Dislike the Artist, but Like the Song

6 year bump, eh? I'll revisit my reply to this thread in 2014.

The Flash said:
Helloween - Halloween: I really dislike power metal. I think it sounds extremely cheesy and frigid. However, this one has a very rich composition, great flow and atmosphere.
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Still holds up. I still dislike Helloween (and power metal) and like that particular song. Probably not as much as I did back then, though.

The Flash said:
The Doors - People Are Strange: I find The Doors dull. But this one has a very deep edge to it, sounds fun and sad at the same time and has a very nice rhythmic flow.
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Eh. Neither here nor there. I wouldn't say I dislike The Doors at this point.

The Flash said:
Alice in Chains - Would?: This was the first Alice in Chains song I've ever heard. I loved it. I was extremely excited about discovering their material but they don't come anywhere near the quality of this song. One of my favorite "Shorter Than 4 Minutes" rock tracks ever.
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Oh man. Huge departure from this. Alice in Chains is a band I hold in high esteem nowadays and Dirt is featured in my favorite albums list - a Top 50 album of all-time for me.

The Flash said:
Tyler, the Creator - Yonkers: I'm not the biggest hiphop fan in the world. And Tyler the Creator's material is far from being exciting. However, this song sounds wicked and twisted and I love it. Tyler's deep voice is just astonishing on this track.
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This is outdated as well, though to be fair, it is Tyler the Creator's post-2014 works that won me over. I also like hiphop more than I did in 2014.

The Flash said:
Cannibal Corpse - Hammer Smashed Face: Cannibal Corpse is as boring as they're technical. Most of their material sounds like a machine working in a factory. Even though the vocals on this thing are absolute garbage, the riffs are sick.
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Would be a stretch to say I dislike Cannibal Corpse or find them boring at this point. Far from being one of my favorite death metal outfits and they don't have an album that features in my favorites list, but they're decent.

The Flash said:
Necrophagist - Fermented Offal Discharge: The same thing that applies to Cannibal Corpse. Only difference is that this band doesn't sound like a machine in a factory but just boringly "too technical". Fermented Offal Discharge, despite its terrible lyrics, has nice riffs and a gorgeous solo.
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The biggest departure on this list outside of Alice in Chains. Necrophagist grew on me greatly since this post was made and Onset of Putrefaction, the album on which Fermented Offal Discharge is featured, now makes my favorite albums list.

The Flash said:
Laura Branigan - Self Control: There are lots of pop tracks like this that can be named under this thread. Most of Laura Branigan's material is the same ol' boring pop. But Self Control is a legendary synthpop track that I play quite often. Great stuff.
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Still holds up.

The Flash said:
Pantera - Cowboys from Hell: I hate Pantera with a ferocious passion. They sound incredibly boring to me. But the main riff on this one is unmistakable. What a groove.
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I no longer "hate Pantera with a ferocious passion", but I do consider them an overrated band still. 'Walk' is the only other Pantera song I've heard that does it for me.

The Flash said:
Lady Gaga - Bad Romance: The backing track of this song is legendary. Listen to its instrumental version and you'll see what I mean. Vocals aren't bad on this one either. Guilty pleasure for sure.
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Still holds up.

The Flash said:
Inna - Inndia: I heard this song just a couple of weeks ago. Inna is one of the most annoying "artists" there is. Her constant shouting with her godawful voice is hard to bear. I was surprised when I heard this track because it has a great groove and vocal melodies are fantastic. The credit goes to the songwriter, though, I'm sure it'd sound pretty good even if I sang it. And I'm not a good singer.
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Still holds up I think, because I haven't heard the song since.

The Flash said:
Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble: I can't stand Taylor Swift's moaning about her former relationships, her voice or terribly basic songs. This one though, has a great chorus and a very nice vocal delivery by her.
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Still holds up.

It also is apparent from the vitriolic language that I was a less mature individual back then, but that's a common fixture for most old posts of mine that I encounter in bumped threads.
 
Status Quo - In the Army Now

They didn’t write it themselves, but this is such a sombre departure from their usual cheery, bouncy, party band rock n roll, it's well worth a mention. I never cease to be surprised that this is Status Quo performing.
 
Ah, @The Flash warming up on Pantera. 2020 is unlike any other year, indeed. :P

Bon Jovi - Dry County
I have never been able to take Bon Jovi seriously and have always considered them a laughing stock. Dry County has some great moments, though.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
I also recently heard this for the first time and thought it sounded phoney but then I looked up some live clips (I think there’s one on a late night show) and it was surprisingly great.
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Interesting that you picked up phoney because I really didn't, although I was totally expecting it. I was expecting one of two things basically: either pretentious as hell or the beauty and subtlety of the tune bricked up in a wall of noise. I got neither. While both of the Simon & Garfunkel versions start out sad and a bit sinister, but basically stay there (they are very even) the Disturbed version starts out kind of morbid and ominous and barely audible, then builds to really angry (without ever resorting to the wall of noise treatment) and both work equally well with the subject matter and the tune. Also the guy's voice works really well with the backdrop of string synths and mandolin - I think he has a really good voice. It's almost like a minimalist version of symphonic metal (chamber metal, anyone?).

The only think I wasn't really convinced by was the video, which finished up looking like a more expensive version of something Alestorm would do.
 
