Trollheart's Hate List

Trollheart · 11-08-2019, 06:45 PM

I suppose we all - or most of us - have a hate list, music we really don’t like and would or will probably never listen to. I’m not ignorant enough (at least, not any more) to say something is **** just because I don’t like it, and I generally like to be able to speak on some small authority on a subject - music very definitely included - before I can render an opinion which I feel should be considered. Some genres just don’t resonate with me, though I have made efforts to listen to and understand, and even get into them, various ways. But that’s not what this is about.

This is about artists. Bands, singers, groups I have always hated but never really heard, either nothing at all or beyond their hit singles. So why am I listening to music I freely admit I hate? Am I a masochist? An idiot? Do I have too much time on my hands? Well, probably a little from column A, a little from column B and quite a lot from column C, as it were. In the last few years I’ve tried to challenge my own preconceptions of music, both through gaining a better understanding of it through people’s recommendations and through deliberately straying off the beaten path and into unfamiliar territory, just to see what it’s like.

It seems unfair that I should discount an artist solely on either a) my own prejudices or b) the general opinion against them. So the idea here is to listen to music I hate, or think I hate, or have formed a prejudice against, and see if I was right all along, or if I am being unfair to the artists in question. After all, you really can’t say you hate something if you’ve not explored it in enough depth to be able to make that determination and stand by it. Frownland showed me that with Trout Mask Replica, and while I still don’t like the album, after three listens I’ve already ameliorated my opinion of it. Slightly. So anything is possible if you open your ears, put aside your preconceived notions and just close your eyes and take a running jump off that metaphorical cliff. I said meta - oops. Oh well.

Let it be fully understood: these will NOT be reviews. Not at all. While I will be pushing myself to listen to all - or as much as I can - of each artist’s discography, I will not be talking at length about the album or the tracks. I may mention something that stands out to me, as good or bad, but in general I’ll be giving an overall impression of what the albums sounded like to me and how they affected me - if at all - and at the end deciding whether or not I was right to hate this artist, whether I have changed my mind or had my opinion confirmed.

One more thing: this is NOT a rec thread. Not. None. Zero. I don’t care if you hate a particular artist: this is about me, about the artists I hate, and which I have done for some time, in some cases all my adult life. This is not Love or Hate, it’s just Hate, and it’s for the artists I choose, none other. Of course comment and discussion is as ever invited, but if you rec anything (Batty) it will be ignored.

So, the first artist on my Hate List I’m going to look at is this guy:

God how I hate him! Should I though? Probably, but we'll find out...

Trollheart's Hate List

I'm just going to add artists to this as I think of them. So much hate...

Ed Sheeran
Adele
Taylor Swift
Ellie Goulding
Morrisey
Mariah Carey
Justin Bieber
Jonas Brothers
One Direction
Daniel O'Donnell (if you're Irish, you'll know)

11-08-2019, 06:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Trollheart's Hate List I suppose we all - or most of us - have a hate list, music we really don’t like and would or will probably never listen to. I’m not ignorant enough (at least, not any more) to say something is **** just because I don’t like it, and I generally like to be able to speak on some small authority on a subject - music very definitely included - before I can render an opinion which I feel should be considered. Some genres just don’t resonate with me, though I have made efforts to listen to and understand, and even get into them, various ways. But that’s not what this is about. This is about artists. Bands, singers, groups I have always hated but never really heard, either nothing at all or beyond their hit singles. So why am I listening to music I freely admit I hate? Am I a masochist? An idiot? Do I have too much time on my hands? Well, probably a little from column A, a little from column B and quite a lot from column C, as it were. In the last few years I’ve tried to challenge my own preconceptions of music, both through gaining a better understanding of it through people’s recommendations and through deliberately straying off the beaten path and into unfamiliar territory, just to see what it’s like. It seems unfair that I should discount an artist solely on either a) my own prejudices or b) the general opinion against them. So the idea here is to listen to music I hate, or think I hate, or have formed a prejudice against, and see if I was right all along, or if I am being unfair to the artists in question. After all, you really can’t say you hate something if you’ve not explored it in enough depth to be able to make that determination and stand by it. Frownland showed me that with Trout Mask Replica, and while I still don’t like the album, after three listens I’ve already ameliorated my opinion of it. Slightly. So anything is possible if you open your ears, put aside your preconceived notions and just close your eyes and take a running jump off that metaphorical cliff. I said meta - oops. Oh well. Let it be fully understood: these will NOT be reviews. Not at all. While I will be pushing myself to listen to all - or as much as I can - of each artist’s discography, I will not be talking at length about the album or the tracks. I may mention something that stands out to me, as good or bad, but in general I’ll be giving an overall impression of what the albums sounded like to me and how they affected me - if at all - and at the end deciding whether or not I was right to hate this artist, whether I have changed my mind or had my opinion confirmed. One more thing: this is NOT a rec thread. Not. None. Zero. I don’t care if you hate a particular artist: this is about me, about the artists I hate, and which I have done for some time, in some cases all my adult life. This is not Love or Hate, it’s just Hate, and it’s for the artists I choose, none other. Of course comment and discussion is as ever invited, but if you rec anything (Batty) it will be ignored. So, the first artist on my Hate List I’m going to look at is this guy: God how I hate him! Should I though? Probably, but we'll find out... Trollheart's Hate List I'm just going to add artists to this as I think of them. So much hate... Ed Sheeran Adele Taylor Swift Ellie Goulding Morrisey Mariah Carey Justin Bieber Jonas Brothers One Direction Daniel O'Donnell (if you're Irish, you'll know) __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 11-12-2019 at 09:30 AM.