A word (well, a lot of them, actually) on the art of music.
Those of you who have read my journal over the years know that there are a couple of “hot button” subjects I don't particularly like to touch on, due to their potential to cause someone to display unusual hatred towards me. One of those is politics, though I've straddled that line enough times that you almost never notice. Another is religion, though I think that's just a result of me not caring about it.
And then there's music.
Here's the problem I have with the discussion of music: though it's patently clear that everyone has their likes and dislikes in terms of bands and styles and such, the one thing that's even harder to gauge from person-to-person is what music, in general, means to a them. In other words, it's one thing to like a certain rap artist, but it's another to be so entrenched with the life and career of a rap artist, that it results in said artist having an indirect but nevertheless meaningful link to their very existence.
(I know what some of you are thinking, by the way... there can't be a fucking rap artist out there who has that kind of impact on anyone's life. It's RAP, for Christ's sake.)
But it isn't just individual artists, either... sometimes it's entire genres or... guh... scenes, that cause people to be so irrational. This is definitely true of a lot of people into punk or indie music, although that's not to say everyone who listens to punk or indie are, by nature, completely loyal devotees.
The thing is... I don't view my tastes in music so loyally.
I do believe music has the potential to be meaningful in a way that encounters with truly unique people can be meaningful, but it doesn't mean that I can't bring myself to enjoy some pop tune that I hear on the radio that was written by some Madison Avenue suit and sung by some average tart who happened to agree to go down on some Hollywood executive after being spotted at some juice bar at Universal Citywalk. I don't believe that there's such a thing as inherently bad music (except for anything that inspires people to become raging methheads) and that, hey, everything's just a matter of taste.
It's a simple way of looking at music, and yet I've encountered so many musical snobs all across the internet, that I tend to wonder from time to time if my iPod is something that can be used to persecute me as a musical retard. Not that I care; I've never removed anything from my iPod out of shame, unless it turns out that I just truly do not enjoy having it come up on Shuffle mode. I fully admit to enjoying some off-kilter acts; at the same time, I'm not against listening to anything from the Top 40 if I can tolerate it.
In general, though, musical criticism is one of those things that I just don't really think much of, if only because one person's opinion is just that: one person's opinion. Not that an opinion is harmful or anything, but I've never felt that there was such a thing as a valid music critic, unless they've absolutely listened to everything made since the beginning of time. Now, I'm sure a few people have, but they're probably not spending time with blogs or their career in print journalism. Still, you can write an opinion about music and at least succeed in making a decent point. Of course, you're never going to succeed in persuading everyone that you're the authority in music, although there have been people guilty of trying to do exactly that.
The other half of the battle is reaction. One of the things I've noticed about people who try to make rational criticisms of artists is that, even though it's pretty much clear that they're speaking for themselves, there are going to be others who will feel as though they're the ones being attacked, as if their mother had been indirectly insulted. And then there are others who read the criticism and can't accept that their favorite artist is really being criticized, so they make retaliatory statements of, “You haven't listened to their album enough times” or “You need to listen to their NEW/OLD stuff, then you'll understand what they're really about.”
The worst is when people try to evaluate your personality and your character by the stuff you do like, and turn it into an ad hominem argument against you. The only way to react to anything along those lines is, so fucking what? I'm just trying to state an opinion. I'm not trying to tell the whole world that this is what everyone should like and this is what everyone should not like. Furthermore, if you don't like my taste in music, then stop trying to analyze me through how I feel about certain artists. It's amazing how downright nasty some people can be just by knowing what you listen to.
At the end of the day, the one universal truth about all musical criticism is that NO ONE FUCKING CARES, and the only reason anyone will pay attention to the pleas of a music critic is because we, as human beings, want to have something to believe in. And if that means making an instant transition from indifference to outright contempt, it doesn't matter, because at least we're not the only ones thinking it. Because, hey, that funny guy from the blog said so, and a lot of people seem to like him, right?
The only thing I will ever openly question in musical artists is their character, and even then it's not necessarily a reflection of how I feel about their music. For instance, I find Thom Yorke to be an insufferable douchebag with a streak of pretentiousness the length of the Nile River... and yet, there's no way in hell you can separate me from the awesomeness that was In Rainbows, which I happily paid $5 bucks for, even though it was worth so much more. Likewise, there have been artists who have done many cool things for the good of the human race, but I wouldn't touch their albums if you paid for them.
So, I guess what I want to say is, if I ever make it clear on here that I like a certain artist, or even hate a certain artist, please remember that I speak for myself, and the best thing to do is just ignore me and wait until I start writing about how I felt about the latest stupid video from YouTube. I'll be as considerate towards your own efforts, as well.
