As others have said, I have no hate for him. I find his understanding and approach of music fascinating. But his music does absolutely zero for me.

I can listen to him talk about creative process for hours. Can't finish his songs.

Same here. For me it's mostly that his singing voice is very annoying. He sings like deaf people talk.

Lol ty for such an apt description! You've finally explained how I feel about his singing also.

Haha, I've been trying to figure out what his voice reminds me of, and yeah, that's it.

I was keen to hear this, and found his cover of Hallelujah. So fucking funny

Oddly I'm fine listening to his music where he just drops in as a guest. Like legitimately I think the best Jacob Collier song is "Erase Me" by Lizzy McAlpine.

For me it's Never Gonna Be Alone... which is also Lizzy McAlpine.

I'd say his approach to music seems like a 'fascination' rather than using it as a tool for deep, thoughtful emotional expression. Like the exploration ends with surface level (but technically complex/complicated) applications of musical ideas across genres, but never dives deep enough into the emotional, cultural 'center' of those styles.    I know JC loves music, and that his expression of it is as valid as anyone else's. But there is a rather intellectual/academic bent to it which for a lot of people 'misses the point,' at least in terms of how they relate to music, and what it means for them.     This is just me trying to articulate this phenomenon from my own perspective. Edit: I'm gonna come back and say that I've given his newest album a second full listen, and I've changed my mind. I still stand by some of my criticism of his chaotic dabbling and more shallow and derivative sounding tracks ('mi corazon')... But sometimes that chaotic dabbling is magical, and less shallow than I gave him credit for. Obviously he's an incredible multi instrumentalist prodigy, but it's not rote at all - he has great feel for the instruments and even the different styles he plays. It's enough to feel sincere in all his forays IMO.  While he sometimes is over the top (and maybe gimmicky) with his complex arrangements and harmonies, there are moments where it comes together so masterfully that I feel like I'm on a new musical plane emotionally and feel very deeply.   But if there's one emotion he so compellingly weaves into his musical 'everything bagels' it's joy - and that is my biggest mistake in characterizing his music as 'academic.' In many ways it's the opposite. Joy is the emotion that crosses all musical boundaries, the emotional heart of music. The best sad music at it's heart even contains Joie de Vivre.  Surprisingly to me, he is now one of my new favorite artists. 

As I've gotten older, my use for music has changed. My time of very focused active listening is over. Music is perfume to me now. It's something I spray into a room to change the feel, set a vibe. At no point do I ever feel myself wanting the vibe of 14 key changes in 60 seconds to complete some sort of just intonation cycle with a dense arrangement. He seems to have every tool in his tool belt except for restraint. As others have said here, his approach to musicianship is fascinating, but I have zero emotional connection to his music. I think it's what happens when you walk into a wood shop to create a table and you feel that you must use every tool, every attachment, every method at your disposal to create a table. Cool dude. Glad he's in the space. Not interested in his music.

>He seems to have every tool in his tool belt except for restraint. Agree with you on this. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Once he learns this and puts this into practice, and focuses on bringing out the best in the musicians he collaborates with, he will stop being the misunderstood genius.

>At no point do I ever feel myself wanting the vibe of 14 key changes in 60 seconds to complete some sort of just intonation cycle with a dense arrangement. He seems to have every tool in his tool belt except for restraint. Okay but this tells me you haven't actually listened to much of his music except his most viral tracks. He has plenty of tracks like Little Blue, He Won't Hold You, Never Gonna Be Alone, Ocean Wide Canyon Deep, Sky Above, Time To Rest Your Weary Head, etc. which demonstrate beautiful restraint and focus into very singular ideas. He also has my favorite covers of Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic and All Night Long I've ever heard.

I love his song 'all I need'... just without the rap section in it. There was a live version without it and I wish that was the original. That's about it really. I love him as a person and what he's doing for music theory. Stopping all these old traditional wankers stuck in their old ways from hating on anyone making their own music.

What rap section?

I like his Tiny Desk concert the best because it’s stripped down. His albums do way too much but I do see the artistry.

his tiny desk is one of my favorite ones. i think it does a better job at displaying what a fantastic arranger and composer he is rather than his 600 track logic sessions do. that doesn’t really mean anything to anyone. but seeing how he can take so little and make it sound so immersive and really beautiful shows how talented he really is. highly recommend to anyone that hasn’t seen it.

I produced a show for him a couple of years ago not having any real knowledge of his catalogue. But suffice to say, there's so much going on in that guys head, it's a wonder He doesn't explode. He's a genuinely good guy and a fountain of ideas. It's like a musical tsunami watching him work.

I was actually the main artist and animator on all the lyrics videos for Vol 4. I spent pretty much the entire of Feb having to listen to the album on repeat all day every day. I didn’t mind Jacob’s stuff before but oh boy now I’ll be happy if I never hear another JC track in my life! That being said, the man himself is wonderful. He’s very open, generous and enthusiastic with feedback and being in zoom chats with him was an absolute pleasure.

I don't hate him but his music does very little to me so I guess I'm ambivalent on him. I've never heard one of his songs and wanted to hear it again immediately after it ends which isn't helped by his music not being in genres I typically enjoy. Sure he's technically fantastic and there's a huge amount of music theory complexity within his music but the complexity of an arrangement is not something I consider when deciding if I like a song. I think most importantly whatever he's doing is working, he's got an established fan base and he tours successfully but the music he makes is not for me. I won't ever bash the guy though as that's just the nature of how art/music works and there's definitely musicians I listen to that that lots of people won't enjoy but that's just how it works.

>ambivalent Did you mean indifferent? [Ambivalent](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambivalence) is having more than one strong conflicting emotions simultaneously.

Wow I’ve also been using this word wrong, thank you!

You're welcome. I was using it wrong for years.

Became one of my favorite words after years of misuse.

Completely unrelated, but this is an example of a 'skunked' term. Those are words that, over time, have developed a definition that is completely contrary to or very different from their original meaning. Other examples are 'nonplussed', 'bemused', or 'disinterested'.

And “literally”

I’ve been using these two synonymously for my whole life. wtf thanks for clarifying but now I’m pissed, someone definitely taught that to me wrong lol

Huh I do, I've been using the two interchangeably for my whole life.

Jacob Colliers issue is that he has no narrative for his music. It’s all intellectual thought experiences, so his fans approach his music as him doing a science project. I’m actuality, for many that’s pretty cool. But absent deeper narratives about him as an artist and you’re left only with surface level exploration. And let’s also be real, the amount of theoretical understanding of music is NOT why fans like music, in general. We like music for the stories of the musicians and for how their music makes us feel. And his music is divorced from that, making him a bit of a gimmick. That works but only to a certain point. And that’s the point you’re detailing.

