In an adjunct to the recent @freddy-steady post, who are the bands or artists you have secret dislike of?These may be artists you have records by, possibly even proud to walk through the playground/campus with, smugly tucked under your arm. You try to like ‘em, even, but just can’t quite get there…
Here’s mine:
Frank Zappa: atonal and/or puerile. Doesn’t count Hot Rats, except for the track with the singer next in line.
Captain Beefheart. Vile din, surpassed only by
Tom Waits. Writes nice songs, mind, or used to, before he got married.
Joni Mitchell. Also writes nice songs. But also chooses to sing them.
Earth, Wind and Fire. No, that’s a lie, it is no secret. A waste of satin and too many trumpets. And I like trumpets.
I got inspiration for this from other posters on my “irrational” post but I’m going with Flaming Lips on this one .
Of course I’ve got a couple of albums by them, when they were flavour of the month, but I don’t actually like them or play them.
Shouldn’t these threads be called “bands you secretly dislike?” and “bands you irrationally dislike?”.
I don’t like the word “of” hanging off of the end of the titles like that. It’s shoddy English – end of.
Bands for which you have a secret dislike, artists for whom you have an irrational dislike.
(For those who prefer language to be a preserved artefact.)
Not even a preserved artefact. “For those who prefer to follow grammatical rules that were completely invented out of whole cloth in the 18th century in a forlorn attempt to make English conform to the structure of Latin”.
Life is too short. You aren’t obliged to like the same stuff forever. Each record or whatever format, probably will be just the right thing at some particular moment.
Except Steeleye Span, as previously stated.
Why would you need to keep it secret?
Pretence, so as to contrive a light hearted post like this? Clearly too trite. I overestimated my audience.
We’ll disagree with Joni and Tom Waits and most definitely disagree with Flaming Lips.
I have a problem with Laura Nyro – tried but her songs have no tunes and her voice is nothing but an acquired taste.
Obviously Coldplay but then that’s music for people who don’t like music.
No it’s not (re Coldplay)
A good friend of mine from Texas is devoted to big haired, stage-straddling 70s and 80s stadium rock and blooze. I once mentioned to him I quite liked Stevie Ray Vaughan’s work on ‘Let’s Dance’. Now every time I meet this friend and beer is taken, he insists on giving me impassioned, detailed lectures about the genius of SRV and Double Trouble. I can’t bring myself to admit to him they bore me silly.
I’m an ardent fan of the ‘V but even I know it’s doomed exercise trying to explain his appeal to anyone not already sold on him.
A pal of mine is another ardent fan who some years ago tried to explain him to his wife. She couldn’t get past the ‘ridiculous hat’ and that was it. Fair enough.
Velvet Underground. I really should like them, and I do like a few tracks, but their reputation eludes me!
Same here Nigel Love Venus in furs but much of the rest passes me by. However I love the solo stuff of Lou Reed and John Cale (except metal machine music of course).
No “secret” dislikes here. My musical dislikes are openly available, upon request.
Simply thinking about Steely Dan gives me a sinus headache.
There are so many in this category:
Joni: I’ve written on here before about the week I spent listening to Blue multiple times a day and my inability even a week later to remember any of the songs. There’s a point in the life of many guitarists when they discover alternate tunings on an acoustic and find some interesting chord inversions/patterns before realising that it’s really hard to stop everything sounding like directionless modal ramblings. That’s how Joni’s entire output sounds to me.
Zappa: Gazing down at the ‘Z’ rank in my CD collection, I can see I own 6-7 Zappa albums, all bought in my youth when I was convinced that the next album would unlock his secrets. The sound of Zappa’s jokey/cartoony voice delivering yet another ‘hilarious’ punchline (usually accompanied by atonal xylophones etc) fills me with incandescent rage.
Paul Simon: Look, he’s obviously written some absolute bangers, but I think it’s the sound of his smug, condescending voice that puts me off. Usually a bit too much cleverness and craft on display.
Almost all recent American R&B/Hip Hop: I know I’m meant to signal my broad-mindedness by saying I love Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce etc but it seems to be built on the slimmest of actual musical craft. I love all the building blocks that it’s based on (70s funk, soul etc) and like this stuff best when those influences are most obvious (e.g. some Childhood Gambino stuff), but at best it sounds like bad Stevie Wonder.
Paul Kelly: This is a very Australian one, but Paul Kelly has sort of positioned himself as the Australian Dylan, which is amazing as his lyrical skills are slight and his musical skills even more difficult to identify. Lots of dreary three chord songs with over-worthy lyrics. The ABC here in Australia has spent the past 20 years trying to paint him as the ‘people’s poet’, culminating in an invented tradition where Australians supposedly celebrate Gravy Day on December 21 in reference to one of his songs. Search for it online and every reference is from the past few years telling us it’s an ‘Australian Tradition’, or even a ‘Cultural Phenomenon’ (thanks ABC!). It’s like ‘The Elf on the Shelf’ for lefty grown-ups.
