Bands You Loved to hate ... but then learned to Love.

[halouis]

Talking about artist who you didn't "get" at first. say even for a few yrs then "got it" and now think are amazing.

The Pixies - When Surfer Rosa came out my girlfriend (now wife) played the snot outta it. and drove me crazy. I finally got them a few yrs after
The Ramones - again i didn;t get them for a number of yrs. Somethign about Joey's voice and th bubblegum thing. But got their brilliance a few yrs later. An all time favourite to this day now.
Velvet Underground/Lou Reed - Man i hated these guys. But when I got "Berlin" only a few yrs ago I began to understand it.
Credence Clearwater Revival - I finally heard the incredible soul and energy in their music and John voice maybe 10 yrs ago.
AC/DC - wanted to hate them when i was in Jr High (early/mid 80's) because EVERYONE loved them. I found them simplistic. I didn;t hate them, but didn;t love them. Finally got it in the 90's going back and listening to the bon Scott era especially. WHat and incredible singer he was and how amazing it is the writing and plaing of the Young Brothers. Still one of my all time favorites to this day.
Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon, Merle - wanted to hae all things country from when i was a kid working in a country bar/grille and hearing live traditional country every night. But I finally got the "rea deal" country just maybe 10 yrs ago.
The Clash - While i've dug the Clash since i was pretty young I never thought they were anything special. Not somethign i'd seek to put on the stereo. Really only got their appeal maybe in the mid'90s (YES Shame on me)

I'm sure I'll think of more.

[Loni Specter]

Hated than appreciated late:
The Beatles.- I initially hated them because their Feb,9, 1964 Ed Sullivan debute was on my birthday, stealing my parents attention. I became a Stones fan instead. I did not buy a Beatles album untill Abey Road, then went backwards for more.

Led Zeplin.- At the time I hated the screeching fuity singer and sloppy busy guitar playing. I was a Mayall/ Cream fan. I saw Cream twice (awsome), and saw Zep once (awful).
Now I like them both.

[Jupiter Beach]

I used to hate Elvis.

Last year I took a course at school called "The History of Rock & Roll", and one of the requirements was that we had to buy Elvis' 50 #1 Hits CD and listen to it. I always thought Elvis was really cheesy and hokey, but after listening to that CD a few times, I gained an appreciation for him, because he really was a very talented singer.

I'm still working on trying to love the Rolling Stones, but I think it's going to take awhile.

[Hey Joe]

The key to loving the Stones is to only listen to their early stuff.

Oh yeah and try to visualize Mick struting around like a chicken.

[Jakedog]

Pink Floyd- I always just thought they were a product of drugged out wierdness. I never really understood it at all, didn't sound like much of anything to get excited about to me, even when I was a stoned weirdo in high school. Always struck me as incoherent nonsensical noise. In the last year though, I've really begun to appreciate them. I don't know what happened, but I am actually starting to like them now.

The Dixie Chicks- I hated them right out of the chute. Growing up in West Texas, they were a joke. The cutsie pie matching outfits and the country fair and livestock show gigs were enough to make anybody puke. My wife started buying their records, and I wouldn't even listen to them. When I finally started hearing them, I found a bunch of girls who had grown up considerably. They wrote, they sang, and they played, as well as just about any body I liked to listen to. I no longer roll my eyes and leave the room when my wife reaches for the stereo remote, and I actually REALLY like some of their stuff.


Jake

[jz63]

I used to really not like the Grateful Dead because I was put off by late 80's/early 90's trendiness of being a "deadhead". A few years back I started listening to them with an open mind and I have to say I really love alot of their stuff. I really get a kick outta JG's guitar playing too.

I never cared for Led Zepplin until recently. I never cared for the image of them as "mystical rocknroll studs" but again, with fresh ears and an open mind I found myself to be a fan.

I liked U2 back in the WAR era but got really sick of them by the time of JOSHUA TREE. I've started catching up on what they've done since and I like it all (except for the Rattle & Hum stuff which is kinda silly). You have to hand it to a band who have stayed intact as long as they have.

