Bands that were awful and then got awesome?
 

Someone had to start this one.

Someone might disagree, but I'm saying Labradford.

The first LPs were not so good (although not "awful" by any means) but since "E Luxo So" the things started to move up rapidly.

My Bloody Valentine

agree with that

That's who was in my head. BUt I dont know if they were awful. I'd say they were mediocre.

Can't think of any.

for some reason i feel inclined to say black dice. they started out as second rate teenage noisecore thugs, and become a wonderful experimental trio dabbing in everything from idm, post punk, synthesizers, hip hop, ambient, etc..

also, magik markers. those who still hate them will disagree obviously, but once again, a second rate noisecore band who seemed they were making noise for noise sakes. but then 'boss' came out, and they were able to maintain thier noise and hardcore backbone, while incorprating great guitar melodies, 70s psych rock influences, nice rhythms, hooks, and in my opinion thier secret weapon, elisa's lyrics (very poetic, wierd, etc..) and her voice which i think is unique as they come. anyways, from what was a totally run of the mill, guaranteed a spot on the no fun lineup, generic noisecore band, s now a psychedelic/hardcore/noise rock band with lots of potential me thinks. im sure plenty of you will disagree.

yeah, I'd agree on Black Dice. I remember a friend of mine had a lot of their early shiz, and was all about it and I couldnt get into it. By the time I saw them in 2002 they were getting far more interesting...

i wonder who supported sonic youth last time on the DDN gig in berlin. 2 guys one medium build, playing a synth and one thurstonesqe thinny guy playing stomboxes and I think kaoss pad. it wasnt that good...it wasnt wolf eyes I know for sure :) btw the concert chronology doesnt mention them at all

was it perhaps robedoor? theyre a duo and play wierd instruments and make tribalistic psych noise, and i know theyve been suporting sonic youth here and there. if it was, you should definitley give them another shot, theyre really good.

radiohead?

a lot of people dont like pablo honey or the bends.

Have thought about this some more......

...still can't think of any.

There are plenty of groups who started out okay and got a lot better, but I can't think of any that were AWFUL and it ended up being great...

Pavement. OH I WENT THERE

Ween were AWFUL then got awesome then got boring.

i did not see them play, but i seem to remember it was Birds of Delay.

The Bends is one of their best albums!

...

birds of delay supported sonic youth?!?!?!?!?!?!?! BOD are dilletantes and poseurs if ever any existed!

The difference between dinosaur jr's first album and YLAOM is a stunning accomplishment.

Radiohead

Naw, Ween were pretty cool from God/Ween/Satan through the Mollusk but have been spotty since then.

Like everyone else, I can't think of anyone who was truly "awful" and got "awesome".

I can think of mediocre to awesome like the aforementioned MBV, Radiohead, and Black Dice, and also Husker Du (prior to getting mediocre again though), Yo La Tengo and honestly, the Beatles.

I can think of awful to pretty good - Ministry.

I can think of mediocre to pretty good - Flaming Lips (I know lots of people think they're more than pretty good, I just don't myself).

But all the way from horrible to godhead? Naw.

Talk Talk.

And Brand New.
Brand New's early shit fucking SUCKS. Their latest album (The Devil and God...) is brilliant. Nuff said.

The Stooges. The only album that's tolerable is "The Weirdness"

Pulp

Quick, get to a safe location!

This is the only one i can think of

I can't think of any. I think all the music I listen to started out as at least average.

Who doesn't like the Bends? You shouldn't associate with those ppl.

Let me guess.

OK COMPUTER IS TEH BEST ALBUM EVAH

"Awful" to me has to be something with absolutely no redeeming value whatsoever. I can't think of anyone who started at that point and reached "awesome" status.

Even Pablo Honey has about three good songs on it. The rest of it isn't even that awful, just really passable generic 90's alterna-rock. It's not something that offends my ears on the level of Wolf Eyes or Fleet Foxes or anything like that.

Everyone likes the Bends.
Except Cristgau.
But no one likes that cranky old bat.


Also Yo La Tengo started out as boring, but not awful.

I don't like the Bends. I can appreciate it, but I find it pretty damn boring, as most of Radiohead's output is.

Kid A is great though... Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief are both pretty cool too.

I can understand someone not liking The Bends. I personally think it's good, but yeah, they're still very much in "britpop" mode on that one, which can be off-putting to some. Pretty dated sounding album too.

It's not bad. I don't really think a lot of music is bad.. just bland.

I like THE BENDS a lot. But of course that was the first Radiohead album I bought. It had just come out and I needed one more CD for the record club 12-for-a-penny deal.

i agree with radiohead:

pablo honey-a britpop snoozefest
the bends-an improving band, some great riffs and melodies
ok computer-excellent, one of the best guitar records ever
kid a-brilliance, pure brilliance. could have been a disaster, but ended up being the best music produced by a group of millionaires in the last 15 years.
amnesiac-continuing with the brilliance of kid a, a perfect companion
hail to the thief0some very interesting tracks, good mix between guitar radiohead and weird radiohead
in rainbows-shit, boring

i saw radiohead on wednesday, they were good, but not the band they were 4 years ago

meh, I hate all Radiohead.

nice nickname...vulva...

Pablo Honey and The Bends are boring.

I even find OK Computer boring. The only Radiohead I like is Kid A and Amnesiac.

Agreed, Derek.

Hail has some really brilliant stuff on it too. But it also has 3 or 4 songs that are terrible.

In Rainbows is easily their worst album though. I'd rather listen to Pablo Honey probably.. at least it's fun to listen to in spots.