Music Buffs

Willard

Willard · Jun 30, 2015

"Dude, you listen to pop? Lmfao that's crap gtfo modern music sucks"
"Ugh, I was born in the wrong generation!"

Recently on here, I saw some hate on an artist, saying "they're a bad musician" and such. In school, when those who followed the metalcore movement and such, if you liked pop, they would hastily speak against it. They say that it sucks. Pop sucks.

When I would show my friend music that I prefer, he would say its a "bad band" and such. This has been getting on my nerves quite a bit, considering one's taste of music is subjective, but it's ever so common. I would see Of Mice and Men fans trash One Direction or any pop group. I would see *popular rapper now* fans trash indie music.

One of the biggest music buffs I know, he's all about post-punk and enjoys Fugazi, Animal Collective, all these not-so-easy-to-access artists. If you know a lot about music, you would be relatively open, right? Well, he is quoted saying "All rappers nowadays suck," "you know nothing about music if you don't listen to Butthole Surfers", and "you make me disgusted if you trash Nirvana".

I was even guilty of this at one point. I remember speaking strongly against Death Grips because their noisy delivery and style of rap didn't suit my tastes. What surprised me is the size of their fan base which is relatively big. After a while, I thought they were okay and actually had some pretty good songs. I put myself in the mindset that everyone likes something different. No artist is "bad", they just suit different crowds.

It's the same thing about "every band sucks now I wish I was born in the eighties" because, well, you can't say they suck. I know people who dislike Neutral Milk Hotel (whoa, is he going /mu/ on us?) but you can't say they suck, because they're actually pretty talented musicians. Sufjan Stevens, Prince, really any musician is skilled in a sense.

So, here's a question: would you say any musician sucks? Born in the wrong generation or whatever? And if so, why are you standing on that point?

Tl;dr does music suck?

[i]"Dude, you listen to pop? Lmfao that's crap gtfo modern music sucks"[/i]
[i]"Ugh, I was born in the wrong generation!"[/i]

Recently on here, I saw some hate on an artist, saying "they're a bad musician" and such. In school, when those who followed the metalcore movement and such, if you liked pop, they would hastily speak against it. They say that it sucks. Pop sucks.

When I would show my friend music that I prefer, he would say its a "bad band" and such. This has been getting on my nerves quite a bit, considering one's taste of music is subjective, but it's ever so common. I would see Of Mice and Men fans trash One Direction or any pop group. I would see *popular rapper now* fans trash indie music.

One of the biggest music buffs I know, he's all about post-punk and enjoys Fugazi, Animal Collective, all these not-so-easy-to-access artists. If you know a lot about music, you would be relatively open, right? Well, he is quoted saying "All rappers nowadays suck," "you know nothing about music if you don't listen to Butthole Surfers", and "you make me disgusted if you trash Nirvana".

I was even guilty of this at one point. I remember speaking strongly against Death Grips because their noisy delivery and style of rap didn't suit my tastes. What surprised me is the size of their fan base which is relatively big. After a while, I thought they were okay and actually had some pretty good songs. I put myself in the mindset that everyone likes something different. No artist is "bad", they just suit different crowds.

It's the same thing about "every band sucks now I wish I was born in the eighties" because, well, you can't say they suck. I know people who dislike Neutral Milk Hotel (whoa, is he going /mu/ on us?) but you can't say they suck, because they're actually pretty talented musicians. Sufjan Stevens, Prince, really any musician is skilled in a sense.

So, here's a question: would you say any musician sucks? Born in the wrong generation or whatever? And if so, why are you standing on that point?

Tl;dr does music suck?

Vervain

Vervain · Jun 30, 2015

I would say that some musicians do, in fact, suck.

Case in point: Mike Posner. The guy needs to learn the meaning of "breath support", pronto. Or get his lungs replaced.

But in all honesty, I don't actually think a lot of musicians suck. The ones I think suck, I usually think suck at a basic musical level, meaning they don't have a sense of theory, composition, or performance -- I don't care if they write their own songs or have 35 writers to do it for them, if they autotune their stuff, anything like that, because there are crowds for that.

But if you have no awareness whatsoever as to what makes up music? That can be a little problem. Even the crappiest of teenage garage bands at least knows how to compose something, clumsy and raw as it may be.

So basically, my criticism of performers is "please learn at least one thing about the genre or style in which you perform, please". Like, yeah, you can sing, but who's to say that because you have Pavarotti's range that you can belt out an epic jazz number? However, because you have the range, you have a starting point from which to build yourself as a musician.

And, you know, there are people who disagree with me. There are people who think that Soulja Boy is the voice of a generation. There are people who are fans of Cher Lloyd (not Cher, just the crappy Brit teenybopper wannabe). There are people who even like Rebecca Black's stuff (and the stuff after Friday wasn't as magnificently bad, I'll admit).

And I don't really care to stomp on people who disagree with me. Because I know there are some people who would think I'm silly for liking Poets of the Fall, or OneRepublic, or hell, I still like Avril Lavigne's older stuff -- different strokes for different folks and all that.

tl;dr: Nah. Music's chill. And people who say they were "born in the wrong generation" need to realize that they were born in a generation where they can look back and enjoy all the old music as well as having new developments alongside it. That's the exact right generation, to me.

