# Entertainers you like, but only in theory **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191 "2011-08-02T16:32:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/1 "2011-08-02T16:32:46Z")
I would tell anyone that I like Frank Zappa, but I think if anything it’s the _idea_ of Frank Zappa, his philosophy or anti-philosophy or whatever. I really enjoy riffs on or homages (parodies) of his style (like [Genius In France](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzQn2HBRACQ) or [Cruisin’](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRWTz3zY1WY)). But while listening Frank’s actual stuff, at least as far as I’ve found on Youtube, I’m ashamed to admit I find myself getting fidgety and usually cut the video short. I’m sure there are other examples, but can’t think of them right now. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/2 "2011-08-02T16:36:56Z")
I should like Jimi Hendrix. I love the hippie culture, psychedelic music, and killer electric guitar riffs. But when I actually listened to his music, it got grating very quickly. I can only take him in small does, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/3 "2011-08-02T16:39:27Z")
Ah! I remember the other example I wanted to trot out. Kurt Vonnegut. I’m so ashamed. ETA: And Devo. I appreciate what they do, but I think I’d eat a bucket of orange toothpaste sherbet before sitting down and listening to entire Devo album in one sitting. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/4 "2011-08-02T17:00:44Z")
Tim Burton. I love his aesthetic, but rarely his movies. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/5 "2011-08-02T17:26:04Z")
Neil Gaiman. I grew up with comic books and love Alan Moore’s work with the giddiness of a young girl for a horse ;). So hearing that Moore has this protege who has demonstrated excellence across a variety of written forms, movies, etc. - wow, he \*must \*be the guy for me! I still don’t get the love. Whatever is the final piece to the puzzle that clicks into place for me with Alan Moore is missing from my equation with Gaiman. I read American Gods when it came out and was left thinking “Really? That’s it?” My loss, no doubt - I’ve tried a number of times and come way feeling the same each time. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/6 "2011-08-02T18:31:47Z")
George Clooney. I admire him for living his life the way HE wants (living in Switzerland instead of Malibu, serially dating cocktail waitresses instead of hooking up with Another Celebrity and having Celebrity Kids). I like his looks. I LOVE the fact he doesn’t do crappy rom-coms or movies about toys, just for the money. And he seems like a swell guy you would like to know. I even technically find his choice of movies unique and worthy of any number of major awards. On paper, all is well. It’s just that I find actually watching one of those movies a bit taxing. (I’m content to watch all my old favorites over and over again instead of concentrating on something different.) ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/7 "2011-08-02T18:42:55Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Neil Gaiman. I grew up with comic books and love Alan Moore’s work with the giddiness of a young girl for a horse ;). So hearing that Moore has this protege who has demonstrated excellence across a variety of written forms, movies, etc. - wow, he \*must \*be the guy for me! > > I still don’t get the love. Whatever is the final piece to the puzzle that clicks into place for me with Alan Moore is missing from my equation with Gaiman. I read American Gods when it came out and was left thinking “Really? That’s it?” > > My loss, no doubt - I’ve tried a number of times and come way feeling the same each time. I was just having a conversation with my best friend about him in this very way! We were both kind of moody goth-ish teens into fairy tales and grim art when we were in high school, and some of our peripheral friends were very into Gaiman (especially the Sandman series). From their description of his work and their praise of it, we both thought he would be right up our alley but…somehow he just felt a little flat. Well, I can admit that I found the art for the Sandman comics to be frankly ugly, so that was a big strike against it. But I’ve read American Gods, Stardust, and some of his short stories, and they all struck me as merely decent at best. Like **Hades** says about Tim Burton (who is kind of in the same boat, although I genuinely love his earlier movies), I appreciate Gaiman’s aesthetic, but his actual work leaves me a bit cold. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/8 "2011-08-02T18:56:37Z")
On the Neil Gaiman theme, I thought the Sandman was fantastic, but I found his novels and short stories disappointing. Some great ideas, but his characters strike me as flat and unsympathetic. Strange, as the Sandman characters really come to life for me. On the Sandman art, a succession of artists was used over the series. Some of it is quite ugly, but The Wake has excellent artwork. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/9 "2011-08-02T18:58:35Z")
