Albums or bands you hated at first but came to love

Hey all,

Are there any albums, songs or bands that you hated when you first heard them but now you love?

I have a few, and most of these are from when I was a kid. At that age I was a musical equivalent of a picky eater, I guess. Mine are:

Original King Crimson. I was a huge ELP fan but never heard any Crimson. So when I finally bought "In The Court Of The Crimson King" I thought "WTH is this ****?". Completely different from ELP of course, and the album sat there for a few months before I played it again trying to figure out what I missed, and at that time a light bulb went on in my head and I finally got it. And to this day they are one of my favorite bands.

'80's King Crimson. I had become such a big fan of the 70's Crimson that when they came back in the 80's with a new lineup and new sound, I hated it at first. And I thought "does that new wave guy (Belew) even know Crimson's history?" But after a couple of listens they won me over and the 80's lineup is my favorite of all!

Heart: The first time I ever heard them it was "Straight On" and something about the beat and the vocals turned me off to them. But when I heard "Dreamboat Annie", "Little Queen" and the rest of "Dog & Butterfly" I was hooked, and I am a fan to this day. Still don't like "Straight On" that much though.

Van Halen: Their first album came out when I was in high school, and when it wasn't being played on the radio, there was always this obnoxious kid on the bus blasting the tape on his boom box and playing air guitar like an idiot. And when he did this, the tape never got past "Eruption" before he would rewind it and start over. (I don't think he was even aware there were other songs on there.) Because of all the over saturation on the radio, and since the music just reminded me of that obnoxious kid, I just hated them. It took me until 1984 and 5150 before I had a clear enough mind to appreciate them.

Police - Ghost In The Machine: This one came out right between my 2 favorite Police Albums, "Zenyatta Mondatta" & "Synchronicity" and I didn't like it much when it first came out. It did grow on me over time though, and I enjoy it now.

Paul McCartney & Wings: I was just getting into the Beatles and becoming a huge fan (which I still am today) when "Wings At The Speed Of Sound" came out. I absolutely hated "Silly Love Songs" and "Let 'Em In" at first and it took me a long time to appreciate them but they eventually won me over. I do like them , but they're not my favorite Macca songs though.

Anyone else?

 

The Beatles...

...then I joined this forum

 

INXS

 

Jackson Browne. I like him now.

 

I wouldn't say that I hated them, but I did not care for the Beach Boys at all as a kid and now they're one of my favorites.

 

Chris de Burgh

 

Depeche Mode. Although "love" is a strong word. I do like them quite a bit though.

 

I don't know about "hate" but my tastes have most certainly expanded as I've gotten older. I used to think I didn't like the saxophone, for instance (Kenny G ruining it for me, perhaps?) but now I enjoy the sax. I have also fallen in love with instrumental music of all kinds (classical, jazz, ambient) which used to be unthinkable for someone who was as strong a "lyrics person" as I am.

And in the world of rock: Steely Dan. Never cared for them growing up but fell in love last year and they are now one of my all-time favorites.

 

Workingman's Dead. I thought it was a crashing bore when it came out, wasn't really into them anyway, and now I love both them and that album. Workingman's Dead and American Beauty are their two back-to-back home runs, IMO.

 

I hated Metallica, loved the band and hate the band since the Black Album again!

 

Kraftwerk.

Hated them as a kid in the 80s. Their music just sounded weird and I didn't understand it. Now I love them.

 

None.

 

Elvis Costello
The Clash
Joe Jackson
Pretenders

Hmmmmm, seems to be a pattern here. Basically I hated most "New Wave" groups/artists when they were new and current but came to appreciate them about five years later.

An exception to that rule is AC/DC - I really didn't appreciate them until just a couple of years ago really. I hated their image and disdained the presumed monotony of their music and themes. Then I got their entire catalog on Mp3 for $6 (Amazon pricing error) and discovered one of the greatest pure rock'n'roll bands of all time.

There's gotta be others but I can't recall.

 

Aerosmith, Rocks -- I was still in elementary school, I think, only familiar with songs like "Walk This Way" and "Dream On" when I bought it, so hearing Steve Tyler wail, "I'm BAAAAAAACK" made me poop my pre-adolescent pants.

Really love that album now, sorry I missed out on the SACD.

Remain in Light -- a friend of mine lent this album to me three times, and the first and second times I returned it to him, wondering what the L he saw in it. When I asked to borrow it a third time, he told me to just keep it.

I got even with him, though, I gave him King Crimson's Discipline.

 

Abba - HATED them in the 70s. I was a punk rocker at the time they hit big in the USA.

oh well, we all make mistakes as teenagers I guess.

 

David Bowie. It took a good while to not think he was a poseur. I guess I still think he was, but he made some great music.

 

So what kind of music were you listening to during the New Wave- period?

 

I respect any artist before I get to know his/her/their work(s). Never hated anyone in the music world.

 

Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Who, the Stones, all the usual suspects. I was a teenage '60's - early '70's rock fan in the late '70's. Missed everything by that much.

Closest I got to being current was Patti Smith. And I thought the Sex Pistols were OK but not enough to actually buy their album!

 

Wish we'd refrain from using the word "hate" when discussing something as innocuous as musical likes.
There's enough of that in the real world.

Off soapbox now.

 

I reflexively hate anybody in the music world who insists upon sharing their political beliefs with me. Even ones that I agree with. That goes for athletes and actors too.

 

Well, yeah generally the politics and feminist topics recently annoy me, seeing this everyday in the news, Facebook and co.
Often it is brought up by musicians here and there. IMO this has nothing to do with music.

 

Me, too....don't anyone kill me.

I didn't 'get' them until Eight Days A Week. Then I did.

 

I hated The Beatles. I was reffering to them as that yeah yeah band, because I only knew the old singles and I couldn't see why they're so important and influental. Then my friend recommended me Revolver..

 

Never Mind The Bollocks by the Sex Pistols. I mistakenly wrote off the album without even hearing it. Also because it has always been praised by critics which made me skeptical. When I actually listened to it I was blown away. Great rock album with killer guitar riffs!I learned a good lesson