Come clean with the Musicheads: What musician/band did you just 'not get' when you were growing up?

now that I am 43 and have recently heard some Van Morrison, I hate that I used to hate his music. There are some really cool and meaningful tunes in his music.

how about the Safety Dance ?
What was that all about? did you dance for safety? Did it give you protection from std's or something? And what did that have to do with a Maypole?

The appeal of the Steve Miller Band has always eluded me.....

I'll never understand why such cheesy songs like "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Lionel Ritchie were so popular when I was growing up. There was so much better music back then that wasn't as popular.

I thought it was a nice touch that you discussed the Mountain Goats this week, in light of talking about inaccessible artists. The stumbling block for many people I talk to about the band is Darnielle's voice. If the songs are good enough, the voice doesn't matter. Which leads us to my answer...

I was 16. My cousin had just graduated college and was living with us while he searched for apartments in the Twin Cities to be closer to his job. We talked a little about where my musical tastes were, and he told me about the artists I would love by the end of college. He said I would be a Bob Dylan fan by the time I graduated, and I just didn't see how this would be possible. Lo and behold, it happened.

The other big one was Radiohead. I thought they were pretentious and inscrutable for several years. My sophomore year of college, my roommate was really into "Hail to the Thief", so he listened to it on repeat for about a month solid. I absorbed it by osmosis, and after a few weeks, I realized the album was absolutely brilliant. I've always felt like an outsider when it comes to Radiohead fans, but I've come to acknowledge them as a supreme rock act.

The podcast is being wonky, so I haven't heard it yet. Is this supposed to be artists you "didn't get growing up but now do", or "artists you just never got?"

Growing up I had access to all sorts of different music because my dad would bring home stuff all the time from work. It didn't matter to me "who" the artist was at the time more than did I dig the music or not. This included Herb Alpert, The Archies, "Knuckles" O'Toole (a ragtime piano player), Paul Muriat and his Orchestra, Doris Day, etc.

There are a few artists that I just don't "get". And by this I kind of mean "Don't Like", such as Janis Joplin and Nirvana. I guess I wasn't angsty enough for them to have an impact on me. I was pretty happy-go-lucky as a kid, so they never spoke to me. I still don't care for them. I appreciate and understand their contributions to music, but I don't get them.

Of course, for the longest time, I never "got" Rap and Hip-Hop. Growing up on the mean streets of St. Louis Park just doesn't make for a middle-class Caucasian boy to have much to say or tap into. I suppose rapping about going to Ridgedale or buying KISS trading cards from Sol's Drug Store just wouldn't quite cut it. Now, I can listen to certain HH artists and actually get what they're saying, and appreciating the messages being sent. Especially Brother Ali, Atmosphere, and people from the RHymesayers collective. Good stuff!

I never really got Dylan either to be honest. I'm not all that big on lyrics, so the music has to grab me, and most of his stuff just doesn't do it musically. Again, I can appreciate him and want to know about his life, I've seen all the documentaries, but when it comes down to it, I'm not a fan.

I gotta agree with Frick about Dylan. I can take him in small doses, but mostly he just irritates me. The same with the Beach Boys and more recently REM and Dave Matthews.

I have to admit to not getting Husker Du. I graduated from Southwest Mpls High in 84, and I liked the Replacements, Sex Pistols, Clash among others during those 81-84 years. Husker Du just seemed too hardcore or something. Since listening to a Bob Mould interview on the Current last sunday I am going to buy some of his solo music and maybe get some Husker Du. I have been converted. I also Have to say that Bob Dylan has grown on me since listening to Blood on the Tracks a lot in 1990, and hearing the Dead cover a lot of his songs. I just Bought a 2 disc set of Jerry Garcia performing Dylan songs. I am a new Radiohead fan too after just getting OK Computer last week.

I liked the Dead Kennedys , Fresh fruit for rotting vegetables, and Suicidal Tendencies. X and Husker Du just didnt seem as accessable somehow. oh well, live and learn. So much music so little time.

I've always liked REM and Dave Matthews Band, but these bands' most recent offerings have been pretty disappointing.

I never understood what was so subversive and clever about Frank Zappa.

Frick, about Dylan: You hurt me, bro, you hurt me real deep.

In college and for a few years afterward, I had a completely irrational dislike for Neil Young. I still don't understand why. He's a favorite of mine now.

