Bands you don't get.

[Owain Taggart]

So, I had been hearing a lot of buzz about the Decemberists over the years in the circles that I hang out in, and with the buzz following their latest album, I decided to give them a try. I bought Castaway and Cutouts on Emusic out of the 3 albums available on there, and I just have to say, I guess they're a band I just don't get. It will maybe be something that will grow on me, but I find them a little odd and Colin Meloy's voice seems to drone on, and I don't think it's a voice I can listen to for long.

My first real exposure to them was actually through Sarah Jarocz's cover of Shankhill Butchers, which honestly, I feel she does a much better job of. She seems to have more range and emotion that fits the song better.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIF9U4KDdWg[/yt]

So, that made me wonder about people here and the bands they don't get.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

This is an easy one for me.

Weezer. I don't doubt their talent, because only about a bazillion people think that they are talented.

However, I find them to be simply annoying. I've listened to several of their most popular songs a number of times....and they don't do a thing for me.

Glad other people like them. I'm just not one of them.

 

[RoJoHen]

I like both Weezer and The Decemberists.

Generally speaking, I do not get heavy metal. So much screaming and loud noises. Call me crazy, but I like music I can sing along to.

 

[Technobuilder]

I don't like not being able to distinguish the lyrics in a song. If it's that hard to understand what's being said, I probably won't like it.

Not a big fan of atonal, screaming Death Metal type stuff either.

Also, I don't get that Justin Bieber kid, I've seen more talented singers on youtube.

This guy for example:
Love The Dynamite Dream Mashup - Sam Tsui
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkHJ2-zoSB4 (Damn, I can't figure out how to embed this video, any tips?)

 

[Robert Maxwell]

My musical tastes are pretty eclectic so I can almost always "get" why people like a particular band or musician, even if it's not my cup of tea. I'm also not a pop snob, so I really just have no taste.

 

[Canadave]

The Decemberists can be a little grating, at first. I have a friend who strongly disliked them when she first started listening to them, but now she's a big fan. Castaways and Cutouts probably wasn't the best first choice, either—I like it myself, but it's one of their "rougher" albums. You might want to give The Crane Wife a try... it's a bit more polished than some of their earlier releases, and is an excellent album to boot. "Sons and Daughters" is one of my favourites from it, if you want a sample. Folk-rock done in a round ftw.

Anyway, my obligatory defence of a band I like out of the way, what's my answer? Good question, actually, as I'm struggling to come up with a choice that's not something obvious—Nickelback, Coldplay, and such. So I'll just leave this for now.

 

[Owain Taggart]

The Decemberists can be a little grating, at first. I have a friend who strongly disliked them when she first started listening to them, but now she's a big fan. Castaways and Cutouts probably wasn't the best first choice, either—I like it myself, but it's one of their "rougher" albums.

Yeah, I can definitely see that now. Thing is, I did poll some fans at another place to see what they recommended and that's the one that came up on top, so I don't know where I went wrong. Maybe I shouldn't trust their opinions I'm not trying to diss the band, but the album is rather bland, with many slow songs, and I don't think his voice is well suited to slow songs at least from what I've heard on this album. He doesn't seem to have that great a vocal range. It's strange because I do really like folk-rock, owning many albums from bands that have become favourites, like Spirit of the West or The Duhks for instance. I'll have to try Crane Wife eventually. I had considered it, but it's not on Emusic, so I'll have to save it for some other time.

It is interesting though. There must be something psychological about how someone ends up liking something or how it tends to click with someone or not, because there's a lot of music where I know the musicians are insanely talented but I just can't get into. There must be something in the brain that says, "Hey, I like this!" or "WTF did I just hear?"

 

[intrinsical]

This guy for example:
Love The Dynamite Dream Mashup - Sam Tsui
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkHJ2-zoSB4 (Damn, I can't figure out how to embed this video, any tips?)

Speaking of Sam Tsui, my favorite piece is his version of Rihanna's Umbrella.

