Never really listened to stevie to be totally honest.
Im sure there are tons of them for me if I really thought about it.
But one that sticks out right now (and may be blasphemy to some) is .... Slim Harpo. His voice is like nails on a chalkboard. I just chalk it up to .. I don't get it.
Thinking more mainstream, I really cant think of anyone off the top of my head.
But I could probably generalize and say pretty much all radio Rap .... Emo ..... All that sissy cry baby music they call "Rock" nowadays. I remember when songs made you wanna Punch Someone in the mouth, not Hang yourself in your closet.
Oh I Got One Linkin Park. I Effin' HATE Linkin Park.
Boom I said It!! ( Mic Drop ) ----------
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on May 13, 2016 12:09 PM
I like popper. I dont really listen to him much, but .... hes alright with me. I wouldnt say that he plays Blues by far, but that's besides the point. ----------
Oh damn.... lmao. Tigger i literally busted out laughing in my living room.
"The Twat From REM" I hate them too... lol.
How about U2? ... i never got them either
I dig Jim Morrison man. But then again i didn't grow up when he was the hot shit so. .... ----------
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on May 13, 2016 1:50 PM
It used to be Butterfield for me. I just didn't get it. It sounded like the kind of jazz that is off key and you don't "get it" because you are not "sophisticated" enough to appreciate the subtle nuances of their unique approach. But I kept reading here on these pages how he was a big influence for a lot of you. So I bought some more of his music and "made myself listen to it". Now I get it. ---------- Tom Halchak www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Yes. I agree with that aswell. Not with butterfield specifically. Sometimes just the way someone talks about an artist can Make you really try to see what they saw in them.
Charlie Musselwhite. Sometimes I feel like he plays the weirdest things possible just to be different, and it doesn't always suit the song. Sounds to me like he is trying so hard to be innovative, and like all people that take risks, sometimes it pans out and sometimes it doesn't.
Nirvana. They were huge when they came out and lots of my friends liked them but they did nothing for me. I remember going to a friend's house once and all he did was sit in this bedroom with the curtains closed listening to Nirvavana and talking about how bad life was. Not for me.
It probably goes without saying but all boy bands too.
I feel that way a bit about Stevie Wonder and Howard Levy. I can listen to them for technical playing and recognize how good they are. With Wonder I think it was just too soft rock for me. With Levy it's too jazzy for me.
Killa, I don't mind Lincoln Park, but I can see why people would. When your songs are about the terrible pain you are in, 'Crawling in my skin, these wounds they will not heal' you've got to make sure you are on the right side of the credibility gap. It's very easy to sound like you are faking it to move records. Nirvana pulled it off (it does help to sell the pain if you kill yourself I guess) but Lincoln Park is a harder sell. Same for Disturbed. (And Lincoln Park has rap in it too, which is going to turn more people off.)
I'm not big on the Doors. The organ was neat for a few songs, but it made too many of their songs sound too similar. There is a local band, Holly & Evan. They do good hard blues, but man, that's all they do. I saw them with another band that I like, and Holly joked, "okay, now for a ballad" and my brain was 'Oh thank god! Something that doesn't sound exactly the same.'
I like R.E.M., but I've got to admit, my favorite version of one of their songs is a remix someone did of Losing My Religion where they pitch shifted it to a major key. The juxtaposition of the lyrics and a major key were really cool. They have a lot of songs that I like, but not many that I'd say I love. U2 is hit or miss for me, although I would say there are a few of their songs that I do love. (Sunday, Bloody Sunday. Beautiful Day, With or Without You, Where the Streets Have No Name, With or Without You). For a major band they experiment with their sound a fair amount, which probably keeps it interesting for them, but can mean that all of the sudden you are listening to something that you really don't like.) I love Leonard Cohen, but I can certainly see how he'd be an acquired taste. I like Blues Traveler, but not enough to buy an album. It's a little too poppy and none of the lyrics really hit me. I'd rather listen to Barenaked Ladies. Not big on the Dead either, or Phish, or Dave Matthews. Matthews I think I just don't like his voice.
