Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Favorite new record? Favorite old record? Got a band? Post it here.
User avatar
stevejamsecono
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4552
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:55 am
Location: Brooklyn, NYC
Contact:

Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by stevejamsecono » Wed Jan 12, 2022 6:21 pm

I'm a pretty big XTC fan and I find Skylarking fairly impenetrable. Really love the band, admittedly favor the live era (Drums and Wires/Black Sea/English Settlement is the pinnacle for me), but just find this album really off-putting sonically and find the songs to be a snooze. People love it. It's considered the pinnacle. I just don't get it.

Equally bizarre to me is how much hate The Big Express seems to get because I threw that one on the other day and thought it was pretty great.

What about all of you? Have a favored band but can't really get into "the hit"? Let's chat about it.

Less interested in being edgelords about it and more curious on how different sides of a band's catalogue can hit differently people.
And you find out life isn't like that
It's so hard to understand
Why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam

Resident Yamaha Fanboy

COYS

User avatar
marqueemoon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7343
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:37 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:38 pm

Slowdive - Souvlaki
A few really solid songs, but have you listened to Pygmalion?

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Hard to articulate why this is so disappointing. It has some really good moments. I guess it’s that since it was conceived as an album and falls short as an album. Plus the goofy songs.

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
I’m a big Talking Heads fan and this album which is their best known is, in my opinion, their worst.

The Velvet Underground & Nico
Pretty tedious and humorless for the most part, and a bit of an anomaly. I like this band better when they are weirder or more pop.

User avatar
sal paradise
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3596
Joined: Thu May 27, 2021 12:41 am

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by sal paradise » Wed Jan 12, 2022 11:38 pm

Led Zeppelin IV doesn’t do a lot for me. My dad had I, II & III so those were the only albums I heard until my teenage years.

I much prefer the Soft Parade over The Doors.

The Wall - meh.

Early Springsteen over Born in the USA any day of the week.

Sacrilegious view: I’m happy with best of albums for the likes of Elton John, Queen and other bands I came to later on in life.
I have nothing to offer anybody, except my own confusion?

User avatar
seenoevil II
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1307
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:59 pm

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by seenoevil II » Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:10 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:38 pm

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
I’m a big Talking Heads fan and this album which is their best known is, in my opinion, their worst.

The Velvet Underground & Nico
Pretty tedious and humorless for the most part, and a bit of an anomaly. I like this band better when they are weirder or more pop.

Clearly you've never heard Naked. I like Stop Making Sense a lot. Particularly as it's the only place to here "What a Day It Was" "Big Business" and those sweet versions of "Found A Job" and "Heaven". I kinda can't stand some of the really camp versions of most other songs on there though.


I agree on the Velvets though. VU post Cale is better VU. Doug Yule is a great addition (if for one album only).
If it wasn't for disappointment, I wouldn't have any appointments.

User avatar
Futuron
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1213
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:19 am
Location: Australia

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by Futuron » Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:43 am

A topic I thought about fairly recently, I've put off creating this very thread a few times! I couldn't think of too many examples, now I've forgottwn them all except one.

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours... I quite like 'Dreams' but not much else. Of their 5 albums from that era it's my 4th favourite.





Regarding Pink Floyd - The Wall, to me it's mostly filler. Besides 'Another Brick In The Wall(s)' and 'Hey You', you are pretty much just paying for 'Comfortably Numb', which is well worth any price of admission! If anything, I consider Dark Side Of The Moon to be their "cornerstone" material.

User avatar
marqueemoon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7343
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:37 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by marqueemoon » Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:46 am

seenoevil II wrote:
Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:10 am
Clearly you've never heard Naked. I like Stop Making Sense a lot. Particularly as it's the only place to here "What a Day It Was" "Big Business" and those sweet versions of "Found A Job" and "Heaven". I kinda can't stand some of the really camp versions of most other songs
I would rather listen to Naked or even True Stories any day of the week. What A Day That Was and Swamp are good, but the rest doesn’t really do it for me. Definitely better with the visual element, but yeah.

