There's a musician or band that everybody seems to hold in high esteem. You, however, can't stand him, her or it. Who is that musician or band? Why?
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Bob Dylan
The voice is problematic for me, but that’s not the only problem – I have tried, many times, to get into Dylan, through many different albums, and the more I listen the more he annoys me. I still can’t pin down whether it’s Dylan himself that bugs me (a nine minute song about Rubin Carter? Really?), or if it’s a lot of people telling me how amazing Dylan is if I’d just give him a(nother) chance that annoys me, but at this point it’s safe to say that I am decidedly not a fan.
new episodes ceased in 2009, but last summer online listeners (stupid XM and their separate fee structure!) got a TTRH channel. They still rerun an episode on the radio service a few times a week, I guess.
behind a keyboard the whole time. The first was at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, a great show, opened by Sheryl Crow, with Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen showing up at the end. Definitely bad Bob, good Bob.
What’s so special about mediocre guitar playing, tone-deaf vocals, and lyrics that are mainly nonsense that happens to rhyme? I’ve always felt that Dylan is very much an emperor’s new clothes sort of thing.
Red Hot Chili Peppers and most of the Goo Goo Dolls.
Might have been the influence of one of my college roommates who hated the RHCP with a violent passion. But Anthony Kiedis and Johnny Rzeznik both have voices that just make my spine crawl and skin tingle (not in a good way).
Wherein I admit to having seen and enjoyed RHCP in concert
Saw them open for the Stones in the Rose Bowl (good), in San Diego on the One Hot Minute tour (excellent), and at Key Arena from a luxury suite (meh). They had a different edge while Navarro was with them. Yes, Kiedis is a terrible songwriter and they’ve been putting out repetitive copies of their songs for years now. Which is a long way of leading me to a strong recommendation of his autobiography Scar Tissue. It’s really good. Or at least, I really liked it. Incredible how many times the guy relapsed on heroin and survived.
I saw them a couple time on the One Hot Minute tour.
I thought both shows were terrible and I’ve never listened to them since.
The only worse arena show I saw was Jane’s Addiction in the late 90’s and I think the only difference in band members was the singer. Perry Farrell was painful and it sounded like the band didn’t bother to practice.
Whoa, never heard of 'em before, so just looked them up.
First YouTube video I found was Woke Up New, and I swear, if I’d just randomly heard it, I’d’ve thought it was James Blunt.
And, whaaaat?
the first time I made coffee for just myself,
I made too much of it.
but I drank it all,
just ‘cause you hate it when I let things go to waste.
and I wandered through the house, like a little boy lost at the mall.
and an astronaut could’ve seen the hunger in my eyes from space.
I think that actually might be a band appropriate for this thread
For some reason I just can’t get too excited or interested in GBV. Saw them in concert at the Matador 21 thing in Vegas and was kind of bored. I know many people love them, but I just can’t do it. Maybe there’s something wrong with me.
Since nobody asked here's 15 off the top of my head
(I can’t link to YouTube from work but they’re easy enough to find)
A Salty Salute
Motor Away
Teenage FBI
Glad Girls
My Kind Of Soldier
Game Of Pricks
The Best Of Jill Hives
Chasing Heather Crazy
My Valuable Hunting Knife
Watch Me Jumpstart
Back To The Lake
Surgical Focus
Twilight Campfighter
Echos Myron
I Am A Scientist
I could probably come up with 10 more if I had my library in front of me, but if you do want to try to get in to GBV, those are a great place to start.
I don’t dislike any of them necessarily (although I maintain that “Slowly walking down the hall/Faster than a cannonball” is the single dumbest lyric I have ever heard) but I find the amount of critical praise and cultural esteem they enjoy to be baffling. None of them are particularly original (some of Radiohead’s work aside, but even that I don’t find particularly interesting) and in their respective sub-genres I don’t see that they’ve distanced themselves from their peers enough to merit the attention they receive.
And to echo pdb, I probably wouldn’t even mind them if it weren’t for the dozens of times I’ve been told I “just wasn’t giving them enough of a chance” or somesuch nonsense. I mean, people’s tastes change and it’s entirely possible that at some point one or all of these bands will end up in my wheelhouse (happened with the Beatles!) but currently I just don’t find any of the three to be all that special.
It fits well within the broader context of sociological studies on the effects of popularity and such and has currently led me to believe that people are terrible judges of innate quality and ergo, that music popularity is basically one giant scam
I always suspected that quality of music (or movies or books or TV shows for that matter) had nothing to do with popularity. Now it is confirmed by science!
I think it’s like BABIP. There’s some actual talent differences, but it’s dwarfed by random noise. And just like with pitchers, hordes shower undeserved praise on those that lucked into one tail of that random distribution.
So much of success has little to do with achievement.
They have some terrible songs and Thom Yorke is insufferable most of time, with his moaning and his pulled-out-of-ass lyrics. On the other hand, they do have some great songs and Greenwood is a really good musician. They are probably the best band in the past 15 years IMO, but hugely overrated.
I rarely see Blur or Oasis mentioned in a positive light.
Radiohead has become more weird to me as time went on.
I remember OK Computer coming out and being a big thing. That was fine. It was a good album. Then Kid A came out and it was also good, but rather different, and seemed to be going the route of mainstreaming something that as an idea had been out there for a while. Then it seemed like they spent the next eight years re-recording loose bits from the OK Computer sessions, which was hit or miss. Meanwhile, it seemed like the reaction from most listeners was that they needed to switch pants between tracks.
I like them all right, but I think they’re kind of the Beatles of the generation, which I mean both for its positive and negative connotations.
I've found I can never listen to a Radiohead album all the way through
from The Bends to In Rainbows, there are like 3-4 songs on each album that a I really like, and then I never listen to any of the others. The atmosphere is also too oppressive on each album. There are never any light songs, or lo fi ones, or quiet songs that stay quiet till the end. Nearly all of them have that epic feel.
Several years ago they posthumously gave Robert Johnson a lifetime achievement award. The White Stripes won Best Alternative Album that year for Get Behind Me Satan. They had previously recorded an awesome cover of “Stop Breaking Down.”
The tribute song was Paul McCartney and two other guys, maybe one of them was Justin Timberlake, singing “Yesterday” by The Beatles.
I liked the first album ok. His new album is just flat out boring and yet people love it. Also anything he’s done with autotuning has been just terrible (song with James Blake and another song with Kanye West (which in and of itself is just a terrible idea)).
It’s just boring to me. I get that its very well arranged, and lush, and has some pristine beauty to it. But why not go listen to Sufjan Stevens or M83 for that, two acts that are much more daring and interesting, but still epic and grandiose. Bon Iver legitimately bores me.
It’s just bad bluegrass and so damn boring to listen to. I like the guy’s voice and would love to hear it in something else, but aside from that I enjoy nothing about them.
I guess just boring and repetitive. Maybe if I hadn’t heard other music first I would think he was a genius or something? I just think he sounds like every other band in the genre, and see nothing in his music that is at all appealing.
I had started to hear about him for the last couple of months.
Usually someone making fun of him. Then I listened to it. And it was awful… Just horrible. My only suggestion is to never listen to anything he makes ever.