Studio version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3qrgqpX2Ho
Live version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSt11YjJra0

 

[PKTrekGirl]

It's strange because I do really like folk-rock, owning many albums from bands that have become favourites, like Spirit of the West or The Duhks for instance. I'll have to try Crane Wife eventually. I had considered it, but it's not on Emusic, so I'll have to save it for some other time.

It is interesting though. There must be something psychological about how someone ends up liking something or how it tends to click with someone or not, because there's a lot of music where I know the musicians are insanely talented but I just can't get into. There must be something in the brain that says, "Hey, I like this!" or "WTF did I just hear?"

I have often wondered this myself. Even within a particular genre that you really love and know very well as a whole, like you with Folk Rock and the Decemberists, sometimes a really knowledgeable hardcore fan can listen to a band that is HUGELY popular in that genre they love and either not like that band at all...or like them somewhat, but not nearly as much as most other fans of that particular genre do.

This has happened to me in my 'genre of choice' (Grunge) with, of all bands...wait for it....Nirvana. I like Nirvana, don't get me wrong - several of their songs, I really love. And I give Kurt Cobain major props for being a reluctant visionary and excellent songwriter, etc. But while I like them okay (enough to have purchased all their albums)...I'd not put them in the almost obligatory first place as Best Grunge Band Ever. Nor am I of the opinion that Kurt Cobain was a God who could write no wrong - in fact, I think a couple of his songs kinda suck. There! I said it! I've never actually said that before 'out loud', because in my 'verse, it's almost blasphemy to do so. But there it is - it's how I really feel.

I wouldn't say that I 'don't get' Nirvana, because I do, and I do like them. But what I don't get is this near universal opinion that in the world of Grunge, there can be only one Best Band Ever...and that one is very obviously Nirvana.

I sometimes wonder if that would have been the case if Kurt Cobain had lived. But I guess we'll never know.

So in the meantime, like you, I sit and listen sometimes and go 'Jeez...what could I POSSIBLY be missing here?'

 

[I Grok Spock]

The only Decemberists I've heard is their debut EP "Five Songs" which I really like. The "Apology Song" is a hoot (below with amateur video). I've been meaning to check out some of their other stuff, but just never have gotten around to it.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZctK51RwK8A[/yt]

I'm also not a big fan of most metal - some I do like, but the stuff that's just screaming white noise leaves me bored.

 

[DeafPoet]

This is kinda tough. There's tons of stuff I just don't like, but I chalk it up to a lack of quality. Some of the stuff being discussed in the Bieber thread is a good example.

The only band that's coming to me at the moment is The Arcade Fire. I listen to it and I can appreciate its quality and I can see why lots of people are just over the moon for them. But it just doesn't grab me. Listening to music should be more than an academic appraisal and that's what I feel like I'm doing when I listen to TAF.

 

[Mistral]

I worked with a younger crowd when Wolfmother came out and I just couldn't see the appeal. They were a poor imitation of late 70s stadium rock bands, IMO, and "poor" was the deciding word. But the kids I worked with loved them. To this day I don't know how they got as much attention as they did...

 

[Deckerd]

There's a difference between plain disliking music and the 'don't get' feeling. That's when you can't put your finger on what's wrong with a band but there's just something that doesn't gel. There was a band in Scotland called Deacon Blue which was hugely popular but a lot of other people just didn't get. Including me.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

This is an easy one for me.

Weezer. I don't doubt their talent, because only about a bazillion people think that they are talented.

However, I find them to be simply annoying. I've listened to several of their most popular songs a number of times....and they don't do a thing for me.

Glad other people like them. I'm just not one of them.

To me, the band's first two albums and everything else are night and day. The first two albums were genuinely creative, innovative, and still showed good influences in things like the sound of their guitars that I thought made them sound great. Then when they came back in 2000, I felt they sounded kinda pedestrian.

