Things you wanted to like, but just couldn't...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Ever have something that because of either peer pressure or other reasons, you really wanted to like, but the harder you tried to get into it, the more you realised that you really hated it?

I’ll share some of mine, and invite you to do the same:

Coffee: What? Something that’ll help me wake up in the morning? I’m there! Mmmm… nice and hot and aromatic, I’ll just take a sip and… JESUS CHRIST THIS STUFF IS RANCID!!! It tastes like someone dissolved a cup of dirt into hot water! But everyone in the world likes coffee! Maybe I’ll just pour half a cup of sugar and cream into it and… GOOD GOD IT DIDN’T HELP THE FLAVOR ONE BIT! I changed the color of the liquid from near black to a light tan, but I can’t even freaking TASTE any of the massive amount of sugar I just poured into it! Why coffee!!! WHY!!!

Radiohead: Wow, all of the people who I KNOW share my musical tastes in nearly every regard really get into this stuff. Everyone who’s opinion on music I trust says this is the greatest band ever. There are a lot of comparisons to Pink Floyd, one of my absolute favorite classic rock bands. OK Computer, one of the greatest albums in rock and roll history? Man, I’ve got to give this a try, I’ll just pop it in and… Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz… Huh? What? I fell asleep? Man, I’ll try it again sometime when I’m better prepared to really listen deep and think about the message contained in the music. Now’s good, I’ll just… Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

There’s definately more, but this a long OP, so I’ll add them as I think of them.

By the way, the worst part of the Radiohead thing, is that when I try to explain this to people, they’re like “Oh, well, it’s kind of slow and mellow. Maybe you just don’t have the attention span for it.”

WTF!?!?!
I adore the slow, mellow nature of Pink Floyd; I’m a huge fan of Godspeed, You Black Emperor! Don’t go telling me that I don’t have the freaking attention span! I just find Radiohead’s music to be boring and not particularly original or meaningful…

2

Sushi. Everyone I know loves sushi. They all go out for sushi lunches, and sushi dinners. And I stay behind, because if I do manage to consume anything sushi-like, it then manages to consume me for the next six hours or so. I have tried tempura, and like it in very small doses - not enough for a full meal. In Vancouver, this is not just inconvenient. It’s damn near antisocial.

3

I opened this thread in order to post the fact that I was the only person on the planet who couldn’t get into Radiohead. What a relief… and I used to be a person who couldn’t get into coffee too. Here’s the thing: are you just drinking any old diner coffee? I can’t drink that crap either. I only drink the really stylin’ kind, and I love it now.

Other things: Everybody Loves Raymond. It wins tons of Emmies, and I’ve tried to like it, but it fails to thrill me. What is the attraction here?

Coca Cola. Coke is it? Really? It doesn’t even taste like anything, unless “brown” is a flavor. Vanilla Coke is OK, because it has that nice flavoring, but regular Coke does nothing for me. I cannot understand the worldwide fascination, whilst root beer and cream soda stand idly by.

4

The Simpsons. Really, it’s just BAD.

5

Watermelon.

Watermelon looks like such good fun to eat on a stinking hot summers day, with the juice oozing and dribbling down yer face. And then you get the added bonus of being able to spit the pips at people.

[sigh] I wish I could like the stuff. [/sigh]

6

I was going to come back and chastise a few of your suggestions (how can you not like that!?!), but then I thought it would be better if we let this thread be like a guilt-free confession booth, with no judging or criticism.

It doesn’t matter what you secretly hate, here you can say it without fearing the shock and disbelief of others.

Let it all out…

7

I wish I could like Ranch dressing. The people on TV eating it on their carrots and salads make it look so good. People eat it on their fries, on their sandwiches, everywhere! I tried it once, and really tried to like it, but it was just…gross!

I agree with the radiohead thing. I have Ok Computer and I like 2 songs from it, but the rest…blah. Also, The White Stripes just suck!

8

I’m with you CaptBushido on the coffee thing, I’ve tried and tried and nothing takes away that bitter taste…nothing. To date, there’s no amount of sugar, milk or alcohol that has ever made coffee pallatable to me. Coffee, the bastard of all beverages…

Otherwise my confession is: [drumroll]…

…Lobster. It’s so expensive and everyone else adores it. They stare at me in disbelief when I say I don’t care for it. Tastes wayyyyy too fishy for me!

To me Lobster is to fish what Coffee is to beverages.

