006, 11:16 PM

I would like to add a footnote that I wasn't rating or judging either the Goo Goo Dolls or the Butthole Surfers, just saying that I preferred one name over the other.
I'm guilty of existing for nearly twenty years in a band with one of the stupidest, and most memorable names ever.

agreatheight · #15 05-03-2006, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Against Will

I'm going to be an ***hole and preach some gospel.

The Goo-Goo Dolls are not good. They are terrible. They are just terrible. Whether it's their Replacement-lite early period or their later adult-contemporary Miracle Whip rock. Terrible terrible terrible.

Plus, Johnny Rzenik (or whatever his name is) is a tool.

I'm sure Johnny is crying himself to sleep tonight knowing you're not a fan. Because being a successful professional musician with fame, money and about 2 million girl fans just isn't enough for him - he needs your approval, lol.

I don't care for them myself. But terrible? Terrible should be a word reserved for bands who are truely that. Jeez, Rzenik can sing in tune, and the band can all play in time with a reasonable sense of melody. I saw a band last week (name withheld) whose singer was way off pitch all night, whose guitarist played his instrument out of tune and far too loud, whose bassist pounded an open E note for a bassline in practically every song and whose drummer, well, let's just say that he couldn't keep time with a Rolex shoved up his butt. It was a horrific experience. Now, they were terrible. But the Goo Goo Dolls? They are not terrible. You just don't like them - fair enough.

Against Will · #16 05-03-2006, 11:31 PM

Why is selling a lot of records a justification for having to respect a band????

Everyone here can think of at least 20 awful terrible, or even mediocre bands that have sold a crapload of records. Going through the forums you can find a bunch of threads of people complaining about all the lousy music on the radio. But guess what? The stuff on the radio is what's selling! So obviously moving product is in no way a sign of quality, in many cases its been the opposite. So why do you have to respect a band that's performed a task of which no respectable attribute is required?

I'm not dumb enough to think I can become rich by making music without whoring myself out and making music I hate. I suppose the Goo Goo Dolls are fortunate in that they get to do something they (supposedly) love for a living. But considering the kind of music they make, I don't envy them.

VifferMike · #17 05-03-2006, 11:44 PM

... all I have to say is this: find your niche, then know your niche, then freak on your niche. Goo Goo Dolls found it, milked it and rolled with it, just like so many artists from so many other genres have. That's the name of the game in the music business, and it always has been, even back in the big band days and before.

Find it, know it, then freak on it.

(by the way, Goo Goo Dolls' original name was the Sex Maggots, which wasn't exactly marketable, ya know. And it had more than one hit in the 1990s; I can think of at least four. In fact, its very first single, "We Are the Normal," was co-written by Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg himself.)

No, I'm not a fan. I have a niche and know my niche, but I like to watch others freak on it.

Against Will · #18 05-03-2006, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agreatheight

I'm sure Johnny is crying himself to sleep tonight knowing you're not a fan. Because being a successful professional musician with fame, money and about 2 million girl fans just isn't enough for him - he needs your approval, lol.

I don't care for them myself. But terrible? Terrible should be a word reserved for bands who are truely that. Jeez, Rzenik can sing in tune, and the band can all play in time with a reasonable sense of melody. I saw a band last week (name withheld) whose singer was way off pitch all night, whose guitarist played his instrument out of tune and far too loud, whose bassist pounded an open E note for a bassline in practically every song and whose drummer, well, let's just say that he couldn't keep time with a Rolex shoved up his butt. It was a horrific experience. Now, they were terrible. But the Goo Goo Dolls? They are not terrible. You just don't like them - fair enough.

In terms of lameness plus the ratio of mediocrity:sales of records. They qualify as terrible. Certainly there are worse bands out there, I do not doubt that. The Goo Goo Dolls, all things being equal, are mediocre. But it's one thing to see a mediocre band in a bar; its another thing to have that same mediocre band shoved in your face over and over again; to have them lauded by otherwise intelligent and decent people--having to say "no, I do not like the Goo goo Dolls" and "I have heard them, and I know what I'm missing", etc. It's as if the whole world has gone insane.

