Creed: Awesome or Sucks?

I personally am utterly fascinated by Creed for boring political reasons: that they sold umpteen albums out of the trunks of cars in a Eazy E stylee, that their popularity actually rose up organically (I worked with teenagers who had the albums before "Higher" had charted or even been noticed by radio; Creed was uniquely their band). Musically...well, what can one say? Let's hear it, then!

i don't believe i haf evah heard a note by creed

But that sounds cool, Jess! And Scott Stapp would never do something that cool.

It's tough to separate Creed from their recent output, though, with their messianic posing and uplifting message. Gimme some of that Old Testament whips & chains action (cf. "My Own Prison"). By the way, the acoustic version of "My Own Prison" that made the rounds here in New England a couple years back trumps every attempt by Alice in Chains to get in touch with their soft dark underbelly. AND, comparing "Higher" w/ "My Sacrifice", one might get the sense that they're mailing it in - some barely inperceptible capitulation to the Pop gods. Maybe that's because both songs feature the same sort of rising action.

One thing that isn't disputable - their cover art is wretched. I am amazed they're selling CDs featuring pics of the 3 Creedsters' visages set in the bark of a tree.

Yeah, if you like HORRIBLE.

I can get behind that.

Neither Livingstone nor other missionaries had much impact on the slave trading which went on between the interior and the East coast. They failed to convert any significant numbers of Muslims to Christianity. Livingstone's well-intentioned call for colonisation as an antidote to the horrors of slavery, paved the way for a host of missionaries and speculators to follow in his footsteps and cause immense hardship for the people of southern Africa."

- from The Story of Africa

Your typical creed fans....

Seriously I think Dealing With Creed is the imperative task facing those of us who think/write about pop music. Although it's hard to confront Creed directly, because yes, they do suck.

I say Creed=real pop, though a poster above is right in noting that that doesn't mean anybody "has" to like it: but certainly when the consumers of Bootylicious are generally agreed that Creed is better, then "our" own understanding of these musics may reasonably be thought to be one somehow apart from the pop understanding

This is ultimately a question about perceived audiences and our relation thereto, which means it's mark s's baby

That's my take on the psychology of it. I could be completely wrong, could be projecting, but I would think that's the dynamic at work here. I can't recall a single note of the band's music so I can't say how godawful they truly are. I may have seen them on some awards show or something. Frankly, I have zero interest in them and their press/image/marketing is completely unattractive to me. But the fact that they're pretty much the lone grunge holdout right now is rather... interesting.

what do you mean ppl who LIVE pop? i tht that was like rod stewart and christine aguilera?

i'm a bit loth to believe that creed have solved this problem by arriving fully armed on the ordinary xtian side, unless their pop gift is genuinely stupendous (but i've never heard a note so maybe it is)

Scott Stapp is no Jim Steinman, alas.

Become rockist aged 14

Start defending prog aged 16

there are endless threads debating the meaning of rockism in the archives: i am sorry i am v.old, so it peppers my sentences unbidden, like the pox scars of a syphilis contracted in my youth in a pirate barque in the south china seas ho-hum

awesome

Creed performed at Cowboy Stadium in 2001, and to this day it is the funniest thing I have ever seen. You cannot medically prepare yourself for what happens 9 seconds into this clip pic.twitter.com/G30vCvnZ1t

— CPAC Chopra (@steak_ham) November 18, 2018

that is some gob bluth shit

I share this with friends every thanksgiving, I watched the full performance in 2001 and it remains the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.

thank you bg for giving me something to be thankful for this year

Cool, I'd been looking for the musical equivalent of drdoomcrying.jpg.

stapp's fist-pump gesture after the angel's departure just kills me every time

the moment in its full glory (all praise to Him, of course) is here, at 1:12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prLQhRYh_Ls

not to actually the tweet, but

that's not even the best part of that performance pic.twitter.com/1thBAYil5R

— Zach Scott (@weinventyou) November 19, 2018

while it was unfolding live i couldn't believe what i was seeing. cheerleaders, a tot with a salvation army kettle, a gospel choir, a bunch of Ed Kowalczyks flying through the air on sashes, Scott Stapp #11 and his ill-prepared lip-syncing.

I doubt there's a pop culture time capsule that better explains the immediate post-9/11 era and atmosphere of the U.S.

Idgi... it’s just a dude doing aerial silks?