9

I’ve got a couple of these:

Reggae: (Remember, no flaming!) I tried so many times to like reggae music. In college I did it all: I’d smoke pot and go to concerts, I’d listen to it with people who were really into it and get them to tell me about Peter Tosh and Steel Pulse and Burning Spear and the Wailers and so on, and I was finally forced to admit that I just don’t like reggae.

Celtic music: That pennywhistle and guitar, “Thistle and Shamrock” music just doesn’t make it happen for me. I love the Pogues, but that Irish-Spring-commercial music always puts me to sleep.

Hot and sour soup: I’m a big lover of many, many different cuisines, including pretty much any Asian food there is, but this is where my American-bred palate draws the line. “Sour” is just not an acceptable Dominant Flavor in any dish I’m going to enjoy.

Finally (and this one turns me into a social pariah at times), chocolate. That’s right, I don’t like chocolate. I don’t eat it (or any other sweets for that matter), I don’t like the smell of it or the taste of it or even much the look of it. If I want a delicious treat between meals I eat a piece of fruit or something; not because I’m Mr. Healthy Diet, but because that’s what tastes best to me.

Thanks for letting me vent; these have been bugging me for a while.

(Incidentally, I find it totally incomprehensible that you folks don’t like coffee. I want to say, “But… but… it’s coffee!” But I won’t, because I’m in a good mood.)

10

Same here - I just don’t get why colas in general are so popular. Just about every other soda flavor taste better. And Coca-Cola and Pepsi are vile slime when compared to uber sweet nectar of the Great Old Ones, Dr Pepper.

11

Me three on the Coca-Cola. Tastes like something you’d send back to the kitchen as having clearly had cleaning fluid dropped in it. I also have a very low tolerance for carbonation of any sort… it hurts my mouth and I don’t understand how people can use it as a beverage to wash down food, as I can barely handle a sip at a time! I do like root beer and cherry cola, especially once I let it go flat for a while.

Also, milk. I used to love it, would have a glass or two with every meal, and then I came to college and drank water instead. Lost weight and went lactose-intolerant. Now milk tastes funny and hurts me, so I stick to soy milk, and the regular milk tastes gross, all sour and off.

I don’t like plain coffee, but froufy vanilla soymilk cappucinnos with white chocolate and caramel syrup… yum.

And I watched many episodes of Seinfeld, but never liked it. I didn’t understand why it was hailed as such a great show… it was a bunch of petty, unlikeable people doing unpleasant things to each other and then whining about it. “Oh, they’re just like me and my friends!” Really? I’m sorry for you, then.

12

I can understand an indifference to Reggae music, but as far as the rest of them go, you are just a bloody freak jackelope.

:smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

13

beer. I don’t like sweet drinks at all so I ought to like beer. Everyone else in my family likes it. I keep trying to like it but it just tastes nasty to me. I tried a rasberry beer thinking the fruity part might help. Nope it still just tasted like beer.

Pizza. Imean the good kind. Pizzarea pizza. Blech. I hate it. Cheap frozen Pizza from the grocery store? Now THAT I like. Go figure.

Classical music. Jazz. Anyhting that is supposed to be really well done. Nope not me, I want something I can sing along to like 50’s
rock and roll.

Patchouli, supposed to be a sensual earthy musk. Nope smells like dirt to me.

14

Almost anything on TV: Simpsons, Survival, Sienfeld, etc.

Most booze. I didn’t even like beer until I got into my 30’s. Now it tastes like ice cream :slight_smile:

Telephones, especially cell phones.

I’ll second lobster, way too expensive, and not all that good if you ask me. I think it’s more of a prestige dinner than anything else. For some reason people like to eat 100 dollar bills. People should just cook up some cheap fish and drown it in butter, same effect.

Coffee. I used to drink my share of coffee, all kinds of coffee, all kinds of brands. I rarely drink it anymore. The headaches, stomach ulcers and heart palpitations have stopped too :slight_smile: Coffee on a hangover? Are you trying to make me vomit?

Olives. Only on a pizza, and only just a few.

15

Watching football, baseball, hockey, tennis, basketball (with the exception of attending the occasional Jazz game). What a bore. I suppose if I really gave a crap who won or lost it would make quite a difference but I just find watching these sports to be incredibly tiresome. For God’s sake, throw in a few lions and some monkeys to liven it up a bit.

I’ve overcome my dislike of many foods over the years such as mustard, oysters, sushi, vinegar and oil, spinach, Burger King (nah, I guess I’m still working on Burger King). But pickles, I eat one once in a while just to prove to others that I’m willing to try. Ugghhh. I can remember the last one as if it were still ruining my appetite. At 38, I should probably write pickles off as a lost cause.

