Yeah, but Lester Bangs was full of shit, too. A brilliant and passionate writer, always worth reading, but he knew fuck-all about music.
I hate the Beatles and I don’t care who knows it. Well, apparently I care a bit because I just posted it. I don’t know why anyone would listen to the Beatles when they had The Who and the Kinks already.
I also don’t like the label “classic rock”. There was nothing special about 38 Special, but most Zeppelin songs still hold up.
Like most folks, including you, me and the OP, Lester knew what he responded to favorably, and what he responded to unfavorably.
I’m not sure how “knowing” something about a given artist/genre/etc., whatever that might mean, would cause one to suddenly respond more favorably to it. If you’re exposed to a wider selection of a given genre, there’s perhaps a chance you’ll find a few examples of it you hate less than others, but I don’t know that it would cause you to change your overall opinion of it.
But then I’m not sure that’s what you mean when you say “knowing” something about music. Knowing what? The background of the artist and how he/she/they created the music? The technical aspects of the music? The pre-history of a given genre?
If I were the most knowledgeable person in the world about these things when it came to disco, it wouldn’t cause me to like it any better!
I’d still see them if John were still around. Anyhow, I was thinking this the other day as I was driving and a Boston song came on the radio. Boston is a bit of a soft target nowadays (at least that’s the impression I get), but after turning it up (I think it was “Foreplay/Long Time”), I was thinking just how awesome they must have sounded at the time. Such beautiful studio craftsmanship and what a great sound for the time.
Well maybe they would because no one holds a gun to your head and says “CHOOSE!” when it comes to music you love.
I love all three of the artists you mention passionately, and can’t for a moment imagine why two of them should or ever could crowd out the third. Each group is great in its own way. If one of them doesn’t do it for you personally, fine (though “hate” is a sentiment I don’t understand when it comes to The Beatles…I’d be interested to know why you say this).
I don’t really hate the Beatles. I hate that they’re (IMHO, obviously) massively overrated.
Knowing more about things might encourage you to tolerate them long enough to develop an appreciation. I know lots of people in my age group and below who wouldn’t have the time of day for Depeche Mode but grew to like them because Linkin Park constantly refer to them as influences (those people being Linkin Park fans.)
I wonder if, in both of these instances, we may be talking about two distinct things.
A more thorough knowledge of The Beatles with regard to the overall history and development of rock might cause you to understand or (as you say) “develop an appreciation for” their place and importance in the grand scheme of things. You might then possibly conclude that they aren’t “overrated” after all.
But if you genuinely just don’t respond to Beatles music itself (I’m assuming you’re already reasonably familiar with it), I wouldn’t expect this to cause you to like them any better.
Same with me and disco. If I were more thoroughly versed in how the genre developed, I might develop some sort of grudging appreciation for how it responded to listeners’ (in this case, actually dancers’) needs. But even if I do this, the actual music itself hasn’t changed; it’s still exactly the same as it was before, so I can’t see that I would suddenly grow to “like” it any more.
Your fellow Linkin Park fans, it seems, were more or less unaware of (i.e. “didn’t have the time of day for”) Depeche Mode until the former listed them as an influence. It’s not as though they knew their music thoroughly and despised it until Linkin Park suddenly caused them to see the light.
I’m familiar with both the Beatles’ music and their legacy. Fact is, I dislike much of the music they inspired others to create. I’m not a Linkin Park fan, either; I’m a Depeche Mode fan. The point is that those people got into Depeche Mode because they liked Linkin Park. If I liked Billy Joel or Springsteen I might like the Beatles more.
Same here. I actually have never made that connection before, and now–knowing about it–I’m not sure I hear it, but that would mean revisiting Linkin Park’s catalog with this information in mind, which I’m not impelled to do.
I suspect any increase is going to depend on which era of Depeche Mode you like. I enjoyed (loved, even) some nu-metal bands - Orgy in particular - whose DNA obviously has some Violator and Songs of Faith & Devotion in it.
I dislike both Linkin Park and Depeche Mode. Not my cup of tea. Does nothing for me.
I think lots of people, at least at some level, can differentiate between ‘that does nothing for me’ and ‘that sucks’. We can appreciate someone’s contributions and influence while not being a fan.
What is irritating is the attitude of ‘if you like something that is not MY cup of tea then that means I am more enlightened and\or intelligent than you’. It seems childish.
Or maybe I’m just getting old.
I was listening to radio just before this, and big hits included Monster Mash, The Name Game, Ahab the Arab and other sophisticated treats. I don’t think anyone who wasn’t listening back then can fully appreciate what the Beatles did.
If you want an idea of what really happened within Cream, watch “Beware of Mr. Baker” which is on Netflix. I streamed it last night. Clapton didn’t break up Cream - it was more that Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker hated each other. And no band Baker is in and especially lead lasts very long. In any case, I recommend it. Awesome documentary, filmed at some personal risk.
I’m more baffled than ever now. I can think of dozens of artists who seem to me influenced Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen a lot more than The Beatles did.
For the record, I love The Beatles but (a couple of songs excepted) despise Billy Joel, and respect Springsteen but don’t listen to him very much.
The Beatles influenced a great many who followed in their wake in one way or another, but the line is a lot clearer and more direct in the case of some artists than others.
But again, the distinction in our earlier exchange is between simple awareness/subsequent exposure (which has to be present before “liking” can develop) and the actual liking itself. So I’m not seeing where my disco example fits in with what you’re saying.
I’m aware of most of the best-known examples of disco. (It was inescapable if you listened to Top 40 radio in the mid-70s.) I just can’t imagine anything that would suddenly cause me to hate it less than I already do.
The passage of three years has not made Classic Rock suck any less.
I think this falls into the “it’s not what you say but how you say it” category.
I’m passionate about what I like, and have strong feelings about what I don’t like, too. But I don’t normally go out of my way to talk a lot about the latter. There’s too much to say about what I like to waste time on what I don’t.
And I hate the idea of people using music as a weapon. I’m sure not gonna get bent out of shape because you like something I don’t or don’t like something I do. But as you say, some people are quick to do this. You can express strong views on music without making it personal.
It’s not a zombie. It’s Classic Thread.
“…our generation” WAS the last one to care. Your post reflets that. “Absolute Wankers” ? I’m not gonna’ rip you apart. What do you want, some NEW “oldies” ? Grow up, ya’ spoiled little…dude ? We’re just talkin’ 'bout our generation; YOU get over “it”, whatever that is.
Robert Plant fucking sucks. His shrieking banshee days ended in about 1974 when he lost his range–irritating as it was–and he has since resorted to a bizarre warble and a range of about a minor third. Furthermore, he is a shit lyricist and a blatant plagiarist. Gimme Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Fairport Convention, and I’ll leave the Led Hobbit amphetamine-blues-meets-Tolkein nonsense to the perpetually adolescent.
The other bands you list suck too.
I blame Kiss for ruining rock n’ roll. Anybody else ?
I blame Classic Rock radio stations for killing Classic Rock, but even with the vanishingly few bands they play the stations still don’t play 99.99% of what those bands recorded, and even if you limit the count to their albums before the bands began to suck 95% of it is not played, so you can listen to that on your own.