Sometimes, when people or even friends are talking about music I love, they use such hurting words. For example, last week I was testing a fucking good pair of monitors at school with some of my favorite tracks, so I pushed the volume at a quite loud level, and five minute later a mate entered into the studio and she sayed something like “Wow, I was wondering who else could be listening to such an insane music” (I’m tryng to use the appropriate translated words…). For your information, the track I was listening to was Alspacka, by The Tuss.
A few years later, this sentence would have make me laugh because I think that in some way I liked the idea of listening music that nobody seems to bear, but now i’m bored, I’ve grown up ; I still listen to a lot of dance music (I think that’s the english label of what we call “musique électronique” in France) but I also love rock, classical, or even some old and so funny french singers that I would never have listened to some years ago. I try to not have prejudices about types of music and I think I have still efforts to make to discover other genres.
But sometimes I’ve the feeling that so many people don’t want to make this effort : I still regularly ear some of these biting comments around me. Without talking about people who have their so narrow conception of music and who think that dance music is not “real music”. When I think that some of them are friends of mine… This is such a shame.
So, sometimes I’m wondering if things work in the same way in other countries ?
I still hope that one day I could listen to Venetian Snares without the fear of catching a bleak comment.
Welcome to humanity, my friend! Our current status is that mainstream culture clings to what they know… and everything else is freaky/evil/satanist. Please stay with us for another millennium while we work out our backwards social state.
Hint: Push your liberal ideals on the rest of the world BECAUSE it pisses them off. You have a right to express yourself, and that threatens those that would oppress you. Stand up for your rights. Stand up for your beliefs. Stand up for your tastes. Stand up for yourself.
I know what you mean. The question “and what kind of music do you listen to?” freaks me out everytime and I mostly answer “well, you got 10 minutes?”.
Also I am really happy to share my love for music with other people (I am actually respected by friends as someone who has a pretty good idea about music), but if people want to stay within their own narrow horizon I wont push them.
So, don’t give a f**k but don’t judge other people either. Maybe they have knowledge in some other field that you don’t have. Instant Food or TV-Shows or something.
I used to scour the net looking for extreme music (breakcore), couldn’t get enough of the stuff, and was a bit pissed when other people didn’t enjoy the music I liked because it was too weird. But looking back, maybe that was me being closeminded. Now i’m into mellower more straightforward stuff, (which I think is actually intenser, or it gives me intenser feelings usually). But I get a bit sarcastic when somebody tells me proudly about their extreme taste in music, partly because I’m convinced I used to enjoy things 10x extremer than anything they listen to, and partly becuase I think it’s a bit silly now to listen to music because it’s extreme. So I guess I’m still closeminded
But! I have found that that feeling I used to get from really wonked out breakcore I now get from well prepared food. The complexity is staggering sometimes.
assuming no flaws in your english, it’s silly when people refer to electronic artists as if there’s more than one person (e.g. aphex twin? they’re cool, but i like indie and cheap coats)
i was chatting with some girl the other day and i asked her about what music she liked she “alternative” and named off 3 names of some crap metal mtv shit my guess. i said oh so you like broken stuff right? she says yeah. i said so you like DNB then? she goes WHAT!!! DNB???! and quickly she put me on ignore. i’m like wtf? even i could at least listen to DNB a little.
My roommates are always getting on my case when I listen to any electronic music around the house. The running joke is that it is “space music”. I showed them Renoise the other day and told them that if it’s space music then this program is the Mother Ship. For the most part I just make fun of them for being old men and tell them to get back to their Neil Young albums.
It can be frustrating at times when people around you don’t understand the music you are listening to. I’ve had many arguments with people who think using samplers and programming music isn’t actually music because no instruments are being played. Talk about narrow-mindedness.
Over the years I’ve learned to take criticism towards the music I listen to and play in a comical matter. I get kicks out of watching people’s varied reactions.
It’s sad really… so much good music that people don’t have the inclination to try to like. But I suppose there was a time that I wouldn’t have liked music that I love now. People have to find it on their own. Of course, we can help by forcing them to listen to all kinds of crazy tunes.
