Albums or bands you hated at first but came to love

I listen to 'em all...but I don't spend money on 'em. Full disclosure: I did buy the Neil Young Monsanto Years CD
because I don't mind spending my hard-earned money on anything that undermines Monsanto.

 

I like a lot of Neil Young but I didnt buy ANY of that political stuff he was ranting about several years ago.

 

Most of it was so dire that it made "Southern Man" sound almost patriotic in comparison.

 

I really didn't like ACDC at first. I used to tease my friend who loved them " I'm on the highway to hell, ringing hell's bells, cause he'll ain't no bad place to be ". Then one day they just clicked with me, been a fan ever since.

 

Not anymore, buddy. Not since the early 90's. He felt he had been manipulated in the 80's by politicians who, according to Weller himself, were more pop star-like than the real pop stars. Weller hasn't been overtly political for the last 25+ years.

 

10-4 buddy!

Thanks for the info; I didn't know that.

Which raises an interesting question:
If an artist changes their overt public political* stance, does that recent apolitical* action absolve them from prior declarations?

Do the previously aggrieved listeners start listening to the music again, but now filtered through a veil of acceptance?

(*politics, or any other non-musical infraction determined by the listener)

"Bands you loved at first but then hated but then loved again"

 

Yes.

 

Aerosmith. Never liked them. I didn't mind Toys In The Attic then went back to disliking them.

 

I didn't hate them, but a couple of my fellow employees played the bejesus out of the first Huffamoose record and I couldn't stand it after a couple of weeks. I transferred to my first managerial post and thought I'd left them behind. Found a used autographed copy at a pawnshop, bought it to give to one of my friends , spun it in the car and finally got it. Too bad those guys never got any where.
Huffamoose - Huffamoose

 

Tom Waits. I had an obnoxious roommate in college who seemed to play Rain Dogs every day. I hated the voice. The music. Everything about it.

And now - 25 years later - I have most of Waits discography. I prefer his early years but will still spin Rain Dogs at least once a year.

 

I've got another one! I, too, had an 'acquaintance' who played a song over and over. In this case, it was nothing but 'Stairway To Heaven' until I wanted to set fire to him, the record AND Zep. Now I enjoy it, and not only for its nostalgic value.

 

Incredible String Band

 

Hated Hendrix at first. It was such a jarring experience being exposed to his material in contrast to the pop stuff I was listening to back in earlier teenage years. I just couldn't handle what sounded like white noise and shelved the AYE CD for years. Years later, after picking up the guitar, I tried the Blues CD. Same thing. I shelved it too.

Fast-forward a few more years, I was cleaning my bedroom and decided to give away CDs which were consuming precious real-estate in my room but before putting them in the official "get rid of" pile, I'd listen to them briefly. When Hey Joe started, I fell in love. After listening to it, I then popped in Blues. Same deal. Loved it.

Wish I could say I had an instant love affair with my guitar hero but it took a while before I could process it all.

 

Let's say it was an acquired taste.

 

I think it must be seen as an evolution process of musicians. The same way their music and their looks change, so do their lyrics, their attitude and in somes cases the way they express their political views. In Weller's case, he was actively political with The Style Council in 1980's Thatcherite Britain. He formed a failed project called The Red Wedge alongside some other excellent musicians such as The Communards or Spandau Ballet, trying to convince young audiences to vote Labour. It didn't achieve its aim, and judging by the numerous interviews Weller gave in his early solo years, it's the thing he most regrets about the Style Council days.

It's great when musicians can use their influence for social causes, like fighting against poverty or racism. But when they start playing politicians it makes me sick. Like Peter Gabriel supporting separatists in Catalonia or Ringo Starr and Roger Daltrey defending Brexit. These are people whose music I admire, but I hate their world leader attitude. Why don't they stick to making music and leave their politics for their private lives? At least Paul McCartney was smart enough not to align himself publicly for or against Brexit.

 

Band and solo artists that you didn't like in the past but became big fans of now. Off the top of my head, the Zombies come to mind as do Bandfinger and Big Country. What are some artists that caught your fancy after the fact?

 

Only 1 jumps to mind for me - John Mellencamp from "Scarecrow " on, but I didn't start liking his music until 2005 or so.

 

Same here... hated him in the 80s... his 2008 release Life etc. really made me reassess

 

XTC... hated em in 80s and 90s except for Dukes, which I loved immediately... finally opened up for me in 2001... now rate Andy in Top 5 lyricists...

 

My Dad was a big jazz fan, and I thought of it as "old people's music" growing up. Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington and Ornette Coleman are among my favorite artists now.

 

Miles Davis 'You're Under Arrest'. It took me some time to get this album - has had some bad press but repeated plays bare fruit.

 

As I said before, I've never heard songs from this album on the radio - ever.
It did come out in France but bombed!
I knew it did amazingly well, and i knew the band was despised too, often voted as the "world's worst band"in the music press and so on.
I eventually purchased a cheap used copy of it, just to see what the fuss was all about! And my conclusion is : I don't get how this album has gotten so big, but I don't get the hate either.
I do think it's a fine album. Unoriginal that's for sure, fairly pedestrian in places, but I like Darius Rucker's voice.

 

I wonder to what extent there were bands or artists I TRULY hated or if I just pretended not to like them because I wanted to fit in a group or didn't want to be mocked. Just like people into punk rock would deny they were ever into prog-rock in 1977.
Some of my uncles or cousins would make fun of me as a child or early teen for liking this artist or that band all the time (I would hide some records upstairs depending on who was visiting! ) so it's happened. I pretended NOT to like something. But deep down I loved it. I wonder if it applies to many people - pretending to hate something because of a social stigma.

 

Devo's- Smooth Noodle Maps, 1990
Picked it up on release, gifted it a few months later. Re-bought a few months ago and found a new respect for it.

 

All the Robert Plant solo albums up through 1993.