that doesn't make it a bad thingPochsy wrote:
It sounds like my mother's 10 year old scanner mixed with an old dial-up tone.HaiBai wrote:
what's your reasoning?Pochsy wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOOF3zbFftA
Friend showed me this steaming pile today. Just. NO.
that's my whole point. i obviously agree with you in thinking that it's shit music, but if so, why are they so popular?Uzique wrote:
go get the viewing statistics for a justin bieber or britney spears video and then tell me it's great music.
i meant that it seemed like i was the only person who disliked skrillex within the people that i know. these are people who just listen to music for the hell of it.Uzique wrote:
you are far from the only person to not like skrillex, rofl. the fucking guardian ran an article on him a month ago asking "is he the most hated man in music?" the guardian is middle-class news for 30 year olds that don't give a fuck about 'cool' youth music, fyi. even they know he attracts serious hate and even they call his music 'macho trash'. and what's the deal with making everything a fucking hipster or anti-hipster thing? you can call music good or bad without it having anything to do with your coolness or credibility. get over that age 14 phase where you think the stuff you listen to 'defines' you and makes you inherently cooler or lamer. it doesn't. it's bad music - it's just shit. i could write you an essay examining the context and culture of dubstep and why the movement from 2010 onwards is commercial candy-coated bullshit; i could also analyze a few skrillex songs for you and tell you, musically, why it is repetitive shite. but it would be lost on you.
the reason that crap shit is popular is because 99% of people are lazy and clueless when it comes to art and culture. you are a prime example: you self-confessedly hate books and reading. you probably like a few books, but they're not great pieces of literature. why? again, a literature buff could write you an essay - but what would be the point? you're not interested in literature as an artform. 90% of people aren't interested in music as an artform. most people want some catchy background noise whilst they're driving, or want something with a stupid beat that they can mosh to. or something with some dirt and filth so they can rub up against honey's asses in the club. most people aren't sat in an armchair with their thinking-cap on, 'appreciating' music as you'd appreciate any other artform: painting, poem, stage-play, sculpture, etc. the fact a lot of people like bieber, gaga, skrillex etc. really doesn't bother me because, quite simply, 90% of people are fucking morons.
Last edited by HaiBai (2011-12-03 19:31:06)
Last edited by Uzique (2011-12-03 19:41:22)
well, i don't just read to gain knowledge. i have also read fiction books where i just wanted to experience another world, so i don't read purely for education. but these aren't the type of books you would read in school. i'm talking about books like harry potter or artemis fowl (those are books i read a long time ago hah, but it easily conveys what i mean when i talk about my definition of reading for pleasure). i also read stuff like newsweek for fun so there's also that, but that's not literature either. they're just articles.Uzique wrote:
maybe read some contemporary literature then, if you want something more relatable or chiming? and reading for many is a pleasure, not some 'what can i get out of this?' business exchange. just like with music: for some it's entertainment, mere background noise, or a soundtrack to exercise. for others it's a seriously immersive experience that engages one on a higher, more intellectual level than mere foot-tapping. i read and listen to music in a serious, tuned-in way because i can't think of any better way to escape reality and be completely wrapped up in someone else's world and vision. it's great. not everything needs to have a career payoff. and hell, does it kill you to read for the sake of appreciating fine culture? i'd like to see you charm the socks off some hot female coed over a dinner table, showcasing how widely-read you are in programming self-help books. the arts are a fine thing in life, a pretty exquisite pleasure, imo. there's nothing like finding a book that you can't put down. art and culture are some of the finest things to come from human beings on this planet. you keep on acting like it owes you shit.