User avatar
stevejamsecono
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4552
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:55 am
Location: Brooklyn, NYC
Contact:

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by stevejamsecono » Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:09 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:38 pm

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Hard to articulate why this is so disappointing. It has some really good moments. I guess it’s that since it was conceived as an album and falls short as an album. Plus the goofy songs.
Tend to agree here. 'Meat is Murder' is my favorite of theirs because it sounds the most like them being a band, but that doesn't seem to be a popular opinion.

Also can we talk about the sequencing of that first album? What the hell were they thinking?
And you find out life isn't like that
It's so hard to understand
Why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam

Resident Yamaha Fanboy

COYS

User avatar
marqueemoon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7343
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:37 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by marqueemoon » Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:41 am

stevejamsecono wrote:
Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:09 am
marqueemoon wrote:
Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:38 pm

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Hard to articulate why this is so disappointing. It has some really good moments. I guess it’s that since it was conceived as an album and falls short as an album. Plus the goofy songs.
Tend to agree here. 'Meat is Murder' is my favorite of theirs because it sounds the most like them being a band, but that doesn't seem to be a popular opinion.

Also can we talk about the sequencing of that first album? What the hell were they thinking?
Meat Is Murder is my least favorite. For me it lacks the humor that makes Morrissey interesting (at least in that era of his career before he went full jackass). Also there is just some straight up bad singing.

User avatar
shoule79
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1963
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2013 11:57 am
Location: London....the one in Canada

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by shoule79 » Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:49 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:38 pm
Slowdive - Souvlaki
A few really solid songs, but have you listened to Pygmalion?

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Hard to articulate why this is so disappointing. It has some really good moments. I guess it’s that since it was conceived as an album and falls short as an album. Plus the goofy songs.

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
I’m a big Talking Heads fan and this album which is their best known is, in my opinion, their worst.

The Velvet Underground & Nico
Pretty tedious and humorless for the most part, and a bit of an anomaly. I like this band better when they are weirder or more pop.
The Queen is Dead was my first Smiths album, and yeah, Frankly Mr. Shankly and Vicar in a tutu are kind of wtf and almost put me off the album on my first spin. You could make a case for Cemetery Gates being too goofy along with them.

If I hadn't already gotten into Morrissey from Your Arsenal I may have skipped his and the Smith's catalogues. The high points on that album are worth it though. I think its still the only Smith's album i've sat down and learned to play straight through, minus shankly (Vicar was so easy I didn't really have to listen to it to pick it up).


The only VU albums I still listen to are Loaded and s/t. I liked Nico when I was younger, and it was one of my first "hey I can play this on guitar" albums. Maybe in my old age I've realized I'm just a Doug Yule fan?

I like Souvlaki, but if I'm throwing on Slowdive anymore its either Pygmalion, the 5 EP or the reunion album.

User avatar
marqueemoon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7343
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:37 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by marqueemoon » Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:54 am

I just thought of another.

Fool’s Gold by The Stone Roses

It’s their best known song, but IMO not at all representative of what’s good about the band.

It being tacked on at the end of the US version of the self-titled album bugs me. I always skip it.

Not the worst song ever, but when a band has one of the best rock drummers ever to do it I don’t really want to hear a loop instead, ya know?

User avatar
Zeus
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 279
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 4:27 am
Location: Adelaide, Australia

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by Zeus » Thu Jan 13, 2022 11:08 am

I love the Cure but I'm not especially fond of Disintegration.

I think almost everything they did between 1980 and 1992 is more interesting, diverse and just more enjoyable.

User avatar
s_mcsleazy
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 18423
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 7:30 am
Location: glasgow

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by s_mcsleazy » Thu Jan 13, 2022 11:46 am

the black parade - my chemical romance.

so i LOVE the first 2 MCR albums. i think if you wanted a mixture of the misfits and thursday, you can't go wrong with those first 2 MCR albums. i also seen them in like 2003ish and they were fantastic live. then the black parade came out, it was overhyped and i kinda just wasn't connecting with it. it kinda sounds like a weird mix of queen, the wall - pink floyd and MCR. which is fine but doesn't do much for me. saying that, i still have fond memories of teenagers.
offset guitars resident bass player.
'Are you trying to seduce me Mrs Robinson? Or do you just want me to solder a couple of resistors into your Muff?'