I like the idea of Parker Posey as an abstract than I actually enjoy her as an actress. I keep thinking “Oh, hey, Parker Posey!” and then being underwhelmed. She’s done some good enough stuff such as the Christopher Guest flicks but her more standard acting always makes me wonder why I was interested in her behalf. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/10 "2011-08-03T03:30:09Z")
> [@Hades](#): > > Tim Burton. I love his aesthetic, but rarely his movies. I’m with you on this one. I like some of his stuff, but a lot of it’s more of an aesthetic appreciation. The other one I’m mildly ashamed to admit is Bob Dylan. I love a lot of people who list him as an influence, and I love a lot of other artists from the area, but I’m just not that into Dylan. Maybe I just don’t understand him. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/11 "2011-08-03T12:25:27Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Neil Gaiman. I grew up with comic books and love Alan Moore’s work with the giddiness of a young girl for a horse ;). So hearing that Moore has this protege who has demonstrated excellence across a variety of written forms, movies, etc. - wow, he \*must \*be the guy for me! > > I still don’t get the love. Whatever is the final piece to the puzzle that clicks into place for me with Alan Moore is missing from my equation with Gaiman. I read American Gods when it came out and was left thinking “Really? That’s it?” > > My loss, no doubt - I’ve tried a number of times and come way feeling the same each time. Agree. But I loved [The Doctor’s Wife](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Doctor's_Wife). ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/12 "2011-08-03T13:11:45Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > I’m with you on this one. I like some of his stuff, but a lot of it’s more of an aesthetic appreciation. > > The other one I’m mildly ashamed to admit is Bob Dylan. I love a lot of people who list him as an influence, and I love a lot of other artists from the area, but I’m just not that into Dylan. Maybe I just don’t understand him. It’s pretty common to like him as a songwriter but hate him as a musician. Is that where you are? ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/13 "2011-08-03T17:55:34Z")
Also agree with Neil Gaiman, he was who I was coming in to mention. He has wonderful ideas and concepts, but his execution as a writer is simplistic. I always feel like I’m reading a Reader’s Digest abridged version of a better book. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/14 "2011-08-03T18:02:38Z")
Hmm - feels like maybe we should start a “is Neil Gaiman really all that?” kinda thread… ---
**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:** [August 3, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/15 "2011-08-03T18:02:52Z")
Miles Davis. I appreciate what he did for jazz and who he was as a musician. Played some of his stuff in various jazz ensembles, wrote a paper on him for a black history class, have a couple of his CDs from my brother… Never really listen to anything but “All Blues” and “So What” and that’s probably just because we played those charts in band. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/16 "2011-08-03T18:06:12Z")
The blues! I really love blues music. But only for about twenty five minutes. I’m a lot the same way with smooth jazz. I love, love, love smooth jazz. But I get tired of it after a couple of days and start listening to something else. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/17 "2011-08-03T18:19:32Z")
I’m in the category of liking Bob Dylan as a songwriter but hating him as a musician. All signs seem to be saying that I should love Animal Collective. They’re cutting edge, a bit dancey, spacey, my friends are all into them - and I only (barely) like three songs by them. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/18 "2011-08-03T20:21:41Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Hmm - feels like maybe we should start a “is Neil Gaiman really all that?” kinda thread… Go for it. I actually like Gaiman, but I’d like to see other people’s perspectives. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/19 "2011-08-03T20:28:10Z")
> [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](#): > > I’m in the category of liking Bob Dylan as a songwriter but hating him as a musician. I try to think of his recordings as demos to sell his songs to better musicians and singers. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191/20 "2011-08-03T20:51:54Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > It’s pretty common to like him as a songwriter but hate him as a musician. Is that where you are? Yeah, I’d say that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainers-you-like-but-only-in-theory/591191.md?page=2)