I bought an album recently ($10 - thanks JB) in the hope, and with the assumption that I would like it. The album is Ryan Adams' (Ryan, not Bryan) Rock n Roll and I don't really like it. I don't know much about Ryan, only that he's critically acclaimed and that he's a little bit alt/country. My research has found that this is not one of his best albums (according to general consensus) and it's a strictly rock n roll album (I thought the title might have been ironic). I do like rock n roll music, of course (I'm pretty trigger-happy with the brackets, aren't I?).
So, in a Dutch attempt to save $10, and just because I've bought it, I'm determined to force myself to like this album. I think, if I listen to it enough, it will grow on me. I'm going to keep a little diary of my sessions with Ryan, which I'll post on here. My goal is to like this album by the end of the year.
Has anyone else managed to force themselves to like an album or are my efforts in vain?
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The first album I bought was Pink Floyd's The Wall.
I was flush with cash, and I went into a record store (as they were called then, kids), eager to get something representative of 'rock and roll'. I'd vaguely heard of The Wall, so I bought it, came home, put it on, and was massively disapointed.
What was this shit? Because I had paid 20 bucks though I kept listening, and in the end I really did like it. Do you think our musical tastes are shaped by the random music we first listen to?
Much later I also bought a Ryan Adams album, tried to like it, and failed.
I knew I loved Bjork's music. I got given a voucher. I bought Medulla because I knew and loved 'Who is it'.
The album is so unorthodox that on the first listen it made me feel physically ill and a little bit angry.
I kept listening and now I really like it.
Nikki insisted that she hated it for years. She now admits she likes it too.
I could never like The Stone Roses no matter how hard I tried.
"Do you think our musical tastes are shaped by the random music we first listen to?"
I'm sure there's an element of truth to that. But not completely. My musical taste is totally different to when I was younger. I suppose the random stuff we listen to in our youth, gets the ball rolling.
Bjork is an aquired taste (and so is Pink Floyd to some extent). I wonder if the same applies to Ryan Adams...
Mikey, I just visualised you throwing up, listening to Medulla. Hilarious image!
I'm going to save you a whole lot of time and say: No. No, you're not going to like it.
Ryan Adams can be relied upon to put someone to sleep. That's about it. A couple of my friends who have perpetrated Mr Adams upon me know exactly my feelings on this issue. Ryan Adams = boring = sleep.
In the olden days, buying an album was a risk because you would have only heard 1 or maybe 2 songs from the album on the radio, if it was a current popular band. The rest of the album could turn out to be quite different and not so good. But now you can have a preview of all the songs on itunes store or whatever.
Thanks for the tip Angus. I'm beginning to suspect that no one likes Ryan Adams - he just has a contract with record stores to stock and promote his CDs.
And yeah, Ant, I could easily have previewed the album on itunes or something... but at the time I felt like taking a risk.
A guy in my community group has a serious man-crush on Ryan Adams. Maybe it's a uni-student thing?
My saying that is probably NOT going to help you in your quest to like the album. Hm...
No that didn't help at all!
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