# Some gaps in my musical knowledge (and what to do about it.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 22, 2024, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943 "2024-02-22T13:47:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/81 "2024-03-15T15:49:04Z")
New to this thread. I’ve been researching all my adult life! I even managed to get jobs that helps my research (around music etc). I’ve been getting into a YouTube channel called [Virgin Rock](https://www.youtube.com/@VirginRock) recently. It’s a classical musician who has never listened to any type of popular music before getting into a relationship with a rock fan called Vlad. She claims she’d never even properly listened to the Beatles (except to say she’d heard snippets just from being a human being alive in the last 40 years). Her channel is a journey of discovery and she breaks down the music so beautifully and insightfully - worth investigating. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/82 "2024-03-17T16:03:52Z")
Not sure where else to put this. A really interest and beautifully made article analysing Rolling Stone’s top 500 albums of all time: > **[What Makes an Album the Greatest of All Time?](https://pudding.cool/2024/03/greatest-music/)** > > Examining 30 years of Rolling Stone’s “Greatest Albums of All Time” Rankings ---
**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:** [March 17, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/83 "2024-03-17T16:30:30Z")
That’s a wonderful example of presenting information visually, interesting for that aspect whether or not you care anything about albums or “greatest” lists. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/84 "2024-03-17T17:31:28Z")
Yes, that was very well done. The one constant in Life seems to be that come rain, come shine, _Pet Sounds_ rocks! ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/85 "2024-03-17T18:09:00Z")
Wow, that was really interesting! Thanks for posting it. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/86 "2024-03-17T19:01:09Z")
Yeah, excellent article. And as I’m here, a little more on gaps filled: Daft Punk - all the studio albums. 1-3 are interesting. They do tend to be minimalist and repetitive, but as background while reading the dope, say, they’re fine. And if you get through the first 3, the fourth is your reward - they discovered pop, and added great dollops of it to the mix. And they co-opted some quality guest musicians - without a word of a lie, listening to track 6 I recognized the guitarist! (Not that clever actually - [they’re very recognizable](https://youtu.be/NF-kLy44Hls?feature=shared) ) Smashing Pumpkins - they keep cropping up in @Mean_Mr.Mustard’s “Songs beginning with …” threads, so I gave them a go. Whoops - not for me at all. I have a mental picture of a white boy in denim posturing with a flying vee guitar. The Smile - thanks to @EinsteinsHund - most of Radiohead on their day off - Thom Yorke, it turns out, has a lighter, less serious side. Like Radiohead with added fun. The Killers - in progress, every album up to Pressure Machine. Much as I expected, really - new wavey, poppy, enjoyable. Though I have noticed that, just now and then, they do sound a bit like the acceptable face of Meat Loaf. And to finish, going back to the Rolling Stone article, @Fiendish_Astronaut, you do realize what you’ve done, don’t you? I have never listened to What’s Going On, Nevermind, Rumours, Purple Rain… j ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/87 "2024-03-17T19:09:57Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > And to finish, going back to the Rolling Stone article, @Fiendish_Astronaut, you do realize what you’ve done, don’t you? I have never listened to What’s Going On, Nevermind, Rumours, Purple Rain BWAHAHAHA! (Laughing evilly) I need to re-listen to What’s Going On. I didn’t hate it but I certainly didn’t particularly love it. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/88 "2024-03-17T19:10:10Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > I have never listened to What’s Going On What?!?!? Do it now, instantly! It’s one of the pure masterpieces of pop music. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/89 "2024-03-17T19:10:41Z")
I know, I know… j ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/90 "2024-03-17T19:12:00Z")
It’s a short album, only a little above the 30 minutes mark. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/91 "2024-03-17T19:38:56Z")
A while back I set up a Spotify playlist of the first several albums from the Rolling Stone list and listened to them in order during my work commute. I made it through the first 20 or so. I have since retired, and it’s not quite as easy to find the time as it once was. Ironic. I hadn’t heard “What’s Going On?” either, outside of the hits. I liked it, but I wouldn’t have placed it in the top 10, let alone #1. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/92 "2024-03-17T20:47:50Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > What?!?!? Do it now, instantly! (Raises hand) OK, done! > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I hadn’t heard “What’s Going On?” either, outside of the hits. I liked it, but I wouldn’t have placed it in the top 10, let alone #1. Don’t tell @EinsteinsHund, but I entirely agree. Though to be fair I understand there is an added cultural significance to the album. Plus I can’t make an adjustment for how it must have sounded to an audience in 1971. (There may well be what one might term a Hill Street Blues Effect. I can’t explain the importance of the show to Trep jr - he just thinks it looks the same as every other cop show. Nope, every other cop show looks like Hill Street Blues.) j ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/93 "2024-03-17T21:07:37Z")