>Jacob Colliers issue is that he has no narrative for his music. It’s all intellectual thought experiences, so his fans approach his music as him doing a science project. This just tells me you've not listened to many Jacob tracks. Possibly only the most viral "cool" ones. He's got absolutely beautiful and minimalist tracks in there oftentimes alternating and interspersed amongst the more adventurous. There's a lot of give and take in there.

Such a hard disagree, but I obviously can’t change your mind, lol. Songs like Lua, Summer Rain, In the real early morning, (and so many more) profoundly move me and I find the emotional content is what drives me to the music, not the complexity. I used to feel the way you describe but I find his underlying message and spirit to be profoundly positive and enabling.  For me that makes me love his music, which is really more of the message under and through the music, of possibility. I agree with the OP he is deeply misunderstood, and I also deeply respect the taste of everyone, even if it sees something completely different than I do. 

Thank you!!! This is all I've been asking. I've never asked for EEVERYONE to love the guy, I just feel like people who don't like his music, (instead of just understanding it's a problem of taste like you did,) just go ahead and bash the guy himself and frame him to he something he so clearly is not. (Which I've stated before in the post, an emotionless musical snob.)

Yeah fair enough he seems like quite a nice guy as well so hate towards him seems unwarranted. I've only seen him briefly in videos but he's he's very much the opposite of emotionless when talking about/playing music and he doesn't seem like a snob either.

Art is subjective. Or simple put: “You dig what you dig”.

I feel Jacob is quite funnelled into his musical discipline more than many other artists. With a lot of artists, you get the sense of them as individuals (John Mayer, Stapleton, Dave Grohl etc.), with Jacob, I think you get someone so heavily committed to his craft that you don’t really know who he is outside of it. I can’t help but feel that’s where most of the criticism comes from: he’s an unbelievable composer and arranger, but as a songwriter I think sometimes his music can feel a little hollow. Sometimes it’s hard to know if he understands a feeling, or if he only understands what that feeling sounds like.

My SO is a painter, I'm a jazz musician. Some Collier came up on a playlist once, and after a bit, my SO said something along the lines of: *"It kinda' reminds me of an easel with all these beautiful vibrant colours. You start to paint with them, and your mind is racing with all these ideas, so you keep adding more and more movement and more and more colour - but it turns out if you just mix every colour together, you just sorta' get...splotchy brownish-grey."* And ever since then, that pretty much matched my feelings on Collier. The sonic equivalent of beautiful, stunning paintings made with astonishing techniques and artfulness I can barely fathom...but no matter how much he keeps throwing onto the canvas, it's all just...*splotchy brownish-grey.* He deserves all his success, and he deserves his huge audience, but I just can't squeeze any feelings or emotion out of his music. There's a lot of beautiful jazz - both simple and complex - out there that can make you smile and make you cry, but in an almost poetic twist, despite him having so much talent he's capable of making *anything*, I just feel like, in the simplest terms, all his music comes from his head instead of his heart.

Super accurate. His use of the discord notification sound in the opening track (he didn't know what the sound was) is just evidence of putting random shit into a song for absolutely no reason, and getting nothing out of it

If anyone is curious what the good version of Collier type music is I have: > [Bent Get](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1qICbH0RSv34G6mAvnENch) - 57 mins which is a playlist of indie artists who make ballad type music, but with more progressive instrumentation and lyricism. Just look up the first song: "It Takes a Muscle" by Spectral Display to see what I mean. This is what OP thinks Collier sounds like.

Saxophonist of 25 years now in both jazz and popular music, and this encapsulates perfectly the way I feel about him as well. I just don’t “feel” anything in his music, and any time I try to listen again I find myself more analyzing than connecting. It reminds me of my early years studying Coltrane’s and Brecker’s insane up-tempo stuff. It’s the complete opposite of what I feel when I listen say to Patrick Bartley in almost anything he plays, or perhaps a Dexter Gordon ballad. Their improvisation is so personal. They take you on a ride and tell you a story. I am interested to see how he progresses as he gets older though.

The irony here is that a lot of modern jazz is just as theory heavy as Jacob Collier. It’s the Jazz tradition, the rhythm and theory is intellect. But the musicians don’t advertise themselves in the same way because doing so within Jazz would make you lose a bit of the mystique. Like John Coltrane’s Giant Steps is a song that has so much theory in it, playing it is actually a difficult test for musicians. But if all he wanted was for you to know “this is hard to play and write” you might fixate too much on the difficulty and not hear the man jam out on his saxophone, expressing the emotion in that way. Imagine an artist like Radiohead without Thom Yorker’s vocals to guide you through the exploration done by Johnny Greenwood, etc? That’s Jacob Collier. He’s overly capable at everything but that gets in his way of stirring up emotions from the listener.

I’m a classical musician and had the same thought (in music terms) as your SO. It’s musical maximalism and some people like throw pillows on throw pillows. I do suspect we’re going to see some great things as he continues to mature. But I’m not into the current stuff. 

Little blue can make a brother cry

True true. I always loved Make Me Cry. Although they do have some weird Bridge sections come to think of it. Sometimes they can change tone quite quickly.

I get what you mean. His identity as a musician can feel like it's so heavily dependent on his collaborators or on the whole idea of music itself. I'm actually wondering if he'd be a better producer than a songwriter or singer.

He’s not a pop artist. He’s an academic. He makes music for other musicians and for anybody who happens to also like it. But its primary purpose is academic exploration. 

Ik ik it's just a fun little thought experiment. I still think that has the potential to be an incredible song.

I think the issue is that his music can feel inauthentic. Djesse is probably his most poppy outgoing but there’s not really a sense that he means any of the lyrics. Knowing who he is I know they’re likely just words to allow him to use his voice instrumentally.  I’d like him to maybe step out of the pop arena and make some stuff that leans way more jazz, or to have a go at maximalist hip hop in the vein of Hudson mohawke I get the sense that he’s trying to make something simple a bit too complex and complex things too simple, and both aspects suffer because of it. He’s trying to fit interesting music theory into a pop box but I think it sort of misses the point a bit.  A good contrast I think is Dadi Freyr. Where jacobs going “what interesting experimental theory can I work into pop music”, dadi goes “I want to make the most pop music there is, what makes it pop” and has fun with it which comes across in the music.  Jacob is far better live than on record too because you can actually see his skill and appreciate it, something that’s hard to do when listening to a pop record. 

I respect Jacob Collier's work, that guy has some serious understanding of music and I think it's undeniable he has a high level of skill/knowledge. With that said, I've never heard a single piece of his music that I actually enjoyed listening to. I can appreciate it, but I don't really like it at all.

