Unpopular Opinions - Music Edition

[VirginiaHamilton]

(I'm surprised there isn't a thread on this yet.)

Anywho...

While I think Eminem is a good MC (not nearly as great as he's been hyped up to be, nor as terrible as some make him out to be due to racial politics), I have no idea why he is still popular. His music hasn't been fresh since The Eminem Show (where a few cracks were already starting to show)/8 Mile.

While Billie Holiday's life story was a very compelling and tragic one, her voice is hard on my ears. I've tried to give her a chance many times since both jazz purists and music critics have hailed her voice as one of the best of all time, but I can't get over the lack of melody in her voice.

Speaking of jazz purists, I prefer to listen to smooth jazz over actual jazz (whether it'd be classic or contemporary). Though I'm well aware that smooth jazz is jazz's equivalent to Lite-FM music, it is simply easier on my ears than the aimless melodies that "real" jazz musicians compose "for art's sake".

Not only do I believe that Biggie was a better rapper than 'Pac, I'll go further by stating that the only reason why the latter is revered more than the former is because he makes a sexier corpse. (As does Kurt Cobain, in my opinion.)

Contrary to the popular belief that today's dance popularity is a retread of what was going on in music 20 years ago, the difference between the dance music of the late 80s-early 90s and the dance music of today is that the former actually had soul while the latter has none.

[DRW50]

I think many would agree with you there. I think it can both be a retread and lack soul.

My UO - I don't like the Rolling Stones. I never have. I can tolerate a few of their songs, but mostly I think they were only popular because of the image of ugly (ie, nonthreatening) guys spending years on binges and nailing all the hot babes.

[VirginiaHamilton]

I mention that it is an UO because one of the arguments in today's dance music's favor is that this is the same exact musical trend that went on two decades ago.

As for the Rolling Stones, I, too, have never gotten their appeal, as their music simply lacks any flavor for me.

On the flip side, though I do prefer The Beatles to the Rolling Stones (in spite of them being guilty of the same thing - cultural appropriation), I believe that they are far better songwriters than they ever were as singers.

[DRW50]

I think a lot of people see it as a knockoff of that era but would never say it's as good as that era. That music pulls you in instantly. Today, when I hear "Firework" or "Moos Like Jagger", or whatever, it just seems like a lot of jumping up and down.

[Skin]

That's not an unpopular opinion, I think most people would agree with that.

[beebs]

I never have, nor will I ever get the appeal of Usher. All I see when I look at that man is a odd-looking homophobe with abs, and I STILL say that Confessions was basically 8701 re-recorded with less melody and an extra song that had no bass and lots of fingersnaps (Yeah!).

Also, Drake sounds like Craig David when he sings. No one believes me, but I dare you to listen to them back to back and try to tell the difference.

[DRW50]

I don't think Faith Hill can sing and I have always found her very offputting to watch.

[VirginiaHamilton]

Really? Because I've heard people praise Paul McCartney and George Harrison's singing all the time.

[VirginiaHamilton]

Other UO:

I thought that Jewel was overrated as hell, as her eighth-grade poetry songwriting and her yodeling wasn't worth the hoopla that she'd received.

I prefer Janet Jackson over Michael Jackson because I preferred her music and was able to connect with her in a way that I wasn't with the intangible MJ.

I love Whitney's pop shlock because that's the Whitney that I knew and was introduced to as a little kid.

Even though he hasn't a stateside hit since I was in elementary school, I truly believe that George Michael is one of the best male singers-songwriters in my lifetime.

I never got the appeal of John Legend, as he reminds me of a crooning George Jefferson. Why people have hyped him up as this generation's Nat King Cole is beyond me.

Speaking of Nat King Cole, I believe that he is a superior singer to Frank Sinatra.

Although my opinion of him as a person is lower than dirt, I still believe that Brian McKnight is an underrated songwriter.

Despite my not being a fan of her personal antics or her last album, a part of me is hoping that Alicia Keys can prove me wrong about her being a two-album trick pony.

Although I loathe the Wack Eyed Peas and think that Will.I.Am is the worst kind of sellout, I can't deny that he can produce a song (i.e.: Estelle's American Boy).

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Aretha Franklin isn't all she cracked up to be as a vocalist and performer. She over-sings to the point where the song is no longer understandable or emotionally responsive.

[xtr]

I am glad that this thread was started. Here is a lot of my unpopular opinions about music.

I don't really care much for Madonna or Prince, even though I understand the impact they have made on music and pop culture. I do like "Manic Monday" that Prince wrote for the Bangles and Madonna has had a lot of catchy songs, but I've never really been a fan of either artist.

I actually prefer the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones to the Beatles. I don't care a whole lot for the Beatles. Though I do like Paul McCartney as a person and am glad that he is still doing his thing. I do like "Silly Love Songs".

I don't care for Eminem, Jay Z, Little Wayne or Diddy as Rappers. I do like Nas, TI, Drake, Snoop Dogg, Outkast and other rappers/rap groups including some from the 90's and 80's. The only song I've ever really liked by Diddy was "Hello, Good Morning" and one of the reasons for that is because I liked how he dances when he performs that song live.

