# Artists you like -- but not for what other people like **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 14, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519 "2018-03-14T00:35:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/1 "2018-03-14T00:35:34Z")
I’ve been a big fan of Roald Dahl since college, when I picked up a collection of his short stories. Dahl’s stuff for adults is nothing like the kid’s books he’s famous for, and I’ve never read any of those (I’ve seen some of the movies, though). I first discovered the Berenstains for _Marital Blitz_, one of their humorous books on marriage they published in the 50s-60s before the started writing about bears. My parents had a copy and I would look through out. I think I gave me a lot of my impressions about what a marriage looked like. But I’ve never read any of the books about bears, and didn’t even know they existed until the late 80s. The only thing I’ve read from J.K. Rowling is _The Casual Vacancy_, which I thought was top-notch. When I think of Blood, Sweat, and Tears, it’s their first album _Child is Father to the Man_ when Al Kooper was leading them. And the classical rock group Renaissance is about their first album, with none of the personnel from albums that made them famous. Does anyone else really like a particular artist, but for lesser-known or obscure works of theirs? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/2 "2018-03-14T01:06:01Z")
I love Basquiat, he’s not for everyone. In music I love all kinds, right now I am into Hayes Carll. His Americana music just speaks to my hillbilly side. Love it. I am reading poetry right now, I love Slyvia Plath. I thinks she’s popular though. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/3 "2018-03-14T02:07:52Z")
I liked Don Van Vliet’s paintings far more than his music. Not knocking his music- it just wasn’t for me. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/4 "2018-03-14T13:19:27Z")
I too love Roald Dahl’s adult stories. He was a very warped person. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lesser known works are really better than his more popular ones. I love Song & Dance and Whistle Down the Wind. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/5 "2018-03-14T13:31:03Z")
I like George R.R. Martin’s _Sandkings_ but have never read or watched _Game of Thrones_. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/6 "2018-03-14T15:02:03Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I like George R.R. Martin’s _Sandkings_ but have never read or watched _Game of Thrones_. Me too. Also enjoyed _Tuf Voyaging_. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/7 "2018-03-14T15:04:13Z")
I discovered Andrew Bird when he did fiddle work on the Squirrel Nut Zippers’ albums. He put out two fantastic albums of fiddle-driven swing with his band Bowl of Fire, and played on one album with a band called Kevin O’Donnell’s Quality Six (which was literally just Bowl of Fire with a different guy’s name on it). They are absolutely fantastic, tight, thick albums of hot jazz. Then in 2001 he put out an album that was not in the same vein as the other two (pretty much dropping the whole “swing” thing) and has gained much success as an “indie rock” or “indie folk” artist since then. I know at one time there was a thread here about him (in recent years) and I asked a mega-fan to check out his swing stuff and they were super un-impressed. I haven’t gotten into Andrew’s “new” stuff whatsoever, but that’s really what he’s known for. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/8 "2018-03-14T15:12:17Z")
Back when Tom Hanks was first getting noticed in the series Bosom Buddies, it wasn’t his acting that impressed me so much as it was his comedic timing. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/9 "2018-03-14T15:18:56Z")
This is going to be SUPER obscure for most. There’s a paleoartist (a scientific illustrator that specializes in depicting ancient extinct life like dinosaurs, mammoths, etc) named Douglas Henderson who is one of my top influences and inspirations for my own art, but his depictions of landscapes and environments have become the things that I’m most impressed by. You can see examples of both his prehistoric creatures and his landscapes here: [https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&hl=en&authuser=0&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1502&bih=918&ei=AT2pWtbLJ8OW5gLqmbKABg&q=douglas+henderson&oq=douglas+henderson&gs\_l=img.3..35i39k1j0l4j0i24k1l5.666.5263.0.5504.20.19.1.0.0.0.101.1356.17j1.18.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..1.19.1355.0..0i30k1.0.myK-bI6BATQ#imgrc=\_](https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&hl=en&authuser=0&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1502&bih=918&ei=AT2pWtbLJ8OW5gLqmbKABg&q=douglas+henderson&oq=douglas+henderson&gs_l=img.3..35i39k1j0l4j0i24k1l5.666.5263.0.5504.20.19.1.0.0.0.101.1356.17j1.18.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..1.19.1355.0..0i30k1.0.myK-bI6BATQ#imgrc=_) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/10 "2018-03-14T19:47:17Z")
