what's the most critically acclaimed band...

user_70 · Post by **user_70** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 7:24 am

jon abbey wrote:
polyphonic wrote:threads like this make my skin crawl.
why?

Invariably they devolve into people just listing stuff that "sucks" or is "overrated." If you're going to say that a band doesn't do it for you, I'd be interested to hear WHY they don't do it for you.

You mentioned JD/New Order: is there anything particular about that band? Do you like any similar bands of that era? Is it more an issue with that entire genre or set of genres, or is it something specific about that band, or even particular musicians within that band?

Also, why would you "intentionally ignore" a band? I mean, what's the point? This kind of willful closemindedness seems completely contrary to the whole ethos of this little community.

user_189 · Post by **user_189** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 7:44 am

poly brings the truth

user_3 · Post by **user_3** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 9:02 am

rentboy wrote:poly brings the truth

I generally intentionally ignore the truth.

user_60 · Post by **user_60** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 9:10 am

polyphonic wrote:threads like this make my skin crawl.

Yeah.

tomentosa · Post by **tomentosa** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 9:19 am

funny i also have missed out on
smiths, radiohead, and most of becks latter work

i never made a concious effort not to listen to say radiohead, i've heard a few songs, they didnt catch me so i moved on. i still mean to give em the old 3 listen rule but i just never get around to it.

also i suppose there are times when i stay away from much trumpeted media.
why
because the joy of finding good media with no baggage is much more enjoyable to me
with a band like beck when all my friends say oh his new album is so great etc. theres such much expectation and preconceived notions.
i much prefer going in blind
imo its much more interesting to dig up something a bit more obscure.
the equilavent of going to record stores and digging and diggin in crates, sure you can look on the wall at what the store considers cool or valuable and just take that or you can search and find something the store owners maybe undervalued that fits your tastes etc better.

user_20 · Post by **user_20** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 9:33 am

The Velvet Underground

No, I don't think they "suck." I own all of their albums. But I just don't connect with it for whatever reason. I don't even know how to explain it. I bought all their albums because I heard they were all supposed to be pretty different. I haven't listened to them in a while, but I remember liking some songs on the first two albums.

The Stooges

I've gone over this one a million times. I just don't like this sort of purely aggressive music. It just feels dirty to me, in the same way that New York Dolls/Johnny Thunders do. I kind of like 'Funhouse' actually, and still own that one. Gave the 's/t' and 'Raw Power' to my more manly ex-gf.

Suicide

I thought I would love this band. But they're too repetitive for my tastes, their synths too dark and dirty. I like aspects of the band though. "Cheri Cheri" has some pretty synths--that's a great song. And I prefer the second album, which is less in your face and doesn't hit you over the head as much.

There aren't many others I think of. I think for a band to count in this thread, you have to have given the band a fair chance, free from hype/bias.

I guess a commonality between the three I listed are that they're all sort of "dirty" sounding. And, hmm, all the leaders of those bands are pretty cocky about their "influence" on music (well I'm not sure about Iggy Pop....). Maybe that trait went into their music, I don't know. Nah, VU doesn't seem to fit there.

user_60 · Post by **user_60** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 9:34 am

I think VU's albums only really sound different to people who are really into them. Except maybe Loaded, which I really do think sounds different.

user_60 · Post by **user_60** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 9:36 am

It's funny, Magazine's reasons for disliking the Stooges are exactly what I love about them.

mshiflet · Post by **mshiflet** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 9:52 am

Nick Drake
just doesn't do anything for me.

Tom Waits
fuck him and gravel-gargling.

Sun Ra
i own several, can only get into a few. maybe i'm just not hearing the right stuff.

user_3 · Post by **user_3** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 9:59 am

gmby wrote: Tom Waits
fuck him and gravel-gargling.

IT'S CLOBBERIN TIME

user_60 · Post by **user_60** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:11 am

There are many people, or at least sentiments, in this thread that I'm inclined to clobber. But then I don't like a lot of sacred cows that some people around here worship.

dialecticbricks · Post by **dialecticbricks** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:12 am

Pavement- without a doubt. Could be the fact that I already owned albums by The Fall and the Swell Maps by the time they came around.

db

sevenarts · Post by **sevenarts** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:19 am

Brother Zoot wrote:It's funny, Magazine's reasons for disliking the Stooges are exactly what I love about them.

yep.

i can't say i ever intentionally ignore a band, because often even when i think i won't like a band i wind up enjoying them once i've heard a bit. i will say that the smiths don't really do anything for me either, from the little i've heard: too slight & 80s production values often bother me unless the band has something truly mind-blowing to offer.

re: joy division: i bought substance expecting more stuff like "love will tear us apart," which is a brilliant song. instead i got "love will tear us apart" + a bunch of average, samey post-punk. is there anything i'm missing? did i pick the wrong album, or is that really what all of jd's stuff sounds like? i love new order, btw.

user_60 · Post by **user_60** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:34 am

But, like, "Warsaw."

michael · Post by **michael** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:36 am

yeah i used to like pavement quite a bit, but now for some reason they just seem sorta like a bland rock band to me.

i can still appreciate their influence though

michael · Post by **michael** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:40 am

i think white light/white heat souds really different than the rest of VUs catalogue. wl/wh is one of my favorite albums ever

user_60 · Post by **user_60** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:40 am

I must be a weirdo. Pavement didn't do much for me for years, but more recently I've grown to like them quite a bit more. Their first two albums, anyway.

mshiflet · Post by **mshiflet** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:44 am

don't know. i've actually been listening to terror twilight all morning. still love it. maybe it's my inner-teenager.

best thing tom waits ever did was the episode of 'fishing with john' he was on. musically, i can't think of any.

user_120 · Post by **user_120** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 11:01 am

Guided By Voices has never really clicked with me. The album I have listened to most is Bee Thousand. Over time, a few of the tunes have really caught my ear, but everything always seems half-assed, or unfinished. Then of course, there's Do The Collapse, which is overdone! Very critically acclaimed band, only scratching the surface for me.

user_3 · Post by **user_3** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 11:06 am

gmby wrote:best thing tom waits ever did was the episode of 'fishing with john' he was on. musically, i can't think of any.

"Should I put it in my pants?"

(Agree on Terror Twilight, and all of Pavement, really. But then, I would.)