Anyway, I usually can at least empathize with others so I "get" why they like the band, even if I don't. I mean, with some shitty bands, I get that the person just has genuinely terrible taste in music and likes whatever is popular, but I do get that, so there's no confusion

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Wilco. I don't get Wilco at all. Lots of fine people seem to think they're something special, but there's really nothing about them that sound appealing or memorable at all. I don't get Wilco.

Also: Bright Eyes, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

 

[tomalak301]

Arcade Fire

Yeah they just won the big Grammy and it seems like everyone on the Internet likes them, but I can't get into them and really wish I could. Hopefully in time I will realize the greatness of that band but in the mean time I might as well keep trying.

 

[Canadave]

The Decemberists can be a little grating, at first. I have a friend who strongly disliked them when she first started listening to them, but now she's a big fan. Castaways and Cutouts probably wasn't the best first choice, either—I like it myself, but it's one of their "rougher" albums.

Yeah, I can definitely see that now. Thing is, I did poll some fans at another place to see what they recommended and that's the one that came up on top, so I don't know where I went wrong. Maybe I shouldn't trust their opinions I'm not trying to diss the band, but the album is rather bland, with many slow songs, and I don't think his voice is well suited to slow songs at least from what I've heard on this album. He doesn't seem to have that great a vocal range. It's strange because I do really like folk-rock, owning many albums from bands that have become favourites, like Spirit of the West or The Duhks for instance. I'll have to try Crane Wife eventually. I had considered it, but it's not on Emusic, so I'll have to save it for some other time.

The thing I find about Colin Meloy is that while he doesn't have a conventionally strong voice, but once you begin to appreciate how he sings, there's really a lot of depth and feeling to his vocals. "California One\Youth and Beauty Brigade" (which is the last track on C&C, IIRC) is a good example... I can see how some people wouldn't like it, but I absolutely love the way he sings the song.

Incidentally, the album that got me in to them was Picaresque, which I purchased one day after listening to "16 Military Wives" about a dozen times over before a class.

 

[TheBrew]

It's strange because I do really like folk-rock, owning many albums from bands that have become favourites, like Spirit of the West or The Duhks for instance. I'll have to try Crane Wife eventually. I had considered it, but it's not on Emusic, so I'll have to save it for some other time.

It is interesting though. There must be something psychological about how someone ends up liking something or how it tends to click with someone or not, because there's a lot of music where I know the musicians are insanely talented but I just can't get into. There must be something in the brain that says, "Hey, I like this!" or "WTF did I just hear?"

I have often wondered this myself. Even within a particular genre that you really love and know very well as a whole, like you with Folk Rock and the Decemberists, sometimes a really knowledgeable hardcore fan can listen to a band that is HUGELY popular in that genre they love and either not like that band at all...or like them somewhat, but not nearly as much as most other fans of that particular genre do.

This has happened to me in my 'genre of choice' (Grunge) with, of all bands...wait for it....Nirvana. I like Nirvana, don't get me wrong - several of their songs, I really love. And I give Kurt Cobain major props for being a reluctant visionary and excellent songwriter, etc. But while I like them okay (enough to have purchased all their albums)...I'd not put them in the almost obligatory first place as Best Grunge Band Ever. Nor am I of the opinion that Kurt Cobain was a God who could write no wrong - in fact, I think a couple of his songs kinda suck. There! I said it! I've never actually said that before 'out loud', because in my 'verse, it's almost blasphemy to do so. But there it is - it's how I really feel.

I wouldn't say that I 'don't get' Nirvana, because I do, and I do like them. But what I don't get is this near universal opinion that in the world of Grunge, there can be only one Best Band Ever...and that one is very obviously Nirvana.

I sometimes wonder if that would have been the case if Kurt Cobain had lived. But I guess we'll never know.

So in the meantime, like you, I sit and listen sometimes and go 'Jeez...what could I POSSIBLY be missing here?'

I used to be huge into Nirvana, but I've waned on them over the last few years. In fact, I think that Cobain is the least talented person in the band (though he does write pretty good lyrics). My favorite Seattle band right now is Pearl Jam, but Alice in Chains and Soundgarden are amazing as well.