And I have never listened to the The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill which means I can’t even say I’ve heard the current top 10 in that Rolling Stones list. My Rolling Stones number is therefore 9. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/94 "2024-03-17T21:10:27Z")
I actually own that one. I bought it, listened with astonishment to a beautiful fusion of soul and rap, and had a vision of the birth of a whole new genre and a glorious musical future, to be enjoyed for decades to come. Uh, didn’t happen. j ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/95 "2024-03-17T22:09:38Z")
Yep. I am hardly Lauryn Hill’s target audience, but I thought “Miseducation…” was brilliant. Still do. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/96 "2024-03-18T08:32:03Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > And to finish, going back to the Rolling Stone article, @Fiendish_Astronaut, you do realize what you’ve done, don’t you? I have never listened to What’s Going On, Nevermind, Rumours, Purple Rain… OK, so I listened to _Rumours_ for the first time last week, thanks to your thread. I discovered **Fleetwood Mac** when they released _Tango in the Night_. I was about 12 and to me they were an “old” band. I did like a lot of the singles from that album, however. Actually, I’m pretty sure I bought the _Big Love_ 45. They’ve been on my radar since then. I knew two dozens of their songs but I had never listened to a full album. So, _Rumours_. Excellent album for sure but not the masterpiece I thought it was. It turns out that I already knew, and loved, half of the songs : _Dreams, Don’t Stop, Go Your Own Way, You Make Loving Fun_, and _The Chain_. The latter didn’t seem familiar at first but as soon as the chorus kicked in, I went “Oh, _that_ song!” Great stuff really. But the other songs, the ones that I wasn’t already familiar with, didn’t leave much of an impression. _Silver Springs_, originally an outtake, was the best of the lot. _Second Hand News_ in particular was a weak start, especially for such a revered album. One thing that I loved overall was the how amazing the bass lines were. The one in _Go Your Own Way_’s chorus has been an absolute favourite of mine for decades, irresistably driving, and melodically catchy as hell at the same time. But the one at the end of _The Chain_ could give it a run for its money. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/97 "2024-03-21T11:27:52Z")
Prepare to be horrified … I have never listened to Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd). ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/98 "2024-03-21T15:41:56Z")
> [@Eclipse\_Chaser](#): > > I have never listened to Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd). Well, now’s the time! Feel free to report back when you’ve given it a go. It does raise the question of who can claim the most shameful omission. Looking at the most recent Rolling Stone Best Ever Albums list, I decided that I should at least make sure I listened to those in the the top 10 that I didn’t already know. Then it occurred to me that I would have to confess that I had never listened to Abbey Road. But actually, it’s worse than that - I don’t think I’ve ever listened to _any_ Beatles album (!) (I would argue that’s not quite as bad as it sounds. Being a late Boomer, they were long finished before I really started listening to music; and in truth, I’ve never been the biggest fan.) j ---
**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:** [March 21, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/99 "2024-03-21T18:10:38Z")
I don’t own, or have ever listened to, an entire album by: - Bob Dylan - Neil Young - The Beach Boys Just to name a few… It’s not that I don’t like them, I guess I just don’t like them enough to buy their albums. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943/100 "2024-03-21T18:34:09Z")
From all the great classic rock bands and artists of the 60s, I think the Doors are the only band I never listened to a whole studio album from. I have 2 CD live sampler, a compilation of two regular live albums containing “Absolutely Live” and a second one whose title I don’t remember, but that’s it, never had the inclination to listen to a whole album. I don’t find them bad, I like a few songs (and I know all the major ones), but somehow they don’t do it for me. Doesn’t help that I think that Jim Morrison was a pretentious wanker and a bad lyricist. There’s another board favorite I never could get into, Rush. I like nerdy stuff, prog and hard rock, and Rush are a nerdy, hard rocking prog band, aren’t they? Though I tried, I never finished to listen to a whole album. And it’s not Geddy Lee’s voice, I can stand and even like Neil Young or Jon Anderson in their highest registers, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-gaps-in-my-musical-knowledge-and-what-to-do-about-it/997943.md?page=6)