1. Billy Corgan- such a precipitous collapse and sell out has never occurred in the history of rock and roll. While totally dispelling rumors that he was the sole mastermind behind the Smashing Pumpkins, Corgan totally sold out for money by produced the lumbering and disgraceful “modern rock classic” (ha!) that is Zeitgeist. Siamese Dream is one of my favorite albums while Zeitgeist may well be my most hated one. I don’t know whether it is because it is awful (it honestly has the feel of a Nickelback album) or whether it is because it’s such a colossal disappointment; but the album was really a dagger in the heart of SP fans. To go from one of the leading innovators in rock to producing an album like Zeitgeist is almost unthinkable. It’s not just a misstep, it’s a career and legacy killer. At the time of their break up I refused to listen to Iha’s and Wretzky’s comments that Corgan is an asshole. Today, I have his picture on my wall with several knives stuck to it.

2. Liz Phair- Liz Phair’s fall from grace is legendary to any lover of serious music. Exile and Guyville, Whip Smart, and whitechocolatespaceegg are great listens to anyone with decent taste in music. However, her self titled debacle marked a swift and revolting decent into mainstream (I use that word in its most negative sense), fake/angry/white chick territory. Not only was it a swift kick into thousands of fans asses, but the fact that she was so open about selling out was almost too much to take. Another thing that makes this album hurt so badly is that, sometimes, under those sterile vocals and lyrics, you catch a glimpse of the old Liz. Luckily, Phair doesn’t toy with you long; she is quick to deliver a sappy, contrived morsel to help you realize that the old Liz is dead. Many would have Phair’s sell out as number one, but I had to reserve that spot for a man that went from a veritable god to a spineless charlatan.

3. Weezer- Man, Rivers Cuomo grosses me out. I don’t care if the reason for his sell out was caused by his OCDish yearning to be accepted (a theme made apparent in both pre and post sell out songs). The only defense I have for Weezer is that at least they warned us about Make Believe ahead of time. It wasn’t blatant, but if you assessed the pattern of each of their releases it should have warned you about what Make Believe was destined to become. Blue Album was incredible; Pinkerton was surprisingly good; Green Album had its moments; Maladroit really made you assess why you are a Weezer fan; anybody notice the downward spiral? As for Make Believe I will avoid obscenities and just say that it was in Zeitgeist territory. While it was kind of sad watching Weezer get progressively worse with each release, I now want to thank the band for giving us advanced warning about their latest record, and I only wish I was smart enough to listen.

4. Dave Grohl- Yes, Dave Grohl. This one might be a bit of a surprise for a lot of you. The first three are quite obvious, but I am going to make my case for the inclusion of Dave in sell out lists from this day on. Fact one: Dave Grohl was totally the man in Nirvana. Fact two: The Foo Fighters first release was quite good. Fact three: each album got progressively worse and more homogenous until Echoes mercifully broke the trend, proving to be a bit better than In Your Honor. Fact four: Dave is now extremely overrated and our hope for Dave to be Kurt’s successor is all but gone. Kurt Cobain certainly rolled over in his grave with the single that marked a crescendo in Dave Grohl’s sell out- “Best of You.” Although he has done it insidiously, the progression towards mediocrity (and into mainstream rock superhero) is undeniable. It took me years, but I now have the courage to say it. Dave Grohl, you are a sell out and your band is overrated!

5) Metallica- I made you guys sweat it out a little. I’m sure a couple of you were almost ready to write an incredulous comment asking where the !@#$ Metallica was. If there was a Princeton case study for the art of selling out, it would have to be conducted on Metallica. I have to admit, I’m not a typical Metallica fan, and I think that Black Album is their best work by far; so I guess take my words with a grain of salt. I’m even not a big fan of some of the classics, like “Master of Puppets” (I have suffered several hate messages over on the Metallica list for this). Yet I do join the ranks in asserting that anything this band has done and will do after Black Album is worthless. Apart from a couple decent singles from Load I have pretty much given up on hearing anything of interest from this band.