Which artists do you just not get?

Diana Krall, she cannot hold a sound for more that 3 seconds...really gets on my nerves. Furthermore, all photos of her (and her Ads for Chrysler) are trying to make her look like a feminine, sexy woman. Pardon my expression, but, I think she has as much grace as a football player. I bought a cd, I got another as a gift, and my ears bleed everytime.

As for Celine Dion, her English singing is typically ''trhough the nose'' sounds. Try any of her French cd's, especially ''D'eux'', and you will discover an absolutely fantastic and stunning voice, more ''in control'' than most any contemporary artist. It just so happens that most French pronounciation and words come from the throat and chest, totally different from the english singing. Sort of like Patricia Barber, except that Dion can soar into the sky and not stay on the first floor like Barber's voice... Her current (Dion) ''techno pop'' songs are a discredit to her voicing abilities.

cheers!

Great thread.

I don't get:

Dave Matthews
Phish
Lyle Lovett

And I'm a hardcore Deadhead, someone who's "supposed" to like all three of the above. Yes, the Dead I got. Big time, but not really before I saw them live (Colt Park, 1975). Someone above noted the distinction between the live Dead and the studio Dead. Not even close to being the same band. I always assumed that they did the studio stuff to keep the mainstream world and record industry happy and the concert promoters (other than Bill Graham) fed with pr fodder. I have about 50 Dead recordings in one form or another, but haven't listed to a studio recording in years. To me, the Dead have ALWAYS been a band to listen to live or not at all. With the new Dicks Picks (since no. 17 I think) coming out in HDCD, it's a whole new world from 6th, 7th or 8th generation cassettes.

IMHO, most people who either don't get the Dead or don't like the Dead, when pressed, seem to be most turned off by the Deadhead "culture," and know very little about--or worse have never heard--the music. I've turned a few friends from detractors to fans when I dragged them to a show. And it didn't even require drugs!

Dcwinton, how can you like the Dead and not like Phish? The first time I heard Phish I thought someone had cloned Jerry's DNA.

I know. Strange. But I find them very gimmicky and a bit too clever for what I think their level of talent can handle. Sort of like Foreigner trying to play Pink Floyd or Steely Dan. I wish I did like 'em, because it would make my social life easier, and my family life too as I turned my four nephews into Deadheads and they all became Phish and Dave Matthews fanatics. My loss I'm quite certain, but there's no accounting for taste.

For me, the difference is the songs.