DMB

[westen44]

Recently, I got into a discussion with two people who like the Dave Matthews Band a lot.  One of them is a good friend.  So our discussion was polite, interesting and civil.  We had already established that our tastes in music were very different.  So, it was no surprise when I asked her about Dave Matthews and she said she liked him.  The other person isn't a friend, and in fact, got really offended, lashed out at me, said he hated bands that I liked, etc. 

I realize that people do have different tastes.  Nothing could be more obvious.  Yet, I am baffled that the DMB is so incredibly successful.  I've tried listening to the music several times and it's always the same result.  With the possible exception of Modest Mouse, this may be the worst music I've ever heard.  It sounds like a drunk person mumbling.  Earlier today, mostly out of curiosity, I made one last attempt to listen to Dave Matthew songs on YouTube.  The result is that it actually physically drained me.  It was kind of like recovering from the flu.  You're trying to be okay, but feel so weak and drained anyway.  Yet according to Wikipedia, the DMB made more money and sold more tickets from 2000 to 2010 than anybody else.  I guess I must be living in the wrong country.  I honestly don't understand what's going on.  Also, what kind of music is this anyway?  One person described it as "mood music."  I have no idea what that is even supposed to mean.   Dave Matthews has been around for quite a while.  I had assumed that sooner or later I would figure out what the appeal is supposed to be with this music, but that simply has never happened. 

[Pilgrim]

People like different music.

I find rap rather repulsive, and wouldn't ever listen to it voluntarily - but it doesn't help that I can't understand a word of it and I find that it often has little or no melody, just rhythm and bass.  To my ears which are long educated to classical music, jazz and 12-bar-blues derived rock, most rap isn't even music. That doesn't mean I strongly object to it, I simply find it to be noise.

I am not familiar with Dave Mathews but I dialed them up on YouTube and I find them rather pleasant to listen to.  Good musicianship, I can hear the lyrics, overall a pleasant experience.  Not my cup of tea for prolonged listening, but I can't find anything which would provoke such a strong response.

OTOH, Westen44 might not be thrilled to listen to a stack of old SRV, Doors, Danny Gatton and ZZ Top CDs along with me.

[westen44]

People like different music.

I find rap rather repulsive, and wouldn't ever listen to it voluntarily - but it doesn't help that I can't understand a word of it and I find that it often has little or no melody, just rhythm and bass.  To my ears which are long educated to classical music, jazz and 12-bar-blues derived rock, most rap isn't even music. That doesn't mean I strongly object to it, I simply find it to be noise.

I am not familiar with Dave Mathews but I dialed them up on YouTube and I find them rather pleasant to listen to.  Good musicianship, I can hear the lyrics, overall a pleasant experience.  Not my cup of tea for prolonged listening, but I can't find anything which would provoke such a strong response.

OTOH, Westen44 might not be thrilled to listen to a stack of old SRV, Doors, Danny Gatton and ZZ Top CDs along with me.

That music you listed is great music.  I was even listening to ZZ Top live as a college student before Billy and Dusty had their beards. 

[hieronymous]

I never got the appeal of Dave Matthews Band either - I saw them open for Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit and was underwhelmed. I think some people liked him for the songwriting, others for the energy the band brought - the violinist and saxophonist seemed cool, and the drummer actually was pretty amazing when he let loose!

[westen44]

I never got the appeal of Dave Matthews Band either - I saw them open for Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit and was underwhelmed. I think some people liked him for the songwriting, others for the energy the band brought - the violinist and saxophonist seemed cool, and the drummer actually was pretty amazing when he let loose!

Thanks.  This is actually giving me some more insight.  I suspected there might be more to the picture than I was seeing.  But I just didn't know what it was.  I also have a feeling the music must be connecting emotionally to people in some way. 

[lowend1]

Pulled this from a blog  :
"The Dave Matthews Band is, it seems to us, the sort of band that people who don't really like music veer towards, because it's easy but it allows the fans to pretend that they're into jazz rock fusion and are therefore quite clever. If you meet a girl at a bar and ask her what kind of music she likes, and she replies, "Oh, I like everything," the chances are she likes the Dave Matthews Band, radio rock, and nothing challenging.

Am I missing something? What is it about this intolerable dullard that drives so many people to part with so much money? Please, seriously, tell me.

I ask again, who likes the Dave Matthews Band? Because, from here, it appears to be highly paid business types who want to be cool for an evening, before returning to their real life. Matthews is the musical equivalent of beige, or boiled broccoli with no gravy. He's just there. He doesn't disgust, but he's not worth raising your head for."