Goldbrick, I'd go at least as far as saying that post-Beatles Lennon and McCartney are a lot more hit or miss than the Beatles. Imagine is great (although, again, I've heard it played in the 'opposite' better. Perfect Circle does a cover in minor that I love.) I like Band on the Run. But yeah, if there was a warehouse fire and there were piles of master unreleased master recordings of A) the Beatles. B) John Lennon and C) Paul McCartney. And I only had enough time to save one pile I'd grab the Beatles every time.
Metallica. I know Axl Rose is a whiny POS, but give me Guns & Roses over Metallica any day. The earlier Metallica stuff actually gives me a headache. I like metal, but I'm more into the screaming rather than growling guitar sound. Played loud, Metallica actually physically gives me a headache, but I could listen to G&R until my ears bleed (but man, Axl's voice isn't what it used to be!) Metallica is also pretty notorious for ripping off songs from other bands, but so is Zeppelin and I love Led Zeppelin. Artists borrow, geniuses steal?
Not a fan of AC/DC or ZZTop either. Their catalogs sort of blur together into a single song- not enough sonic variance to keep my attention. I love old Aerosmith, but their later stuff all started sounding very formulaic. (There was even a parody, maybe SNL?, where they spoofed their songs by just mixing words together from different hits.)
I like to think I can defend all of those. There are artists I hate just because of who they are too. I hate Bieber although I don't think I've ever listened to an entire song. I hate most boy bands the same way, and lots of performers who make big dance numbers out of their shows. Dislike the Stones, even although I like a lot of their songs. Jagger just seems like a tool.
And then there are stars who somehow fly under my radar, you know the ones where you know the name but couldn't name a song, and then you hear something and feel like you've wasted a bunch of years by not knowing they existed.
The correct question would be "players that you dig" period.
What someone doesn't dig depends on his mental state, his influences, his life experience, his vocabulary, his wife, the results of his prostate exam, etc, so unless you want to share those things also we will not understand your preference.
Yeah I've also never been able to get on board with Blues Traveller. Such trite songwriting that I don't think anyone will ever be able to convince me that they have ever done anything of value.
For people who never got U2, I highly recommend listening to their pre-1987 stuff. It's all just textured post-punk, kind of comparable to The Alarm and Simple Minds.
I'm also piggybacking on post-Beatles Lennon. The fact that anybody thought "Imagine" to be great art just confounds me.
I find James Taylor to be extremely bland. I don't think he's bad, I'm just not sure why he's so beloved.
---------- Check out my music at http://bmeyerson11.bandcamp.com/
Your crazy. Old metallica is Church man. I even like the sucky metallica, but everything after reload just got Mega Sucky and they really lost me. But old tallica is awesome.
The black haired dude from linkin park did some solo stuff. It was good. I didn't buy it, but it was good. The blonde haired kid is who i hate. But he did a pretty killer job filing in for wylan with STP.
Yea i Also don't get the dead or phish or any of that. The only dead songs i like are those that others covered. Like sublime - scarlet bagonias.
Almost every damn sublime song is a cover. Lol. Ive got over 40 of their albums ... ill bet 70% or better are covers.
Somewhere between cathartic and sacrilege. Morrison Billy Joel Springsteen (Who I have come around to -the issue being more often not liking the people who liked him than him. Same with Buffet. Like gator fans).
Popper. I have an old tweed suitcase with signatures on it from an incredible number of players, the majority being many of our harp heroes. I was actually talking to Popper years ago at the the New Orleans Jazz Fest and I had the case with me. He asked if I wanted him to sign it. I said "no thanks". I felt like a dick. Glad I did it. He'd be fine if he just accompanied the circus.
I tend to drift away from the work of MANY artists when they become more interested in promoting political/social agendas than in playing music. I find it annoying, as if the music is just their medium to proselytize.
