Not to divert from an otherwise stimulating discussion, I will come on board and list Pink Floyd as a possible contender. As a long-time fan, much of their music just doesn't tickle my taste buds the way it used to and much of the new stuff just doesn't whet the appetite at all. This is especially true of projects starting from The Wall, which struck me as heavily flavored by pathos and not a little pride vis-a-vis the tragedy of Roger Waters' loss and Syd's ignoble exit.
The Final Cut was the final straw for me. Roger's shrieking and blubbering hit the right political note, but his histrionics struck me more as hysterics than not. Momentary Lapse of Reason was quite well named: I wondered if the title applied to my purchase of that disc. The Division Bell has a few great moments, but with Gilmour and Rogers refusing to cooperate, it just couldn't hit the right note. Some of the early stuff was hit and miss as well: Piper at the Gates of Dawn is a cataclysm that smacks of Alice in Wonderland on mescaline. Same for Saucerful of Secrets: really fine stuff, if you are into staring at lava lamps for hours on end and drinking absinthe for breakfast....
Ummagumma is a fun romp at times, but numbers like Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict make me wonder if there was a bit of acid in the studio. Atom Heart Mother had one great song, Fat Old Sun. The rest is just a pretentious mess, in my view. The soundtrack Obscured by Clouds had some pretty good moments, as in the title track and Free Four, but there's some pretty sloppy dreck in there, too. Ditto for More, which does well at times while at others it just hits the skids. Echoes was pretty darn good, for the most part. Even with Seamus, the dog at the mike, it's not a terribly bad run unless you find a troll yelling "One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces" a little weird. Likewise, Animals had its moments, but even so Pigs just didn't work right. DSOM was the band's smash, and deservedly so. I still have three discs, and wish for the day that parsley is legalized. Same for Wish You Were Here: a truly wonderful album in my view and one that I just cannot part with even now, more than 30 years since my first listen.
So, yes, I call myself a Pink Floyd fan having done so for a long time; but I know there's a lot I dislike about the music too. This is what makes for good debate and good times. You may agree or disagree my friends, but let's disagree to war, eh? And now, I look forward to your riposts and re-posts....