I'm getting curious about early 70's Prog-Rock a the moment.. maye it's time to give Yes a look..

[jhundt]

Tom Petty - It was '77 or so, just back in the Bay Area from London where the punk scene was in it's beginnings.I was roadie for a Berkeley-based group (Greg Kihn) who I liked but thought kind of old style. TP came up from LA to do some 8 or 10 shows to prepare for the tour to support his first album. I laughed my arse off, they all had long hair and curls, satin trousers and velvet blazers, hopelessly out-of-date and missing the boat. The music was pretty good, but they played every set exactly the same. I thought - what a bunch of pooftahs. On the other hand, all the girls thought they were magnificent. It took me about three albums to catch on and get past my own attitude.

U2 - I thought it was all gimmick, a guitar player calling himself "the Edge" and using like 20 echoplexes. I figured he just couldn't play and was hiding that fact. Again, they proved to be a lot deeper and better than I thought, with a lot of what I consider musical integrity.

Now I am a great admirer of both these acts, and consider them among my favorite rock artists. I learned from this. I learned to shut my big mouth until I got something useful and true to say.

[Paul in Colorado]

Creedance Clearwater Revival and The Doobie Brothers. They were played to death in late '60's early '70's. And when my country rock band used to play people would request them and we didn't play either so I got pretty sick of it.
But over the years I learned to appreciate their music especially The early Doobie Brothers stuff like "The Captain and Me" and "What Once Were Our Vices..."
I can even listen to "Listen to the Music" and "Long Train Runnin'" without changing the station.

[raisindot]

Lynyrd Skynrd (sp.)--Think I got so overdosed on "Free Bird" in high school I dismissed them outright. Years later I actually listened to a best hits collection, and, good-old-boy posturing aside, they actually could write good lyrics when they wanted to.

Rush--A REAL guilty pleasure. If Geddy Lee isn't the most annoying high-voice singer next to Freddie Mercury and Steve Perry, I don't know who is. But if you can get past Geddy, some of the arrangements in Rush songs are pretty amazing.

Parliament/Funkadelic--Again, blame the 70's--disco totally closed my mind to any possible consideration that funk had any redeeming musical value. 25 years later, disco is forgotten but the best Clintonia really holds up very well, especially "Give Up the Funk."

Yes--Jon Anderson ranks just behind Steve Perry in the annoying high voice sweepstakes, and the lyrics to any given Yes song provide new meaning to term "ponderous horse hockey" but their best lineups (Howe, Squire, Wakeman) could *play* when they had a mind to.

Jeff

[David Barnett]

'60s Motown. When I was a kid, R&B was the music on the radio that I "endured" between British Invasion songs.

Now I quite enjoy '60s Soul music, there is a depth of great material and great performances on those old Motown singles.

[agent2x4]

Early Alice Cooper

[ne4tt]

Lumped it together with disco, and those sissy clothes of that era.

But since playing bass, I've become a fan of those funk bassers.

jamie

[Skully]

Yes--Jon Anderson ranks just behind Steve Perry in the annoying high voice sweepstakes

It's unfair to compare Anderson and others to Steve Perry, because, no matter what one thinks of Journey, Perry has a fantastic set of vocal chords.

Someone mentioned Alice Cooper. By the time I became aware of him in the '70s, he was an over-theatrical, "Hollywood Squares"-guesting joke. It's only in the last ten years that I've discovered just how good that early material was. Some of his recent albums, such as "Brutal Planet," have been pretty good, too.

[Tim Armstrong]

Led Zeppelin - I graduated from high school in 1977, and man, was I ever sick of the Zep! I was into stuff like The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Bros, Poco...and then I got into stuff like Elvis Costello, Any Trouble, The Clash, Graham Parker...

Imagine my absolute surprise about fifteen years ago when I heard "Stairway to Heaven" totally unexpectedly, and loved it! Same thing with a whole bunch of their stuff. I guess I just didn't like being force-fed their music back then.

Grand Funk Railroad - Yeah, they're still cheesy as heck, but man, those guys could SING! A guilty pleasure nowadays...