I saw him at Camp Bisco after hearing he was a horrible DJ and I have to agree. Worst dubstep artist I’ve seen live. Dude doesn’t get transitions or actually mixing his songs. You could pay me $5 to do the exact same thing Skrillex does. Bassnectar is the pinnacle of live performance dubstep that I’ve seen. Mashes up his songs, leads into new songs seamlessly, remixes his songs, that’s what I want to see out of live performance dubstep.
Not to get too off topic here, but I couldn’t decide whether I loved it or hated it the one time I tripped. I think a large part of that has to do with the fact that a large group of people came into my room in the middle of it and started playing Madden on the TV when I just wanted to sit by myself for a while. I ended up kind of half-watching a Mariners game on my computer, I think.
It was simultaneously the best and worst experience of my life
And the majority of the time, I was listening to Avicii (who I didn’t especially care for previously), so now I just have a special little spot in my heart for house music.
I don't understand how he's idolized by so many people.
He looks essentially like that certain kind of nerdy or goth kid in high school who got shunned who just happens to make the robot music that the kids enjoy. Things are weird sometimes.
I’ll go with The Arcade Fire again. Their sound is pretty derivative of what had already been kicking around that scene for years, they just nailed it to a <6 minute format. I’m not into the lyrics either but a lot of bands seem to be capitalizing on the overly saccharine/mystical view of childhood and waaah now that we’re adults we’re not as special as we were told we were going to be. So yeah, that bugs me. They’re a perfect storm of things that would bug me.
These are both good examples currently (but not historically for me)
I really liked Arcade Fire’s first two albums, then i think they got insanely boring. And the lyrics on Suburbs are just terrible. They do sound rather derivative of a lot of other music.
Decemberists – they were clever and unique for a couple albums – then they started getting really terrible. I went to a concert after they had begun their decline (in my mind) and it was a lot of teenager screaming about the Infanta… awful.
It cannot be overstated how much I loathed the Decemberists prior to The King Is Dead
It legitimately surprised me that I like this album so much. Still hate their other stuff like I hate almost nothing else, but TKID is a really solid album. Colin Meloy still uses a five-dollar word where a fifty-cent word would suffice, but all the preciousness is stripped away from the music and it’s just basic song structures and whatnot.
My god, though... their live performance... holy jesus
I’ve seen em 4+ times spanning over the last 5 years, and their stage presence never fails to amaze me. I couldn’t ask for more out of an indie rock band. Unfortunately their most recent performances have failed to pack the same energy they had when they were a scrappier bunch, but still more impressive than 99% of other shows you see out there.
The only stage presence I've ever seen them have is just standing there being boring.
I think I may have an unfairly high bar for stage presence though. Early versions of bands like The Fall of Troy and Tera Melos may have spoiled me a bit in that regard.
It was more in reply to lailaihei's comment that she's "objectively" a good vocalist.
Ask any classically trained vocalist or vocal coach – her singing is terrible on her throat. She sounds okay, sort of like smokey jazz meets pop belting. But aaauuuuuuuuuuuuugh.
I have a few friends who love Radiohead, and I have listened a good amount but It just doesn’t work for me. A mix of vocals, music style and how the songs just seem to drone on does me in.
I'm going to throw out an artist that I like that a lot of people dislike immensely
Joanna Newsom. Her music reminds me of music that would be in O Brother Where Art Thou which is why I think I like it (plus, harp!). But 70% of people I play her for can’t get past her voice. It is a bit, er, raw, but it’s so pleasant. I go out of my way to take showers at night so I can listen to her while I shower because it’s so calming.
because his act hits me as sentimental fffff, like the Wagner of rock, too close to Meatloaf who I trust knows he’s a joke (though I’ve liked an individual Springsteen song here and there divorced from his stage act).
Also Tom Waits, who has always struck me as a minstrel act (though i generally like him in films).
And then Nick Cave always seems to let me down. I want to buy into the schtick but when i actually buy a CD it never works.
I didn’t expect it to happen, as I figured I’d still think his songs dragged a bit, but then I popped in some of the old albums and they sounded just fine to me. Maybe I was in a phase where I didn’t have that level of patience/attention span when I tried to pick him up initially.
Disagree on Tom Waits. A lot of my friends have never understood why I disliked Nick Cave, because they were all gothy, and I should like it. Just could never get on with it.
Waits, however, I love.
where because it’s modern, we haven’t been able to weed out the chaff yet. In 25 years, people are going to look back and reminisce about the great period of music revival this was
I think "indie" has always been a dangerous term to use to describe music
While I understand that you are pointing to a specific style of rock (sort of how “pop” is used to describe a music style that isn’t strictly “popular”), the term “indie” can literally be applied to any independent artist, and is often overused, in my opinion. Trust me it’s not difficult to find two independent artists that sound completely different. For that matter, try comparing animal collective to, say, St. Vincent or Destroyer. Not a whole lot of easy comparisons to be drawn between them.
They’ve had a few songs I like but to me New Slang was so boring and brought nothing new to the table yet I heard it everywhere. Garden State probably didn’t help it’s image in my eyes. I like Caring is Creepy though at least. And I love Broken Bells.
To elaborate, it’s a band where they have one song I can’t stand so much, Last Kiss, that I can’t listen to anything else they’ve ever done without thinking about that song and hating them.
I forgot about this one. This one is MAJOR for me. I hate Pearl Jam almost as much as Bob Dylan. They have always made me want to punch myself in the face.
Straight flat-top 90s hip hop album, if you haven’t heard it. The only album of theirs that actually has any relevance, in my opinion. Helped set a much higher bar for the production and beat-making side of hip-hop.
Love The Velvet Underground, but Berlin is such a laughably terrible album. Since it’s his most critically acclaimed album (along with Transformer which has “Perfect Day”, “Walk on the Wild Side” and then a lot of ehhh), I don’t have much incentive to look deeper.
even though the velvet underground is one of my favorite bands. Berlin has one good song on it (the title track) and Perfect Day and Satelite of Love are good off Transformer. I haven’t listened to his other albums.
I never understood why women will buy music that is all “I love you” when its clearly in no way about them. Guess that’s why I never understood Usher either.
The others have their moments – especially Billy Joel.
But yeah, Jimmy Buffer is pretty awful. The parody of him in the movie Club Dread was the only part of that film i liked – Pina Coladaburg was a genius creation. If only the movie could have lived up to that.
From the first time I heard “Last Night,” I never understood why people were into such lethargic rock. (That said, the side project Little Joy by one of the band members was awesome.)
I like listening to 1980s pop/synth/New Wave music and for a group heralded as one of the best in the genre, I’ve found surprisingly little of anything good from them. Greatly prefer Duran Duran or Tears for Fears or something.
Posters reaching to show how alternative to the alternative they are….any forum that allows someone to seriously be taken seriously about how bad GBV or Radiohead or anyone….really? GBV is reduced to singles? Do you have any idea what Pollard or Yorke has done? I don’t even know where to start, puppies.
Understand that taste in music, as is taste in all things, is highly subjective, and there is no right answer. The point of this thread is to start a discussion, not to crap on people who do not happen to have the same tastes in music as you do. If you like Guided By Voices, that’s great – I do too, I have seen them about 10 times in my life and I own a whole bunch of their records (yes, records. Vinyl. Hopefully that passes your test).
