Bands you just didn't 'get' initially

[GD Fan]

First experience of Led ZEP was II, back in the day when you would go into a booth and listen to a couple of songs, and if you were lucky a whole album to see if you liked it (This is the UK, late 60s & early 70s). Almost none of the now legendary bands were played on the “wireless”.

I think LedZep are more nuanced, somewhere I have “Early Days” and “Later Days” (vinyls) and that covers all the good stuff. I love songs like Kashmir (check out Vincent Peirani for the accordion version) and Trampled underfoot. I also like the two Page and Plant collaborations from the 90s.

I grew up (mostly, to the extent I did) in the '80s and therefore assumed I'd never see Led Zeppelin. So seeing Page & Plant at the UNO Arena in 1995 remains one of the top concert memories of my life.

 

[mps]

My roommate in grad school more or less believed life was too short to listen to anything other than Goldberg Variations, so I heard Glenn Gould’s recording hundreds of times. I didn’t get it (or classical in general) at the beginning, but it became my favorite recording

 

[Stopeter44]

I grew up (mostly, to the extent I did) in the '80s and therefore assumed I'd never see Led Zeppelin. So seeing Page & Plant at the UNO Arena in 1995 remains one of the top concert memories of my life.

Yes, I saw them on that (world?) tour, at the Bercy arena in Paris (France, that is). Back in those days you needed to take a gas mask to concert, because too many people smoked. I went with my brother, a smoker at the time, it was a great show, but we had to leave before the end. The cigarette smoke, you needed a chainsaw to cut it. It was absolutely the most stinking concert I ever went to.

 

[mglobe]

…

 

[Eric Natural]

U2. Still don't get.

We saw them at the Sphere in Vegas last fall. Great show - Edge is a singularly amazing player. Bono is just weird.

 

[Eric Natural]

I can mention a band I discovered and fell in love with, then have become totally over.
Got : not got. Taylor Swift
I so loved the two pandemic records - acoustic and moody, I felt they were perfectly in time with that moment. They were/are "isolated" songs sung very well.
The new record ; I have listened to a couple of times while keeping an open mind but I don't care if I ever hear it(or Midnights) again.
Peace

 

[MattHooper]

Just realized there is a group that I hadn't appreciated at first, but do now to the point of becoming a huge fan:

ABBA

There is probably no more boring declaration on earth as to say "I'm a fan of ABBA." But..

They were in the background growing up, didn't pay much attention. Like many in the 90s grabbed their ABBA Gold CD to play on car trips, realized "hey they were actually quite good!"

Then around 2021 when they'd announced their first new album in 40 years, I guess the youtube algorithms were pumping out more ABBA recommendations, and there was a thumbnail for ABBA performing SOS on American Band Stand. I thought "I remember liking that song, but I've never seen ABBA perform, so...click..."

And that was it. First, I instantly fell head over heels for Agnetha Faltskog ("how did I miss this woman when I was growing up??!!), but I was also led down an ABBA video/performance rabbit hole and came to appreciate just how damned great the girls were as vocalists, the incredlbe ear candy the combination of Frida and Agnetha produced, and the actual depth and complexity of their songs and production.

So I've been a huge fan ever since. Their career is pretty astounding in terms of their consistant world wide and generation-spanning appeal. I'd guess that ABBA's Dancing Queen may be one of the best known songs in pop. I have a soft spot for their song SOS which to me is one of the greatest pop songs ever (John Lennon said it was a favorite of his, Pete Townsend said it was the greatest pop song anyone had written up to that time).

Agnetha performing SOS:

 

[Axo1989]

Just realized there is a group that I hadn't appreciated at first, but do now to the point of becoming a huge fan:

ABBA

There is probably no more boring declaration on earth as to say "I'm a fan of ABBA." But..

They were in the background growing up, didn't pay much attention. Like many in the 90s grabbed their ABBA Gold CD to play on car trips, realized "hey they were actually quite good!"

