Respecting music you don't like

[jimbobhickville]

Over the last few years, I've changed my opinion in regards to non-metal music considerably. I used to think that all non-metal was utter garbage. Now, I realize that there is some brilliant non-metal music out there, but I still don't enjoy listening to most of it. For example, I think The Beatles were an amazing, creative, ingenious band of musicians, but I still don't like their music. It just isn't enjoyable to listen to, for me. There are tons of great jazz bands with immense talent, but I don't enjoy listening to them. Does anyone else respect music that they don't like?

Conversely, I recognize that some of the bands I listen to are really not that talented, but I still enjoy their music. For example, Lefay. I love many of their CDs (I'm grouping Morgana Lefay into this statement), but I don't think that they are extremely talented musicians. Powermad are another good example. Also power metal, even though it isn't my favorite. Most of it is horribly repetitive and boring, yet sometimes I find myself quite enjoying it. Does anyone else like music they don't respect?

Am I making any sense?

 

[Analog_Kid]

Regarding repect towards music I don't like: Yeah, I do on occaision... BUT it's usually not the music itself I appreciate. Let's take, for example, Pop music such as Madonna or Mariah Carey. Do I respect the actual songs and arrangements? No. Do I respect the vocal "star" of the album? Not usually. Do I respect the production, engineering, and the performances of some session players? Hell yes! Same goes for Country music too. I worked on Music Row in Nashville for a while and got to see some of these session guys in action and I've recorded on album projects with people like Chester Thompson,(touring drummer for Genesis and one of Zappa's former drummers). These guys can play anything, and I do mean anything. Country, AC, Pop, Metal, Jazz... doesn't matter. A good session player can cover it all. They're amazing.

Granted some players have a specific style that they are best at and are called in only when someone wants THAT sound and for nothing else,(such as your's truly) but my favorite type of session guys are the ones that can go from one style to the other at the drop of a hat. These are the type of players you hear on Garth Brooks, Madonna, and N'sync albums. They do their parts correctly, quickly, and cut production costs and save producers alot of headaches. One player who does these type of sessions all over the place that you might recognize is Dan Huff. The man has a discography of session work that would make anyone jealous. From Megadeth to Mariah, from Country to Christian Rock, Dan's done it all and done it well. He's also a damn good producer. Will Lee,(the bassist on the David Letterman Show) is another one of those types of players and also has a impressive session resume. Just giving you some examples.

As far as producers go, well, it's hard to deny the abilities of people like Quincy Jones, Bob Ezrin, or Brian Eno. A great producer can act as a arranger, on-the-fly composer, psychologist, impromptu session player, problem solver, mixing board genius, worst enemy, best friend, and muse... all in the space of about six hours. It's a tough job, especially when working with a Pop start whose career is 90 percent image and 10 percent talent. Then again, a great producer can push great artists to hights they never knew they could reach. David Bowie,(during the 'Low', 'Heroes' and 'Lodger' albums) got that kind of push from Eno, as did U2. And, while Lennon and McCartney were certainly great creative forces, don't think that George Martin didn't have just as much to do with the Beatle's sound in the studio.

If you're ever reading through some of your favorite Metal artists' "currently listening to" lists and you see Backstreet Boys in there and your first response is "WTF!?!?!", I assure you that its' usually the production their listening to. As a recording artist, you can learn alot from listening that stuff. It's not just well-produced, it's pristine and usually pretty creative on the production end.

So, there you have it. Another long-winded response from your ol' pal Analog!

 

[sinsofman]

Yeh i know wot u mean...I have respect for a lot of artists and genres that i don't care to listen to. I mean respect anyone like madonna and U2 and particularly Tom Jones who can stay in the industy for 20-30 years and still be popular for one reason or another....Some have songs that are timeless. I can respect that. Some have the talent to change with the times and produce albums that are appealing at the time of release. I can respect that too.
And on the contrary I have listened to some bands and even bought cd's of some bands for just one song or one riff. Now how f*cked up is that?
Good Thread man
Keep it real

 

[Peter Karlzzon]

The Beatles and also Elvis rulez!! It´s the devil music of its time. No Glen Danzig with out Elvis.

 

[TylerDurden]

herr Karlsson,e det inte så att igentligen så skulle du vilja vara Elvis,bara för att bli kallad "The King"

 

[locutos]

The only thing in Pop that I respect are the marketing strategies... the producers and labels could conquer the world if they wanted to.

 

[Blue Moon]

Greetings.

I think that you're all right regarding that topic.

I'll take Zappa for an exemple : Damn that guy was great. The number of things he recorded, the creative variety
of his stuff is amazing. But I just don't connect with him at all, although I never really tried to scan what he has done in search of a jewel (am I making sense ? hope so).

There could be much more artists I'd rate in this category, and I think it's a good thing to be open-minded. I believe that metal is not the best kind of music there is, like almost all the other types of music you can find. Each style (well, almost) has some merit, otherwise it would not exist. Hope I'm right on that one...