And I echo Pat. D in re: The Beach Boys. I can't stand them. I've never like them and whenever I hear a Beach Boys song on the radio I immediately switch the station!

I never got any of the classic rock stuff: The Doors, The Eagles, etc.

I never understood what the vast majority of people saw (or heard) in the Stones. They would have been a much better band if, like the Beatles, they had known when to quit.

And Tony, maybe you can explain what changed your mind about Neil Young. I'm not there yet.

Frick, about Dylan: You hurt me, bro, you hurt me real deep.

Sorry, Tone. I get Prince, though....

When I was 15, my dad introduced me to My Bloody Valentine. He loved them, but I never could never get anything out of their music. I generally like music that takes effort to listen to, but by God! There is only so much noise a person can take before they turn the damn album off. I'm only now gradually starting to cultivate an appreciation of them.

Tony, you cad. Disliking the Beach Boys borders on heresy. My inability to get into Neil Young stems from his enormous catalog. "Harvest" is as far as I got. I like him in small doses (like on the radio) but he's daunting.

I have always been the guy when someone asks... the Sex Pistols or the Clash... I say the Damned... Chuck Berry or Elvis..and my answer is always Bo Diddly...The Beatles or the Stones... it's always the Troggs... so there are a lot of bands that I never 'got' (and let me say that I did most of the bands that I have mentioned)... one band that I don't get is The Ravonettes... sure there is a track or two that I dig.. part of it is that there are so many other bands from the Nordic Lands (The Hellacopters, Thee Ultra bimboos, The Flaming Sideburns, Gluecifer, and Turbonegro for example) that get next to mention here here in the states.

When I was growing up I was listening to Zeppelin and Rush especially, but U2 of course..and even REM were like the poster-band for everyone my age. And while I can't claim to love everything U2 has done, I really have discovered how great they were/are the last 7 or 8 years. REM, to a lesser degree. Still not huge into them, but I at least acknowledge their importance and ability as songwriters (unlikie Nirvana).

Afa band I still "don't get" that could be a long list, but among the bands I might thought I'd be into I'm not still:

Radiohead..Thom Yorke's voice kills them for me. He sounds like he's high (not in a good way)
Tool (I used to get headaches every time I'd listen to them).
The Arcade Fire: something missing in their music.
The Secret Machines: also something missing in their music.

"Prog"
Riverside
Symphony X
The Flower Kings..I do like some of their work, but they are too guilty of writing long multiparted songs and sounding the same just because they don't care. Which for being 1 of the token "Prog" bands, they don't add to the reduction of the bad reputation the tag often receives.

John Fogerty/Creedence - This mans voice really grinds my gears. I would rather clean my ears with an ice pick than listen to that guy. I guess I still don't get him.

As a dad with teenage daughters I had to suffer through the boy band era...I will never ever try to see what that was all about....

Tim M.: Getting into Dylan through Dead covers of his music is so twisted! Heresy!

As for me, I still get in trouble for time to time for having no appreciation for Nirvana whatsoever. They were HUGE for a lot of my friends growing up, but I didn't like them then, and I like them less now. I think the thing that really pushed it from a "no thanks" situation to a "GOD no" situation for me is the fact that so many people practically worshiped Kurt Cobain, and still do. The second you start applying terms like "poet" and "visionary" to someone like that, I'm finished.

PS: Great topic idea, Bill! (if in fact it was your idea)

Rush. I get Rush to a point. But some people are just so damn head over heels obsessive about them...that's the part I don't get.

Thanks for the Nirvana back-up, Ryan. I have no time of day for them either. They just don't move me.

As a recovering Rush addict, I can see what you mean, Joseph. I was totally obsessed with them in the 80's, up until "Signals" and then I grew tired. But, up until that time, my friends and I lived and breathed Rush almost non-stop. It was scary. I think for us since we were budding musicians, we were in awe of their virtuosity. Learning to play their songs was great training for playing in mixed meters and odd time signatures.

During the early 90's I was a jaded 6th grader who was tired of craptacular one hit wonders. It was during this time that "Nevermind" came out and I instantly hated it because it was popular. Since then I have come to my senses and fully embrace the greatness of Nirvana.

I never got Zeppelin. Sorry, Mr. Wheat.