I doubt there's a pop culture time capsule that better explains the immediate post-9/11 era and atmosphere of the U.S.

yeah, my partner and i were just talking about that. it is incredibly over-the-top nov 2001

idg how this is any different from every other stupid superbowl halftime show

it's that, but up for six days on meth

xp Owl City is def way worse than Creed wtf

At least Creed is lulz

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/828/665/533.jpg
https://pre00.deviantart.net/19ae/th/pre/f/2010/139/2/a/can_you_take_me_higher_by_dark_amy_rose.png

idg how this is any different from every other stupid superbowl halftime show

look I share your antipathy toward halftime shows (except the Prince one) but shirtless flying dude taking wing past Scott Stap singing "Higher" in a Dallas Cowboys jersey and fistpumping ascends his bald angel ascends to the upper air of the stadium, if you can't see how that's special then you need to get higher

*as his bald angel ascends

stapp looks a lot like kenny loggins. i sort of always knew that but didn't really.

it's that, but up for six days on meth

― Saddo Wannabe (rip van wanko), Monday, November 19, 2018 11:34 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

not to nitpick but he looks a lot more like he's on downers to me. his lukewarm performance and the fact that he looks like a blurry character in a mcnaughton painting is what makes the aerial stunting so embarrassing imo.

when he puts his arms out to his sides and sashays around he looks like a figure skater.

the "christian" and the "rock" and the b+ theater are a perfect storm of camp

i can't believe i'm dissecting a creed super bowl video

i'm right here with you for this

well, um... huh.
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/tv-film/9501073/scott-stapp-frank-sinatra-ronald-reagan-biopic/

Everything about this sounds awesome. A Reagan biopic starring Real Hollywood Conservatives Dennis Quaid and Jon Voight, with Scott Stapp as Frank Sinatra, directed by the guy who made the Bratz movie, two Casper sequels, and 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain starring Hulk Hogan. (The latter having the distinction, per Wikipedia, of being "the worst of the four" in the 3 Ninjas franchise.)

narroweyeFryFuturama.gif

https://www.villagevoice.com/2023/02/14/creed-the-musical-not-an-unserious-production-by-unserious-people/

should be more plays/movies where Scott Stapp goes to jail imo

let's go there

has anyone here played creed on a jukebox as a joke?

this thread should only be updated with clips and gifs of that halftime show performance

https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6191dfb6-e20f-42c2-9544-1f0edabe6a27_352x262.gif

thank you omar

@medranothelion
1 year ago

Love or hate Creed, you can't deny that after the attack, this performance was what we needed to start healing. Creed were heroes on this days.

there's something abt Stapp's performance which really reminds me of some extremely bad acting you might see on a basic cable tv show, from an actor who knows he's very good looking and just every single look and expression is an overemphatic and false, just an absolute masterclass in unctuousness.

I interviewed Stapp and Tremonti (and their producer, John Kurzweg) some years ago, when their debut album turned 20. They were all nice guys, and interesting to talk to.

xp Lorenzo Lamas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwDNSCsD8w8

I saw Creed live once. it wasn't necessarily "on purpose", because they were opening for Metallica (very odd lineup of Sevendust, Kid Rock, Creed, then...Tallica). he did some bullshit spiritual philosophy crap between each song.

but, at the time, they only had two albums, and...I still kinda like My Own Prison, so...it wasn't the worst thing I ever heard.

well...except for the lyrics. and Stapp

back in I think 1999, when Yahoo was still doing live chats with bands where you could log in and submit your questions and listen to the audio of them answering, I asked Scott what he thought of his comparisons to Eddie Vedder, and he said "Oh I kick his ass completely, he doesn't even do the same voice on any of his albums", and giggling about how awesome he was vocally.

someone snuck in the question "what Creed song would be on the compilation 'crap songs of our time'" and then Stapp got mad that the moderator let that one through

then he answered "none because Creed is not crap you see"

On July 19, 2023, the band announced that they had reunited and would be headlining the Summer of '99 cruise in April 2024. On October 30, 2023 the band announced The Summer of '99 Tour, with more than 40 shows across the US for the first time in 12 years with special guests 3 Doors Down as direct support on a majority of the tour, with Finger Eleven, Daughtry, Switchfoot, Tonic and Big Wreck joining the band on select dates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed_(band)

With any luck, the ship will hit an iceberg.

3 Doors Down will donate $5 to the military every time they boff a chord change

haha who the fuck is finger eleven

Nabbed $28 presale tickets to the Southern California stop. ("Summer of $19.99" deal) I'm pretty stoked.

I don't know a lot about Finger Eleven, but I do know that the band's original name was

Rainbow Butt Monkeys

and that Paralyzer (2007) was a huge hit in Canada and can still be heard on Canadian radio quite frequently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJk6gZuPKRE

two months pass...

OK so I'm not great at keeping up with my bookmarks.

With any luck, the ship will hit an iceberg.

― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, January 30, 2024 5:22 PM (two months ago)

Haha, I knew someone who shelled out for the cruise. He shared vids & pics on FB all weekend.

So...many...wallet chains.

https://i.imgur.com/xwl392s.gif

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHKGlumSuAA

oh they posted a version that wasn't ripped from the stream in potato quality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fdKfaq1YN8

lol that photo

i encountered "my sacrifice" in public for the first time in who knows how long the other day