Three letters: G.B.V.
At their best, GBV create fantastic 3 minute pop songs that stick in your head. Unfortunately, most of their albums are chock-a-block full of song snippets and other failed experiments, making it hard to get to the nuggets. A friend of mine, a huge GBV fan, skimmed the top for me and culled out all their best stuff, and it's a joy to listen to. He recently lent me _Bee Thousand_ and I found listening to it a chore just to get to the good bits. So I can understand your feeling - find a friend who's a GBV fanatic and have 'em make you some compilations!
― Mr. Odd, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 01:37 (sixteen years ago) link
Spoon... such a goddamn impenetrable band.
― Jordan Sargent, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 01:39 (sixteen years ago) link
Wilco - 'Summerteeth' to be specific.
On paper it should be so easy. But stick it on my stereo and my hand immediately reaches for the skip button.
― sam500, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 02:31 (sixteen years ago) link
Seconded. Bought three of their records before I finally admitted to myself that I just don't want to listen to half-completed demos of half-written songs.
― Formerly Painful Dentistry, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 02:51 (sixteen years ago) link
I'm amazed that everything I was gonna submit has already been mentioned.. either we've all been lulled into quietly putting them into "the canon" without thinking, or we understand why they're vital yet it just misses the mark on a personal level.
My vote goes to the latter.. they're all pretty inventive.
So for me, again.. Public Enemy Pere Ubu G.B.V. Husker Du Bowie XTC Tom Waits
And I try three or four consecutive Animal Collective tracks at least once every two months. Never sparks anything.
The Fall took me years to go from hate to total and complete love..
― bassace, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 03:04 (sixteen years ago) link
Spoon, totally. Sometimes nice to hear on a jukebox, maybe on a soundtrack. Perfect incidental indie.
― wanko ergo sum, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 03:06 (sixteen years ago) link
The Replacements
― iago g., Tuesday, 10 July 2007 03:17 (sixteen years ago) link
Yeah I finally clicked with The Fall about a year ago. No idea what happened there, it just made a great deal of sense one day. And this was after a couple years of trying to like them.
Pere Ubu and Tom Waits both way OTM, for me.
― Clay, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 03:23 (sixteen years ago) link
Broken Social Scene. Another Arcade Fire I'm afraid.
― whatever, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 03:30 (sixteen years ago) link
You know, I see a lot of bands being named here that I completely love (Hüsker Dü, The Replacements), but I totally understand how someone can be "eh" about 'em.
― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 03:36 (sixteen years ago) link
Spoon, the Arcade Fire, and the Fall. yeah, not an original bunch to pick, but those really ARE the ones that first pop into my head.
― the table is the table, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 04:12 (sixteen years ago) link
"Wilco - 'Summerteeth' to be specific.
"
yeah,otm.but only about that particular record.
pere ubu is hard to get into,and i can't say i'm always in the mood,but if i am - they are great experience.
plus, i can't get a alot of the progressive 70's stuff that is now quite trendy,maybe cause i grew up on 3 minutes songs,it's too pretentious and ridicules to me sometimes.
oh,and though i love "Can",some of their suppose to be "classic" stuff is boring.
― Zeno, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 04:20 (sixteen years ago) link
90% of all popular music released in the past five years
― Mr. Snrub, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 04:37 (sixteen years ago) link
"90% of all popular music released in the past five years"
how old are you?
― Zeno, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 04:39 (sixteen years ago) link
really, who tries with that stuff?
― lfam, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 05:26 (sixteen years ago) link
I'm 25 years old. I listen to the radio. I go to the clubs. I read the Rolling 2007 Best Singles Thread. I look at the Billboard Hot 100. I know what the kids like. I try to get into it, really I do, but most of it just doesn't sound all that good to me.
― Mr. Snrub, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 05:58 (sixteen years ago) link
the beach boys. i keep trying the various reissues that arrive on the doormat, but no. still cant stand'em.
― mark e, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 10:10 (sixteen years ago) link
galaxie 500
― latebloomer, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 10:20 (sixteen years ago) link
People are "trying to like" the Arcade Fire? Seems to me that with them, what you hear the first time will be all you'll ever hear.
― Rich Smörgasbord, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 10:38 (sixteen years ago) link
With the Arcade Fire - I like the idea, but everytime I hear them I feel like I am listening to my Mom's new-wave tapes, driving around in the streets of my 80's childhood. Am I wrong?
― Finefinemusic, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 14:04 (sixteen years ago) link
arcade fire suck ballz, your mom totally had better taste in new wave
― pretzel walrus, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 14:07 (sixteen years ago) link
arcade fire are pleasant and have some good songs. but the singer's overearnest and much of the stuff is pretty thin. there's probably really not much to "get" as far as they're concerned...
