Hatin'

Clearly I'm on a music tip of late, which is not all that surprising for me. Recently Idolator, which I have come around to more and more even with it's unfortunate color scheme, had a lovely post that I think many music lovers can appreciate . . .

http://idolator.com/5126584/bands-that-send-you-into-two-minutes-hate-mode

First off, I get the same Hate Shakes as Lucas does about Kings of Leon. Those involved with WMUC have perhaps seen my scathing reviews of them. I hate them for the same reason many people hate the Strokes, they are heavy on schtick and totally overwhelm any sort of objective view of the music. They whole "we are sooo Southern" thing is apparently manifested in the lead singer's terrible inhuman wail, and the fact that at certain chronological points one or all of the band members had beards. And beards are Southern, right? But this is not a post about how much I dislike KoL. It's more a defense of my ability to be critical, even when there isn't a good reason. Sometimes it's okay to dislike a creative work without a fully rational breakdown of why.

There's no particularly good reason why I like Amy Winehouse and hate Duffy. Okay maybe the Dap Kings involvement swings things a bit, but even without them Frank is an alright album. Both singers are Caucasian British Women singing soul music, a trend that goes all the way back to Dusty Springfield, who is awesome. But something about Duffy really really rubs me the wrong way and there's no good reason for it at all. I just really really don't like her act at all.

Every once in a while, but not always, critics should get a pass for trashing something like that, because sometimes something just rubs you the wrong way. And that's how it goes.