Have you ever seen a movie you didn’t enjoy, but for one reason or another you still found it commendable? Maybe it had a great performance or perhaps it highlighted a social issue in a way that you liked.

Have you ever known someone who you found insufferably boring, but you liked them anyway, perhaps because of their integrity or because they drive a nice car?

How about with music? I’ve sure experienced this. Here’s a list of bands and artists whose music I don’t enjoy but nonetheless meet with my approval.

Frank Zappa

I don’t care for his music because: Frank Zappa is without question a first-rate composer and performer. Nonetheless, his subversive approach to writing music leaves me cold. It’s perhaps unreasonable to entirely dismiss someone with such a massive catalog, but by and large I don’t enjoy the man’s music when I hear it.

He gets a pass because: Zappa’s autobiography, The Real Frank Zappa Book, is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Also, he wrote the theme song to Duckman and very nearly collaborated with the Mystery Science Theater 3000 folks. Also, this amazingness:

If I had to listen to an album: Cruising with Ruben & The Jets. Definitely.

Eric Clapton

I don’t care for his music because: Eric Clapton is one of the most successful solo artists in all of rock n’ roll. This is in no small part due to the man’s massive talent, but it’s also because most of what he does is extremely safe, middle-of-the-road blues rock. If that’s your bag, god bless you, but I find it sterile.

He gets a pass because: Eric Clapton relentlessly promotes fellow musicians. In the last decade alone, he’s released albums co-billed with B.B. King and J.J. Cale as well as co-headlined tours with the likes of Jeff Beck and Steve Winwood. Granted, these other artists are fairly well-known in their own right, but they get an undeniable boost when they’re working with The Clap’.

If I had to listen to an album: The Derek & The Dominoes album is great and I enjoy quite regularly. As far as solo stuff goes, uhm…  one of the early ones?

Green Day

I don’t care for their music because: Green Day’s brand of stadium pop-punk is a bit too re-heated for me. Sure, when I was 13 their music was a revelation. Dookie was the soundtrack to my being in the seventh grade. Being older, Green Day just don’t strike me as a band that transcend their influences in any satisfying way. They’re way too produced for their style of music and the songs don’t say anything to me.

They get a pass because: When their latest album came out, Green Day refused to offer a censored version of the album, ensuring Wal-Mart wouldn’t carry it. As anemic as I find their music these days, I admire their taking a stand and I wish more bands would do the same.

If I had to listen to an album: Probably Insomniac, for the nostalgia.

Coldplay

I don’t care for their music because: As the always quotable Casey Rea one told me, Coldplay are Radiohead for soccer moms. They aspire to be the biggest band in the world. The consequence of making sure you are inoffensive to all pallets, however, is that you become flavorless.

They get a pass because: Chris Martin’s appearance as himself on Extras was savagely self-deprecating and performed with a surprising comic panache.

If I had to listen to an album: Probably the most recent, what with it’s Eno presence and all.