Metal Reviews

I dont agree with this, the way i see it trends arent that much of a factor, for example lets say that "The Backstreets Boys" arent popular here on México, and some teenage girl down here digs them and other similar artists not knowing of the trend thats going outside her country, does she have good taste because she isnt trendy?, i dont think so, that kind of music is designed to be trendy and is in that quality where bad taste lies, on liking only easy listening and disposable music.

I dont think i have the definite answer on this matter, i find your argument of bad taste being relative interesting, i will give it some thought(and weed) later.

For the most part I was just thinking out loud, but I think my comment would only apply to music that is trendy in a setting that it is trendy. If a girl likes the Backstreet Boyin a setting where the Backstreet Boys arent popular this commetn wouldnt apply to her. I dont think there can be a universal rule applied to judging tastes. It is all relative. Age, surroundings adn even gender can be taken into account.

I'm going to post my reply before going and reading everything else because I'm in a rush so sorry if I'm just repeating someone.

I'd consider bad taste in music to be if you're listening to something not based on it's musical merit but instead on some other factor, such as image, lifestyle, popularity etc. I've been quizzing people who like music that I think is shit, because I'm genuinely interested in how they can stand to listen to it, and I've come up with only one answer.

The reason that people listen to the incredibly shitty deluge of pop and rap thats out there isn't because they like the music, it's because they like whats associated with it. You obviously can't pop in a metal cd and start dancing to it in a club atmosphere; it just wouldn't work. The people who like the kind of music played in clubs and on mtv or whatever (which I consider to be bad taste in music) don't actually value it for the music, they like it because it allows them to dance and to meet people.

As well, the less educated someone in musically, the less I respect their tastes in music. The success of bad music such as pop and rap is because it's so incredibly easy to duplicate; so much so that someone with no musical talent AT ALL can still manage to convince themself that they're singing along just as well as the singer himself. No one with no guitar training will pick up a guitar and believe that they can easily rip out a Sonata Arctica song or whatever, but people with no vocal training will still sing along with Britney Spears or 50 cent or whatever people are listening to now.

So therefore: bad musical skill = bad music taste because you don't value the music for the music itself.

QED

i don't think musical skill has that much to do with it. i don't play any instrument and i love metal.

i mean, playing an instrument probably lets someone appreciate technical music better (that would perhaps sound all wanky to someone who doesn't play anything), but i wouldn't go so far as saying that it defines musical taste.

The longer i've played guitar, the more i've come to loathe excessive technical showboating.

This means i can't usually get along with most other guitar players too well, hah.

As I've said before, generally people want music that's simply "pleasant" to listen to. Simple lyrics they can sing along to, simple beats they can dance to, etc. They want music that they can listen to with their friends while talking, laughing, etc. without really having to think. MTV knows this to a tee, and that's exactly why they often promote the kinds of bands that they promote.

From my experience, most people in the mainstream will buy a "hip/trendy" album, and not even remember a single song from it other than the "Hit Single." And then, after about three years, they'll have totally discarded it for something else.

Of course, there are acceptions (Tool, Radiohead, etc). But this is generally how it is in the mainstream.

Yeah, I don't think you need musical skill to be able to appreciate that somebody is good at their instrument. I also don't think that being a virtuoso at your instrument means your music is any good

Case in point: The Metallica song The Unforgiven. Supposedly, its solo is one of the hardest solos Kirk Hammett has ever played (and that's saying something!). But I still hate both the song and the solo (I strongly prefer Unforigven 2 - and I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me on this). Similarly, the song Ride The Lightning had some incredible guitar work, but I still find it to be one of the most annoying songs Metallica's ever written.

I'm not saying that people who don't play an instrument necessarily like bad music, just I think thats the reason why most people don't listen to the same music I do. They have different things that they're looking for in music (such as catchy simplicity) and I generally hate the things that they look for in music. Catchyness, lyrics, simplicity, I don't like any of that at all. So to me that type of music constitutes bad taste, because they don't like it because of whats actually going on in the music.

i don't think people don't like something because "it doesn't make them think", and saying something comes off as plain arrogant.

i admit, i like memorable songs (though i guess there's still a thin line between catchiness and memorability (??)), and unless there's something that comes up and grabs me on the first listen (and further listens reveal more stuff i didn't notice first time round) i don't usually give an album that many listens afterwards.

also, some metal is as simplistic, maybe even more simplistic than a lot of the mainstream music out there.

many mind-numbingly complex songs sound far more soulless than anything i've heard from, say, the backstreet boys.

The problem is that people look at a genre as a whole. Not all pop is soulless, not all rap is the same, not all metal is awesome. Learning to sift is part of maturing in musical appreciation, acquiring a bit of fussyness, liking, say, Public Enemy, and not 50 cent, for instance. Ultimately, no-one can say what's good or bad to listen to - even bad music can be entertaining!

I don't think there such a thing as bad taste. Its just a point of view. Some people say i got a shit taste in music coz i like Enya, Phill Collins, Wham, Paul Simon ect. But then other people think that i have a good taste in music coz i like Enya, Phill Collins, Wham, Paul Simon ect. So whos right there exactly?

On another note, whats with all the pop music bashing? Ok yes this is a metal forum but there are great pop songs out there.

I can't believe you said that on a metal site.

Shit. I completey forgot slating an entire genre of music was part of an inteligent musical debate. And to think i posted this in the general music discussion forum! Well don't i feel like a complete twat now.

dude what the fuck pop music....this is a HEAVY METAL MUSIC WEBSITE.

HEAVY METAL ROCK!!!!

NO SHIT

Its a simple enough question, why do you guys hold so much resentment towards pop music?

because metal is for outsiders and pop is for insiders, yo.

because its popular. oh no, more than six people on the planet like the same band as me!!!


Some pop is good, Ill give you that. Its definatly a rare find in modern music but its there.

No one here seemed to speak un-favorably about the beatles in the Gibberish lyrics thread, and yet they are as straight up pop as it gets.

"i wanna hold your haaaaannnnnddddd"

This is metalreviews.com.


Seriously it's like going to vatican and saying "what's with all the Satan hating ?"

Maybe because it sucks. Has it ever occured to you that some people who gathered in a site about metal might just not like a certain genre which is the exact opposite of their favoured genre?


What the fuck? You can't say something so mindnumbingly stupid like " WHOA? METALHEADS DON'T LIKE POP MUSIC?" and get pissed when you get a reaction.


And about some of it being good, yes of course some pop songs are good and I'm sure there were some decent Nazis but that doesn't stop me from bashing the holocaust.