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?

bancsee

I’ve already posted but can please somebody explain Wilco / Uncle Tupelo to me? It just seems generic and uninspiring. This is truly inline with the OPs title. I want to get it but I can’t get thru more than three songs without moving on.

That's the wonderful thing about music, there are so diverse tastes, they often change over time, so it's totally natural not to "get" a vast chunk of recorded music.

My addendum to the issue:

The audio gear bears a VAST impact on how wide your inclusion zone is, and what you consider as beloved, tolerable, or insufferable. The majority of audiophile systems are overspecialized and they allow only a select few genres to play properly, and the excluded genres / songs are just presented so awful to hunt your nightmares.

A system that does not narrow down your choices can allow access even to genres that you found intolerable. I was surprised to get moved to tears by a few pieces that I previously did not get...

 

 

So… The Beatles. They found a formula - the secret key to making good harmonies - but it somehow always comes off as unauthentic. The early work is better, but still maybe I can listen to 1 song per album. For a comparison of their various incarnations, I’d listen to Them, or Lazy Smoke, or Bob Smith any day. 

As far as albums I’ve come around to- Amon Dull 2 Dance of the Lemmings. I got this when I was 16 and hated it for about 2 years. Now it’s one of my all time favs.