Album that has grown on you the most over time?

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LemonMelon

LemonMelon

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Pretty straightforward question: which album have you warmed up to the most over the time you've had it? I find it to be a fascinating phenomenon, but some albums really don't sink in fully after 20 spins. Case in point, my answer:

Radiohead - Kid A

I will get flamed for this, but...I hated Kid A at first. Absolutely hated it. I thought it was tuneless, irritating, and completely overhyped. Not sure what happened to me, but somewhere down the line my mind changed about it completely. I now consider it to be one of the very best records of the last 10 years or so. Atmospheric, cohesive, and positively chilling at times, it's not an easy pill to swallow, but I still get a sick joy out of trying, even after countless spins.

Honorable mentions:

Beatles - Sgt. Pepper
REM - Monster
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
 
It took me about 7-10 listens to find anything pleasing to the ear on OK Computer, but my patience paid off and I'd rank it in my top ten now.
 
It took me just under 6 years to "get" Beck's Odelay!, and it's now probably one of my forty or fifty favorite records. I HATED that record, when it dropped. A similar scenario happened with The Cure's Disintegration, to which I was largely indifferent, but never hostile, like I was with the Beck record, for about two years. Took me about a year or so to really connect with Wilco's Being There, too, back in the day (although I'll still contend that it's only a great record if you cut it in half and ditch heaps of filler).

I feel like it's worth pointing out, though, that in like ten and fifteen years, respectively, I have still not warmed up to either DJ Shadow's Endtroducing..... or Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation. I hate myself for this, but it's just true--I almost entirely dislike each of these records. I'll listen to Washing Machine (who'm I kidding, though--not in one sitting, not for a million dollars) over either of those, any day. It's fucked.

Oh, and, um...for about two years, I (no fucking shit) steadfastly maintained that Erasure's singles weren't catchy enough to warrant serious attention. I have no idea what I was thinking; I mean, on pop music terms, it's basically laughable to say that Erasure's singles are shit...you don't necessary have to like the stuff (though I now do), but you've gotta recognize how well-done a lot of it is, in terms of popular songwriting and -arranging conventions.

This was, like, in the mid-to-late-'90s, too, so it's not like they didn't already have ten or fifteen great releases under their fancy belts. I dunno. Weird stuff. Sometimes, I'm a fucking idiot, rather than just an elitist.
 
Last edited:
LemonMelon said:
Radiohead - Kid A

I will get flamed for this, but...I hated Kid A at first. Absolutely hated it. I thought it was tuneless, irritating, and completely overhyped. Not sure what happened to me, but somewhere down the line my mind changed about it completely. I now consider it to be one of the very best records of the last 10 years or so. Atmospheric, cohesive, and positively chilling at times, it's not an easy pill to swallow, but I still get a sick joy out of trying, even after countless spins.
Click to expand...

I know you're not going to like this father ( :uhoh: ) but replace "Kid A" with "Hail To The Thief" and pretty much every thing else you wrote applies for me word for word...
 
Re: Re: Album that has grown on you the most over time?

elevated_u2_fan said:


I know you're not going to like this father ( :uhoh: ) but replace "Kid A" with "Hail To The Thief" and pretty much every thing else you wrote applies for me word for word...
Click to expand...

Hey, maybe the same thing will happen for me one day... :uhoh:
 
Dalton said:
Sufjan Stevens come on and feel the Illinois.

I hated this album at first, but now find it essential.
Click to expand...

Me too.

Even more than Suj-fan, I would have to list The Stone Roses debut album as the one that took me the most time to finally be won over by. Disliked it completely at first. Liked a song or two after a while, kept coming back to those songs and then got into a few more here or there gradually over a course of 5 or 6 years. Finally realized I loved it after owning it fo 7 or 8 years.
 
I think Siamese Dream. Wasn't too thrilled about it the first few times. Definitely was a grower and now I consider it one of the top albums of the 90s... sometimes top 3. :drool:
 
Steely Dan, The Royal Scam. Used to think this was one of their lesser albums, and while I don't think it's the best, I wouldn't be surprised ranking it at #3 in the near future.

U2, Boy. I used to think it was a fairly disposable debut compared to something like Murmur, but around the Elevation tour I redicsovered it and I don't think it's a stretch to say that while it may not have War's high points, it's certainly more consistent.

Still waiting to come around on The Unforgettable Fire though.
 
Born To Run-Bruce Springsteen

I know almost everybody loves it, but it really took me awhile to get into it. I just didn't get it at first. But one day I realized, this album is everyone's story. It's about the true awkward period of life, which I don't think is adolescence, as most do. It's that time I'm in now, when one is just beginning life as an adult, but still wanting to go back and be a kid with no responsibilities. I see that tension throughout the whole album. There's nights spent out with friends just being stupid. There's love and figuring out how to to forge real relationships. There's a longing to get out and make a mark on the world, yet to break free from the traditional success our culture demands of us. It's genius, and it's become one of my favorite albums.:love:
 
Kate Bush "Hounds Of Love". For the longest time I couldn't understand the rave reviews and why it's her most popular album. It's a difficult listen as opposed to The Sensual World which I liked almost instantly. But now I appreciate Hounds a lot.

Cloudbursting
Watching You Without Me
Jig Of Life
The Morning Fog

:drool: :combust:
 
cinnaminson said:
POP:reject:

couldn't stand most of it for years but now I really enjoy it. There are a couple of songs I skip occasionally but on the whole it's got a lot of beautiful music
Click to expand...

I am the same way!
 
I've been coming around to Radiohead's Hail to the Thief recently, it's alarming.
 
LemonMacPhisto said:
I've been coming around to Radiohead's Hail to the Thief recently, it's alarming.
Click to expand...

I saw your avatar and thought you were IWasBored. The post even sounded like something she'd say.

:huh:
 
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