User avatar
cestlamort
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 5175
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2008 12:01 am
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by cestlamort » Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:02 pm

People's reactions to various albums (and subsequent canonization) often have to do with which records they were first exposed to. For example, I wager that everyone who adores The Cure "Wish" had that as their first Cure album. (I did not and I only like it in comparison to what came later).

In related news, my first albums by all these bands:
marqueemoon wrote:
Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:38 pm
Slowdive - Souvlaki
A few really solid songs, but have you listened to Pygmalion?

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Hard to articulate why this is so disappointing. It has some really good moments. I guess it’s that since it was conceived as an album and falls short as an album. Plus the goofy songs.

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
I’m a big Talking Heads fan and this album which is their best known is, in my opinion, their worst.

The Velvet Underground & Nico
Pretty tedious and humorless for the most part, and a bit of an anomaly. I like this band better when they are weirder or more pop.
I love the Smiths but I'd bought the Queen is dead simply because I'd heard that it was good (not having ever heard the band) and it was entirely baffling to me on a ton of levels, not least the UK English lyrics (e.g., What's a spanner? What's a vicar?! etc) and musical traditions that I couldn't get my (American) head around. Meat is Murder may be my favorite (or at least favorite sounding) album of theirs, although I'll admit to usually skipping the title track.

Also, having only had the US version of the first Stone Roses, Fool's Gold does seem like it's tacked on as an afterthought. But (!): I think it was genius to add Elephant Stone as track 3, and I always miss it when I listen to the UK version.

Back on topic:
The Byrds – Sweetheart of the Rodeo (I like the idea more than I like the reality)

User avatar
marqueemoon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7343
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:37 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by marqueemoon » Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:45 pm

cestlamort wrote:
Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:02 pm
People's reactions to various albums (and subsequent canonization) often have to do with which records they were first exposed to. For example, I wager that everyone who adores The Cure "Wish" had that as their first Cure album. (I did not and I only like it in comparison to what came later).

In related news, my first albums by all these bands:
marqueemoon wrote:
Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:38 pm
Slowdive - Souvlaki
A few really solid songs, but have you listened to Pygmalion?

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Hard to articulate why this is so disappointing. It has some really good moments. I guess it’s that since it was conceived as an album and falls short as an album. Plus the goofy songs.

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
I’m a big Talking Heads fan and this album which is their best known is, in my opinion, their worst.

The Velvet Underground & Nico
Pretty tedious and humorless for the most part, and a bit of an anomaly. I like this band better when they are weirder or more pop.
I love the Smiths but I'd bought the Queen is dead simply because I'd heard that it was good (not having ever heard the band) and it was entirely baffling to me on a ton of levels, not least the UK English lyrics (e.g., What's a spanner? What's a vicar?! etc) and musical traditions that I couldn't get my (American) head around. Meat is Murder may be my favorite (or at least favorite sounding) album of theirs, although I'll admit to usually skipping the title track.

Also, having only had the US version of the first Stone Roses, Fool's Gold does seem like it's tacked on as an afterthought. But (!): I think it was genius to add Elephant Stone as track 3, and I always miss it when I listen to the UK version.

Back on topic:
The Byrds – Sweetheart of the Rodeo (I like the idea more than I like the reality)
Y’know, I agree about Elephant Stone. Forgot about that.

User avatar
SignoftheDragon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2314
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:06 am
Location: Utah, USA
Contact:

Re: Cornerstones of band's catalogues that you can't stand

Post by SignoftheDragon » Tue Feb 01, 2022 1:45 am

Zeus wrote:
Thu Jan 13, 2022 11:08 am
I love the Cure but I'm not especially fond of Disintegration.

I think almost everything they did between 1980 and 1992 is more interesting, diverse and just more enjoyable.
THISSSSSS.

Disintegration actually put me OFF the Cure for quite a while. I can listen to it nowadays with some enjoyment (along with most of the stuff that came after,) but for me it'll always be about Kiss Me X3 and the journey that brought them there.

Post Reply