Quote:
Originally Posted by jujimufu
Harry Partch, created a whole new kind of music, with new scales, instruments, harmonies, everything.
It is exactly because people are able to manipulate the public that we are having this kind of conversations. When the "media" didn't practically exist (i.e. there were no CDs, no tapes, no LPs, no radio, no TV, nothing), people only listened to the music that was being played in concerts, whatever that was. They had no choice. That was the only music they could listen to, whether they liked it or not. So the "human ear" used to develop alongside the "human culture", as someone crudely put it in a few posts above (or was it another thread - I don't remember). But then, with the commodities that the 20th century offers, people reside in what they're used to, and they refuse to go for any change, refuse to do something different, because they feel safe and sound where they are, and because they have that ability. So, basically, the reason we're having this kind of conversations is because a) people are misinformed/uninformed and it's their bad, because they don't bother reading about terms, musicians, listening to music, or getting to know things properly, yet they seem to have a very grounded opinion on things that they can actually barely start to understand, and b) people have been denying "contemporary" and "modern" music on the grounds that they don't like it, and because it "clashes" with all the music they're used to listen, or have grown up with.
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Maybe I'm just taking this too much out of context but it does seem like you're actually condemning people who don't like "modern" music as ignorant, uneducated listeners. Do you honestly believe this? If so, it's terribly biased. Just because *you* like "modern" music does not mean that everyone should or has to. I'll agree that a lot of people who don't like it is because they don't give it a fair listen but I'll be damned if you're going to tell me that if someone would "properly" studies "modern" music that they will like it and they *must* like it.
I personally haven't had as much exposure to modern music as I like some but I'll say that the majority, I just don't care for. It is interesting but it's not something I derive a whole lot of enjoyment from and I don't see how that is ignorant to do so. It's called having an opinion. I've read about as much as I can possibly on Boulez. I've listened to literally all his music that I can find online for free and guess what? I just don't like him. He doesn't do it for me. His music speaks to me in no way and I don't ever get more than mild enjoyment out of it. Do this make me "ignorant"?
Sometimes people just don't like certain things. People have preferences and sometimes no amount of education or understanding will change this.
I hate how YCers here always come here and bash other people's music taste and say that if they really "understood" a piece, that they would like it. Now, some of the posts I have seen, they really have been made in ignorance. And I have no problem with this but more often thant not, it's just "Person A: Well, I don't like this blah blah blah piece Person B: Well, you're a big stupid head. You should go read books and listen to it 50 more times and blah blah blah blah then you'll like it." needs to stop.
I understand the position that people should not make judgements so hastily and a lot of the time, people evaluate stuff out of ignorance. I understand people should properly inform themselves more but does anyone realize how hypocritical and unrealistic this is?
It just makes me want to say "Oh really? Well do you like movies? Mhm, mhm, mhm. What are some movies you don't like? Oh, you don't like that? Okay. Well, have you bought the DVD, watched all the extra footage, watched interviews with the cast and crew, re-watched the movie about a dozen times, and read through the Wikipedia and IMDB articles? Oh, you haven't? What's this I hear, oh yeah...it's a double standard."
This can be applied to anything really. Cars, fashion, books, paintings, etc. Anything that someone considers art really. Do you ever just like things? Do you honeslty have to research everything in exhaustive detail before you form an opinion on *anything*? I seriously, seriously doubt it. I think people like to insult each other's musical taste in particular because afterall, this *is* a music forum and a lot of people here are *very* passionate about it but I bet you'd be pretty irked if I insulted your taste in movies/books/etc. as "ignorant" because you didn't spend the same care and attention into that you do music (And judging from the movies thread, a lot of YCers don't have very good taste in movies in my opinion.
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Anyway, I apologize if this isn't what you're saying but what I *think* you're saying just threw me into semi-rant mode. Feel free to clarify.