# I hate Florence and the Machine **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 26, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734 "2011-04-26T03:05:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![beartato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@beartato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beartato)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/21 "2011-04-26T18:51:15Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I have heard the goddamn song “Dog Days Are Over” about 90,000 times now and I can’t stand it. The voice is obnoxious and breathy - this is the female John Mayer. The lyrics suck. “Run fast for your mother, fast for your father,” etc, “horses are coming,” etc. What a bunch of pompous, pretentious, shallow, meaningless trash. The song is repetitive; the throaty, breathy, reverb-y sound of it is unbelievably grating to me. And the radio stations around here apparently never tire of playing it. The same goes for everything by Adele - actually, for a long time I thought “Dog Days” _was_ Adele. Same kind of voice, same kind of stupid lyrics. UGH! > > We used to have sultry Ricki Lee Jones and Stevie Nicks, gorgeous Harriet Wheeler of the Sundays, angry Alanis Morisette, sly Natalie Merchant, etc. Now we get this bombastic, pretentious, obnoxious CRAP. I can’t stand it. Wait wait wait… your problem is with terrible similes, absurd lyrics, grating vocals, and pretentiousness, and yet you’re holding up Nicks, Wheeler, Merchant, and Morissette as examples of what you feel a female vocalist should be? I happen to like all the ladies mentioned, but every single one on your list is guilty of at least one of the crimes against music you’ve accused Florence and the Machine of. ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/22 "2011-04-26T19:04:13Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Nothing feels weirder than when you like something and think everyone can clearly see it’s cool, and then you realize that folks think you are an idiot for liking it. > > I love Regina Spektor, really like Adelle and kinda dig that Dog Days song, too. I like them, too! We can all be idiots together; it’s something I’m pretty good at by now. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/23 "2011-04-26T20:58:56Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > kinda dig that Dog Days song, too. I don’t listen to a lot of radio so it hasn’t worn out its welcome for me. I haven’t looked for anything else by the artist so all the claims of pretentiousness or media-whoring go right over my head. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/24 "2011-04-27T14:00:23Z")
There’s a top 40 station around here (WPLJ) that plays so that Adele song so much I’m starting to think there’s some payola going on. Some songs, if you don’t like them the first time or two, soon they grow on you. _Rolling in the Deep_ just plain sucks, no matter how often they play it. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/25 "2011-04-27T16:24:03Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > I don’t hate the song, but I agree that it’s metaphors are muddy at best. I mean, the horses don’t exactly sound like an improvement. “Dog days”, though, implies a sort of stagnation, but possibly in a lazy positive sense - so the horses, implying activity and an end to the torrid, unwanted happiness, probably aren’t supposed to be a good thing. I think I liked the song a little better when I thought it was “dark days”. Not that it made any more sense. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/26 "2011-04-27T16:38:31Z")
That would make sense, if not for the fact that she’s supposed to be shocked by sudden happiness, and suspicious of it, to the point where she hid around corners and under beds and killed it with kisses and fled and shit. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/27 "2011-04-27T16:40:15Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Happiness does not remotely affect someone in a comparable manner to a bullet in the back. Well, to be fair, the bullet was apparently only thrown. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/28 "2011-04-27T17:34:31Z")
I like “Dog Days” well enough, I guess. I get the general upliftiness of it. But I think I would have reacted very poorly to it if the first time I had heard the song had been while watching that pretentious music video. THAT was a piece of work. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/29 "2011-04-27T23:31:09Z")
I first heard “Dog Days” when they performed on SNL, and I had to turn off the tv because I found her voice so grating. Even so, it’s nice to see females besides Katy Perry and Ke$ha getting mainstream attention. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/30 "2011-04-28T00:57:50Z")
I liked Adele before anyone over the age of 12 and under the age of 35 knew who she was. So there. I feel so hipster. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/31 "2011-04-28T01:46:44Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > There’s a top 40 station around here (WPLJ) that plays so that Adele song so much I’m starting to think there’s some payola going on. Some songs, if you don’t like them the first time or two, soon they grow on you. _Rolling in the Deep_ just plain sucks, no matter how often they play it. How about the mashup with Moby’s [Extreme Ways](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5v-FlwR650)? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/32 "2011-04-28T02:03:51Z")
I don’t understand. I like this song a lot and I work in retail so I’ve been hearing it incessantly for months. [This is how I feel](http://youtu.be/BnBau6fL8S8) about it. I also enjoy Adele and Regina Spektor. I did like Alanis, Joan Osborne, Stevie, and Natalie Merchant back in the day. I’m indifferent to the lyrics in Dog Days, but I will go on record as saying if you have to spell a whole friggin’ phrase that is the title of your song, you’re not a great songwriter. Now, someone please go tell Noah and the Whale. GAAAWWWD, I hate that song! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/33 "2011-04-28T02:08:46Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#): > > Not a huge fan of Florence, but her duet with Mr Rascal at last year’s BRITs was the dog’s bollocks. I’ve never before written down a phrase with the intent of working it into my conversations for the next week. And I agree with the OP on Flo & the M. “Overblown” is how I described them a while ago. And if you can’t write metaphors that actually, y’know, MEAN something, go find someone who can. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/34 "2011-04-28T02:42:32Z")
I like Florence and the Machine fairly well. But not “Dog Days Are Over.” “Heavy in Your Arms” and “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” are several orders of magnitude better. Even “Kiss With a Fist” is much better. If this was the SATs, it’d be: “Dog Days Are Over” are to Florance and the Machine as: A. “Hey There Delilah” is to Plain White T’s B. “Fly” is to Sugar Ray C. “Independently Happy” is to Blue October D. “I’m Just a Girl” is to No Doubt but any are the right answer. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/35 "2011-04-28T03:02:11Z")
“I’m Just A Girl” is a pretty good song though, and I’d say it’s well representative of No Doubt’s style. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/36 "2011-04-29T00:37:58Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > “I’m Just A Girl” is a pretty good song though, and I’d say it’s well representative of No Doubt’s style. We’ll have to agree to disagree then. IMHO it aptly fits the theme of “tailored to be radio friendly=sucks.” I know it sure turned _me_ off the band until I forced to see them to honor an ill-advised promise to my little brother…I left the concert a fan, but still hate that song. ---
**Author:** ![born\_too\_late](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba9def/32.png) [@born\_too\_late](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/born_too_late)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/37 "2011-04-29T13:22:35Z")
I’m on board with this. I tend to dislike vocalists that sing low-register throaty, warbly, mumbly bellow (like Eddie Vedder, forex). Song is catchy, but it seems very calculated. The kids seem to like it, tho. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/38 "2011-04-29T14:10:58Z")
I love this song. My favorite line is, ‘‘You can’t carry it with you if you want to survive.’’ To me, the song is about going through hell and suddenly realizing everything is going to be okay. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/39 "2011-04-29T23:55:56Z")
Could one of the many fans of this wretched song take a stab at justifying the line “Run fast for your mother, fast for your father, run for your children, for your sisters and brothers” as anything other than shitty lyric-writing? It means absolutely nothing. It’s a lame, space-filler lyric (and it’s a horrifically lazy rhyme). ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734/40 "2011-04-30T00:56:34Z")
I love that song and I really like the band and her…she just weirds me out because I think she looks far, far older than her age. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-florence-and-the-machine/579734.md?page=3)