Albums you do not get...a plea for help and understanding
So like most of you (I bet), I listen to tons of music. But there are just some albums I never learned to appreciate. I hope this thread can serve as a teaching tool. I did not get Mingus at first but now he is one of my favorites.
Perhaps ending each post with, "What am I missing?" would be a good idea.
I will start with Graceland by Paul Simon. Most of my friends call me crazy (still after all these years...OUCH that was bad) but I never desire to listen to this record. I get the African influence and rhythm but it just does not impress me. Alternatively when Peter Gabriel did the African influence thing I found it stunningly good. Paul Simon as a musician impresses me in his other works. What am I missing?
After The Bends, Radiohead left me behind. John Coltrane, A Love Supreme...couldn't connect. Loved them at the time, saw the Speaking in Tongues tour, but Talking Heads is too twitchy for me to enjoy now. Maybe that's the point, but U2's The Joshua Tree never gets off the ground. Marquee Moon, Television, Todd Rundgren, Bjork.... and most everything by Pavement ...I'm just not/wasn't hip enough.... |
In response to fdroadrunner's post, here's an interesting attempt to analyze the first cut of Trout Mask Replica:
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Back in the Fall on 1977, I was in the back seat of a friend's car, getting a ride home from high school. The radio was playing and someone said, "Hey, this is Queen's new song. Turn it up!" "We Will Rock You" was playing. Stomp, stomp, clap... stomp, stomp clap... along with Freddy Mercury, coming out of the 6x9 inch speakers, inches from the back of my head. Then the feedback of Brian May's guitar started coming through, building up to that first power chord, and that mean sounding guitar!. It was the first time I'd heard it and was quite simply, in awe. What is coming next here? How do you top that? Then the opening lyrics of "We Are The Champions" started. Total buzz kill! Literally! You're kidding me, right? One of my first anticlimactic experiences. What am I missing? |
I can’t understand anything by the Grateful Dead. And I really tried, even working at one of their concerts as security no less (UMaine April 1983). Worst concert ever. Never met a fan who wasn’t insufferable. Am I the only one who thinks they all sing off key?
As for a single specific album, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica. Rubbish. |
Prett much all his albums are good too! |
To me the Grateful Dead was a live band. Bluegrass on drugs, literally and figuratively. Their studio stuff did lack energy, though the album Reckoning is great. But that is live in the studio even. Joni Mitchell is where I go off the rails, though I can wrap my head around her lyrical prowess. My folks never had music playing in the house and we had only classical, country and what is now considered classic rock on the radio where I grew up. None of which was interesting at the time. A friend had cable and I got hooked on the very beginnings of MTV. Sad but true. And DEVO is one of the most anti-establishment bands of all time, more punk than most punk but without the angry facade. Satire at its finest. Except for "whip it"- who knows what that was. Totally agree on |
Bands that are, or were, really big and popular that I can’t understand the appeal: Rush - my all time most hated band by a wide margin - words can not describe how awful I think their music is. Boston - just ughh U2 - first album is pretty good, and it went downhill from there, and Bono is just the worst Aerosmith - again, just ughh For context, some of my favorite artists are: Yo la tengo- Juana Molina - Califone - Willie Nelson - Talking Heads - Iron and Wine - Miles Davis, and many, many more |
Hey @therobert, I love your opinion on Rush's music. I happen to be a Rush fan, but I have definitely heard similar comments from a few people, even from a colleague who happens to be from Canada. 😀 I have to say I only like their early stuff. I stopped following them after the "Signals" LP. |
I listened to and loved Springsteen for a good long time. The two Springsteen concerts I went to are still among my handful of favorites. I'd grab my guitar and bellow out his songs. But yeah, he eventually got a little long in the tooth. Not that I liked everything he did, but Bob Dylan remains a touchstone for me. There are stretches of Dylan lyrics that course through my brain almost daily. The New Wave/Punk bands of the 1970's revitalized my interest in rock-and-roll.. I saw every one I could when they'd play L.A. My hair might still have been shoulder-length but I hated hippie-dippy music. |
"There are stretches of Dylan lyrics that course through my brain almost daily."