― Charlie Howard, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 14:12 (sixteen years ago) link
Cosigned on Husker Du
― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 14:13 (sixteen years ago) link
rolling stones led zep kinks the who
most 60s british bands i like a handful of each of their songs but by and large i just dont like them
― titchyschneiderMk2, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 14:14 (sixteen years ago) link
Bowie & Pere Ubu - I recently got their box sets from the library (again). I like Bowie's singles and his Berlin period but I can leave the rest. Pere Ubu's early material (singles and first album) are very good as is half of the next couple of albums but I can't get past Dave Thomas's voice - much as folks say about The Fall. I think it'll click one day.
60s UK bands - I like all the singles but I never, ever have the desire to hear The Kinks, Who, etc. Frankly I prefer covers by my favorite artists - Robyn Hitchcock's Dylan covers made me appreciate him as a songwriter much more than proper Dylan albums.
Nuggets is a box I listen to every couple of years. I like much of it but don't love it the way some do. Messthetics is my Nuggets.
― Mr. Odd, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 15:59 (sixteen years ago) link
Pavement.
― C. Grisso/McCain, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 22:58 (sixteen years ago) link
Flaming Lips.
― Trayce, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 00:02 (sixteen years ago) link
zappa, my bloody valentine, genesis, dylan, talk talk, coltrane. respect what they're up to, like some of their stuff, appreciate their impact/influence/what i've learned from paying attention to the people into them, but still feel more obligated by the politics of taste, rather than compelled by how much they rule, to keep trying them out
― kamerad, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 02:01 (sixteen years ago) link
animal collective. the only way I could really like them is if they did the exact same thing they do now, except they dismember and eat Mike Love (of the Beach Boys) on stage. 'cause they sound like the Beach Boys, if the BBs were, er, tuneless idiots or perhaps just vegetarians who can't cut it. I realize this is perhaps contrarian, but I've tried, like the thread title says.
Tom Waits, too. Tried, respect the dude in his film roles and he's a funny interview. But his music just makes me sleepy.
― whisperineddhurt, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 02:35 (sixteen years ago) link
Stars. I want to like them. I have all their discs, and I love some of the elements to their music (the 80s influences, mostly), but there's something about them that prompts me to reach for the skip button a lot when they come up on the iPod.
― Daniel, Esq., Wednesday, 11 July 2007 04:09 (sixteen years ago) link
Even though they have some absolutely ripper songs, i can see why some people like them but i just cannot absorb what music they are making. Public Enemy are an incredible band. What they did for music in 1988 was unbelievable but the Bomb Squad's production has aged terribly since the release of 'It takes a nation of millions to hold us back'. I still cannot handle the production including that of 'Fear of a Black Planet'.
― Deirdre22, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 04:34 (sixteen years ago) link
Soz, the first band i'm talkin about is the White Stripes.
― Deirdre22, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 04:35 (sixteen years ago) link
The Doors. I got "Waiting for the sun" and like the singles, and so on.
I think they are underrated if anything, but I can't really got into em.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 08:26 (sixteen years ago) link
Pavement seconded. I've tried so hard, because I hear people I respect gushing over them non-stop. To a lesser extent, Sonic Youth for the same reason.
― Jazzbo, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 12:50 (sixteen years ago) link
lots of the bands already mentioned, like pavement, the fall, tortoise, even aphex twin to quite a large extent
but the one i'm most dumbfounded by is lightning bolt. there's no WAY i can dislike this band, in theory, but their music doesn't really make me want to carry on listening :-/
― Just got offed, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 14:17 (sixteen years ago) link
Pavement PJ Harvey Hendrix The Smiths (I like some of their material but most of it is just boring) My Bloody Valentine Underworld Lots of heavy metal The Orb
― Duane Barry, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 22:30 (sixteen years ago) link
The White Stripes. Sorry, but I just cannot for the life of me stand more than a few songs.I feel like I should love this band based on my musical/listening tastes, but I find them so boring. Yes, Jack White is a recording machine and super cool, but yeah, I don't get the overall hype of this band. Ever.
― scubasteve, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 18:48 (eleven years ago) link
New Order!
― frogbs, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 18:51 (eleven years ago) link
xp: Yeah, I got out a bunch of their albums from the library after listening to Jack White's episode of WTF this summer. He seems like a great guy, but the music is so plodding and generic to me.
― how's life, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 18:55 (eleven years ago) link
Scott Walker, idgi
― sleeve, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 21:25 (eleven years ago) link
^co-sign. Never tried very hard, though.
― Trip Maker, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 21:37 (eleven years ago) link
me too. i find scott walker's shtick just repulsive. i find hinmtotally unbearable. he seems to take himself so bloody serious when he sings.
