Top Five All-Time Greatest Debut Albums

[grotty]

Originally posted by joz:
  you've brought up a good point, grotty...i definitely don't have a standard prescription for my musical tastes.  i do love wilco.  i also dig whiskeytown (although i despise the majority of ryan adams solo work), my morning jacket, rockabilly in general, et al.  in fact, i will go as far to admit that i really enjoy classic southern rock...i enjoy a good healthy dose of the allman bros., skynyrd or molly hatchet once in a while. BUT I do not care for DBT.  Call me crazy but their music is really unlistenable for me.  
 
 Anyway, that's all I'll say about that...I'm used to this really.  My husband is a huge fan of the Afghan Whigs, whom I despise (with the exception of 1 or 2 songs), so I'm constantly defending my dislike of particular bands.
 
 

2 of my favorite bands getting disparaged in the same paragraph. It is a sad day indeed.          
 
 joz, I've seen you list bands that you love (verve, g&r, whiskeytown, wilco, etc.) and we mostly agree. That makes it all the more strange that you would dislike DBT & the AW. It makes me wonder if you've heard the "right" songs or ever seen them live. There have been countless people that I've given music to from both bands that initially are not interested. But after seeing them live, or investing some time into listening, now have significantly different opinions.
 
 One person specifically - a female - was initally very resistant to the whole southern rednecky DBT image. Then she heard the song  Three Great Alabama Icons  from the Southern Rock Opera and almost immediately changed her mind. Now they are a fav. That 'song', better than anything they have written or has been written about them - explains their perspective and is good example of the depth of their thinking and songwriting that is disguised behind a very misleading first impression:
 "Such is the duality of the Southern thing."
 
 But, I'm guessing that you probably do already know enough about DBT & the Afghan Whigs (especially living with a big fan) and maybe they really just don't appeal to you. It's probably just a perfect example of how fickle and esoteric musical tastes can be.
 
 I just hope that someday you don't regret missing out on 2 of the best bands...ever.    

[joz]

funny thing about my dislike for the whigs, i know...my husband doesn't get it either.  greg dulli bothers me for some reason; his vocal style in particular.  i do care for a few songs but i can't say i would ever sit down and listen to an entire album on my own volition.  my husband has played most of their albums for me and i've also tried listening to the twilight singers. no luck there either.
 
 my husband saw the whigs live a couple of times and said that seeing dulli perform live might change my opinion.  unfortunately, we always seem to be out of town when the twilight singers play. maybe someday they'll click for me. it took me a long time to come around to neutral milk hotel too but now they're one of my favorites.
 
 i definitely wouldn't describe myself as fickle though...i'm a fairly discerning listener and can usually tell whether i'll like a band/album within 10-15 minutes of listening. that all goes back to working in program/music direction at my college radio station...we had about 10 minutes to devote to each promo cd we got in the mail to determine if it was worthy of airplay. i know i need to try and break myself of that. there's probably a lot i miss out on because i don't put in the time to give a fair listen.
 
 i'm really trying with the whigs tho...if i liked them, it would certainly make marriage a lot easier!