Me too. At one point I could even quote whole verses from his songs. I even started calling one of my friends the Commander in Chief because of this Dylan influence. I didn't have too much of a problem with his voice having also been a fan of those other great wordsmiths, messrs Springsteen and Costello. Their lyrics are that good. Morrissey is another one whose lyrics come to mind on an almost daily basis.
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@16f4 The Dead were in their prime from the early 70's to about
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Thanks for this notlistening One of my all time favorite obscure references!
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Very difficult to find any particular artist without a single track I don't like. As for genres, modern country makes me gag, every single song sounds alike. A number of these tunes played in succession gives me bad feeling like I'm being programmed to be this certain kind of conformist. Love the honkytonk era, individual personalities and life experiences here, this new crap generic nothingness. |
I think Yoko almost goes without saying. She’s what you might call an acquired taste or just frankly unlistenable. The real conundrum might be when you find yourself unable to listen to singers that millions of people apparently love. A few obvious ones for me would be Aretha Franklin (hysterionics), Billie Holiday (screech) and Adele (pain). Having said all that, is there anything in the history of recorded sound as disturbing as Diamanda Galas’ Schrei X? Seriously, it’s a record that should come with a health warning. On this occasion I’d advise you to simply take my word for it. Don’t risk anything more than a quick listen. Not if you value your sanity. I didn’t believe in channeling previously, but I do now. |
Totally agree with some of the posters here---the current ’Bro country’ is absolutely horrendous. It’s the same theme over and over: living in the country, dogs (or my girl) in my pickup, drinking......ugh! Same with certain types of jazz. We went to a friend’s birthday party at a brewery a couple of weeks ago and we sat outside next to the stage while they played jazz for over two hours. Someone else reserved the table. We could barely hear each other talk with all the noise--so annoying we left early. |
I thought my turntable was running at half speed, except I don't have a TT anymore. |
@tony1954 My sentiments exactly. Graceland does not hold together as an album for me. I am not into Springsteen. There's so much Miles Davis-I prefer his 50's and early 60's recordings with great sidemen. I generally prefer Lee Morgan (and like 30 or 40 reed players as much). However, my childhood in the 50's-60's was filled with opera, classical music of post classic period eras, pop, do-wop, blues and some traditional jazz. Quite unusual for a 4 to 10 year old. Now I have 42,500 LPs/CDs/78s which have a nice big dose of jazz from all eras (about 5,000 of the total) rock to early 1990 (helped by my wife who loves rock) but NO hip hop or rap. There are some imaginative artists today but just so much dross that it is difficult to shift through it all. SNL artists are typical of what we don't like. I like country as well, especially great singers from pre-1980s, (mirroring rock era as well). |
Okay, you've prompted me to quote some Dylan off the top of my head. From Mr. Tambourine Man. Sorry if it ain't quite perfect -- "And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind The foggy runes (ruins?) of time Far past the frozen leaves, the haunted frightened trees. Out to the windy beach. far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrows. Yes to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand wavin' free Silhouetted by the seas Circled by the circus sands With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves Let me forget about today until tomorrow."
As lovely a stretch of poetry as has ever been writ. |
I don't see any direct references to Dreampop or Shoegaze singers or bands. I am sure a lot of folks here can't stand either genre. I personally like Dreampop, and some of the shoegaze folks. How about Frank Sinatra? I get he has an amazing voice and phasing (my Mom and her sisters once skipped school in the late 1930's to hear him sing in the Bronx!). But I never put on a Sinatra album/song to sit back and listen and enjoy. And I have tried multiple times. |
@jasonbourne52 + 1 , though 'Days of 49' on 'Self-Portrait' was pretty good. Still, not a very good percentage! Loved 'We're Only In It For the Money', but tried and failed with 'Lumpy Gravy'. |
Zappa? Crikey, there's a big one right there! There's so much to like about Frank, the attitude, the intelligence, the honesty, but what about the music? Especially for those of us who love harmony, melody and catchy tunes? A bit like Beefheart, for me Zappa remains a novelty listen. Clever but not compelling. |
I listened to Paul Simon's Graceland for a heck of a long period of time. For one, it has some of the best sound quality of any LP of the period. The Ladysmith Black Mambazo cuts were revelatory .in their freshness, 3D imaging and sheer beauty. True, Simon's sincerity could be a bit suffocating but I was willing to let him follow his muse. |
