hey Imprezu...

Who I don't get.....

The Talking Heads - the music and Byrne's voice never appealed to me.

ZZ Top - yawn.

Weezer

Belle & Sabastian

overdone Britpop - Last 3/4 Oasis albums, Doves/Supergrass/Happy Mondays/etc.

Some of my many "don't gets"

Fiery Furnaces
Jeff Buckley
Pavement
Weezer's Pinkerton
Neutral Milk Hotel
Bright Eyes
Devendra Banhart
The White Stripes

And I'll second the selection of the Flaming Lips and Tom Waits, although I like Waits' songs sung by others.

Jeff Buckley ONLY made one friggin' album. It's not that hard to "get" if you like Led Zeppelin or beautiful covers....oh, well.

Pavement, the White Stripes, last year's Loretta Lynn....forget it already. (These aren't mine, they're pE's.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

Zappa unfunny? Well maybe since late '70s. However when he was funny, he could be a prophet...Listen to Burnt Weeny Sandwich man! At the end of the epic work-out "Little House I Used to Live In", there's a small incident:


FZ: Thank you, good night . . . Thank you, if you'll . . . if you sit down and be quiet, we'll make an attempt to, ah, perform Brown Shoes Don't Make It.
Man In Uniform: Back on your seats, come on, we'll help you back to your seats, come on . . .
Guy In The Audience: Take that man out of here! Oh! Go away! Take that uniform off man! Take that bloody uniform before it's fuckin' too late, man!
FZ: Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, and don't kid yourself.

And that's just one example. Zappa has lead to thousands (even non-musicians) checking out Stockhausen, Varese, Schoenberg etc. with all his multiple-references. And even he could be great past the late 70s, as evidenced from Jazz from Hell, Yellow Shark, Civilization Phase III etc. He tried to show his serious side as a modern classical composer (hey, even the great Pierre Boulez conducted Zappa's music) and gave a good account.

Myself, I'm not that big a fan of post- Grand Wazoo Zappa, save a few here and there, but anyone as versatile as Zappa deserves to be given a few chances.

My big 'not get' ones are probably..well, arena rock in general.

Springsteen could sound amazing if he didn't do all that self consciously overwrong and overproduced nonsense that had me wretching in Darkness at the Edge of Town. U2 just sounds like Bono's personal declaration of self-greatness. I haven't heard much of their 80s stuff, but the stuff I have heard just sounds like uninteresting songs only individuated by an overdramatic vocal performance.

I never got Love. Forever Changes...meh.

Also most rap, post-Kid A Radiohead stuff, and Dylan's 90s and Ought-ies stuff.

Hey, I just realized something. We can now officially refer to 'Odd-5' and such to refer to years! The older generations had a monopoly on that before..but now we were young in the Oughties, and they can never take that away from us.

So beware, future grandchildren! You will be bored to tears by my stories of Odd-5!

Adding a few to mine:
Bright Eyes
Fiery Furnaces
Animal Collective
Kid A (although I loved OK Computer)

How can you not like Jeff Buckley?!?

Hey, Bob, you have the right to not get Springsteen, U2, latter-day Dylan and Radiohead, but I have the same right to not get your not getting it.

quote:

Originally posted by Hemorrhoids:
Zappa unfunny? Well maybe since late '70s. However when he was funny, he could be a prophet...Listen to Burnt Weeny Sandwich man! At the end of the epic work-out "Little House I Used to Live In", there's a small incident:


FZ: Thank you, good night . . . Thank you, if you'll . . . if you sit down and be quiet, we'll make an attempt to, ah, perform Brown Shoes Don't Make It.
Man In Uniform: Back on your seats, come on, we'll help you back to your seats, come on . . .
Guy In The Audience: Take that man out of here! Oh! Go away! Take that uniform off man! Take that bloody uniform before it's fuckin' too late, man!
FZ: Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, and don't kid yourself.

And that's just one example.

Which only goes to prove, humour is in the eye of the beholder.

quote:

Originally posted by The Furnace Is Fiery:
hey Imprezu...

whats up?

How could you not like the talking heads!!?!?

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
Jeff Buckley ONLY made one friggin' album. It's not that hard to "get" if you like Led Zeppelin or beautiful covers....oh, well.

Pavement, the White Stripes, last year's Loretta Lynn....forget it already. (These aren't mine, they're pE's.)

I know, I'm a big lame-o.

The thing I don't get about Buckley is less the music (although you can't claim he's only made one album since his mom keeps repackaging his legacy over and over) and more the cultish fervor he inspires. I like a few of the songs ("Last Goodbye" might be one of my favorites from that era) but all in all, I just don't find it that exceptional. He's got a great voice, but it's like listening to a metal guitar virtuoso: really amazing, but it gets old fast to these ears.

