Bands you keep trying to like but can't get into

A.C. Temple, but I don't expect that to spark much discussion.

...and I'm pretty sure there has to be another thread or so on this, since I usually bring up Live Skull, who I'm still not into.

Tom Waits. I've given up.

mmm...arcade fire....

Have you heard Positraction, dlp9001? (Maybe I've asked you that before...)

2x-post

Tom Waits. I've given up.

Oh my god, I thought I was the only one...

Positraction is great indeed.
i love live skull,but i have a friend who desnt get them either,he says the sound is too "goth" for him.
what an idiot.

"Tom Waits. I've given up.

Oh my god, I thought I was the only one..."

thirded, though i didn't try too much

Waits 4th'd

I tried a little, but goddam, if you have to try that hard...

(I don't mind him on film)

The White Stripes. I try and try, and even enjoy it here and there, but part of me really dislikes their sound. Also the Pet Shop Boys. Not big on Waits either. Although he mixes in nicely on Dr.Yo.

I have Positraction on my iPod, and definitely keep plugging away at it. I think it may be production that's keeping me from liking Live Skull...it's very frustrating as I keep expecting them to click some day and they never seem to. Oh well, I rarely give up on bands that seem intriguing. Right now my NY post-No-Wave guitar bands ranking is something like Dustdevils>Band of Susans>Rat at Rat R>Swans>Sonic Youth and I'm probably forgetting someone. Magic Dirt figure in somewhere, but they're not from NY.

xpost.

the two that I regret not liking are Husker Du and Public Enemy. they sound so awesome, but i just can't..

oh and Everything But The Girl. or as I call them, Slow And Horrible Death By Brunch.

I tried Tortoise four times, but nothing, well except maybe for Dj'ed.

Boredoms. They're okay, but I always feel like that time could be better spent listening to something else similar yet better.

The Fall. A lot of Bowie. All of New Order. Teh Beatles.

XTC and Dinosaur Jr, chiefly.

also modest mouse,and yeah huskar du..

xpost - Dinosaur seconded. I like a few things here and there that they've done, and I've had You're living all over me since high school. I tried listening to it the other day, and besides the first track (which I really like) and Lou's song (I like the mopey early Sebadoh/Sentridoh Freed Weed, etc. stuff), I've never really been able to get into it. I don't think they're overrated, though, it's just one of those things that I can't really get into.

xxxpost the Fall definitely. Though I've admittedly only tried with one album, This Nation's Saving Grace, but it has never worked for me. But perhaps I should give the other stuff a listen.

"But perhaps I should give the other stuff a listen"

no perhaps - have to!

For a while it was the Boredoms, but now I just like them! Sonic Youth have taken their place.

I wonder why we pick specific bands to try to like. I know the bands I try to like are usually canonical ones, but there are certain canonical bands that I dislike and have not bothered giving a second chance to.

btw,if the search function worked ok - there are several threads on the subject

"I wonder why we pick specific bands to try to like"

there are some people with similiar music taste like mine, but they also like this one band that i don't get.
usually i try to like this band, cause it doesnt seem logic that i don't like them.
but who says life and taste in music make sense anyway..

zeno -- I know I could just look at a Fall thread, but what's an album I should check out if I didn't totally like TNSG? They have an awful lot of stuff...

you can't go wrong with slates, man

try a compilation of "the early years" and "the woonderfull and frightning world" which is like TNSG but with a better,cleaner,more accesible production.
if you don't like those 2, give up.
(and if you do - the next step is hex enduction hour, which is a more "difficult" classic)

that's pretty good advice!

my stock answer to this question is, and probably always will be:

Manic Street Preachers

I did try to search for a similar thread but without a unique keyword, nothing...

Tom Waits - I'm in that boat, too. This year, though, I made some progress with the 3 disc box he recently put out. The Orphans tracks, in particular, are really good. But not enough to make me own him.

The Fall took me years to go from hate to total and complete love, and I also started by getting into the poppier Beggars Banquet years, working backwards and then forwards again.

Sonic Youth also fall into this category for me, though I like alot of their work but I just don't love them and find their records inconsistent.

I don't like It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back at all, but the other Public Enemy stuff I've heard leads me to believe that I might still be able to get into one of their other albums.

"Sister Ray" and The Velvet Underground & Nico are so boring that I have no desire to listen to VU ever again. I remember one time when the stretch from "I'm Waiting For My Man" to "Heroin" sorta clicked with me and I 'got it', but the next time I listened to it it was gone again.

Three letters: G.B.V.

