Bands you keep trying to like but can't get into

My favourite SY album is Ciccone Youth but that’s just me. I listen to s/t and Confusion/Kill more than any other of their albums.

I like Sister fine and “Teenage Riot” is amazing. Jet Set is amazing. I found they really picked up toward the end and I really enjoy Nurse and Rather Ripped

I don’t know what to make of their golden era I guess. “Diamond Sea” does little for me

I don't like The Whitey Album that much tbh but I guess I get off on a technicality there, since it's a Ciccone Youth album.

Ryan Adams and his assorted projects were a big one for me, as I like my alt country/c&w/Americana. But I'm more than happy to shelve all that now. And yes I have tried to get into him before, but it never stuck.

The only problem I have with the Minutemen is that Double Nickels kind of towers over the rest of their catalogue but on the subject of the short songs poll, I've got to admit that They Might Be Giants is one of these bands for me. I do love 'Birdhouse' and 'Ana Ng' but haven't been able to get into anything else I've heard (I've tried with Flood and even owned Lincoln at one point).

I like the Minutemen a lot but I don't think I've ever listened to double nickels on the dime from start to finish. It's just too much, even though almost all of it is very good. I've only ever owned it on CD, but I suspect that this is an album that benefited from the vinyl format where you would only listen to one of the four sides at a time.

and then you get the engine noise locked groove at the end and you'd just leave that running for a while

I like Double Nickels a lot but I'm kinda surprised to see it show up on so many all-time lists tbh

It's only 80 minutes long. I used to listen to it on cassette, and had it so thoroughly memorized that when I heard the CD (which cuts three songs) it was effectively ruined for me. (And the CD version is the version that's on Spotify and available for download - if you want the full track listing now, you have to buy the vinyl.)

The RIP Malk Hollis thread just reminded me of all my unsuccessful attempts to get into Talk Talk... maybe this will bring their later catalog into focus for me.

I'm in the same boat. Recently sold a Talk Talk compilation, too.

Same here. Haven't tried very hard though.

my bloody valentine

Never listened to Talk Talk before; streaming Spirit of Eden now. The first song is nine minutes long, and three minutes in it's all blooze-jam piano/guitar/harmonica. This isn't gonna end well, I fear.

i don't really care about their later stuff but "such a shame" and "it's my life" are all time

blooze jam is totally relevant for talk talk - think Hollis was a massive fan of traffic, their influence runs deep in talk talk’s music

You should probably try Laughing Stock instead, unperson.

The appropriate listening context for the late period talk talk albums is a dark, quiet room

Traffic is definitely a band I've tried to like and it's just never happened. In principle, I like what they're about, but the execution just leaves me yawning.

I'm now midway through the second song on Spirit and didn't notice the transition - that's not a good sign.

Saint Etienne are the quintessential band I ought to really like but are only lukewarm towards. Everyone I know who's enthusiastic about them has really similar taste to mine.

^Yeah, I tried w/them several times (first as early as the '90s), and just couldn't engage, despite how they simpatico they sounded "on paper."

I guess the Mekons are also on that tip.

i am flabbergasted about how many people did not get into late talk talk. my advice: you need good speakers to really appreciate them. just do not expect anything, let the music flood over you. and have a lot of patience. the light should be dimmed, that's right.

It's music I can respect, but I'm rarely looking for that particular mood.

Colour of Spring hits the sweet spot for me between the pop structure of the early stuff and the instrumentation of the later stuff. I like and admire the last two records, but I'd rather listen to Colour of Spring any day

Morphine is one of those bands that "everyone" seemed to like, and I was left thoroughly nonplussed. Then I saw them in Scaruffi's all time top 5 albums or something and was just slackjawed. I have a severe aversion to their sound, but what makes it puzzling is that there doesn't seem to be anything there to "get" that maybe I'm not getting.

they're cool but Soul Coughing was a lot more dynamic and fun (though their singer is def worse)

Colour of Spring hits the sweet spot for me between the pop structure of the early stuff and the instrumentation of the later stuff. I like and admire the last two records, but I'd rather listen to Colour of Spring any day