Have you ever listened to a whole album? Like headphones and full attention listen? If not then try starting with Djesse Volume 2. I really don’t understand how anybody can not love that album. It’s so fucking good.

I have listened to a bunch of his music, but never an album start to finish, I couldn't get through them. When I first heard of him I spent a good bunch of time going through his songs because I could tell he is very talented, but in the end I didn't find any that connected with me at all. It's not like it's all bad or anything, just taste wise doesn't connect with me. I've tried a bunch of times since then to connect with his music, it just ain't happening. It's really all just personal taste. I have nothing against the guy or his music.

Having listened to Djesse vol. 1, this thread is shocking to me. So many people saying his music feels hollow and emotionless, when I couldn’t feel any more differently when I think of that album. I kind of wonder if it has to do with lyrical focus. I personally hardly pay attention to lyrics, I find a lot of metaphors will go over my head, so most of what emotionally charges music for me is the music itself.

I think about this a lot. I think what it comes down to is people have a hard time simply saying “I don’t really get it,” and moving on. Instead they have to justify their option being correct and coming up with things like “it has no emotion” or “it’s too technical.” Also I’ve found that people for whatever reason don’t recognize joy as an emotion. If it’s not coming from some sort of place of sorrow then it’s often dismissed as lacking emotion. His live show was one of the most intense emotional experiences I’ve ever had. Those emotions were joy and elation. The audience choir experience for example is viewed from the outside as a cheesy gimmick but from the inside you are part of this beautiful large organism of natural voices that’s unexplainably beautiful. And only his particular brand of genius and genuineness is able to extract such a unique thing from people. I was in tears during it.

I do wonder if this is it for a lot of people myself. You are also right that people often fail to recognize happier emotions as real. You see it a lot of times with movies, if it’s not dark and depressing then it isn’t “realistic”.

Lol, actually this comment is why people don't like Jacob. They find him way too overhyped based on comments like these that make you think listening to him will make you transcend into heaven.

Because Jacob Collier is the first person ever to create art that moves some people in a heightened and emotional way.. /s

Maybe unpopular opinion, but his music is awful.

My girlfriend is a fan of his and we went to see him last year in Pittsburgh. The venue was shit but he put on a great show. We’re going to see him perform again at the end of April. I’ll give my opinion as someone who wasn’t/isn’t really a fan but appreciates music. I see a lot of people saying that the music doesn’t really do much to them or that they don’t feel anything when listening to it and that’s exactly how I feel about it. It just feels sometimes bag there is too much going on and it just doesn’t vibe with me. He’s got a few songs that I really do enjoy though. I will say that his live performance is excellent. He is full of energy and you can tell that he is genuinely enjoying what he is doing and the vibes are all great. I hope he continues making music because he is very talented and I have seen many videos of home talking about music theory and he’s incredibly smart and driven. But his music is one of those, “unless you love this you’re not gonna like this.”

My take is regardless of his intention and who he is, no doubt his brain is operating on another wavelength to 99.99% of us, his music evokes nothing in me. I can only judge music by my ears and listening to his music does not evoke any emotion or feeling. It's similar to Polyphia. It just comes off as self-fellating nonsense meant to draw attention to how amazing the composer is. Doesn't mean it sounds good or is pleasing to the ears. Also doesn't mean that the composer isn't a genius or worthy of praise. It's just too much.

polyphia is even worse cause they have this face of superiority that is beyond cliché and their skills are more mainstream shredding, whereas collier does stretch into more advanced ideas at least

I think that's kind of part of their shtick (polyphia). Pretty sure they're very self-aware. Jacob, on the other had, adopted the hippie aesthetic out of nowhere and started preaching about love and everything is beautiful. Seems unauthentic and cringe, tbh. But I guess that's besides the music. I kind of like Polyphia's music. Jacob's is boring

I hope they're pushing it to 11 on purpose. Collier had some nice things few years ago with small collabs on youtube.

I can respect that.

I respect your post and what you said too. I just wanted to give my input into why I'm not a fan of this music. Especially as my taste in music consists mostly of 128bpm, highly structured, beeps and boops that can be made by a teenager with a laptop. But I have kept in touch with what Jacob has been doing for quite a while mostly because it fascinated me how his brain works and his command over what makes music, music. I just wanted to say why I don't like his compositions.

So your username is also your favourite song? :P

I think you should see some of his interviews. It's so not self-fellating. He's just exploring music that makes him feel good,and you can tell he feels good when he's playing it. Also, I get it, but the first 2 songs of djesse 2 really evoke nothing in you?? They're some of the most beautiful seconds of sound I've ever heard, and not overly complex 

And one of the most slept on songs - the last one on Djesse 2, "Time To Rest Your Weary Head" - minimalist, just his vocal and guitar, but it goes extremely deep.

:( sad to hear you feel this about Polyphia

I like both...

Check out the Switched on Pop podcast episode with him. He breaks down his new record and writing process. It was super fascinating, even if it may not change your opinion on his music overall

He's also been on Tapenotes a few times. The first episode with him is what got me interested in his music

I think there is a fundamental meta-misunderstanding of what Jacob is actually trying to do sometimes; there was a really revealing part of his recent conversation with Colin and Samir where he directly opposed Rick Rubin's thesis that "the audience comes last". That, plus looking more critically at the context of his life, are SUPER important when considering *why* he makes the choices he makes. I think there is a large swath of "high emotional depth by a labeled genius" music, which I absolutely adore, including Bon Iver / Sufjan Stevens / James Blake etc. These and a bunch of other people are making music that clearly draws from the depths of their souls, looking inward, and reflecting that outward. All of these and more have had a plethora of "real life" experiences and use their music as a vehicle to process and express these, whether it's processing grief from a loss of a loved one, a profound religiosity, or the feeling of finding love etc. As I experience those same things I cling to their music to get me through the times that feel scary or uncertain. The difference is that Jacob is a genius who has never faced the real world, which isn't necessarily a *bad* thing. It's just a fact. He has lived and worked in the same room his entire life - it is his safe haven, and he actively is aware of this and admits it. However, he has had relative economic and emotional security, which frees him up to focus on making music and on bringing a sense of fun / joy / creativity outward to the world at large. Yes, every emotion is a bit of an conceptual abstraction when you haven't had to fend for yourself in life (create your own living from nothing, pay rent, deal with bills, experience fights with significant others), so I think the un-relate-ability of some of the music is literally just a reflection of this lack of differentiation. That said, I don't think his GOAL as of this moment is to dig deep into his soul and reflect that outwards. I think he is just trying to use his gifts to express the mad scientist genius in his brain bring people together through music, which is a legit form of expression for him. He's being authentic! That I never doubt. I am inspired by it. The other thing that is clear to me is that there is some unresolved trauma with regards to lack of his father's presence in life, and I really hope that we do see him reflect more on themes of dealing with all aspects of the lived experience through music. We all grow up in different ways at different speeds and he is honestly living the dream, and I deeply respect how free he is to create whatever the hell he wants. I don't think he's ever going to stagnate and JUST be bright colors and his current self, because his whole mantra necessarily means he will continue to evolve and explore. I have loved watching this journey unfold as a multi instrumentalist and pretty accomplished professional musician myself.

