# What band or artist, can you appreciate but don’t like **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [May 27, 2023, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667 "2023-05-27T13:38:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/1 "2023-05-27T13:38:41Z")
What band or artist, that while can you appreciate their talent and acknowledge that they are good, just don’t like them for whatever reason - within a genre you do like. I’m not talking about saying, for example, I can appreciate that Billy Strings is a fantastic flatpicker, I just don’t like bluegrass. I’m talking about, in my example, I love rock music but I don’t like Rush - even though objectively I understand they are talented. Another one for me is Elton John. I can appreciate this guy is a monumental talent as a songwriter, singer and piano player, something about his music just doesn’t do it for me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/2 "2023-05-27T14:00:40Z")
Husker Du for me. Everything about my musical tastes should say I love this band, but I just could never get into their recorded works, at least. It all just sounds like hot, muddy garbage to me. I like Bob Mould. I liked Sugar. I suspect if I had seen them in the day live, I would have enjoyed them, but I struggle to enjoy any of their recorded work. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/3 "2023-05-27T14:08:02Z")
For me, it’s Jimi Hendrix, thought by many to be the greatest guitar plater ever. I like a song or two and did listen and trip to his complete albums a few times in college (Get Experienced), but he just doesn’t interest me enough to put on any of my current playlist. Same with the Grateful Dead and Rush, great groups recognized by many, but to me, meh. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2023, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/4 "2023-05-27T14:10:20Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I love rock music but I don’t like Rush Ha! I saw the thread title, and as I clicked on it I said “Oh, look, a Rush thread!” For me, jam bands. I love the _idea_ of bands like Phish and Widespread Panic, and even the Yonder Mountain String Band. I have friends that keep inviting me to see them. And I like _recordings_ of the Grateful Dead, where I can skip the mystical guitar noodlings. I know part of it is that I’m an impatient person: “Get to the next verse, dammit!” ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/5 "2023-05-27T14:11:03Z")
There are plenty of great bands that don’t do it for me, despite being popular or idolized by friends or clearly having absurd levels of talent. Some stuff grows on you if you hear it enough. Some never does. For example, I never really got into Rush despite knowing loads of rabid Canadian admirers. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2023, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/6 "2023-05-27T14:22:02Z")
Yeah, I don’t really like Husker Du, or Hendrix, or Rush, but in each case I don’t know whether I genuinely don’t like them or whether I haven’t given them enough of a chance. I haven’t heard much by any of them, but what I _have_ heard hasn’t really grabbed me. But the name that came to my mind first when I saw the thread title was Bruce Springsteen. I have a lot of respect for him, but I don’t want to listen to him. Partly it’s that I don’t like the sound of his voice, and partly it’s that none of his songs that I’ve heard have really resonated with me the way they have with some people. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/7 "2023-05-27T14:24:48Z")
I guess Led Zeppelin might be it for me. I love all those 1960’s British Blues Rock records (many featuring Page and Jones) but Zep pushed it to a level that I just don’t care for. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/8 "2023-05-27T14:25:03Z")
Hendrix for me, as well. I recognize that he was immensely talented and innovative, and was a huge influence on guitarists who followed him. But I’ve heard a lot of his music over the years (that’s what happens when you primarily listen to “classic rock” format stations), and I just don’t enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/9 "2023-05-27T14:28:58Z")
(You know, I sometimes don’t read posts or threads carefully. After seeing the last comment also mentioning “a Rush thread”, I read the second half of the first post, originally ignored, to find it also said Rush. The funny part is I did not read those before choosing the same band independently, whether you believe that truth or don’t. I thought of a couple others, there are lots, but we all know Rush is the best choice!) ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/10 "2023-05-27T14:30:14Z")
Very broadly, just about any artist whose genre is opera, country, or “rap”/“hip-hop.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/11 "2023-05-27T14:42:20Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I know part of it is that I’m an impatient person: “Get to the next verse, dammit!” Yeah, if that’s what you’re looking for, I’m not sure how you like the idea of jam bands. 🙂 I never got into the Dead or any other jam bands except for a few years of Phish. (Oh, and briefly being in one in college for some reason.) Not sure why that one spoke to me, as it’s pretty quirky. And, no, I didn’t use or need any psychotropics to enjoy them. Oh, which reminds me. The real big one is Bob Dylan. I have a couple albums. I just haven’t been in the right mental state to really enjoy them. Which is odd as I enjoy stuff like Leonard Cohen. ---