But I also recognize that an album containing six true pop gems surrounded with several 47 second fragments of half-baked song ideas isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so I attempted to steer some folks towards some songs they might like. Why is this a bad thing?
I know they’re supposed to be the Godfathers of Goth of whatever, but I can’t get into them. I tried to make myself when I was young, because I was young, and I felt like I should. But then I discovered Nine Inch Nails and Front 242 and told goth music to go bone itself. I saw Peter Murphy live once, and it was good, but once is enough.
Bob Dylan
The voice is problematic for me, but that’s not the only problem – I have tried, many times, to get into Dylan, through many different albums, and the more I listen the more he annoys me. I still can’t pin down whether it’s Dylan himself that bugs me (a nine minute song about Rubin Carter? Really?), or if it’s a lot of people telling me how amazing Dylan is if I’d just give him a(nother) chance that annoys me, but at this point it’s safe to say that I am decidedly not a fan.
pdb - February 10, 2012
I'm not a fan of his myself, but his theme show on XM is usually very good.
Faux - February 10, 2012
Are there still new episodes of that show being aired?
I really liked it but I didn’t think it was still around.
pdb - February 10, 2012
I honestly don't know. I know they made a "channel" of it, so I'd imagine that there are probably new ones.
Faux - February 10, 2012
According to the wikis
new episodes ceased in 2009, but last summer online listeners (stupid XM and their separate fee structure!) got a TTRH channel. They still rerun an episode on the radio service a few times a week, I guess.
pdb - February 10, 2012
I have all of the episodes as mp3s, if you're interested.
katal - February 10, 2012
I might well be!
Do you have a Dropbox account?
pdb - February 10, 2012
I do. I'll try to upload them over the weekend?
katal - February 10, 2012
Set up a shared folder for us and send me a link.
Thanks!
pdb - February 10, 2012
Dylan songs are usually best sung by other people.
I saw him in concert once, and it was horrible. He stood stone still, mumbling into a microphone for an hour or so. Bleh
VB1138 - February 10, 2012
Saw him twice, the second time was horrible,
behind a keyboard the whole time. The first was at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, a great show, opened by Sheryl Crow, with Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen showing up at the end. Definitely bad Bob, good Bob.
xmet - February 12, 2012
Exactly what I came to say.
What’s so special about mediocre guitar playing, tone-deaf vocals, and lyrics that are mainly nonsense that happens to rhyme? I’ve always felt that Dylan is very much an emperor’s new clothes sort of thing.
WhyGodWhy - February 10, 2012
I second Bob Dylan. He gets on my last nerve.
Also: Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix and (gasp!) The Rolling Stones.
Sure, I can get behind a good heaping handful of Stones songs. But for the most part? As much as I’ve tried? Nope.
royalcurve - February 10, 2012
Agreed on the Stones.
Man they have some bad songs.
Mariner John - February 10, 2012
I'm not a huge Dylan fan either
I don’t even really like his lyrical style all that much. But IMO he does have some really good song with sad melodies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkiurrxTW_8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1rc_y2cLPg
vivaelpujols - February 10, 2012
That could be a long,
long list.
xmet - February 12, 2012
Red Hot Chili Peppers and most of the Goo Goo Dolls.
Might have been the influence of one of my college roommates who hated the RHCP with a violent passion. But Anthony Kiedis and Johnny Rzeznik both have voices that just make my spine crawl and skin tingle (not in a good way).
Matt Erickson - February 10, 2012
RHCP are awful
It’s telling to me that the best song they ever did was a cover (Higher Ground).
pdb - February 10, 2012
RHCP have 2 songs that they've successfully been remaking for as long as they've been a band. The corny ballad and the faux-rap/funk/rock song.
Not to mention utter nonsense for lyrics.
sanford_and_son - February 10, 2012
Some co-workers and I used to fake RHCP lyrics by just shouting "California!" with various intonations.
JY - February 10, 2012
I honestly can't think of a worse modern songwriter than Anthony Kiedis
Aaron’s Wonderwall opening line-cite aside, Kiedis is seriously an embarrassingly bad songwriter.
pdb - February 10, 2012
Wherein I admit to having seen and enjoyed RHCP in concert
Saw them open for the Stones in the Rose Bowl (good), in San Diego on the One Hot Minute tour (excellent), and at Key Arena from a luxury suite (meh). They had a different edge while Navarro was with them. Yes, Kiedis is a terrible songwriter and they’ve been putting out repetitive copies of their songs for years now. Which is a long way of leading me to a strong recommendation of his autobiography Scar Tissue. It’s really good. Or at least, I really liked it. Incredible how many times the guy relapsed on heroin and survived.
lemonverbena - February 10, 2012
I saw them a couple time on the One Hot Minute tour.
I thought both shows were terrible and I’ve never listened to them since.
The only worse arena show I saw was Jane’s Addiction in the late 90’s and I think the only difference in band members was the singer. Perry Farrell was painful and it sounded like the band didn’t bother to practice.
Jed MC - February 10, 2012
It may have helped that I was in my 20's and intoxicated on various substances
I saw Jane’s twice in the Nothing’s Shocking days and they were fantastic.
lemonverbena - February 10, 2012
OH GOD THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS BURRRRNNNNN
royalcurve - February 10, 2012
The Mountain Goats
For whatever reason it just doesn’t work for me.
jose luis - February 10, 2012
I have a similar reaction and think that it might be the voice.
Not entirely certain though.
JY - February 10, 2012
Whoa, never heard of 'em before, so just looked them up.
First YouTube video I found was Woke Up New, and I swear, if I’d just randomly heard it, I’d’ve thought it was James Blunt.
And, whaaaat?
Matt Erickson - February 10, 2012
It's probably the voice,
but it’s its uniqueness that becomes compelling. Let it simmer for a while and you may find yourself coming back to them.
It also helps if you’re a Plan-It-X Records fan where this style is fairly prominent.
erdim - February 10, 2012
The voice is part of it
but I love Built to Spill and plenty of people are turned off by Doug Marsh. I even dig Joanna Newsom- voice is not a deal breaker.
Yeah it’s hard to say. I think maybe the lyrics don’t work for me also.
jose luis - February 10, 2012
True, his voice is kind of jarring. Once you can get past it though,
the man is a prolific lyricist. shit, he’s written probably 300+ songs.
iHateDaveSims - February 10, 2012
A conservative count puts it somewhere over 500 Mountain Goats songs.
Eyebrows - February 10, 2012 via mobile
Robert Pollard wrote 350 songs before breakfast today
pdb - February 10, 2012
I think that actually might be a band appropriate for this thread
For some reason I just can’t get too excited or interested in GBV. Saw them in concert at the Matador 21 thing in Vegas and was kind of bored. I know many people love them, but I just can’t do it. Maybe there’s something wrong with me.
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
I maintain that GBV has about 25 songs that are the best pop songs to come out of the last 30 years of music
The problem is the other 6,500 songs around them.
pdb - February 10, 2012
That could be my issue.
I never seem to find the songs that connect with me. Or full albums. I like albums.
I respect their place in things. Just can’t get behind them.