Then around 2021 when they'd announced their first new album in 40 years, I guess the youtube algorithms were pumping out more ABBA recommendations, and there was a thumbnail for ABBA performing SOS on American Band Stand. I thought "I remember liking that song, but I've never seen ABBA perform, so...click..."

And that was it. First, I instantly fell head over heels for Agnetha Faltskog ("how did I miss this woman when I was growing up??!!), but I was also led down an ABBA video/performance rabbit hole and came to appreciate just how damned great the girls were as vocalists, the incredlbe ear candy the combination of Frida and Agnetha produced, and the actual depth and complexity of their songs and production.

So I've been a huge fan ever since. Their career is pretty astounding in terms of their consistant world wide and generation-spanning appeal. I'd guess that ABBA's Dancing Queen may be one of the best known songs in pop. I have a soft spot for their song SOS which to me is one of the greatest pop songs ever (John Lennon said it was a favorite of his, Pete Townsend said it was the greatest pop song anyone had written up to that time).

Agnetha performing SOS:

None of my family exposed me to ABBA while growing up, but I hadn't realised they were so long ago (unlike say Aqua) so it makes sense. Thanks for the video, it's possible I've never actually seen them in action before (not that I've actually watched a Taylor Swift video either). So all you had to do back then was compose and sing well, look good, stand on stage and shift your weight from one leg to the other in time with the rhythm? I'd say Taylor has to work a bit harder now for her billions, but I guess it's more that as the stage gets bigger you just have to move around more.

Pop comes in many guises of course, but since this is a thread for bands we may not have appreciated on first blush but warmed to later, here's a double act each meeting that criteria for me:

*BMTH and Babymetal (now that looks like fun on and off stage)

 

[MattHooper]

None of my family exposed me to ABBA while growing up, but I hadn't realised they were so long ago (unlike say Aqua) so it makes sense. Thanks for the video, it's possible I've never actually seen them in action before (not that I've actually watched a Taylor Swift video either). So all you had to do back then was compose and sing well, look good, stand on stage and shift your weight from one leg to the other in time with the rhythm? I'd say Taylor has to work a bit harder now for her billions, but I guess it's more that as the stage gets bigger you just have to move around more.

Yeah it's pretty wild the amount of dancing and effort many pop starts have to put out these days. Just a crazy amount of choreography. (Unless you are a rapper, and then you just have to slouch and throw your hands around a bit).

The ABBA women even say they are taken aback at the show many female pop and R&B stars put on these days as in "we could never do that." They never considered themselves performers even back in their heyday, more studio musicians. But to be honest, and here's my old man yelling at cloud bias, I much prefer the simpler moves of the ABBA gals to the breakneck pace and "where's the stripper pole?" hip grinding of the current crop of performers.

 

[Axo1989]

Yeah it's pretty wild the amount of dancing and effort many pop starts have to put out these days. Just a crazy amount of choreography. (Unless you are a rapper, and then you just have to slouch and throw your hands around a bit).

The ABBA women even say they are taken aback at the show many female pop and R&B stars put on these days as in "we could never do that." They never considered themselves performers even back in their heyday, more studio musicians. But to be honest, and here's my old man yelling at cloud bias, I much prefer the simpler moves of the ABBA gals to the breakneck pace and "where's the stripper pole?" hip grinding of the current crop of performers.

They have a point, it has become somewhat insane, hasn't it? My observation was somewhat tongue-in-cheek of course, if the material is good/interesting then the degree of physical histrionics in the stage performance is just a matter of artistic choice. I mean I love shoegaze, which is a genre that largely consists of guitars generating harmonic distortion while the musicians look at their feet.

But as you mentioned stripper poles, I guess this video is obligatory:

*FKA twigs was dancer first, and I've seen that act on stage, but not her only talent. Contrary to this thread's premise I liked her stuff immediately (regardless of videography). Otoh you'll probably appreciate the sound work on her shoes most of all.