Just one example here. On Youtube there's a a video of a very young Springsteen playing "Thunder Road" live. He delivers a long, over-the-top, melodramatic monologue describing how the song got its name. It's likely sort of corny now - when seen through my somewhat jaded and aging eyes - but it's still absolute musical purity to me. Here's this young guy immersed in his music and stories to the exclusion of all else. I like that.
These days I don't buy or even listen to Springsteen. Whenever I hear anything about the guy he doesn't seem interested in music. I could not give less of a flip about his opinions on any subject (that goes for any "celebrity"). I just liked his writing and performance.
Oh . . . and sign me up for the club. I NEVER cottoned to U2.
Let's get real here for a moment. EVERY pro musician regardless of the instrument they play knows for a FACT that you'll never be able to please everybody no matter what. Whatever floats your boat floats your boat, plain and simple. People's tastes do change at some point, some do not, some people are open minded, some aren't. There are some players of any instrument that aren't gonna be my cup of tea but may be yours. So in the end, rather than having who's gonna say FU the freaking loudest is just deal with it, GROW UP AND MOVE ON, plain and simple!!!! ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
I second what BBQ Bob said. I find threads like this incredibly negative and pointless. YMMV, but I'd suggest spending more time thinking about what/who you DO like.
Then don't read it. Go do something else. It was kind of a diversion from the JR thread. Aswell as a collective way to talk a little trash.
I like the idea. Aslong as it doesnt become a trend.
But otherwise, if you dont like it why would you even open it to read it and comment. I don't read every thread ... because im not interested in them all.
I don't understand why everybody is so quick to burst everyone's bubble. ----------
It's ok to be negative once in a while, providing it doesn't become your default position.
Personally, I've yet to get Junior Wells. I've listened to Hoodoo Man (and a few other albums), and it just doesn't do anything for me. It feels like rather lightweight funk with mediocre harp. Now, I know I must be missing something, so if anyone could point me in the direction of some of their favourite Junior Wells, I'd be delighted to be shown the error of my ways.
Last Edited by bluethird on May 14, 2016 11:19 AM
So the little boy comes home from his first music lesson and tells his dad " I know what I wanna be when I GROW UP." Whats that son? "I wanna be a MUSICIAN"
BBQ and Scojo when I saw this thread pop up I was a little worried, but I guess there are different ways to look at it. I find it more interesting to hear the 'why' of why someone doesn't like a particular band than the who. It's fine to dislike bands that other people like, and it's fine to dislike them for spurious reasons. If you look at it as a list of people trashing other bands that's one thing, but these are all bands that are pretty popular. Seeing the explanations of the why is a window into other people's thought process.
It can also be a little bit like yelling 'the emperor has no clothes'. There some bands that have piled up so much popularity and critical acclaim that you are treated like a heretic if you question them. (You can see that here even a little, with people questioning other people's picks and saying, 'But go listen to this album and you'll see!' That's fine. If we only ever talk about what we like then we are severely restricting what we can talk about.
Obviously, sometimes it's just something about a band or performer that rubs you the wrong way. Sometimes it's political. (I've got to admit a big part of my dislike of Metallica is their Napster stand striking me as hypocritical since they were stealing songs from other bands. Kind of trying to eat their cake and have it too).
Let's set one ground rule though to keep us on the right side of the forum creed. Some people are forum members. It's fine to say you don't like their music (but do try to explain why objectively and if you don't think you can do it skip commenting on them) and it's fine to say you don't like the personality of Justin Beiber, but let's leave that part out of the discussion of other forum members. Nothing good can come from that, and I do think there are some interesting points that can be made in this thread, but if it veers off that way I'll have to lock it.
And specifically on topic, I have never heard a rendition by Bob Dylan of any song that I have enjoyed- but many of my all time favorite songs are covers of Dylan by other artists. Joan Osborne does an amazing cover of Man in a Long Black Coat. (She sued Napster too, but unlike Metallica she actually credits the people she covers, lol!)
