This subject has been in my head in one manner or another for a while, but recently had the chance to come out in discussions in the Eagles LP Survivor thread. Since there was somebody who had indicated an interest in discussing it elsewhere, I bring this topic of conversation to everyone's attention here and now.

'Over-played' songs--Easy. Songs that are played to death on satellite and terrestrial radio, almost in an 'every-hour-on-the-hour' manner.

'Over-rated' songs--Songs that every music 'critic' beats to a blooded pulp, placing emphasis well beyond the original value of the song. Critics that radio people take heed of when considering their playlists, which is why most of radio today sounds very cut & dried and copy-pasted. The concept of over-ratedness underpins the concept of over-playedness. That much is true.

Here's some examples I have in mind when I consider these particular terms.

Beatles: "Eleanor Rigby" and "Hey Jude"
Dire Straits: It doesn't get much more over-rated than "Money for Nothing."
Eagles: "Hotel California" and "Take it Easy"
Led Zeppelin: "Stairway to Heaven" and "Whole Lotta Love"(I switch them off every time, and they're not terrible songs in their own right)
Lynyrd Skynyrd: "Sweet Home Alabama" is one of the most over-rated, over-played songs of all time. I love “Free Bird,” so that really doesn't count IMO.
Queen: "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Will Rock You/We are the Champions"
REM: "It's the End of the World as We Know it" and "Losing My Religion"
Who: "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again"

For the record, I am very partial to the Eagles' and REM's brand of 'over-rated' music, as opposed to all the others. 'Over-rated and 'over-played' does not necessarily mean the music itself is bad so much as it indicates that people and stations have a way of driving certain songs into the ground.

Band wise, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones, while great bands, are about as over-rated and over-played as they come. AC/DC fits that bill, too, but I'm nowhere near as fond of them as I am of the other two.

There are probably many other songs that fit the definition of 'over-rated' and 'over-played' that I'm not thinking of right now. I'd be curious what songs/bands others on here would use those terms to describe.