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Slow Train Comin': Artists You're Finally Getting Around to Digging
02/18/08 | by Mr. Moderator
Some of you may know of my longtime hang ups with the Parliament/Funkadelic scene: too much of that Zappa/Krappa humor, not enough solid songs, too many white rock fans who hadn't already been fans of the earlier forms of soul music telling me how much I should love them, etc. Hang ups...
I've long owned an early Funkadelic Greatest Hits album, including songs I did like, such as "Funky Dollar Bill" and "Cosmic Slop". About 7 or 8 years ago I bought America Eats Its Young and verrrrrrry slowwwwwwly began to accept these cats for who they were. The hang ups have been dropping rapidly. I bought a Parliament Greatest Hits collection a few years ago, and I like some of their best stuff even more than the best of Funkadelic. Still wish they had more solid songs, but I'm digging them for what they are.
Is there an artist you've verrrrrrry slowwwwwwly come around to liking?
8 comments
Comment from: BigSteve [Member] 
Fela would probably be a good example for me. He's got what might charitably be called a strong personality that made it hard for me to enjoy Afrobeat, and I preferred other styles of African music. After falling in love with The Good The Bad & The Queen, I found a few of former Fela (and GB&Q) drummer Tony Allen's albums, and I like those a lot. So that softened me up, and I'm starting to 'get' Fela.
A more common dynamic is for me to avoid an artist I know I'm likely to dig, because they have a bunch of records, and I assume I'm probably going to want to explore them widely. This happened to me with Iggy in I guess the early 80s, though exploring widely with him was not especially rewarding. But I've been slowly working my way chronologically through Leonard Cohen's discography, after putting it off for ages, and it was worth the wait.
A more common dynamic is for me to avoid an artist I know I'm likely to dig, because they have a bunch of records, and I assume I'm probably going to want to explore them widely. This happened to me with Iggy in I guess the early 80s, though exploring widely with him was not especially rewarding. But I've been slowly working my way chronologically through Leonard Cohen's discography, after putting it off for ages, and it was worth the wait.
02/17/08 @ 13:36
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
I'll have to say, before this bomb of a post rightfully falls off The Main Stage, I'm surprised no one else has slowly gotten around to liking an artist.
02/19/08 @ 09:45
Comment from: Al [Member]
Well, I'll re-tell the tale I'm pretty sure I've told before on RTH v.1.0
It took me three years to get into Captain Beefheart. Geo lent me Trout Mask Replica in sophomore year in high school - 1970. Said it was fantastic, I had to listen to it. I gave it a good try but returned it. Couldn't get into it and wasn't willing to even admit it was music.
George persisted and a year later lent me the follow-up, Lick My Decals Off Baby. Again, I tried. Maybe it was closer to being music but I couldn't get into it. A year later, Geo tried again with Beefheart's next release, Spotlight Kid. Finally it clicked. I immediately loved that album. Much more traditionally song-based music to my ears while still being like nothing else I knew at the time. Within a few months I'd worked backwards and came to love first Decals and then Trout Mask. I now view TMR as one of the greatest albums of all time and it is still ahead of the times.
It took me three years to get into Captain Beefheart. Geo lent me Trout Mask Replica in sophomore year in high school - 1970. Said it was fantastic, I had to listen to it. I gave it a good try but returned it. Couldn't get into it and wasn't willing to even admit it was music.
George persisted and a year later lent me the follow-up, Lick My Decals Off Baby. Again, I tried. Maybe it was closer to being music but I couldn't get into it. A year later, Geo tried again with Beefheart's next release, Spotlight Kid. Finally it clicked. I immediately loved that album. Much more traditionally song-based music to my ears while still being like nothing else I knew at the time. Within a few months I'd worked backwards and came to love first Decals and then Trout Mask. I now view TMR as one of the greatest albums of all time and it is still ahead of the times.
02/19/08 @ 10:38
Comment from: mwall [Member]
I thought about it, but genuinely couldn't come up with anything. I've dismissed some bands and later decided they were great (Cheap Trick) but don't recall any slow, steady, changes of mind.
02/19/08 @ 11:10
Comment from: general slocum [Member]
Yes, Mod. Usually for me it's that there's a breakthrough song or record that makes me suddenly find an artist listenable. And this sometimes has the fallout of rendering some of their catalog newly enjoyable. But almost never is there a slow turn around for me. I've mentioned before that I've had a deepening appreciation for Neil Young. And that one has intensified as time has gone on. I like some of the Clash somewhat, but I've been waiting for years for them to sound better!
02/19/08 @ 21:13
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
General,
Please define "sound better" regarding The Clash. Do you mean the production or just that you're waiting to like their music better?
Do you recall your breakthrough song for Neil Young?
Please define "sound better" regarding The Clash. Do you mean the production or just that you're waiting to like their music better?
Do you recall your breakthrough song for Neil Young?
02/19/08 @ 21:59
Comment from: alexmagic [Member]
I was going to suggest Neil Young for this thread, too. I’d dug my heels in long ago for various reasons and just couldn’t get into him. Part of it was the voice, part of it was my lingering suspicions that he might be a werewolf, or skinwalker if you prefer.
But in any case, it wasn’t until the last year or so that I was able to finally start to come around some and made a slow, almost imperceptible leap from being annoyed/amused by his singing to appreciating it a bit. I’m pretty sure it was “After the Gold Rush” that finally broke through for me. I don’t know why, it’s not like I hadn’t heard it before, but it kinda clicked. I’ve recently grown to really like “I Believe In You.” So I should probably just get go ahead and get After the Gold Rush, but I’m not ready to make that kind of commitment yet.
But in any case, it wasn’t until the last year or so that I was able to finally start to come around some and made a slow, almost imperceptible leap from being annoyed/amused by his singing to appreciating it a bit. I’m pretty sure it was “After the Gold Rush” that finally broke through for me. I don’t know why, it’s not like I hadn’t heard it before, but it kinda clicked. I’ve recently grown to really like “I Believe In You.” So I should probably just get go ahead and get After the Gold Rush, but I’m not ready to make that kind of commitment yet.
02/20/08 @ 09:13
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Make the comittment, Alexmagic! There's plenty of great stuff among his '70s releases.
02/20/08 @ 21:19
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