Last edited by HaiBai (2011-12-03 19:53:05)
books? hell no. movies? sure, reciting funny scenes from the hangover is always fun. but appreciation of movies? nope. music? sure, we talk about what we like, but again, appreciation of music? nope.Uzique wrote:
you must hang around with a bunch of really boring, unintelligent people. what do you talk about when you go out? never had an engaging conversation about a movie or a book or anything? goddamn. you're not living. i wouldn't speak as if you're representing the "average guy", cause where i'm from in middle-class middle-everything england, being well read is not some herculean feat.
actually, i believe he's a junior in college. he's not 'that' type of guy. he's really nice and chill, he doesn't try to use his music to show it off to others. he's actually majoring in film production and is making his own movies and stuff. honestly, if i had to think of somebody who appreciated music or movies, it'd be him. he watches tons of movies, including ones that nobody ever hears about, and does it for pure pleasure. same thing with music. that's why i'm wondering what it truly means to appreciate music by your definition and how one would accomplish it.Uzique wrote:
also i wouldn't say your friend is 'really into music' if he's just posting brostep youtube videos. there's a difference between being into music and acting like a music fan because you think it'll make you cooler. teenagers are hopelessly self-obsessed, self-conscious and desperately in search for an identity and music often ends up becoming the pack mule for their egos. teenagers listen to music that they perceive to be 'cool', hoping that it'll rub off on them and help them get accepted or win brownie points in a group. i'd suggest that if ya homeboy that apparently is 'into' music posts brostep videos all day, he's probably a good example of this. 'look at me! i'm so hip and cool! listening to this super edgy super cool music!'. it's using music as a fashion accessory, not an art. perhaps that's where you could start in learning to appreciate: stop thinking about what good it's going to 'sell' you - whether it be career advancement or social cool-points, and start thinking about the actual stuff itself.
see, this is what i'm talking about. i feel like nobody cares or has the time to actually do things like that.Uzique wrote:
also i think a common misunderstanding about appreciating arts (like all fine things) is that it's fundamentally hard. it's demanding, and it takes effort, and attention, and time, and thought. expensive things thesedays when everything is insta-clickable and ritalin-pumped for an adhd audience. you need to put something in on your half for it to be rewarding.
Last edited by Uzique (2011-12-03 20:32:21)
Last edited by HaiBai (2011-12-03 20:43:36)
ahh ok i think i have a better insight into what you mean now. basically just experiencing an author's entire vision. honestly, i completely forgot that author's create albums as one piece of art. everyone usually just takes the songs that they like and that's it. i'm honestly going to have to try to experience the author's full vision sometime. actually, now i'm sort of annoyed with myself with the fact that i haven't even done that with some of my favorite artists.Uzique wrote:
higher enjoyment of works of art like music is really enhanced when you listen to something with artistic unity, or an aesthetic. i can't explain that term to you adequately because it will take too much time but there's really just a sense of satisfaction when you sit and listen to an album from start to finish that has a complete vision, and is a fully executed idea. and the whole experience is involved in that: from the cover-art and packaging to the medium and process that you engage with it to the song titles to the instruments used and actual musicianship itself. if a record has a well executed aesthetic then you can appreciate it as a good piece of art, and it has a great depth and replayability. one of my albums of the year in the recommended music thread by steve hauschidt, tragedy and geometry, is a great example of what i'm talking about. it's just all there, the whole deal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics
yeah i can definately tell where you're coming from now. brostep-youtube video makers don't really have a vision compared to these other guys hah.Uzique wrote:
no worries. if you bear that sort of thing in mind you can start to say whether a song/album is 'good' or 'bad' without it having anything to do with being a hipster, or even your own taste. it's possible to say an album's good even if you personally dislike it. it's all about understanding what the artist/musician had in mind and wanted to achieve, and acknowledging them for it if they did. this youtube brostep stuff isn't really even in the same ballpark as 'real' music. every song is the same, done to formula, and only has one point: to lead up to an obvious, predictable drop for people to headbang to. no thanks.
ah ok i see, i always wondered what LP meant.Uzique wrote:
oh and the technical format name for an album is a 'long play record' for a reason. some pop albums are just an assembled collection of hits and singles and one-off songs, sure, but most albums are released as albums (which costs the label and the artist more money to produce) because they're meant to be experienced as a longer, fuller body of work. a lot of choice and thought is put into making an album... which songs to include, in what order, to what effect, etc.
yeah i definately think i understand what you mean nowUzique wrote:
their 'idea' is to make music to be danced to, or played in a club. that's fine. not every album needs to be some concept album based on an adaptation of h.p. lovecraft or something. but it's just the fact that these brostep videos aren't even good dance/club music. it's repetitive and crappy.