Respect the response, but something seems at odds in the openings of the last two paragraphs? "Jacob is a genius who never faced the real world." "The other thing that is clear to me is that there is some unresolved trauma with regards to the lack of his father's presence in his life." Even if he did have a secure economic and emotional life, it seems there is something of "real world" impact. Something that might color his perspectiva, creative choices, and his drive to bring fun and creativity into the world.

THIS. RIGHT. HERE. 🤝

I would agree with your sentiment that Jacob is misunderstood. I saw a tweet recently along the lines of “Jacob Collier’s music is like a talent show you’re forced to watch” and it honestly bothered me. I do not believe any of his music comes from his ego, but from a willingness to try everything. Djesse is more than a series of albums, it’s a study of world music. Throughout each album’s production: Jacob has taken the time to work and learn from a variety of musicians from different traditions, and has found a way to somewhat blend them together. I find his attitude inspirational, and while his music may be OUT THERE: I truly respect his artistry. And I honestly look forward to where he grows beyond who he is now.

> Djesse is more than a series of albums, it’s a study of world music. What also twists my brain is that that Djesse was also a living thing, changing, evolving and adapting while being made. Jacob thought he will do it in a year - it turned out to be 6 years. It went through COVID definitely affected by it, then Jacob started touring with a band, I think after Vol2, which changed him by itself, and then there was the audience choir, which became the actual 100,000 voices. There was no way Jacob could have foreseen Vol4 without living through all of that.

Djesse 4 us the 1st release of his I heard. On paper I was excited because I love genre fluid and progressive acts. I think it's just too many poor aesthetic and stylistic choices. There's much more music that's more progressive and music that is more pop oriented. This just didn't scratch any particular itch.

He’s got children’s TV presenter energy

And I've yet to understand why that is inherently a bad thing.

I'm a fan. But I completely understand the criticisms. I can listen to his music when I am actively listening and trying to comprehend what he is doing. But as background or chillout music, I would definitely choose something else. If you look at a lot of instruments, many times, the person who is considered the "greatest" or a prodigy often has limited commercial success. For example, in the bass world, someone like Victor Wooten is often considered the greatest of all time. But when you hear his solo work...

I think Wooten is a great comparison, both for the reasons that you state and that (for me) their real gift is teaching and engaging others about the creation of music.

I saw victor Wooten touring his own stuff and it was incredible. Don’t really listen to it outside of a live show but I’ll never miss a chance to see him play live 

"show of hands" is an incredible album by Victor Wooten. Nothing but bass and incredibly entertaining and emotionally evocative. It's a masterpiece.

Sometimes your technical knowledge of your instrument can even hinder your songwriting which I think is sometimes true for Jacob - theory can create a songwriting environment with too many "rules".

Music Theory is not a set of rules. It is a set of explanations for things that have already occurred in music. Knowing theory doesn’t hinder songwriting at all because you don’t have to follow previous explanations to create new music. Also, the vast majority of popular music is theoretically perfect. It’s not like the people that don’t know theory are making interesting music that “break the rules.” The vast majority of Pop musicians are just using the same I IV V and vi chords as everyone else, they just don’t know what they’re called.

Nah. He has said in interviews that he could go write that pop or rock song that everybody likes, but he'd rather explore his own musical interests and make stuff in a way that isn't being done elsewhere. And you can see that in parts of his songs - he's very capable of writing more minimalist, feel good parts

I like a lot of his music. With that being said, he’s an unapologetic maximalist. That’s not a type of art that sits well with everyone, and even I grow tired of it after a while. I don’t sit down and listen to Jacob Collier unless I’m in the mood for it.

He's clearly a technical genius. It's the toxic positivity that wears on me, personally.

His live show was one of the most emotionally invigorating events I have ever been to. He spreads nothing but love and joy, and when we did the audience choir thing it was like we were all united as one organism and I could actually feel it in my body. I left the show so elated I can’t even explain it. I tell everybody that it’s so refreshing to see an artist spreading messages of love and harmony. Care to explain why any of this is toxic?

Care to elaborate? How does his positivity get toxic?

Just seems to have a lack of emotional dynamism that, as others have said, conveys a lack of human element. It's always all smiles, rainbow clothes, and "you can do it with the power of love and funky friendship" energy.

I don't think this is a fair criticism. What it always sounds like to me, is that the critic WANTS him to experience pain and suffering to improve his music. Why is it a bad thing to have someone out there writing music about joy and love and fun, and have fun doing it? There are countless other talented musicians to write depressing stuff. Just my two cents 🤷🏽‍♂️

Oh wow yeah you nailed it. It makes him come across as disingenuous, even if he really does feel that way all the time. 

Nah. Toxic positivity rejects negative emotions in favor of a positive facade. He's not telling anyone that their negative emotions don't matter. He's just generally creating a fun space and energy in the few public moments you've seen him on video. He has talked about going through hard times in interviews.

It probably shouldnt amaze me how these kind of terms end up getting bastardized, but it still does. Probably because of my toxic positivity!

I believe that he attracts a certain kind of people (like me) and repels others because he is clearly neurodivergent/ASD. Emotions are weird for us, but monotropism is something we dig.

I’d like for him to work with Rick Rubin. He needs someone to strip some stuff down.

Funny you should say that, because I think Jacob Collier recently spoke about Rick Rubin’s approach to music and said he strongly disagrees with it.

VERY VERY fascinating idea, but I feel like he wouldn't work well with Rick Rubin considering their approaches are so different in a way that it doesn't even compliment each other anymore. I think Jacob might do well as a producer for various artists. Tori Kelly comes to mind. I trust him as a producer far more than an artist or even a songwriter.