When I was ten years old, I bought Prince's "Purple Rain" on vinyl. I loved "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy", so I was really looking forward to the album. My ten year old self just couldn't handle it, though. I couldn't stand the way he misspelled words in the lyrics, and made his guitar scream and squeal. It was so dissonant and loud! I returned it to the local Bradley's and picked up a copy of "The California Raisins Sing!".

Consider this my public apology to Prince.

brice - your DAD introduced you to MBV!? what a cool dad!

hmm - interesting topic. gotta agree with Frick on the Dylan to some extent.

others - on the Dylan tip, definitely Joan Baez. still don't either. also gotta agree with whoever said Rush - i grew up adoring Yes, so of course prog-heads foisted every other prog act on me - by & large i didn't "get" any of them - or maybe it was that i "got" what they were about too easily - Tull, Rush, Genesis, ELP - bleh!

also, 2 that i initially didn't get, but eventually grew into, are Tom Waits & Randy Newman. in fact, "didn't get" is too light a term to describe it - i would say i had a virulent reaction against both Tom Waits & Randy Newman - especially Tom Waits. i couldn't take his voice, his subject matter, or his arrangements. it didn't help that i was pretty much forced to acknowledge he was a genius. its just that he was a genius at stuff i didn't want any part of. you can add Nick Cave to this category as well.

oh - and another thing - i have never gotten Metallica. or any metal, for that matter.

Tony, you cad. Disliking the Beach Boys borders on heresy.
Burn him! Burn the witch! : )

And Tony, maybe you can explain what changed your mind about Neil Young. I'm not there yet.
Jonathan S., I got turned around when Neil Young released Silver & Gold in 2000. I definitely prefer his quieter side. On the Beach, from '74, is another sweet album.

I also remember having a viscerally negative reaction to a lot of the grunge bands of the early 90's. I did and still do appreciate Nirvana. Pearl Jam was only OK. But bands like Alice in Chains, Collective Soul, Stone Temple Pilots, Candlebox and their ilk just really rubbed me the wrong way. I couldn't hear any musicianship and the lyrics were mostly dreck. Also, a lot of their fans, particularly at live shows, acted like neanderthals.

I still have not gotten Nick Cave, or Tom Waits, or the Damned. May have to try them. I just heard Carbon/Silicon last week, and just bought tickets on ticket bastard today for the Varsity theatre show 3-30-08. The more I listen the more I like them. They may not be the Next Clash, But I like what I hear a lot. I think I am getting the Current this week too. A lot of great music, not just pretty good. I just started listening a lot last week. The playlist Seems better than it was a year ago. I just got my car stereo working after a year of no radio. now I listen at home too. maybe Its just me osmosing the groove, and getting familiar with some new music.

Ok...it was about 1980. I was nine. I loved WLOL 99.5fm "almost perfect radio" , had my first crush on a DJ - Karen Wong (Barb Abney are you there?) and loved "Kiss on My List" by Hall and Oats, "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen and "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang". I couldn't stand "Rock the Casbah" by the Clash. I really didn't like it! What the hell were they talking about??? Then fast forward to about 1986 when I bought the Combat Rock tape so I could drive my parents crazy with "Should I Stay or Should I Go". Low and behold there's that song again. Of course then I had a change of heart! What a difference 6 years and some teen angst can make.

What bands do I not get? Steve Miller, Beach Boys (I'm sorry. There are no oceans and no surfing here!), Rush, Boston, Bruce Springsteen, Dylan and Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Blue Oyster Cult, the Moody Blues... um, I might be done... maybe...

That's a pretty long list...

David Bowie: maybe just a generational issue, but his alter-egos seem like filler in the place of good music

Grateful Dead: maybe you have to be stoned to appreciate endless structure-free noodling?

Fleetwood Mac: again, maybe just a generational issue, but I'm not hearing what's so "classic" and "indispensable" about their hippie rock.

Neil Young: I like his "take no prisoners" spirit, but 90% of his music is just a bunch of ranting, and he's one of the weaker rock vocalists of his genre

Tom Waits: I get the whole "counter-culture" poster boy concept, but again, the music makes my ears bleed

Congrats Ann S! I wondered when someone would join me in admitting to Pink Floyd being beyond them. When Dark Side of the Moon came out, as I said on the podcast, I was too young to understand, still buying me T.Rex singles. To this day I still think of that as their third best album behind Wish You Were Here and The Wall, maybe even Animals too!

