Now For Something a Little Different
Every Friday I try to give readers something more pleasant to think about. I try to dig into different ideas around music and hopefully, in those articles, readers may discover or rediscover a song or an album that they haven’t heard or have forgotten about.
This week I am going to change it up. I am going to delve into artists that I would like to forget about, period. These are the artists that I just don’t get. They were popular back in the day and more than likely still have loyal fans somewhere. I can tell you, I am not one of them.
I want to be clear about this; I don’t get their popularity and reputation but that doesn’t mean these artists aren’t talented and music is a very personal thing so if you disagree, email me. The other thing is that I may have enjoyed some of their music but growing up with classic rock FM radio a lot of artists were played to death and the great artists have withstood that onslaught, but those on this list, have not.
My first group, and I already can hear the whining now, is KISS. Years ago, when KISS was extremely popular on Long Island (being from Long Island helped) I tried. I honestly tried. I couldn’t do it. It was just muddled crap that was poppish and very loud. Friends went to see them multiple times and said they put on this great show and it just made me hate them more. Fire breathing fake guitarists and overdubs galore didn’t appeal to me then and it certainly doesn’t appeal to me now. They have sold a lot of records and they have this huge, loyal fan base and I still don’t care.
Next artist is Steve Winwood after he left Traffic. I know, he is a legendary songwriter and was this child prodigy with the Spencer Davis Group. I get his history. I loved Traffic. They were one of my five top groups growing up and I can still remember them doing “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” at the Nassau Coliseum for 40 minutes. Winwood blistering the keys and the band was so tight. However, his solo career was just not my cup of tea. There is no debating his musical ability and he is one of the finest songwriters ever but I just did not like any of his solo work. I never did a deep dive into any of it because it all seemed commercial and whiny. His work in Traffic and Blind Faith though is stellar and thats what I listen too. Arc of a Diver? More like Arc of a Piledriver.
Another artist that fits that bill, and hold onto your cellphone, is Eric Clapton. Clapton is legendary and no matter what I think, you can’t take away his accomplishments with Cream, The Yardbirds, Blind Faith and Derek and The Dominoes. He is and always will be one of the greatest guitarists ever. So why the Diss? Well, other than 461 Ocean Blvd, his music is just slow, melodic John Tesh-like songs that stir nothing up for me. Rock is about exuberance and vivid expressions and Clapton’s stuff has none of that. I am not against introspection if it’s just one facet of an artist’s repertoire but every song Clapton has released since 1975 seems to be digging deeper and deeper into his life. Don’t get me wrong, there have been classic songs throughout his solo career, songs I even like, but overall there isn’t much in those 18 or so solo records that I would spend time listening to.
To step it down a notch and to compile a few names together let’s go with a combination here. These are all Classic Rock mainstays and I don’t get them either. Bon Jovi, ugh! New Jersey native’s. All around good guys but I just can’t listen to anything they do. Reo Speedwagon. Overplayed, over-hyped nonsense. Saw them at Shea stadium after a Met game and for 45 minutes, I wished it would rain. Then we have this trio: Journey, Asia and Kansas. Played to death on the radio and combined they did absolutely nothing. I will say this though, Journey’s lead singer Steve Perry had one of the greatest rock voices ever. I guess that means something.
Now we can tread on more recent bands and artists. The Foo Fighters to start. I am sure there is something special about them but I, as of yet, have not heard it. Dave Grohl is a very talented guy. His version of Prince’s “Little Nicky” from the Prince Tribute show last year still stands out to me but other than that, they suck. Grohl talks more than Bruce Springsteen does in between songs and none of their original stuff is any good. Green Day is another example of the PR machines working overtime to fill some void I guess was left went Kurt Cobian bit the bullet. They suck worse than The Foo Fighters and I will take on all comers on that one. Coldplay doesn’t suck but I just never really got them. Chris Martin is a very smart, unique performer and he has loads of talent but I still can’t get into them. Maroon 5? Another bad of little consequence. Even though Morissey and The Smiths don’t really fit in here, I just had to include them anyway. Morrissey especially is revered in some circles as this poet of unmatched skills and yet, almost all of his music( The Smiths as well) is so depressing you want to take a shotgun to the whole catalog. Finally, Oasis, which half of England believed would be the second coming of The Beatles but they were barely as good as The Buggles.
Back to another contemporary artist that I never quite got. The Dave Matthews Band, People that know music and musicians love this band but me, as a lay person, not so much. Most songs you can’t understand anything Matthews is singing and the short simple songs feel like some sort of jam is about to start. Live, it makes sense because it give the band room to explore and experiment and thats fine but on a record it leaves you unfulfilled. I don’t think they suck, I just think, me personally, I missed the point somewhere.
This list is nowhere near complete but I just wanted to get the ball rolling and I am very interested in hearing some of you curse me out for throwing shade on “God” (Eric Clapton) or saying Green Day sucks. I am fully aware that my tastes are eclectic and I have some fairly strong opinions about these things but thats the whole point, I throw stuff out there, the readers throw stuff back and hopefully we learn and open our ears to hear more.