**Author:** ![theater\_in\_a\_crowded\_fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@theater\_in\_a\_crowded\_fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theater_in_a_crowded_fire)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/12 "2023-05-27T14:45:16Z")
Chris Stapleton is the best example of this for me. On paper, he’s everything I would love in an artist. I’m a huge Americana and classic country fan and enjoy bluegrass as well. I love his previous band, the Steeldrivers, both with him and without him. Somehow as a solo artist he just leaves me cold. I can’t even really explain it, he just doesn’t work for me even though I think he has a great voice, is a solid guitarist and has enormous talent. He even seems like a cool person. Nothing but respect, but just totally not for me despite being completely in my wheelhouse. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2023, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/13 "2023-05-27T14:55:29Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Very broadly, just about any artist whose genre is opera, country, or “rap”/“hip-hop.” Yeah, there are whole genres I appreciate but don’t enjoy. When I saw the thread title, I thought of saying that, while I can respect what a skilled rapper does, I do not like rap/hip-hop—never have and probably never will. But that’s not what this thread is about: the OP clearly specified: > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > within a genre you do like. > > I’m not talking about saying, for example, I can appreciate that Billy Strings is a fantastic flatpicker, I just don’t like bluegrass. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/14 "2023-05-27T14:57:24Z")
I recognize that Bob Dylan is a talented songwriter but an awful performer who seems to enjoy punishing his audience. ---
**Author:** ![ASanders](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asanders/32/3367_2.png) [@ASanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASanders)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/15 "2023-05-27T14:58:13Z")
Bob Dylan for me too, though I respect the hell out of his songwriting talent I can’t ever listen to him. Also the Rolling Stones. Love the genre, appreciate their skills and achievements, can’t stand the vast majority of their music. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/16 "2023-05-27T15:01:27Z")
Prince. By all accounts a virtuoso on many instruments and incredible to watch live. But any time a Prince song is on the radio, I try, but I get bored before the end. I also agree with Elton John…though I do like _I’m still standing_. Most of his stuff though, nah. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/17 "2023-05-27T15:09:33Z")
I love metal, but have never enjoyed listening to Pantera, a band who was local to me. Before they were a thrash metal band, they were a very silly hair metal band. I couldn’t take them seriously after the transition. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > But the name that came to my mind first when I saw the thread title was Bruce Springsteen. Heh, I would have to amend that answer to “The E Street Band”. I really don’t enjoy his music with them. _Nebraska_ is genius, though. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/18 "2023-05-27T15:19:08Z")
Bands like ‘YES’ and ELP ( Emerson, Lake & Palmer ). I can appreciate their talent but I just can’t stand the overly “keyboardy” sound. During some long keyboard runs, it sounds like a dog wagging its tail between the antennae of a theremin. In that same way, it’s the reason I don’t care for Rush’s sound from around post 1980 and up. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2023, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/19 "2023-05-27T15:20:36Z")
Coldplay, I guess. It’s not exactly in my favorite genre but I like other similar bands. I really don’t like Coldplay. I think The Scientist is a good song but beyond that, meh. Yet when I have to hear a Coldplay song I hear a lot of really sophisticated instrumentation so objectively they are probably pretty good. (I have to say, I love Rush.) ---
**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:** [May 27, 2023, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667/20 "2023-05-27T15:24:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, if that’s what you’re looking for, I’m not sure how you like the idea of jam bands. 🙂 I love the idea of sitting out in some park with stoner friends, listening to a couple of happy bands and basically being a hippie for a day. I have done that back in the early 70s, when you’d actually bring a blanket and a dozen friends. Luckily, I had those friends along, or I’d’ve been bored. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-band-or-artist-can-you-appreciate-but-don-t-like/984667.md?page=2)