Just because someone isn't a talented guitarist doesn't mean they can't make catchy songs. Just look at Nirvana, and like you said The White Stripes. I wouldn't call Jack or Kurt an insanely talented guitarist, but even if they write simple stuff they manage to make it catchy. Heck, anyone who's been in a guitar shop knows that there's a 50% chance if someone picks up a guitar they're gonna play a Nirvana song, just because they're simple and rememberable. In some ways, that means the sucky guitar players who gain publicity are MORE talented as artists than they are guitar players.

I don't think I'm going to join in on this. Any band with a million-dollar record deal is overrated. No one deserves to be a dictator of a radio station... The fact of the matter is you'd be hard pressed to find a band on the radio that isn't signed under Warner, Universal, Sony BMG, or EMI. I guess I'm saying any band that has depended on A&R departments to get recognition of millions of braindead people who can't find music unless it's on the radio or MTV is overrated.