Which artists do you just not get?


I love folk. I love rock n roll. I love jazz, classical, C&W, blues and bluegrass.

At the risk of being labeled a troglodyte, a philestine, or worse, I've never been able to listen to Bob Dylan without getting a headache. Reminds me of a cat and a chalk board. Same goes for The Grateful Dead. Maybe I wasn't doing the right drugs or something.

Who else has the courage to admit to disliking music that vast portions of the population seems to go gag-ga over?

Rule number 1, Don't get personal or call other posters names because they just dissed your favorite artist.

Rule number 2, keep it civil.

Rule number 3 - HAVE FUN!
kinsekd
Alot of the stuff mentioned above is generic pedestrian and musically pretty dang predictable. Kinda boring or lame maybe, but not hard to "get" at all. The Mahavishnu Orch. at it's peak STOMPS!!! the vast majority of music (especially rock) in terms of skill, energy and imagination. An inability to appreciate their work would make it impossible to do a decent job of absorbing most stuff that's more challenging than Lawrence Welk or Bob Seeger.
Alot of the most rewarding experiences you can get as a listener don't hit you right away. Recordings that once seemed random and disjointed can often later be recognized as beautifully organised compositions. Listening to them gets to be as easy as eating good food or taking a walk.
That hasn't happened yet for me w/ alot of Derek Bailey records.
Country music, pretty much in it's entirety. It has to be WAY into the rock side of country-rock before I care for it at all.

I also can't stand the doctored-voice, synth-background of most of today's pop divas. I realize that it's not aimed at me, but it's the complete antithesis of what I listen to music for. I can listen to a widely diverse set of styles depending on the situation, and would choose to have music playing 12 hours a day around me if possible, but when this stuff comes on, say at a restaurant at lunch, it just grates on me.
Yeah, country music is really one very long song:"my wife is gone, my truck is broke, all cows died and that's about all".But there is certain consistency and calm in that.You just have to put your mind in the right gear, than it is managable.
I've always struggled with much of Coltrane's later recordings, not his musicianship which is what DOES draw me to him but the endless stream of improvisation which at times seems so disjointed and uninvolving. I keep on trying though in the hopes of someday finally getting it.

There are many "audiophile approved" recordings which I find dreadfully boring, too many to name and life is too short to focus on such things . As with one of the posters above, I have really come to appreciate the artistry of Patricia Barber not to mention her musianship.

I think there is a tendency at times to separate the music from the musianship and creativity of an artist. As noted above, I feel Coltrane to be among the greatest musicians I've ever heard as a result, am still trying to get more into his music, which is much harder. Louis Armstrong is the single greatest jazz musician to me. For those who might not "get" him I suggest listening to his early hot five recordings, not audiophile to be sure but to get a sense of his inate ability at phrasing not to mention his unique tone. His voice may not appeal but ya gotta love his phrasing both vocally and with his horn. If you don't like the music that is another thing altogether. Listen to "West End Blues" for a great example.