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"Regrets, I have a few…"
Music fans and critics alike often prematurely dismiss or miss out on important acts because of immaturity or circumstance. Today we talk with LA Times pop music critic Ann Powers about why she missed the boat on artists ranging from David Bowie to Jeff Buckley to the White Stripes. And we take your calls.
Soundcheck Blog: What I Missed: Hank Williams
Weigh in: What music did you miss and later regret?
"On Second Thought: Ann Powers and the Fan Boys" (L.A. Times)
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When the Beastie Boys album "Ill Communication" came out, in 1994, I scoffed at it. I was into industrial music (Pigface, Ministry and Nine Inch Nails). The B-Boys were definately something I listened to as a kid, but not hard core enough for my sophisticated high school music tastes.
I apologize Amy Witzel. You were right. I was wrong. "Ill Communication" is now one of my favorite all-time albums.
i a little new york band called "endless boogie". terrible name if you ask me but one of my favorites now.
I'm embarrassed to admit I jus didn't get Neutral Milk Hotel's "...Aeroplane".... A few years ago I relistened to it...I'm still kicking myself about that "miss".
I declined tickets to see George Clinton & Parliament perform one night many years ago, and when my friend returned from the show, she told me Stevie Wonder had joined them onstage! bummer...
I don't regret never liking the Clash. Even had to sit through seeing them once, so it's not like I never gave it a chance. Great mediocrity there.
i blame my father for missing the sugarcubes, PIL & new order at greatwoods.
he wouldn't let me go out on a school night with my girlfriends.
he was the wet blanket of my social life.
oh yeah, the cure too!
Missed the Beatles, of course, I was not alive, but fortunatley they were an incredible studio band - the sound remains in the recordings that I own today.
My great regret is not delving deeper into Heavy Metal, esp. and notably, thrash--I was intimidated because of my religious upbringing, but always admired its energy and ferocity. I feel like I'm only catching up now listening to things such as Mercyful Fate or Slayer--and I'm in my late 30s.
I completely missed out on the band Morhpine during my HS years. I am 32 now and I was listening to things like G Love, 311 & Fishbone..and I never heard about Morphine until about 5-6 years ago and totally regret not seeing Sandman (who is now deceased) perform. I listen to his music every week..
A few years ago, I had been going to Plaid almost every night, and I finally decided I was "over it" and didn't go when invited by my friends. That was the night Courtney Love gave a surprise performance and ended up hitting a spectator with her microphone. As a die-hard Hole & Courtney Love fan (I played the bass in a Hole coverband called Cakefight), it was the most regrettable decision of my life.
A Tribe Called Quest. My favorite hip hop band now, but when i was younger i was too much into metal.
I had a few opportunities to see Jimi Hendrix and blew it each time. My biggest regret is that a friend of mine and I once saw Taj Mahal at a club and, as we were leaving, saw Hendrix and his entourage entering. I said to my friend, "He's probably going to jam with the band." He agreed. But we were both tired and decided to leave rather than head back into the club. That was a truly dumb move.
Billy Joel sits around listening to his own music?
I'm 43. *I have no regrets*! In my 20s I stayed hip with "New Sounds." I know it's available online, but it occupies a mental timeslot that I now must be asleep. Regrets: The argument is silly, to the extent that we blame the internet. I hear something on a TV show or in a movie, scratch down the lyrics, check them on the 'net, sample the tune, download it. Thus, Elvis Perkins. Ditto Charm School. Belle & Sebastian. Nick Cave's score for THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES. I don't regret having been ignorant of Nick Cave all this time. I'm thrilled to have found him just this year.
I thought they hated most new music and then I discovered the black-eyed peas. This from someone who
boohed Dylan at his electric concert. their songs at times remind me of opera. Go figure.
In high school, I went to see Eliot Smith at a little underaged club called the Meow Meow in Portland, OR. Begging my friends to leave the whole time, I whined, "this guy is so boring I'm falling a sleep." Now I play Rose Parade over and over on rainy nights and wonder how it was possible that I didn't get it before.
I was asked if I wanted to go see the Allman Brothers at the Fillmore (yes, that show), but I thought that they meant the Osmond Brothers. So, I looked at them strange, said, "no thanks", and have never brought it up again until now.....
I was a dj in a small liberal arts school in pennsylvania. There were three shows the night I was djing - Milli Vanilli, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana. Nirvana was unknown and playing at my school at a place that held maybe 100 people. It was about 500 ft from my dorm and I decided to sleep instead of seeing them. They were fairly unknown at the time. Wish I had a time machine!!
When I was still living in Tokyo in 1980s, my sister somehow got the back-stage passes to a Queen concert and invited me to come with her.
I think I was studying for exam or something. I said I can't, and I would join her next time.
Obviously that would have been my last chance, not just to see them from back stage, but the concert itself.
I still think about it and talk to my friends often till this day.
