Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

InformationKilo t1_j2ca4ax wrote

Reply to comment by tune4jack in Your Hottest Music Take by PhillyCSpires

Not in a condescending way, but how much knowledge of music theory do you have? Not every great piece of music will be to everyone's taste, but I've found that usually when someone rejects multiple critically acclaimed songs/albums, they usually aren't yet aware of what makes the music as good as it is, and probably haven't had a lot of exposure to good music in general

3

tune4jack t1_j2ch3dq wrote

>how much knowledge of music theory do you have?

None.

Keep in mind I never said any of this music is bad, just that I find it either ho-hum (Bowie/Cohen), good but not great (Fleetwood Mac), or good but not to the point that I want it in my music library (Pink Floyd/Led Zeppelin). I've just never been much of a fan of the mainstream greats. You might disagree with me on this one, but I believe that in order to have mainstream appeal there needs to be a certain middle-of-the-roadness to your music. It has to appeal to a wide audience. I think Rumours exemplifies this perfectly. Yeah, it's a solid album, but in a mainstream, radio-friendly, not too edgy or different kind of way. That's just not the kind of music I crave.

4

InformationKilo t1_j2dfu57 wrote

I definitely disagree with your take on mainstream music. Dark side of the moon is hugely experimental, one of the least radio friendly, middle of the road albums to sell millions of copies. I think people like you who prefer edgy, underground artists still a lot of the time try to give reasons the classics aren't "great" to them, rather than just say they aren't their taste. Not knowing anything about music definitely influences the ear as well. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, and Pink Floyd are made up of objectively phenomenal musicians, and they definitely use that ability in their song writing. Not being able to recognize harmonies and musical elements, I can see why someone would find them a bit boring. (For the record, David Bowie isn't the type of music I'd download, but I recognize what makes his music creative)

2

tune4jack t1_j2e3cl7 wrote

>I think people like you who prefer edgy, underground artists still a lot of the time try to give reasons the classics aren't "great" to them, rather than just say they aren't their taste.

They literally aren't my taste. I was just trying to give an in depth explanation as to why. I'm sure you could take a song I think is great and break down why you think it isn't and I would end up disagreeing with you.

Also, understanding the technical ability and musical elements behind a piece of music isn't going to make the sounds entering my ears any different. Heck, you even admit this yourself when you said David Bowie is talented but you wouldn't download his music. I feel the same way about Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Eagles, Journey, Bee Gees, et cetera.

Yeah, at this point I'm sure it sounds like I'm doing that annoying "I'm a special snowflake because I don't like mainstream music" thing, but for whatever reason I genuinely just don't get a huge amount of enjoyment from it.

By the way, most people dislike what I listen to, so I think it's a wash.

1

InformationKilo t1_j2eeewe wrote

Different strokes, I won't try to prove I'm right or anything, I'd just say that I think knowing music does change the sound going into your ears, at least the way your brain processes what you're hearing. Worth it to anyone who sees music as a big part of their life imo

1

sticky_fiddler t1_j2eoh9s wrote

I was with you 'til you mentioned Journey , now you've gone too far šŸ˜†

1

AmphibianImmediate45 t1_j2chotw wrote

Care to share what you do like? Iā€™m curious.

1

InformationKilo t1_j2dhvqw wrote

Again, I'm not meaning this in an insulting way, but you saying any music loved by many is "not too different, mass appeal" is like a non-chef telling Gordon Ramsay his food just doesn't quite have enough pizazz. It's ok to not like something, but I don't think you can discount it in any way unless you're an expert in the field, and I've never met an expert who discounts any of the mainstream "legends"

1