Lou Reed
Frank Zappa
Sandy Denny
I don’t generally mention it because (a) folk do tend to get upset and/or annoyed at you and (b) the best way to a compile a comprehensive discography of any artist is to suggest that you don’t like them.
I’m even later to this question than Skirky. I’ve probably been too shocked at seeing Heaven 17 nominated, that’s probably why. My nomination for irrational dislike and general unwarranted abuse would be all 60s rock. Not all of it, exactly. There were, of course, loads of proper great songs in the 60s, but proper good albums for me start in 1969 (Bowie in UK; Velvet Underground in USA.). All previous albums contain almost 72% dross. Prove me wrong.
While I’m here, I’m wondering if anyone voted for Public Service Broadcasting’s The Last Flight in the AW poll? (Can’t really check right now as I’m too distracted by wondering about it.)
I’m wondering if anyone voted for Public Service Broadcasting’s The Last Flight in the AW poll?
10 people did, giving it 131 points.
Thanks Sal! I just noticed i put the above comment on the wrong thread. It was meant to go on the “Bands you have an irrational dislike of” (for my dislike of 60s albums is more irrational than secret) but I was so distracted by my wonderings I got the wrong thread. Now my inner tranquility has been restored by the knowledge that you have shared.
It’s probably the same thing but my contribution is more pretended/ tried to like, and it’s Ry Cooder. I bought four or five LPS of his before giving up. I think it’s just all too clinical.
I’ve thought of another one while typing: Big Star. At least I only bought two of their albums.
Calling @Steve-Walsh
I had a Ry Cooder box set once. This was because Talking Timbuktu is one of my favourite albums of all time. But he doesn’t open his mouth on that. I just find his singing voice remarkably uninteresting. But this is not a secret dislike, oh no.
I took over trying to get on with the Ry Cooder box set after @thecheshirecat had lost patience with it. I also love Talking Timbuktu and, in addition, I already had a double cd compilation of his stuff which I had enjoyed, I really like Bring The Family, the pre-Little Village John Hiatt album on which he featured heavily and I had loved seeing him live playing with his son, Joachim, and Nick Lowe. But, sadly, I just couldn’t get on with that box set. Like @thecheshirecat, I find Ry’s singing a hard listen and I felt that quite a lot of the songs on his albums are plain weak. The guitar playing just doesn’t rescue the package for me. And so I passed the box set on. If only I could remember to whom, we could get that person to add to this thread. Perhaps there’s a game here: who currently has the Ry Cooder box set? Is it the same mutual friend who pinched the communally purchased Scalextric? But that is probably a question for an entirely different blog.
Hmmm… I started reading this thread with the post by @thecheshirecat which mentioned me. I’ve now read up to the top and realised we should not be here at all. This dislike is not remotely secret. We discussed it at a gathering of friends in an attempt to persuade one of them to take the box set off my hands. I don’t keep my dislikes secret. They are available, like @Mike_H‘s on request, but often get expressed when neither requested nor, let’s face it, wanted.
Ry? Good call. I have a small selection of his earlier work, from last century, enjoying it. This includes his Chicken Skin Music, Bop Till You Drop and Borderline, together with some of his film soundtrack work. I thought myself thus a fan, and bought into his more recent run, from Chavez Ravine, I Am Buddy and his much vaunted AW poll winner, Prodigal Son. Awful derivative dirges of indiscernible merit. And all duly dispatched to the chazza. File under used to be quite good.
Annoyingly my prejudice has extended to his son, by default, as his stuff sounds quite interesting, but I have an irrational fear that his Daddy will suddenly pop up and burst the bubble.
I saw father and son live, with David Lindley and daughter. It was fab.
I feel vindicated! Bring The Family, the John Hiatt record he was on is excellent, I will have to dig it out for a listen. Thanks for reminding me. The Little Village one, on the other hand, was very poor.
It is excellent as he is a good, even great slide guitarist, and John Hiatt sang the songs, which he had written.
Little Village didn’t have any decent songs, as a result of the writing coming after the decion to regroup as a proper band, Lowe, Keltner and Cooder merely the, albeit superb, backing band for Bring the Family.
And it was recorded in four days if I remember correctly. The slide on Lipstick Sunset is excellent.
I am glad to see these comments about Little Village because: (a) I do like Ry Cooder (esp. Bop ‘Til You Drop and Borderline), John Hiatt and Nick Lowe; but (b) was distinctly unimpressed by the Little Village album. I thought that there was something wrong with me. I must look it out and give it a listen so that I can dislike it properly before donating it to a charity shop.
My secret dislike it’s a secret.
I’m inclined to think that Tom Waits either: a) had no melodies left after the first few albums, or
b) didn’t want to write melodic music anymore. I’m guessing the former, but I’m anticipating someone pointing out to me, as my cousin (a huge fan) did, that one of his albums from the 90s actually has some hint of melody.