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

xp Have you listened to Red? What comparable pop/rock(/country) artists are you a fan of?

I agree her voice is thin, and her lyrics aren't consistently great (though they're by no means "bad") - but her songwriting is very strong and the records are among the best in her particular category, that's why people like them so much?

I think I've only heard one Cardiacs song and it didn't do much for me. I guess this is as good a time as any to listen to On Land and in the Sea, if only because it's shorter than Sing to God.

"You were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter/And my Daddy said 'stay away from Juliet'" is p solidly "bad" imo.

I think Cardiacs are one of those bands where you should know right away if you're gonna like them or not. I mean I'd encourage anyone to listen to a few songs before making that determination but I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who thinks the band is "just okay" or prefer to pick and choose...you either get em or you don't, and the elements that turn people off are the same ones that make folks like me so rapturous about them. I'd say the same about Magma. If you hear MDK and just don't like it, then there's not much point in proceeding.

and yes, they do sound like pop to me...but like, several pop songs mashed together into one. I think their songs are legitimately catchy! nearly all of them!

I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who thinks the band is "just okay"

Three tracks in, this is my current feeling. Neutral-positive more than anything.

Fwiw, I was unsure about Sing to God and imago recommended Guns when I asked if they had something that was a little less hyperactive, which I did get into more easily - but that took a few listen too. xp

"You were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter/And my Daddy said 'stay away from Juliet'" is p solidly "bad" imo.

I can't personally rep for much pre-Red (though I like a few songs). If that is all someone has listened to, I would say – jump forward to Red.

(Also, you can probably pick out a "bad" lyric or two for any prolific artist!)

I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who thinks the band is "just okay"

"just okay" is pretty much my opinion tbh

t. swift litmus test is if you think the first line of "tim mcgraw" is bad, it's probably not gonna get any better for you

of course i am infected with taylor swift brainworms

but i def acknowledge "her voice is thin," hard to go back to her earlier records for this reason. her vocals have improved a lot over the past decade

oh but i see table has heard the records, so i'm probably not going to convince them!

well I'll be damned

maybe with Cardiacs its less 'are they good' and more 'do you like what they do'; I would guess that people who don't like the band or think they're "just okay" aren't into a lot of similar bands, to the extent there are even similar bands to them

Well I don't like prog much, that's true, partial to a bit of Magma though.

"You either love them or hate them" is rarely true about anyone tbh.

True.

I can't personally rep for much pre-Red (though I like a few songs). If that is all someone has listened to, I would say – jump forward to Red.

(Also, you can probably pick out a "bad" lyric or two for any prolific artist!)

I don't care for the musical style after that point, though. And, although the line I quoted - which is not from an obscurity or minor song - is especially glaring, I think some of the problems I see with it (an inability to stick with and develop a metaphor coherently, a reliance on clichéd images and turns of phrase) can be found in her other lyrics, which I'd overlook if there were more going on musically. I don't doubt that she is probably at the top of her genre, if defined narrowly. If we expand it to something like "popular folk/country-influenced singer-songwriters of the past 50 years", I might quibble.

The International anthem label, and everyone on it, except Junius Paul but really don't get the appeal of Jamie Branch.

*some of her other lyrics
xp

Yeah, I've definitely critiqued her lyrics myself in the past.

For me, though, it is exactly what is "going on musically" (melodies, production) that makes the lyrics not bug me to much, even when they're clunky. They certainly don't ruin it for me, anyway.

If we expand it to something like "popular folk/country-influenced singer-songwriters of the past 50 years", I might quibble.

And, yes, I did mean she is on the top tier of artists in that vein who are active/working today (particularly on the poppier side of the spectrum).

I was pretty ambivalent about Sing to God. The songs are impressive, but most are so hard to get my head around. A couple of them clicked. I don't think that translates to "just okay", but I don't love nor hate the band either. At some point I'll give them another go, I feel like they are a band I could love

The Frogs

Yeah, I mean there is a Swift song or two that I enjoy, but then the lyrics give me the heebie-jeebies. I also just don't understand how she can be construed as 'pop country' at this juncture. She's pop.

iirc she's 'alternative' now

gotta say her lyrics have never struck me as anything other than an offputting combination of basic, cynical and arch, no matter how (sometimes) decent the music is

Although I picked on one of her earlier country lyrics, I think I actually like the pop lyrics less, from what I know of them. They started to get this weird narcissistic quality.

much as i love a bit of Cardiacs, I get the sensation that they skirt dangerously close to that festival-ska vibe that proliferates around the UK

...i mean, that's not their fault because their music was established way before that vibe, but there's a correlation

Some of their early stuff pretty much is straight-up ska, but later they moved away from that sound. They were never embarrassing ska lol

I don't know what festival ska is but it doesn't sound like it fits the Cardiacs!

I'm going by 'In A City Lining' (which i do love) most of all

Cardiacs were around the free festival circuit in the early 80s. They have a song with a ska section in 11/8 LOL, which sounds like a gag but it's great.

I think I heard some festival ska once when I blogged a ride to a festival from some (extremely nice) young people on Facebook.

* blagged

They have a song with a ska section in 11/8

*gulp*

A Wooden Fish On Wheels is another great pure-ska one (with unusual timings, yes)

Vocally very reminisicent of the Homosexuals.

L Voag had that great (if thoroughly wacky) stint as a Resonance FM showrunner didn't he

i live in Bristol so my sensitivity and aversion towards festival ska is acute

Tool

i think it's okay to stop trying with them. their current fanbase hypes them enough to make up for the rest of us.

The riff on “pneuma” is sick as hell

I KNOW THE PIECES FIT
I KNOW THE PIECES FIT
I KNOW THE PIECES FIT

^ me in 2001, trying to convince myself Lateralus is this century's first masterpiece.

I've since tuned out 95% of critical and/or stan discourse about Tool and have come to realize that they're a good band, no more and no less.

Aenima was quite good fun at the time. Lateralus was so dry and humourless though

new one is great (but also dry and humorless)

Tool is the dumbest band I like

i have a much deeper bench for that category lol - Tool is prob the smartest of the dumb bands that I like?

CSNY should be right up my alley yet I'm always confused when listening to them. Couple-a songs I absolutely love, Teach, Almost Cut My Hair, Helplessly Hoping but that's about it.

Tool are kind of purposefully dumb.

rizzx since I’ve seen you posting on dead threads: maybe Crosby can be your way into csn? What do you think of the PERRO tapes, or even Crosby / Crosby-Nash albums?