How much do you need to hear from a band to decide yes or no?

[Geoff]

Just a thought for a thread based on another thread that Jez and I are destroying with an off-topic argument.

 

But this is an odd topic for me. I really get quite frustrated here quite often by comments on music that people have clearly not heard. But I also like to stay realistic about it too. I only personally write a band off after listening to what I feel I need to hear. Which for me, is often a few songs in which I can sensibly determine the sound and style of the band. It's pretty easy to see what type of songs a band writes from a few tunes. Even if a song is bad it's pretty easy to hear if they have a good ear for a hook or not.

 

In some cases (eg. Bryan Adams, Cheap Trick or Cher) there are bands/artists that I know are not usually my style but I hear they have recorded albums that defy their usual style - "sell-out" albums, if you will. I always give these albums a go, and then out of obligation I try some other releases from these type of bands. But usually they're just going with trends so you can pick out the 1988-1992 discs and discard the rest.

 

Anyway, the idea for this topic came from Jez saying he needed to hear the entire Nirvana catalogue to decide that they were a terrible band. Wheras to me, that was clear from the half a dozen (all terrible) songs I heard on the radio. So where do you sit? I guess it also depends how much time you have on your hands, but how much do you usually need to hear from a band to form a decision about them?

[Metal T]

Uh...doesn't take much for me to know whether ive got a new frisbee or coaster.

[Fat Freddy]

Most of the time I can tell if it's gonna be a keeper or a frisbee by the halfway point of the first song. Especially if the vocalist sucks and makes it easier for me.

[Dave]

Especially if the vocalist sucks and makes it easier for me.

 

Spot on....If the vocals are shit it does not matter how good the music is, it's simply not for me.

Otherwise you know pretty quickly weather it is going to be a style of music you like or not.

[heaven&hell]

I judge how awesome a band is by if Geoff likes them or not.

If Geoff raves about a band I stay clear but if he thinks they suck I buy all of their albums.

[Dave]

I judge how awesome a band is by if Geoff likes them or not.

If Geoff raves about a band I stay clear but if he thinks they suck I buy all of their albums.

 

....Me too

[TIM (2)]

Yeah Nirvana are fucking terrible. One look at their spaced-out faces, lumberjack shirts, and stupid floppy haircuts was enough to make me steer clear. Before I'd even heard a note of their horrible tuneless music.

 

I usually judge based upon magazine reviews and comments on here, then as long as the soundbytes sounded okay (I rarely like stuff much on the first spin) I'd probably pick it up. I do give up on albums easily though if I really don't like them on first spin I'd probably never play them again...

[Jez]

Yeah Nirvana are fucking terrible. One look at their spaced-out faces, lumberjack shirts, and stupid floppy haircuts was enough to make me steer clear. Before I'd even heard a note of their horrible tuneless music.

 

I usually judge based upon magazine reviews and comments on here, then as long as the soundbytes sounded okay (I rarely like stuff much on the first spin) I'd probably pick it up. I do give up on albums easily though if I really don't like them on first spin I'd probably never play them again...

 

The reviews, soundbytes or comments will maybe get my interest (or not) to check it out in the first instance, but it certainly won't sway my own personal judgement on it. The only way I can judge an album is if I actually sit down and listen to it. There are obviously loads of bands/artists I will steer clear of or am not interested in at all, from either hearing songs on the TV, not being in a genre I like (R'n'B, Dance Music etc) or hearing past albums that didn't do anything for me (as we all do), but to label the rest of their stuff as shit without hearing it, I certainly won't do. For those bands/artists, I just steer well clear of, forget about and not comment on at all. Would anyone here go onto the main pages of HH and comment that an album is shit, if they haven't heard it beforehand? I hope the answer to that would be a resounding NO.

This is the same as people trying to write and give their review and opinions on a CD, based on hearing 20-30 second soundbytes, without actually hearing the full album proper (or none of it at all in certain instances). How can you give a valid, constructive opinion on an album without hearing it? imo, the answer is that you can't.

[Glen]

Yeah Nirvana are fucking terrible. One look at their spaced-out faces, lumberjack shirts, and stupid floppy haircuts was enough to make me steer clear. Before I'd even heard a note of their horrible tuneless music.

 

I usually judge based upon magazine reviews and comments on here, then as long as the soundbytes sounded okay (I rarely like stuff much on the first spin) I'd probably pick it up. I do give up on albums easily though if I really don't like them on first spin I'd probably never play them again...

 

The reviews, soundbytes or comments will maybe get my interest (or not) to check it out in the first instance, but it certainly won't sway my own personal judgement on it. The only way I can judge an album is if I actually sit down and listen to it. There are obviously loads of bands/artists I will steer clear of or am not interested in at all, from either hearing songs on the TV, not being in a genre I like (R'n'B, Dance Music etc) or hearing past albums that didn't do anything for me (as we all do), but to label the rest of their stuff as shit without hearing it, I certainly won't do. For those bands/artists, I just steer well clear of, forget about and not comment on at all. Would anyone here go onto the main pages of HH and comment that an album is shit, if they haven't heard it beforehand? I hope the answer to that would be a resounding NO.