 

[MattHooper]

They have a point, it has become somewhat insane, hasn't it? My observation was somewhat tongue-in-cheek of course, if the material is good/interesting then the degree of physical histrionics in the stage performance is just a matter of artistic choice. I mean I love shoegaze, which is a genre that largely consists of guitars generating harmonic distortion while the musicians look at their feet.

But as you mentioned stripper poles, I guess this video is obligatory:

*FKA twigs was dancer first, and I've seen that act on stage, but not her only talent. Contrary to this thread's premise I liked her stuff immediately (regardless of videography). Otoh you'll probably appreciate the sound work on her shoes most of all.

Cool. I've seen that vid before. She certainly is a striking and creative artist. Though I have to admit, her album LP1 is the only vinyl record I ever bought based on the cover, which just stood out so much in the record store and would look cool in my collection. I gave it a spin but it didn't grab me enough to go back to it. As I've mentioned before I was somewhat sick of "breathy female vocals" at the time. But I should go back and give it another spin, because it is creative stuff.

 

[Axo1989]

Cool. I've seen that vid before. She certainly is a striking and creative artist. Though I have to admit, her album LP1 is the only vinyl record I ever bought based on the cover, which just stood out so much in the record store and would look cool in my collection. I gave it a spin but it didn't grab me enough to go back to it. As I've mentioned before I was somewhat sick of "breathy female vocals" at the time. But I should go back and give it another spin, because it is creative stuff.

I realise I was digressing from the thread topic there. Apologies for taking you back to memories of those breathy female vocals (again). But if you do listen and warm to her now she becomes eligible for this thread.

The first material I heard from her was the EP M3LL155X. I went back to the earlier (numbered) LP1 and EPs 1 and 2 subsequently. I usually only see the small thumbnails on the Music app, cover art is certainly a bigger/better thing on 12" LP sleeves. Even so I find I'm influenced by the imagery in selecting/enjoying music (sighted bias strikes again). Incidentally, I only recently discovered/realised that she worked with Arca as producer on that material. Hence the sufficiently weird electronic sonics that I enjoy. I'm trying to think of something/someone under that heading that I disliked initially and like now, but nothing is coming up.

 

[MattHooper]

I realise I was digressing from the thread topic there. Apologies for taking you back to memories of those breathy female vocals (again). But if you do listen and warm to her now she becomes eligible for this thread.

The first material I heard from her was the EP M3LL155X. I went back to the earlier (numbered) LP1 and EPs 1 and 2 subsequently. I usually only see the small thumbnails on the Music app, cover art is certainly a bigger/better thing on 12" LP sleeves. Even so I find I'm influenced by the imagery in selecting/enjoying music (sighted bias strikes again). Incidentally, I only recently discovered/realised that she worked with Arca as producer on that material. Hence the sufficiently weird electronic sonics that I enjoy. I'm trying to think of something/someone under that heading that I disliked initially and like now, but nothing is coming up.

I'm having deja vu so sorry if I've mentioned this before, but do you like Fever Ray? I have her Plunge album on vinyl (and as a favourite on streaming) and really like it. It's electro stuff (vocals less breathy )

 

[Axo1989]

I'm having deja vu so sorry if I've mentioned this before, but do you like Fever Ray? I have her Plunge album on vinyl (and as a favourite on streaming) and really like it. It's electro stuff (vocals less breathy )

No, I don't think you are repeating yourself, and yes I do. At least I liked their eponymous debut LP (I'd enjoyed The Knife previously, so no surprise). Checking Plunge I realise I haven't kept up, and the aforementioned debut was way back in 2009. At least my keeping up was patchy, I'd listened to a series of a dozen or so remixes circa 2018 (originals would've been from Plunge).

Possibly also an effect of my art thing, I didn't like the cover image so maybe unconsciously blocked it, haha (I've never said I wasn't weird). The same for Radical Romantics, but I do like the imagery for the series of remixes released this year and last. I hasn't noticed those so I guess they dropped out of my AM feed at some stage and/or I missed any reviews. Listening to the 2017 album now, it's great so far.

