Are you too critical of music?
12-30-01, 07:49 AM
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Are you too critical of music?
After posting my anti-grunge thread I realized that I just bashed a whole lot of music people like. And it felt good! hee hee
I almost never take offense when someone slams a band I like.
Maybe I've read so many album reviews over the years that I have picked up a bit of critical behavior myself (it's a good thing to be a bit critical and analyze things in life).
But can we do this too much? I think of times at work where I have spoken out loud my disgust for some band (that a co-worker was just saying they like). For me, it's all in fun. But to that person I might as well be telling them their new shirt is butt-ugly. I would NEVER make fun of someone's clothes to their face, but I would tell them that their love of Jimmy Buffet makes me sick (okay, maybe not in terms that strong, but I wouldn't be afraid to insinuate it at the least).
What's up with that? Do you think other people who might not listen to music as much as some of us find outspoken criticism about music (or movies) to be a bit too much?
I almost never take offense when someone slams a band I like.
Maybe I've read so many album reviews over the years that I have picked up a bit of critical behavior myself (it's a good thing to be a bit critical and analyze things in life).
But can we do this too much? I think of times at work where I have spoken out loud my disgust for some band (that a co-worker was just saying they like). For me, it's all in fun. But to that person I might as well be telling them their new shirt is butt-ugly. I would NEVER make fun of someone's clothes to their face, but I would tell them that their love of Jimmy Buffet makes me sick (okay, maybe not in terms that strong, but I wouldn't be afraid to insinuate it at the least).
What's up with that? Do you think other people who might not listen to music as much as some of us find outspoken criticism about music (or movies) to be a bit too much?
12-30-01, 10:45 AM
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I try not to be too critical of anyone else's choice of music. It's all based on personal taste and very subjective. I do know what I like and what I don't, but I know that that list has changed over time- as the several CDs by Debbie Gibson in my collection will attest to.
However, one thing that I do feel critical of is people who restrict their musical tastes. That is, someone who just listens to MTV pop and rejects everything else, or someone who just listens to speed metal, or Jimmy Buffet (who I like, in morderation, BTW
), or whatever.
I want to say to them- "Sure you think you hate country music, but have you ever sat down and given Johnny Cash's "Live at San Quentin" or Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" an honest chance?" Or "You say you hate jazz, but have you ever heard Chet Baker sing "My Funny Valentine" or Cannonball Adderly's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"?"
However, one thing that I do feel critical of is people who restrict their musical tastes. That is, someone who just listens to MTV pop and rejects everything else, or someone who just listens to speed metal, or Jimmy Buffet (who I like, in morderation, BTW
), or whatever. I want to say to them- "Sure you think you hate country music, but have you ever sat down and given Johnny Cash's "Live at San Quentin" or Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" an honest chance?" Or "You say you hate jazz, but have you ever heard Chet Baker sing "My Funny Valentine" or Cannonball Adderly's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"?"
12-31-01, 12:52 PM
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The thing I get critical about is when music becomes more of a product than an art form.
Usually it's both. But when music is manufactured and produced so as to reach the widest demographic it becomes homogonized. So what may have been original and exciting instead gets castrated and becomes more of a product for the masses than an actual art form.
For this I blame not the artists, but the music "fans" that accept whatever is spoon-fed to them by the corporate machines. It's obvious that bands like Fugazi and Pavement have put out material with greater artistic depth than Britany Spears or NSYNC. The problem is that most music with "weight" does not appeal to the LCD (Lowest Common Denomiator) - mostly because it can be dificult to understand and take time to appreciate, which is counter productive to radio programing. Therefore, just as in films, literature and art, what mostly sells in music is what is easily digested and forgotten about the next day.
I'm not saying that whoever likes the "big hits" is dumb (a lot of it is catchy, well produced and made to be liked). The problem is that the really good stuff out there is hard to find and the record lables don't make it any easier, because they need to sell so many Destiny's Child albums and therefore they push less accessible stuff to the side.
Usually it's both. But when music is manufactured and produced so as to reach the widest demographic it becomes homogonized. So what may have been original and exciting instead gets castrated and becomes more of a product for the masses than an actual art form.
For this I blame not the artists, but the music "fans" that accept whatever is spoon-fed to them by the corporate machines. It's obvious that bands like Fugazi and Pavement have put out material with greater artistic depth than Britany Spears or NSYNC. The problem is that most music with "weight" does not appeal to the LCD (Lowest Common Denomiator) - mostly because it can be dificult to understand and take time to appreciate, which is counter productive to radio programing. Therefore, just as in films, literature and art, what mostly sells in music is what is easily digested and forgotten about the next day.
I'm not saying that whoever likes the "big hits" is dumb (a lot of it is catchy, well produced and made to be liked). The problem is that the really good stuff out there is hard to find and the record lables don't make it any easier, because they need to sell so many Destiny's Child albums and therefore they push less accessible stuff to the side.
