musical quandry
so, driving home from work yesterday afternoon, my radio station played an utterly annoying new song that i hadn't heard before. the vocals were off a bit, the song was a little too "raw" and the chorus seemed like they just wanted to be "shocking" by using the phrase "son-of-a-bitch." how edgy.
i had the same, typical reaction as i do to MOST utterly annoying new songs that i hear: i sat there, mouth agape, and angrily thought "how can people listen to this and think it's good?"
then the song ended and big jim said: "and that was mixed up s.o.b. the new one from the presidents of the united states of america."
suddenly, i wasn't angry anymore. it was the POTUSA. i LIKE those guys. the quirkiness, the off-tune melody, the irreverent attitude. it all made sense.
my question is HOW did i go from total scorn to complete acceptance with just the mention of a band name?
and, to borrow loosely from nick "high fidelity" hornby, what are some other musical sins that can be forgiven due to past (i won't say greatness. let's just leave it at...) endearments?
thoughts?
i had the same, typical reaction as i do to MOST utterly annoying new songs that i hear: i sat there, mouth agape, and angrily thought "how can people listen to this and think it's good?"
then the song ended and big jim said: "and that was mixed up s.o.b. the new one from the presidents of the united states of america."
suddenly, i wasn't angry anymore. it was the POTUSA. i LIKE those guys. the quirkiness, the off-tune melody, the irreverent attitude. it all made sense.
my question is HOW did i go from total scorn to complete acceptance with just the mention of a band name?
and, to borrow loosely from nick "high fidelity" hornby, what are some other musical sins that can be forgiven due to past (i won't say greatness. let's just leave it at...) endearments?
thoughts?
posted by cade at 5:32 AM
15 Comments:
well, this will get me in trouble, but U2 has sucked big ones for a long time but people listen to it cause it is U2.
their last album was not so bad.
le- good call.
mike- you're not in trouble. you're just wrong.
they had one and a half subpar albums like 9 years ago. but, i wouldn't call that sucking big ones. the last TWO have been good.
the exact opposite situation has happened to me on several occasions, I'll be driving along innocently tuned into my "90's and beyond' station when I hear a new song and am drawn in by the music and start thinking, "i need to hear this again and again"
then the DJ lowers the boom...
"That was Kelly Clarkson**"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...dammit!!!
I feel so dirty, like I've betrayed my musical self
**also, Ashlee Simpson, Daughtry, Clay Aiken
Mike, you aren't wrong, in my opinion. U2 just isn't U2 since the 80s. That "uno, dos..." thing just sent me into a rage every time I heard it. It was EVERYWHERE. Overblown, overdone. It was like seeing a 14 yr old wearing a Ramones shirt and knowing that the kid wasn't even BORN yet when the Ramones were big. Aggravating.
Thank you Bgirl, I feel vindicated!
"lemon" ug
so, does that mean i can't be a beatles fan since they had broken up by the time i was born?
that's really gonna put a crimp in my style.
What I find even more odd is when you know the Weird Al parody so well that you begin to like the original song you never liked to begin with.
Gump/Lump - POTUSA
Phoney Calls/Waterfalls - TLC
You're Pitiful/You're Beautiful - James Blunt
Ok...so i lied on the last one. No amount of Al can make me really get into Blunt.
James,
I would add White 'n' Nerdy / Ridin' Dirty - Chamillionaire
Okay, I don't like the original so much as I enjoy listening to it now and thinking about Weird Al's parody.
Wierd Al Parodies, now there's a topic I can get into!
Amish Paradise
This Here Anakin Guy
eric, i don't understand what you are saying? i didn't say that anyone couldn't be a U2 fan, just that their newer stuff sucks. i like the old stuff, not the new.
it is the same with the beatles. there is some stuff i like, some i don't, just because they are the beatles doesn't mean everything they do is good.
that was in respose to bg's "ramones" t-shirt comment.
i'm fine with people saying that U2 isn't the same as they were 20 years ago. they aren't. but the last 2 albums have both been pretty solid (especially "all that you can't...").
i just happen to think that even when they aren't at their best...they're still pretty darn good.
I'm totally with Mike on this one when he said, "i didn't say that anyone couldn't be a U2 fan, just that their newer stuff sucks. i like the old stuff, not the new.
it is the same with the beatles. there is some stuff i like, some i don't, just because they are the beatles doesn't mean everything they do is good."
That's what I meant by the Ramones comment. You hit it right on the head-you can like the old stuff, but just because they're who they are, doesn't mean their stuff is automatically good.
Stephen King: great author, but he had a bad stretch through there what with Rose Madder, Gerald's Game and the like.
Eric I am with you on U2. All others are just wrong. Their last two records were solid. (I even liked POP, although I recognize it as probably their weakest of the '90's and besides that album was never finished.) Passengers - I loved it. Zooropa - I find myself going back to that one a lot lately. Acthung Baby - the best album of the '90's and my favorite U2 album. So how far back do we have to go to find them sucking? Rattle and Hum? Okay, I think U2 agree that one sucked. I know most of us older people want U2 to sound the way they did when they were in high school...but I didn't stop buying records...
Anyway, to comment on your original question about how the band changes your original opinion on the song. I think it has to do with trust and context. You have a history with that band and understand the way they do things. It makes sense that it was the Presidents, because you have had that relationship with them. Anyone else would seem like a poor imitation and I think that is why you hated the song at first.
Nope. I think Homer Simpson had it best about his favorite band, BTO with TCB:
BTO: Okay, we're going to play some stuff from our new-"
Homer: NO! No new crap, just play 'Takin' Care of Business'!"
I can remember going to concerts and being somewhat disappointed when the bands would play new stuff that barely came out before they went on tour, then rocking out when the old stuff was played. The crowd is always way more into the old stuff than the new.
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