Musical taste is an inscrutable thing. Some songs are immediately pleasing to the ear, while others demand a lot of work and repeated listens. Some are hailed by critics and spurned by the public, while others are panned by critics as they ascend to the top of the charts. On a much smaller scale, two people could have the same reaction to nine bands, but then diverge greatly on the tenth.
There are a number of bands that I have failed to like, even though I have tried quite hard to like them, and even though the critics adore them–even though my friends whose musical tastes I respect have recommended them. At the risk of disappointing some of my friends, here are a few of the acclaimed bands and musicians that I *want* to like but somehow can’t…