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
Since nobody asked here's 15 off the top of my head
(I can’t link to YouTube from work but they’re easy enough to find)
A Salty Salute
Motor Away
Teenage FBI
Glad Girls
My Kind Of Soldier
Game Of Pricks
The Best Of Jill Hives
Chasing Heather Crazy
My Valuable Hunting Knife
Watch Me Jumpstart
Back To The Lake
Surgical Focus
Twilight Campfighter
Echos Myron
I Am A Scientist
I could probably come up with 10 more if I had my library in front of me, but if you do want to try to get in to GBV, those are a great place to start.
pdb - February 10, 2012
Cool - maybe i'll make a playlist on the old Spotify
Perhaps i can be converted… perhaps.
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
Playlist made. Listening will commence later.
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
Thank you
for this valuable service.
jose luis - February 10, 2012
Oasis, Radiohead and Blur.
I don’t dislike any of them necessarily (although I maintain that “Slowly walking down the hall/Faster than a cannonball” is the single dumbest lyric I have ever heard) but I find the amount of critical praise and cultural esteem they enjoy to be baffling. None of them are particularly original (some of Radiohead’s work aside, but even that I don’t find particularly interesting) and in their respective sub-genres I don’t see that they’ve distanced themselves from their peers enough to merit the attention they receive.
And to echo pdb, I probably wouldn’t even mind them if it weren’t for the dozens of times I’ve been told I “just wasn’t giving them enough of a chance” or somesuch nonsense. I mean, people’s tastes change and it’s entirely possible that at some point one or all of these bands will end up in my wheelhouse (happened with the Beatles!) but currently I just don’t find any of the three to be all that special.
Aaron Campeau - February 10, 2012
I never understood the Oasis thing at all
If I want to listen to second-rate Beatles, I’ll go see Rain. If they’re still a thing, that is.
pdb - February 10, 2012
This seems like as good as point as any to bring up the Music Lab study
one writeup: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4700958.stm
researcher’s page: http://www.princeton.edu/~mjs3/musiclab.shtml
full data doc: http://opr.princeton.edu/archive/cm/data_release.pdf
It fits well within the broader context of sociological studies on the effects of popularity and such and has currently led me to believe that people are terrible judges of innate quality and ergo, that music popularity is basically one giant scam
Matthew - February 10, 2012
That's really interesting
I always suspected that quality of music (or movies or books or TV shows for that matter) had nothing to do with popularity. Now it is confirmed by science!
WhyGodWhy - February 10, 2012
Nothing is probably too strong.
I think it’s like BABIP. There’s some actual talent differences, but it’s dwarfed by random noise. And just like with pitchers, hordes shower undeserved praise on those that lucked into one tail of that random distribution.
So much of success has little to do with achievement.
Matthew - February 10, 2012
A lucky pitcher will regress back to the mean though.
A band that’s lucky enough to become famous without much talent will probably continue to be famous.
WhyGodWhy - February 10, 2012
Obviously it's not a 100% perfect analogy
But I disagree, there’s a lot of one and two album wonders. Also, pitchers tend to have more seasons than bands have albums
Matthew - February 10, 2012
The outliers in this study are just precious.
Drew_D - February 10, 2012
Discussion of those don't jump to my memory,
can you link to such?
Matthew - February 10, 2012
Outliers is the wrong word.
I was giggling at the 1.4% of participants who claimed intimate knowledge of the fake band on page 23. Even in a blind study such people exist.
Drew_D - February 10, 2012
Radiohead I agree with
They have some terrible songs and Thom Yorke is insufferable most of time, with his moaning and his pulled-out-of-ass lyrics. On the other hand, they do have some great songs and Greenwood is a really good musician. They are probably the best band in the past 15 years IMO, but hugely overrated.
I rarely see Blur or Oasis mentioned in a positive light.
vivaelpujols - February 10, 2012
Radiohead has become more weird to me as time went on.
I remember OK Computer coming out and being a big thing. That was fine. It was a good album. Then Kid A came out and it was also good, but rather different, and seemed to be going the route of mainstreaming something that as an idea had been out there for a while. Then it seemed like they spent the next eight years re-recording loose bits from the OK Computer sessions, which was hit or miss. Meanwhile, it seemed like the reaction from most listeners was that they needed to switch pants between tracks.
I like them all right, but I think they’re kind of the Beatles of the generation, which I mean both for its positive and negative connotations.
JY - February 12, 2012
I've said it before and I'll say it again
As far as fan reaction goes, Radiohead are the Apple of bands.
pdb - February 12, 2012
I think that I like that analogy better!
JY - February 12, 2012
Yours works for the music, mine was mostly just about the fans
I have found it impossible to have a rational discussion about Radiohead with a serious Radiohead fan (of which one I am not).
pdb - February 12, 2012
Their fans are what made me hate them for so long without ever giving them a real listen.
You’re right though, they just redid everything for years. In Rainbows is a pretty darn good album though.
And great analogies to both of you, I’ll have to remember those.
Hopefulmsfan - February 12, 2012
I've found I can never listen to a Radiohead album all the way through
from The Bends to In Rainbows, there are like 3-4 songs on each album that a I really like, and then I never listen to any of the others. The atmosphere is also too oppressive on each album. There are never any light songs, or lo fi ones, or quiet songs that stay quiet till the end. Nearly all of them have that epic feel.
vivaelpujols - February 13, 2012
Bon Iver. Bon Iver. Bon Iver.
Seriously though. That band’s success baffles me.
SethGrandpa - February 10, 2012
Me too!
pdb - February 10, 2012
I want a new metal revolution to come blow these weedy sensitive beardos off the scene
pdb - February 10, 2012
I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS
pdb - February 10, 2012
Hello.
Aaron Campeau - February 10, 2012
Okay maybe I want a dumb cock-rock revolution
Did you see there’s a new Van Halen record? Whee
pdb - February 10, 2012
It's not even that, it's that their are far better "sensitive beardos" out there.
Bon Iver is just so bland and needlessly meandering. And the lyrics aren’t even good. Ugh.
SethGrandpa - February 10, 2012
But now he's a Grammy winner!
pdb - February 12, 2012
"New artist" is the most baffling category.
JY - February 12, 2012
The Grammys as a whole baffle me
Record of the year and song of the year? Why not just have an award for producers and one for singers?
pdb - February 12, 2012
I remembered my most baffling Grammys moment!
Several years ago they posthumously gave Robert Johnson a lifetime achievement award. The White Stripes won Best Alternative Album that year for Get Behind Me Satan. They had previously recorded an awesome cover of “Stop Breaking Down.”
The tribute song was Paul McCartney and two other guys, maybe one of them was Justin Timberlake, singing “Yesterday” by The Beatles.
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
JY - February 12, 2012
This needs a YouTube link...
No, the good one.
The White Stripes – Stop Breaking Down
JY - February 12, 2012
I was going to post this same thing.
I liked the first album ok. His new album is just flat out boring and yet people love it. Also anything he’s done with autotuning has been just terrible (song with James Blake and another song with Kanye West (which in and of itself is just a terrible idea)).
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
Absolutely this.
It’s just boring to me. I get that its very well arranged, and lush, and has some pristine beauty to it. But why not go listen to Sufjan Stevens or M83 for that, two acts that are much more daring and interesting, but still epic and grandiose. Bon Iver legitimately bores me.
algorhythm - February 10, 2012
I will agree with this one as well.
Saw them on Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago and knew they were popular, but I just can’t. I’m sure they’ll live without my fandom.
section331 - February 20, 2012
More recently popular, but Mumford & Sons.