― Vinnie, Monday, February 25, 2019 5:40 PM

Same.

xxp Morphine was cool, I can certainly see how their sound wouldn't be for everyone; but I rarely ever sen them even mentioned (let alone posed as some kind of consensus band)!

they're cool but Soul Coughing was a lot more dynamic and fun (though their singer is def worse)

just saw a thing claiming SC was touring, looked closer and it's Doughty without the other guys which is ... the opposite of what I want.

think Hollis was a massive fan of traffic, their influence runs deep in talk talk’s music

Oh right, cool, didn't know that, he was right!

yeah that makes total sense but I have never made the connection

have had

just saw a thing claiming SC was touring, looked closer and it's Doughty without the other guys which is ... the opposite of what I want.

yeah he's doing the entirety of Ruby Vroom which is pretty ballsy considering he literally wrote an entire book to explain why he doesn't play Soul Coughing songs anymore

https://frinkiac.com/video/S13E08/RyZxP1xlzgjfJkKUfyCdutEDw3c=.gif

Stereolab checks all the right boxes for me but something always sounds a little too, idk, tight about them? I haven't gone through the whole discog and occasionally I hear something I like, but they never completely do it for me.

I've tried a bunch of times with them and can barely recall a note of their music. Too light rather than tight, I suppose, but then again I don't like their 50s/60s touchstones either.

margarine eclipse is a late period sleeper for me, give that one a shot. recorded in double mono, so a great headphone album

I first got Transient Noise-Bursts while I was in a heavy Krautrock phase and left pretty unimpressed - "they're just directly copying Faust here and the long track is a big homage to Hallogallo" - I'm not quite sure what people hear in that record

ETK on the other hand I loved but it's been well over a decade since I heard that one

otm

Transient Random-Noise Bursts is the only one I truly like from beginning to end. It has a bit of a rougher production style which suits the music very well. Outside of that there are a bunch of individual songs I like, but no album feels truly great (and I've listened to most of their albums).

So difficult not to jump in the middle of this and start yelling at everyone.

minutemen and sonic youth are pretty much the only bands from that azerrad book that i enjoy listening to. i loved reading about almost all the bands in it though

I listened to Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock while writing yesterday. I liked them but I'm not crazy about Hollis' voice. Does warrant more listening though.

His voice has that animated 80s style that's hard to describe, or at least a version of it. He has a great voice, but it's the inflections. I don't know. I love those records so much but I know what you mean.

yeah I've never been crazy about his voice. i like indistinct "what are they saying" vocals sometimes but i sometimes am like "enunciate for the love of god"

I've tried 2 or 3 times to listen to Talk Talk and don't think I ever made it through a single song. that's just me though, I do feel sad for everyone who loved his music of course.

It's rather surprising to me that some avowed music fans haven't heard Talk Talk. Isn't this like the equivalent of saying in 1980 that you haven't heard the VU ?

It's rather surprising to me that some avowed music fans haven't heard Talk Talk. Isn't this like the equivalent of saying in 1980 that you haven't heard the VU ?

If indie and pop/rock music is your only framework for "music," this might seem flabbergasting to you, but you know, Anthony Braxton has, like, 400 albums, and I'd be way more interested in wading through more of those than listening to Talk Talk.

Talk Talk was one of the first bands I heard of after becoming a serious music fan/searcher. Could never find their CDs, pre-YouTube and streaming, by the time I heard Laughing Stock I wasn't into it and never pursued them further. But yeah, they're always one of the first names to come up if you're seeking anything experimental/progressive/"arty."

I dunno, I’m pretty into arty rock music, and I think my only ever exposure to Talk Talk (before this week) has ever been hearing “It’s My Life” on the radio here and there (and when No Doubt covered the song). I don’t remember them ever really coming up when I was getting schooled as a teen/young adult.

Isn't this like the equivalent of saying in 1980 that you haven't heard the VU ?

only 300 people heard talk talk but every one of them started a band that sounds like chvrches