# I don't like blues music. There, I said it. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 21, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674 "2014-07-21T16:41:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 21, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/21 "2014-07-21T18:26:27Z")
Sometimes I feel like I want to dismiss blues as a genre I like, or even the Black Keys as a band I like, but then they put something out that is accessible to me and I dig it. Definitely not a fan of the long-ass solos, or Stevie Ray Vaughn in general. But there’s always some blues around that I can really dig my teeth in to. And definitely without blues there’d be no Beatles, Stones or Zepplin. It’s be Herman’s Hermits all day every day! Here’s the Dead Milkmen’s take on blues music. Cheeky. [the blues song - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygEc9ATJ9RQ) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/22 "2014-07-21T18:29:15Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Did you hear about the dead bluesman? > > He didn’t get up this morning. > I said he didn’t get up this morning. Woulda got up this mornin’ except he was dead. Oh, Yeah! His woman done lef’ him because he was dead. Oh, no! Woulda jumped in the ribba; was already dead. Oh, my! Sing it! (lead guitar solo goes here) ---
**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:** [July 21, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/23 "2014-07-21T18:33:00Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That’s a staple of traditional blues. In fact it’s believed to predate recorded music. It’s not associated with any particular style of blues (fast, slow, electric, acoustic, lots o’ guitar, none) because it’s been around that long. It’s a variation on the African ‘call and response’ way of singing. If you listen to traditional music from west Africa (Mali, etc.), it’s very prominent, and as you said, is very very old. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/24 "2014-07-21T18:33:19Z")
Tom Waits is definitely an acquired taste, and I don’t really consider his music “blues” although YMMV. Wait until Season 3, then you get the Neville Bros. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/25 "2014-07-21T18:51:22Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I like blues…for maybe two or three consecutive songs. Then I need a break. Yep. Same with Bluegrass for me. I’m convinced try that there are only three bluegrass tunes that get played over and over. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/26 "2014-07-21T19:05:59Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > I like blues scales, they sound pretty cool. I like the chord progressions, particularly those heard in traditional 12-bar blues. [http://www.wholenote.com/l467--12-Bar-Blues-What-is-it](http://www.wholenote.com/l467--12-Bar-Blues-What-is-it) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/27 "2014-07-21T19:35:56Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That’s pretty much what the blues is: variations on a basic music and lyrical structure. That is incorrect. I have it from an unimpeachable source that the blues is nothing more than a good woman on your mind. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/28 "2014-07-21T19:43:21Z")
I’m a big fan of live music, blues being one of my preferred genres. There are genres that I like more than others of course but I have a fairly wide range of tastes. When I ask someone what kind of music they like and they say, “everything except for rap and country” I know that they are, almost without exception, fucking idiots. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/29 "2014-07-21T20:21:02Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > I like the chord progressions, particularly those heard in traditional 12-bar blues. > > [http://www.wholenote.com/l467--12-Bar-Blues-What-is-it](http://www.wholenote.com/l467--12-Bar-Blues-What-is-it) Very informative. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/30 "2014-07-21T20:30:02Z")
Tell me this: have you tried listening to blues music when you’re blind drunk on rye in a smoke-filled juke joint, shortly after your no-good woman took all your money and ran off with your best friend? If not, you’re not really getting the full experience. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/31 "2014-07-21T20:31:47Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That’s pretty much what the blues is: variations on a basic music and lyrical structure. > [@bup](#): > > That is incorrect. I have it from an unimpeachable source that the blues is nothing more than a good woman on your mind. This is a common misconception. It’s nothing but a good man feeling bad. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/32 "2014-07-21T20:38:08Z")
It’s easy to tell blues songs apart: they have different titles. Works for bluegrass, too. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/33 "2014-07-21T20:58:05Z")
I agree with what others have said. I don’t like “pure” blues, or at least, it has a very limited appeal, because of the "all-sounds-the-same"ness of it. But blues is an essential ingredient in a lot of the music that I do like very much. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/34 "2014-07-21T21:06:43Z")
I got me a mean ol’ woman Cos her hen-house outta bounds She got jaws like Margaret Thatcher An’ she weigh near 400 pounds {lather, rinse, solo, repeat} ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/35 "2014-07-21T21:15:08Z")
you need depression, alcohol or other depressive drugs. If it weren’t for bad luck ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/36 "2014-07-21T21:38:58Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > When I ask someone what kind of music they like and they say, “everything except for rap and country” I know that they are, almost without exception, fucking idiots. True dat. ---
**Author:** ![Shooby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Shooby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shooby)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/37 "2014-07-21T22:11:26Z")
I often go blues dancing, and I’m also kind of sick of blues music. The problem with blues is that half the songs use the same goddamned chord progression or slight variations thereof. It’s like a stupid Word template that uncreative musicians can fall back on: I I I I IV IV I I V IV I I Don’t get me wrong, rock musicians do the same stuff with their love affair with a select few 4-chord progressions, like: vi IV I V (e.g. Am F C G). It’s nice the first hundred times you hear it, but afterwards, you kinda wanna shoot up a recording studio. That said, some artists can do really cool things with the blues framework, esp. when they thankfully decide to stray from the most familiar of the patterns. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/38 "2014-07-21T22:13:46Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Tell me this: have you tried listening to blues music when you’re blind drunk on rye in a smoke-filled juke joint, shortly after your no-good woman took all your money and ran off with your best friend? If not, you’re not really getting the full experience. :rolleyes: Oh please! Who hasn’t had that experience? :smack: Then again, it’s not Tuesday yet. Wait until tomorrow then ask again. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/39 "2014-07-21T22:15:22Z")
I don’t despise blues music, but it’s not my favourite genre. I just get really tired of hearing a bunch of songs with the same exact chord progression. (Though I am aware that not all blues songs have those chords, but a lot do.) ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674/40 "2014-07-21T22:17:13Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > The trouble is, all the blues are down at the short end. 😛 Well yeah, who’d listen to the reds? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-blues-music-there-i-said-it/693674.md?page=3)