But, for the record, all of you who read this have lousy taste in music. LOUSY.
And then there's music.
Here's the problem I have with the discussion of music: though it's patently clear that everyone has their likes and dislikes in terms of bands and styles and such, the one thing that's even harder to gauge from person-to-person is what music, in general, means to a them. In other words, it's one thing to like a certain rap artist, but it's another to be so entrenched with the life and career of a rap artist, that it results in said artist having an indirect but nevertheless meaningful link to their very existence.
(I know what some of you are thinking, by the way... there can't be a fucking rap artist out there who has that kind of impact on anyone's life. It's RAP, for Christ's sake.)
But it isn't just individual artists, either... sometimes it's entire genres or... guh... scenes, that cause people to be so irrational. This is definitely true of a lot of people into punk or indie music, although that's not to say everyone who listens to punk or indie are, by nature, completely loyal devotees.
The thing is... I don't view my tastes in music so loyally.
I do believe music has the potential to be meaningful in a way that encounters with truly unique people can be meaningful, but it doesn't mean that I can't bring myself to enjoy some pop tune that I hear on the radio that was written by some Madison Avenue suit and sung by some average tart who happened to agree to go down on some Hollywood executive after being spotted at some juice bar at Universal Citywalk. I don't believe that there's such a thing as inherently bad music (except for anything that inspires people to become raging methheads) and that, hey, everything's just a matter of taste.
It's a simple way of looking at music, and yet I've encountered so many musical snobs all across the internet, that I tend to wonder from time to time if my iPod is something that can be used to persecute me as a musical retard. Not that I care; I've never removed anything from my iPod out of shame, unless it turns out that I just truly do not enjoy having it come up on Shuffle mode. I fully admit to enjoying some off-kilter acts; at the same time, I'm not against listening to anything from the Top 40 if I can tolerate it.
In general, though, musical criticism is one of those things that I just don't really think much of, if only because one person's opinion is just that: one person's opinion. Not that an opinion is harmful or anything, but I've never felt that there was such a thing as a valid music critic, unless they've absolutely listened to everything made since the beginning of time. Now, I'm sure a few people have, but they're probably not spending time with blogs or their career in print journalism. Still, you can write an opinion about music and at least succeed in making a decent point. Of course, you're never going to succeed in persuading everyone that you're the authority in music, although there have been people guilty of trying to do exactly that.
The other half of the battle is reaction. One of the things I've noticed about people who try to make rational criticisms of artists is that, even though it's pretty much clear that they're speaking for themselves, there are going to be others who will feel as though they're the ones being attacked, as if their mother had been indirectly insulted. And then there are others who read the criticism and can't accept that their favorite artist is really being criticized, so they make retaliatory statements of, “You haven't listened to their album enough times” or “You need to listen to their NEW/OLD stuff, then you'll understand what they're really about.”
The worst is when people try to evaluate your personality and your character by the stuff you do like, and turn it into an ad hominem argument against you. The only way to react to anything along those lines is, so fucking what? I'm just trying to state an opinion. I'm not trying to tell the whole world that this is what everyone should like and this is what everyone should not like. Furthermore, if you don't like my taste in music, then stop trying to analyze me through how I feel about certain artists. It's amazing how downright nasty some people can be just by knowing what you listen to.
At the end of the day, the one universal truth about all musical criticism is that NO ONE FUCKING CARES, and the only reason anyone will pay attention to the pleas of a music critic is because we, as human beings, want to have something to believe in. And if that means making an instant transition from indifference to outright contempt, it doesn't matter, because at least we're not the only ones thinking it. Because, hey, that funny guy from the blog said so, and a lot of people seem to like him, right?
The only thing I will ever openly question in musical artists is their character, and even then it's not necessarily a reflection of how I feel about their music. For instance, I find Thom Yorke to be an insufferable douchebag with a streak of pretentiousness the length of the Nile River... and yet, there's no way in hell you can separate me from the awesomeness that was In Rainbows, which I happily paid $5 bucks for, even though it was worth so much more. Likewise, there have been artists who have done many cool things for the good of the human race, but I wouldn't touch their albums if you paid for them.
So, I guess what I want to say is, if I ever make it clear on here that I like a certain artist, or even hate a certain artist, please remember that I speak for myself, and the best thing to do is just ignore me and wait until I start writing about how I felt about the latest stupid video from YouTube. I'll be as considerate towards your own efforts, as well.
But, for the record, all of you who read this have lousy taste in music. LOUSY.
posted by RobertoKay at
4:30 PM
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