Exactly. When I was in college in the 80s, the predominant culture wore Polo shirts and Docksiders and listened to that awful music that kids today think is retro chic. My angst-y friends and I were people in ratty t-shirts listening to The Clash, The Jam, The Dead Kennedys and any number of similar “Punk” bands while doing bong hits in our dorm rooms. I guess that music might not interest A&F and J Crew people in ratty ball caps.
I actively sought out Under The Table And Dreaming on cassette when I heard a local radio station feature the entire album on a Friday night. At first I thought I was hearing something by Big Head Todd And The Monsters, thinking that they’d tackled some sort of unplugged project (not the case, although I do have to say that BHTM’s Strategem album from the same era feels like their best one to me). I did like that DMB album a lot, although I did get bogged down at the end of Side One and didn’t get into Side Two until “Jimi Thing,” but the stuff I liked, I liked a LOT.
Crash was an album I eagerly anticipated. Another one I enjoyed, though, again, I got bogged down on the end of Side One. “Drive In Drive Out” was a great Side Two opener, but I started dragging again after that, until “Tripping Billies” and “Proudest Monkey.”
Live At Red Rocks was a worthy concert recording, if a little flimsy in the packaging…I’m a very much a reader of liner notes, and could’ve done with more stuff in the booklet.
Before These Crowded Streets felt doomed from the beginning for me, as the first single (“Don’t Drink The Water”) had Alanis Morrisette as a vocalist, and she’s not one of my favorite artists. There are some great moments hiding in the album, but by that time the radio burnout had made me lose interest in all the other stuff, and it got harder to listen to DMB and enjoy it.
Net result: I find the music pleasant; I wouldn’t change the station if he came on, but I wouldn’t pay much attention either. When we get a new DMB album at work, I’ll usually spin it once and like it, knowing full well that I’ll probably be good and sick of it in about two months. That’s less a function of the music/artist and more a function of the mass media beast, though…I know I’ll hear the single EVERYWHERE, and be well into apathy soon enough. Effectively, that’s how I lost what little interest I had in Counting Crows, too.
Having said that, I do respect DMB band for picking some great opening acts when they came through our area. Los Lobos for one tour, Soul Coughing for another, and the last time I saw DMB in concert, the opener was Poi Dog Pondering (one of my favorite bands from my college days).
I’m not a DM fan, I find his music boring and repetitive. That said, this story came from a personal friend of mine, and it made me think Dave’s an alright guy:
That’s a nice story, Indygrrl.
Perhaps there might be something to what your friend says about DM’s music being overplayed.
I am not all that religious, am not even Christian, but I like Dave Matthews’ /Tim Reynolds’ Christmas Song.
Hi Chastain–just thought I would drop into your thread and add a comment or two (and some support).
Like robgruver, I am a passionate fan and probably not objective. There is a definite difference between Dave Matthews Band live and DMB studio albums. Those posters who dismiss the music as “too mellow” or “mushy” may only be familiar with the radio songs. How can I listen to *Rapunzel * or Drive In Drive Out or the new *Hello Again * without jumping to my feet and rocking? The boys can definitely rock. I have been to many (20 or so) DMB concerts, I am not an Abercrombie-wearing, beer-swilling frat fan. I’m a 40-something mom, a teacher, and a die hard fan.
I wonder, quite respectfully, why you even care about the reasons people don’t share your musical taste. You know the music, you know what a great guy Dave is, you know you are not going to change anyone’s mind–don’t even try. Different strokes, and all that.
Whenever I hear DMB I think of Spinal Tap, when Nigel quits the band during a show: “Welcome to Spinal Tap, Mark II, a free-form jazz band!” and they proceed to noodle on their instruments for the rest of the show (with a kid in the front giving them a thumbs-down).
Any semi-accomplished musician who knows their scales can “jam” endlessly. Impress me with a tight 3 1/2 minute catchy rock tune, like Supergrass, The Strokes, Fountains Of Wayne, or Weezer. Pop can be art.
Sorry to ressurect a semi-old thread, but I consider myself somewhat of an authority on DMB, and will actually get to post with facts for the first time.(boo-yeah)
As for the name: the story goes, Leroi Moore, the saxaphonist, booked the first gig, or at least answered the phone when the bar owner wanted to know what name to put on the flyers. At a bit of a loss he said, “The Dave Matthews Band,” since, to be fair, Dave had written the songs they were to perform. The name stuck.
Which is probably why you only hear about Dave Matthews. He writes most of the lyrics, has sung all the songs so far (that changes in concert and on the next album), and so he makes the more interesting interview (aside from the fact that he’s had an interesting life outside of music).
This gets into a whole, other, ugly can of worms, but suffice it to say *Crash *, is to many DMB fans what Touch of Grey was to many Deadheads. It brought in a whole mess of new fans who really knew nothing about the band, but liked that song, causing the die-hards to resent it a little. Who do you play for? So, yeah they probably were clammoring for Crash, and he probably did ignore them that night. But, this suggests for the most part he gave in.
