I admire your bravery koeeoaddi
Awesome. I hope you report back. And I hope it’s not a complete waste.
For me, this sounds like the hardest challenge, since you’re not saying a genre but a particular singing style within a genre. You like hard work! 
I will try, ::gulp::, modern classical, which I’m fairly certain I hate with the heat of a thousand suns, if someone can hook me up with some pieces to listen to.
In return, if that person up thread was serious about pop country/modern country, I can provide some places to start off.
I am very eclectic and listen to almost anything - pop, jazz, metal, country, rap. I used to sing in chorus, and in stage productions, so I tend to look for melodies… I also like to get my stress out in the 4 hour commute in the car, so there’s the metal and the rap, even some of the classical. 
Avant-garde is a difficult genre, as it is, supposedly, always fluctuating. Music called “avant-garde” will, by definition, not sound like “avant-garde”. Just so you know it’s a bit difficult recommending something. Here’s a very small selection:
The Residents - Constantinople
The Residents - Hello Skinny
The Residents - Eskimo (full album)
Throbbing Gristle - Journey Through a Body
Die Tödliche Doris - Debut
Renaldo And The Loaf - Haul on The Bowline
Controlled Bleeding - Bees
Dvar - Taranah
I liked that. Thanks!
I’ve just [del]wasted[/del] spent about 45 minutes listening to Dr. Dre and also Snoop Doggie whoever on YouTube, and found it vapid and stupid. Kanye West, I do like. Back in the day, I even bought his first CD.
So, I definitely like at least some rap music. But some I find abhorrent. I think perhaps because of the message conveyed? The misogynistic, gold chain wearing, gangster-lauding aspect…I don’t like at all. But obviously some (eg Kanye West) has a broader social message, plus more sense and melody, that I do like.
Not exactly current and modern (late 1970s), but a place to start and worth a listen…
ELP Pictures at an Exhibition.
That said, I prefer the minimalist piano version.
I’d like to know how the vociferous haters of jazz heard enough of it to form an intelligent opinion. At least around here, with rare exception, it’s not played on the fm stations at all. You actually have to hunt for it. Jazz is like an alternative universe of music, with so many variations that hearing a few snippets here and there can’t possibly give anyone a sense of its entirety.
Off the top of my head, I’d recommend trying De La Soul (either the Stakes Is High or Buhloone Mind State albums) and A Tribe Called Quest (Low End Theory or Midnight Marauders), The Roots, Common, Kendrick Lamar (Good Kid, Madd City).
I’m a fan of really clever wordplay. So someone like Big Punisher can be violent and misogynistic, but I can enjoy it cause of the incredibly witty and skillful way he puts his lyrics together. Same for someone on the more socially conscious end like Black Thought (from The Roots).
Thank you. I notice that no one has ventured a tune for me, though.
A bunch of coyotes were having a dinner party outside my window last night. Does that count?
My co-worker and I are leagues apart on musical tastes. I’m more folky/acoustic/singer-songwriter and he is into industrial metal electronica. Oddly enough, we are both currently dating women (separate women, don’t get kinky!) who are not fans of live music, so we’ve decided to go to a few shows together. Basically, I’ll go see your artists, you have to go see mine.
Joe Purdy - Obviously my choice. Co-worker actually loved it. Said it was one of the best shows he had ever been to. A few days later he was humming along with whatever he was playing on his headphones, I recognized it as a Purdy song. he confirmed, he had bought the latest disc from iTunes.
William Control - I went to a show with him where the main act was CombiChrist. I wasn’t all that impressed with them, but i did dig one of the opening acts. This guy is a showman. Kind of like an emo/metal/electronica version of Freddie Mercury. Not comparing the talent level, just the style and stage presence.
So, we are continuing this into 2015. Exposing yourself to new music is a good thing. Next show coming up is I’m dragging him to Bob Schneider.
The point of this thread is that in some things we may have not heard enough to form reasonable opinions, or we may have heard bits and pieces here and there that we didn’t have context for, etc. I, for example, have never really heard much at all in the way of Christian rock, I’ve just assumed it was likely all crap from the very small pieces I’ve heard. That was my goal in starting the thread, that people who feel like they either just aren’t getting it but would like to, or who want to challenge themselves to give a genre a chance might have the opportunity.
Do you want songs without the vocal gymnastics by the singers you’ve mentioned, or do you want songs WITH the vocal gymnastics by those singers or others that you might like anyway?
The only genre of music I’ve heard much of that I have zero use for is country. Not talking about Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, or anyone who would eventually end up in the Highwaymen - there’s some great music to be found there.
No, I’m talking about modern, big hat, big buckle, Nashville-machine pop country. The post-Garth Brooks era of radio country. I find it to be as musically antiseptic and boring as the worst dance-pop and as lyrically dumb as the worst hip-hop.
Having said that, I’m open to giving it a chance, if I can get recommendations from people on this board.
Anyone? For the sake of narrowing the field, let’s say “stuff that has made the Country Top 40 in the last ten years.”
Well, we could trade. I listen to modern classical. I think it would help to know what you don’t like about modern classical. Also, do you mean “modern” as in first half of the 20th century or do you include contemporary stuff also?
For me, I like bluegrass and a lot of American folk music. It’s Kenny Rodgers, Garth Brooks and company I can’t stand.
I’m downthread from you and (s)he, but yes, I’m serious. See my post and hit me up.
Given the spirit of the thread I suppose I should go with the latter. With a little trepidation and a backup supply of migraine meds.
I have no idea; I’m not sure there are many genres that I haven’t explored already.
Please understand: about all I do in my free time is make noise and listen to other people making noise. I can point out some artists in nearly any category that you care to name that I like and others that I don’t like, and I can tell you why I feel that way. I’ll go see Tuvan throat singing monks play live or a bluegrass band. I’ll go to a metal show one night and a klezmer fest the next and follow it up with a night of filking. A Peter Tosh cover band that plays his songs gypsy style opening for a blues band that uses only kazoos and rubbed crystal glasses full of water sounds like a great night out to me. Most mornings I listen to hard bop then I switch to death metal at coffee break and maybe listen to psychedelic jam bands after lunch. I’ll throw some techno or industrial on for the ride home then listen to Appalachian folk music at night. I LOVE music and although I don’t like all songs, there’s very little I haven’t sought out on my own and educated myself about so I can try and appreciate it the way the artist intends (and the way that innate fans do).
And I spend lots of money on my habit, too. Last year I bought over 60 albums that were released in 2014; I prolly bought at least that number that were released in previous years. The folks at my local Zia know me by name, prolly because I’m one of the few people who show up every week and drop $70-100 bucks every time I walk in the store.
TL; DR: this ‘challenge’ is a large part of how I live my life already.
TL, BIDR (too long, but I did read)
You and I would probably get along great in an actual music scene setting. 
Prolly. I see you’re in SLC. I drove up there a couple of years ago to see Rodriguez at The Complex. Fantastic show and a fairly decent concert venue too. I was gonna make the drive to see Rodrigo y Gabriella last year, but work interfered. I’m constantly impressed with the range and quality of the shows that SLC gets.
This song’s genre is so far from my usual, that I don’t even know what it is called. Traditional Mexican Quirky Pop?
I don’t speak Spanish, so I don’t even understand the lyrics. I saw it on you tube, and it’s stuck in my head. I like it. I think I have developed a crush on the singer. Jessy Bulbo:
