Music you can’t stand

[Pedaldog.]

Anything with a ukulele or banjo.

I can find the Ignore button but where's the "Kick Inna Fork" button?
Try the Ukulele orchestra of Great Britain on Youtube.  "Teenage Dirtbag" is a Fave' of mine.

[Wowbagger]

I'm really not at all keen on John Rutter's music, which puts me in a minority in our choir, I think. I once described it as "Disney in church", to the amusement of our conductor - who I think is inclined to agree with me, but realises that he's not in a position to do so publicly without upsetting other choir members.

Some jazz is very good. It's amazing how Bach invented almost everything that's good about music, and Jacques Loussier milked this well. I think it's the 2-part invention in A minor whose left hand part, in the final 8 bars, is pure jazz - remarkable for a piece written around 1720, give or take a bit.

I don't think there's a great deal of music I really can't stand - unless it's something banal that's played ad nauseam, which I'm afraid tends to apply to a lot of pop music when it in vogue. Something like "The Birdie Song" or "Viva l'Espana" when heard more than once a decade do tend to grate rather. I'm quite capable of totally ignoring a lot of music.

I'm not keen on what (in my ignorance) I'll describe as "Italian-style brass bands" because I know how wonderful some of the colliery/industry bands from Oop Noorth can sound.

If music is good (read Zoltan Kodaly for a definition of what constitutes "good" music) then I think it's very possible to train yourself to like it. I don't think I know anyone who liked beer at the first attempt, but it's worth persevering. When I was doing A level, one of our set works was Bela Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste, which definitely took a lot of getting used to, but I'm a great fan of Bartok now. I think he's my favourite 20th century composer, and I'd sooner listen to his music than that of Stravinsky, say, even though the latter is held in higher regard by most musicians.

I rather like opera, but you have to suspend disbelief for most of the plots, which are utter bollocks. Some of it is absolutely superb, and anyone who remains unmoved by "Soave sia il vento" from Cosi fan Tutte has no soul. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_0FHyF3Pyk&ab_channel=Glyndebourne

[Cudzoziemiec]

I'm not keen on anything played on the recorder, even when I went to a recital by someone who was some sort of national grandmaster type recorder player. "Very restricted tonal register." But by the same token, I haven't listened to much recorder music so I'm sure there's something out there by someone I'd like.

[ElyDave]

One of the first classical cds i bought was Barton Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste, after hearing a snippet somewhere, I still love that

[Wowbagger]

I'm not keen on anything played on the recorder, even when I went to a recital by someone who was some sort of national grandmaster type recorder player. "Very restricted tonal register." But by the same token, I haven't listened to much recorder music so I'm sure there's something out there by someone I'd like.

Try Brandenburg Concerto no 4. (Mr. Bach, of course).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSZJ__GIbms&ab_channel=NetherlandsBachSociety

The Netherlands Bach Society are absolutely first rate.

Edit:

Shit. I just read this in the comments below the video:

For those who don't know about the story behind Bach's Brandenburg concertos.  In 1721, Bach composed six “concertos for various instruments”. He dedicated them to a German nobleman and sent the manuscript as a gift, hoping to land a job as the court composer in Brandenburg.  The nobleman never replied. Bach eventually took another job in Leipzig, where he lived for the rest of his life.  Bach had send his original and there were no copies.  The 6 concertos were lost for 130 years.  They were never performed. The manuscript was eventually sold for about $20 and shelved in a library.  The Brandenburg Concertos sat there until 1849, when they were discovered and published for the first time.  Thank god.

I didn't know that. The Brandenburgs are right up there amongst the finest music ever.

And from Wikipedia:

The manuscript was nearly lost in World War II, when being transported for safekeeping to Prussia by train in the care of a librarian. The train came under aerial bombardment, and the librarian escaped from the train to the nearby forest, with the scores hidden under his coat.

Another quote from below the video:

It’s odd to think that the Brandenburg Concertos went from essentially being forgotten and stuffed into a junk drawer for over a century to being fired into deep space as an example of the best that humanity has to offer.

[Mr Larrington]

I forgot to mention his Bobness, great songwrite, should have left the singing to others

His Bobness is indeed mostly a terrible (“a voice like sand and glue” according to David Bowie) but I have a soft spot for early-2000s Growly Bob.

[Jaded]

I, too, have a soft spot for Dylan.

Reading the thread, I think this hits a lot of spots.

[T42]

Mahler drives me round the effing twist - sounds like music from a 1950s B film.