I know everyones entitled to their illogical celebrity hatreds, but it does bother me a little when people cite arrogance and ego in his case. By almost all accounts he is one of the more self-depricating (routinely jokes about his “mediocre” guitar skills, and how most of the guitar work you hear on early Dave Matthews Band albums is actually Tim Renyolds), and unassuming (drove a beat up old Subaru Outback well into his Rolling Stone days because it still worked) celebrities around.
He does make a lot of poop jokes though. You can hate him for that.
That’s the reason for me. The fans put me off. The internet is anonymous, so I can be shallow if I want to. Also, what kind of name is Dave Matthews? Christ on a crutch, he’s a rock star, he could have picked any stage name. He could have changed his last name to “Cougar” or just called himself something like “Sting.” What kind of asshole gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to remake his identity and calls himself “Dave Matthews?” What, was “Bob Smith” too edgy?
Also, I found his radio hits to be underwhelming… not terribly compelling lyrics decorating Yet Another Basic Jam band. Some other tracks were OK, but I can’t help being influenced by what I heard most. Yes, I know the drummer is good. There are a lot of good drummers out there. Without blistering drum solos, a good drummer alone is not going to carry the band.
Last but not least, he looks like me, and I resent someone else having my face. I had it first. I think. I guess I could look up his birthdate but then not only would I be a loser who knows Dave Matthews’ birthday, I might also find out he has rights to our face.
TripingJimiThing, I don’t really want to get into a thing about this. I’m actually indifferent to Dave Matthews and his music. No criticism, just not my thing. But I was at the Merriweather Post Pavillion in July of last year and they did not play that song. It is that concert to which I was referring. So that list is not accurate.
I didn’t know that the name referred to the entire group so it might not be his decision what to play anyway.
We develop impressions of celebrities based on what we see and hear and how we interpret it. Some celebrities seem like OK people, some we come to no conclusion about, some we percieve as somewhat unpleasant or worse. I’m not proselytizing. Love him, hate him, it’s all jake with me. If you say Dave Matthews is an OK guy I don’t doubt it, it just hasn’t been my perception, but the logic of it would, by it’s nature, reside in my perception and so would be invisible to others.
What may seem like illogical celebrity hatred to some may be perfectly clear to others.
Someone mentioned it earlier, and I think it is the best reason why I haven’t found DMB to be much other than a pleasant unoffensive band.
It seem that fo ost of the people who really like DMB , DMB represents the far righthand side of the bellcurve of their musical taste. That is, when the typical DMB fan is asked to explain what it is about DMB that they like, it’s that DMB to them, is the furthest into non-radio non-Top 40 music that they’ve gotten.
And that just irks.
Plus, the more music you listen to, the less interesting their music seems.
But they don’t suck. They are just sorta vanilla. Just like their fans.
Are you a semi-accomplished musician then?
Dave Matthews Band may be a jam band, but the stuff they pull of musically is complicated and refined. They are an extremely talented band, and any musician would have to admit that. Even when I don’t enjoy a band’s music, I can appreciate their talent.
I pretty much hate Eric Clapton, but I respect the hell out of his talent.
I don’t like DMB either, for what it’s worth.
If we are talking about musical talent alone, then I would give DMB the edge over any band you listed, the only one even close being Weezer.
Of course everyone has their own opinion, and I’m sure another musically inclined person will be along shortly to disagree.
Is “Dave Matthews” a pseudonym?
The words “suck” and “hate” are too strong to describe Dave Mathews. Personally I find him overwhelmingly average. If he was a colour, he’d be beige. I don’t hate beige… it does not suck… it’s just bland. Most things are bland. Dave Mathews is like most things.
I like music that’s edgy, sexy, and hard hitting. Dave Matthews is none of the above. I don’t hate him, but I absolutely do not want to listen to him or any other jambands.
Fortunately, I have little buttons on my radio that allow me to change the station when songs I don’t like come on. This means I don’t have to get angry because some people do like whatever glurge is on mainstream radio.
Oh, its not a thing, and I certainly didnt mean any offense, if any was taken. I dont really care what other people like, and sure as hell dont expect everyone to love the music I love (especially since banjo plays a center role in too much of it according to my friends).
(Gasp) You never doubt “The List.”
They are not very creative about names, so it might have been Crazy, Crush, or *Captain * they were yelling for. Or then again, perhaps these fans didnt realize it had been played already. I’ve heard all their music sounds the same to some people.
Good question. Or put another way, why is DMB so “popular?” Beats me all to death. I just don’t get the cult of DMB. The music is good. The band is tight and talented. I can listen to it for a reasonable period of time but I definitely don’t get the “thrill” of all things DMB. Hate to poo-poo a fave of many troglodytes. Also don’t quite “get” the verve for Panic and Phish. There may be a genetic predisposition for offspring of Deadheads involved. Socialized music? Groovy, man!
TripingJimiThing, I wasn’t offended. I just wanted you to know I wasn’t trying to pick a fight. (This is nice. We’re all being very polite).
Regarding the list. The song was the only one I’d herd fairly often but I’m not sure of the name so I could be wrong about it.
And I’m with ya on the banjo music. I used to love America, though, so my tastes are generally free from the burden of any musical perspicacity.
He sucks in the same way vanilla flavored stuff sucks: vanilla actually tastes okay, but wouldn’t you really rather have the raspberry, lemon or chocolate flavor?