Albums you do not get...a plea for help and understanding


So like most of you (I bet), I listen to tons of music.  But there are just some albums I never learned to appreciate.  I hope this thread can serve as a teaching tool.  I did not get Mingus at first but now he is one of my favorites.

Perhaps ending each post with, "What am I missing?" would be a good idea.

I will start with Graceland by Paul Simon.  Most of my friends call me crazy (still after all these years...OUCH that was bad) but I never desire to listen to this record.  I get the African influence and rhythm but it just does not impress me.  Alternatively when Peter Gabriel did the African influence thing I found it stunningly good. Paul Simon as a musician impresses me in his other works.  What am I missing?

bancsee

i never grokked Sun Ra, god bless him RIP. when i heard him sing "space is the place" i just stood there slack-mouthed in non-comprehension. i don't know what i was supposed to be hearing and enjoying. 

The biggest gateway for me was Michael Franks. I was mid twenties staying in a cabin on Lake Tahoe doing research (I was a geologist). I went to this tucked away high end cool restaurants hidden in an old growth forest. One of his albums was playing… it completely changed my world… opened it up.

Prett much all his albums are good too!

Zappa. Just don't get it. 

Purple rain. Spun it recently and didn't make it through the first side.

Laurie Anderson. Want to understand, I just don't

I sometimes grab a CD by some well known and much blessed artist to evaluate what the fuss is all about.

Two recent disappointments - Sinatra. Mariah Carey.

edit - I suspect that Shatner isn't supposed to be taken seriously. 

I like jazz, but I can do without Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman. I bought a couple of Albums by Radiohead and I just don't get there music. Sometimes it almost sounds like I'm playing at the wrong speed.