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Musical blind spots


interpol52
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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1452695698' post='2952520']
I almost hesitate to point it out, but I believe those songs were by The Cure. An honest mistake, I'm sure. :lol:
[/quote]

Slip of the finger... the original post pointed out that I'd never listened through to a full album by either the Smiths AND the Cure. I'd meant to reference them in the sentence too but clearly never quite did. I'm going to decide to plame the vagaries of my iPad keyboard rather than my advancing age... honest gov!

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[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1452695497' post='2952515']

Elsewhere there are artists I just don't know who I must get round to exploring some time but have never quite found the time or impetus... Another form of blind spot. I never properly checked out Motown, Stax and Philly beyond stuff on the radio until I was in my very late 20s.

[/quote]

This is bang on the mark for me too. The charts were full of Motown and Stax when I was growing up and I simply took all that for granted, American pop music.

I didn't really appreciate that style of music until I picked up a bass and tried to [i][b]play [/b][/i]some of it!

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[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1452699711' post='2952571']
Slip of the finger... the original post pointed out that I'd never listened through to a full album by either the Smiths AND the Cure.
[/quote]

I know it did, I read it. I'm sorry to say I couldn't resist being an arse. :D

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1452701009' post='2952590']
I know it did, I read it. I'm sorry to say I couldn't resist being an arse. :D
[/quote]

One off lifes' little pleaseures...

PS please feel free to enjoy going all Lynn Truss on my ass too! B)

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[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1452703286' post='2952635']
please feel free to enjoy going all Lynn Truss on my ass too! B)
[/quote]
[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1452703796' post='2952651']
I look forward to it. :yarr:
[/quote]

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[quote name='blue' timestamp='1452687447' post='2952378']

I know what and how the younger generation feels about The Beatles. You can't fool me.
[/quote]

I am 28 and have been listening avidly to the Beatles for years. I could probably busk their entire back catalogue on bass. I find your attitude disparaging and verging on reverse ageism!

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1452695539' post='2952517']
Same here. For years I wondered what all the fuss was about. Learnt a track from Nashville Skyline for a recent audition and immediately understood the huge talent involved, where before I saw nothing. Still, better late than never, eh? I've only been in the dark for about 50 years, so no harm done. :lol:

This band are of a genre I know very little about, so I really hope I get the gig! It's all new to me!
[/quote]

Glad it was only about 47 years in the dark for me :D How I missed out on Blood on the Tracks and Highway 61 Revisited for so long I'll never know!

I will say to those who have cited Dylan on this thread as a blindspot, it is well worth getting stuck in with someone who knows and loves the stuff - it really helped me, hearing alternate versions, like Live @ Budokan version of It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding.

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There must be 100s of artists in my 'blind spot'.....I'd say there's way more in my blind spot than I'm actually aware of.

Having been to public school I made a concerted effort to avoid prog rock - in the 70s prog rock was the staple of the public schoolboy.
Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, ELP etc etc all got DELIBERATELY overlooked and these days I still can't see the attraction. i watched a documentary the other night (was it on Sky Arts or BBC4 perhaps?) about the history of Genesis...nope didn't get it....

I avoid metal of all types.....I just don't find much musical about turning the gain up to 13 and head banging oneself into a brain injury.

Rap - nope - apart from the fact that I can rarely make out a word, it all sounds the same (am I becoming my Dad?)

Country - nope never on my radar

Funk - there's the odd bit of funk in my collection - yes I can appreciate the rhythmic side of it...but I don't have enough rhythm to play it so I suspect I'd just get frustrated listening to it.

Soul - soul seems to be very popular round where I live...all the ladies round my way seem to like a bit of Luther VanDROSS ....I can't stand the sickly sweetness of it all and wish i could find where all the indie chicks hang out.


Where do the indie/goth chicks hang out in Dunstable?

Edited by Twigman
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[quote name='Norm' timestamp='1452637956' post='2952007']
... Enjoyed the Congolese psyche funk that somebody here posted the other day.

[/quote]

Ah, that was me, glad you liked it.

[quote name='JellyKnees' timestamp='1452689794' post='2952426']
Since I got more into world music about 10/15 years ago I realised that there is a vast ocean of music to swim through. Life is short, why restrict one's musical palate to the straight jacket that is pop/rock/funk/r&b or whatever. There is loads of great music being made out there RIGHT NOW, it's just not in the traditionally popular genres. So what if I've never heard album XXX by YYY from 1960 blah blah blah... I certainly don't feel like I'm missing out, in fact I know I'm not.

[/quote]

And music not only being made around the world RIGHT NOW but there is 70-odd years worth of world recordings readily available over the internet. Most of it is music that most people have not heard.

Edited by EssentialTension
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[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1452713038' post='2952828']
And music not only being made around the world RIGHT NOW but there is 70-odd years worth of world recordings readily available over the internet. Most of it is music that most people have not heard.
[/quote]

And ALL of it was influenced by The Beatles......

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Lemmy was a massive Beatles fan, but he didn't like the Clash. I'm a massive Motorhead and Clash fan, but find the Beatles a bit meh. I reacted against the Beatles because my parents listened to them and whatever they said I'd go the other way, after all I had Sweet, Slade and T Rex to listen too.

I understand where my prejudice against the Beatles comes from, but when I listen to them now I think that ship has sailed. I think you had to be there at the time, probably in your teens when it was on the up and you were receptive to things, especially if your parents weren't keen on them. Like I was when I was 13 and Motorhead released Ace Of Spades and everything changed.

As Lemmy said, Elvis taught us how to look, Little Richard and Eddie Cochran taught us how to sound and the Beatles taught us that we could do it ourselves.