When I was at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a couple of years ago, there was a temporary Jeff Buckley exhibit, and there was a woman there with a notebook frantically scribbling notes. She started talking to me about the greatness of Buckley, and about the book she's writing about it, and that she teaches his lyrics and music in the high school English class she teaches. All I could think was that those high school students were really getting ripped off, if she's teaching Jeff Buckley as poetry.

quote:

Originally posted by Imprezu21:

quote:

Originally posted by The Furnace Is Fiery:
hey Imprezu...

whats up?

How could you not like the talking heads!!?!?

...mostly his vocals, just one of those turn-offs...

I was laughing at our timing of the Amon Tobin feedback...almost identical...

quote:

Originally posted by philosopherEric:

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
Jeff Buckley ONLY made one friggin' album. It's not that hard to "get" if you like Led Zeppelin or beautiful covers....oh, well.

Pavement, the White Stripes, last year's Loretta Lynn....forget it already. (These aren't mine, they're pE's.)

I know, I'm a big lame-o.

The thing I don't get about Buckley is less the music (although you can't claim he's only made one album since his mom keeps repackaging his legacy over and over) and more the cultish fervor he inspires. I like a few of the songs ("Last Goodbye" might be one of my favorites from that era) but all in all, I just don't find it that exceptional. He's got a great voice, but it's like listening to a metal guitar virtuoso: really amazing, but it gets old fast to these ears.

When I was at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a couple of years ago, there was a temporary Jeff Buckley exhibit, and there was a woman there with a notebook frantically scribbling notes. She started talking to me about the greatness of Buckley, and about the book she's writing about it, and that she teaches his lyrics and music in the high school English class she teaches. All I could think was that those high school students were really getting ripped off, if she's teaching Jeff Buckley as poetry.

The hype is not only about his recordings, but his shows up until his records and then ultimately his death. His future looked great with his genius....it's as if we only got one record of Nick Drake or John Lennon (two diff levels of success with diff followings but both gifted amazingly). Where Lennon received God-like status immediately and Drake turning new heads every decade, Jeff Buckley, undenially, was somewhere inbetween, and who knows what was to become of him. He was certain of success, and with one album, a bunch of fans/critics/musicians saw that in him.

Maybe my perspective on music has to do with my working on film reference books, beginning about 30 years ago. I had to watch and write about as many movies I could, as objectively as possible. My boss banged into me that the objective facts were important, so I got used to ignoring hype, outside influences, and other things which distracted me from the film, its story and its entertainment value and artistic merits.

I also grew up with all these old American vinyl LPs which often didn't have the artists' original visions (especially if they were non-American.) I DO have some 60s bands complete song catalogs, but I'm not that interested in the "extras" which are constantly put out to make a buck. I can understand why others may be interested in being completists of their faves while being disdainful of the "extra crap" being put out by less-favorite artists. I just don't really care about "all the goodies".

I've always been more interested in just the facts, just the studio albums (mostly), etc. I've never been into collections of any kind because I'm an "album guy". It's the same reason I don't listen to things on random, skip tracks or make too many mixes. I'm not making any value judgments here. I understand that others will think I'm screwy, but that's OK. I don't think anybody here is screwy or a "lame-o". I'm just trying to share where I'm coming from.

I always try to react to JUST the music, not any of the circus. If I avoid the circus, it's not really that difficult to only pay attention to the music. I also like to concentrate on things I like, which is why I don't contribute to the "negative" discussions too much. Once again, to each his own. It's interesting to read about other peoples' tastes. I just hope that I don't ACTUALLY listen to most of the artists I wouldn't get. I realize that means that I miss out on some I would probably like, but I'm not gonna worry about that. I already have too much good music right now that I don't have time to listen to.

quote:

If you get into bad moods all the time, try John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme'. Really sit back and listen....and hopefully your mood will change and open you up to some jazz (unless you REALLY Hate IT). Jazz seems to be seeping into more pop music and if you like a more modern approach, check out St Germain or even Jaga Jazzist.

I may do that...sometime.

Tom Waits
I try, I really do.

Bright Eyes...

Not THAT big a deal.

Lots of talk about Tom Waits and Talking Heads. God help ye if ye end up on a desert island with me.

One that comes to mind for me here is a British band called A.R. Kane. A few years ago I was pretty obsessed with Jesus and Mary Chain (still sort of am) and heard about this amazing band A.R. Kane who were often billed as 'The Black Jesus and Mary Chain.' Well at that time I would have bought just about anyone who was at all like JMC and quickly ordered a copy online. When it finally arived I popped it in and was greeted with an album that to this day remains one of my benchmarks for disapointment. They still get a lot of respect from a lot of people, and even had their albums re-released with all the bells and whistles last year. I just don't get it.

I just listened to Pavement for the first time, and I have to say I officially don't get them.

Well, I get why people like them. They've got some genuine inspiration and talent buried beneath that banal songwriting. I get why people like them. But, I don't get why people LOVE them.

I see how people could listen to it and receive pleasure from it. I *don't* get how people could think it is some of the best music ever recorded.

(I DO like Neutral Milk Hotel, who I also listened to for the first time, though.)