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"Huh, is that it?" Well received albums which you just don't "get"

In that case, you probably just don't like 'em. The only other record you might want to hear is the first, #1 Record. The first 3 LPs are where all the good stuff is, later Big Star reunion records do nothing much for me either.

-- Ian
 
sideshowbob said:
The Fall are the greatest garage group British pop music has ever produced, and I'm prepared to have a punch-up about it if necessary.
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I'm right there with you Bob. We'll take all of you on if need be :D

The Fall have been the single greatest musical epiphany of my life. Peelie played a couple of tracks around 1984 and that was me sold for life.

As to bands I just dont get.....

Radiohead. I mean, just what is so good about that droning dirge they laughingly call music?
U2. No explanation necassary, surely?
The Magic Numbers. Why all the fuss about this band? They are terrible!
The Mars Volta. Oh, God they suck.
Sigur Ros. Bloop bloop, bleep, la la la. What?????
 
For those of you who don't get U2, do you get Muse?
or are you still essentially unmoved by the Bono-esque wailing voice and occasionally Edge-like guitars?

For me, there's about enough other influences for it to be interesting: Philip Glass, Placebo, Tchaikovsky, Queen (May/Roy Thomas Baker). What else do you hear?
 
I quite like Muse though I'm not fully convinced by their latest album. I definitely hear Queen in there and a few other influences that you mentioned. Bellamy and the boys are definitely a rare talent.

I saw them live in Belfast a year or so ago in a hall that holds around 2-3K folks. They were electrifying! One of the best gigs I've seen (and thats coming from someone who's seen Queen with Freddy twice :D).

Bands I don't get at the moment would have to include Radiohead....they were up there with the greatest then just started to churn out twaddle.
The Killers, Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand and all the 80's copyists. TBH the likes of Orange Juice, Josef K and The Teardrop Explodes along with Echo and the Bunnymen did it a lot better!

Sheesh It's not even 9am yet and already I am ranting.
 
For those of you who don't get U2, do you get Muse?
or are you still essentially unmoved by the Bono-esque wailing voice and occasionally Edge-like guitars?

For me, there's about enough other influences for it to be interesting: Philip Glass, Placebo, Tchaikovsky, Queen (May/Roy Thomas Baker). What else do you hear?
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I’d have never made any comparison between U2 and Muse and I wouldn’t even place them in the same genre. U2 were a pretty decent new-wave band (early Irish singles and Boy) and then settled into drab and predictable stadium rock for a decade or two and latterly have attempted (unsuccessfully IMHO) to reinvigorate themselves with technology and outside influence. Nothing there that keeps my attention.

I can’t decide whether I actually like Muse - I certainly have a lot of respect for them and would love to see them live (from watching TV footage they seem to come over far, far better live than on record). I see them firmly as a prog-rock band, to my ears they are the logical descendents to the likes of King Crimson and I agree there is a fair bit of Glass etc in their music. I suspect they are pretty well read when it comes to music history. Live footage such as their Glastonbury performance is astonishingly good, they really can deliver the goods and have to be technically one of the best live bands ever, but I’m still left with the feeling that it’s all a little too contrived, cold and detached (always the downfall of prog). Their records suffer badly from over production to my ears and sound like some very heavy handed overall compression has been applied which is a shame as any natural dynamic range seems to have been squashed out. I’ll probably take a punt on the new one though…

Tony.
 
I saw Muse live on the Glastonbury TV coverage a couple of years back and really liked them. The records, however, aren't nearly as good. As it happens they remind me an awful lot of Radiohead, especially the vocalist. I don't hear any U2 in them.

-- Ian
 
I’d have never made any comparison between U2 and Muse and I wouldn’t even place them in the same genre.
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I have only heard the new album. Strangely to me, people have described their Radiohead likeness. I hear U2 and Placebo as the predominant influences on this one. Very different and one which I particularly liked was the mood and lyrics of the opening track Take a bow: "burn in hell, burn in hell...." very Catholic

Roy Thomas Baker was quite a heavy-handed producer. Responsible for those multi-tracked vocals (amongst other things) on the early Queen albums, dynamic range was not his strong point either.
I certainly have a lot of respect for them and would love to see them live
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Hulabaloo worth checking out?
 
another one I don't get is Manic Street Preachers.

Never been a fan of pomp rock like Muse or U2 since the late 80s, I find many of their lyrics unintentionally funny.

Radiohead got better as their lyrics became more oblique and buried deep into the noise.

Big Star on the other hand is great whichever way they were.
 
I like YLT as I can't get enough of VU's 3rd and Loaded ;) , Their wooziness in And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out is the perfect hazy sunday afternoon record
 
Anything by Pink Floyd post-Barrett

Kind of Blue

The entire recorded output of U2

Everything by Queen except 'You're My Best Friend'.
 
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