Music Hurdles

Seems like there's been a fair amount of music talk in various threads so, here's a home for Music Hurdles. I don't have many musical "nerd" hurdles myself. But there is a genre I'm quite into which I do NOT mention conversation too often. In fact, if someone askes me what's on my iPod and one of these tracks is on, I might even lie.

The genre is 90s gangsta rap. Love it as I do, I cringe at the thought of people knowing that's what I'm listening too. Even more than if I were listening to hair-metal (which I don't, actually) or gay disco-pop (which I sure as hell do).

I find myself in that exact same boat! I'd never thought about it before now, but yeah, since getting bored with rap (round about 1998) I've been embarrassed to be associated with it in any way. I have been secretly revisiting it lately. Some is still good. (Used to and still do love "Brokin English") Some is DIRE (Spice 1. Used to love it but now find it soooo boring!!) .I don't go out of my way to broadcast this interest and my ipod is set to never play my hip-hop in a shuffle. As a teen I would play it loud and proud, now it only goes on if I'm using headphones. Weird one that!

I think the most pressing question I have for you Jakob is, Biggie or 2pac?

I'm basically the same though, in that I don't have any musical hurdles myself. I'll give anything a listen once and if I think its shit, it won't be because of its genre.

I do get lambasted by my friends for the odd songs I have on my iPod though. This is my 3rd most played song on my iPod



and I get a lot of flak for it. And then there is a bagpipe version of Amazing Grace and other random stuff like the Knight Rider theme.

The weirdest thing I found on my ipod is a Star Wars blaster shot. 2 seconds long. I haven't a clue where it came from, and I haven't the heart to delete it. (and when Mrs Studfarm starts bending my ear over something, I sometimes point my fingers at her in a gun stylee and play my blaster shot...but only behind her back without her knowledge....chicken..me?!!)

2Pac, I have no time for Biggie. Ice Cube and NWA are more my speed. I suppose when I said 90s, I meant late-80s.

Jakob wrote:2Pac, I have no time for Biggie. Ice Cube and NWA are more my speed. I suppose when I said 90s, I meant late-80s.

YES! Biggie is alright, but 2Pac was easily the best of the genre. Says someone who wasn't alive for a lot of it.

Jakob wrote:2Pac, I have no time for Biggie. Ice Cube and NWA are more my speed. I suppose when I said 90s, I meant late-80s.

Unreal. NWA's greatest hits is one of the most-played albums in my collection. Like you, I don't make a big deal of my interest in that period of rap music -- I don't listen to anything newer than, say, Tone-Loc. There's another guilty pleasure. Anyway, the minute I heard the line "Me and Lorenzo, rolling in the Benz-0," I was hooked for life.

Another musical hurdle for me was the Cure and the Smiths and other British bands from that period. As gothy as I was in my teens, those types of bands were considered, in my hickish home town, to be "gay" on a level with Culture Club. So I had to hide my passion for their music; stupid, I know, but it made sense at the time. Sometimes, you would see me in the K-Car with my pals, Def Leppard blasting loudly, but secretly, I would be wishing it was Siouxsie.

I understand. I hid my Duran Duran love for many a year. Not until the late nineties when I could pass it off as an ironic nostalia trip. One that had me buying Japanese pressings of the Nite Romantics EP. I don't think my irony beard was working there. But really, I just love 'em. Strangely, I never hid my Pet Shop Boys obsession. Perhaps because it was too strong.

On a side note, I started listening to metal because I got tired of being called "fag" on the schoolgrounds.

I've only recently overcome the nerd hurdle of metal. I still think the vast majority of it is cheesy and obnoxious, but thanks to bands like Earth, Krallice, and Harvey Milk, I'm much more open to bands in the genre.

Jonnyboy that recording of Ave Maria is ace and I think you should ignore your friends when they give you a hard time. I love hearing great recordings of things like that...and I'm a bit of a nerd in how I like to try and sing some of that stuff too even if I'm not very good. I personally love musicals and have gotten a lot of shit over ahving many a soundtrack on my comptuer and ipod like they are the only things I listen to when it's very much not.

For me, my own real hurdle with music is rap and anytime a singer decides to ruin a perfectly good song by deciding to show off their range with a ton of "ooOOoo's." I'm looking at you Whitney Houston!

Sissillie wrote:
For me, my own real hurdle with music is rap and anytime a singer decides to ruin a perfectly good song by deciding to show off their range with a ton of "ooOOoo's." I'm looking at you Whitney Houston!

I so agree with you, Sissillie. It's nice to hear that a singer can warble like a rooster with Parkinson's, but how about showing that you can actually hold a note for more than a millisecond.

Mostly I don't care for rap but old school and the east coast/west coast years hold a special place in my heart.

Ultact wrote:Mostly I don't care for rap but old school and the east coast/west coast years hold a special place in my heart.

I don't own any hip-hop past when they drafted the sampling laws and everything changed. From Dre's The Chronic onwards, I have no interest. Aside for a little bit of the Anticon stuff from about ten years ago. But I don't feel the need to acquire any.

Not even MF DOOM, Jakob?

I haven't really been exposed enough.

The Beatles are a massive hurdle for me. Revolver is alright, I canne get into any of their other stuff. I don't really have anything else to say about them than that.

The Fab Bore are more than a hurdle for me. I don't know if it's a case of those songs being overplayed my whole life or if I just hate McCartney's songs. I can't even tell. About half of Revolver and a spot of White Album here and there is all I can handle as well. And even then...

Hayden_Bloom wrote:The Beatles are a massive hurdle for me. Revolver is alright, I canne get into any of their other stuff. I don't really have anything else to say about them than that.

Every Beatles song 've heard, I've really like, but I just have absaloutley no idea where to start
I've the same problem with the Rolling Stones.

With The Stones I would say go for either Beggers Banquet, Let It Bleed or Exile on Main St as the album to start with. My personal favorite is Let It Bleed, simply due to its length and funkyness, but BB has the iconic Sympathy for the Devil and Let It Bleed has my favorite Stones track, and Marty Scorsese's too, Gimme Shelter. Take a lucky dip and go from there I think.

Hayden_Bloom wrote:With The Stones I would say go for either Beggers Banquet, Let It Bleed or Exile on Main St as the album to start with. My personal favorite is Let It Bleed, simply due to its length and funkyness, but BB has the iconic Sympathy for the Devil and Let It Bleed has my favorite Stones track, and Marty Scorsese's too, Gimme Shelter. Take a lucky dip and go from there I think.

I'll go for whichever's cheapest

Her Majestie's Satanic Service as well is a good place for the Stones.

I've just realised that my previous statement of having no music hurdles is bull. I have one, so far, and he goes by the name of Morrissey. I just can't listen to any of his stuff, be that his solo stuff or The Smiths. Well, the exception being This Charming Man. I think the dude just scares me.



Me = Scared.

And I do ignore my friends Sissillie haha If I'm ever in a bad mood, which is probably quite often, I just stick Ave Maria on and the bad feelings melt away.

Oddly, that's the picture I have blown up on my cubicle wall.

The Beatles were a hurdle for me for a long time...mostly because my Mom would play mostly McCarthy songs a lot and I just couldn't get into them, now I think they are Ok.

Roundapanda wrote:

Hayden_Bloom wrote:The Beatles are a massive hurdle for me. Revolver is alright, I canne get into any of their other stuff. I don't really have anything else to say about them than that.

Every Beatles song 've heard, I've really like, but I just have absaloutley no idea where to start
I've the same problem with the Rolling Stones.

I'd say go with Let It Bleed for the Stones. It was my second Stones album (after Shine A Light - weird way to start, I know), and it's still my favourite.