Joy Division & Pere Ubu. I understand their importance, but neither are any fun.

hey wait a damn minute. pere ubu are, at their best, a surreal experience.
secondly, the sounds that Allen Ravenstine produces are flat out kooky.
i wouldn't expect Dadaesque art to be "fun", but it can be entertaining as hell if you're in the right mood.

one of the most spine tingling solos i've ever heard is on the song "final solution" - not "feel good" stuff, but, like it or lump it, as powerful as anything ever recorded, imo

try a compilation of "the early years" and "the woonderfull and frightning world" which is like TNSG but with a better,cleaner,more accesible production.

On CD, Wonderful & Frightening World has always sounded really murky to my ears (though it is perhaps my favorite Fall album). If you're not averse to a career-spanning comp, I think 50,000 Fall Fans actually does pretty well.

I can't quite get into Van der Graaf Generator and am not sure why. It might be something about Peter Hammill's voice, sort of over the top or harsh. I like early Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, some Gentle Giant; being into the proggy stuff as well as later punk/post-punk, by which standards it seems like VDGG was more admirable than other prog, it seems like I should like them, but not much luck so far. He to the He I somewhat enjoy.

Three letters: G.B.V.

At their best, GBV create fantastic 3 minute pop songs that stick in your head. Unfortunately, most of their albums are chock-a-block full of song snippets and other failed experiments, making it hard to get to the nuggets. A friend of mine, a huge GBV fan, skimmed the top for me and culled out all their best stuff, and it's a joy to listen to. He recently lent me _Bee Thousand_ and I found listening to it a chore just to get to the good bits. So I can understand your feeling - find a friend who's a GBV fanatic and have 'em make you some compilations!

Spoon... such a goddamn impenetrable band.

Wilco - 'Summerteeth' to be specific.

On paper it should be so easy. But stick it on my stereo and my hand immediately reaches for the skip button.

Three letters: G.B.V.

Seconded. Bought three of their records before I finally admitted to myself that I just don't want to listen to half-completed demos of half-written songs.

I'm amazed that everything I was gonna submit has already been mentioned.. either we've all been lulled into quietly putting them into "the canon" without thinking, or we understand why they're vital yet it just misses the mark on a personal level.

My vote goes to the latter.. they're all pretty inventive.

So for me, again..
Public Enemy
Pere Ubu
G.B.V.
Husker Du
Bowie
XTC
Tom Waits

And I try three or four consecutive Animal Collective tracks at least once every two months. Never sparks anything.

The Fall took me years to go from hate to total and complete love..

Spoon, totally. Sometimes nice to hear on a jukebox, maybe on a soundtrack. Perfect incidental indie.

The Replacements

Yeah I finally clicked with The Fall about a year ago. No idea what happened there, it just made a great deal of sense one day. And this was after a couple years of trying to like them.

Pere Ubu and Tom Waits both way OTM, for me.

Broken Social Scene. Another Arcade Fire I'm afraid.

You know, I see a lot of bands being named here that I completely love (Hüsker Dü, The Replacements), but I totally understand how someone can be "eh" about 'em.

Spoon, the Arcade Fire, and the Fall. yeah, not an original bunch to pick, but those really ARE the ones that first pop into my head.

"Wilco - 'Summerteeth' to be specific.

On paper it should be so easy. But stick it on my stereo and my hand immediately reaches for the skip button.

"

yeah,otm.but only about that particular record.

pere ubu is hard to get into,and i can't say i'm always in the mood,but if i am - they are great experience.

plus, i can't get a alot of the progressive 70's stuff that is now quite trendy,maybe cause i grew up on 3 minutes songs,it's too pretentious and ridicules to me sometimes.

oh,and though i love "Can",some of their suppose to be "classic" stuff is boring.

90% of all popular music released in the past five years

"90% of all popular music released in the past five years"

how old are you?

I had to give up on Arthur Russell in the end. Nothing wrong with it and it's exactly the kind of thing I should like. But I don't, so I'll leave him to those that do.

Patti Smith— I've just never understood it. I must have listened to 'Horses' two dozen times. Just totally not for me.

Incredible String Band- Every few years, someone mentions ISB in glowing terms, and I have to go back and listen again, and every time I think to myself, "I am not hearing what others are hearing."

as far as somer recent mentions, I always liked Psychic TV and Coil better than TG, and honestly I think Threshold Houseboys Choir beats the shit out of them all, I could listen to that first THC album on a loop for days.

Table, for Patti you could approach from the other side and try Constantine's Dream from her most recent (sigh) 2012 record Banga. If that doesn't hook you either, then probably no need to keep trying.

I also cannot find my way into Arthur Russell, i think there’s something about the timbre of his voice that just feels uncomfortable to listen to. I’m sure he’s brilliant!

I've had the first two Tindersticks albums since they came out and have never managed to gain a single ounce of enjoyment from them. Am now giving them one last dreary spin on a rainy monday afternoon as i list them for sale on discogs. Good bloody riddance an' all.