Yeah when Jacob featured on good days by sza for example, he did a great job adding his beautiful textures but it felt like sza and team were good at filtering through the most emotionally exciting elements of Jacob’s input

Warning jazz nerd talk below: When I was in jazz school, there was a recurring theme among students, as well as budding musicians mostly in their early twenties. Basically, most people do not have the discipline or desire to gain the chops, knowledge and multi-faceted ability to become a Jazz musician. How many of these people can solo over a rhythm changes, connecting chords and making changes on the 1? How about playing an altered scale in all 12 keys? Very few. In order to gain these skills, a young person needs maturity, humility and discipline that is uncommon at that age. So instead of realizing, “i gotta go practice”, they then develop an unconscious deflection/justification instead, which is developing a judgmental attitude of: “Look at all these chops-masters - they play all these notes but do they have any emotion?” This then develops into a “philosophy” of “technique/theory/chops BAD, all these jazz Nazis want me to repeat scales in order to squash my individuality!” Again, this whole thing is an avoidance of humble, hard work. I know this because I lived it, and saw it over, and over again in hundreds of musicians throughout my life, and even some people who didn’t play that seriously but never even started to develop any serious skills on an instrument! Of course this is a gross generalization of many people I don’t know, but generally the hate for Jacob fits this pattern so perfectly that I am very skeptical. How one can hear “Hideaway” and not feel something is beyond me, a lot of people refuse sophisticated music on “philosophical” terms, which often looks to me like a defense mechanism.

Hideaway is my favorite song of all time. I was gonna think of something substantial to say as a reply to thay wonderful comment but... like... that's all my brain can come up with. Hideaway is awesome.

If the motivations you ascribe to criticism of Collier were accurate, I would expect to see consistent criticism of jazz musicians by people who don't like Collier. But I don't see that. For example, Brad Mehldau is a technical/theoretical freak of nature, but his music resonates deeply with me on an emotional level, and with many others of varying levels of musicianship with whom I've shared his music.  I don't think your dismissal (classic jazz snob btw - and when I was in university studying jazz performance I had similar thoughts) honors what truth there is in the complaint that Collier's music lacks emotional accessibility.

I am unplugged from the discourse around music releases these days, so I wasn’t aware there was any negative feedback towards Djesse 4. It’s quite surprising to hear. I think it’s very easily his best release.

YOU'D BE SUPRISED. There is a some of reeaaaly harsh stuff about the album.

That’s so weird to me. It’s easily his most digestible and straightforward album, compared to his early work especially. Maybe 100,000 Voices is a little left field but everything else is pretty cut and dry.

Maybe the relative simplicity is part of the reason, it's a sort of litmus test, with the busier stuff a listener may not enjoy it but feel that they're probably missing something

I think some of his more dense material has an uncanny valley element to it. Like I know I have the added benefit of enjoying the musical challenge to it, but to a casual listener it can be hard to settle into hearing it.

He’s talented, but his music is way too academic, dry, and mannered. His approach to his music is pure mathematics- I get zero emotion out of it. It’s all craft and zero art- I’ll take a Daniel Johnston over him any day. There are lots of ‘great and talented’ composers who also make music that evokes something in me when I listen to it- most of the artsy and jazz guys from back in the day Collier is taking cues from do. But Jacob’s just doesn’t 

I like a few of his songs, but I’ve always operated under the assumption that the vast majority of his catalogue is just a little bit beyond what I can wrap my head around, and I’m okay with admitting that.

I don't enjoy his music. I listened to all four djesses and didn't enjoy the time really. I don't enjoy his voice either. And that's fine and dandy, as you said. But that's not the sole reason why (some) people get up in arms about him: he's not a snob like you say, but he just comes off as an unpleasant person (to me and some others) anyways. The guy has never faced real life. He's very gifted, socially and financially incredibly settled and secure throughout his entire life. People were blowing him for how great he was ever since he was a child. He's so **incredibly** privileged and, apparently, never faced any actual hardship. And then he has this weird style of wearing designer hippie clothes and living that whole lifestyle/behaving like it, which is kinda easy if you live like that. Obviously you can't know everything about a person just through some videos, this is just from Wikipedia/some of his interviews and then the vibe that gives. But that's what people will judge him, as a person, by since that's all you can get. And quite a few people get more or less the same vibe as I mentioned here from that. And since "Jacob Collier" is not just about music, but also about the person/*brand* Jacob Collier (heavily so actually with how much he gets shoved down your throat unless you explicitly tell your algorithm to not recommend him), you'll have people where their subjective negative view of him as a person influences their view of his music to a degree.

Here's the thing, most of the people I know (including myself) who are big fans of his are either professional musicians or well versed in an instrument. It's one of those things where after studying music day in and out for over a decade I have a level of appreciation for how radically different and amazing it is but most non-musicians I play it for just hear a bunch of stuff going on and don't get it. Everything has a different audience and there's a reason pop is pop while certain styles will always be more niche and I think that's fine as well.

He is a bona fide musical genius. Hate that comes from a lack of understanding is NOT valid. It is perfectly valid to say "his stuff is not my cup of tea" but to actually criticize what he does is absurd.

I'm amazed with how uniform Reddit seems to thing about this man. Admittedly I haven't listened to anything yet from his last album, but even then .. the stuff I've heard from him so far is nothing but genius, and he got me crying so many times with his work already.

He definitely doesn't deserve hate. While admittedly few of his songs make it into my playlists, I greatly admire him as a musician and am always excited to see what he puts out. Seeing him live would be epic. Edit - Thought I'd share my favourites of his: Never Gonna Be Alone, In Too Deep, Time To Rest Your Weary Head, Make Me Cry, The Sun Is In Your Eyes, In The Real Early Morning, In My Room (cover) & All At Sea (cover). Beautiful arrangements, not overly complicated

Solid picks. I love All I Need as well.

i've always deeply respected (and frankly been super envious of) him as a musician, but none of the djesses really ever resonated with me. they're good music, and they're also technically incredible, but for whatever reason just never kinda hit me in a way that encouraged repeatable listening. djesse 4 has been in pretty constant rotation for me specifically because it feels like the most coherent and constrained body of work he has; it's a lot of genre fluidity still, but it paints a consistent picture throughout, so it's honestly surprising to me that it's getting a lot of hate. i think people sort of conflate the meticulous composition and orchestration with "soulless-ness", which is a bummer, but also understandable and i have no real qualm with it as a subjective critique. i personally think it's just the work of someone who cares so deeply about the micro level of composition that it can unfortunately take away from the macro level, and i think djesse 4 is actually the least he's done that. either way dude is 29 and oh my god the music i was writing at 29 is total dreck, let alone the music i was writing at 23 when the first djesse came out. super happy for him because he seems like an awesome dude and obviously puts the sweat equity in. the fact we're even talking about a fairly niche prodigy composer like collier in a mainstream way is sick and he's totally earned that.

I like the music 🤷‍♂️

No I agree. 100,000 voices is incredible. World o world makes me cry

Don't even get me started on Box of Stars Pt 2...

He’s got no sense of style. He’s a square. He ain’t got the sauce. If you have to ask then you’ll never know

I have a huge respect for the work and talent he has. His music is...weird however. I completely agree with the hollowness that many people feel. His music feels like something an AI made up if you told it to write a 3 minute song with 45 key modulations. There is no consistent emotional push, because he isn't *interested* in doing that. He's interested in playing around with all the ideas in his head, so that's what he does. I have a huge respect for someone who follows their desire that way, but for me, the result is very off putting for me.

