I’m sure some of you have some artists that are generally beloved by the music community but you just can’t stand them.
For me it is The Mars Volta. It should be right up my alley, I like a lot of similar music but I can’t get over the vocals. They sound so emo (which kinda makes sense, given the background of the vocalist) but to me it just does not fit the music at all.
Not trying to shit talk them, just wanting to share some hot takes.
U2. From the very first time I heard one of their songs. I am quite open to music, but I recall one day it was on the radio or something and I made a point of listening all the way to the end in order to hear the announcer list the name of the song.
I have heard other songs by them. Just can’t stand them.
For me there’s 1980’s u2 which I like, and everything else which I hate. They used to be cool a long time ago, I promise ;-).
Exactly. Their stuff from the 80s was so good it’s hard to believe the same band made the other stuff. Lol
I think “dislike” threads should also encourage people to talk about who they like. Otherwise it’s just a hatefest and it doesn’t really go anywhere.
I was on /r/AskUK for a while, but had to unsubscribe because every popular thread came from a negative angle, and it gets real tiring.
Muse. The caterwauling vocals and incessant basslines make me literally nauseous.
i’m a big fan of some of their albums but i know exactly what you mean
I feel this way about modern Muse, which is sad because I absolutely adore their older stuff. Not to mention, their recent albums are some of the most pandery, heavy-handed crap to have been released in recent memory.
If we’re talking a specific band/artist, it’s Polyphia. While I agree that their music is good from a technical standpoint, I cannot stand listening to their “guitar tickling” sound, I keep getting blueballed while listening to them. They tickle their guitars, a buildup section begins, but instead of a “drop” or a groovier section, the buildup leads to more guitar tickling. The music just has no energy to me.
If we’re talking about genres, rap in general is not for me. Most of it is very low energy with musically simple beats. I’ve never been a big vocals kind of guy, so I guess it’s natural that a genre all about the lyrics doesn’t rhyme with me.
@wasabi James Taylor. Like…how does a guy do so many drugs and still manage to turn out the most bland, soulless music imaginable?
It just feels like the epitome of white guy mediocrity.
Not all of his music is totally bland.
James Taylor, what the hell you doin’ singing about prostitutes to the children?! Get outta here!
My mom was way into his music. I think it was a lot more interesting in the 70s before the whole folk-pop singer-songwriter thing had been done to death.
Still…
I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought I’d see you again
Lyrics don’t do it for everyone, but I think they’re one of the main draws of his music.
Yes, he’s one of the ultimate “singer-songwriter” types. Also an underrated guitar player. Not flashy, but very solid.
@ivanafterall @wasabi @SwampYankee I think I would have zero problem with him as a songwriter and support player. It isn’t really a lack of talent that I object to.
At The Drive In > The Mars Volta
Relationship of Command is a magnificent slab of work.
Taylor Swift.
I can’t explain it. Something about her just really rubs me the wrong way.
I like her music well enough, but I think there’s something about how she’s ruthlessly effective in the music business, but acts like she’s still just the girl next door. To be fair though, if she was genuinely how she comes across, she’d be walked all over in that world.
The Offspring. They always seemed to latch onto whatever sound was most popular at the time and regurgitated more of the same. Somehow they built an extremely successful career doing this.
To be fair to them, they released Smash just in time for skate punk to suddenly explode into the mainstream. They went from punk scene kids playing shitty dive bars and squats to being up there with Green Day, Nofx, and Rancid at the top of the punk tree, and kinda wanted to stay there. So Smash is a legitimately brilliant record, Ixnay On The Hombre is great, then they hit their formula with Americana and cruised along that rut.
As someone who actually likes The Offspring, this is definitely true. lol Also, a lot of their songs are just kinda the same song.
But on the other hand, their guitarist’s name is Noodles. So… that’s not nothing.
Meanwhile, Dexter has a PhD and owns a hot sauce company.
Also, they had one of two songs in Crazy Taxi for PS2.
YA YA YA YA YA
The day I stopped trying to like Frank Zappa was a huge weight off my shoulders.
Zappa and Beefheart are both acts that I view as art first, music second. Yes, technically they made music, but it was in pursuit of artistry, to break the rules of music as an art form.
Okay, I’ll be that guy… TOOL
Ouch. What do you normally listen to, for context?
Last.fm says my top 5 artists are, in order, Vampire Weekend, Billy Strings, The Beatles, Sufjan Stevens, and Green Day. There’s a lot of context missing there, though, lol. If you go down the list, you’ll find a lot of punk & punk-adjacent stuff with some folk, pop and alt/indie rock interspersed. There’s one metal band in my top 50, two if you count Porcupine Tree.
Now that’s a hot take!
There’s gotta be a Talking Heads song I would like, but I haven’t found it yet. The radio really ruined them for me.
The success of Taylor Swift is mind boggling to me. Mediocre singer is putting it lightly, lyrics so trite and juvenile, and she and her team pander to pop music trends so hard it’s embarrassing. Especially when there are pop stars that seem to be actual music makers and artists, she is such a waste of space to me. And she is literally the most popular thing on earth. I think she is popular because she represents a kind of attainable excellence. It makes her fans feel like they could be her one day since she is so mediocre at every facet of artistry. I struggle to believe anyone thinks her music is actually good.
Probably not the most outrageous choice but Ed Sheeran. I think he’s talented and I’m glad people enjoy his stuff but it’s probably some of the only music I physically can’t stand hearing. I can’t explain why either.
I’ll never understand how Kanye West has been lauded as a “genius” for so long. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad people connect with his music. Music matters, and people deserve to find stuff that they love, I’m not trying to rag on anyone’s tastes. I just personally don’t get it. I feel like there are some amazingly talented and creative rappers out there who don’t get that level of acclaim. I’ve listened to a lot of his stuff, and none of it really strikes me as anything special. In fact, songs like “Bound 2” feel insultingly bad to me, but people like it, so idk. 🤷♂️
I’m at a stage of my life where I don’t actively dislike any artists any more. There are some I don’t really get the appeal of, but we can’t all love everything.