I must say I love how candid you guys are in this discussion! Musicheads for years have
for years never been willing to show the perceived weaknesses of their taste buds. Thanks for sharing...and I DON"T mean that ironically! I'm done with irony, sarcasm and negativity.
Let's be positive & supportive of the family of music lovers...unite!

This has been a fun question hasn't it?! Believe it was Steve Seel's idea.

Wow! Mentions of the might Zep, Pink Floyd, Neil, Tom Waits, Fleetwood Mac, Dylan, & Nick Cave. Nothing is sacred around here!

I think it's a smaller number when you're asking about bands you don't like (or even styles) that you now do like. But when talking about bands you never have and still do not currently like, that often is a fun and extensive topic.

Hey music heads, I am going to chime in again for the rest of the topic. The Mountain Goats. A new band to me since listening to the current, and I like to hear them. I browsed amzon personal reviews, looked at their bio on the Mountaingoats.com, and read a review of Heretic Pride on Pitchfork magazine. the CD got an 8 from pitchfork, seems about right to me. very good. I learned that the band has been around since the early 90's, and recorded over 400 songs on quite a few albums. The latest might be one of their best.

Anither chime. I looked into Gary Louris latest Vagabonds on the web, same patern, The current link to Amazon.com, Dogpile search the Jayhawks, gary louris reviews. It was just released recently, feb, I think so has not been reviewed by everyone yet. The NY daily news said great, like workingmans Dead, and Neil Young 40 years later. Slant mag, and bullitz gave it 3 of 5 stars. It might depend on what you like. Gary Louris was in The Jayhawks a local mpls band formed in the 80's and acheived great local popularity and reviews, but didn't make it big like wilco. anyhow, I like the song True Blue, and Its always cool to see a local boy doing good.

Do three chimes make a chord?, next The Raveonetts, 'Lust Lust Lust' . On first listen I thought they were just a cheap Jesus and Mary chain knock off with catchy pop single. On further inquiry I did a dogpile search, and found Metacritic.com which compiled 26 critics reviews to arrive at a 7.5 or 8. Rolling Stone's David Frick gave it 4 of 5 stars. Hmm there seems to be more to this band. One reviewer called it a sleazy pop masterpeice whatever that means.

I am just sitting here listening to my favorite DJ, Bill Devilles show from SXSW, and surfing the web for interesting music tid bits. Not a bad way to spend a few hours on this fine saturday. A good combination. SXSW is great, and its great to be able to hear it on the Current. The Heavy was just on for 4 songs live. Cool.

BTW it's mountain-goats.com, Not mountaingoats.com, a site about goats. lol

The Raveonettes will be at first Avenue's 7th St entry 3-17-08 for 15.00. I do like their music. I also have to be at work at 6am tuesday. I can see them getting big in america. A lot of positive buzz. Nothing wrong with catchy pop tunes that borrow slightly from greats like the Ramones, Velvet Underground, and J and MC. There is a place for well crafted pop music, and I will be happy to hear them once in a while on the Current.

Steely Dan and Queen.

I never understood and still don't understand why everyone loves U2 and the Dave Matthews Band.

OK, Jethro Tull. Why a flute and why a flute in a metal band? Some people I knew growing up really dug them, but me (?) - negative, baby!

Dylan, Radiohead... I concur.

Perry Farrell. Yep. I think the guy can sing three or four nasely notes, and the chord progressions are all the same.

For 'popular' music, I didn't get Guns 'N Roses when "Lies" was released--if there was actually enough to "get".

For 'alt' music: The Smiths & Morrissey.

Mozart. I thought he was kind of crass. I liked him better as I got older.

Joy Division- other than "Disorder" never really got the rest. all the kids walking around with Unknown Pleasures T-shirts... just didnt click. Current status: still don't but have really tried

Sonic Youth- to mature, wacked out and cerebral for me at a younger age. Current status: i love em. and i get em too.

I have to say I just didn't get Springsteen when I was growing up or honestly until recently.

It took my wife getting the essential Bruce collection and my listening to some of the older songs for a connection to be made. Now I love everything but Born in the USA, Tunnel of Love, and Human Touch.

Neil Young is another for me as well. I do like his quieter releases now but still don't care for the rockin' ones.

Dylan.. i didn't get it when I was 18. I "got it" and totally dug it by 20.

I still don't get Zappa.