(Also, with Metallica, I spent a summer crashing on a couch/floor at a friends house. His sister was crashing there too, in the same room. She would listen to Metallica every night, all night, in her headphones. Listening over and over would have been enough to kill it for me, but on top of that it was those tinny headphones distorting the sound. Absolutely ruined it. And the local radio station has run a Mandatory Metallica bit where they play an hour of Metallica every day.) I also think their lyrics are a bit, I don't want to say 'soaked in testosterone' like it's a bad thing, because there are bands that would fit that category that I do like, but Metallica's always seem sort of one dimensional to me. (With the possible exception of One).
Again, I think discussing what you don't like is a very good tool for developing critical thinking about things, but it can be a fine line. Let's all make sure we reread our posts once or twice before we hit post.
Well, the thread title is Players That Everybody "Gets" But You Don't which implies "feel free to try & enlighten me" - so not especially negative at all.
A few I've just never enjoyed (or understood why people would enjoy): U2 Led Zeppelin (although Page was in the Yardbirds, one of my alltime favorite bands, so he sort of gets a pass) Mumford & Sons
Like I said... YMMV. I was just expressing why I think it's a waste of time and energy, which is my right. It's everyone else's right to think I'm wrong and say so.
Personally, I have respect for anyone who has the guts and creative motivation to put themselves out there with their art, and don't feel inclined to attack them, famous or not. But whoever said "don't read it" had a point.
Scojo .. i see your point, with people's art and such .... but super artsy people kinda piss me off. Because you can put shit in a bag, call it art, and if you question it or say anything about it .. your just not enlightened enough to get it. Give me a break. It's shit in a bag.
Im just saying. Ive never bought into the fake insight crap. "Cus its art its good" BS.
(Whats YMMV btw?)
Nate. .. (Early) metallica is awesome. Like i said though, everything after reload was trash and that's right around the napster thing. The napster thing was WEAK. That's where they lost me too. Its funny how personal experience can ruin music for you. Our it can work the other way aswell. It can make crap music good.
BluThird ... HooDooMan. REALLY?!?! I love that album. I agree his harp paying isn't phenominal. But idk, if it doesn't do it for you, what can i say?
Snatch It Back N Hold It? No...? Nothin?
I think sometimes people want their music to be too deep and clever. Sometimes it's just good. If it makes you move its good.
Like in the movie Get On Up. The James Brown Movie. While hes Singing Please Please Please, the record exec. Says to the agent. ... wtf is this? Where's the rest of the song? Theres no words ... just please please please? ?? The Agent says ... Its not about the words. Just Listen.
It's the grove man. Btw if you haven't seen that movie your missing out, Big Time.
Bop Ehhyopa Boppah Ehhyopa From The Top Ehhyopa
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Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on May 14, 2016 5:52 PM
I love hoodoo man and Southside blues jam albums...but give an ear to blues hit big town to hear what junior was doing in the early 50s when he swapped places with little Walter in Muddy's band...and then dig what he did from there to hoodoo man...because why did he want to do 'measure up to little walter' forever and besides he was trying to move with music and stay in the scene, so James brown was the happening thing and when you can sing like Jr, the harp is just a sideshow anyway...
I think it's the nature of this board makes folks feel they want to read everything and comment whether they are saying 'what a dumb thread' or 'sorry bro, can't help you' or actually contributing. There was a time that 2 out of 3 threads were just fatuous bs and I dunno why I found it annoying but I did...like it just lowered the tone or something...so much dumb stuff it was hard to find anything interesting except provocative annoying stuff...and there's a habit-forming aspect to visiting the site and reading and chiming in...like you feel sometimes you're in the backyard at Adam's place, maybe there's a fire and some beers and there are just a bunch of conversations going on and you're interested to have a listen and chime in...sometimes you're feeling shitty and start acting like an arse and eventually you fall into the fire and they find a place for you have a lie down and some quiet time...other times you get drunk and throw a punch and piss on the fire and someone calls the cops...if you're a big guy like Carla, you probably don't give a shit, but if you're s little guy like me, raised in a very polite family you might be less likely to call people cunts and cocksuckers, although you might be puzzled about how replacing some of the characters with numerals makes it more acceptable than just spelling the obscenities. I dunno..,seems hard to ignore sometimes even when you don't like the topic. I often feel like 'just don't say anything' but sometimes I do anyway. Apologies to 1847 for the backyard analogy.
