Friday OT #2 - Revisiting the Classics

[Angie]

Thanks so much to @Entropy for this idea! Here is his description:

There are many albums/movies/books that are considered classics, but sometimes they don't land the first time you listen/see/read them. What classic pieces of pop culture took their time to resonate with you?

I won’t steal his, but here is an example of my own. I started listening to the second-most-recent Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of All-Time a few years ago (before the new one came out) after inspiration from a buddy doing it. I had never gotten into Husker Du (sorry, my phone doesn’t do the umlauts) when I had listened to them before, but one of their albums, maybe “New Day Rising” was on the list - and I finally got it. And liked it. And listened to more.

What are yours?

 

[GMackey32]

I wouldn't say its a classic, but I could never really get into "A Few Good Men" when my parents would watch it as a kid. I didn't like law/crime type stuff. Now I watch it every time its on because it's such a well done movie.

 

[Entropy]

I was listening to some old Rolling Stones albums, and I usually stick to Sticky Fingers and Let it Bleed. Whenever I tried to listen to Exile on Main Street, it would never land. I didn't get it, and it didn't seem to fit with their other Mick Taylor albums. I read an article comparing GnR's Use Your Illusion to Exile and it just clicked for me. Exile is the experimental stretch album, and now it lands.

Another album that I didn't get when it came out was Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers). I wasn't a rap fan at the time, and I could not relate to what they were rapping about. Picked it up again on the advice of a friend 10 years ago, and wow, does that album hit hard. One of my favorites, and I even caught a show by GZA on his 25th Anniversary Liquid Swords tour.

 

[Angie]

I don’t know that it is a “classic” per se, but I was traveling a lot for work when Davinci Code was popular. EVERYONE told me to read it because I would love it, including @Mr Janny . I largely only read classic lit, and I am stubborn AF, so I refused to read it or watch it…

Until I was prepping to go to Rome for the first time about five years ago. I read Angels and Demons, and dammit I liked it, so I continued with the series. I should have stopped after TDC, as it goes sharply downhill with each book after, but I understood why people had recommended them to me at their height of popularity.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I'm always way behind on things. Didn't start watching Breaking Bad until the final season had started, and we binged it like crazy and just caught up to watch the finale live.

We didn't watch the Sopranos until a couple years ago either.

As far as music, I never cared for 70's music for some reason until the last few years.

 

[matclone]

I'll chuck a few books at ya: Catcher on the Rye and On the Road. Classics I read as a teen but didn't think they were so hot. Fast forward a couple decades to read again and they were fantastic.

 

[carvers4math]

East of Eden. Not sure why, I sailed through Grapes of Wrath freshman year of high school, no problem.

A Feast For Crows (4th GoT book). Slugged through that. Was better once I reread after having gotten through the series.

 

[CYCLNST8]

I wasn't a big fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers until around the time Stadium Arcadium came out. Then I went on a deep dive into their 80's albums. Uplift Mofo Party Plan is my jam.

 

[Sigmapolis]

@Angie

Maybe a variation on this for future discussion --

What is a "classic" that you came to "late" but once you experienced it, it TOTALLY lived up to the hype?

 

[Sigmapolis]

My answer for this week --

Casablanca

I was confused the first time I watched it. The second time, however, I realized what a grand story it was telling and how strong the performances were, especially Bogart.

Easily one of the best romances and WWII movies ever made.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

I hated Pulp Fiction the first time I saw it. I think I was expecting something completely different.

 

[madguy30]

Always liked it but I watch Jaws very differently than I did as a kid.

And in some weird way it made Close Encounters more endearing as I didn't see that until later in life.

 

[Angie]

I'll chuck a few books at ya: Catcher on the Rye and On the Road. Classics I read as a teen but didn't think they were so hot. Fast forward a couple decades to read again and they were fantastic.

I reread Catcher once every few years or so! It is funny how your perspective changes, Holden is much more of a little **** now than he was when I was in high school!

@Angie

Maybe a variation on this for future discussion --

What is a "classic" that you came to "late" but once you experienced it, it TOTALLY lived up to the hype?

Ooh, can you PM to me? I will never remember!

 

[Sigmapolis]

I reread Catcher once every few years or so! It is funny how your perspective changes, Holden is much more of a little **** now than he was when I was in high school!



Ooh, can you PM to me? I will never remember!

@Angie asking me to slide into her DMs...

 

[dahliaclone]

Game of Thrones. It took me five tries to get through the first season of GoT. I just hated it and it was such a chore and waste of time I felt.

 

[Gonzo]

I bunked with Brian Ferentz in section 8 housing... he was on top.

My dad was always a huge M*A*S*H fan, largely because he was a military medic back in the day. When I was younger, he'd have M*A*S*H on the TV and when I thought he'd stopped paying attention or was distracted by something else, I'd quietly change the channel to Three's Company, because, Chrissy. He'd always catch me and order me to turn it back to M*A*S*H. I didn't really get or like M*A*S*H at the time, but as I got older and especially after watching the movie, I came to love it. It's one of my favorite shows ever.

 

[Cyclonepride]

As a teenager, we used to listen to Aerosmith's greatest hits quite often. At the time, I didn't care for Dream On because I thought it was too slow. The words hit different when you're older.

 

[Sigmapolis]

As a teenager, we used to listen to Aerosmith's greatest hits quite often. At the time, I didn't care for Dream On because I thought it was too slow. The words hit different when you're older.

It's a rare cat who listens to Aerosmith for the lyrics.

 

[Cyclonepride]

It's a rare cat who listens to Aerosmith for the lyrics.

These verses are among the best ever written IMO

Every time that I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by like dusk to dawn
Isn't that the way?
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay, yeah

Half my life's in books' written pages
Lived and learned from fools and from sages
You know it's true
All the things come back to you

Aerosmith – Dream On

Off of their first LP, “Dream On” is one of Aerosmith’s biggest early hits, along with “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion.” The sing serves as a bittersweet take on aging, and how

genius.com

 

[BCClone]

It's a rare cat who listens to Aerosmith for the lyrics.

Better than David Lee Roth. He just threw words together. Sometimes, I don’t think they are even words.