I'm disappointed with the NYC airwaves in general, and public radio in particular, because of its cultural biases as reflected in the music we hear on radio. Some of that is also a reflection of our still racially divided society and the rest is the power structure/ status quo being too arrogant and narrow-minded to allow listeners to determine their taste simply by exposure." World Music" can definitely be a larger genre on WNYC since we always hear its usage on the segue of news stories. I'm waiting for the day when we stop saying "white" and "Black" music and just play what's great in all genres. I can understand commercial radio's desire to play the
'hits', but what's the excuse for what we in NYC, a mosaic of people from all over the globe, hear on WNYC?
When I was in college, I was into heavy/experimental music, and bristled every time my roommate insisted that "Pet Sounds" by the Beach Boys was a brilliant album. I only knew the Beach Boys from their singles that played on the oldies stations, and refused to believe that "Pet Sounds" would be something I'd enjoy. Then one day in the car he forced me to listen to it -- and now it's one of my favorite albums, and its echoes sound in many of the albums I love today by bands like My Morning Jacket, Fleet Foxes and more.
Oh the Clash was one I was going to regret severely, even prior to seeing Will's post! I always lamented never seeing a Grateful Dead show; I did not appreciate the groover music that much and though I visited the migrant village outside the venue, which was a trip, I would have loved to say I had the experience of seeing the show - and the crowd inside - just to say I had. I also have avoided Hank and Johnny Cash; maybe one day I'll finally relent and try them out.
Dirty Three. And I dismissed them solely because of the hipster #$%@s that introduced me to them in Seattle in 2001. Now I listened at least a couple times a week and to all their offshoots. Wasted so much time. Stupid, judgmental me.
These aren't regrets, but I certainly admit missing these late 70s acts, due to my Prog-rock/"regular"-rock biases. I loved Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers Band, Bruce Springsteen, and above all, The Who.
I missed, and came to appreciate:
-Joe Jackson
-Elvis Costello
-The Pretenders
-The entire Nick Lowe/Dave Edmunds crowd.
I have an inverse time to appreciation ratio with Modest Mouse. I hated their early stuff when it came out when I was in college and mocked my good friend Ben who was way ahead on the curve on them. He even tried me to get to go see them with an unheard of band called "The Shins" opening in Providence, RI.
Now, years later, I love "Long Drive..." and "Lonesome Crowded West" and "Building Nothing..." more and more with each listen. Conversely, I always convince myself that I like their new albums when they come out, and like them less and less with time.
I have a regret to share but I also want to point out that I was one of the first of my friends to embrace The Police. When I was a teenager I wandered into a Village record store and they were playing Outlandos D'Amour. I brought it home and played if for my friends and they dismissed it out of hand. I got the last laugh on that one.
I never liked U2. When they first came out I thought the music was far too simple and the guitar was just a bunch of digital echo. I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. I guess I was wrong about that one.
In the 70's, there was a social rebellion against the capitalist marketing of music, so good groups, like the Monkees, were discredited. Other groups, like Grand Funk Railroad, were decidedly "uncool". This confusion continued well into the 70's, when I remember my friend playing Patti Smith's first album and I was thinking that it was incredibly bad. Boy was I confused.
I missed seeing Nirvana in a dive bar in SF because they were the opening band -- we drank beer in the adjacent room until they were finished and the headlining band came out (whoever they were, can't even recall).
How about a--not what sure how to call it--"pre-Regret". Regretting that you never heard of the person/group until after they died. For example:
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (the Hawaiian sensation)
Eva Cassidy
And others.
As a 13-year-old at Interlochen Arts Camp one summer, I had an opportunity to see Aretha Franklin with a full gospel choir. Of course, the only word that stuck out was "gospel," which seemed, to 13-year-old me, to be the last thing I'd want to put myself through . So I sat -- and slept -- through a contemporary wind ensemble performance instead.
Needless to say, as a serious soul/R&B/blues enthusiast for the last 10 years, I've thought many times about what I missed, and how it might have shaped me as a young musician...
I think its interesting how profiles on Myspace and Facebook make us question what is considered hip--and allow us to pretend that we always were listening to the "right" bands... even if we just discovered them yesterday.
We can use music to edit our identity on a minute-to-minute basis just by altering our profiles.
when i was a kid my parents weren't huge fans of Bob Dylan. then i started really listening about three years ago and i'm a huge Dylan fan now at 25. i think with the age of the "ipod" era music is absolutely more accessible to everyone and when i was younger it was hard for me to get my hands on great music.
On my 21st birthday i went to jazzfest in Indianapolis and the final act of the night was delayed several hours so i eventually left because i really wanted to go meet some friends at a bar to celebrate my birthday, shortly after i left Aretha Franklin went on and played an extended set to make up for being so late, when i woke up the next morning missing the show was not the only thing i regretted!
This show has been about people missing opportunities to open themselves up and hear great music. What about bands which have missed the chance to reach their fans? A few years ago I was totally in to the All American Rejects' debut album, but then I saw them at the Roseland Ballroom and they absolutely bombed. Their music somehow wasn't as exciting after that.
