Why is Dave Matthews so popular?

I think he's great, but he seems to fit no 'mass appeal' mould.
What is it about him that reaches so many people?
I just can't put my finger on it...


Dielle

Hey Dielle,

I know what you mean. Lots of people absolutely and positively hate the band as well. Very rarely do I hear anything in between.

-Bryan

Have you ever actually listened to his music and lyrics? The man is an incredible songwriter. The musicians he surrounds himself with are second to none. Dont get me wrong, I love all types of music, but very few really stand above the rest, for me. He is one of those who do. I have had the pleasure of meeting him on 3 occations, he is a genuine person. He remembered my name and stopped what he was doing to talk to me. At that time, I had no idea who he was. In my book, he is one of the best, and Tim Reynolds is mind-blowing, to say the least. Just open your horizons and listen. I used to be a "metal" guitarist. I have since rid myself of all but my strat, and unplugged. Acoustic music is, in my opinion, more honest. You cant hide behind the distortion or the drums and bass. You make a mistake, everyone knows it. Nothing against any form of music (please dont blast me), this is just my opinion. Without music, life wouldnt be worth living.
-Shawn Smith

sorry for digging up such an old post
Just wanted to add my 2 cents

I love Dave Matthews...
personally....listening to him very much so inspires me to want to go home and play my guitar. The sucky thing is I usually cant play the complicated stuff he does. I never really appreciated listening to "live" cd's and then I started listening to some of his stuff...
I think hes great...
musically and lyrically....
his songs are deep and have so much meaning when you really sit and listen...his music is touching.

had to comment...
would love to meet him

I think he just has "likeability" and the music is non threatening. For me, I am not a big fan, the way his voice goes up and down just goes right thru me...not in a good way.

I like his music, especially Satellite. It's pretty chill and laid back, makes your mind go elsewhere (in a good way) while listening.

Acoustic music has always drawn me in, but heck there is beautiful music in every genre.

I have never sought out any of his stuff beyond what was made popular by radio play. But I like what I have heard from him. The top my list of his songs was a tribute he and Emmylou Harris did for Johnny Cash. They did "Long Black Veil" and it is good. Check it out on youtube if you haven't heard it. I could stand a little less vibrato from Harris but otherwise its all good.

Other than this song, he seems to have the ability to put a lot of instruments into the song without it sounding to "busy". Does that make sense?

I love Dave Matthews, except that the concert I had tickets for last year got cancelled, lame. But otherwise, give a listen to their first album Crash, it's awesome. So Much To Say, Satellite, Lie In Our Graves, Crash Into Me, Crush...oh man, there's a lot of good stuff on that album. I just watched a documentary called, "Before The Music Dies", and they talk about DMB and how they have proven that listening audiences like variety, I recommend watching that. I remember when Norah Jones got popular it was pretty much the same thing, she wasn't like anyone else on the radio and was winning Grammy's that first year.