Certainly no offence taken. It’s an interestimg discussion.
For me it’s nothing to do with the herd mentality or belongimg. My general approach to life is that outside of education I place great value on learning and learning from others. I wasn’t brought up with audio; experienced little music other than 1960s/70s R1 pop music until I discovered the weekly music papers; John Peel and Andy Kershaw and a friendship group in the 6th form and at university who broadened my horizons with stuff which stuck immediately and stuff which I couldn’t understand at the time but which wormed its way in through osmosis.
As an 18 year old I had zero interest or knowledge of classical, jazz, folk, blues etc. There was just pop and rock. Voracious reading and listening has its value. By 28 I wasan avid folkie. By 38 I knew my way around jazz. By 48 I finally had my head around classical music. More recently the blues have finally clicked.
I didn’t want to know about these to access new groups or belong anywhere. Couldn’t care less. I just found ways in whether via reading or listening or talking. Case in point my friend and ex neighbour has vast jazz knowledge. He tipped me off to 2 albums. 1 I got instantly. 1 took ages. He was right though. The latter opened a door to whole aspects of music I had never considered might appeal to me. Stuff I now can’t imagine my life without.
I fully understand those who don’t persist and indeed I still maintain a healthy “Nah, that’s s***e” or “Nah, that’s derivative” to lots of music. There remains a healthy amount of stuff that, no matter hype, I know will never be for me. There is tegular stuff though where I’ll listen once and think “Hmm, not sure about that. Not sure it appeals bit I’ll come back to it. Sometimes the next listen is a “Oh lord what was I thinking” but sometimes there’s “something” to latch on to and, when in the mood, I’ll throw it into a listening session and see what happens.
All that said, I have tried with opera for 4 decades and… nothing. Love Robert Plant. Zep? Nothing. I can enjoy Dark Side but the rest of it… nooo.
Hawkwind - thought I’d love them but before my time.
U2 - Joshua Tree onwards
Coldplay
Amy Winehouse
Elvis Presley
Some of the Beatles
Most but not all Rap.
I actually often wonder if there’s a bit of snobbery involved when it comes to highly popular bands/groups - if everyone seems to like it then I want to dislike before I’ve even heard it. You can extrapolate that in the sense of wanting to listen to more esoteric/challenging music but then that so often fails too.
Ultimately you like it/love it or can’t be bothered.
Well with the exception of God Only Knows I never got the Beach Boys.
But here’s the thing, when I was 15 a friend, who went on to be a great trumpeter, lent me an album called Kind of Blue, I just didn’t get hit. A few years later I went back and the rest as they say……
For me, also, life is a continuous cycle of learning as will be evident from my always questioning why and how). And that is a delight. As far as music is concerned there is far more than I can ever hear, let alone spend time enjoying, so I certainly feel no loss not pursuing some I don’t like.
I grew up with classical music played in the house by my parents, either radio or her very small collection of 78s. I liked it. Occasionally there was pop music on the radio - I didn’t like it, and the worst was “She loves you yeah yeah yeah” - made even worse by kids at school singing it all the time. Also from time to time on the radio there were opera arias that my dad liked to listen to - but I disliked them. My developing a love of opera, some opera that is, pertinent to this subject, is detailed in the post below.
Ok, I thought why not - managed to find on Spotify, and had a listen to all three, and tried as well as I could to leave my expectation out of the room while I did so.
There will never be another you and Whisper not. Rather similar, both Inoffensive, unlike some jazz (that’s a compliment!), but hotel foyer fodder, with random tinkly piano plus some bass and drums. The drumming on Another you has some odd out-of place banging in places, while Whisper not has occasional spurious vocal short descending “aaah-like sounds” that don’t fit and audience clapping for no apparent reason, both of which would be distracting if there had been anything to get into. Nothing to grip me with either, nothing to really listen to, to enjoy. I don’t think I could get any pleasure from playing again and again.
What I say is quite different. A collection of disconnected noises linked only by drums & bass. Then came the squawky often discordant trumpet, and any possibility of settling with it was lost, then worse with sax. Would be downright painful if played loud. Drum solo in the middle uninteresting just like any drum solo whether whatever the genre, then it seemed like repeat time. This is jazz to make me leave the room if it looks likely to go on for more than a very few moments.
REM
Most opera
Most Beatles
Rush (except for 2 or 3 tunes)
Red Hot Chili Peppers
And I don’t know why saxaphonists like Coltrane have to go off all free-form and squawky in the middle of a good tune. I just can’t get into it.
I remember playing Equinox in the car for my wife one time, and it starts off so smooth and sexy and my wife is enjoying it. Then about half way thru, he breaks in to a God-awful racket of squawks and squeaks, that I guess he thinks his fans are enjoying. But I think maybe he dropped some Clearlight or Purple microdot before the session and it was just kicking in.
My wife just looked over at me and said, “Are you kidding? Turn this $hit off.”
So much for Jazz in the car …
Other than that, John is great. I have four of his on vinyl. (But no TT at the mo …)
Rap
Ed Sheeran (street busker!)
Coldplay
Boybands (jobs for untalented mates)
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Robbie Williams (very ordinary living on boy band reputation)
That’s my grumpy old man list - probably loads more. Many bands and artists I don’t like but I can appreciate what they do. The abive I just don’t get at all.
At the risk of being out touch with about 90% of the members I’ve become extremely bored with Diana Krull music lately.
Think there’s been bands that I may have got if I got to heard them when they were new. I’ve tried and tried to get on with Rush but just can’t, I get they’re good etc but just doesn’t rock my boat. Think you had to be there that day.
I do know my musical tastes keep evolving, but the favourites still hold their place.
Miles Davis, Steely Dan & Coldplay immediately spring to mind but they’re not alone.
I bought Kind Of Blue because it seems to pop up on “best of” lists everywhere and is widely regarded as an essential album. If I were ever to trim down my collection then Kind Of Blue would be the first to go. I just do not get it, or jazz in general really.
Steely Dan’s “Aja” was bought for similar reasons. Again I don’t get it at all. Though in fairness to Steely Dan I’ve heard a couple of tracks from “Can’t Buy A Thrill” on Radio Paradise and quite liked them.
My aversion to Coldplay is more an aversion to Chris Martin. Something about him makes my hackles rise. He’s a bargain bin Bono.
Diana Krall for me has always been the archetype of music that is only popular because of middle aged white blokes at hi-fi shows. She’s not a compelling performer. Her voice is nice but only in an anodyne way. Her own songwriting is bang average at best and her covers offer nothing new in terms of tempo; arrangement or anything really. She eixists and thus some people will inevitably like her but I’ve always felt for them
I love Kind 0f Blue and Sketches of Spain. Nothing has yet persuaded my ears about the rest. I persist with Aja but can’t past the party it was played at when I was 18 and my brain refuses to see anything other than “pointless smartarsery” whether others hear cleverness and genius.
Coldplay? I was unaware the rest of the band had personalities so can totally understand the focus on Martin. Music for modern lifts.
I have found that my tastes have changed over the years.
I never really enjoyed Jazz for example.
My friends had the usual Miles Davis titles but I just didn’t enjoy them particularly.
Around 2014 I’m not sure what prompted me but I listened to Blue Train by John Coltrane. Wow.
I kept playing it and that lead to other discoveries and now I have around 400 jazz albums and enjoy seeing it live also.
I still love my old favourites from the 1970’s but I probably listen to jazz 25% of my listening time now.
That would have been inconceivable 15 years ago.