I never liked U2. When I first heard them I thought the music was simple and repetitive and the guitar was overly processed, just a bunch of digital echo. I guess I was wrong on that one.
I do want to point out that I was the first of my friends to embrace The Police. I walked into a record store in the Village and they were playing Outlandos D'Amour. I had to have it! I brought it home to my friends and they panned it. I got that one right.
I once sat outside the 9:30 club in DC waiting for my friends who were seeing Joe Strummer play. Even though i have been a clash fan forever, I didn't want to pay the $20 to get in. I was able to hear a lot of the show, but when Strummer died a few months later, I knew I made a big mistake.
While I was a diligent music student at MSM in the late 70's I lived in Soho and always wanted to go to Max's and CBGB's and never did. So I missed the whole NO WAVE movement Sonic Youth, Ramones, Richard Hell, Lydia Lunch, DNA.
9 years ago I met a gal and fell in love who little did I know and only slowly over the last few years learned that I had married one of the founding members of MARS.
Both of my youthful regrets involve, shall we say, illicit substances.
A friend called with a free ticket to see Genesis do _The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway_ somewhere in Manhattan. Having just ingested, I just wanted to stay home and vegetate. I hadn't yet heard the album, wasn't feeling up to theatrics....
Went to see Mahavishnu Orchestra at a very small local venue (maybe 250-seat auditorium), right after _Birds Of Fire_ was released. I overindulged, and just couldn't follow what was going on. I remember very powerful sonic waves passing through my body, I kept reminding myself that Mahavishnu and McLaughlin were supposed to be very good, but I just didn't get it. Soon after and ever since, they became one of my favorites.
Ah, youth.....
grew up in the nyc area. when i was in highschool, which was in the early 90s, i went to shows left & right. rap, grunge, rock, alternative..you name it my friends and I would be game. one day, my friend mentions some grunge band playing at the "marquee" (i think) that i knew very little of and decided to save my allowance for a better show...i think sondgarden was playing roseland. well to my dismay this "grunge" band that the rest of my friends caught was nirvana.
Then there was that time I gave my ticket away...the Red Hot Chili Peppers had just put out Blood Sugar Sex Magic and were playing Roseland with the Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana opening...Ugh.
How about those boppers who arrived just as the Monkees were taking the stage only to have missed the opening act . . . Jimi Hendrix!!!
the iphone has a free program
midomi
open it up, and point it at the radio to find the artist name or song you are CURRENTLY missing
if you miss the chance, but remember 10 seconds worth of the music, you can hum into the iphone and possibly find that way.
(the humming or singing is fun)
In the summer of 1973 it took me over 12 hours to drive from Westchester County to Watkins Glen NY for the (infamous) concert starring the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, and The Band. Traffic was so bad that I didn't arrive until early the next morning - I gave up trying to find my friends who had promised to meet me there - so I just sat down - right on top of them. By the time the show started, 24+ sleepless hours caught up with me, and I ended up sleeping through the ENTIRE show, until the next morning, when I woke up - in the rain.
Nice Morrissey story, Ms. Powers, thanks for confirming my worst suspicions about mainstream-media music critics (i.e., that they are deeply uncool people with taste just a tiny notch above that of their fratty meathead friends).
ANYHOW, my biggest musical regret is being too young to appreciate my stepsister's extensive collection of Bowie on vinyl. She was/is older than me and I just wasn't ready to get it, and these days we don't live near each other and aren't really close. I'm thinking of asking her if she still has all those albums . . .
Way back in '73, at an oversold packed, and ultimately(for me!), free Georgetown U. George Benson concert, I boohed a solo Benson whose band and stage equiptment had missed a flight.
I was a jazz aficionado and really loved Benson's first release, "Beyond the Blue Horizon"- I didn't appreciate his singing at the time! George Benson stopped the performance and invited me onstage to show me his impression of Mohammed Ali beating up George Frazier- I sheepishly declined.
What a lame and superficial topic this is. So what if your weren't "hip" enough to "dig" or know about a musical act the first time around? The CDs, records, tapes, whatever are still here and you can go and listen to them now or at whatever point you're ready, if ever. Everything can't appeal to everyone at the same time. Some music can only be appreciated after a person has gone through certain experiences or reached a certain age, etc. There are zillions upon zillions upon zillions of songs out there. And if you never "get" a particular one, the world still won't come to an end and you're not necessarily the poorer for it.
For the Girl who missed out on the sugarcubes, Pil and New Order concert...here is a link to the concert that I went to back in the day at:
http://www.vimeo.com/3525706
I was somewhere there in the crowd with my girlfriend and friends at the best outdoor ampitheatre in the world! Red Rocks!
I remember that concert well and by the time New Order came out to stage, the place was rocking. I miss those carefree days of my youth and whenever they play these types of music, I get a tear in my eye because I know I can never go back to relive my experience but can only hold on to my memories of it.
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