Black Abyss Babe said:
Interesting that you picked up phoney because I really didn't, although I was totally expecting it. I was expecting one of two things basically: either pretentious as hell or the beauty and subtlety of the tune bricked up in a wall of noise. I got neither. While both of the Simon & Garfunkel versions start out sad and a bit sinister, but basically stay there (they are very even) the Disturbed version starts out kind of morbid and ominous and barely audible, then builds to really angry (without ever resorting to the wall of noise treatment) and both work equally well with the subject matter and the tune. Also the guy's voice works really well with the backdrop of string synths and mandolin - I think he has a really good voice. It's almost like a minimalist version of symphonic metal (chamber metal, anyone?).

The only think I wasn't really convinced by was the video, which finished up looking like a more expensive version of something Alestorm would do.
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I think my main objection to the recording (and my “phoney” comment) was that you can hear autotune on it. Based on the live versions, he clearly doesn’t need it.
 
The Disturbed version of Sound of Silence really surprised me. I have always liked the original a lot and assumed the Disturbed version would be heavy and loud after an initial slow bit. When I first heard it I thought it was shit, too long and sad (I may have been in a particularly jolly mood when I heard it). The next time I heard it I was taken aback. It was on the radio and it made me stop and listen, a rarity on most radio that I listen to. Disturbed are a band I have never really listened to. I enjoy Down With The Sickness as much as the next person but I have never felt the need to listen to anything else but yer mans voice really impressed me and I have since checked out live versions and, as Kinckerbocker says, the talk show one is brilliant.
@Black Abyss Babe you mention 2 Simon and Garfunkel versions, I only know one, the one on the Best Of. Can you link the other version? I could look online but, ye know.
 
Ariana said:
Ah, @The Flash warming up on Pantera. 2020 is unlike any other year, indeed. :p

Bon Jovi - Dry County
I have never been able to take Bon Jovi seriously and have always considered them a laughing stock. Dry County has some great moments, though.
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Dry County is easily the best showing of Bon Jovi's talent. It shows that the band could produce proper substance, although I would consider the whole Keep The Faith album as that. But I do respect your opinion of them being laughable.
 
Bon Jovi easily have 1 hours worth of fabulous material. The current incarnation and most recent album is absolutely laughable, in my opinion but I will never discount them. When a band has tunes like Dry County, Blaze of Glory, You Give Love A Bad Name, Livin On A Prayer, Bad Medicine, Dead Or Alive and (not many) more, well, they will always be alright in my book. The losers rarely play Dry County live though.
 
I have Slippery When Wet and occassionally listen to it, bar 2 ballads it's a decent album
 
If they fucked off with all the ballads and let Richie take the lead, as opposed to Jon then I think they would be far better. Although thats a bit like sayin that if we had snow then we could have a snowball fight.
 
Niall Kielt said:
The Disturbed version of Sound of Silence really surprised me. I have always liked the original a lot and assumed the Disturbed version would be heavy and loud after an initial slow bit. When I first heard it I thought it was shit, too long and sad (I may have been in a particularly jolly mood when I heard it). The next time I heard it I was taken aback. It was on the radio and it made me stop and listen, a rarity on most radio that I listen to. Disturbed are a band I have never really listened to. I enjoy Down With The Sickness as much as the next person but I have never felt the need to listen to anything else but yer mans voice really impressed me and I have since checked out live versions and, as Kinckerbocker says, the talk show one is brilliant.
@Black Abyss Babe you mention 2 Simon and Garfunkel versions, I only know one, the one on the Best Of. Can you link the other version? I could look online but, ye know.
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The version on "Best Of", with the electric instrumentation, was created without their knowledge by dubbing a new backing track onto the original vocals. The original version had been very poorly received, to say the least (bloody folkies!), and led to the untimely demise of the partnership. But a few years later it was re-discovered by a late-night DJ and acquired a following. The bloke who had produced the original found out about this and created the new version with the electric instruments. It was a hit, Paul Simon was hailed back from London (whence he had emigrated), the partnership was reunited and the rest is more or less history.

Here is the original version:
 
I can't really think of an artist that I actively dislike while knowing their catalog well enough to name one sole exception of a song that I like. For me there just are the bands that I listen to and those that I don't.
 
Niall Kielt said:
I get ye, aye its definitely the electric version that I'm familiar with.
Which do you prefer? Im not familiar with the original so I lean towards the electric version but as Im listening to them both in a row, Im not sure.
Disturbed for the win!
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I honestly think all three versions are great. I'm all over the acoustic version at the moment, partly because I'm learning to play it, but as to overall preference it depends entirely on what mood I'm in at the time. All three capture different aspects of the emotional spectrum found in the lyrics, and thus all three are legitimate interpretations. But i'm firmly of the opinion that a well-written song will always make that possible.
:)
 
Black Abyss Babe said:
I honestly think all three versions are great. I'm all over the acoustic version at the moment, partly because I'm learning to play it, but as to overall preference it depends entirely on what mood I'm in at the time. All three capture different aspects of the emotional spectrum found in the lyrics, and thus all three are legitimate interpretations. But i'm firmly of the opinion that a well-written song will always make that possible.
:)
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Well put, I feel the same. Its not a competition. Ive never tried to learn it but if I did I think I would steer clear of the Disturbed version...
 
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