I also recommend 'The Crane Wife' as I really enjoy the interplay on words and it has some good rockin' tracks (i.e. The Perfect Crime).

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Anyway, I usually can at least empathize with others so I "get" why they like the band, even if I don't. I mean, with some shitty bands, I get that the person just has genuinely terrible taste in music and likes whatever is popular, but I do get that, so there's no confusion

Maybe you are alot more self-assured than I am or something. Because, presuming a band is popular, if I don't like them, I normally don't feel comfortable making the determination as to whether:

a) it's because their music is good and I'm just missing something; or
b) it's because their music is genuinely shitty and everyone else is just missing something.

Maybe I've been a TrekBBS moderator for so long that I am no longer able to state, with absolute clarity, that anything totally and completely JUST SIMPLY SUCKS. Instead, it's 'all a matter of personal preference'.

Jeez...I just realized how utterly PC and milquetoast that sounds.

I used to be huge into Nirvana, but I've waned on them over the last few years. In fact, I think that Cobain is the least talented person in the band (though he does write pretty good lyrics). My favorite Seattle band right now is Pearl Jam, but Alice in Chains and Soundgarden are amazing as well.

Well, I wasn't going to list out my actual preferences...but as long as you have, I'll play. Not including supergroups/solo projects here, I'll go with:
1. Pearl Jam (this band has not changed position since the release of Ten - IMO, one of the best albums ever made, by anyone, ever...and nothing they have done since has given me reason to doubt them for a second)
2. Alice In Chains (love all the Layne-era stuff like crazy, warming up quickly to the Duvall-era stuff)

<insert gap here>

3. (tie) Soundgarden and Hole (Courtney has had a lot of issues, but 'making bad music' was never one of them.)
4. Nirvana (yes, I like Hole more than I like Nirvana - go figure )
5. Stone Temple Pilots
6. (tie) Screaming Trees and Veruca Salt

But going back to the topic of this thread, I would not say the above makes me the 'typical' grunge fan. In fact, from what I can determine, many 'typical' grunge fans worship Cobain/Nirvana as near-gods (even though Kurt never wanted to be one); hate Eddie Vedder/Pearl Jam for supposedly believing themselves to be gods (I have never been able to figure this out, since Ed is nothing but kind to the fans from the stage, unless they do something dumbass and annoying like throw quarters at him. And Stone, who does many of the interviews, is just the goofiest, most down to earth, and sweetest guy ever); and blame Courtney Love (and therefore, dislike Hole) for Kurt killing himself ( )

Seems like most grunge fans like AIC though. So I'm with the crowd on that one. Hard not to love those guys - they make great music, Layne was adorable, and interviews with them are like stream of consciousness brain dumps - they say WHATEVER comes to mind, PC or not. And it's often pretty doggone hilarious.

 

[Owain Taggart]

There's a difference between plain disliking music and the 'don't get' feeling. That's when you can't put your finger on what's wrong with a band but there's just something that doesn't gel. There was a band in Scotland called Deacon Blue which was hugely popular but a lot of other people just didn't get. Including me.

Yeah, exactly. That's what I'm going for here. Something deeper when a band just doesn't do anything for someone. So, personally, I don't think someone like Justin Bieber really counts since there's a mutual hate going on. I'm going for something that just doesn't click for someone.

Wilco. I don't get Wilco at all. Lots of fine people seem to think they're something special, but there's really nothing about them that sound appealing or memorable at all. I don't get Wilco.

I used to not like Wilco. It was one of those bands I wasn't getting, but after seeing one of their performances of a song from their self-titled album on Letterman, I think, I went out and bought it and it's been one of my all-time favourites. It's really a great album. I guess that's the benefit of a band evolving and subtly changing styles over time. Castaways & Cutouts is an earlier Decemberists album, which means I'd probably like their newest one that just came out.

Other times though, it's a sign of frustration when you're already a fan and start to see your favourite band drift away from the styles that you like about them.