LOVE at first sight

[faceless]

every now and then i hear (read!) from members how they HATED a particular album at first listen and then by giving it multiple listens they grow to LOVE it.

honestly that never happened to me. sure, it's possible for me to LIKE a majority of a record in first couple of listens and then OVER THE COURSE OF TIME giving it multiple shots i get to LOVE it as a whole. but trying to get to LOVE an album which i HATE at first, sound kind of mind/taste manipulation to me and besides i don't know how that can even happen!

what you guys think? what's your experiences? examples are very welcomed!

[ButterThumbz]

I can't say I've ever actively attempted to like an album in the sense that I've ever intentionally listened repeatedly to something which did nothing for me. Sure, there are albums or artists that I didn't really get at first but at some point something clicked and I saw the error of my ways but, if I'm not immediately grabbed by an album, I can usually tell if there is something about it that warrants further investigation.

[faceless]

sure, i didn't meant

[ButterThumbz]

I don't think I'd ever consider hating something simply because I didn't get it. For me, to hate something would mean I found it actively irritating and is therefore reserved for the kind of music I get subjected to against my will, which oddly enough might include music I used to enjoy.

[Defago]

I think there are two reasons why I don't like an album/band: either I don't get them, or I already got them and I plain don't like them. Both dislikes feel differently, so when I think I don't get an album I re-listen until I understand it enough to claim whether I truly like it or not. If I listen to music which I understand on the first listen and I don't like them, then I probably won't give them another chance.

Most of my favourite albums (all of my top 10) I didn't really love at first listen, but more on the 5th or 6th.

[Jasonconfused]

Hate is a strong word. But there are plenty of albums my ears completely rejected. These albums usually stay that way, or possibly become tolerable, but that's it. There are albums that I find enjoyable enough and after a few listens I grow to love them though. I don't think I've ever had a 180 degree turn on my feelings for an album though.
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[Guest]

What you're describing sounds to me like listening to an album, hating it, and then forcing yourself to listen to it until you like it. If I ever talk about an album that I used to hate but now love, it's never like this, and I don't know of anybody who would do that to themselves.

Rather, in the cases where it's happened to me, I listened to the album once, hated it, and then several months later decided it deserved another shot, whether because my tastes have changed significantly or just because it's regarded so highly and I'm wondering if there was something I just missed the first time. If I hate it the second time I listen to it (*cough* Joshua Tree *cough*) then I'll probably stay away for a much longer time. But more often than not I find that there really IS something to the album that I didn't quite pick up on the first time. Key examples for me would be Definitely Maybe, The Queen Is Dead, Velvet Underground & Nico, Pinkerton, Is This It, Trout Mask Replica, and a handful of others. All albums that I rather detested (or at least didn't like at all) on first listen that have since become some of my favorite albums.

[ButterThumbz]

[Guest]

I have definitely gone from 'don't get' to 'love' (as was the case with Sonic Youth - it took me a long time to get them and when I did it was amazing)

I regularly go from 'like' to 'love' (I am kind of going through that at the moment with m b v and definitely did it with FlyLo)

In very few instances an album makes it straight onto the 'love' pile on first listen (You Made Me Realise EP is a stand out example of instant snuggly feelings!)

But in all honesty I don't think I have ever 'hated' an album when I first listen to it, hate is too strong a word. Hate takes years to develop (cf Pink Floyd) not just one listen. Usually my reaction on first listen would be 'MEH!' rather than hate!

Of the MEH! stuff, if it is something with a spark for me to cling onto.. then I will persevere and keep listening. It then either moves into the 'like' category or stays in the 'MEH!' pile. If I know it is never going to work I just stop (as is the case with most of Necharsian's metal recs - but I do keep trying!). Life is too short to keep flogging a dead horse!

I do fairly regularly revisit stuff that is 'MEH!' from time to time though and see where that goes... I have found that some things I thought of as 'MEH!' in ages past, do surprise me when I relisten to them! Your tastes change after all.

The converse is also true... things that I used to 'like' have ended up on the MEH! pile as I have got older (Skinny Puppy and Front 242 anyone!?). But I don't think that I have downgraded anything that has made it through to my 'love' pile - They might not be on my chart at the moment and I might not listen to them for a while but when I do the love is still and always there!

[revolver94]