It’s just bad bluegrass and so damn boring to listen to. I like the guy’s voice and would love to hear it in something else, but aside from that I enjoy nothing about them.
Cascadian Man - February 10, 2012
I must admit I have a slight weakness for that band
They’re not the best band I’ve ever heard, and two or three songs is enough at once, but I don’t mind them all that much.
pdb - February 10, 2012
I really hate some of their better known songs, like I can't stand Little Lion Man
But there’s a couple relatively lesser exposed songs of theirs I like.
OlSalty - February 10, 2012
That is where I fall as well.
Though they also have a tendency to insert one or two lyrics into each song that irritate me
Matthew - February 10, 2012
GOD YES
Aaron Campeau - February 10, 2012
I've heard 3 or 4 of their songs
And they all sound exactly the same. I like them, but after a while it’s like, uuuum, ok, anything else?
VB1138 - February 10, 2012
I wouldn't write them off just yet.
Their next album is going to be doom folk
erdim - February 10, 2012
That just sounds awful.
Cascadian Man - February 10, 2012
I don't know who that is, and I'm glad of it.
royalcurve - February 10, 2012
Heartfully agree.
Thank you.
hightowersmith - February 12, 2012
Baffling Adele trivia
This guy is her cowriter.
hightowersmith - February 12, 2012
He's more active in the music producing world than you'd think.
JY - February 12, 2012
Tom Petty
RunningFool - February 10, 2012
Why?
Just curious.
Fearless Frog - February 10, 2012 via mobile
Oh right forgot that part.
I guess just boring and repetitive. Maybe if I hadn’t heard other music first I would think he was a genius or something? I just think he sounds like every other band in the genre, and see nothing in his music that is at all appealing.
RunningFool - February 10, 2012
Obligatory Skrillex Post
iHateDaveSims - February 10, 2012
I've seemed to somehow manage to avoid the "dubstep" craze entirely.
So I’m not even sure if I’ve even heard Skrillex before.
Cascadian Man - February 10, 2012
Angry robots stomping around.
Some call it the pinnacle of human achievement, but I think I’m a few years too old to get it.
JY - February 10, 2012
Dubstep reminds me of the old dial-up internet sounds
Fearless Frog - February 10, 2012 via mobile
I had started to hear about him for the last couple of months.
Usually someone making fun of him. Then I listened to it. And it was awful… Just horrible. My only suggestion is to never listen to anything he makes ever.
wadswerth - February 10, 2012
I acutally saw him play at SXSW last year and thought he was quite good at what he does.
It’s not exactly music I seek out, but I was entertained. But I understand it’s music that just instantly repels many.
SethGrandpa - February 10, 2012
Oh god I have to disagree
I saw him at Camp Bisco after hearing he was a horrible DJ and I have to agree. Worst dubstep artist I’ve seen live. Dude doesn’t get transitions or actually mixing his songs. You could pay me $5 to do the exact same thing Skrillex does. Bassnectar is the pinnacle of live performance dubstep that I’ve seen. Mashes up his songs, leads into new songs seamlessly, remixes his songs, that’s what I want to see out of live performance dubstep.
Dewey N - February 10, 2012
I saw Skrillex and Bassnectar last summer and enjoyed Skrillex in the booth more
He was really fun and really drove the party in the Sasquatch banana tent. Really good showman-DJ.
algorhythm - February 10, 2012
It/he bugs me because some of the parts of songs I really really like
and then they/he have to go muck it up with shit
Matthew - February 10, 2012
Dubstep in general just baffles me.
Benne - February 10, 2012
Listen to it while tripping on DXM and your psyche will be profoundly impacted
Not saying positively or negatively, just that it’s an…. experience.
Matt Erickson - February 10, 2012
Oh man, DXM.
Not to get too off topic here, but I couldn’t decide whether I loved it or hated it the one time I tripped. I think a large part of that has to do with the fact that a large group of people came into my room in the middle of it and started playing Madden on the TV when I just wanted to sit by myself for a while. I ended up kind of half-watching a Mariners game on my computer, I think.
Cascadian Man - February 10, 2012
It was simultaneously the best and worst experience of my life
And the majority of the time, I was listening to Avicii (who I didn’t especially care for previously), so now I just have a special little spot in my heart for house music.
Matt Erickson - February 11, 2012 via mobile
I agree that Dubstep on its own is kinda eh,
But dubstep is just a lot of frequency modulation on trippy bass lines. You can combine that with other sounds to get interesting things:
Heres a non-Skrillex example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNRKWsMgOnY
Also, the best Skrillex song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOofWzI3flA&ob=av2e
Also, in fairness to Skrillex re: dubstep, dude’s got some good straight up house tracks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzEgrNigZdw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq-geJ9UwG4
algorhythm - February 10, 2012
I don't understand how he's idolized by so many people.
He looks essentially like that certain kind of nerdy or goth kid in high school who got shunned who just happens to make the robot music that the kids enjoy. Things are weird sometimes.
Mariner John - February 10, 2012
Skrillex should go back to singing in From First To Last or quit music. Either option would be fine.
Kirk - February 10, 2012
I think we've gone the Beatles route before...
I’ll go with The Arcade Fire again. Their sound is pretty derivative of what had already been kicking around that scene for years, they just nailed it to a <6 minute format. I’m not into the lyrics either but a lot of bands seem to be capitalizing on the overly saccharine/mystical view of childhood and waaah now that we’re adults we’re not as special as we were told we were going to be. So yeah, that bugs me. They’re a perfect storm of things that would bug me.
JY - February 10, 2012
This reminds me that I hate The Decemberists
lemonverbena - February 10, 2012
I somehow expected this segue, but I don't know why.
I tried to listen to them a few times. Colin Meloy couldn’t pronounce “geisha.” It bugged me. But I know of one song of theirs that I liked.
JY - February 10, 2012
The only song of theirs that I like is the one that's a lullaby telling a kid his mom is a prostitute
Aaron Campeau - February 10, 2012
For me, clever lyrics can't overcome boring music
lemonverbena - February 10, 2012
Oh me too.
But I like the actual song.
Aaron Campeau - February 10, 2012
These are both good examples currently (but not historically for me)
I really liked Arcade Fire’s first two albums, then i think they got insanely boring. And the lyrics on Suburbs are just terrible. They do sound rather derivative of a lot of other music.
Decemberists – they were clever and unique for a couple albums – then they started getting really terrible. I went to a concert after they had begun their decline (in my mind) and it was a lot of teenager screaming about the Infanta… awful.
The Shins did the same thing.
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
Try The King Is Dead
especially if you a) hate the rest of the Decemberists’ catalog with the same burning passion as I do and b) like early REM.
pdb - February 10, 2012
By that description yes, I'll give it a listen
lemonverbena - February 10, 2012
It cannot be overstated how much I loathed the Decemberists prior to The King Is Dead
It legitimately surprised me that I like this album so much. Still hate their other stuff like I hate almost nothing else, but TKID is a really solid album. Colin Meloy still uses a five-dollar word where a fifty-cent word would suffice, but all the preciousness is stripped away from the music and it’s just basic song structures and whatnot.
pdb - February 10, 2012
I'll be open-minded and try to listen as if I had never heard of the band before
Observations being filtered through our own biases and whatnot.
lemonverbena - February 10, 2012
If it helps, listen to Life's Rich Pageant first
You will be amazed at how similar they are, without the Decemberists’ being a ripoff.
pdb - February 10, 2012
Yeah I'd second Arcade Fire
Does nothing for me, and I’m not even that picky
OlSalty - February 10, 2012
Saw them for the first time on SNL last year and was totally unimpressed.
