Unpopular music opinions

[Bourbon Guy]

Patterns and trends. Patterns and trends. So, once you have identified what you like in music, what does that tell you about yourself? What is the pattern? What have you learned from this self-examination? Don't just repeat the analysis you memorized and regurgitated for your instructor in Music App 130. If you have to, list your preferences and dislikes, and identify that pattern. There is one. There is always one. What does it say about you?

Does your eclectic taste in music run from classical to rock? If it runs from Liszt to Marilyn Manson, perhaps your taste is not all that "eclectic." And if electrified music shall never pass your ears, perhaps your musical taste is less a true taste than a forced affectation, fitting yourself into a little musical prison of your own creation. That speaks volumes as well.

So, what have you learned?

 

[Chas]

But when you reduce music to a purely reactionary or visceral entity, you denigrate the intellectual processes involved in its production and appreciation. Good are is not creation by emotion. It is above all a technical and intellectual undertaking, and any emotional force a piece of art might have is incidental and secondary. There's a reason poetry written by high schoolers is generally lousy: it's all emotion and no technique.

I would argue the opposite of you: As a culture, we now tend to appreciate and create art superficially, not intellectually. I'd attribute this mostly to a misunderstanding of 20th century experimentation. Because so much modern art seems formless to the populace, there's been this proliferation of thought that form, tradition, and technique are meaningless and useless. Now even the creation of art is often times an intellectless enterprise, and I think this phenomenon reinforces the idea that art is an extension of emotion.

That, and it is culturally influenced. Take for example, Banghra. I (and most of the non-Indian peeps I know of) find it intensely annoying. The rhythmic and cord patterns are a little disjointed and asymmetrical to my ear. Indian folks love the stuff, though, and Bollywood churns out more musicals in a year that the rest of the world churns out in ten.

My point was that music and the listener's reaction has a definite neurological basis to it. It's not altogether a matter of choice. Experiments have been conducted with monkeys; what they find relaxing and enjoyable is not the same as for humans. Ergo, musical tastes and reactions to music are not defined by choice.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Ah! I have a pile of their records -- that Hezzie was the one true father of the slide whistle.

Listened to them (on mp3, though!) Oh I LOVED them!! That slide whistle was amusing. I have never heard of them before -- gave them a "shot" lol

HEZZIE, ARE YOU READY!!??

 

[Luke 42]

A violent cacaphonous din, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

May I use this to describe a lot of the music i like;-) ?

 

[Blackjack]

That, and it is culturally influenced. Take for example, Banghra. I (and most of the non-Indian peeps I know of) find it intensely annoying. The rhythmic and cord patterns are a little disjointed and asymmetrical to my ear. Indian folks love the stuff, though, and Bollywood churns out more musicals in a year that the rest of the world churns out in ten.

My point was that music and the listener's reaction has a definite neurological basis to it. It's not altogether a matter of choice. Experiments have been conducted with monkeys; what they find relaxing and enjoyable is not the same as for humans. Ergo, musical tastes and reactions to music are not defined by choice.

So right you are Chas!!!! African natives used drums to "fire up the warriors" just before a battle in the same way angry teenagers find themselves pulled to headbanging mosh pits to satisfy a rowdy urge. The body reacts to rhythms...not a lot of choice in the matter

 

[Bourbon Guy]

It's more than just the rhythm, my friend

"Welshmen will not yield"

[video=youtube;HkSPmsZxesw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkSPmsZxesw&feature=related[/video]

 

[Bourbon Guy]

I like funk

[video=youtube;YgynbFoA9to]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgynbFoA9to[/video]

 

[Rundquist]

The topic of how we relate to each other through music is interesting. I agree that one should never be defined by their leanings in music. I also agree that one should never be ashamed of what they like. I also agree that one should only listen to what they like. I can only think of a brief period of time in my life (for a few months when I was 15) where I tried to listen to what was considered “cool”. But many 15 year olds are defined by trying to be cool (with not just music), so I am not too embarrassed about it.

But music is very sociological. It is not created in a vacuum. The very best artists are putting themselves on display with their music. Who you are does come through. And many of us feel different about music than others, so it is a mistake to transport our own opinions on music on others. There are some people that have no use for music at all and don’t listen to it, as weird as that sounds to me. Others feel music so intensely, it is their religion.

Good music for me goes beyond aural pleasantness. Good music for me makes life worth living. Good music for me is medicine for my soul. I wouldn’t want to live without it. I couldn’t live without it. That’s how important it is to me. I do understand that my relationship with music is not the same as others. Though I’ve also met people who have the same relationship with music. So I can identify with those people at least on some level. But I wouldn't presume that everybody feels the same way about music (no matter the type).

This idea of liking “cool” music, not for itself, but only for social standing is a bit misconstrued. I’ve heard people/critics take issue with the idea of not liking music for being “too white”, for instance. Well for one thing, with regards to music, white is not a color. White is an attitude. White is a state of mind. Again, who you are comes through into your music. White is Presbyterian Church. White is Velveeta cheese. Some people have no interest in those things, and those things come through into the music. Who you are comes through into the music. You’re skin color doesn’t. Don’t make that mistake. They are not the same thing.

This is not to say that there’s anything wrong with Presbyterian Church if that’s what you like. But it's wrong to have an issue with somebody for not being interested in those things and saying so. And those things are in the music.

