Songs - I Don't Get It

[Amaris]

I love music. All types of music. I feel that if I were to not like one particular genre of music I would be missing out on something, and it's true, I would be missing out on something. There are pop songs that have spoken to me just as deeply as any opera or symphony. Like all things, it depends upon what you are trying to find. A message? Something to dance to? A crying song? Each experience is unique to each person.

Oh, and I love "Tik Tok". It's a great song to wake up to and dance.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I am sure most of you have a band or some pop culture thing you are 'in to'.

Beethoven and Philip Glass, mainly. I use Pandora to poke around for new stuff (not classical music, since I'm thoroughly familiar with that). Philip Glass to Robert Rich to Steve Roach for instance. I've recently discovered Tipper, who uses ambient sound effects in a very charming and compelling way. I've also run across Peter Gabriel's experimental work which is much more interesting to me than his pop music everyone knows about (I honestly can't even recall the name of his band...was there a name?)

I'm sure most of you are reading all that and going . But that just goes to show: like what you like, don't worry about what other people like.

 

[Goliath]

See, I can appreciate opera from an artistic point of view but I don't put arias on my cd player when I'm cleaning the house...

Personally, I love opera. I confess, I'm rarely in the mood to listen to the entire Le Nozze di Figaro, but I have many arias in my mp3 compilation, and there is something intrinsically awesome in singing Vesti la Giubba at the top of your lungs while driving on the highway. Maybe, as Mr Adventure suggested, it's a matter of language, but I find many operas very singable, as in "fun to sing along".

It doesn't mean I don't fucking love my Metallica CDs.

Are you secretly me, or something? Is it possible we're brothers separated at birth? I was about to post something exactly like this.

I love opera, and I have an extensive collection of classical-music CDs--hundreds of them. To me, an operatic aria is like a guitar solo for voice.

And I have to say--I laughed at the suggestion that opera has anything more sophisticated to offer, lyrically, than the average pop song. The libretti to most operas, throughout history, have actually been pretty low-brow.

That's part of opera's appeal--it's generally the kind of lurid, trashy melodrama that you'd be embarrassed to be caught reading or watching on TV. But set it to beautiful music, and it's 'art.'

That hasn't stopped me from enjoying several different genres of popular music during my life. I've done everything from slam-dance to disco-dance--and to refer back to a previous poster, I've listened to both the Cure and Cannibal Corpse.

The thing to keep in mind in such debates, it seems to me, is that our taste in music says more about us than it does about the music.

It's not like there's some kind of absolute aesthetic standard by which music can be judged--some kind of aestheto-meter that allows us to measure the quality of music. When we say, 'this music is good,' all we're really saying is 'this music evokes a pleasurable response in me'--and vice versa.

That is to say: when we talk about music, we're really just talking about ourselves.

 

[jtkirk]

I don't get it, rap, fast talking crap that is NOT real music! I miss the days of Motown & Soul, when Black music had class.

 

[Goliath]

Beethoven and Philip Glass, mainly.

Beethoven.

I've never liked Beethoven. I've tried and tried, but except for a few bits and bobs like the slow movement from the "Ghost" trio, his music just turns me off. I once attended a string quartet concert where they played the Grosse Fugue as an encore, and it bored me to tears.

Now, Philip Glass I like--Akhnaten is one of my favourite modern operas, and the slow movement from his Violin Concerto is heartbreaking. But I find that a little Philip Glass goes a long way.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I don't get it, rap, fast talking crap that is NOT real music

That definitely falls under "to each their own", because some rap can be listenable like I said and I'm a white rock 'n' roll lover, and most rap is crap to me.

Death metal can be the same way. There's some I like just fine, but a lot is someone raking a guitar and someone screaming. No musicianship whatsoever.
I can't really put my finger on the differences that make me like some of it. Moonspell is one group I like a lot.

 

[A beaker full of death]

Beethoven and Philip Glass, mainly.

Beethoven.

Philip Glass.

Just sawing on violins over and over again is not music.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Personally, I love opera. I confess, I'm rarely in the mood to listen to the entire Le Nozze di Figaro, but I have many arias in my mp3 compilation, and there is something intrinsically awesome in singing Vesti la Giubba at the top of your lungs while driving on the highway. Maybe, as Mr Adventure suggested, it's a matter of language, but I find many operas very singable, as in "fun to sing along".