I don’t get it at all.
the other side - February 10, 2012
My god, though... their live performance... holy jesus
I’ve seen em 4+ times spanning over the last 5 years, and their stage presence never fails to amaze me. I couldn’t ask for more out of an indie rock band. Unfortunately their most recent performances have failed to pack the same energy they had when they were a scrappier bunch, but still more impressive than 99% of other shows you see out there.
iHateDaveSims - February 10, 2012
The only stage presence I've ever seen them have is just standing there being boring.
I think I may have an unfairly high bar for stage presence though. Early versions of bands like The Fall of Troy and Tera Melos may have spoiled me a bit in that regard.
Cascadian Man - February 10, 2012
Dave Fucking Matthews
One note of a DMB song or moment of that brothersucker’s voice sends me into a blind rage.
lemonverbena - February 10, 2012
It's okay. That's merely your brain telling you that you're a sane person.
SethGrandpa - February 10, 2012
I do not understand that band's (or their live shows') popularity
Especially when seeing them costs the amount that it does
bomdal - February 10, 2012
I thought DMB existed for frat boys to have emotional sex lyric songs to play for their female equivalents.
Jed MC - February 10, 2012
The drummer in that band does some cool things though.
Kirk - February 10, 2012
Adele
Just not a fan of her voice and singing style.
I know she’s objectively a good vocalist, I just dislike it.
lailaihei - February 10, 2012
I would like Adele a lot more if she didn't anunciate so clearly
Aaron Campeau - February 10, 2012
I don't like the album as a whole but Someone Like You crushes me every time I hear it
pdb - February 10, 2012
YES YES YES YES YES
Someone find this woman an agent, and don’t let that talent keep going to waste.
Matt Erickson - February 10, 2012
It doesn't help that her music is FUCKING EVERYWHERE right now.
the other side - February 10, 2012
Horrible, horrible lyrics as well.
BigR - February 10, 2012
They're full of self-pity.
I can’t stand it.
Cascadian Man - February 10, 2012
She's objectively a terrible vocalist.
That throaty sound, rasp? Yeah, that’s her singing over her chords instead of with her lungs.
harkening - February 10, 2012
There's really no such thing as objective where music is concerned.
Aaron Campeau - February 10, 2012
It was more in reply to lailaihei's comment that she's "objectively" a good vocalist.
Ask any classically trained vocalist or vocal coach – her singing is terrible on her throat. She sounds okay, sort of like smokey jazz meets pop belting. But aaauuuuuuuuuuuuugh.
harkening - February 10, 2012
Thom Yorke
I have a few friends who love Radiohead, and I have listened a good amount but It just doesn’t work for me. A mix of vocals, music style and how the songs just seem to drone on does me in.
marinerschas2 - February 10, 2012
Hilariously enough
That’s the reason I like it. haha!
section331 - February 20, 2012
This is not directly related to the subject at hand.
This is an Italian song styled in fake American English after what they perceived as the music of the era.
Enjoy.
JY - February 10, 2012
I'm going to throw out an artist that I like that a lot of people dislike immensely
Joanna Newsom. Her music reminds me of music that would be in O Brother Where Art Thou which is why I think I like it (plus, harp!). But 70% of people I play her for can’t get past her voice. It is a bit, er, raw, but it’s so pleasant. I go out of my way to take showers at night so I can listen to her while I shower because it’s so calming.
Dewey N - February 10, 2012
She does kind of sound like a 12 year old with marbles in her mouth
But I like it
Dewey N - February 10, 2012
She sounds a bit Bjorkish
Not a grating amount of Bjorkish though. I don’t hate it.
OlSalty - February 10, 2012
Yeah, she gets on my nerves.
I tried to like her, and gave her more than one try, but I couldn’t stick with it. And yep, it’s the voice.
royalcurve - February 10, 2012
If you do not like Joanna Newsom, I don't respect your opinion.
ThomasG - February 10, 2012
Happy to be disrespected then.
royalcurve - February 10, 2012
Bruce Springsteen
because his act hits me as sentimental fffff, like the Wagner of rock, too close to Meatloaf who I trust knows he’s a joke (though I’ve liked an individual Springsteen song here and there divorced from his stage act).
Also Tom Waits, who has always struck me as a minstrel act (though i generally like him in films).
And then Nick Cave always seems to let me down. I want to buy into the schtick but when i actually buy a CD it never works.
ignacio - February 10, 2012
You just made me sad
And then Nick Cave always seems to let me down.
I do not know how this is possible.
pdb - February 10, 2012
I actually got into Nick Cave a while ago!
I didn’t expect it to happen, as I figured I’d still think his songs dragged a bit, but then I popped in some of the old albums and they sounded just fine to me. Maybe I was in a phase where I didn’t have that level of patience/attention span when I tried to pick him up initially.
JY - February 10, 2012
Man... Tom Waits and Nick Cave are awesome.
I guess that’s the point of this thread, but still. Those guys have put out tons of albums that are mostly awesome.
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
Tom Waits has my favorite voice of all time.
I think I may love his voice acting work more than his singing, if that’s even possible.
Cascadian Man - February 10, 2012
As much as I like both, I'll admit that they're an acquired taste.
I’ve talked to people about it and they’ll find the schtick or the voice off-putting, usually.
JY - February 10, 2012
Yeah, I expected that many here would be these guys' fans.
ignacio - February 10, 2012
I can see them not being enjoyable to all.
For me, they’re the bee’s knees, or something.
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
Sometimes Nick Cave can annoy me
But the stuff he did with The Birthday Party back in the late 70’s and early 80’s I do enjoy.
wadswerth - February 10, 2012
Agree on Nick Cave
Disagree on Tom Waits. A lot of my friends have never understood why I disliked Nick Cave, because they were all gothy, and I should like it. Just could never get on with it.
Waits, however, I love.
section331 - February 20, 2012
Vampire Weekend & Local Natives
They’re the same band in my mind and I can’t stand either.
It’s like if you took the Talking Heads (who I love) shipped them to Orange County, drained them of creativity and innovation.
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
Vampire Weekend needs to realize that they are white.
WhyGodWhy - February 10, 2012
I'm glad Vampire Weekend restarted the national dialogue on oxford commas.
yuniform - February 11, 2012
U2/Bono
Never really liked much of it. Although I’ll admit to enjoying “the sweetest thing” on occasion.
Slow Country - February 10, 2012
I fucking hate U2.
royalcurve - February 10, 2012
That's mine too, can't stand them.
BigR - February 10, 2012
I thought I hated them until their music of the last 10 or so years
Now I worse then hate them, loathe is good, really really hate would work too.
Craptastic-J - February 10, 2012
I don't think everyone likes/loves them
but just yesterday I was going through my collection and was like “The Eagles?” Why do I still have Eagles tracks? Deeeeeeeeelete.
