Anyone else hate music pretention and snobbery?

Music, as an overall entity, has to be subjective.

There are so many criteria out there that can be applied to music, and this means that there's no way you can absolutely say one song is better than another.

However, if you zone in on one of these criteria, say for example the amount of effort put into creating the piece or the skill involved in playing the piece, then you can start to be objective.

Reply 161

concubine

17

Original post by Nice Marmite

I'll tell you what I find annoying - in every other form of art snobbery is allowed and encouraged (literary criticism has given rise to a generally accepted list of classic novels, certain artists show exhibitions in good galleries which are then subject to critique etc. etc.) and yet with music it seems to be a whole different ball game. Generally if you asked someone whether they thought their Darren Brown novel was better than Dickens they'd say "no but I enjoy it more". Fair enough. Whereas if you asked someone whether Adele was better than PJ Harvey they either say "yes" or "there is no better or worse, it's just personal taste". If they were being criticised in any circle other than the general public there would be no competition!

It is this attitude that has seen the decrease in creativity in non classical music in this country over the last 15 years. There is no longer an audience for critically acclaimed, good music because anything and everything can be 'good' now. This attitude has brought the downfall of such programmes as Top of the Pops, where artists had to perform (often live) in order to stay in the charts. MTV has died in the last 15 years. It used to be the home of creative independent music, now it's just a more 'cool' spot for commercial pop music.

You were doing fine until there.

Reply 162

Nice Marmite

11

Original post by concubine

You were doing fine until there.

I think I meant to say decrease in audience rather than decrease in actual creativity, if that makes any difference.

Reply 163

DaveSmith99

14

Music is art, and there should always be a degree of snobbery in art.

Reply 164

erincerys

Original post by Bellissima

am i the only one who CANNOT STAND THIS??

i keep seeing it everywhere, especially on youtube... "people who dislike this don't know real music" etc. whether it's on led zep, gaga, jayz, WHATEVER...

why do people not understand music is SUBJECTIVE. opinions are SUBJECTIVE. why does it matter that one person likes one direction and the other likes daft punk....... really WHY DOES IT MATTER????? how do the music tastes of other people affect you in any way? why does liking a particular band or artist or aspect of music make you superior, why is your taste in music seemingly better?
or you like one musician, for example you might say "i like adele" and then someone could reply to you "wait, don't you like justin bieber" (inb4 these comments) and it's like your whole opinion is invalid? it's moronic...

why don't people understand we are not all clones and different people like different things! i don't give a **** what music you like and will not judge any other aspect of your character for it... it's not like you CHOOSE what music you like, it just happens... i don't see why you should be ashamed/embarassed for something as harmless as musical taste...

also, just because you like one musician/singer/band, does not mean you cannot like other artists that are completely different!

it's just one of my pet hates.

THANK YOU SO MUCH THIS HAS MADE ME SO HAPPY. For an english project, we have to choose a pet hate to go in Room 101 and it will be gone forever. THIS IS IT. Thank you for helping me to make this decision have a lovely non-pretensious day

Reply 165

tes1996

4

What excruciating hipsters there are on here.
This forum has represented everything that is bad about the Student Room.
Perhaps you all ought to fill your lives with more interesting things,]. I find banging one's head repeatedly against walls is more riveting than debating whether Jay-Z is too mainstream.

Reply 166

Jjj90

19

Original post by Bellissima

am i the only one who CANNOT STAND THIS??

i keep seeing it everywhere, especially on youtube... "people who dislike this don't know real music" etc. whether it's on led zep, gaga, jayz, WHATEVER...

why do people not understand music is SUBJECTIVE. opinions are SUBJECTIVE. why does it matter that one person likes one direction and the other likes daft punk....... really WHY DOES IT MATTER????? how do the music tastes of other people affect you in any way? why does liking a particular band or artist or aspect of music make you superior, why is your taste in music seemingly better?
or you like one musician, for example you might say "i like adele" and then someone could reply to you "wait, don't you like justin bieber" (inb4 these comments) and it's like your whole opinion is invalid? it's moronic...

why don't people understand we are not all clones and different people like different things! i don't give a **** what music you like and will not judge any other aspect of your character for it... it's not like you CHOOSE what music you like, it just happens... i don't see why you should be ashamed/embarassed for something as harmless as musical taste...

also, just because you like one musician/singer/band, does not mean you cannot like other artists that are completely different!

it's just one of my pet hates.

No-one says that about Led Zeppelin pal.