Love is the Drug by Roxy Music was on the radio this morning. Often acknowledged as a “classic”, it’s something I’ve always thought was a bit naff and, despite my eclectic music tastes, I don’t really get why it’s so popular.

Tell us your “I don’t get it” tracks

Anything by U2. They aren’t bad, just not amazing like people seem to think. (The Eagles and Soundgarden suck too, but that’s already well known.)

Oh, and Billy Joel. At least U2 are listenable. Billy Joel just sucks.

isn’t the stock answer “the beatles”.

London Calling – The Clash. Can’t bare to listen to it.

Can’t bare to listen to it.

Keep your hat on.

Genesis
Dire Straits
Jeff Buckley

and more recently..

The Fall
Sleaford Mods
Courtney Barnett

Pretty much everything from the sixties for me

Oasis. Anything. Similarly, Coldplay. Oh, and Mumford and bloody Sons.

The Rolling Stones for me. Decent with a few good songs, but I don’t get why they are such a massive band.

Did anyone actually think Oasis were great apart from themselves?

I actually quite like some of the Oasis albums, ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’ being one. I do have to admit that i thought their later stuff was better and that the really later stuff was poor and I would further like to qualify that I preferred the Noel Gallagher stuff to the Liam. Ok, so there are about a half dozen songs I like spread between a couple of albums.

Maybe they were not so good.

The Beatles
The Who
M-People

Jeff Buckley

+1, self-absorbed, worthy toss.

ABBA. **** hate ABBA, no-one ever believes me though, it’s always “Oh everyone loves ABBA really, classic pop, you’re just being a snob.” No. I like lots of popular music. I just don’t like ABBA.

I think we can discount the usual bland Radio 2 fodder. U2, Coldplay, Mumford and bloody Sons, etc as surely nobody actually thought they were great, did they? Thats stretching credulity to the limits!

Of people who are regularly hailed as some kind of musical geniuses, I never really got why anyone rated Prince

Ramones.

holst – Member

Did anyone actually think Oasis were great apart from themselves?

Widely regarded as the best band in the world in their hayday, which was odd given their limited appeal outside the UK.

I liked them back then, they didn’t sound like much else on the radio at the time and it was nice to a bit of rock and roll arrogance back – but their music only really makes sense when I’m pissed.

Eminem and Tu-Pac spring to mind. Really, really over-rated. Saying that, I also think most hip hop produced this century is tosh too.

Bowie I appreciated, but never really enjoyed. Similarly Pink Floyd and Radiohead – I understand why they’re so influential, but they just don’t flick my switch. Maybe it’s time to give them another listen.

Oh – Suede. Utter crud.

Pink Flloyd, any of it. warbling, boring, negative and full of itself.

I’ve never seen the attraction.

Too soon to say Bowie?

^no

Completely indifferent to him, with the exception being Life on Mars which I think is tremendous. Personally I thought he had a poor singing voice.

Radiohead…………I sometimes wonder if it’s real?

Coldplay….whingy whining tosh

and

Michael Jackson

Far too many to mention. But I’m currently listening to some Croatian techno from Petar Dundov which a huge number of folk who appreciate stuff such as Roxy Music would probably detest.

I do quite like Radiohead though.

Here’s another specific track that I’ve never really “got”…

Hotel California

I never really got why anyone rated Prince

He had an excellent voice.

The Cranberries

Awful awful shite.

Elton John – pub singing pianist?
+1 on Prince , tho’ Senorita J loves him….

Simon and Garfunkel
Abba
Bowie
Adele
Dire Straits

A lot of the bands mentioned just succumbed to the law of diminishing retuns/flogging a dead horse.

They started off great, then due to laziness or a lack of creativity, just remade the same Album over and over and over, each time it getting progressively worse, until it ends up truly awful.

The Rolling Stones are the ultimate example of this. Closely followed by Oasis

He had an excellent voice.

Had?

Here’s another specific track that I’ve never really “got”…

Hotel California

Have you heard the rest of their stuff? That’s the standout.

Roxette
Haircut 100
Haysi Fantayzee

Anything by the Beatles, U2, Pink Floyd, The Who for starters…

The Rolling Stones are the ultimate example of this. Closely followed by Oasis

I’m not a huge fan of either band, but the whole first decade of Stones stuff produced some absolute belters compared to Oasis, who managed, what 1.5 half-decent LPs? Records like, say, Beggars Banquet singlehandedly kick What’s The Story… right across the playground.

And I think you have to give credit to the Stones just for sheer sticking power. I mean, once they got to the mid 70s they basically became the ultimate Stones tribute band, but fair play to them they’ve carried on and on doing what they love and keeping their fans happy, rather than releasing a few half-arsed dirges and then falling apart in a massive hissy fit.

Also Keef could probably still take way more drugs than Liam and be last man standing at the end of the night, and be less of a **** about it too.

The thing I find with the Stones is so many of their songs start really promising and then just get a bit dull. Sympathy for the Devil is a great example of this; I hear the opening bars and think “I love this song” then 2 minutes later I’m getting a bit bored. It’s like it needs some bigger wheels on it to make it come alive.

Bowie

I dunno, I’m not part of the “Bowie was a genius” group, but he did so much of a variety of music it’s impossible not to like some of it. Just tell the fans you love the laughing gnome.

There’s a massive amount of stuff that music fans seem to have to think is good, but as someone who likes listening to music is just a bit meh.

The Beatles are a good example as music fans would have you believe they caused, rather than reflected, big changes in society.

Noel Edmonds and Mr Blobby with Mr Blobby song.
His early work was fantastic but after Mr Blobby turned to hard drugs his output went downhill. Then after he had that incident with the Chuckle Brothers and his subsequent visit to rehab, he was never the same again.

I’m told that Morisey/The Smiths are quite popular.

which is a mystery to me, as they sound bloody awful.

(never mind ‘not that great’)

Then after he had that incident with the Chuckle Brothers and his subsequent visit to rehab, he was never the same again.

I disagree I thought it brought a vulnerability to their performances which was very moving.

Beatles, Queen, The Smiths, Abba.

Luckily it seems there won’t be anymore Steps reunions now one of the band members has gone the way of David Bowie and Glen Frey :

I never could get my head around Trout Mask Replica. I like most of his(/their) other stuff, even Bat Chain Puller & Lick My Decals Off, Baby, but it never clicked for me.

Also, Tom Waits after Rain Dogs. I’ve picked up bits and pieces but nothing has grabbed in the way of Blue Valentines, Swordfish or RD’s did/do.