I just wanted to chime in to add another “you’re not alone” on this one. Just reading this thread brings up a lot of harsh feelings I get from the same cause. Depending on the town, music can be completely ignored and regarded as useless.
That completely freaks me out because I’ve come to understand and experience music in a totally different way. It has been a recurring “thread” through my life since my first memories and remains one of the truest ways to emotionally communicate things with other people from all walks of life. I barely have any very true friends who were NOT met through music.
Music is just one of the most important things out there. As an outlet, a way to chop up the world and put it together in your own way, the thought processes involved in this progression are the same ones that lead you into a higher state of awareness in this universe, and it’s a very positive thing for the creator, no matter what listeners decide to feel from it.
It does seem like for a lot of people, if you’re not into music enough to try to create some, then you probably won’t see what’s so great about really artistic music, you’ll just eat what’s on the radio.
It’s a lonely way to think, that’s why we’re talking about it here i guess.
Renoise people make me feel more sane
thanks.
we also evolve a different way from using more areas of the brain, the amount of searching involved is teaching each of our arrays of genetic codes new shared experiences allowing us to flip those genetic switches much more easily. like one of those giant wall synthes. those people are quite alright we need them alot and eventually they will understand things we shape today will affect them far off in the future. the people who make mass media feed off of electronic music like snorks need water.
Funny thing, this taste in different styles of music. Isn’t it a bit silly to argue about it, just like its useless to argue which food is better. Different people like different stuff, they don’t have to like what you prefer, and you don’t have to like what they prefer.
@Mushen
English is not my native tongue. That has nothing to do with the fact that I simply don’t know if Venetian Snares consist of one person or if there is the Russian red choir behind it. Most people wouldn’t know, not even the people who speaks english natively.
that’s what bothers me. might as well look into “them” before you knock him. no judgment on your opinion, of course that’s yours. my point is, i’m not a fan of Queen because he’s rude in person.
I never really had people nag me for my taste in music. Mostly I think
because most people think of me as a weird guy anyway, as if a weird
taste in arts goes along with that. My friends share my taste in music
luckily, and being involved in music has the benefit that you’re often the
first to find ‘new’ interesting material to share.
And I agree with Foo. In a way we’re ALL narrow-minded. Remember
the Timbaland-thing? He became labelled as ‘crap’ by default by this
very ‘open-minded’ scene. Uh huh. Being open-minded has nothing to
do with NOT being into mainstream.
I don’t like it, when people are closeminded (which is, kindof, closeminded, huh? ah… the irony ^^)
Well, if people say something like “i like everything in the charts and such” i get cold shivers and want to yell at them “put some effort in developing some personal taste! there is so much good stuff out there!”.
But then I realize, that music for them has a far faaar lower priority than it has to me. And so I don’t really care about what they say about my taste, because - for them - they are just judging a very unimportant thing. They are not connected to music the way I am. It’s just blah blah.
What on earth have made you think I haven’t listened to several tracks from Venetian snares? I gave it a shot and realised its not my cup of tea, apart from a couple exceptions. Why should you be bothered that I don’t like Snares, I can name threehundred acts I love which you most likely hate
Yeah , I’ve knew this for a year ! Just an exception : one of my roomates admit that Squarepusher was really good (but he have just eared about some jazzy tracks from Hard Normal Daddy, he didn’t know about Go Plastic! for example )
Yeah, we are all, more or less, but I’m personaly sure that i’m a lot less narrow-minded that people usually are.
But let me try once more : at some point it’s a question of taste, but there is also the prejudice. I try to break my prejudices and when I ear comments like “your weird music”, comming even from my closest friends, it breaks on my nerves because I feel that they don’t make these efforts. They don’t even know what they are talking about…
And yeah, I think that in a way, these reactions make me think that I’m alone and right. It’s like some kind of narcissism. I try to avoid it but I think it would be so easier if people were cooler.
)