Matthew - February 10, 2012
GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY CAB
Aaron Campeau - February 10, 2012
I don't know what this means
Matthew - February 10, 2012
This.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVaiRLDM628
Benne - February 10, 2012
Thanks
Matthew - February 10, 2012
I refuse to accept that you haven't seen the Big Lebowski
Aaron Campeau - February 10, 2012
I have, twice I think.
Matthew - February 10, 2012
See it thirty more times immediately
OlSalty - February 10, 2012
I don't understand how anyone could not enjoy Eagles.
I think that may have a lot to do with them being one of the bands I heard constantly growing up and associate some good memories with though.
Cascadian Man - February 10, 2012
I think a lot of the hatred I have for them stems from them being one of the bands I heard constantly growing up.
Aaron Campeau - February 10, 2012
Because they're a singularly uninteresting band that symbolized everything that was wrong with popular music in the 70's
at least that’s what it is for me.
pdb - February 10, 2012
I've often wondered why The Dude hated them so much, and this is what I suspected was the case
I’ve never particularly liked The Eagles, I just wasn’t sure where the venom came from
Craptastic-J - February 10, 2012
They're basically the Dave Matthews Band of the 1970's
pdb - February 10, 2012
That puts it in painfully clear terms
Craptastic-J - February 10, 2012
Animal Collective just sounds like pretentious noise to me.
katal - February 10, 2012
Actually I could do without 90% of modern indie bands.
Too many of them sound the same to me, and have remarkably similar aesthetics. The entire genre needs to be shaken up.
katal - February 10, 2012
Chillwave is different from Dubstep
ignacio - February 10, 2012
But remember that sound from 20-30 years ago? Maybe even 50-60 years ago?
Well it’s back!
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
Speaking of that
Lana Del Rey is crap.
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
Welcome to modern art
where because it’s modern, we haven’t been able to weed out the chaff yet. In 25 years, people are going to look back and reminisce about the great period of music revival this was
Matthew - February 10, 2012
i think there's an enormous amount of great music out there right now
ignacio - February 10, 2012
I blame KEXP for this
pdb - February 10, 2012
I think "indie" has always been a dangerous term to use to describe music
While I understand that you are pointing to a specific style of rock (sort of how “pop” is used to describe a music style that isn’t strictly “popular”), the term “indie” can literally be applied to any independent artist, and is often overused, in my opinion. Trust me it’s not difficult to find two independent artists that sound completely different. For that matter, try comparing animal collective to, say, St. Vincent or Destroyer. Not a whole lot of easy comparisons to be drawn between them.
iHateDaveSims - February 10, 2012
one man's cacophony is another man's symphony
I just made that up on the spot, and I think it’s quite nice.
(Huge AC fan here… my paltry attempt at defending my honor)
iHateDaveSims - February 10, 2012
I can definitely agree with this.
I don’t get all the fuss for them. I’ve tried multiple times but man it’s so boring to me.
Hopefulmsfan - February 10, 2012
For me it's The Shins.
They’ve had a few songs I like but to me New Slang was so boring and brought nothing new to the table yet I heard it everywhere. Garden State probably didn’t help it’s image in my eyes. I like Caring is Creepy though at least. And I love Broken Bells.
Hopefulmsfan - February 10, 2012
Belle and Sebastian
always seemed soulless to me.
jose luis - February 10, 2012
Pearl Jam
I understand, but.. Edde Vedder’s voice is basically brown noise to me.
Drew_D - February 10, 2012
Wow, don't tab recklessly.
To elaborate, it’s a band where they have one song I can’t stand so much, Last Kiss, that I can’t listen to anything else they’ve ever done without thinking about that song and hating them.
Drew_D - February 10, 2012
This, and basically every grunge band.
Such ugly music, but it’s not ugly in a good way. It’s ugly in a bad rawk meets bad fashion way.
SeattleJunkieQueen - February 10, 2012
Ew, yes.
I forgot about this one. This one is MAJOR for me. I hate Pearl Jam almost as much as Bob Dylan. They have always made me want to punch myself in the face.
royalcurve - February 10, 2012
Their good songs are really good... their bad songs are really bad
Poochie - February 10, 2012
De La Soul
I always found them corny and boring, but they seem to get a lot of reverence.
waldo rojas - February 10, 2012
"3 Feet High and Rising"
Straight flat-top 90s hip hop album, if you haven’t heard it. The only album of theirs that actually has any relevance, in my opinion. Helped set a much higher bar for the production and beat-making side of hip-hop.
iHateDaveSims - February 10, 2012
Absolutely genius album
In addition to all what IHDS said, it also has a great, goofy sense of humor and fun to it, which is somewhat hard to find in hip hop.
pdb - February 10, 2012
One of my all time favorites!
royalcurve - February 10, 2012
Queen.
Like I recognize they’re pretty talented and a good band – but I can’t fucking stand them.
I think this probably makes me some sort of horrible monster man.
ungoreatstefan - February 10, 2012
You must be a total homophobe too.
iHateDaveSims - February 10, 2012
Even if this is in jest, it seems waaaaaaaaay over the top to me
Aaron Campeau - February 10, 2012
of COURSE it was a joke...
iHateDaveSims - February 10, 2012
But I love The Gossip!
ungoreatstefan - February 10, 2012
It does indeed make you a horrible person.
Cascadian Man - February 10, 2012
They wrote what I think is the best song ever written and then a bunch of shit.
That song is Bohemian Rhapsody, by the way.
Kirk - February 10, 2012
This is such bullshit
Under Pressure is the best song they’ve written (or co-written)
Dewey N - February 11, 2012
Radio Ga-Ga is, easily.
BigR - February 11, 2012
March of the Black Queen blows everything else away.
Cascadian Man - February 11, 2012
Ice Ice Baby is the superior song
Poochie - February 11, 2012
Lou Reed
Love The Velvet Underground, but Berlin is such a laughably terrible album. Since it’s his most critically acclaimed album (along with Transformer which has “Perfect Day”, “Walk on the Wild Side” and then a lot of ehhh), I don’t have much incentive to look deeper.
SeattleJunkieQueen - February 10, 2012
And like every rock band and shitty metal band on the planet.
AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, heck even The Who don’t do it for me anymore.
THE LIST GOES ON.
SeattleJunkieQueen - February 10, 2012
Blue Mask & Coney Island Baby
Those are great albums, but it’s not Velvet Underground in style at all. He has put out a lot of bad stuff too though.
Waves of Fear might be my favorite Lou Reed song.
BennyGStein - February 10, 2012
I can get behind this
even though the velvet underground is one of my favorite bands. Berlin has one good song on it (the title track) and Perfect Day and Satelite of Love are good off Transformer. I haven’t listened to his other albums.
vivaelpujols - February 10, 2012
Kings of Leon.
I cannot stand that man’s voice.
the tourist - February 10, 2012
I know this is probably a really stereotypical response,
but their old stuff is pretty good, in my opinion, and it complements the guy’s voice a lot better than the new stuff.
Cascadian Man - February 10, 2012
ZZ Top, Bob Seger and Tom Petty
whenever they come on the radio I turn it off
RangerMad - February 10, 2012 via Android app
The Black Keys
Their music just doesn’t really do anything for me, and gets replayed a ton which is an annoying combination.
And I’ll second previously mentioned Radiohead, Dave Matthews Band, Goo Goo Dolls, and Vampire Weekend.
