Bands that you just don't get...

[coffee344]

The Beach Boys were awesome.

As a kid, I had this tape of the Muppets singing a bunch of Beach Boys and other songs from that time. I should try and find a CD of that for my daughter, I bet she'd like it. I'd still listen to it lol.

 

[PaulB]

Going back to the Beatles... What assured their survival is how much better they were than they needed to be in 1964. In their initial promotion in the U.S., a lot depended on their looks and personalities. The early records were very good, but not startlingly better than the U.S. rock 'n' roll that came before or other British Invasion artists (e.g., the Dave Clark 5, who briefly threatened their supremacy). But what became obvious within a year was the quality and variety and huge output of songwriting talent they brought to the table (best of their generation, give or take Bob Dylan). Plus, they seemed to reinvent themselves with every album, and they did everything they did in just 6 years on top.

Nobody (and don't give me that Michael Jackson counter-argument; how many of his songs really stick in your brain?) has since approached what they did for popular music.

 

[Chelseafn]

This is way to hard. I have a lot!! But with that said my all time band I hate.....ok maybe not considered a band but...Kid Rock!!! I dont think he would be that bad if he would make his mind up. Is he rap? rap-rock?country? rock? If he comes on the radio I turn the station!!!! I just dont get it!

 

[Chelseafn]

Thats another one for me. The Beatles. Some of the early stuff was great but it all faded fast. I just never got em.

 

[Krandle]

I never dug Aerosmith. No particular reason...they just never rang my bell. I've seen a lot of bands (I mean a lot) and many of them didn't do anything for me with their studio work, but some turned me around with a killer liver performance.

 

[SuZamme]

Plus it's kind of hard hearing people put down the entertainers who put their heart and soul into bringing music into our lives.

I "hear" where you're coming from.
I've had people that love my music all the way to people that say they can't stand the sound because it gives them a weird feeling.
Oh well, we are artists because we first love what we create and then sometimes switch into the "gotta make a living" phase.
Fortunately, for most of us, we can find a way to freely reconnect to the pure joy of it all...without an audience.

 

[xrayspex77]

You said it. Every time I see your name all can think of is:

"Some people think that little girls should be seen and not heard, but I think... OH BONDAGE, UP YOURS! ONE-TWO-THREE-FOUR!"

Yup, love it!

 

[xrayspex77]

OK I might get crap for this, but I really don't get Taylor Swift's popularity, I mean I DO kinda get it, she's young, all American, wholesome, etc... But really her music is pretty generic, and I don't get how she is bigger than some of the other artists in her same genre, that have songs of equal quality or better. I just come to the conclusion she's that big because of mainly her looks, age and background, and her music is attractive to the major population of kids in jr high/high school, the trendies, yuppies and what not. I mean if she was brunette, average looking, overweight, with unconventional style, but write and sing the same stuff, she wouldn't be this popular. What do you guys think?

 

[notsoogood]

Any of the new stuff that's morphed or had the voice synthesized. To me that just means they can't sing.

 

[t9c]

OK I might get crap for this, but I really don't get Taylor Swift's popularity, I mean I DO kinda get it, she's young, all American, wholesome, etc... But really her music is pretty generic, and I don't get how she is bigger than some of the other artists in her same genre, that have songs of equal quality or better. I just come to the conclusion she's that big because of mainly her looks, age and background, and her music is attractive to the major population of kids in jr high/high school, the trendies, yuppies and what not. I mean if she was brunette, average looking, overweight, with unconventional style, but write and sing the same stuff, she wouldn't be this popular. What do you guys think?

Haha, no doubt TS is the one pop stars that NOBODY gets, that is if you're someone who knows anything about good music. Or if you just like teenybopper crap. I used to think Shania Twain fit in this category, but Swift trumps her by a long shot. Remember watching an interview with Ringo Starr being asked what he thinks about Swift. He bumbled for a minute and said something like (paraphrased) "she sure is fun to watch!" Haha, yeah I get it Ringo.

 

[t9c]

Any of the new stuff that's morphed or had the voice synthesized. To me that just means they can't sing.

yeah, its over-use is starting to get real annoying like 70's hall reverb.

 

[t9c]

Dude... The Beach Boys were awesome!

Brian Wilson was awesome! The rest of 'em...eh...

 

[Pav]

Ted Nuggent. I just can't get past his politics.

I can't get past his music. ugh.

Any of the new stuff that's morphed or had the voice synthesized. To me that just means they can't sing.

That's called autotune. It's like a plague.

As far as popular bands I don't get, Creed and Nickleback top the list.

Dream Theater is another one. send em to the bargain bin.

 

[firefox335]

I like someone who can just plug into an amp and amaze me.

 

[PaulB]

Brian Wilson was awesome! The rest of 'em...eh...

I'd give a little more credit than that to brother Carl, a very soulful singer.

 

[Steel]

all jrock.

 

[bassnut]

I can at least appreciate any "band" of musicians and I don't even have to like their music.
I think there's something really wonderful that happens when different people get together to collaborate and work off each other's ideas and come up with something greater than any one would by themselves.
Gestalt? "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" It's a beautiful thing, man.
What I don't get is the pop mill manufactured solo "talents" like Lindsay Lohan etc.
...and all of these recordings of kids singing through their nose....processed by autotune...all sound the same...
I sound like a grumpy old man. I am. Get off my lawn!

 

[Michelle M]

I pretty much don't get any bands other than Rush.

I'm approaching 20 concerts. 30+ years making amazing songs.

Neil Peart really has no equal.

I listen to a few other bands from time to time but am mainly a Rush devotee.

 

[PaulB]

I can at least appreciate any "band" of musicians and I don't even have to like their music.
I think there's something really wonderful that happens when different people get together to collaborate and work off each other's ideas and come up with something greater than any one would by themselves.
Gestalt? "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" It's a beautiful thing, man.
What I don't get is the pop mill manufactured solo "talents" like Lindsay Lohan etc.
...and all of these recordings of kids singing through their nose....processed by autotune...all sound the same...
I sound like a grumpy old man. I am. Get off my lawn!

Grumpy old? Well, yeah. But I suspect I'm grumpier and older (old enough to think that 1964-68 were the best-ever years for Anglo-American pop music by far), and a sometimes part-time musician, and your words about the magic of banding together find ears here!

What I really don't get are musical artists whose focus is more on image and spectacle, and less on music. David Bowie (most of the time) and Madonna (most, most of the time) totally leave me at the bakery. (My wife and I seriously disagree about this...)

Almost nobody who went from acting to music does much for me. (Remember Bruce Willis' music career?) One big, big exception: Ricky Nelson, who was about 100x as talented as he needed to be (given his looks and his weekly role on a very popular '50s TV show). But he had a terrific voice, an excellent backup band, and unerringly good taste in song-selection (whether that was him or his people). As far as I ever heard, he never made a bad record. Probably the only teen-idol type (if you want to call him that) ever worth listening too.

 

[coffee344]

Lady Gaga.

Need I say more?