I think that Toni Braxton is one of the more underrated R&B divas. She's always had a nice voice and was super cute when she first came out. She had some nice jams.

I like Joe better than R Kelly, (even before the sex tape stuff came out about R.Kelly). Joe's album "All that I am" is one of my favorite R&B albums. Joe should have had a bigger career, IMO.

I liked Cee-lo better when he was apart of Goodie Mob than when he was apart of Gnarls Barkley. I also prefer him with Goodie Mob over him as a solo artist.

I don't care much for Norah Jones music. I don't care much for John Legend's music either.

I've never cared for the Black Eyed Peas, but think they were more unique when Fergie wasn't apart of the group. IMO "Joints and Jam" is more unique than anything they've done with Fergie.

I didn't care much for Alicia Keys's song "Fallin". I didn't care a whole lot for her debut album "Songs in A Minor" though it was a big success for her.

I think that almost everything Outkast put out before "Speakerboxx/The Love Below" was better than those two albums. But I was glad when Outkast finally got a lot of mainstream success.

I wasn't crazy about Hanson when they first came out, but I've since come to realize that they are legitimate music artists/musicians/songwriters. It seems like they were nice young boys who grew into nice men.

I liked JC Chasez better than Justin Timberlake when N'sync was together, though I was never a big fan or N'sync or Backstreet Boys. I have never really cared for Justin Timberlake. Though I do think that Backstreet boys was the better boy band of the two. And the best boy band of the 90's. I also liked a little of 98° music.

I think that Country music has a lot more musical diversity in it, than a lot of other music genres do. I think there are a lot of interesting artists and things going on musically in the Country genre right now.

[VirginiaHamilton]

Other music UOs:

As much as I admire him as a person for what he stands for, I have never understood the appeal of Bruce Springsteen as an artist.

I don't think that Chic (and Nile Rodgers/the late Bernard Edwards/the late Tony Thompson, for that matter) got nearly enough credit for revolutionizing pop music.

The last teenybopper singer that was truly impressive was Tevin Campbell. As much as I do like Usher, neither he, nor Justin Timberlake, or their Disneyfied/106-and-Park descendants can touch him.

Perhaps it is because that music was some of the first that I remember hearing as a kid, but I loved Whitney Houston's white-washed pop music. While I enjoy her R&B music just the same, I think it is a testament to her talent that she was able to breathe life into songs that may have sunk under a lesser singer.

Marvin Gaye's Here My Dear is one of the most underrated albums of all time. I know that he'd purposely went out of his way for it to not sound commercially successful as a fvck you to his ex-wife, but I still think of it as an innovative piece of work with no defined beginning, middle, or end.

[All My Shadows]

~ Can't stand the Beatles's singing. Good songwriters, definitely, but Lennon sounds like a creeper and McCartney sounds like a senile old man.

~ I have little to no use for most of the "big" rock bands from the 1960s-1990s. Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Queen, CCR, Pink Floyd, and on and on and on and on. I respect the popularity and success they've had for decades, but they're not for me.

~ IDK if this is unpopular, but the 1970s were truly the greatest decade of music. Pop, soul, disco, country, etc. Everybody was doing work.

~ I love current music and will defend it to death. Britney, Rihanna, Beyonce, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, etc.

~ The Sinatra/Bing Crosby style of crooning does nothing for me and never really has.

~ Elvis does nothing for me.

~ Taylor Swift sounds like [!@#$%^&*] and her songs are immature.

~ Boy bands make the world just a little brighter.

~ I don't care for hardcore rap, but it has some of the most passionate lyrics ever written.

[DRW50]

Nothing against Bruno Mars but I really don't care for that "Just the Way You Are" song. It sounds like a greeting card ad recorded in a bathroom.

I have never really understood the appeal of Bob Dylan, aside from some powerful lyrics for the 60's.

Country music has lost its soul and sense of fun, and is just full of posers like Blake Shelton and John Rich.

I have some pathological apathy towards the most known songs of artists I enjoy. The media often talks about Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" - don't like that song very much. Fleetwood Mac's big known song was "Don't Stop" - I think that song is kind of a thrown together mess. Not a fan of Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" or "Behind These Hazel Eyes."

I never thought Ricky Martin was hot or talented. He has a nice face, that's about it.

[All My Shadows]

"Just the Way You Are" is definitely a syrupy sweet ballad. I like it, but it's not my favorite, and I can totally understand why one wouldn't like it at all.

I completely agree with you on country music. I was actually gonna put something along those lines on my list, but couldn't find the right way to word it. A lot of people believe country is currently on a creative upswing, but I guess I just don't see it or feel it. What I love about 60s-80s country is how the content of the songs were universal and could appeal to everyone, not just the "country audience." They had twists to them that made them "country," but the lyrics weren't so particular. Country of the 60s-70s was also very very similar to soul and R&B of the same era, which is something you definitely could not say at all about either genre currently.