[T42]

and I've had Strong Feelings about bagpipes since I was about 6 months old.

I used to come home from work, open the front door and hear Scotland the Brave blasting out, turn round and go and sit in my car for a bit.

Shakes Head
Mutters Sassenachs
Shakes Head again and wanders off
Returns to make a statement

There's bagpipe music, and people imitating the strangling of cats through the Bagpipe medium.

Wanders off again

The evening after we finished our yearly exams at Edinburgh a bunch of us got duly pissed, a chum fetched his pipes and marched with half a dozen of us through one of the university reading rooms where folk were still swotting.  That was fun.

[ian]

I used to live on Union Street, Edinburgh and every Saturday morning prompt at 9am, a bagpipe wielding busker would start-up outside the Playhouse to extort money from anyone with ears.

Every Saturday morning.

I don't think they've yet found his body, but if anyone dredges Leith Water we might be in trouble.

[Kim]

Bagpipes are weapons of war, and I have no problem when they're used appropriately.  Giving a homophobic preacher Amazing Grace at point-blank range, sort of thing.

[pcolbeck]

https://youtu.be/nULs4JW3tPI

Bagpipes can be brilliant.

[Cudzoziemiec]

https://youtu.be/nULs4JW3tPI

Bagpipes can be brilliant.

!!!  !!!

[John Stonebridge]

I used to live on Union Street, Edinburgh and every Saturday morning prompt at 9am, a bagpipe wielding busker would start-up outside the Playhouse to extort money from anyone with ears.

Every Saturday morning.

I don't think they've yet found his body, but if anyone dredges Leith Water we might be in trouble.

I used to work in West Register Street Edinburgh 1997 - 2001 and every weekday from May to Sep a group of panpipe feckers would start up nearby playing and trying to sell CDs.

They had only a limited repertoire (3 different songs iirc) with El Condor Pasa / If I could being the most frequently played and the most irritating.   

[Nuncio]

I'm a great fan of Bartok now. I think he's my favourite 20th century composer, and I'd sooner listen to his music than that of Stravinsky, say, even though the latter is held in higher regard by most musicians.

A large proportion of the revision I did for my finals I had Bartok with me, and more often than not his 44 violin duos. Plaintive, plangent, undemanding - perfect background music. But that's off-thread so my on-thread contribution will be: Power ballads.

[Pedaldog.]

When I lived on Wardour Street I worked late and hated that the local places with outside speakers would Crank out "West End Girls" at speaker cracking volume every 20 minutes, along with a VERY restricted playlist.  I've watched the PSB's in concert and it's a pretty spectacular performance but, other than that, I HATE th song.

[Pingu]

When I lived on Wardour Street I worked late and hated that the local places with outside speakers would Crank out "West End Girls" at speaker cracking volume every 20 minutes, along with a VERY restricted playlist.  I've watched the PSB's in concert and it's a pretty spectacular performance but, other than that, I HATE th song.

Dust off and nuke it from orbit as Paul Weller said*



*OK, maybe not.

[phantasmagoriana]

Highland bagpipes are horribly raucous. There's nothing quite like the sound of a massed bagpipe band practising outside your door on a Sunday morning when the World Pipe Band Championships are on.

Other types of bagpipes can actually sound quite nice, though.

[phantasmagoriana]

Thought of another one: musicals! Anything by Andrew Lloyd-Webber in particular.

[T42]

Then there's this fellow:

https://youtu.be/aGRchzraw-w

[Auntie Helen]

Thought of another one: musicals! Anything by Andrew Lloyd-Webber in particular.

Yes, except for the Sound of Music. That’s the only musical I can tolerate.

[Woofage]

Thought of another one: musicals!

Tommy's pretty good. I expect there are others.

My votes go for:
- country music
- Reg Dwight (after 1973 ish, before that he was excellent IMO)
- Harry Webb

[andrewc]

I've only seen the film version of West Side Story once as a smol person, and can still remember it, something that sticks in your mind like that can't be all bad. 


Having read Isherwoods stories I'd be quite tempted by this,  (If I could get to London), then I checked the ticket prices      https://petermkennedy.com/review-cabaret-kit-kat-club-playhouse-theatre-london/

[drgannet]

Just about any Christmas popular music. Usually no musical merit whatsoever.

[Kim]

Thought of another one: musicals! Anything by Andrew Lloyd-Webber in particular.

My take on musicals is that they're like horror films: Quite good fun when you're involved in making them, but not something I'm keen on watching.