I'm not always comfortable admitting when I'm wrong, in any situation really. But, sometimes I find myself just unable to escape pointing out my errors in judgement when it comes to music. In this case, I have discovered over the last couple months that I was wrong, about three different bands, with my first (and in one case, first through like fifth) impressions. One of these, I have not only realized my mistake, but I also have been listening to them daily for the last three months, or so.
The first band is one that I completely misjudged. Against Me! I remember sometime in the early 2000's, during my whole "I'll listen to just about anything on No Idea Records" phase, getting one of those samplers they used to put out (maybe it was Bread, the Edible Napkin or Back To Donut or The Shape of Flakes to Come) and it had Pints of Guinness Make You Strong on it. I thought it was okay, but didn't have much interest because at the time it was probably overshadowed by the Hot Water Music song, or Floor, or maybe Combatwoundedveteran. Then I saw the name of the album it was on, which I still think to this day is stupid, I immediately passed them off as a joke band. The next two albums that came out, I think I was only really acquainted with the lead single songs that came out. I think I skipped New Wave in it's entirety when it first came out. I listened to a few songs on White Crosses, based on the suggestion of someone who I used to listen to when they suggested new music. But, still nothing clicked. Then earlier this year, when I was doing my daily reviews, I decided to listen to Transgender Dysphoria Blues and pretty much loved it from the start. After this point, I decided to go back and determine if I had missed something previously. I started at the beginning and worked my way back to the newest album and noticed that I had, in fact, been missing out for a long time. Since this point, I have listened to on average one Against Me! album a day for probably the last three months and they have become one of my current favorite bands. They are also pretty high up on the "bands I want to see live" list.
The second band that I was wrong about is Opeth, although this may be to a lesser degree, at least so far. I went to a festival in Cleveland in the summer of 2005, I was incredibly hung over and was having a hard time focusing most of the day. These guys played some time in the middle of they day and it was in a large amphitheater setting, which I almost never have good luck with when it comes to new bands. I remember sitting down during their set, and while I recognized how talented they were, I was not feeling it at all. Since then I have sworn up and down that this band was just boring and I didn't have any interest in listening to them. I remember times where friends would have played them while we are all hanging out and maybe I might have even done some head nodding or finger tap drumming along with them. But, overall I was still pretty middle of the road on them. Then yesterday, I decided to listen to the newest album and found myself enjoying it immensely. They have made a significant progression from a death metal band to a fairly progressive rock sound. There was no metal vocals on the record, but they do still have a small amount of heaviness to them still. It has a similar feel to me as Porcupine Tree, which makes sense as they have been working with Steven Wilson on Production/Mixing for a little bit now. I haven't gone back in to the catalog deeper, yet. But, I've been told the album previous to this is a very similar sound, so I'll be checking that out next.
Finally, the third band that I misjudged, which I also discovered my error yesterday, is The National. I have for a couple years now just assumed they were a generic, indie rock band. Like with Opeth, I am only one album in to listening to them. But, based on that first full listen, I think there is a little more depth to this band then I gave them credit for. There is a post-punk vibe that I really enjoyed. The singer has a pretty unique voice and a few lyrics grabbed me here and there. I don't have a real good story for this one about why I didn't give them more of a chance later. I think my only real interaction with their music before was random songs that I heard driving around Tampa in my friend's car.
So yeah, the first step to recovery was admitting I was wrong and the next step is to investigate the catalogs of Opeth and The National, a little deeper, to see what else I like there. But, now I'm starting to wonder how many more bands I am missing out on, because I have misjudged them. So, with a vacation coming up next week, I think Spotify and I are going to be doing some digging.
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