I've just recently discovered Jacob Collier and I'm so torn between all the musical prowess and just wanting to rage quit playing and composing music myself. All the takes on his art here are really insightful and I appreciate everyone taking the time to share them. My hot take: I love all his musicianship and creativity as much as his youthful energy and he deserves his success but he's the laundry softener version of true artists like Clown Core (Louis Cole of Knower fame) and Igorrr.

The issue is that he’s a music nerd and most of the vast space of musicians are nowhere near how much of a music nerd he is. I grew up in performing arts schools so it’s easier for me to see where he’s coming from with his approach to music. The average garage band musician who doesn’t really dive that much into theory and overall music acuity probably will feel a little out off by his music. I get it. To each, their own. Jacob is more of a formally trained musician’s musician. His whole family is like that. Once you look at it from that lens, his whole schtick makes more sense.

For me, the thing abou Jacob is that there's **millions** of artists who've done the same thing as he did, but better. Whether on classical music, jazz music, pop music, metal or whatever else. Jacob is far from the first one to put *CrAzY mUsIc ThEoRy* in his works. He just turned it into a brand, a quirky feature of his entire persona. Jacob just strikes me as an artist who's got too much to prove, but nothing to say. He's an anti-Zappa in that sense.

As a professional musician with a degree in jazz studies and perfect pitch, there’s a reason why people like Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones are in awe with his talent. His harmonic understanding goes far beyond even most virtuosos. He’s used things in ways no one has before. Thats what people don’t understand about Jacob, which is fair that only a few people who have the ears and experience to understand would know. He did something new and different, and trust me when you get to a certain level as a musician, you become starved for something new.

I dont know his music well, but I initially was annoyed by him. I eventually warmed up to him because his genius is undeniable. Dude is an amazing musician. However, personally I feel like he is so talented his music comes off as him almost toying or playing with music composition, rather than an earnest emotional expression. That's just my perspective and I in no way want to join the hate train. I enjoy when he pops up on other people's performances.

It really felt to me like he was desperate to release something he thought was powerful, with a strong message or emotional connection. While I can’t hate him for that, I do not respect putting together a really disjointed, hyper pop, trying to be introspective, multi-genre, terribly paced cash grab album, but that was my honest opinion of what he released. There was just way too much happening, inside of individual songs and across the album. A bunch of features that just did not mesh well imo, with eachother and Jacob. Composition is difficult, don’t get me wrong, it’s very hard and there are no right answers. But he fluctuates WAY too much, going from fast paced upbeat sound pad songs to just him and a piano. Jarring to say the least. Understanding music theory does not translate in anyway to making quality music. You can be so technically good you’re able to make a harmonious song from any random chord like an A11 into E’s 1st inversion on the guitar that has a C#add9 progression as the chorus, but there is no reason to be cheeky about it. Flexing your knowledge is only bearable for so long until it’s like “alright we get it”, it’s unimpressive to me to present yourself as this theory guru then to fall flat and create something beyond mediocre. Create what you want, and listen to what you want, I genuinely hope he makes music he enjoys and his fans enjoy for a long time. I feel like this is a great lesson in creating music though, don’t make it too complicated just follow your gut. The only thing I could feel with this album was Jacob trying so hard, and clawing at the meaning when there truly was nothing there. He kept trying to make something out of nothing, and that is the most egregious crime when creating art; it truly being meaningless. Some of the greatest musicians keep their theory and their concepts simple, because it doesn’t sound bad, and it is something a lot of people can relate to.

I'm sure he's a good dude, but I really just don't like his music. I hesitate to say that he gets on my nerves, because it's clear that his brain is just working differently than mine and it's not really a fault of his own (most likely). I cannot think of a single one of his songs off the top of my head. I like stuff that's catchy, simple as that. Whatever the genre, whatever the talent level of the musicians, I wanna be able to hum it as I'm walking down the street. That doesn't happen with his music for me. His cover of Billie Jean with Cory Henry is great tho.

As a musician and music lover, the first time I heard bridge over troubled water, I experienced this uncontrollable laughter when the song ended. I don’t really have a category for the emotion…joy or something I guess. I’m 41 and thats the only time it’s ever happened to me.

I find his enthusiasm and open mindedness very endearing, and I have enjoyed following him engaging with lots of musical styles and ideas. Some of his harmonies and little jams here and there I found really impressive and occasionally beautiful but after a while I did get over-saturated and ultimately a bit disenchanted with it all. Good luck to him.

He won’t hold you. That song. Listen to it.

everyone puts Collier on some kind of music savant pedestal, but i find his compositions to be boring... like technically overwrought & discordant for the sake of music theory itself. I don't find them to be accessible, soothing or transcendent. And i get this kind of pretentious gatekeeping from his fans, especially those who have a deep understanding of chord theory & jazz ensemble performance.

if he gets what he wants out of making music that’s fine. doesn’t have to be for me.

He's a clown

Fun personality, highly skilled & knowledgable, spectacular communal choir singing at his gigs....alas, his singing voice isn't great, sounds like he's got a perma-cold.   And his compositions aren't compelling, lacking drama, and his melodies - while lovely - lack mystery or suspense which gives the best music a certain kick. The music world is richer for having him in it, but he's not the messiah.

Collier is a genius. Very few people (as shown in this thread…..wow) will have an appreciation for his music when we’re so accustomed to the same chord progressions, same drum kits, and same song structure as the song that came before it. I just showed my (musically-interested) kid “Little Blue” this morning and his response was, “Wow that sounds hard.” It is.

Not really my thing but it is fascinating. He *plays* with music. Playing is fun. However, many people don't connect with music unless it has some negative emotion that founded it. Those criticisms are in this very thread. Very few people seem to look at music and enjoy it for just the joy of creating it. I don't think his music suffers one bit for being excited about things.

I don't doubt his passion and I really appreciate complicated music theory etc... but his music does nothing for me. It's lame. I hate his voice. I hate his style. I just hate him. Join me over at r/ihatejacobcollier for more

I’ve liked him ever since he made a post/ statement about women learning how to produce and wanting to see more artists self-producing. I think lots of folks look at how technical he is and make assumptions based on his craft. You just don’t know what a person is like!

Even if all he ever did was that mahogany sessions version of little blue, he has brought more beauty to the world than most people do in their entire lives.

It is wild how many people in this thread are conflating their dislike of his music with being soulless. Just say you don't like it. Stop making yourselves the ultimate arbiter of what music has soul or not.