Situation comedy. Hell, no one can say that I havn’t given them a chance. I love a good comedy, but these contrived, regurgitated and canned excuses for entertainment generally make me want to place my head into a bucket of fire ants and inhale.

Online chat. What a sorry excuse for communication. My dog could have made a passable attempt at conversation in one of these rooms. I imagine a cat could actually fool some people or at least elicit a few lol’s. Say, do you suppose…eh, nah that’d be pretty far fetched.

Chevy Avalanche. What in God’s name were they thinking? I imagine the original prototype must have been developed for that failed movie: Invasion of the Evil Truck Eating Plastic Massacre the 13th. There’s enough plastic on one of those abortions to make 173,000 milk jugs, or nearly 4,000 Michael Jackson replicas.

Popcorn. I don’t mind a bit now and then but we all know that it’s really just a clever way to scour all the spilled soda and ice cream bar residue from the theatre floors while making a tidy profit in the process.

Jenny Jones, Jerry Springer and the rest of their ilk. Words just can’t convey. Actually, I’ve never really tried to like these thrill-a-minute television show hosts but sometimes my hatred causes me to rivet my attention to the screen and suspend disbelief as I fall into a surreal stupor from which I inevitably wake up with a screaming headache. What the hell is up with that anyway? I’ve inflicted less brain damage with a case and a half of Colt 45 and six boxes of Suzy Q’s.

16

That’s another one I never could understand. I tried it, didn’t like it :smiley:

17

Jazz It’s so inticate, so dificult to play, legends make the music, it’s made in the USA… and it’s sooooooooo boringgggggggg. How can anyone listen to this stuff for more than 10 minutes without falling asleep?? I’ll never know.

Ditto on coffee. Let’s see, you take some hard beans, drip water thru it and drink it?? I can’t drink it when it’s too hot, and then when it gets cold it tastes like crap. I’ll wake up with exercise in the morning and a diet coke at mid-morning. :wink:

Broccoli I hate to agree with George I on this, but man, it’s like eating a real thick flower. I know it’s good for me, but I just have to say no.

Star Wars I’ve only seen about 30 minutes of the original, the one in '77. I had to turn it off. I’ve seen the promos and trailers for every one since and I just say why? It’s so dumb to me, these monsters from all over he universe and light sabers and saving the world. I just don’t get it and never will. Same with The Matrix.

18

All clothes designed in the last century

19

The Simpons - How boring is that? I loved it when I was like 13, but has since been played out.
Mushrooms - I love the smell of them when being cooked, but eating the stuff is just nasty. Foods must have texture.
Radiohead - Why bother putting it on the radio. I really like the Karma Police song, and I’ve tried to listen to other songs, but I must say it sucks.
Khaki Pants - I like the look of them, put I just don’t think I can pull of wearing them. I feel like tool when I do. So I don’t wear them.
Will & Grace - There have been some funny shows, but I just cannot get into it. Something about it seems, well…, gay.
Star Wars, The Ring, Lord of the Rings I & II any all and prequels and sequels. I’ve tried to watch them, but the stuff is just - B O R I N G.

20

Shrimp – even people who don’t like fish seem to like shrimp. I don’t get it, they look like big bugs. They have a weird texture. If they are perfectly fresh, they taste like … nothing. If not fresh, they taste oogy.

Jazz – I actually don’t dislike jazz, but it amazes me that people love it so much. To me, it all sounds like one big song. And I will even admit it’s a vaguely pleasant song, because it reminds me of elephants (and everyone likes elephants!). You know, like on Sesame Street, when they would show live action shorts featuring elephants walking through the jungle, with a jazz soundtrack. But I can’t fathom paying $30 + 2 (not very good) drink minimum to sit around thinking about elephants for two hours, I can do that at home.

Seinfeld – this one I actively hate. Those people are terrible, I wouldn’t want them as my friends, and I see no humor in watching people behaving badly. If left to my own devices, I would have seen one episode and then never tuned in again, but it’s the sort of thing that pops up everywhere. I think one of the reasons I hate it so much is that it’s so difficult to avoid (or it was, it’s better now that it’s off the air).

The whole “it’s so bad, it’s good” thing re: B movies – a complete mystery! It’s just BAD. I do enjoy MST, but it should come with a warning “do not attempt this at home.” There is a reasion that the MST people are on TV, and you, my friend, are sitting around in your living room in your sweatpants making not very funny jokes about a movie that is just bad. I wish I enjoyed this, people seem to have a lark sitting around and watching bad movies.