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Post by kds on Oct 5, 2020 18:05:15 GMT
I know we talk quite a bit about bad music / albums from bands / artists that we love, but how about flipping it for artists we don't really love who happen to have a song or two that we do. (I've decided to limit this list to original songs only as covers might pad it out a bit much).
The Grateful Dead - Touch of Grey - Despite my fondness for long songs, I have no use for jam bands. But, the Dead did manage a radio friendly, late 80s, almost summery pop song with Touch of Grey that I'm quite fond of.
John Mellencamp - Rain on the Scarecrow - I can't put my finger on it, but I could never get into John Cougar Mellencamp. I've always thought of him as a bit of a discount rack Bruce Springsteen, but Rain on the Scarecrow is a really good song.
Pantera - Cemetery Gates - I'm not a fan of guttural vocals in heavy metal, so I've never gotten into Pantera. But, this track from their first major label release features some actual high octave, more traditional metal vocals from Phil Anselmo.
Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight Tonight - One of the biggest bands to come out of the 90s alternative scene. I'm not a fan, but I like this orchestral, dramatic song.
Sponge - Plowed - The 90s are littered with a ton of alternative bands who sprung up after the initial wave of grunge. Sponge were no different, but they managed to have one killer song, which I think is actually better than anything Nirvana or Pearl Jam ever did.
Counting Crows - Round Here - Mr. Jones still makes me want to stick needles into my ears over a quarter of a century later, but this ballad is pretty good.
Alanis Morrissette - You Oughta Know - In the summer of 1995, this song came out, and I thought Alanis was the new female voice of hard rock. A buddy of mine bought the cassette, and we listened to it, only to find that the angry lead off single was more of an outlier on an album full of alternative chick rock.
Dave Matthews - Gravedigger - See again - jam bands. But, Dave Matthews released this moody song as a solo artist in 2003.
Coldplay - Clocks - For the most part, I find this band to be nearly impossible to stomach, except for this song for some reason. Something about that repeated piano riff.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 5, 2020 18:48:26 GMT
I'd really have to think back for good examples--and I'm sure I'd come up with some--but my first thought is how this doesn't happen to me much now because of how rarely I hear music by artists I don't like. I hear very little music on the radio, especially without a daily commute now. MTV is a thing of my distant past.
The music I hear now is the music I choose to hear, whether because it's an old favorite or something new I'm curious about. But it's rare I'd say "Hmm, maybe I'll listen to [Band I Hate] in case they've done something I might like." In that way, I actually miss the late 80s through the mid 90s, when you could see music on MTV that you might not have thought you'd like, but turned out liking.
One off of your list that I'll second is "Touch of Grey." I've never liked the Grateful Dead and still don't, but that's a nice little song.
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Post by kds on Oct 5, 2020 19:09:43 GMT
I'd really have to think back for good examples--and I'm sure I'd come up with some--but my first thought is how this doesn't happen to me much now because of how rarely I hear music by artists I don't like. I hear very little music on the radio, especially without a daily commute now. MTV is a thing of my distant past.
The music I hear now is the music I choose to hear, whether because it's an old favorite or something new I'm curious about. But it's rare I'd say "Hmm, maybe I'll listen to [Band I Hate] in case they've done something I might like." In that way, I actually miss the late 80s through the mid 90s, when you could see music on MTV that you might not have thought you'd like, but turned out liking.
One off of your list that I'll second is "Touch of Grey." I've never liked the Grateful Dead and still don't, but that's a nice little song.
That's pretty much where I am too now, which is why the most recent song on my list is from 2003 (I think), as I probably randomly still watched MTV/Vh1 until the early 00s.
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Post by jk on Oct 5, 2020 21:40:48 GMT
Coldplay - Clocks - For the most part, I find this band to be nearly impossible to stomach, except for this song for some reason. Something about that repeated piano riff. Wow -- exactly my feelings on the subject!
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Post by kds on Oct 6, 2020 12:15:29 GMT
Coldplay - Clocks - For the most part, I find this band to be nearly impossible to stomach, except for this song for some reason. Something about that repeated piano riff. Wow -- exactly my feelings on the subject! I actually first heard the one when I worked at Circuit City, and did some time in their CD/DVD department where we had music videos that played on loop. When I first heard Clocks, it caught my attention immediately. I was shocked to find that it was Coldplay. After being exposed to more of their material through some friends in my early 20s, I feel confident that Clocks is an outlier.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 6, 2020 13:30:38 GMT
Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher" Beastie Boys - "(You Gotta Fight) For Your Right (To Party)" Deee-Lite - "Groove Is In The Heart" Wham - "Last Christmas" Madonna - "Vogue" Mariah Carey - "Hero" Prince - "U Got The Look"
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 6, 2020 13:31:53 GMT
Prince - "U Got The Look" That is an interesting one to like if you're not a fan of his music in general. What do you like about it?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 6, 2020 13:35:24 GMT
Prince - "U Got The Look" That is an interesting one to like if you're not a fan of his music in general. What do you like about it? The beat especially, the interaction with Sheena Easton. It's a cool song, it's sexy. I used to play it when I DJ'd.