Tricot.

Instrumentally the band are great but I really don't like the singing.

Not unlike Tindersticks in that respect except his vocals are completely unbearable.

Seconded for Arthur Russell except for Dinosaur L and “Is It All Over My Face”

paramore, taylor swift, big thief, war on drugs

― LightUserSyndrome, Thursday, January 30, 2025 7:15 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

LOL this could be my post-2010 Mount Rushmore

I'll have those two records off you, Nick! Honestly, that first album is a thing of wonder to me. 30(odd) years of listening to it and I'm no nearer the bottom of it. (Last pitch: listen to the horns at the end of 'Patchwork'.)

yeah i was a bit harsh on the first one, it does have its moments tbf. that second one still seems like an awful chore to me though, i think it's coloured my whole view of them. would gladly send them your way but i'm really broke atm and need the money, sorry! happy to do mates rates though if you're serious - https://www.discogs.com/seller/Mount_Analogue/profile

I was only a third-serious but thank you anyway.

To be real though, I'd forgotten how much those two records go for now, particularly the first one!

I'm working on Charli XCX now. I've tried a song here and there over the years, but all the talk about Brat convinced me to buy the Brat But Three More Songs version. The production is really good, especially "Von Dutch," but the lyrics are so whatever most of the time. It's almost like Paris Hilton fronting a Daft Punk/Aphex Twin collaboration.

I'm old, maybe it's just not for me. Chappell & Sabrina were recent favorites and a big part of that is how clever the wordplay is and their characters are interesting. Charli is so flat, there's nothing to latch onto. Maybe I need to focus more on the music.

To be real though, I'd forgotten how much those two records go for now, particularly the first one!

can't quite figure out if it's ever had an official re-issue on vinyl, looks like there are some boots out there though

Yeah, can't even be sure about that Plain reissue in the early 2010s.

i still can't get into every man and woman is a star by ultramarine :-(

I'm thinking maybe just maybe this is the year I finally accept Lana Del Rey. I've liked a few of her songs here and there, but Norman Fucking Rockwell bored me, though admittedly I didn't give it a fair shake. I know she's put out a few since then and they've been totally off my radar, but I heard Bluebird and Henry the other day and liked them both. I have to say I'm impressed by how prolific she's been in just 13 or so years, which means if I fall for this new one I may have my work cut out for me.

I'm thinking maybe just maybe this is the year I finally accept Lana Del Rey. I've liked a few of her songs here and there, but Norman Fucking Rockwell bored me, though admittedly I didn't give it a fair shake. I know she's put out a few since then and they've been totally off my radar, but I heard Bluebird and Henry the other day and liked them both. I have to say I'm impressed by how prolific she's been in just 13 or so years, which means if I fall for this new one I may have my work cut out for me.

(sorry, I didn’t mean to quote your entire paragraph when I could’ve just replied to it… “Zing problems”)

xxp i did a listen front to back of her catalog a few years back because i'd immediately dismissed her from some SNL performance she did years ago. her Blue Banisters album was my gateway. NFW was a quick dismiss at first solely because of the sublime cover but i've since come around to it. a big appreciation was exactly that - she's actually putting out quality work at a clip few artists these days are doing.

i'm not a synaethete or anything, but some music sounds like black and white/monochrome to me, and so i get put off...? anyone else get that? i think artwork can play a big part in it. two groups i feel this way about are gy!be and wilco. love most pies that jim o rourke has had his hands in, but fail to see why yankee hotel foxtrot is so rated.

the greatest challenge has been autechre. i'm into so much from their contemporaries on warp, mille plateaux, mego... but for like 20 years of trying to fuck with them, i just can't get away with it. don't get me wrong, i think they're wicked, incredible sound design, i could listen to sean talk all day, but i just can't sit through more than twenty minutes of their tunes without feeling stressed. i guess i'm a pop girlie at heart. i have enjoyed their most recent two studio albums more than anything else.

kinda feel the same way about björk. vespertine is an exception, tho.

this morning's archive review on pfork reminded me of how much an instant gut feeling of "NO, THANK YOU!" i've always had for soul coughing. are they still as beloved as they once were? i just don't get it, man. they sound bad to me. like, real bad.

I'm with ya. So corny

is there a thread for when we keep trying and do get into a "band"? actually for me sometimes i think it's just the passing of time/more life experience.

afaic the best thing related to Soul Coughing is the Low cover of “Blue Eyed Devil” which improves upon the original by 10000000000%

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FHBxseoXvc

like honestly the cover gives me chills, the original is… bad!

good question, brimstead! i would like to post about some things myself if such a topic exists ― and would absolutely love to read others; ya'll know how much i love a good redemptive arc.

that's funny, table. thank you for posting. low is a band i've yet to truly get into, despite having seen them live. maybe this will be the gateway!

