# Name a musician you admire for their talent but can't stand personally **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025 "2003-05-09T01:58:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wyld\_Stallyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Wyld\_Stallyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wyld_Stallyn)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/21 "2003-05-09T14:21:48Z")
It seems like this thread was started so that someone could mention Eddie Van Halen, I’m quite surprised no one has done so as of yet. Also, one of my favorite artists to discuss on this board, Ronnie James Dio, also qualifies. Not only did he name the band after himself, but all of the group’s videos are thoroughly centered on him, despite the fact that he may be the ugliest human being ever. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/22 "2003-05-09T15:25:14Z")
I’ve got to nominate Eminem also. He’s good at what he does, and (this is the hard part to admit) he actually seems reasonably intelligent and observant. I don’t know when he’s being sincere and when he’s not, but he’s at least interesting. Also: James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich from Metallica. I’m into some of their stuff, but they both strike me as jerks. Especially over the Napster thing. You’ve gotta have some nerve to sue your own fans, especially when you’re as super-rich as they are. ---
**Author:** ![karomon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@karomon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/karomon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/23 "2003-05-09T15:38:58Z")
Erykah Badu comes to mind. Beatiful voice. Bitchy demeanor. Personally, I don’t like ANY celebrities for their personality. Usually, famous person = attention whore. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/24 "2003-05-09T16:03:06Z")
I’ve gotta go with Miles Davis. Eminem’s my second choice. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/25 "2003-05-09T16:27:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cisco \* > \*\*Can you elaborate on this a little bit? I have a friend who is so grotesquely obsessed with Kurt that I’m seriously afraid he’s going to start shooting heroin any day now. I’d love to have some dirt on the guy. \*\* I just think he was a whiney, over-hyped, under-talented junkie coward. Just an opinion and nothing you taunt your friend with. You may want to point out to your pal that heroin will not have any positive effect on his life. * * * Never kiss an animal that can lick its own butt. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/26 "2003-05-09T16:49:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ferrous \* > **talented rapper** Oxymoron? [runs and hides] ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/27 "2003-05-09T17:15:03Z")
Ritchie Blackmoor from Deep Purple. Guy’s suppossed to be a real prick. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/28 "2003-05-09T17:28:03Z")
Anyone from R.E.M., Michael Stipe in particular. They’ve made several of my favorite songs, but every one of them is a pretentious, self-indulgent twat. I can still vividly remember Peter Buck on some MTV interview show being all pompous that “Losing My Religion” was “the only top 10 hit with a mandolin as the main instrument,” as if desperate to assert that they were Much More Meaningful Than Your Average Pop Band. (I’m sure my going to school in Athens and having to see them constantly deified didn’t help.) On the flip side of the OP, I don’t like Marilyn Manson’s music at all, much less his stage persona, and think his whole bit is an obvious grab at attention. But I have to say that a couple of times I’ve read things he’s written (like a reaction to the Columbine shootings printed in Rolling Stone) and not only did I agree with everything he was saying, but he said it pretty well, too. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/29 "2003-05-09T17:37:20Z")
**Eminem** is merely a talented lyricist, nothing more. _And now, for some hits below the radar:_ I’ve heard that **Mitch Mitchell** (drummer for Jimi Hendrix Experience) was pompous to the point of Chas Chandler regretting that he was hired. **Bernard “Pretty” Purdie** is a fantastic drummer with a fantastic ego. He _purdie_ much lies about who he has played with, claiming sessions that are documented otherwise by union contracts and such. He even claimed (claims?) to have replaced Ringo Starr in the studio throughout the Beatles’ early years. **Jim Gordon** was one of _the_ drummers in L.A. during the 1970’s, rivaling only Hal Blaine at times. I do believe he was credited as being a nice guy by most accounts, but he also had serious mental issues that became increasingly apparent through the late 70’s, ending in 1983 with his brutal murdering of his mother upon being convinced that she was the Devil. He’s currently institutionalized, most possibly for life. ---
**Author:** ![Wyld\_Stallyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Wyld\_Stallyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wyld_Stallyn)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/30 "2003-05-09T17:56:28Z")
> [@](#): > > You’ve gotta have some nerve to sue your own fans Eh, I didn’t know that they sued their own fans (I certainly wasn’t listed in the suit). They wanted people to buy their music instead of stealing it. Lars is an a\*\*hole (a loveable one at that), but let’s keep the reasoning for that clear. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/31 "2003-05-09T17:59:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > \*\* > Also: James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich from Metallica. I’m into some of their stuff, but they both strike me as jerks. Especially over the Napster thing. You’ve gotta have some nerve to sue your own fans, especially when you’re as super-rich as they are. \*\* Ulrich definitely seems like a jackass but Hetfield lives in the same town as my parents (Novato, California) and I met him once at the farmer’s market. I basically just met him cold: “Hey! You’re James Hetfield, aren’t cha?” We carried on about a 10-15 min conversation. Seemed like a really down-to-earth, friendly, intelligent, _cool_ guy. I was quite surprised, especially considering how HUGE Metallica is (worldwide) and how many random fans he’s probably met. YMMV, of course. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/32 "2003-05-09T18:11:19Z")
Bruce Springsteen. I may be oversimplifying things, but he’s married…he suddenly brings a woman to play TAMBORINES into his all-guy band, and then Gosh! Surprise! He’s involved with her romantically and divorcing his wife… Scumbag. ---
**Author:** ![Gumbercules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gumbercules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gumbercules)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/33 "2003-05-09T18:29:22Z")
I think Lars Ulrich is an excellent drummer but he talks too damn much. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/34 "2003-05-09T20:00:16Z")
Well, there aren’t many bigger Led Zeppelin fans than your truly, but Jimmy Page is a pedophilic cokehead… which means that he probably took the money he’s gotten from me over the years and either shoved it up his nose, or spent it on a Barbie’s Dream House for his latest girlfriend. ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/35 "2003-05-09T20:18:30Z")
Sadly \Andrew Eldritch\ love his music, think he is a complete twat ---
**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/36 "2003-05-09T20:29:45Z")
**mouthbreather** asked: > [@](#): > > Also, wasn’t Pete Townsend cleared of all the kiddie porn charges recently? He was formally cautioned by the police and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 5 years, so not really. However, since the case was not brought to trial, it may well be the case that they accepted his claim that he viewed the material so that he would be better informed, and thus better able to combat child abuse in future. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/37 "2003-05-09T20:55:30Z")
Here’s where I admit that I like Courtney Love’s music, no matter how contemptible she may be as a human being. **RikWriter** : Wasn’t Patty Scialfa (sp?) in Springsteen’s band long before he got married to his first wife? This seems more like a case of two old friends (Springsteen and Scialfa) discovering a spark between them late in the game. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/38 "2003-05-09T21:15:49Z")
Frank Zappa - possibly one of the most egotistical musicians of all time. And of course: [Buddy Rich](http://www.cis.rit.edu/~ejipci/buddy_rich.htm) ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/39 "2003-05-09T21:16:07Z")
**Buddy Rich** is such an well known asshole that he spawned a short play… [My Buddy - A Four Act Passion Play](http://www.bridgeboymusic.com/billyboy/mybuddy.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Peg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Peg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peg)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025/40 "2003-05-09T21:19:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Satasha \* > **Sting seems like he has a huge ego. Very talented though.** Really? I never sensed this. Christina Aguilera & Mariah Carey: Blessed with a great voice, but totally thrashed it with bad songs, personal “style” and antics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-musician-you-admire-for-their-talent-but-cant-stand-personally/174025.md?page=3)