Cheers, Tim

[BLACKCAT69]

Originally Posted by Jupiter Beach

I used to hate Elvis.

Last year I took a course at school called "The History of Rock & Roll", and one of the requirements was that we had to buy Elvis' 50 #1 Hits CD and listen to it. I always thought Elvis was really cheesy and hokey, but after listening to that CD a few times, I gained an appreciation for him, because he really was a very talented singer.

I'm still working on trying to love the Rolling Stones, but I think it's going to take awhile.

"Beggar's Banquet" or..."Let it Bleed". Two perfect records for myself. That's the Stones at their peak. I do agree with you on Elvis though. I visited Graceland last summer and loved it but really started digging Elvis a year prior but had previously really hated the guy's music. In retrospect my conversion was a combination of lack of PROPER EXPOSURE (ie: not researching the music, only hearing what was prevalent in the mainstream culture) as a youngster and delving into roots music later in life with a curious hungry mind for new things. I think my brain is much more open and curious now than when I was younger. Elvis Presley made brilliant music.

[genelovesjez]

Originally Posted by Skully

It's unfair to compare Anderson and others to Steve Perry, because, no matter what one thinks of Journey, Perry has a fantastic set of vocal chords.

Oh, it's fair. My hand reaches to change the station just as fast for Yes or Journey.

[halouis]

Originally Posted by BLACKCAT69

"Beggar's Banquet" or..."Let it Bleed". Two perfect records for myself. That's the Stones at their peak.

and don't forget "Exile on Main Street" and "Sticky FIngers". Exhile is my Fav. Followed by Let it Bleed.

[Oster]

AC/DC. I bought 'Flick of the Switch' when it first came out and was surrounded by AC/DC fans in junior high but never really liked them. Those old records sound pretty good now.

By the way, Steve Perry has a great voice and is cool enough to cite Sam Cooke as his prime influence (and you can really hear it too). There's not many singers out there who can say that.

(Hey 'Open Arms' gave me my first slow dance - I gotta stick up for Journey!).

[Colo Springs E]

....hated it when I was in the 9th-12th grade (late 70s); I listen to it now and go "wow! I wish I could play guitar like that!"

There is some serious good groovin' goin' on in some of those songs!

-Eric

[ye olde fretmonkey]

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

....hated it when I was in the 9th-12th grade (late 70s); I listen to it now and go "wow! I wish I could play guitar like that!"

There is some serious good groovin' goin' on in some of those songs!

-Eric

Nile Rodgers and Ernie Isley

that's some pretty good rhythm guitar, mang

[JMH65]

70's Country.......When I was little we would go on those long driving vacations and my parents had the radio going the whole way playing Johhny Cash, Waylon, Willie, Don Williams, The Hag, Dolly Parton, Emmylou......I hated it.

But now I love them and realize just how great that music is.

[mr tom]

AC/DC - a friend played "Let There Be Rock" for me when I was 13 or whatever and it was new, and I thought, "How moronic." Within a couple of years I appreciated them!

Stones - listened to my dad's copy of "Sticky Fingers" when the only music I knew was '50s rock and (nobody repeat this) Yes and Black Sabbath, and it sounded like country to me. Obviously it took only a few spins and a little common sense to realize they are The World's Greatest Etc.

Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson - picked up on them thanks to the Rolling Stone Record Guide and, in spite of being a big fan of lots of blues-based R&R, they initially sounded like they came from Mars. Happy to say that, today and for the last 20 years, if I had to throw away all my records and keep one genre, that one would be the blues.

I'm sure there are more, but these stick out as significant. I should mention that, during high school at the end of the '70s, I bought into the whole "disco sux" thing and lumped some completely unrelated acts into the equation...like Soul Brother #1. Today I can't get by without JB, unquestionably one of the greats ... or without Nile Rodgers.

[Tim Armstrong]

I just remembered an embarassing one...

Django Reinhardt. When I was 17 or so, a guitar buddy of mine tried to turn me on to Django and Charlie Christian. I got Charlie all right, but Django went right over my head...

Needless to say, my tastes have evolved!

Cheers, Tim