Can a song or piece of music you love truly be unlistenable?

I wrote this blog piece for my new website and thought I would share it with you. What are your thoughts on the matter?
http://trueaudiofiles.com/3.html

 

There's a 4 CD set of Lester Young, 1930's/1940's recordings. No-name reissue, incredibly bad de-noising. There's LPs and CDs of this material with much more pleasant sound. In a similar vein, the UK Classical reissue company Pearl has produced some CDs make from damaged 78 sources that really could have used some sort of noise reduction. Also unlistenable, only in the opposite direction.

 

Pearl Jam S/T - the whole album is painful to listen to but I love the music

 

Somebody's buying Ornette Coleman records.

I know that's not what the OP is referring to, btw.

 

I suppose so. I love Sleater-Kinney's The Woods and the first Jim Jones Revue album......both make your ears bleed, but fits the sound they were going for.

 

Hell, somebody's buying Albert Ayler and Cecil Taylor records. Probably today.

I am fond of the music of Iannis Xenakis. Most people would find it unlistenable. Most people would say—That's not music, that's noise.

 

Black Sabbath "Sabotage" from the Black Box is unlistenable to me.

 

I have a CD compilation of Balinese gamelan music pressed on 78 rpm records in the 1920s and '30s that has more surface noise than usual. It's a tough slog, even though I usually have a high tolerance for noise in general. Heck, I even like noise music!

 

Two questions.
One, do you've the album?
Two what makes it "unlistenable" to you?

 

What makes it "painful"? Would you go as far as calling it unlistenable though?

 

I found the Billie Holiday disc in the Ken Burns Jazz series unlistenable. Sat there for years until I bought an infinitely better-sounding Holiday CD.

 

My favorite Xenakis pieces are electro-acoustic works like Bohor, La Legend d'Eer and Persepolis. All three of them can definitely clear a room.

 

Just got a 5.1 surround mix of La Legend d'Eer, with a photo show of the original performance [featuring a 'light show']. Awesome, scary, loud.

 

If I love the song, then by its very nature it's listenable.

I may not like the mastering, but obviously there's something about the song that's already risen about that.

 

If I love the music, I'm gonna listen to it. Stepping outside of the audiophile hothouse, sound quality is only one consideration among several and not always the primary consideration.

I am now bracing for impact....

D.D.

 

This is exactly how I feel also.

 

My original US vinyl sound fine. The Black Box CD is shrill sounding and constantly distorts. It's the only title from that box that I never, ever listen to.

 

I listen to a lossless cd rip on my headphones and the guitars hurt my ears. I found some "rough" demos that sound way more dynamic. It's too bad most of PJ's catalogue is brick walled.

 

Absolutely. The High Rise and Mainliner stuff is like this, too.

 

I share your opinion.
You should have a soft landing.

 

Bruce Springsteen's Magic comes pretty close. Fantastic album, but it literally gives me a headache (on CD or vinyl) unless I play it on my bad car stereo. This is beyond "unpleasant sound" -- I have lots of badly recorded/mastered music that I have zero problem coping with; the Flamin' Groovies compilation on right now is somewhat shrill. No biggie. I'm talking physical discomfort.

 

How does Magic give you a headache? I'm asking because even the worst recordings I have ever listened to don't give me a headache.

 

Maybe it's the headphones or maybe you have it turned up too loud? I have never experienced this unless one of these things were the issue.

 

Yes. (not the band).

 

And how is it that a song you love can be unlistenable to you? Not just bad sounding mind you but unlistenable.