"You either love them or you hate them."

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A phrase used to describe art in particular, bands or authors or whatever. Does this make any sense? Are there actually any bands or authors or artists who can honestly be described with this phrase? Or does it just mean that they have a very distinctive style?
I just used this phrase to describe the Fall in an email to jaymc.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 25 October 2004 17:51 (twenty-one years ago)

It's kind of annoying, because for every thing it is applied to, one can find people that are actually lukewarm.

There was an ILM thread about this recently, I think.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 25 October 2004 17:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I can only think of foods that would fit this phrase. Stuff like Marmite or Bovril.

I've never actually heard a whole Fall song.

― jel -- (jel), Monday, 25 October 2004 17:56 (twenty-one years ago)

i quite like the fall.

― m. (mitchlnw), Monday, 25 October 2004 17:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Marmite yes. Bovril tastes like Oxo and (quelle surprise!) beef.

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 25 October 2004 17:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know, I certainly don't hate Marmite but I won't go out of my way to eat it either.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 25 October 2004 18:12 (twenty-one years ago)

So basically, this is a stupid turn of phrase, right?

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 25 October 2004 18:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Sometimes it's hard to hate what you don't like.

― jel -- (jel), Monday, 25 October 2004 18:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm the lukewarm guy. fall? Quite like 'em sometimes. Marmite? Quite like it sometimes.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Monday, 25 October 2004 18:14 (twenty-one years ago)

I do know that when people use it they mean something is, like you said, distinctive. Like Diamanda Galas or eating human brains or something that the majority of people may not be into, but they have a rabid following.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 25 October 2004 18:19 (twenty-one years ago)

How about "You either love them or you hate them or you have some other attitude that falls outside the scope of this cliché"

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 25 October 2004 18:21 (twenty-one years ago)

The thing is, I think that regardles of whether we're discussing bands or foods, the "You either love them or you hate them" concept is only really applicable in the nascent phase. This is for two reasons:

other things come along to copy it

people who do not by nature like innovation and/or always follow but never lead get used to it

so if someone liked most of the records John Peel played but disliked the Fall, they may eventually come round to liking the Fall's style, coz they would hear it so much and be habituated and other alternative bands would be influenced by the Fall over the years and copy their style.

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 25 October 2004 18:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I think people say it to try and make your hatred of something they like appear to be part of some congealed mass of opinion, and not the truly singular bolt of personal disgust it is.

― Ronan (Ronan), Monday, 25 October 2004 19:14 (twenty-one years ago)

EATING HUMAN BRAINS has a "rabid following"? Well, I guess it would, at that.

― briania (briania), Monday, 25 October 2004 19:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Ppl either love or hate george bush.

― Sympatico (shmuel), Tuesday, 26 October 2004 01:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I think it's misused at least 75% of the time, but there are probably things about which it is true. For example, you can't really be lukewarm about noisy free jazz, like "Yeah, I don't mind when it's on but I'm not too into it."

― Hurting (Hurting), Tuesday, 26 October 2004 02:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Ronan OTM. It's mostly just lazy writing, but it can sometimes be a way of re-jigging the 'for us or against us' rhetoric, so not to sound like quite such a complete tosser.

The last instance of the phrase actually working to that end was in about 1953.

― Fred Nerk (Fred Nerk), Tuesday, 26 October 2004 03:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Ppl either love or hate george bush.
-- Sympatico (shmuel...), October 26th, 2004 9:17 PM. (shmuel) (later)

Two words: undecided voters.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 26 October 2004 13:35 (twenty-one years ago)

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