It doesn't mean I don't fucking love my Metallica CDs.

Are you secretly me, or something? Is it possible we're brothers separated at birth? I was about to post something exactly like this.

Actually, I am. I take over when you fall asleep, and wander the town flashing unsuspecting passer-bys. Ever wondered where did you get bruise on your thight? It was me, bumping into a lamp post when doing cartweels in front of the townhall. Ever wondered why did you feel winded waking up in the morning? Always me, running away from the police for streaking along the main steet. By the way, sorry about that stain on the back of your coat. My bad.

To me, an operatic aria is like a guitar solo for voice.

Beautiful comparison, and very accurate!

And I have to say--I laughed at the suggestion that opera has anything more sophisticated to offer, lyrically, than the average pop song. The libretti to most operas, throughout history, have actually been pretty low-brow.

That's part of opera's appeal--it's generally the kind of lurid, trashy melodrama that you'd be embarrassed to be caught reading or watching on TV. But set it to beautiful music, and it's 'art.'

So true! One of the perks of understanding the lyrics, is that you see they are really, really shameless.

 

[Amaris]

Opera is the gangsta rap of the Baroque period, and as we like to say, if it ain't Baroque, don't fix it!

 

[Canadave]

Beethoven and Philip Glass, mainly.

Beethoven.

Philip Glass.

Just sawing on violins over and over again is not music.

I can understand how minimalism isn't to everybody's tastes, but there's a lot more to Philip Glass than you may think. I find "Metamorphasis One" to be one of the most gorgeous solo piano pieces ever written, for instance:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w6a8pfG0V4[/yt]

And some of the film scores he's done are impressively varied:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REISCYUUKEQ[/yt]

 

[Nardpuncher]

I'm sorry that you don't know what you're talking about.

 

[mimic]

I wish I knew more about music. I see posts like Rincewiend's back there and am just like "holy crap there's a lot out there."

Honestly, if I listen to anything often enough I usually end up liking it. I imagine this is true for most others.

Lately I can't stop listening to this:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10qLYy6hiFQ[/yt]

 

[Owain Taggart]

I think that a lot of what we listen to has to do with what the music industry calls "The Loudness War". It refers to the practice of compressing the audio to make the master sound as loud as possible. This has the adverse affect on fidelity, with louder tracks having less dynamic range; in other words quiet moments are as loud as the rest of a song at its peak range. Good if you want your music to be "booming" at every moment, but not so good if you like to hear the texture in music. This practice has been ongoing since the 70's as far as I know and engineers have made records louder and louder over the years, with The Stooges being a prime example of this, which can be definitely tiring to hear all the time. Different genres of music have different standards of loudness.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is, I think we're all attracted to what we like based on what we're comfortable hearing, which is why having favourite musicians is a very personal matter. I personally like Celtic, Folk and Bluegrass for the interesting textures.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_War

http://musicmachinery.com/2009/03/23/the-loudness-war/

Here are some of my favourites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD0XihILQzk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lpVaJ1l7ms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwkpihGwSj0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IWGNv0ZT8Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYdk_TcCeW8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aVw2TwCZs

 

[Nowhere Man]

I wish I knew more about music. I see posts like Rincewiend's back there and am just like "holy crap there's a lot out there."

Honestly, if I listen to anything often enough I usually end up liking it. I imagine this is true for most others.

Lately I can't stop listening to this:

Well your on the right track for sure. Excellent song and Clapton is just amazing. I wasen't aware that he still did that song, that video looks relavently recent.

 

[Shurik]

I'm listening mostly to metal nowadays, but I can enjoy almost any style of music, maybe except of some truly atrocious manufactured MTV pop. There are things I wouldn't listen to regularly but I don't suffer when I hear them on radio or TV.
I also can enjoy Cannibal Corpse (going to see them on Thursday), Amon Amarth (seen them ~7 years ago), Hocico (hard EBM, seen them ~5 years ago) and Depeche Mode (seen them last year). I'm feeling something I can't quite describe when I hear those bands and I enjoy their music, each band for different reasons.