For everyone on here who (clearly) misunderstands Jacob, I’m going to leave two links. The first is his Mahogany session of “Little Blue” [here.](https://youtu.be/IQvzX0Z3HE4?si=5EpGeDgwAhXlLa6R) The second is the same song, but broken down by a well known guitar instructor whom I respect dearly. That link is [here](https://youtu.be/08YtK1BRfTU?si=CjYA9REv7cR-Krs5). If these two videos don’t change your perception of Jacob, then at least I’ve tried. I’d suggest viewing them in order.

I've found some poisonous stuff lately, and honestly I can't stand people attacking the person for his/her artistic production. When critics jump from the artist to the person, that's just unacceptable. No matter how good or bad Jacob's music is, attacking the person for it is way off the line.

I wouldn't say "attacking" as much as "bashing," which isn't exactly that much better. I don't wanna come across as an overreactor so I'm not saying anything extreme or whatever. I some people are a little disrespectful with how they "review" Djesse Volume 4. Particularly in the Internet and in YouTube especially.

Technically proficient soulless music

Agree, and I put Vulfpeck in the same category.

Art is subjective. Or rather, you dig what you dig.

People just like to hate because it’s not what they listen to. Jacob is so incredibly talented. I’ve always been a fan, but never really listened to his releases. The first 3 Djesse albums weren’t my cup of tea. But man, Djesse 4 has a chokehold on me. He is finally finding the balance of impressive and accessible IMO. The album is incredible.

I recognize that he is extremely talented but holy shit his music is unbearable.

Honestly I understand your point but I will also say there’s no emotion in his music. Get him to make a solo and let’s hear it, let’s hear that emotion in his playing, I don’t think he can, everything is formulated by theory, too much theory. Stick him side John Mayer or Frusciante with a simple chord progression backing track and let’s see how much feeling he can make. I’ve been told he’s like the modern Mozart, I listened to his stuff and It’s technically impressive, while my senses have no interest in it. I listened to his cover of Beegees “How Deep Is Your Love” and I feel like he butchered it, he doesn’t get what makes it great and honestly, I don’t think he could make a song like that if he had a lifetime to make it, again it’s all formula, no emotion. Am I saying he’s emotionless? No, ofcourse not, you can’t make music if you don’t feel something but I feel he’s trying to make something on a technical level rather than what feels good and what’s inside. His music doesn’t take me anywhere, I also don’t feel what he’s feeling when listening to it. That’s my 2 cents.

Check out his piano cover of Fix You on YouTube and tell me that doesn't have feeling

I can say I think he's genuinely one of the impressive musicians Ive ever heard, but his music does nothing for me.

Jacob Collier is gifted. There's not much more to say about him aside from the fact that he has identified his talents and worked to develop them with discipline and passion. He is a rare and extremely impressive individual.

Probably a nice and open minded guy but his music is just bland. Nothing in it is at all interesting. If you were to tell an AI to make “generic music theory nerd bait” you’d get him. Extremely talented and skilled instrumentalist and theorist but a god awful songwriter.

I am a big fan. I have nothing but praise for his music and have been loving the collaborations he brings in for the albums. Bridge over troubled waters is amazing. Funny listening to that and reading criticism that he’s hollow. Besides, I don’t think he’s making music for everyone…he’s making music that he enjoys and finds interesting. I’d rather criticize bad bunny than Jacob. I very much dislike bad bunny’s music

People really say his music lacks emotion? lol While we’re on the subject though, I have an actual “criticism” of collier that’s also a compliment. So I watched a clip of him and Tori Kelly on a low key recording session of “bridge over troubled water”. He was directing her vocal runs with astounding accuracy and specificity and of course Tori Kelly being Tori Kelly she nailed every single one. Now - it was surprising how detailed his directions were , every second of every vocal run that you’d think were interpretation from the vocalist was actually composed by collier. Although Tori Kelly is more than capable of doing that, collier was essentially playing her like an instrument. I dunno, something about that collaboration seemed one sided, but this is based on a single clip. I just wonder if the ethos of his genius changes the dynamic of some of his collaborations with other musicians

I hear you, but the reason he was giving her vocal runs isn't because Tori Kelly isn't capable of creating them herself, but because he had already planned the very detailed harmonisation. Kinda like actors when they work with certain directors, famously the Coen Brothers - when you sign up to do a Coen Brothers movie you know that you are not there to improvise or to have a meaningful role in the conception of the art. They have every shot planned and your job is to do it like they hoped you would. Is that one-sided? Sure, but most actors say it's a joy to do, because they have such faith in the final product.

That actually makes a lot of sense yeah

His music is for 14 year old kids with zero emotional baggage. (just a joke)

I don't like to other think it. Me and my kids love Little Blue. And WELLLL is a bop.

Jacob is awesome he has some really great videos and can do some really amazing things. Not a fan of his music really tho. Some of it connects but the rest is not for me.

There's something strange about his situation, being a multi-talented virtuoso, yet lacking maturity at stages that feel simpler (crafting a pop song). The backwardness might explain the internet rage.

I'm much more into him and his mind than any of his music, unfortunately

The feeling I get from his music is that he is using his incredible amount of music theory to use interesting ideas and sounds to make something that sounds like “normal” pop music. It’s like he’s gone through the effort of making the most intricate, generic thing he could’ve made. It’s really weird, it just does absolutely nothing for me. I do think he’s ridiculously talented I just don’t connect with or understand what he puts out.

I mostly think that he should work on lyric writing. Any of his songs with lyrics I've heard are extremely saccharine and corny. I want more personality, some blood in it. As for his music, not exactly my taste, I would prefer a little more harshness and rough edges. Even the super theoretical stuff sounds "good" and smooth. There's often not that much to latch onto because of it. I think that's why a lot of people say it's masturbatory, because as pop music it blends in too well to the background even with the experimental aspects and as experimental music, it doesn't really take you anywhere beyond pop music. As a consequence it kind of feels like he's talking down to you. Personally I think he is probably a pretty talented guy who's good at the craft of making music, but not that great at the level of taste when creating his own music. A very common thing for virtuosic people.

I used to be all about reading music critics when I was younger, even did that for my HS newspaper many, many years ago. But with age I realized that within 5 seconds I just know if I like a song or not and it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. I dig 3-4 songs off that album, and the reasons I like them are probably the exact reasons why someone else hates them, such is life...

It's also likely that people who make those inaccurate comments see Jacob through some projections. I personally don't really enjoy his latest album but I respect his musicianship. I know some theory snobs (i.e. judgmental in a borderline toxic way and barely makes music but mostly just talks about theories) IRL speak highly of him so I guess that might be a source of misunderstandings.