Gobroks - February 10, 2012 via mobile
I liked the Black Keys a lot better when they were called the White Stripes
pdb - February 10, 2012
Foster The People blow horses
abender20 - February 10, 2012
If I hear "Pumped Up Kicks" one more time,
I will have Robert blow up a hospital.
harkening - February 10, 2012
I gotta say, I liked it at first but it didn't stand the test of time well at all
OlSalty - February 10, 2012
Yeah I feel the same way
Like the first time I heard Pumped Up Kicks/Helena Beat I thought they were interesting but now they’re almost unlistenable
Gobroks - February 12, 2012
I hate Foster the People with a passion.
sarah1110 - February 11, 2012
U2
Henry Valz - February 10, 2012
Oh, and Drake is unoriginal trite fluff.
abender20 - February 10, 2012
Yes but he's NEW unoriginal trite fluff.
That’s worth a couple record deals in todays top 40 environment. Kesha anyone?
the other side - February 10, 2012
I don't understand the hype behind Drake.
He’s almost nothing but romance rap for girls, and is as menacing as a baby lamb.
Fearless Frog - February 11, 2012 via mobile
It's elevator R&B masquerading as something more fierce.
abender20 - February 11, 2012
Yes. Drake is awful.
I never understood why women will buy music that is all “I love you” when its clearly in no way about them. Guess that’s why I never understood Usher either.
Felix Hernandez - February 11, 2012
For the same reason people who have never done drugs still listen to AIC et al.
Because they like how it sounds. After all, isn’t that what music is for?
Hopefulmsfan - February 12, 2012
This guy sums it up well.
Big Ghost’s review of “Take Care.”
sanford_and_son - February 15, 2012
James Taylor, Billy Joel, and Jimmy Buffett
If you like any of them, I’m sorry. Your taste in music sucks.
ThomasG - February 10, 2012
I like quite a few Billy Joel songs, and I'm pretty comfortable in saying that my taste in music doesn't suck.
Definitive statements about subjective matters such a these are massively annoying.
Aaron Campeau - February 11, 2012
You're right, obviously. Bombastic for the sake of being bombastic.
Although I do feel that way about anybody that seriously enjoys Jimmy Buffett.
ThomasG - February 13, 2012
I do have this same hatred of Buffet.
The others have their moments – especially Billy Joel.
But yeah, Jimmy Buffer is pretty awful. The parody of him in the movie Club Dread was the only part of that film i liked – Pina Coladaburg was a genius creation. If only the movie could have lived up to that.
BennyGStein - February 13, 2012
It's still rock and roll to me.
(I couldn’t help it, I’m sorry)
JY - February 11, 2012
You watch what you say about Billy Joel.
Terminator X - February 11, 2012
And Jimmy Buffett.
Terminator X - February 11, 2012
Noooo. Not you!
Buffett is the devil in relaxed chinos.
ThomasG - February 13, 2012
Death Cab for Cutie
Yay the 5 years where every girl everywhere was like “I looooooooooovee them, they so GET me” is over!
Felix Hernandez - February 11, 2012
I can't believe that it took someone 7-8 years to take this screen name.
BigR - February 11, 2012
I was shocked it was still available
Felix Hernandez - February 11, 2012
Even more amazing is someone taking "Larry Bernandez" first.
ThundaPC - February 11, 2012
I figured it was sacred.
Hopefulmsfan - February 12, 2012
I can hardly tell you have an accent
Poochie - February 11, 2012
The O.C. was a wonderful television show. For DCFC.
yuniform - February 11, 2012
Sarcasm?
Please, please tell me its sarcasm
Felix Hernandez - February 11, 2012
I loved many parts of The O.C., especially the first season. Also, you used improper punctuation.
DCFC benefitted the most of anyone on the show, with Rachel Bilson having her moment of fame way later.
yuniform - February 11, 2012
Not all Death Cab fans fit that stereotype.
Mariner John - February 11, 2012
But I can see where having negative experiences with a certain type of fan can ruin something for a person.
Hopefulmsfan - February 12, 2012
Why were The Strokes any good?
From the first time I heard “Last Night,” I never understood why people were into such lethargic rock. (That said, the side project Little Joy by one of the band members was awesome.)
yuniform - February 11, 2012
I remember hearing 12:51 a lot on the radio when it came out and it sounded like The Cars withough any personality.
A couple of their songs actually aren’t bad though. This one is a them wishing they were QOTSA but it’s decent.
Hopefulmsfan - February 12, 2012
Hmmm...I'd say Depeche Mode.
I like listening to 1980s pop/synth/New Wave music and for a group heralded as one of the best in the genre, I’ve found surprisingly little of anything good from them. Greatly prefer Duran Duran or Tears for Fears or something.
Fearless Frog - February 11, 2012 via mobile
Depeche Mode does have a few very good songs.
But they are overrated IMO.
Hopefulmsfan - February 12, 2012
I don't understand the cult of personality that exists — still — around Bruce Springsteen.
It’s OK, sure, but sweet Jesus he didn’t invent the guitar.
thehemogoblin - February 12, 2012
I guess that wasn't quite the point of this. If you want someone I actively dislike, it was taken in the first comment of this thread.
thehemogoblin - February 12, 2012
Have you listened to "Nebraska" ?
That album sold me on him long ago.
sanford_and_son - February 15, 2012
Awful Subject
Posters reaching to show how alternative to the alternative they are….any forum that allows someone to seriously be taken seriously about how bad GBV or Radiohead or anyone….really? GBV is reduced to singles? Do you have any idea what Pollard or Yorke has done? I don’t even know where to start, puppies.
Uncle Rusty - February 12, 2012
Maybe start by not being a total snob about it
pdb - February 12, 2012
Or, to be more charitable
Understand that taste in music, as is taste in all things, is highly subjective, and there is no right answer. The point of this thread is to start a discussion, not to crap on people who do not happen to have the same tastes in music as you do. If you like Guided By Voices, that’s great – I do too, I have seen them about 10 times in my life and I own a whole bunch of their records (yes, records. Vinyl. Hopefully that passes your test).
But I also recognize that an album containing six true pop gems surrounded with several 47 second fragments of half-baked song ideas isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so I attempted to steer some folks towards some songs they might like. Why is this a bad thing?
pdb - February 12, 2012
I should like GBV - i just don't for one reason or another.
But i did listen to those songs you listed (having heard a bunch of them before – but trying to re-immerse myself).
Anyway – it’s the whole point of the thread. Music most people like that for some reason you do not.
There are plenty of artists that I think do no wrong (or nearly no wrong) that are in this thread, but such is life and such are people’s opinions.
BennyGStein - February 13, 2012
And we weren't really throwing a hissy fit about it either.
People stated opinions! There were some disagreements! The world does not end!
JY - February 13, 2012
Have you checked?
Drew_D - February 13, 2012
This is why I don't like Radiohead
Aaron Campeau - February 13, 2012
You're not doing this right.
sanford_and_son - February 15, 2012
Bauhaus
I know they’re supposed to be the Godfathers of Goth of whatever, but I can’t get into them. I tried to make myself when I was young, because I was young, and I felt like I should. But then I discovered Nine Inch Nails and Front 242 and told goth music to go bone itself. I saw Peter Murphy live once, and it was good, but once is enough.
section331 - February 20, 2012
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