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Sometimes, you just appreciate the confirmation
I don't have a problem with being contrary. In fact, I'll just go ahead and admit that I, at times, revel in it. But it does lead to moments of self-doubt. "Self," you might say, "I'm starting to doubt you. Because I keep hearing that Band X is really great..."
Wait: Not actually X, of course, but some random band. Band Y, ok?
So: Band Y. Some people seem to love Band Y. Enough that you wonder what the hell these people are hearing, because it's not coming through to you.
...
In this particular case, it's Kings of Leon. I think their music is crap, but they've been around for a few years and have received generally good press. Fortunately, this review also comes to the conclusion that their latest album is crap. I feel somewhat vindicated.
I can't stand the singer's voice, which is often enough reason for me to dislike a band. Radiohead is the big one, here. Thom Yorke has a bad voice. Can we all admit that? Of course, the cold, emotionless songs are another problem, despite how often I hear and read that the cold emotionlessness is the point of the music. And how you just have to get past Yorke's voice.
Which I can't do, so I can't understand what people see in that band. But a list of "popular bands that I'm supposed to like but don't" includes U2, REM, Nirvana...actually, I could go on for quite a while.
Sometimes I don't like the singer's voice (The Smiths), sometimes I think the lyrics are hilariously stupid (The Smiths), and sometimes I'm probably just being stubborn and contrary (not The Smiths).
Which is not to say that I despise these bands, at least not in most cases. I can't, for example, work up any hatred for U2. They just don't play music that I want to listen to. Except in one case: There's one U2 song that I really like.
I've long wanted to create a Songs I Like By Bands I Don't compilation. I could find a song by U2, and one by REM, and probably one by Nirvana...I'm not hopeful about The Smiths, but there have got to be a few songs by some of the other bands that I don't like. The problem is that I've never bothered to figure out more than four or five songs that would go onto such a list. So it's a good idea, but has never really turned into anything more than that. And I think that the work involved in creating a list of any decent size would be greater than the amount of enjoyment I'd get out of it. But I still like the idea.