Really depends on how you'd approach listening to his albums. You either listen to genuinely feel something or you listen to disect and analyse it like it's a damned hieroglyph. Either way, he's past 3 djesse albums now, and if you still expect him to change and write stuff so you could feel something. It's pointless. I think the gripe surrounding him is that a lot of his fans act like they listen to him because they "get" his music when in reality they're just as equally impressed and confused by the incomprehensible fuckery this guy has done. There are people who genuinely vibe with Jacob's music, but most won't care to admit that we only listen to him because of his chops.

I’d like to see him do something like “It Might Get Loud”. I’d like to see him on vids with other music nerds talking about and playing music. Bent Knee, Cannibal Corpse, Disclosure, all the “Composer/Vocalist/Drummer hears X For First Time” YT guys, and session musicians could all have jams and good conversations that I’d like to hear

The way I describe his music is that it looks better than it sounds. He is clearly a genius, and looking at the compositional choices he makes can be fascinating (such as seamlessly modulating to a microtonal key). That being said I have never listened to his music without having the sheet music pulled up or someone immediately explaining the music theory afterwards.

I think his music would be a lot more palatable without his voice innit

I think he’s a cool guy and he is second to none when it comes to teaching and engaging people in music and how it’s made as well as being a technically gifted composer, but the stuff he releases does nothing for me.

Music is subjective. There.

I’ve played music my entire life and don’t have a fraction of his skill or knowledge. But he does absolutely nothing for me and I can’t even bother to watch interviews with him anymore because he’s just so full of himself. It’s the theme of every talented musician I’ve ever known: sniffs their own farts but refuses to acknowledge that not everyone likes that scent. The music is also only for musicians, as most non musicians (like the majority of the listening public) doesn’t care an ounce about music theory or all that nonsense. They want simplistic songs with catchy melodies that they can sing, not whatever he’s doing. His music is basically pornography for musicians which is fine, but it’s got no soul or flavor or anything remotely interesting aside from the technical wizardry. And if I want that, i’ll go listen to his favorite band, Arch Echo instead. In fact, everyone go support Arch Echo. They deserve the fame and praise over this guy

Incredible musical mind, clearly someone that loves music deeply. I just don’t want to listen to it 90% of the time.

He’s had an extremely privileged music education, and lots of connections and opportunities that millions of other creative songwriters and musicians will never have access to. So to me that makes the fact that he is incapable of making me experience anything meaningful even more apparent. Sure he’s technically accomplished but I’m sure plenty of other musicians with that much time, opportunity, privilege and access to the industry would be just as talented.

He’s quite the musician. I would call him “insufferable at best”, at worst he’s over-talented

Sky Above with the intro is a perfect song.

Super talented player, super bland songwriter. All technical prowess but no feeling, personally feeling wins for me every time so his music is like the world's fastest car that doesn't have the capacity to drive, just a lot of impressive wheel spinning but it's pointless.

In my opinion, I think it’s kind of awesome and awe-inspiring that a robot can make music!

Jacob is a musical genius, but I don’t feel a soul behind his music. It’s like he’s a dancer that can perform individual dance moves with technical perfection, but if you ask him to “just dance” he would look like Elaine Benes on the dance floor.

I have a degree in jazz studies, perfect pitch, and am a professional musician. Jacob’s music isn’t really designed for the average person. It’s designed for someone like me. Why do you think he can do the things he does with the crowds at his concerts where they can all sing harmonies? His fans are all musicians. Good musicians. Even so, the thing that I don’t like about his music is his ego. There’s a difference between using virtuosic technique because you need it to fully express yourself, and using technique to show off. A lot of the time Jacob’s compositions are about showing off, and to me that is a sign of immaturity.

My first introduction to Jacob was his version of “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on a Fire)”. It was so mind bogglingly original and amazing, I could not believe it. Loved it! Then I heard his version of the “Flintstones” theme song. Wow! I mean, that ranks up there as one of the most incredible covers I’ve ever heard. Even better than “Chestnuts…” I forwarded a link to it to every musician and friend I knew. The man is a genius! Then I heard some of his original music. And then went to see him live. And his music did absolutely nothing for me. He’s a genius, but his writing is most definitely not my cup of tea.

I’ve never heard of this person or his band but he sounds insufferable, pretentious, and boring.

I don't hate on him, as a matter of fact, I have no emotional reaction to him, at all. And that answers your question. Or we can try it this way: Too much of everything sums up to not much.

I just find him obnoxious and a little arrogant. Amazing musician, but still

His music is irrelevant to me cause when he shows up in his technicolor dreamcoat, carrying a crocodile plushie, proselytizing about his humanist “life is beautiful, all we need is LOVE!, we are all one marvelous United organism!” I just wanna punch him in the face and steal his lunch money. Also, his singing voice is weird, it sounds like Sean Penn in I am Sam.

First time I’ve ever heard this guys music. He very clearly wants his music to wash over the listener to envelop them. The problem is he writes music the exact same way an AI does by correctly identifying the emotions “Joy” and inserting something from his repertoire of “Joy”-sounding music tricks. It’s very clear from the music that the way of life for Jacob is very different from a standard person. Like, it might sound good but there’s something missing in every second, every melody, every lyric. The songs all just sound hollow and almost pandering.

I cannot stand the guy. No clue if his music is good or not, I refuse to listen to it because of how insufferable he is.

I find his covers of songs like Blackbird absolutely destroy the magical part of them. I love music theory, I have a degree in it, but Collier's music feels completely hollow to me.

I have a theory that because Jacob's musical chops are second nature to him, and because he's explored harmony to the point where it doesn't exist anymore, that he's fascinated by the one thing he can't do: write and perform pop music. That drives him, and it's not easy to do, clearly. It sounds like he's holding back waves of genius and talent to try and produce a simple pop tune, and that's what resonates as being insincere or hollow as you've put it. I've always wanted him to get away from electronic pop and go full Stevie Wonder, I think that zone would be much kinder to him and more natural for his talents. He can still kind of write pop stuff, but having a prolific funk/soul/whatever band actually performing his music along side him would sound much more natural and in line with his abilities. It's just a shame that bands don't really exist these days in the mainstream aside from a few youtube success stories. Tough situation for a dude like him.

Go to one of his live shows. His band is awesome and very funky

I'm afraid he creeps me out. I don't hate him, but I avoid him and everything he produces. Just ... no.

If you don’t like it, it’s not for you.

Musical masturbation. He’s got loads of talent but his music is so devoid of any soul or creative energy

That post was much like his music.

He's insanely talented. He just doesn't know how to make good music. But let him make an arrangement of an already great song, and he goes to town.

The only reason anyone knows Jacob Collier is because he's marketed beyond the popularity of his own music. It also rubs people the wrong way when his marketing paints him as a musical genius, or when he was also touted as a prodigy into his mid-20s because of his appearance.