Its kind getting off the topic but music and art in general is SUBJECTIVE. Thats why I started this topic- there are things we like, things we dont like and things we dont understand. Some people are angry , some people feel they are arbiters of taste and know everything, others feel everybody should get a trophy for trying
Guess what angry people usually meet someone more angry down the road, know it alls are insecure and everybody gets a trophy folks find the tin cup is worthless
90% of us are mediocre players who have worked hard at day jobs (when compared to the big boys). We are trying to learn a bit, socialize a bit and have a good time.
Yeah I guess some guys can play a mean harp but I guarantee they cant climb an 18 foot wooden telephone pole in a hurricane or pour molten steel from 160 lb ladle like I have done. I am sure lots of you have your own set of skills
Bottom line I feel free to say I have never particularly " got" Monk( and I have listened) but I love the hell outta Capt Beefheart and zappa
Sorry for the rant you can take the boy outta south Philly but- well u know the rest
Dont dig the topic go back to practicing whatever in 20th position or reliving the glory days when Glen Miller fined you for not shining your harp if that is more to your taste
Goldbrick: I'm not sure why you equate "let's be respectful of everyone who has the courage to put themselves out there by not publicly trashing them" with "everyone gets a trophy for trying" (which absolutely was NOT my point and is not my opinion), but YMMV (your mileage may vary).
Killa: Regarding your statement "super artsy people kinda piss me off. Because you can put shit in a bag, call it art, and if you question it or say anything about it .. your just not enlightened enough to get it. Give me a break. It's shit in a bag."
I don't disagree, but that wasn't what I was saying.
Last Edited by scojo on May 14, 2016 8:27 PM
Yes! Life of Brian. I was going to throw a life of Brian quote in wuth the rest the other day. But want sure if it would be lost.
Gold your from south philly ehh? Im right in D Where.
Ice i agree that was a pretty good post Bee.
The way I see it ... I try to stay objective about things and see both sides of everything.
You may not be able to tell because some of the time my posts may be favoring one extreme or another. But these statements only reflect what i THINK. Not what i believe. And alot of times are a challenge to change my mind if you don't agree. Debating your point is what is all about.
Someone said "Ideas are great. Beliefs are dangerous. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier."
Anyhow. ... Now Back To Your Scheduled Programming. ----------
I thought this thread would be about harmonica players, but since it's widened out...
I notice a lot of U2 in peoples' lists. I can understand why, and it's almost heretical to say you like U2 these days. But I remember when they were an ordinary band, and their first two albums Boy and October had a big impact on me and my contemporaries at the time, especially those of us into playing the electric guitar. They don't get much (any?) airplay and I'd encourage anyone to have a listen. You have to put yourself in the frame of mind they weren't the U2 global stadium filling phenomenon, but a normal guitar band.
I also like Achtung Baby, which again captured a particular spirit of the time.
It's hard to divorce the music from the baggage, I know. There was a point when the baggage didn't exist yet.
Similar thing with The Doors. We got into the music long after it was all over, and it was a fantastic influence. Just the music and the myth. But add the baggage, having later read the history and bios, and that detracts from it all.
As for Charlie Musselwhite, for an aspiring blues harp player not to like his work, that doesn't add up to me. So I'd be interested to know why. Too traditional, not traditional enough, his singing, or something else? One of the reasons I tune into MBH is to be educated in what to listen to. Cliffy mentions that he feels CM plays unusual things that sometime work and sometimes don't.
