In our relationship, Ben is the one who explores new music. I’m the one who, on first listen to Ben’s music, will then disparage Ben for being an artsy-fartsy fuck who needs to listen to obscure shit or pure pop to feel better than me. Of course, this is all insanity on my part. The thing is, almost without fail, I end up loving the stuff Ben introduces me to. Of course there are exceptions: I will never ever like Scritti Politti on principle alone.
So when Ben introduced me to the Fiery Furnaces last year, namely “Blueberry Boat,” my to-the-point response was “what the hell is this?” After listening to it a lot in the car, I realized that I really really loved the Fiery Furnaces -- especially E.P. (You should really check it out).
After ten years of Ben introducing me to new (to me) music -- you should have seen the shit I gave him when he first bought a Serge Gainsbourg CD -- I've finally come to accept that I do indeed like Ben's taste in music and there is no point fighting.
In fact, I really need to embrace his taste since its the only way for me to discover new stuff. Take Maxi Geil! & PlayColt. Another Ben introduction that turned out to be one of my favorites of last year.
That said, I'm still not going to get into Scritti Politti, though. Or Klaus Nomi, for that matter. Ben will say "you like Sparks, you should like Klaus Nomi."
I won't give on that one either.
Back to the Fiery Furnaces. They'll be performing at the Great American Music Hall this Friday. If tickets are still available, you should definitely check them out.
You are a sour puss for not liking Scritti Politti. That is all.
Posted by: Jeffrey McManus | April 26, 2005 at 04:04 PM
And ol' Klaus? My personal God.
Now I'm all sniffly.
Posted by: Brad | April 26, 2005 at 06:43 PM
And ol' Klaus? My personal God.
Now I'm all sniffly.
Posted by: Brad | April 26, 2005 at 06:44 PM
Wow, I thought my wife was the only Serge Gainsbourg nut out there! You guys will have something to talk about at Supernova this year.
Ben didn't buy the 17-CD boxed set, though, did he?
Posted by: Kevin Werbach | April 26, 2005 at 06:50 PM
Re: Scritti Politti--you liked Faithless. QED.
Posted by: Ben | April 26, 2005 at 08:28 PM
Ah... I didn't realize I should be blaming Ben for your pedestrian tastes in music.
Posted by: Andrew Anker | April 27, 2005 at 07:27 AM
Klaus Nomi grows on you like a bad fungus. "Wasting My Time" went from one of my most hated songs to one that I got really excited about when it would come on.
Beware...
Posted by: Jay Allen | April 29, 2005 at 05:35 PM
Have you seen "URGH! A Music War"? A great concert film from the early 80s with Klaus, Fleshtones, Wall of Voodoo, Devo, The Cramps, Magazine, etc. etc. That's really the only place I've seen/heard Klaus Nomi. Email me if you want to track down a DVD copy...
Posted by: james | May 01, 2005 at 09:16 PM
My husband thinks that I should like Klaus Nomi for the same reasons but nope, can't quite get into them. But I do manage to like Scritti Politti on a very very limited basis. You can hear them maybe once every 8 months before you find your ears bleeding from the whine...
Posted by: Crystal | May 25, 2005 at 01:37 PM
Holy crap that first paragraph sounds so much like something my girlfriend would write. You blog women are so much alike. Flee! Flee!
Now back to Modest Mouse & MeWithoutYou. Fiery Furnaces are so 1999 ;)
Posted by: Fred | June 08, 2005 at 04:58 AM
I actually PAID to see Scritti Politti live at the Beacon Theater in 1985. Actually, even worse ... I paid to see Frankie Goes to Hollywood; SP just opened for them. The horror, the horror ... but "Perfect Way" really was a catchy little number, huh?
Posted by: Beth | July 10, 2005 at 05:05 PM