I never cared for Prince's music, but I respected him as a guitarist.
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Post by kds on Oct 6, 2020 13:48:09 GMT
Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher" Beastie Boys - "(You Gotta Fight) For Your Right (To Party)" Deee-Lite - "Groove Is In The Heart" Wham - "Last Christmas" Madonna - "Vogue" Mariah Carey - "Hero" Prince - "U Got The Look"
Oh, I didn't even think about Christmas songs. My list would be much longer. Prince - Batman Soundtrack (1989) - I'm not a huge Prince fan, but as a Batman fan at the age of nine, I got this soundtrack on cassette, and used to listen to it on my Walkman on family trips to Ocean City, so it's a big part of summertime nostalgia for me - Arms of Orion and The Future in particular.
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Post by kds on Oct 6, 2020 18:27:39 GMT
Mumford and Sons - Hopeless Wonderer - I think I heard about this song because the music video starred Jason Bateman, Ed Helms, Jason Sudekis, and Will Forte, all comedic actors I've enjoyed. But, despite my thinking M&S were just another in the long line of beards and banjoes bands for hipsters, I actually dug the song. I forgot about it until four years later, and I decided to buy their album for a song on Amazon. The rest of the album is not my cup of tea.
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Post by B.E. on Oct 19, 2020 23:33:29 GMT
John Mellencamp - Rain on the Scarecrow - I can't put my finger on it, but I could never get into John Cougar Mellencamp. I've always thought of him as a bit of a discount rack Bruce Springsteen, but Rain on the Scarecrow is a really good song. Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight Tonight - One of the biggest bands to come out of the 90s alternative scene. I'm not a fan, but I like this orchestral, dramatic song. Dave Matthews - Gravedigger - See again - jam bands. But, Dave Matthews released this moody song as a solo artist in 2003. Coldplay - Clocks - For the most part, I find this band to be nearly impossible to stomach, except for this song for some reason. Something about that repeated piano riff. I totally agree about John Mellencamp and the feeling that he's a poor man's Bruce. For years, I've been meaning to check out more of his work to see if it's worthwhile, because I do like the few songs I hear on classic rock radio well enough, but I just never seem to get around to it. I recall liking some Smashing Pumpkins and Coldplay when I was a teen, but I bet if I went back now I'd only end up really liking a few songs. That's funny about Dave Matthews, I bought that album too and listened to it a decent amount. "Gravedigger" was the standout (and only song I remember).
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Post by B.E. on Oct 19, 2020 23:43:25 GMT
My submission for today is Billy Idol - "Rebel Yell". I'm only familiar with a few of his other songs ("White Wedding", "Dancing With Myself", and his version of "Mony Mony"), so I don't consider myself a fan, but for the second day in a row this song came on the radio while I was driving and I was reminded how enjoyable it is. It's insanely over-the-top, but it's so fun to sing along to the refrain with the most gnarly, distorted "yell" you can muster!
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 20, 2020 0:06:44 GMT
My submission for today is Billy Idol - "Rebel Yell". I'm only familiar with a few of his other songs ("White Wedding", "Dancing With Myself", and his version of "Mony Mony"), so I don't consider myself a fan, but for the second day in a row this song came on the radio while I was driving and I was reminded how enjoyable it is. It's insanely over-the-top, but it's so fun to sing along to the refrain with the most gnarly, distorted "yell" you can muster! I had an older cousin who liked Billy Idol in the "Rebel Yell" years. I was just a kid, but he, older and COOL, was a teenager! I will never forget his sneer and fist pumps to that song...
(This is the cousin who accepted we "little kids" in the family, introduced us to cool music, and tolerated us. Through him I heard not just Idol and Twisted Sister, Motley Crue, AC/DC, Prince, Quiet Riot, and Eddie Murphy's comedy, but saw horror movies and was taken on guided tours of "historic sites" in a state park that I later realized he'd made up. Very fond memories. Billy Idol looms large!)
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Post by B.E. on Oct 20, 2020 0:27:34 GMT
That's great. Especially the made up guided tours! I mostly played basketball with my cool older cousin, but I was so jealous that he went to Woodstock '99 and saw my then-favorite band Rage Against The Machine perform!
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 20, 2020 1:53:02 GMT
That's great. Especially the made up guided tours! Honestly it was great. Stuff about Jesse James (Minnesota, yes; there ... no), or various Native chiefs, or other definitely close enough to sound real things that we learned by our tween years were not indeed facts. But they were SO REAL, traipsing through the river valley and grasslands.
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