Good Songs From Bad Bands
Talking about music on the Internet, particularly about songs and/or bands you don't like, is like smoking while pumping gas; a potentially hazardous situation that could very well leave you engulfed in flames. In other words, this is a post in which I'm basically just askin' for it. But, nonetheless, I can't think of anything else to talk about this morning. So away we go:
Good Songs From Bad Bands
NOTE: When I say "bad," I mean bands that I don't, personally, care for. If they're your favorite band, well, I'm sure you've got your reasons and that's awesome. I learned long ago that I don't have what anyone would call impeccable taste in music, so who am I to judge?
"Walking With A Ghost" by Teagan & Sara
I actually saw them in concert a couple of years ago as an opening band and it was quite possibly the most somnambulant experience I've ever had while standing up. It's not that they sound bad, or that their songs suck or anything like that... they're just uninteresting. However, this song is damn catchy; the one shiny spot of color in a landscape of beige. It's about walking with a ghost or something.
"Talk Shows on Mute" by Incubus
Ugh. I hate that I like this song because Incubus represents everything that's wrong with the frat-rock genre of quasi-soulful, limp-dicked "rock." It's music to hoist a Solo cup of keg beer to and, while there was a time in my life where that would have been attractive enough, that time for me has past. Except for this goddamn song. Which I can't get out of my head after I hear it. And I have to hide that fact from my friends. But you won't tell anyone, will you? We're close like that.
"Touch of Grey" by The Grateful Dead
I never really got into the whole psychedelic, jam-band thing; I don't have the attention span for twenty minute-plus songs, for one thing, and most of their fans smell like patchouli oil, which is just gross. "Touch of Grey," though, is just too fun of a song to ignore. It's always sounded to me like the perfect song to play over a trailer for a romantic-comedy. Which may be missing the point of the song entirely. Well, whatever, I like it.
"High and Dry" by Radiohead
I tried for a long-ass time to like Radiohead. But, no. I don't like them for the same reason that I can't get into jam-bands; I have no patience for incessant noodling and musical wankery. Their second album, The Bends, was really the only one I could stand and, from it, the only song that to this day remains in my iTunes is "High and Dry." Thom Yorke's sweet, high vocals and the hooky chorus are just perfect here.
"Hey You" by Pink Floyd
I guess I missed that part of being a teenager where you're supposed to get really into Pink Floyd and blacklights and whatnot. I mean, everybody likes "Another Brick in the Wall," of course, but otherwise... eh... they were just a path that I never felt particularly compelled to walk down. "Hey You" was quite the other thing, though. It just seemed... creepy, I guess. Strange and obscure, like a Clive Barker story put to music. I had this on a mixtape in high school and I listened to it all the time, driving back from parties or my girlfriends house late at night. It was instant atmosphere for a horror movie-junkie high school kid and it still gives me the heebie-jeebies today.
Good Songs From Bad Bands
NOTE: When I say "bad," I mean bands that I don't, personally, care for. If they're your favorite band, well, I'm sure you've got your reasons and that's awesome. I learned long ago that I don't have what anyone would call impeccable taste in music, so who am I to judge?
"Walking With A Ghost" by Teagan & Sara
I actually saw them in concert a couple of years ago as an opening band and it was quite possibly the most somnambulant experience I've ever had while standing up. It's not that they sound bad, or that their songs suck or anything like that... they're just uninteresting. However, this song is damn catchy; the one shiny spot of color in a landscape of beige. It's about walking with a ghost or something.
"Talk Shows on Mute" by Incubus
Ugh. I hate that I like this song because Incubus represents everything that's wrong with the frat-rock genre of quasi-soulful, limp-dicked "rock." It's music to hoist a Solo cup of keg beer to and, while there was a time in my life where that would have been attractive enough, that time for me has past. Except for this goddamn song. Which I can't get out of my head after I hear it. And I have to hide that fact from my friends. But you won't tell anyone, will you? We're close like that.
"Touch of Grey" by The Grateful Dead
I never really got into the whole psychedelic, jam-band thing; I don't have the attention span for twenty minute-plus songs, for one thing, and most of their fans smell like patchouli oil, which is just gross. "Touch of Grey," though, is just too fun of a song to ignore. It's always sounded to me like the perfect song to play over a trailer for a romantic-comedy. Which may be missing the point of the song entirely. Well, whatever, I like it.
"High and Dry" by Radiohead
I tried for a long-ass time to like Radiohead. But, no. I don't like them for the same reason that I can't get into jam-bands; I have no patience for incessant noodling and musical wankery. Their second album, The Bends, was really the only one I could stand and, from it, the only song that to this day remains in my iTunes is "High and Dry." Thom Yorke's sweet, high vocals and the hooky chorus are just perfect here.
"Hey You" by Pink Floyd
I guess I missed that part of being a teenager where you're supposed to get really into Pink Floyd and blacklights and whatnot. I mean, everybody likes "Another Brick in the Wall," of course, but otherwise... eh... they were just a path that I never felt particularly compelled to walk down. "Hey You" was quite the other thing, though. It just seemed... creepy, I guess. Strange and obscure, like a Clive Barker story put to music. I had this on a mixtape in high school and I listened to it all the time, driving back from parties or my girlfriends house late at night. It was instant atmosphere for a horror movie-junkie high school kid and it still gives me the heebie-jeebies today.
posted by Clinton at 9:58 AM
5 Comments:
I felt the same way about Radiohead for years, especially since I had actually gone so far as to buy Pablo Honey because I liked the song Creep. Well, the rest of the album (and the ensuing several albums) was full of sleep inducing college radio garbage and I felt lied to. Just when I had completely written them off I heard Pyramid Song from Amnesiac and had to pull a 180 (at least for that album and parts of Kid A).
No, I totally hear you... I wasn't thrilled with Kid A, but it was OK Computer that really irritated me. I'll never understand why that's a "masterpiece." Maybe I'm just not evolved enough.
My old boss is really into the Dead. I was like, "I don't'get' the Dead. Make me a comp CD and let me hear what all the fuss is about." Anyway, he gave me a greatetst hits CD, the hungry man's dinner of CDs. I still didn't get it but that Touch of grey, although it sounded like some other band I can't place at this second.
Anywho, I did listen to his bluegrass CD, I think's called Dog music, and it was pretty cool.It didn't make me want to follow him around selling grilled cheese sandwiches and playing hackey sack but it was good enough.
I should add, damn my ears, that I liked that Third Eye Blind song that was on the radio awhile back.
See, I think that's my problem with the Grateful Dead: The cult of it all. They're all good musicians, unquestionably, and their music doesn't suck. It's just not something that I can see being worth traveling all over the country for. All I can say is that there must be som FANTASTIC drugs for sale at their concert; otherwise, I really don't get it.
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