I've written before about how much I like his first 'Stand Back' album, and others have said they prefer his later more mature output. I still like it though. Whereas there are other things that I heard first and liked when learning, and when I go back to them now they have paled. Often the bits of harp on played british bands' records.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on May 15, 2016 1:31 AM
As for u2 ... the first thing i remember from them was... the she moves in mysterious ways ... song. I was probably 9 when that came out. I didn't like it or anything after, but it's just my taste. Their grooves are good alot of the time, but it just doesn't do it for me.
Another one for me is Foo Fighters. Just don't much like whats his face and how he felt the need to go from drummer to front man. Also just don't like his singing much.
Musslewhite for me is the singing. Had a bit of a country feel at times. Idk. It's just not me.
With Music .. I think it's just you feel it or you don't. It's hard to explain why sometimes.
"super artsy people kinda piss me off. Because you can put shit in a bag, call it art, and if you question it or say anything about it .. your just not enlightened enough to get it. Give me a break. It's shit in a bag." Just did a week walking around in NYC dropping into a lot of art galleries. Shit in a bag would be an improvement on some of the stuff we saw. Other stuff, mind blowingly brilliant. Don't get Magic Dick. Too much inner hype?
I don't think I've ever said this here before... I'll come out with it and say I don't get Butterfield.
I even share a birthday with the guy, but I just can't figure out what people find so great about his harp playing. Musselwhite is a guy from the same time period whom I much prefer (much deeper understanding and feel for the blues to my ears). Based on his overall body of recorded work, I'm just not hearing tone, rhythm, or phrasing from Butterfield that would make me a fan. Maybe it would be different if I would have seen him play live in person.
I think Butterfield is one of those" you had to be there kind of guys"
So many since have stolen his licks and tone that his contribution has been diluted a bit but in his day he was cutting edge and influenced a generation His slow degeneration rather than going out in an instant blaze like Hendrix or Morrison didnt help the legend either
Same thing for Bloomfield - new guys dont know what an impact he had when he unleashed that Tele on Highway 61
I pretty much have the opposite take on Butterfield than harpoon_man, which is cool. He excited me when I saw in in the late sixties and continued to this day to be the standard by which I judge harmonica players for phrasing, tone , chops, versatility, rhythm, melodic construction. Each of us, I think, has someone like that.
While I appreciate what Popper can do in terms of having a style uniquely his own, I don't dig on his speed orgies. Yes, I know, funny for me to say something like this, but what he does too often sounds garbled . Not that I haven't liked some of what he can do, but that's not enough to sway me.
Musselwhite is one of the untouchables, and think he's still as potent, unique and questing for new sounds as he's ever been. Never got his singing, though. It's acceptable on some level, but his vocals sound toneless and without character. ---------- Ted Burke tburke4@san.rr.com
Butter had his day, but he was soon overshadowed by the immense wave of talent that was to overtake popular music. He doesn't do anything for me. ----------
I ve got alot of butterfield stuff, but it doesnt really stick. Now he has a few songs that are just great, but ... for me, his entire catalog can be summed up in a short playlist. Maybe those feelings will change, who knows.
I will tell you that i also never really got Musselwhite. But after all the comments about him through this entire thread, I'm going to go back and revisit his work for sure.
I think it's his voice that i didnt really like. It's got a country sway. He sings like he looks, if that makes sense, but if given another chance, maybe i could come around.
His playing is fantastic, but. ... vocals often kill it for me.
Nobody mentioned Ronnie Shellist. I love Ronnies Stuff. Til Then is an all around Killer Album. The playing, singing, even Jerry Hundt on Gee Tar. If you ever try to play some of his solos you ll see how the LP/TB style lays out perfect. It's just good solid playing. My 2 cents.
Funny thing. I dont know how to play 3rd position. But i have figured out many of Ronnies Solos by ear.
Now Im learning 3rd position ... and just realised one of the solos of his that i play (over a minute long) is all 3rd position. So thanks Ronnie for the 3rd position licks that i stole from breaking down that solo. And basically teaching me how to beautifully mesh TB and LP. ----------
