Rediscovering songs

[SkylineObsession]

Hopefully there is no similar topic already.

I'm sure i'm not the only one here who 'rediscovers' songs that you've heard a number of times before over the years, maybe even an excessive amount which made you dislike the song even more.

But when the time is right, when you are in the exact right frame of mind/mood, and the music player (car stereo, your Sony Walkman with cassettes, home stereo system or whatever it may be) is pumping out music at just the right volume etc, you actually hear the song a different way (perhaps the way it was supposed to be heard just for you to like it), and you actually take notice of it and then suddenly you decide you actually like it now/are no longer sick of it.
This includes seeing a music video of the song too, as sometimes seeing what the subject of the video is does the job for you straight away.

Kinda hard to explain, but thats what seems to happen for me.

Some examples of songs i either never liked before, never took notice of before, or hated before because they got played so much when released.

Everybody Hurts - R.E.M
- Never paid much attention to this song really. Then was at my Dads house watching a music TV channel (YEARS ago). This song came on, and i got hooked on the vid (and thus, the song). I got chills down my spine (not the first time a newly discovered song has done this to me either) when he got to the part of the song where it ramps up a bit. And then it became (and still is) one of my most favourite songs ever.

Steppin Out - Joe Jackson
- As mentioned in the what are you listening to topic, i rediscovered this the other day when in one of our cars. And bought it on iTunes a few hours ago, and have listened to it a number of times since and still love it. When listening to it in GTA Vice City or Vice City Stories i pretty mush ignored it really. :/

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
- I actually think it was Weird Al's 'Smells Like Nirvana' music vid that got me intrigued, and the more i watched it the more i got into the rhythm of the song, which in turn made me start to like the original version too.

More Than A Feeling - Boston
- Again, it was a case of right place, right time, right mood etc

Absolute Beginners - David Bowie
- I think it was the music video that really got me into this song

Mad World - Gary Jules
- Music video again, but also i was in the right mood for it.

I have heaps more examples, but they are basically the same sorts of reasons as above.

Who else has had similar experiences? And with what songs?

[Dicknose]

Had a few songs that I ignored when they came out but something clicked much later.
Manowar Battle Hymn, didn't really get into the song until the 2000s. It think the "cheese" factor had always put me off.


A song I forgot
Flowers, Sister. A bit different in that I always liked the song, but never had a copy. So I might have gone 20 years without hearing it, then a friend played it on a road trip and it was, damn, how did I forget how much I liked this song (and a few others on the album)

Had a few Sabbath songs that hit me much better in the 90s than they did in the 70s
Luckily I balanced that by never wanting to hear Sherbet again!

[thesameguy]

Back in the late '90s I went on a piracy rampage and downloaded every song that ever meant anything to me. They've moved from CD to DVD to flash drive over the last 15 years or so, from room to room and car to car. It's unusual for me to go more than a year without hearing them once - usually in the Suburban which has a mix dating back to 2003 on it still.

[G'day Mate]

There's been a number of Smashing Pumpkins songs which I haven't fully appreciated until I've heard a live recording. Does hearing the same song in a new way count?

[Dicknose]

Yeah, I have songs where I like the live version much more.
Iron Maidens Fear of the Dark. Ok studio song, but the live version is great.

[JoshInKC]

Fear of the Dark was specifically the track I was going to mention.

Also, the entire album Jerry Lee Lewis Live at the Star Club, Hamburg is spectactular- the songs are so rough and borderline punk rock that it really makes one understand why he was such a big deal and so hated by adults. Definitely better than than the album cuts.

Honorable mention - Most of the tracks on AC/DC Live and Slayer's Decade of Aggression. Both of those have songs that I prefer to the studio version.

[Yw-slayer]

I agree with Josh on Fear of the Dark, AC/DC Live, and Decade. I think Decade is probably the best live album ever.

[FaultyMario]

There's been a number of Smashing Pumpkins songs which I haven't fully appreciated until I've heard a live recording. Does hearing the same song in a new way count?

Siamese Dream is genius. Corgan must have been 25 when he wrote most of it, right? Cherub Rock and Disarm are such lyrical powerstones that it puts a lot of light on the type of artistic heights he reached. Bowiesque, actually.

[MR2 Fan]

[drew]

I will third the sentiments on Salyer's DoA. In fact, I may listen to that shit right now, at 5:40am on Saturday. #FuckTheNeighbors