The problem with there being so much good electronic music this century is remembering/trying to listen to all of it. As we've also discussed pop artists in several threads, another positive of artists like Fever Ray is that the lyrics are usually more interesting/less banal than average.

Backtracking and veering vaguely toward the thread topic, I didn't actually listen to Arca initially, reacting negatively to the cover of Mutant, so it could be said I didn't get them at first. Listening eventually (to the subsequent eponymous LP) dispelled my judging-a-book-by-its-cover issue.

 

[Shadrach]

Every few years I try again with Beefheart and I still don’t get it, even after more decades having passed than I’d like to admit.

To be honest my appreciation of Beefheart came about through an accident. Trout Mask Replica for some unknown reason was on one of the playlists I had set up and I was doing something else when the album came on. After a while of sort of listening I thought to myself, hey this isn't at all bad. I sat down and listened to a couple more albums after.

 

[jsrtheta]

My reaction to hearing Dylan was always being put off by his voice and not finding his songs interesting. People would say, “ but he’s a poet listen to his lyrics!””

My reply was, fine. I wish he’d stick to writing poems rather than trying to sing the words.

I never got the Dylan thing either. My sister loved him, but that was when he first got big. His voice would drive me screaming out of the room.

He's a kind of leitmotif in Elvis Costello's book. But Elvis gets all kinds of stuff I don't, so the problem must be mine.

 

[jsrtheta]

Every few years I try again with Beefheart and I still don’t get it, even after more decades having passed than I’d like to admit.

I started listening to Beefheart pretty early, but Trout Mask Replica was beyond me.

Later saw them on a pretty strange triple bill: The New York Dolls, Larry Coryell, and Beefheart. They played all of Clear Spot, and next thing I knew I was up dancing like a maniac. Everything clicked, and it was pure genius.

 

[jsrtheta]

Just realized there is a group that I hadn't appreciated at first, but do now to the point of becoming a huge fan:

ABBA

There is probably no more boring declaration on earth as to say "I'm a fan of ABBA." But..

They were in the background growing up, didn't pay much attention. Like many in the 90s grabbed their ABBA Gold CD to play on car trips, realized "hey they were actually quite good!"

Then around 2021 when they'd announced their first new album in 40 years, I guess the youtube algorithms were pumping out more ABBA recommendations, and there was a thumbnail for ABBA performing SOS on American Band Stand. I thought "I remember liking that song, but I've never seen ABBA perform, so...click..."

And that was it. First, I instantly fell head over heels for Agnetha Faltskog ("how did I miss this woman when I was growing up??!!), but I was also led down an ABBA video/performance rabbit hole and came to appreciate just how damned great the girls were as vocalists, the incredlbe ear candy the combination of Frida and Agnetha produced, and the actual depth and complexity of their songs and production.

So I've been a huge fan ever since. Their career is pretty astounding in terms of their consistant world wide and generation-spanning appeal. I'd guess that ABBA's Dancing Queen may be one of the best known songs in pop. I have a soft spot for their song SOS which to me is one of the greatest pop songs ever (John Lennon said it was a favorite of his, Pete Townsend said it was the greatest pop song anyone had written up to that time).

Agnetha performing SOS:

They were actually so great it was spooky. Took me a while, though.

 

[MediumRare]

It's a fact, but a sad one, that after age 30 most people don't accept new styles of music. So if you find yourself saying "there hasn't been any good new music since the year X", it's you, not the new music.

That being said, us oldies can open our minds and ears and learn to not only appreciate new music but to love it. And after hearing every Led Zeppelin album 10,000 times I find myself searching for new sounds.

It did take me a while but this old white dude is now into a lot of hip-hop. If that sounds impossible to you, perhaps try starting with Jazz Hip-Hop like Jazzmatazz or Digable Planets. If you find you like the grooves but can't stand the lyrics, try French Hip-Hop like MC Solar.

If you're ready to level up to NSFW, it's hard to beat Snoop's first album: