Unpopular Opinions about Music

[Shannon L.]

On 6/27/2018 at 11:24 AM, GaT said:

Don't care much for "Come Sail Away" or"Babe", but "Too Much Time On My Hands" is da bomb :-)

 

"Too Much Time on My Hands" is great, but I love "Renegade"!

[UYI]

I like "Behind These Hazel Eyes" better than "Since U Been Gone."

In some circles of recovering angsty mid-2000's teens, that might be enough to get me shanked. 

[Silver Raven]

Kanye West is threatening to release 52 albums in 52 weeks.  When will our national nightmare end?

[UYI]

6 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Kanye West is threatening to release 52 albums in 52 weeks.  When will our national nightmare end?

Given the fact that he has produced albums for other artists (and a few of them just came out), and his reputation as a producer has always been pretty good, regardless of his public persona/personal life, this doesn't HAVE to be a bad thing.

But it IS the UO thread, so there you go. :)

[AgentRXS]

On 6/29/2018 at 11:48 AM, FlickerInTheNight said:

  I don't think I've ever hated someone's music before so intensely.  Jesus....make him stop.

I feel the same exact way. I don't get Drake's appeal at all.  "Hotline Bling" was okay for a minute, but his career should have ended there. I can't stand the sound of his voice.

Quote

I like "Behind These Hazel Eyes" better than "Since U Been Gone."

Me too. Aaah, memories of working at Blockbuster and seeing that video in their promo DVD.  Yeah, that sentence definitely shows my age LOL.

Edited July 4, 2018 by AgentRXS

[Blergh]

On 7/2/2018 at 2:48 PM, Silver Raven said:

Kanye West is threatening to release 52 albums in 52 weeks.  When will our national nightmare end?

Well, no one is forcing anyone else to buy any of them so maybe if they all bomb, after this year, he won't be so publicized.

[UYI]

Again, I THINK he meant in terms of producing for other artists, not that he himself will be having more of his own albums out; his is already out now, and I know he produced Pusha T's new album, which has gotten some acclaim.

And I'm not saying this as a fan OR a non-fan; I've never really listened to much of his music. I just know that he has a good reputation as a music producer (and even those who may not find all of his work good AT LEAST find it interesting or challenging/different in terms of hip-hop that came before he was around), for both himself and other artists, regardless of what he may be like personally. 

I just wanted to clear that up for anyone here who might not know that. :)

Edited July 6, 2018 by UYI

[GaT]

5 hours ago, Blergh said:

Well, no one is forcing anyone else to buy any of them so maybe if they all bomb, after this year, he won't be so publicized.

He's married to a Kardashian, he will always be publicized. 

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

He's married to a Kardashian, he will always be publicized. 

That may be but that doesn't mean any thinking person is compelled to do anything more than shrug their shoulders and utter 'meh' before totally ignoring the output if they truly are not interested in Mr. West's products.

[UYI]

This is my favorite Irene Cara song:

[topanga]

22 hours ago, UYI said:

This is my favorite Irene Cara song:

Was it on a movie soundtrack? Catchy beat, and someone was going to town on that synthesizer. Cara said the same 5 words over and over, but I love her voice, so that was cool. 

[UYI]

52 minutes ago, topanga said:

Was it on a movie soundtrack? Catchy beat, and someone was going to town on that synthesizer. Cara said the same 5 words over and over, but I love her voice, so that was cool. 

No, it was on one of her individual albums, from around the same time Flashdance came out.

Here's one:

Phil Collins' version of "You Can't Hurry Love">>>>>>>The Supremes' version. 

Edited July 10, 2018 by UYI

[proserpina65]

On ‎06‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 11:06 PM, UYI said:

"Jet Airliner" is the Steve Miller Band's best hit song.

Fight me. 

I prefer The Joker, but wouldn't fight you over it.  Jet Airliner is a great song.

 

On ‎06‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 12:02 AM, UYI said:

The Lumineers are an awesome band and DO NOT deserve to be solely defined by "Ho Hey"--a song that, while good, pales in comparison to "Big Parade", "Cleopatra", "Ophelia", and, perhaps my favorite song of theirs, "Angela". In fact, Cleopatra is probably a better album overall than their self-titled debut. 

Cleopatra is the better album, but I don't like Angela; to me it's the least good song on the album.  I do love Ho Hey, but prefer Stubborn Love of all the tracks on The Lumineers.

 

On ‎06‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 9:50 PM, ebk57 said:

The best version of "Come Sail Away" ever!  (I also have a soft spot for Styx and I have no idea why other than "the music of my misspent youth" or something)

I used to have the biggest crush on Tommy Shaw.  I was 15 or 16 at the time.

On ‎07‎/‎06‎/‎2018 at 5:13 PM, Blergh said:

That may be but that doesn't mean any thinking person is compelled to do anything more than shrug their shoulders and utter 'meh' before totally ignoring the output if they truly are not interested in Mr. West's products.

But this is the Unpopular Opinions thread, so it's the perfect place to rant about it if one so desires/

[UYI]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

I used to have the biggest crush on Tommy Shaw.  I was 15 or 16 at the time.

 

Isn't he adorable? I like this song from the Kilroy Was Here album, with him on lead vocals (which I guess is a UO in itself):

Edited July 11, 2018 by UYI

[UYI]

My favorite version of "Always On My Mind" is by The Pet Shop Boys. 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, UYI said:

My favorite version of "Always On My Mind" is by The Pet Shop Boys. 

Mine is a tie between Elvis Presley's and Willie Nelson's, but theirs is next in line; I like it a lot.

[UYI]

I know '90's country is considered a golden era for the genre, and rightfully so (especially for women country artists back then), but I really think I enjoy listening to '80's country just a little bit more, and I KNOW that's at least a little unpopular (certainly the Urban Cowboy era, but that's not the whole thing by a long shot!). There is so much that seems to be either underrated or overlooked from that decade in terms of country music, and compared to the decades that came immediately before it and immediately after it, it seems to stick out a lot less (with a few exceptions, of course). But there is actually a lot of great/fun stuff to discover from that time period, and just as many great women performers and musicians to find out about as there are from the '90's.

Then again, I'm a relatively newer country music fan in general; I only started seriously listening to it these last few years, so for me, finding the great stuff from the genre is a brand new and fun experience no matter what decade I look into (I won't even make a joke about the current state of country--yes, mainstream country radio isn't the best place to be now--especially if you're a woman, AHEM--but if you dig deeper, you'll see how many great artists there are out there). 

[Silver Raven]

Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line just set a record for the longest time at number one on the country charts. Of course, they broke the record held by "Body Like a Back Road", so it's not much of an achievement.

[UYI]

1 minute ago, Silver Raven said:

Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line just set a record for the longest time at number one on the country charts. Of course, they broke the record held by "Body Like a Back Road", so it's not much of an achievement.

The sad thing is, this is one of the more tolerable FGL songs out there, even if I still think it's dried out ass overall.

To go back to the day when the least sounding country song was Ronnie Milsap's "Stranger in My House"!

This might be unpopular:

Out of all their big hits, my favorite Alabama song is "Song of the South." I absolutely love it. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

21 minutes ago, UYI said:

I know '90's country is considered a golden era for the genre, and rightfully so (especially for women country artists back then),

Hell, back in the '90's, they had-GASP!!!- female country singers who weren't all blonde! 

Sorry I had to be petty, but I can't help what I notice. 

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, UYI said:

Out of all their big hits, my favorite Alabama song is "Song of the South." I absolutely love it. 

Mine is 40 Hour Week, but I know absolutely nothing about the Alabama fandom, so I have no idea if that's popular or unpopular.

3 hours ago, UYI said:

I know '90's country is considered a golden era for the genre, and rightfully so (especially for women country artists back then), but I really think I enjoy listening to '80's country just a little bit more, and I KNOW that's at least a little unpopular (certainly the Urban Cowboy era, but that's not the whole thing by a long shot!).

Can you imagine if everyone annoyed by the Urban Cowboy era of country music could have gazed into a crystal ball and seen what popified country would come to sound like decades later?  Because that stuff was country as a turnip green by comparison.  I like a lot of more traditional country music, but I also like a lot of pop music, so it didn't bother me.  I mean, I love Barbara Mandrell's I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool as much as the next person, but I like a lot of those late '70s/early-mid '80s country pop songs, too. 

The mid '80s to late '90s produced some of my favorite music across all genres.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Bastet

[UYI]

11 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Hell, back in the '90's, they had-GASP!!!- female country singers who weren't all blonde! 

Sorry I had to be petty, but I can't help what I notice. 

As a blonde woman, I'll pretend not to be hurt while I grab my dark wig (which I don't actually have--oh well). 

I mean, there's Maren Morris, even though she's starting to dip into pop music waters. And Karen Fairchild from Little Big Town (and compared to her blonde band mate Kimberly Schlapman, she's considered the stand out, so there's that!), and Hillary Scott from Lady Antebellum.

And I think the blonde trifecta of Carrie, Miranda and Taylor at least had talent in their own ways that made them stand out. The problem was that country radio got stuck on them and only them, hair color preference or not. 

(OTOH, with Taylor now a firm pop star, her spot seems to have been taken by the equally blonde Kelsea Ballerini--and it's not an upgrade, either.) 

And, for what it's worth, the two best selling country female artists of all time are both brunettes--Shania Twain and Patsy Cline. So you have us fair-haired maidens beat on that front, and probably for the end of time, too. :)

9 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Mine is 40 Hour Week, but I know absolutely knowing about the Alabama fandom, so I have no idea if that's popular or unpopular.

Can you imagine if everyone annoyed by the Urban Cowboy era of country music could have gazed into a crystal ball and seen what popified country would come to sound like decades later?  Because that stuff was country as a turnip green by comparison.  I like a lot of more traditional country music, but I also like a lot of pop music, so it didn't bother me.  I mean, I love Barbara Mandrell's I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool as much as the next person, but I like a lot of those late '70s/early-mid '80s country pop songs, too. 

The mid '80s to late '90s produced some of my favorite music across all genres.

Oh I love 40 Hour Week, too. I think it's probably most popular to say you like songs such as "Mountain Music" and "If You're Gonna Play In Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)". 

Edited July 31, 2018 by UYI

[UYI]

Okay, my last post kind of left UO territory a bit, so I'll try to bring it back:

I would honestly listen to "Look What You Made Do" over "Shake It Off" every single day and twice on Sundays if I had to make the choice. Yes, the latter's production is MUCH better than the former's, I can't argue that--I do have ears, after all. But I have ALWAYS thought "Shake It Off" REEKED of a smile through clenched-teeth, "everything is a-okay" bullshit; it kind of makes me puke, actually. By comparison, I believe Every. Single. Word. of LWYMMD, and that that is EXACTLY how she feels/felt about that whole situation (including the idea that saying that she's "smarter" and "harder" was actually a good idea, poor thing). I mean, it's honest. Honest in the worst way possible, for sure, but still a HELL of a lot more honest than "Shake It Off" EVER was!

...And with that, I will take a break with my hot take UOs and rest up for next time. :) 

[Wiendish Fitch]

19 minutes ago, UYI said:

As a blonde woman, I'll pretend not to be hurt while I grab my dark wig (which I don't actually have--oh well). 

 

You know what? I realize too late how my post reads, and I apologize for how catty I sounded and if I offended anyone (legitimately or otherwise) . Blondes, you're all good. 

[UYI]

1 minute ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

You know what? I realize too late how my post reads, and I apologize for how catty I sounded and if I offended anyone (legitimately or otherwise) . Blondes, you're all good. 

No, I get it, as someone who's been blonde her whole life, I have NO way of knowing how brunettes or redheads feel about that. It doesn't matter that I don't fit the stereotype of the ditzy dumb blonde (at least, I HOPE I don't come across that way!); there are certain things I'll never quite understand, even though I certainly try to emphasize with y'all. I'm not heartless. :)

And remember: Brunettes still have Shania Twain as the greatest selling female country artist of all time (even though she went blonde at one point, and girl, no). 

Fine, one more UO:

In the eternal Beatles vs. Rolling Stones vs. Who rivalry, I always throw a curve ball and choose the Doors. (Seriously, though, I largely like the Stones and the Who more than the Beatles, while obviously acknowledging the Beatles' larger overall influence on pop culture.)

[proserpina65]

I really like Look What You Made Me Do.  A lot.

 

I generally like only pre-80s country music, but I do make an exception for Keith Urban.  And I love Body Like A Back Road.

[Annber03]

My mom really likes "Look What You Made Me Do". I've lost count of how many times she's played that song and watched the video. 

And my sister LOVES Keith Urban. I've only heard a small handful of his songs here and there, but I don't mind what I have heard, and according to my sister, he seems to like a few of my favorite bands as well, so that gets him some bonus points right there :D. As for country music in general, I agree with you on liking a lot of the older stuff. That said, I also still have a bit of a soft spot for some of the '90s country songs that I was really into when I was about 11, 12 years old or so, and I like the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way album as well. I initially checked it out because Neil Finn co-wrote a song on there and I wanted to hear it, but I wound up enjoying the album as a whole. I should sit down sometime and give their other music a proper listen as well. 

[UYI]

14 hours ago, Annber03 said:

My mom really likes "Look What You Made Me Do". I've lost count of how many times she's played that song and watched the video. 

 

That's another UO of mine: I'm not impressed by the video AT ALL. Just because she's acknowledging a bunch of things the media has said about her (a lot of which stemmed from things she did on purpose, not because they made it up), doesn't mean it's some stroke of genius joke she's laughing along with. All it means is that we have confirmation that she pays attention to her own press...which we've known/has been obvious for YEARS now. Big fucking WOW. /s

[janie jones]

On 7/31/2018 at 2:37 PM, UYI said:

But I have ALWAYS thought "Shake It Off" REEKED of a smile through clenched-teeth, "everything is a-okay" bullshit; it kind of makes me puke, actually.

Someone who has shaken it off doesn't write a song about shaking it off.

[MargeGunderson]

On 7/28/2018 at 9:23 PM, Bastet said:

Mine is a tie between Elvis Presley's and Willie Nelson's, but theirs is next in line; I like it a lot.

Since you brought up Elvis, I like the Fine Young Cannibals’ version of Suspicious Minds better.

[AgentRXS]

50 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

Since you brought up Elvis, I like the Fine Young Cannibals’ version of Suspicious Minds better.

Since you brought up Suspicious Minds, my favorite version is Dee Dee Warwick's version :

 

I sure hope the crap that recently came out about her isn't true. Since neither her or her niece are here to confirm or deny the story, I'm reserving judgement.

Edited August 8, 2018 by AgentRXS

[UYI]

Garth Brooks UO:

While I don't hate "Friends in Low Places", "The Thunder Rolls" is about a BILLION times better (both are from his second album, No Fences).

[Wiendish Fitch]

47 minutes ago, UYI said:

Garth Brooks UO:

While I don't hate "Friends in Low Places", "The Thunder Rolls" is about a BILLION times better (both are from his second album, No Fences).

I love "The Thunder Rolls", such an atmospheric morality tale whose sympathies are with the wronged wife (I sincerely doubt the douche-y, bro-y country singers of today would even fathom writing such a song).

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, UYI said:

Garth Brooks UO:

While I don't hate "Friends in Low Places", "The Thunder Rolls" is about a BILLION times better (both are from his second album, No Fences).

Maybe a trillion.  The Thunder Rolls is the lone exception to my "I cannot fucking stand Garth Brooks" stance.

[UYI]

25 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Maybe a trillion.  The Thunder Rolls is the lone exception to my "I cannot fucking stand Garth Brooks" stance.

I will say that his self-titled debut album from 1989 is very good (which may be somewhat of a UO in itself, given how much bigger--even by country music levels--he would become with his subsequent albums). MUCH more neo-traditional than his later work.

That said, the best thing Garth Brooks ever did was marry Trisha Yearwood. ;)

Edited August 18, 2018 by UYI

[Shannon L.]

Another Thunder Rolls fan here.

[AgentRXS]

9 hours ago, UYI said:

While I don't hate "Friends in Low Places", "The Thunder Rolls" is about a BILLION times better (both are from his second album, No Fences).

I didn't even realize that would be an unpopular opinion. I don't particularly care for post-70s country, but I grew up when Garthmania took over country. FLP was great, but "Thunder Rolls" is his best work, along with "The Dance" IMO.

[UYI]

1 hour ago, AgentRXS said:

I didn't even realize that would be an unpopular opinion. I don't particularly care for post-70s country, but I grew up when Garthmania took over country. FLP was great, but "Thunder Rolls" is his best work, along with "The Dance" IMO.

I suppose it's less unpopular than I thought, it just seems that way to me because of the memetic iconic status of the former song.

[UYI]

I HATE the modern slang for good pop songs these days, specifically "banger" and "bop". All they do is make me want to bop someone upside their damn head.

(I know, I know, get off my lawn and pass the Werther's.) 

[janie jones]

On 8/18/2018 at 10:13 AM, UYI said:

Garth Brooks UO:

While I don't hate "Friends in Low Places", "The Thunder Rolls" is about a BILLION times better (both are from his second album, No Fences).

Do people think Friends in Low Places is a superior song, or is it just that it's a good singalong song?

[UYI]

Just now, janie jones said:

Do people think Friends in Low Places is a superior song, or is it just that it's a good singalong song?

Now that I think about it, probably the latter, which is why I originally thought it was more popular (and it probably is, even if "The Thunder Rolls" is considered a better song). 

[AgentRXS]

"Friends in Low Places" is probably more popular as it is the quintessential bar song. The subject matter for "Thunder Rolls" isn't exactly a picker-upper, but I still think "Thunder Rolls" being the better song wouldn't be an unpopular opinion, at least among Garth fans.

[cpcathy]

Very UO: I didn't hate the Chris Gaines era.

[Joe]

I don't like that people seem to think that Immigrant Song is the only piece of music about vikings ever. So they want to attach it to everything viking. There's a whole subgenre about vikings! It's called viking metal. I have a top five! Einherjer, Bathory, Skalmold, Enslaved, Tyr. Plus one album by Therion. Then there's the lighter more folky side, stuff like Wardruna or Heilung. I could go on, but won't.

Immigrant Song isn't bad as such, people just need to expand their viking horizons beyond a 50 year old song.

[Neko]

11 hours ago, cpcathy said:

Very UO: I didn't hate the Chris Gaines era.

Neither did I.  The Life of Chris Gaines was not a terrible album.

Edited August 21, 2018 by Sweet Summer Child

[proserpina65]

I hate Garth Brooks' music.  All of it.

 

I don't know if this is unpopular, but I had to express it: I'd never heard of Bishop Briggs before I heard her cover of Never Tear Us Apart, and I really wish I'd still never heard of her.  Her original stuff didn't thrill me when I heard it, but that cover is a crime against humanity.

[Hanahope]

I was reminded about Drake while watching Stephen Colbert talking about how Drake wants to trademark "God's Plan."  It reminded me of that awful song of his.  "blah, blah, blah, mumble, mumble, mumble, God's Plan, God's Plan, God's Plan."  Seriously, people like this?

[GaT]

4 hours ago, Hanahope said:

I was reminded about Drake while watching Stephen Colbert talking about how Drake wants to trademark "God's Plan."  It reminded me of that awful song of his.  "blah, blah, blah, mumble, mumble, mumble, God's Plan, God's Plan, God's Plan."  Seriously, people like this?

I pretty much hate every Drake song, & have no idea why he's so popular. And speaking of "God's Plan", the video is like nails on a chalkboard to me at the beginning. That guy screeching whatever it is that he's saying just makes me want to throw something at the TV.

[cpcathy]

On ‎8‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 11:59 AM, proserpina65 said:

I don't know if this is unpopular, but I had to express it: I'd never heard of Bishop Briggs before I heard her cover of Never Tear Us Apart, and I really wish I'd still never heard of her.  Her original stuff didn't thrill me when I heard it, but that cover is a crime against humanity.

I saw her live and her voice is really great.

[WendyCR72]

On 2/4/2018 at 9:36 PM, 27bored said:

So, Timberlake just performed on the Super Bowl and it was...pretty wack, actually.

Yes, I know this was quoted from back in February. But I found the halftime show from U2 in 2002, so shortly after 9/11. Still think it was one of the best, even if it is now cool to hate Bono/the band. That's my UO!