Favorite lyrics that open an album - Music

Guest

Mother Nature's Son wrote:

I respect that you don't like "Imagine", but I often get the impression that you hate, let's say 9 out of 10 albums/songs/bands/etc.. Just think it's sad how much great music you miss out. Do you ever like a simple pop song? And is cheesiness always a bad thing?

With constructive I meant that how much you dislike a song (or like for that matter) doesn't say much. It'd be nice to hear why you think it's so bad. That would definitely be a more fun discussion.

a) I think my taste is pretty wide-ranging. I often talk excitedly about the music I like here, you're clearly not looking hard enough.
b) I like lots of "simple pop songs". My favourite Beatles album is Please Please Me. I love '90s and early '00s R'n'B, and if you look at my chart you'll find lots of albums that could be described as "simple pop".
c) Cheesiness is not always a bad thing, but when it's as saccharine as 'Imagine' I find it quite hard to stomach.
d) I dislike 'Imagine' for a number of reasons. For a start, it's a stupid utopian vision of a world that I am far too cynical to believe is remotely possible or will ever come close to fruition. I have no problem with "imagining" this world, but why would I want to? Bob Dylan wrote countless better songs about the state of society without resorting to the level of cliche involved in this song. Musically the song does nothing for me. It's boring, it's obvious, it's aimed at a mass market. Lennon is attempting to critique society whilst at the same time trying to involve everyone. It's like a fucking hymn. It's preachy and horrible and I fucking hate it.
e) I hope that was fun for you.

pearljammer13

Young Pilgrim

Gender: Male

Age: 38

Location: Massachusetts

I guarantee you've heard the song "Waterfalls". That's TLC's most famous song.

Mother Nature's Son

Gender: Male

Age: 32

lethalnezzle wrote:

a) I think my taste is pretty wide-ranging. I often talk excitedly about the music I like here, you're clearly not looking hard enough.
b) I like lots of "simple pop songs". My favourite Beatles album is Please Please Me. I love '90s and early '00s R'n'B, and if you look at my chart you'll find lots of albums that could be described as "simple pop".
c) Cheesiness is not always a bad thing, but when it's as saccharine as 'Imagine' I find it quite hard to stomach.
d) I dislike 'Imagine' for a number of reasons. For a start, it's a stupid utopian vision of a world that I am far too cynical to believe is remotely possible or will ever come close to fruition. I have no problem with "imagining" this world, but why would I want to? Bob Dylan wrote countless better songs about the state of society without resorting to the level of cliche involved in this song. Musically the song does nothing for me. It's boring, it's obvious, it's aimed at a mass market. Lennon is attempting to critique society whilst at the same time trying to involve everyone. It's like a fucking hymn. It's preachy and horrible and I fucking hate it.
e) I hope that was fun for you.

That was clearly better. I can see your point about its doubleness and it is undeniable a very naive song. If you like the music, which you in this case don't, you can interpret it as you want, I think. When I hear the song I listen more specifically to lines such as "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one". Isn't it true, that we're all dreamers, we all dream about a better world or maybe just about a better life? The music is very straightforward, yes, but that's what makes it so powerful (for me). It's probably also why others, like you, can hate it so much.

Quite funny that your favourite Beatles album is "Please Please Me", since it's my least favourite (Yellow Submarine tops it). Maybe it's because of how "lo-fi" it is. I think it's a great example of why we disagree so much on this forum! Smile

_________________
"The Beatles, the greatest band known to mankind." - Bismah Mughal

ButterThumbz

I always used to wonder if she wore false ears

Gender: Male

Age: 54

Location: O'er the hills and far away

Imagine is just one of those divisive songs. People either love or hate it's naivety.

Guest

Mother Nature's Son wrote:

Quite funny that your favourite Beatles album is "Please Please Me", since it's my least favourite (Yellow Submarine tops it). Maybe it's because of how "lo-fi" it is. I think it's a great example of why we disagree so much on this forum! Smile

Yeah, it may well be the lo-fi element. I really like The White Album and Revolver too, but there's just something rawer about Please Please Me that resonates with me. The funny thing is that it's probably the naivety of 'Imagine' that turns me off, but it's the naivety of Please Please Me that draws me towards that. I know it's two different types of naivety, but it's the Please Please Me sort of innocence that has always attracted me to albums (the first Orange Juice album, Jonathan Richman, Daniel Johnston etc.). It is probably the same reason that I often dislike calculated "epic" albums like The Wall. And it is certainly a good example of why we disagree so much on here. It's more fun to disagree anyway.

Mother Nature's Son

Gender: Male

Age: 32

lethalnezzle wrote:

Yeah, it may well be the lo-fi element. I really like The White Album and Revolver too, but there's just something rawer about Please Please Me that resonates with me. The funny thing is that it's probably the naivety of 'Imagine' that turns me off, but it's the naivety of Please Please Me that draws me towards that. I know it's two different types of naivety, but it's the Please Please Me sort of innocence that has always attracted me to albums (the first Orange Juice album, Jonathan Richman, Daniel Johnston etc.). It is probably the same reason that I often dislike calculated "epic" albums like The Wall. And it is certainly a good example of why we disagree so much on here. It's more fun to disagree anyway.

As Beatles albums, "The White Album" and "Revolver" are also pretty lo-fi, especially "The White Album". I feel the same way with early Beatles albums, that it's the naivety that makes them interesting, not necessarily because of musical genius.
Very good point that disagreeing is much more fun than agreeing all the time, it can just be very tiring sometimes when people keep talking albums/songs/bands down without arguing properly. I can easily mention a pain-in-the-ass user that does this all the time, but I won't!
_________________
"The Beatles, the greatest band known to mankind." - Bismah Mughal

Mother Nature's Son

Gender: Male

Age: 32

pearljammer13 wrote:

I guarantee you've heard the song "Waterfalls". That's TLC's most famous song.

Yes, I have. But I had no idea who made it or what it was called.
_________________
"The Beatles, the greatest band known to mankind." - Bismah Mughal

reyes2597

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead

I don't bless them
Farewell to this land's cheerless marshes
Hemmed in like a boar between archers
Her very Lowness with a head in a sling
I'm truly sorry - but it sounds like a wonderful thing

The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow

The rain falls hard, on a humdrum town
This town has dragged you down
Oh, the rain falls hard on a humdrum town
This town has dragged you down

Joy Division - Closer

Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist,
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'

The Killers - Hot Fuss

We took a walk that night, but it wasn't the same
We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain
She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go
She couldn't scream while I held her close
I swore I'd never let her go

The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored

I don't have, to sell my soul
He's already in me

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures

I've been waiting for a guide to come and take me by the hand
Could these sensations make me feel the pleasures of a normal man?