I thought Ministry’s synth-pop album–_With Sympathy_, which they have sort of disowned–was better than their more typical industrial stuff. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/11 "2018-03-14T20:53:30Z")
I love Styx’s concept album, “Kilroy Was Here”, which was done at the insistence of Dennis DeYoung, pretty much the only band member who liked it at all. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/12 "2018-03-14T20:55:20Z")
I like [Fallingwater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallingwater) by Frank Lloyd Wright but the consensus opinion seems to be that it’s a romantic, near-seamless integration between nature and man. My view is that the integration only goes far enough to enter the “Uncanny Valley” and turns it into a slightly off-balancing experience, contrasting with most places that use boxy concrete slabs and are are unabashedly urban and unromantic. This works as a piece of art if this contrast were deliberate, which I don’t think it is: I think he did indeed try to integrate as much as possible. But just like dissonant music can still be art, Fallingwater can still be art even if I do not consider it romantic or natural. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/13 "2018-03-14T21:25:59Z")
H.P. Lovecraft’s famous stuff is not his best work. “Call of Cthulhu” is one of the worst stories he ever published. (It starts out great, but I dislike the ending.) I prefer “The Silver Key” and “The Strange High House in the Mist”. I like Larry Niven’s “Teleportation” stories and “Warlock” stories better than his “Known Space” stories. I like Robert E. Howard’s “Kull” stories better than his “Conan” stories. My favorite Fred Astaire movie is _The Pleasure of His Company_, in which he neither sings nor dances. Charlton Heston’s best performance was in _The Private War of Major Benson_. My favorite Heston performance was in _Wayne’s World 2._ Ridley Scott’s first movie, _The Duellists_ is as good as anything he’s done since. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/14 "2018-03-14T21:39:22Z")
My favorite Abbott and Costello movies is _The Time of Their Lives_, which is a romantic comedy/adventure with no actual comic routines and where the two only appeared on screen together in a handful of scenes, and only had one scene where they talked to each other. (they were feuding at the time). ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/15 "2018-03-14T21:44:37Z")
Counting Crows’ _Recovering the Satellites_ is my favorite album of theirs. Weezer’s _Pinkerton_, too, though it seems to be gaining some retro-nostalgia traction these days (I just saw it released on vinyl recently). Both were often considered lesser works by fans at the time. In fact, a lot of bands were criticized in the mid-90s for “selling out” to the grunge crowd, but looking back, those were some great records. REM’s _Monster_, for example. Hell, even Metallica’s _Load_ isn’t as bad as the “true” fans from the 80s make it sound. Sublime is almost exclusively known for their break out self-titled 1996 album (the one with “What I Got” and “Santeria”), but it doesn’t hold a candle to _40oz to Freedom_, one of the best albums of the 90s. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/16 "2018-03-14T21:58:54Z")
I love Whoopi Goldberg as a serious dramatic actress (I found her impressive in _The Color Purple_). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/17 "2018-03-15T13:10:36Z")
While Leo Rosten is best known for his works introducing Yiddish into the English language, his earlier detective novels are on par with Mickey Spillane, and I adore his stories about his good friend Groucho Marx. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/18 "2018-03-15T13:17:48Z")
I’m a big fan of Pink Floyd, but only the early and middle periods. I regard _Dark Side of the Moon_ as their shark jump. If they’d broken up after _Meddle_ nothing of value would be lost. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/19 "2018-03-15T13:31:20Z")
**Nat King Cole** was a top-shelf piano badass who started to feature his singing to expand his audience: [TEA FOR TWO (1957) by Nat King Cole - two different versions - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCEcDhF2LSo) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519/20 "2018-03-15T13:39:24Z")
I could do without the signature Stones rock sound, but I love their mellow stuff. Mick Jagger’s voice when he’s not screaming or being misogynistic can be lovely – “She Smiled Sweetly,” “Moonlight Mile,” even throwaways like “Indian Girl.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-you-like-but-not-for-what-other-people-like/810519.md?page=2)