I like Irish folk music. The people that made that music are white as can be. But the music is not. Nobody would claim to like that music because it's "cool".

 

[Chas]

I think I know what you mean....I love most classical and opera; but I would never think of opera as being "cool".

This is far from "cool" as I can think. Awe-inspiring, but not "cool".
[video=youtube;C2ODfuMMyss]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2ODfuMMyss[/video]

 

[Yeps]

I think I know what you mean....I love most classical and opera; but I would never think of opera as being "cool".

This is far from "cool" as I can think. Awe-inspiring, but not "cool".
[video=youtube;C2ODfuMMyss]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2ODfuMMyss[/video]

I have to say, I am not a big fan of that aria, although it is very impressive. It was actually one of my teachers' signature aria though.
[video=youtube;iHWvbS4tNLw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHWvbS4tNLw[/video]

If you are going for purely impressive arias, the male equivalent to that is this:
[video=youtube;BYm9BlduuD4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYm9BlduuD4[/video]

There are nine high Cs in that. Rather impressive. Actually, speaking from experience, the part with the high Cs isn't the hard part. It is that waltz leading up to it that is tricky.

 

[S_M_Cumberworth]

I don't know. I think this is cool:

[video=youtube;BjpYMz61Q-Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjpYMz61Q-Q[/video]

The driving rhythms, the harsh accented notes. . . It's succinct, to the point. A far cry from the long-winded operas that turn people off, I think. But that's why I love Baroque in general: composers did a lot in little time.

But maybe that's just me.

 

[Yeps]

But that's why I love Baroque in general: composers did a lot in little time.

That is not how I would describe most of the baroque opera I have heard . However, the French baroque does tend to have a little bit more going on.

By the way, another really, really impressive aria. This one is almost never performed, because it is too difficult, but it is absolutely fantastic.
[video=youtube;Jux_z0IUlLw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jux_z0IUlLw[/video]

 

[S_M_Cumberworth]

That is not how I would describe most of the baroque opera I have heard . However, the French baroque does tend to have a little bit more going on.

I was speaking about Baroque in general, not about Baroque opera in particular.

I can actually do without opera for the most part, with the exception of Handel and Rameau, and a handful of others. But I don't have a problem with oratorios for some reason. Well, maybe it's only Bach oratorios I don't have a problem with, not oratorios in general.

I just don't have the time or motivation often to sit through a three-hour-long opera (let alone a four- or five-hour opera). I think that's what I dislike about a lot of Romantics: get to the point already. I really don't want to wade through an hour and a half of your brooding symphony, Mr. Mahler.

 

[Chas]

Cool is different. Not superior or necessarily more desirable, just different. Opera vs say, Nat King Cole. It's a comparison between peas and apples.

 

[The Good]

I like funk

[video=youtube;YgynbFoA9to]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgynbFoA9to[/video]

Me too, actually. I'm also a fan of jazz-funk, and that's probably more my thing than the regular funk genre.

This is the type of stuff I'm into:

[video=youtube;SDuHAN6RAJQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDuHAN6RAJQ[/video]

[video=youtube;veJ2pvlFua0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veJ2pvlFua0[/video]

 

[LizzieMaine]

The way I look at the whole "cool" aesthetic -- and I look at it as someone who has never subscribed to it -- is that it's essentially oppositional. "Cool" cannot exist without "uncool" -- and therefore it's dependent on the very things it claims to oppose. Cool is achieved by not only standing in contrast to White Presbyterian Velveeta, but in making sure that White Presbyterian Velveeta Eaters *know* you're standing in opposition to them. And if all the W. P. V. E.'s went away -- cool would cease to exist.

Which is why I think of it as something that's artificially attached to music, rather than anything proceeding from music itself -- and it's certainly possible to appreciate music without reference to any such construct. I enjoy the King Cole Trio very much, to use an example that's come up here -- but I enjoy it because it's bouncy, cheerful, and provides a pleasant background while I'm doing the dishes. Or making a Bacon, Velveeta, and Miracle Whip sandwich. On Wonder Bread.

 

[kools]

Can you use "cool" in a personalized meaning than culturally defined coolness?

Perhaps if I dig the King Cole Trio (and I VERY much do) because they are bouncy & cheerful, then in my self-created bubble they are cool. Through induction, then, things that are bouncy & cheerful are cool. You may disagree.

 

[LizzieMaine]

One can define these things any way they please, as far as I'm concerned -- because they have no substantial existence outside of socioligical theory. We can know when something is hot or cold, because heat and cold exist in the real world and can be measured by a thermometer. Cool is something that exists only because various subgroups of humanity believe that it does.

 

[kools]

Agreed. While recognizing the sociological significance, my "cool" disregards the various subgroups of humanity.

 

[Tango Yankee]

See, that's the thing -- I can usually understand why people see something in any kind of music, even if it isn't my own personal taste. But loud guitar rock of any style I literally can't abide -- it gives me migraines, like the sound of pushing a row of garbage cans down a concrete stairwell. A violent cacaphonous din, full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Bah.

Very similar to Tom Lehrer's opinion of Gilbert and Sullivan:

"To end on a happy note, one can always count on Gilbert and Sullivan for a rousing finale, full of words and music and signifying nothing."

This is actually from his commentary regarding the "folk song."

Cheers,
Tom