Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
This is pretty simple. Perhaps a corollary to the "guilty pleasures" thread. Artists you don't care for, even dislike, can still knock it out of the park on a single song. Post your favorite examples. Here are a few of mine, top of mind:
The Eagles, "Hotel California" -- I really really don't like the Eagles. Their soft, urban contemporary beach-country sound bores and irritates me. But, let's face it, this is one of the greatest rock songs ever written, and the guitar duet between Don Felder and Joe Walsh is justifiably legendary. Simply an awesome track.
Kiss, "Black Diamond" -- I have written repeatedly of my dislike of Kiss. I think untrained second-graders could write better songs. But this song is great, very powerful riff. But the Replacements' cover version is better.
The Doobie Brothers, "China Grove" -- The Doobie Brothers are boring. Easy-listening, adult contemporary bullshit, sort of like the Eagles. For the most part, they are one step up from Muzak. But the guitar riff and bass licks on this song kick ass.
The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations" -- I get it, the Beach Boys were revolutionary. Pet Sounds supposedly inspired the Beatles to write Sgt. Pepper (or was it Revolver?). Whatever. I don't like 'em. But this song, once you get past the fact that it was used in a soda commercial, is actually well constructed and surprisingly complex. Lots going on here -- Brian Wilson crammed many different musical ideas into 3.5 minutes.
Oasis, "Don't Look Back In Anger" -- For the life of me, I never understood why Oasis got so big. It's as if they tried to have the most annoying vocals ever recorded. And they probably succeeded. Plus, they dared to compare themselves favorably to the Beatles while shamelessly trying hard to sound like them, which is a hubris I find offensive. But this song is actually quite lovely.
Madonna, "Like a Prayer" -- Younger people on this forum probably don't remember this, but Madonna used to be considered extremely hot. As an adolescent male in the 80s, I must say I enjoyed her videos. The songs were another matter. They sucked. She couldn't sing. Stripped of the images of her prancing around with her bare midriff, the music cannot hold my interest. The lameness of Madonna's songs even inspired one of the more memorable scenes in the film Reservoir Dogs (opening line of the movie: "let me tell you what 'Like a Virgin" is about"). But "Like a Prayer" is a legitimate masterpiece. Even the church-choir backing vocals were a nice touch. There were a million ways she could have fucked this song up, but she didn't.
Miley Cyrus, "We Can't Stop" -- Miley DID fuck this song up. It has over-produced, unnecessary, stupid, cutesy, throw-away sonic add-ons and irritating, auto-tuned vocal affectations. Pretty much what you'd expect. And the ridiculous music video inspires near-homicidal hatred. But, the second or third time I heard it, I realized something: the song itself is brilliant. I don't know who wrote it, it presumably wasn't her, probably one of the 3 or 4 hitmakers who write all the songs for today's pop stars. No matter. As much as I want to hate this song, I can't help myself, it is great. God help me. The message is actually pretty cool too. Bonus fact: I bought my house from a former producer/writer of the Hannah Montana TV show.
The Eagles, "Hotel California" -- I really really don't like the Eagles. Their soft, urban contemporary beach-country sound bores and irritates me. But, let's face it, this is one of the greatest rock songs ever written, and the guitar duet between Don Felder and Joe Walsh is justifiably legendary. Simply an awesome track.
Kiss, "Black Diamond" -- I have written repeatedly of my dislike of Kiss. I think untrained second-graders could write better songs. But this song is great, very powerful riff. But the Replacements' cover version is better.
The Doobie Brothers, "China Grove" -- The Doobie Brothers are boring. Easy-listening, adult contemporary bullshit, sort of like the Eagles. For the most part, they are one step up from Muzak. But the guitar riff and bass licks on this song kick ass.
The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations" -- I get it, the Beach Boys were revolutionary. Pet Sounds supposedly inspired the Beatles to write Sgt. Pepper (or was it Revolver?). Whatever. I don't like 'em. But this song, once you get past the fact that it was used in a soda commercial, is actually well constructed and surprisingly complex. Lots going on here -- Brian Wilson crammed many different musical ideas into 3.5 minutes.
Oasis, "Don't Look Back In Anger" -- For the life of me, I never understood why Oasis got so big. It's as if they tried to have the most annoying vocals ever recorded. And they probably succeeded. Plus, they dared to compare themselves favorably to the Beatles while shamelessly trying hard to sound like them, which is a hubris I find offensive. But this song is actually quite lovely.
Madonna, "Like a Prayer" -- Younger people on this forum probably don't remember this, but Madonna used to be considered extremely hot. As an adolescent male in the 80s, I must say I enjoyed her videos. The songs were another matter. They sucked. She couldn't sing. Stripped of the images of her prancing around with her bare midriff, the music cannot hold my interest. The lameness of Madonna's songs even inspired one of the more memorable scenes in the film Reservoir Dogs (opening line of the movie: "let me tell you what 'Like a Virgin" is about"). But "Like a Prayer" is a legitimate masterpiece. Even the church-choir backing vocals were a nice touch. There were a million ways she could have fucked this song up, but she didn't.
Miley Cyrus, "We Can't Stop" -- Miley DID fuck this song up. It has over-produced, unnecessary, stupid, cutesy, throw-away sonic add-ons and irritating, auto-tuned vocal affectations. Pretty much what you'd expect. And the ridiculous music video inspires near-homicidal hatred. But, the second or third time I heard it, I realized something: the song itself is brilliant. I don't know who wrote it, it presumably wasn't her, probably one of the 3 or 4 hitmakers who write all the songs for today's pop stars. No matter. As much as I want to hate this song, I can't help myself, it is great. God help me. The message is actually pretty cool too. Bonus fact: I bought my house from a former producer/writer of the Hannah Montana TV show.
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