This thread is for music or artists that you wonder why you never listened to until recently. Mine is Iggy and the Stooges. I have several Iggy Pop solo efforts ("The Idiot," "Lust for Life," "Blah Blah Blah"), but never thought about checking out Iggy's earlier stuff with the Stooges until recently. Legs McNeil's chronical of the '70s New York punk scene, "Please Kill Me," was the impetus for my purchase of Iggy and the Stooges' "Raw Power," as Iggy is prominently featured in McNeil's book. Anyway, I absolutely love the CD and will probably get the Stooges' two other albums. Your turn.
I'll have to go for David Bowie on this one. I've avoided his stuff for so long because I just can't stand him as a personality. He comes across on TV as a pretentious nerk and his films make me want to retch. However I started with Hunky Dory and I haven't looked back. His back catalogue being on offer at 3 for £18 hasn't hurt things either. Top 5 so far:- Hunky Dory Low Ziggy Stardust The Lodger Scary Monsters
Nice thread to start.... For me I been a big fan of alt-country or whatever the hell its called...But it wasn't to the re-release of the Mekons Fear and Whiskey that i listened to the Mekons. I always hear them lumped into alt-country grandfathers or something like that, but that album is so much more than that. I been playing it to death (much to my roomates chagrin) and need some more mekons, but I don't know where to start. Maybe thats why I never listened in the first place for so long...
Unrest I remember my friend having a bunch of Unrest 7" back in junior high and just looking at the covers I didn't think I would like them. 10 years later I decide to pick up Perfect Teeth and I love it. I don't know why I didn't before it's the sort of stuff I would like. Pixies too. I didn't like Teenage of the Year that much so I didn't think I would like the Pixies. That was silly.
I got Johnny Cash's "From Folsom Prison" over the weekend and said to my wife, "Why don't I own this man's entire catalogue of music?" Additionally, I got all of Bill Monroe's reissues on the German label, Bear Family Records for my birthday, and it was the same thing, why did it take me so long to get this?
David Byrne - Rei Momo A friend shared this with me about a year ago but it came out in 1989. It's amazing. It has all of the pop sensibilities of The Talking Heads but with a latin groove. Byrne is one talented mofo for being able to so easily shift gears between rock rhythms and latin rhythms while still pumping out the pop. Murf
I like Byrne's latin stuff, but thought I would provide a humorous anecdote about it. I was listening to his version of Maria Lando with a friend from Costa Rica, I asked her what she thought and she said, "The music is good, but his Spanish is terrible...I can't understand much of what he is saying."
This hasn't happened to me in a while but most recently with Book of Love. Probably the only synthpop act with a female singer to really give the "big guns" of the 80s a run for their money. OK, maybe them and Yaz/Alison Moyet. But Book of Love was American! Pretty impressive.
Voi Vod I hadn't thought of them much after hearing Killing Technology, but am very impressed with the recent stuff like Phobos and Negatron. Each album seems to be different.
'Sketches from Spain' is actually a great Jazz album. His most well-known album however, is 'Kind of Blue' (which I believe is the biggest selling Jazz album of all time. Often that's not a good sign when something is the top selling, but here it's justified. It's one of the best Jazz albums ever recorded (Miles Davis- trumpet; Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley- alto sax; John Coltrane- tenor sax; Wynton Kelly- piano; Bill Evans- piano; Paul Chambers- bass; Jimmy Cobb- drums).
My own relevation was a while back when I listened to 'Joy Division'. I was never a huge New Wave fan (mostly because I only knew crappy 80s knock offs). 'New Order' (what Joy Division was before the lead singer/songwriter killed himself never cought my fancy. Joy Division however, is in a class all by itself. I also just got 'Gang of Four' The Peel Sessions.
Bob Dylan. I always lumped myself in the "he's a great songwriter but I'd rather hear other people sing his songs" category, but lately, I've been borrowing his old stuff from my boss (huge Dylan fan). I'm still not entirely sold on his voice, but it's pretty interesting to hear the original versions of some of those songs. Plus, I almost like the lesser-known stuff better.
Wire. Just got "Pink Flag." Great stuff. Never knew that "Strange" was a Wire original (REM covered the song on "Document," and I always thought it was an REM original) Moreover, Elastica blatantly ripped off "Three Girl Rhumba" when they did "Connection."
Marti Jones is an acoustic-style singer married to Don Dixon, who co-produced REM's first EP. I have always loved her first record, Unsophisticated Time, but never got into her second one, Used Guitars. Recently, I decided to put that first record on a tape and put Used Guitars on the extra space. Lo and behold, I discovered that the second one is much better and more timeless than the first one. All these years, it sat on the shelf with little or no listenings and now, I can't get it out of the tape player or off the turntable.
My insertions into this category are as follows: Steely Dan: Got the box set as a gift, liked the singles before, love the whole catalogue now. "Gold Teeth Pt. 2" probably my fave. Nick Drake: What a talent...one of the few things I can thank Volkswagen (and commercial advertising) for. Bryter Later and Pink Moon are incredible albums!! David Gray is another guy I plan on buying more of his music.
You gotta listen to Fun House. I had friends who couldnt stay in the room when it was on, it was so intense.