This is not something unique to the Goo Goo Dolls, they are symptom of a much larger pandemic in the music world.

I did feel sincerely sorry for Mr. Rzeznik, though. I wrote him a letter that I hope will help to console him. Perhaps I should send an e-card too, perhaps something with a bear that says "I'm beary sorry" or something. Do you have something good in mind?

agreatheight · #19 05-04-2006, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Against Will

In terms of lameness plus the ratio of mediocrity:sales of records. They qualify as terrible. Certainly there are worse bands out there, I do not doubt that. The Goo Goo Dolls, all things being equal, are mediocre. But it's one thing to see a mediocre band in a bar; its another thing to have that same mediocre band shoved in your face over and over again; to have them lauded by otherwise intelligent and decent people--having to say "no, I do not like the Goo goo Dolls" and "I have heard them, and I know what I'm missing", etc. It's as if the whole world has gone insane.

This is not something unique to the Goo Goo Dolls, they are symptom of a much larger pandemic in the music world.

I did feel sincerely sorry for Mr. Rzeznik, though. I wrote him a letter that I hope will help to console him. Perhaps I should send an e-card too, perhaps something with a bear that says "I'm beary sorry" or something. Do you have something good in mind?

First things first - if you don't like the Goo Goo Dolls, change the station, turn off the radio or put in a CD. I don't like Nickelback but they don't give me night terrors. I just turn them off. And if you don't like hearing about them from your friends, turn them on to something you think is better. Or get friends with better taste!

Look, my opinion is that the GGDs write mostly obvious, cloying, souless tunes that are generally very average sounding. And yes, people love that ****. So, Goo Goo Dolls; mediocre? Sure, I'll bite. But if you call them terrible what adjectives are you left with to describe the bands who really are, in fact, terrible?

Oh, and use the bear motif and write, "Dear Mr. Reznik, My condolenses on your multiplatnum record sales. It must be an unbearable burden to be a pop songwriter and have such terrible success in pleasing your fans. How awful it must be, I can only imagine. I hope you find significantly less luck in the future. Sincerly, Against Will."

Against Will · #20 05-04-2006, 12:57 AM

[quote=agreatheight]First things first - if you don't like the Goo Goo Dolls, change the station, turn off the radio or put in a CD. I don't like Nickelback but they don't give me night terrors. I just turn them off. And if you don't like hearing about them from your friends, turn them on to something you think is better. Or get friends with better taste![quote]

Well, as I stated, this isn't just about the Goo Goo Dolls, it extends over a much larger problem. Most grating is the use of album sales to justify worth in a band (which is rampant in this forum and that I can't understand at all). But also is the irritation with the laziness of people who not only support this sort of chintzy "Dockers rock", but the callous record companies that allow this crap on the radio.

I don't listen to the radio anymore. I haven't for at least 8 years. I currently exist in a thin, but durable bubble of music that does not greatly offend my sanity. But that just makes going back into the real world that much more painful.

Quote:

Look, my opinion is that the GGDs write mostly obvious, cloying, souless tunes that are generally very average sounding. And yes, people love that ****. So, Goo Goo Dolls; mediocre? Sure, I'll bite. But if you call them terrible what adjectives are you left with to describe the bands who really are, in fact, terrible?

You get creative;despicable, loathsome, noxious, horrendous, repulsive. Or you can come up with your own; I think I've already mentioned 'eye-stabbingly bad', there's also '****-searingly *****-wrenchingly abominable' or, one of my favorites "If their music could take a life of its own; it would take the form of a dozen ill-kempt leprechauns of questionable morals, who would leap off the stage, pin you to the floor while the band took turns ********ing ****** in you *********."

There are others that are just not appropriate to a family site. But you get the idea: have fun!

Quote:

Oh, and use the bear motif and write, "Dear Mr. Reznik, My condolenses on your multiplatnum record sales. It must be an unbearable burden to be a pop songwriter and have such terrible success in pleasing your fans. How awful it must be, I can only imagine. I hope you find significantly less luck in the future. Sincerly, Against Will."

"With help from agreatheight"