(not to disparage the writer of today's soul coughing review either. it's well-written and i imagine it's a good one for both longtime fans and the enthusiastically interested.)

Soul Asylum

This decade seems determined to lionize the emo bands of my generation and the answer is no, 00s emo remains corny and unlistenable

I happened to have played a gig with both Soul Coughing AND Low back in the day. I had no idea there was a connection between them until now. I thought Low was every bit a random choice for that bill as my own stupid band. That was the only time I knowingly hear Soul Coughing.

A working class A cunt

Oops wrong thread!

I'm shellshocked that you are trying to like Starmer but can't get into him!

lol

I like Soul Coughing! I have tickets to see them next week in fact. I'm sure some people will be mad at this comparison but I've always seen them as like a 90s version of Can, it's all about the interplay of the rhythm section and the weird keyboard shit, Doughty being as limited as he is as a songwriter I think actually helps them since it allows the band to do all sorts of interesting things. I get why people find them irritating though, Doughty can be pretty obnoxious and I think his voice is a non-starter for lots of people, amusingly I think Mike himself would agree with many of the reasons people don't like the band, for a while he was Soul Coughing's #1 hater, guess he got over it though

yeah, it's mostly the vocals for me, I think. Difficult to get past, though. Would probably check out an instrumental Soul Coughing album

yeah i hate Doughty’s vocals. i also can’t stand Lou Barlow’s voice, all my Sebadoh-loving friends think I am crazy but oh well.

It took me years to like Can, roughly 1986-2008, kept trying, especially in the Napster era. Loved PIL, The Fall, Neubauten and other indebted music so I didn’t understand why they couldn’t click. “Oh Yeah” unlocked them and now easily one of my most listened to artists. But I think the times changed and I spent the 2000s listening to contemporary electronic music for the first time and so I think that trained my ears to retroactively feel the timbres and non-rock aesthetics better.

I’d like to crack Low!

LCD Soundsystem evades me every time. Sleater-Kinney also. I am over familiar with the sudden urge to skip/ffwd when attempting to digest/understand something not nostalgic or immediately gripping.

Blue Eyed Devil cover is loverly, thanks for that. Never heard before.

Sunday: RR here too. Two in a row again. Lucky, as [Hidden text. Click to view]

I’d like to crack Low!

my recommendation is to start at ‘The Curtain Hots the Cast,’ then go backwards or forwards from there. that record gets at the depth of their sound palette.

obviously Curtain Hits the Cast, lol

I prefer post Damo CAN to the classic lineup. I just can’t take his vocals.

There's something so archaic about the thread question to me. At the time it was asked, it was pretty normal (at least for me) to feel that if I wasn't into a group or a rapper or whatever it could be that I had failed to understand the them, or wasn't cool enough or refined enough to enjoy them. But now it's like nobody has any patience. It seems much more likely that somebody who's not into a band would feel that band had failed THEM by just being shit. (Not sure which of these is a "better" mindset)

I dunno! I got a kid who's really into shoegaze, but MBV isn't clicking at all. They're no Slowdive or JAMC, but they keep trying to figure out the fuss.

i'm not a synaethete or anything, but some music sounds like black and white/monochrome to me, and so i get put off...? anyone else get that?

yes definitely, but this is usually a plus for me, if an artist can really "synthesize" things together in a way that drains all color, that's an achievement, conveying a real mood that i can get into. i like a lo of lofi electronic music, tho. but it seems like a lot of music i don't like just has no regard for this, it all sounds like a mish mash of bright and ugly colors that don't go together. idk this might all be bullshit.

I dunno! I got a kid who's really into shoegaze, but MBV isn't clicking at all. They're no Slowdive or JAMC, but they keep trying to figure out the fuss.

I will note that I have always enjoyed and played more JAMC and Slowdive than MBV. Slowdive especially. I like MBV well enough, but they’re
nowhere close to Slowdive in my pantheon.

I prefer post Damo CAN to the classic lineup. I just can’t take his vocals.

How do you feel about Malcolm?

One of the most remarkable things I've read recently was that Michael Karoli's father, who was in the Waffen-SS during WWII, dug Monster Movie.

I like Mooney!

It seems much more likely that somebody who's not into a band would feel that band had failed THEM by just being shit. (Not sure which of these is a "better" mindset)

To be fair, said mindset always been where I've been at, but I am simple. (I certainly can change my mind but I also figure at my age there's plenty of stuff I will never have the patience for given all the stuff I already do like and find interesting then and/or now.)