[Dave W]

Old quote but still valid.

"We live in an age of music for people who don't like music. The record industry discovered some time ago that there aren't that many people who actually like music. For a lot of people, music's annoying, or at the very least they don't need it. They discovered if they could sell music to a lot of those people, they could sell a lot more records." -- T-Bone Burnett

[westen44]

Old quote but still valid.

"We live in an age of music for people who don't like music. The record industry discovered some time ago that there aren't that many people who actually like music. For a lot of people, music's annoying, or at the very least they don't need it. They discovered if they could sell music to a lot of those people, they could sell a lot more records." -- T-Bone Burnett

If that is the case, then the sky is the limit for mind-numbing mediocrity in music. 

[Nocturnal]

I have never understood the appeal of DMB. I don't hate them or their music, I am just completely indifferent to them. They don't matter to me at all. I do tend to lump them in with bands like Nickleback and Coldplay. Bands that people seem to like more as background music in their life rather than music that gets you excited or that you are passionate about. But then again I know people can go thru my music collection and wonder what the Hell I see in a lot of my music.

[Father Gino]

I think you're over thinking about it. I'm not overly fond of DMB either but I'm not overly fond of lots of music. DMB has taken over the cult status of the Dead I think and I never liked them either. I wish I could remember who said of Jerry Garcia: " A waste of perfectly good drugs."

Do you like Jimmy Reed or John Lee Hooker? I do. Hardly complicated. Do you like Miles? I do. Can be pretty complicated. Do you like Stravinsky? I do. Very complicated. I've never bothered to find a logical connection between Jimmy Reed and Stravinsky that makes me like both of them.

I don't really know why I like or dislike the music I do. Do you?

Most people don't listen to music the way musicians do anyway. Most of the musicians here aren't selling music , they're selling beer. It's just not a perfect world.

[4stringer77]

Just to touch on Jerry, since he came up. He was not only good, he was a great musician. I'll grant you the Grateful Dead as a band can be tedious and often times sloppy but most of what made that band great when it was cooking was because of Jerry. He played great bluegrass banjo and a very unique style of pedal steel guitar. Check out the album Old and in the way, if you haven't already. The best examples of his pedal steel playing would be "Teach Your Children" by CSN which he guests on and "The Wheel" from his 1972 Garcia solo album. Oh yeah, Jerry played every instrument except for the drums on that first solo album and as much as I like Phil's playing Jerry does a much better job keeping things in the pocket with his bass playing. I personally find his singing voice to be very soulful and sweet.
Indeed, DMB blows hard.

[Dave W]

...
Do you like Jimmy Reed or John Lee Hooker? I do. Hardly complicated. Do you like Miles? I do. Can be pretty complicated. Do you like Stravinsky? I do. Very complicated. I've never bothered to find a logical connection between Jimmy Reed and Stravinsky that makes me like both of them.

I don't really know why I like or dislike the music I do. Do you?

Most people don't listen to music the way musicians do anyway. Most of the musicians here aren't selling music , they're selling beer. It's just not a perfect world.

Amen.

You like music of substance. Same here, even though we might not like the same artists. In my experience, many non-musicians just don't want to be challenged by anything of real substance.

[westen44]

I think you're over thinking about it. I'm not overly fond of DMB either but I'm not overly fond of lots of music. DMB has taken over the cult status of the Dead I think and I never liked them either. I wish I could remember who said of Jerry Garcia: " A waste of perfectly good drugs."

Do you like Jimmy Reed or John Lee Hooker? I do. Hardly complicated. Do you like Miles? I do. Can be pretty complicated. Do you like Stravinsky? I do. Very complicated. I've never bothered to find a logical connection between Jimmy Reed and Stravinsky that makes me like both of them.

I don't really know why I like or dislike the music I do. Do you?

Most people don't listen to music the way musicians do anyway. Most of the musicians here aren't selling music , they're selling beer. It's just not a perfect world.

I wasn't aware of the fact that the DMB had achieved cult status.  That does give me some more insight, though.  The fan that I talked to some time ago told me his hatred for the music that I liked was beyond human comprehension and that he loved the DMB. 

[Highlander]

DM who...?

Someone I've totally missed and probably don't need to be concerned...

[westen44]

DM who...?

Someone I've totally missed and probably don't need to be concerned...

I should be so lucky.