I would say that some musicians do, in fact, suck.

Case in point: Mike Posner. The guy needs to learn the meaning of "breath support", pronto. Or get his lungs replaced.

But in all honesty, I don't actually think a lot of musicians suck. The ones I think suck, I usually think suck at a basic musical level, meaning they don't have a sense of theory, composition, or performance -- I don't care if they write their own songs or have 35 writers to do it for them, if they autotune their stuff, anything like that, because there are crowds for that.

But if you have no awareness whatsoever as to what makes up music? That can be a little problem. Even the crappiest of teenage garage bands at least knows how to compose something, clumsy and raw as it may be.

So basically, my criticism of performers is "please learn at least one thing about the genre or style in which you perform, please". Like, yeah, you can sing, but who's to say that because you have Pavarotti's range that you can belt out an epic jazz number? However, because you have the range, you have a starting point from which to build yourself as a musician.

And, you know, there are people who disagree with me. There are people who think that Soulja Boy is the voice of a generation. There are people who are fans of Cher Lloyd (not Cher, just the crappy Brit teenybopper wannabe). There are people who even like Rebecca Black's stuff (and the stuff after Friday wasn't [i]as[/i] magnificently bad, I'll admit).

And I don't really care to stomp on people who disagree with me. Because I know there are some people who would think I'm silly for liking Poets of the Fall, or OneRepublic, or hell, I still like Avril Lavigne's older stuff -- different strokes for different folks and all that.

tl;dr: Nah. Music's chill. And people who say they were "born in the wrong generation" need to realize that they were born in a generation where they can look back and enjoy all the old music [i]as well as[/i] having new developments alongside it. That's the exact right generation, to me.

Gringoamericano Creator

Gringoamericano · Jun 30, 2015

Music does suck, and the world would be better off without it.

I used to be like this, thinking that classic rock was the only good music and dismissing anything resembling rap.

Then I went too far in the other direction. I ended up trying to convince myself that Classic Rock was awful because the people who like it tend to be too dismissive of other genres (The irony!).

At the end of the day, I just learned not to make a big deal out of it. Everybody has their own tastes, and it's likely that I actively dislike something that somebody is in love with.

For example, Frank Zappa and Kurt Cobain were apparently big fans of an act called the Shaggs (Cobain even added them to his list of favorite albums). And what did the Shaggs sound like?

Well....

phpBB [media]

.

You can say that these girls objectively suck (and many wouldn't disagree with you). But somehow, this group has managed to gather a following of people who actively like them (be it ironically or unironically). Much like you said, they suit to different crowds.

Because music is so subjective when it comes to taste, it's hard to say that there's an act that is universally disliked (even including downright awful acts like Brokencyde or Blood on the Dance Floor, or even Crazy Frog). Sure, there are a lot of flaws that many acts can have (I know that there are many people who would rather listen to Sufjan rather than Neutral Milk Hotel due to the way Mangum's voice sounds), but those flaws can somehow add to an act's appeal.

[i]Music does suck, and the world would be better off without it.[/i]

I used to be like this, thinking that classic rock was the only good music and dismissing anything resembling rap.

Then I went too far in the other direction. I ended up trying to convince myself that Classic Rock was awful because the people who like it tend to be too dismissive of other genres (The irony!).

At the end of the day, I just learned not to make a big deal out of it. Everybody has their own tastes, and it's likely that I actively dislike something that somebody is in love with.

For example, Frank Zappa and Kurt Cobain were apparently big fans of an act called the Shaggs (Cobain even added them to his list of favorite albums). And what did the Shaggs sound like?

Well....[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR9d4ESlpHY[/media].

You can say that these girls objectively suck (and many wouldn't disagree with you). But somehow, this group has managed to gather a following of people who actively like them (be it ironically or unironically). Much like you said, they suit to different crowds.

Because music is so subjective when it comes to taste, it's hard to say that there's an act that is universally disliked (even including downright awful acts like Brokencyde or Blood on the Dance Floor, or even Crazy Frog). Sure, there are a lot of flaws that many acts can have (I know that there are many people who would rather listen to Sufjan rather than Neutral Milk Hotel due to the way Mangum's voice sounds), but those flaws can somehow add to an act's appeal.

rainforest

rainforest · Jun 30, 2015

Musicians are starting to suck.

Honestly, I like to hear real, actual music. Music that's actually that's on a guitar, or something. I absolutely hate synthesized techo music.

Also, I have realized that most male musician's voices have started becoming higher and more whiny. Take Sam Smith or Jason Derulo for example.

phpBB [media]

See? Their voices are so whiny. It honestly gets really annoying.

Morrigan

Morrigan · Jun 30, 2015

But that's subjective, Cap'n.

I personally really like Sam Smith. And Kesha. And Nicki Minaj and Shakira. I also like Of Monsters and Men, Don McLean, Simon and Garfunkel...

I don't think that any music actually sucks unless the musician, at their basic level, has something that is noticeably technically really terrible. Even people who aren't technically good don't suck.