The one band that I listen to a lot lately is Therion, THE ultimate symphonic metal band. Here are few examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6h84W8qz0I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8847LoLX1vQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W2Bb7LjqmI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR-UBNQf_II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqLYjRn--GI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8nPCRWsKIQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6-vG4IFNT8

 

[Goliath]

Are you secretly me, or something? Is it possible we're brothers separated at birth? I was about to post something exactly like this.

Actually, I am. I take over when you fall asleep, and wander the town flashing unsuspecting passer-bys. Ever wondered where did you get bruise on your thight? It was me, bumping into a lamp post when doing cartweels in front of the townhall. Ever wondered why did you feel winded waking up in the morning? Always me, running away from the police for streaking along the main steet. By the way, sorry about that stain on the back of your coat. My bad.

*Handcuffs himself to the bedpost*

 

[23skidoo]

Just a couple quick comments based on a few things.

First, to the OP: you made a big error in citing Queen as an example of the brainless pop you're railing against. First, discounting the occasional tune like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", most of Queen's output was directly based upon opera and classical music. I must assume the OP has never heard "Bohemian Rhapsody" otherwise Queen would never have been cited. And I'm saying this as someone who doesn't particularly like Queen! But I get where they were coming from.

As for rap, frankly I've heard a lot of garbage opera in my day. People complain they can't understand what's being said in rap. Well, riddle me why most opera performances these days require SUBTITLES to be projected? There is no difference, and frankly while a lot of rap deals with issues like violence and sex (as does, gee, opera), there are also many rap songs that have intelligent, thought-provoking lyrics and storylines. And I'm not a particular fan of rap, either. But I get where they are coming from.

As for "is it real music". Well, ask yourself if any of THIS is real music:

Inuit Throat Singing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnGM0BlA95I

South African chanting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoNhoE3O34c

North American Indian singing (this one sounds really cool!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JI2o-nxHd8

I could also post links to Ella Fitzgerald's scat singing, Hank Williams yodelling -- basically, rap is no more and no less a viable musical form than these are. And in most respects it's identical to the "Talkin' Blues" spoken-word format that Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan perfected. And I don't hear people saying THEY weren't musicians.

Alex

 

[Pingfah]

Just a couple quick comments based on a few things.

First, to the OP: you made a big error in citing Queen as an example of the brainless pop you're railing against. First, discounting the occasional tune like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", most of Queen's output was directly based upon opera and classical music. I must assume the OP has never heard "Bohemian Rhapsody" otherwise Queen would never have been cited. And I'm saying this as someone who doesn't particularly like Queen! But I get where they were coming from.

Freddie actually made a wonderful album of rock influenced classical music and opera with the legendary soprano Montserrat Caballe as well, which he wrote himself and Caballe just performed on.

It doesn't sound much like GnR

 

[Nerys Myk]

Just a couple quick comments based on a few things.

First, to the OP: you made a big error in citing Queen as an example of the brainless pop you're railing against. First, discounting the occasional tune like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", most of Queen's output was directly based upon opera and classical music. I must assume the OP has never heard "Bohemian Rhapsody" otherwise Queen would never have been cited. And I'm saying this as someone who doesn't particularly like Queen! But I get where they were coming from.

Freddie actually made a wonderful album of rock influenced classical music and opera with the legendary soprano Montserrat Caballe as well, which he wrote himself and Caballe just performed on.

It doesn't sound much like GnR

Oh Yeah? You just wait till the opera based on "Paradise City" comes out!!!!!

 

[datagal]

See, I can appreciate opera from an artistic point of view but I don't put arias on my cd player when I'm cleaning the house...

Personally, I love opera. I confess, I'm rarely in the mood to listen to the entire Le Nozze di Figaro, but I have many arias in my mp3 compilation, and there is something intrinsically awesome in singing Vesti la Giubba at the top of your lungs while driving on the highway. Maybe, as Mr Adventure suggested, it's a matter of language, but I find many operas very singable, as in "fun to sing along".

It doesn't mean I don't fucking love my Metallica CDs.

If you to Metallica, especially their early stuff, you can hear a hint of classical vibe in their music.
As for OP's, how in God's name can anyone say that Queen and Metallica sounds the same is beyond me.
Sure Metallica did a remake of Queen's Stone Cold Crazy but as close as it come to them sounding similar.