This is the same as people trying to write and give their review and opinions on a CD, based on hearing 20-30 second soundbytes, without actually hearing the full album proper (or none of it at all in certain instances). How can you give a valid, constructive opinion on an album without hearing it? imo, the answer is that you can't.

 

I certainly wouldnt judge an album on 20-30 second soundbites........in fact I would go as far as to say that I avoid soundbites like the plague - the main reason being is that in a lot of cases the soundbite only contains the intro and verse and never gets to the bloody chorus.

 

However I would say that if a band has 4/5 songs on their myspace page (from their new album) that will pretty much make up my mind as to whether its a goer or not. I know that sometimes the best songs arent featured, but if out of 4/5 songs there's only one keeper.....its rarely the case that the others are better as bands do tend to advertise their best songs on this media.

 

Its not an exact science, but its worked pretty well for me over the years. I would say that 95% of my collection are keepers and I never/very rarely trade or sell any cds.

 

Also I must add that Spotify.com is a revelation. I love this site. So many albums are now featured (especially on the modern side of things) and you just listen to the whole album and then make a decision as to whether to buy. This almost makes illegal downloading a thing of the past IMO as you can play the music in your home for free as many times as you like. & its legal.

[Geoff]

I judge how awesome a band is by if Geoff likes them or not.

If Geoff raves about a band I stay clear but if he thinks they suck I buy all of their albums.

 

....Me too

And vice-versa, my Blues Brothers.

[bangerdave]

I will give a band a go by listening to the entire album in most cases,some bands by hearing one or two songs is enough for me to go no not for me.

[Dave]

I judge how awesome a band is by if Geoff likes them or not.

If Geoff raves about a band I stay clear but if he thinks they suck I buy all of their albums.

 

....Me too

And vice-versa, my Blues Brothers.

[phaffas]

Sometimes several spins of their albums.... sometimes 2 secs of a clip..

[SUICIDE]

One full song usually or until it a song hits the chorus but if the vocalist is shit or the song title is lame comedy, the time shrinks.

[Swazi]

I judge how awesome a band is by if Geoff likes them or not.

If Geoff raves about a band I stay clear but if he thinks they suck I buy all of their albums.

 

....Me too

 

Classic !!

[John Drake]

Isn't it great now in the time of the internet you can go to one of the big mass market sellers and they will usually have 20 second clips of the whole album you can listen to, or you can watch the group on that video site. When I was a kid, I usually picked stuff by people saying "hey this is great", then they would play the album. Or I would guess I wanted the album because they had two or more songs on it I heard on the radio.

In the 70s if you pay attention, the best song is usually spot number 2 on the album. If the best song is spot number 1, the album sometimes sucked.

[Captain Howdy]

To be honest, the only way to fully judge a band is to hear at least a whole album, unless of course the music is a style I really dont like or has a vocal style I despise.

 

If you go on one or two songs you can either write off a good band or get suckered in by a shit one.

 

Take Nirvana as a perfect example.

Love or hate them, Smells like teen spirit is a great song, but for me is certainly not a great way to judge them.

Other singles by them were ok, but nowhere near as good as their 'signature' song.

While I generally despised the grunge movement, I did decide to give them at least a chance by picking up Nevermind when I saw it cheap.

Quite frankly, it was a pile of shit without about 4 decentish tracks on it (the singles I already knew and liked), and the stuff I heard from their other albums was just as bad or worse.

 

This doesnt just happen with shitty bands like Nirvana though, I have bought hair/glam/AOR etc albums on the strength of a few samples or one or two songs that have impressed, and found the rest of their music sucks.

 

On the flip side, there have been times I have judged a band on a song or an image, and dismissed them as something I was not going to like, and later found them to be a great band.

 

Sometimes you just have to take risks, as you can find some real gems, even if initial impressions are poor, but sometimes you just know you are gonna hate something, and its not even worth bothering.

[UGH]

I put an album on my ipod and decide after listening to it 10 times.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

I judge how awesome a band is by if Geoff likes them or not.

If Geoff raves about a band I stay clear but if he thinks they suck I buy all of their albums.

 

....Me too

 

Classic !!

 

Let's bump this, one more time.

[Geoff]

I judge how awesome a band is by if Geoff likes them or not.

If Geoff raves about a band I stay clear but if he thinks they suck I buy all of their albums.

 

....Me too

 

Classic !!

 

Let's bump this, one more time.

Shouldn't you be off listening to Jamiroquai or something?

[cdjunky41]

About 3 songs

[KarpetRydOFunk]

I judge how awesome a band is by if Geoff likes them or not.

If Geoff raves about a band I stay clear but if he thinks they suck I buy all of their albums.

 

....Me too

 

Classic !!

 

Let's bump this, one more time.

Shouldn't you be off listening to Jamiroquai or something?

Yep.