@Arkhaion
I saw Mike Posner live and he was terrible not only in hitting notes, but he had obviously consumed some kind of substance before he went on stage and was bowing to the crowd as if they were worshiping him. He also, like, told his life story.

He was opening for Kesha (then known as Ke$ha). Not even the headliner. I would say that sucked.

Europa

Europa · Nov 14, 2015

There's another side to this argument, folks. and if I don't argue it, then I would be remiss. From a performer's eye, I state my argument.

I wouldn't say that some music 'Sucks' at all.

Being an artist myself, I know what goes into making a song and finding just the right way to deliver it, and perform it. It takes months of rehearsing, re-writing, planning, and direction to pull off a performance, no matter how shoddy the production may be, they still worked hard to make it happen at all. (While I agree getting drunk before a performance isn't cool. However, it was only that one concert you saw. Who's to say he does it all the time? It might have just been a flash in the pan.)

Honestly, I get annoyed and disappointed when someone starts trashing an artist or genre, just because it's their opinion that that particular genre doesn't speak to them.

Take me and, say, rap for example.
Rap isn't my kind of music. Most messages are iffy
And it's not as melodic as I would like,
But I also know a lot of work and talent goes into rapping. If I ever tried to rap, I'd stumble, trip on the first word and fall flat on my proverbial face.

So, no. Just because some music won't speak to you as much as some others do, it doesn't mean it sucks, and I really think it close minded of some people to think an artist was 'Bad' Just because they don't like his or her music.

Now if we're talking about an artist as a person, I would say that is a horse of a different color. I would go so far as to say they suck, because they put effort into the things they do just as much as any other artist would.
But they would lose my respect not only as a fan and a music lover, but as a person as well.

Let's face it. Some people just don't handle fame well. They buy Extremely flashy things, they treat their fans and sometimes even their fellow artists like dirt, and it's really that sort of behavior that put me off them.

If you're going to judge an artist, please, be as gentle as you would judge yourself. Or, even better, don't judge them at all.
You don't really know anything about them and for all we know the things we read and see about them could be a total lie.

Music is music. There are different forms and genres, and maybe some wont hit home with us, but it's still an art. It's still music that other people appreciate and that takes a lot of time, skill, and talent to produce.

Isn't that an it's own enough to respect?

There's another side to this argument, folks. and if I don't argue it, then I would be remiss. From a performer's eye, I state my argument.

I wouldn't say that some music 'Sucks' at all.

Being an artist myself, I know what goes into making a song and finding just the right way to deliver it, and perform it. It takes months of rehearsing, re-writing, planning, and direction to pull off a performance, no matter how shoddy the production may be, they still worked hard to make it happen at all. (While I agree getting drunk before a performance isn't cool. However, it was only that one concert you saw. Who's to say he does it all the time? It might have just been a flash in the pan.)

Honestly, I get annoyed and disappointed when someone starts trashing an artist or genre, just because it's their opinion that that particular genre doesn't speak to them.

Take me and, say, rap for example.
Rap isn't my kind of music. Most messages are iffy  
And it's not as melodic as I would like, 
But I also know a lot of work and talent goes into rapping. If I ever tried to rap, I'd stumble, trip on the first word and fall flat on my proverbial face.

So, no. Just because some music won't speak to you as much as some others do, it doesn't mean it sucks, and I really think it close minded of some people to think an artist was 'Bad' Just because they don't like his or her music.

Now if we're talking about an artist as a person, I would say that is a horse of a different color. I would go so far as to say they suck, because they put effort into the things they do just as much as any other artist would.
But they would lose my respect not only as a fan and a music lover, but as a person as well.

Let's face it. Some people just don't handle fame well. They buy Extremely flashy things, they treat their fans and sometimes even their fellow artists like dirt, and it's really that sort of behavior that put me off them.

If you're going to judge an artist, please, be as gentle as you would judge yourself. Or, even better, don't judge them at all. 
You don't really know anything about them and for all we know the things we read and see about them could be a total lie.

Music is music. There are different forms and genres, and maybe some wont hit home with us, but it's still an art. It's still music that other people appreciate and that takes a lot of time, skill, and talent to produce.

Isn't that an it's own enough to respect?

Vervain

Vervain · Nov 14, 2015

TheFantasy - if they can't even make music, then no, I won't respect them for "making music".

See: my post earlier in this thread for when I judge music (or musicians) to suck. My opinion still holds true for me; if a musician is completely lacking technique or form, then I may as well listen to 45 minutes of white noise. (Hey, Gring, you got that link anywhere?

I can't find it any more, and I meant to bookmark it.)

Gringoamericano Creator

Gringoamericano · Nov 14, 2015

You asked for this, Ark. You're gonna wish you hadn't (Headphone warning to anyone who's curious; be sure to keep your volume low. You will regret it otherwise)

phpBB [media]

Ironically, this also ties into my point that music can't be objectively awful, because for some reason there are people who enjoy this sort of thing. A venue at my hometown is even having a little festival exclusively for live performances of this type of music.

"UR MVSIC SUX!!!11!1!1!1!!1"

About / Info

Forums & RPG

Literary

Resources