― miesepeter (alex in mainhattan), Wednesday, 23 January 2013 21:41 (eleven years ago) link
I don't think there's much to get with the White Stripes. I don't like them as they're just not interesting enough, on all fronts.
― Master of Treacle, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 21:42 (eleven years ago) link
i agree concerning the white stripes. they always make the same song which is a super simple song. i always thought jon spencer was so much more interesting in doing this kind of blues rock but somehow he didn't have the same success.
― miesepeter (alex in mainhattan), Wednesday, 23 January 2013 21:46 (eleven years ago) link
Scott clicked for me a few years back but it did take repeated exposure.
New Order is a band that I like bits and pieces of but own no albums.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 21:53 (eleven years ago) link
I bought one of their records on an ilxor recommendation that it was as good as Disintegration or Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. I didn't agree at all.
― how's life, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 21:58 (eleven years ago) link
Opeth.
― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Wednesday, 23 January 2013 22:00 (eleven years ago) link
Scott Walker takes himself so seriously when he sings?
― Chewshabadoo, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 22:01 (eleven years ago) link
Ulver. I listened to 3 late-period albums without liking any of them before admitting defeat. I like the early black metal stuff though.
― Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 23 January 2013 22:03 (eleven years ago) link
here's a short list of shit i've tried my damnedest to like:
Burial - yuck. what do people see in this?MIA - this takes terrible crap to another levelRadiohead's OK Computer - this seems largely mediocre with a couple exceptions. how is this one of the greatest albums ever?Afghan Whigs - I feel like I should like this, but I don'tCamper van Beethoven - no thanksSmiths - 90% of it could be great but is ruined by MorrisseyGalaxie 500 - i like a lot of stuff by other groups that sound like them, but this band is just mediocreGBV - with a couple small exceptions, this does nothing for me but i feel like it should in theoryTom Waits - generally sounds phony and annoying and I can't get into him Tortoise - plodding and boringThe Fall - liked the A sides but cannot get into the albumsWhite Stripes - dull as shitTribe Called Quest - i like jazz, i like hip-hop, i like other groups that combine these things, but I have no use for this.
― Poliopolice, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 22:33 (eleven years ago) link
Unrest - Imperial F.F.R.R. is one of my favorite albums. Interesting though if that does nothing for someone who likes Perfect Teeth!
― Evan, Wednesday, 25 May 2022 17:17 (one year ago) link
I think I've said this before but I love the Young Marble Giants album so much that I rarely play it. Which sounds like a Yogi Berra-ism, but I really never want to wear out its charms with overplay and overfamiliarity. It's one of my favorite records of all time.
― 20 Preflyte Rock (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 17:17 (one year ago) link
― DAMAGED by Black Flat (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 17:32 (one year ago) link
_Unrest - Imperial F.F.R.R. is one of my favorite albums. Interesting though if that does nothing for someone who likes Perfect Teeth!_Lemme try again!
― DAMAGED by Black Flat (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 17:34 (one year ago) link
I love the Young Marble Giants album so much that I rarely play it.
There are lots of Big Monolithic Albums that I count among my favourites (Colossal Youth, Suicide s/t, The Drift) that I've maybe listened to about five or ten times only. When the music has a simplistic quality to it, it resonates in your brain longer and doesn't require actual listening, at least, that's my experience
― a legible shriek (flamboyant goon tie included), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 17:40 (one year ago) link
The Drift is a great example of that. I love it, have only listened to 3 times, not going to happen again anytime soon either
― Bruce Stingbean (Karl Malone), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 17:54 (one year ago) link
also, so far i have only listened to laurie anderson's United States Live once, in full, but it was enough to fall in love
― Bruce Stingbean (Karl Malone), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 17:55 (one year ago) link
My exact experience as well, though I've dipped into bits and pieces over the years. I'm due for a full immersion soon.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 25 May 2022 18:10 (one year ago) link
Pixies
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 18:11 (one year ago) link
i forget, was the original performance of the material from US Live also 4 and a half hours long? If so, were the performances split across multiple nights, or did she do it all in a single night (with intermission, I'd assume)?
― Bruce Stingbean (Karl Malone), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 18:17 (one year ago) link
I don't remember, but I asked her about archival footage once and apparently it does not exist :(
― a legible shriek (flamboyant goon tie included), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 18:30 (one year ago) link
The Drift, in particular, has a cinematic or radio-play aspect to its sound and structure, so you can absorb it on a dramatic level as well or instead of a typical musical level.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 25 May 2022 18:42 (one year ago) link
Wikipedia says United States originally ran about 8 hours and that most of what's not on the box set was chiefly visual.
― eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 21:54 (one year ago) link
I saw her on the Strange Angels tour. It was one of the most remarkable performances I've ever seen.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 22:07 (one year ago) link