OK easy one today. I'm taking a survey, so please drop a note in the comments section, wouldya?
Topic: Best band or act that you never liked. This is the band that, for all intents and purposes, you should love. They play the kind of music you generally dig, you can't really think of any specific thing you dislike about the band; maybe even you pretend to like them because everyone else is always talking about what a great band they are.
I've got a couple on my list.
Remember Yes? No? Well, I'm definitely aging myself here. Early 70s prog-rock band. Roundabout. Owner of a Lonely Heart. What a line up. You’ve got the tasty Steve Howe on the ol' six-string, Bill Bruford on drums, pioneer Chris Squire on bass, prodigy Rick Wakeman on keyboards, all fronted by the ethereal choirboy vocals of Jon Anderson. Each song they wrote was a musical opus; these boys were dedicated to their craft. What's not to like? Here they are:
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| We're very serious. Except the one with the hat. |
I love Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Rush and other prog-rock bands of the same era. But never could get into Yes. Tried. Didn’t happen.
The other one, I'm sorry to say, is The Tragically Hip. I hate not liking thse guys, First off, it may be my wife's favourite band. Plus, isn't it downright unpatriotic not to like the Hip? Unlike Yes, I actually love some songs by the band--Wheat Kings live, Nautical Disaster, Hundredth Meridian. And Gord Downie is a rock-n-roll poet of the highest caliber. But apart from a few memorable riffs, I find a lot of the back-up tracks kind of prosaic and repetitive from song to song. Maybe it's the whole noodling on the slide guitar every song or something.
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| iPhone Tragically Hip button. |
On the flip side, here's an act that I, by all rights, should have hated, but ended up loving: Merle Haggard. My friend Jill thought he was the greatest. I thought she was just being iconoclastic ol' Jill, but turns out he is pretty awesome. I really shouldn't like him. Never been a huge country music fan. Merle out-rednecks Toby Keith and out-twangs Dwight Yoakam. When they make jokes about country music, they're talking about Merle. But he's heck of a singer, a great fiddler and underrated guitar picker. And as far as I'm concerned, writes some of the finest drinking songs there is.
Merle: Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink
I did a quick survey at the office and so far got: Supertramp, Aerosmith and Bryan Adams.
Anyways, I'm interested in hearing about the best band that you don't like. Comment section below. Let 'er rip!
There are probably a few that you wouldn't have heard of that are on my list (they are Chinese rock bands), but there are two that you probably would have: U2 and REM. Ok, 3 - Radiohead. They all have songs that by all intents should match my favourite styles, but for whatever reason, I can't dig them at all. -Ead
ReplyDelete(PS, as always, I love reading your writing :) )
EEEEEEEEEEEAD!!!! Good to see ya buddy
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on both Yes and T-Hip. And I'll add Mötley.
ReplyDeleteColdplay... Don't hit me with rotten tomatoes anyone.
ReplyDeleteRe: Motley... One of my fav's in high school (even did a very intricate mural on my bedroom wall as a 15 yr old), but then I saw them live when I was about 30 and wow, they are on the other side of the fence now...actually...the same thing happened for me from watching the Chili Peppers live...
Like I said, Boomer, you're always writing stuff that is entertaining (and sometimes thought-provoking) for me to read. Be safe, Boomer. I hope to catch up with you sometime when you're done with your special assignment. :)
ReplyDeleteSmashing Pumpkins is in that group, REM is flirting with it, as is Radiohead. It's easy to say I'm with Alisha and hate Coldplay, as a U2 fan (then/now), other than when they decided to stop writing Coldplay songs and ripoff U2 songs. T-Hip still has me 51% in favour, in large part because it remains my favourite band name ever. And Rush. Definitely.
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