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I've been playing bass since I was 14, been gigging since I was 16 and turn 50 later this year. I've actively tried to listen to new music all my life - some I've hated, some have become life-long favourites. Do I have musical blind spots? Hell yeah! I've actively avoided most of the last 10 years chart music, mainly because I find that with a few exceptions it has few redeeming features. There have been some great songs, but all too often recorded by a bunch of talentless celeb wannabees. If the last 10 years have taught me anything, it's that while it may not be possible to polish a turd, some "artists" have a talent for coating a gold bullion with sh*t! Also, I just didn't get the whole poodle rock thing of the late 80s-early 90s, mostly because of the look, though the music did little for me too. Grunge was such a breath of fresh air when it arrived.

However....

We live in the information age. As someone above says, there are ways of discovering new music or clearing blindspots that the younger me could only dream of. There are forums/blogs etc where people would be only too happy to give you recommendations if you're looking for a particular style. The best thing about recognising a blindspot these days is that it's so easy to do something about it without dropping a week's wage on back catalogues. It's all out there, folks - just go looking! As for Megadeth, they were never the same after Fast Eddie Mustaine left beflre they released No Sleep til Hammertime :gas:

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[quote name='Geddys nose' timestamp='1452696578' post='2952534']
Discovering and listening to bands has never been easier than with Deezer,Spotify, Youtube ect
[/quote]

This. I use Spotify and have actively been investigating bands from my own personal 'blind spot' recently.

Led Zeppelin - listened. Hated them.
Television - Loved them.
The 5 Royales - awesome.
Yuck - not sure yet.

And that's just the last couple of weeks.

There's so much out there, and it is very easy and worthwhile, imo, searching out and investigating bands that other people like. Some will become favourites, and others you'll know not to bother with again.

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I'm 35 and too young to have lived through the Bowie era, but have heard enough of what he did to realise it's not to my taste.

That's not because I'm young and ignorant, I'm a big fan of 'the greats' from the 60's and 70's. I'm a fan of Zeppelin, Velvet Underground, the Stones (well, most of their stuff), huge fan of Nick Drake, I find the Beatles to be ok, to name but a few. But Bowie never did it for me. The melodies just don't make me warm and fuzzy like other music does, I can just about get through Heroes and that'll do me. Plus I don't really buy into the whole Rock Opera sensibility and dressing up, alter egos, etc, it always leaves me a bit cold. I do however agree when he is described as a Genius. I can hear the appeal, see the impact he has had on the music landscape, and have nothing but respect for his work. The man is a legend in the true sense. But his music is still not to my taste.

I'd like to think that had nothing to do with my age.

I also listened to Megadeth (no A in Death, btw) a bit when I was a teenager.

And Motörhead.

By far the biggest influence in my formative years were Nirvana. They jumped out of the radio and MTV and spoke to me, and I connected with them like no other band before. They have left a huge legacy, and will be rightly considered as one of the most influential bands of all time.

But if you don't like them Blue, I won't call you ignorant or assume it's because you were too old when they broke through. My dad loves them and he's 62.

And he likes Bowie. Go figure.



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[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1452725688' post='2952988']

But if you don't like them Blue, I won't call you ignorant or assume it's because you were too old when they broke through. My dad loves them and he's 62.

And he likes Bowie. Go figure.[/quote]

I know nothing about those bands, so I can't intelligently say if I like them or not. Key phrase, " I know nothing about them"

Blue

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[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1452691284' post='2952447']
A recent discovery for me - Cheap Trick. I've always been aware of them but never knew their music - apart from a couple on various 'Rock' compilations. I now have an entire back catalogue to work through - so far it's been an utter joy.[/quote]

And you discovered an underrated treasure. Great band they use to play dances at my university before they hit it big with Budakon. I also met Rick Neilson a few years ago. He was standing next to me in front of the stage at a Jeff Beck Show.

Blue

Edited by blue
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[quote name='blue' timestamp='1452741640' post='2953076']


I know nothing about those bands, so I can't intelligently say if I like them or not. Key phrase, " I know nothing about them"

Blue
[/quote]
I'm not sure what you mean by that.

Would you say you liked a band purely on their influence on music, the impact they have had, even if you didn't enjoy their music?

To you, is enjoying a band's music not enough for you to like them? Do you have to know more about them? Obviously enjoying a band's music would probably lead to deeper investigation of their history, but can you like them before that?

These questions are meant to help me clear things up about your view on the subject, as I am curious. They are not meant to pick at you or cause offence, if they have then I have presented them poorly and I apologise, it is not my intent.

I can like a band's music and listen to them all day long, without knowing anything about them, or knowing about them and not liking them otherwise. Coincidentally, one of those bands is Megadeth (I have talked about this and used the same band as a reference on BassChat before) and another is W.A.S.P. I adore the music of both, but despise the heads of both (Dave Mustaine and Blackie Lawless, respectively). They both come across as bigoted and vile, but they have made some incredible music. To me, enjoying the music is the most important thing. As a concession, I shan't be going to see them live again (actually I haven't seen Megadeth live, and W.A.S.P. only four times).
I listen to bands that I don't even know the names of the members of (this is actually more of a neurological thing for me, I have great difficulty remembering names. This can be rather frustrating) and it doesn't stop me from enjoying them one tiny bit.

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[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1452676416' post='2952207']
I was never really interested in all that prog stuff, King Crimson, Yes etc. I only really listened to Genesis after Phil Collins took over.
I know, I,m shallow. :D
[/quote]For your lines you are to write 'Return of the Giant Hogweed' 100 times! :-)

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