Variety is the Spice of Life!
I just wanted to take a few minutes and speak to my friends out there on a subject that has been on my mind recently, and has really surrounded me in the musical community for as long as I can remember. That, my friends, is musical prejudice.
I encountered a fellow musician and avid music lover the other day at a show, and he spent almost twenty minutes arguing with me, saying that a particular band I enjoy was horrible and should be buried simply because the style of music they play is “pansy rock.” He also said a talentless monkey could write the songs they compose – not because their music was bad, but because the entire genre should be done away with. Now I admire passion, and I assure you I can appreciate a difference in opinion, with respect. But to simply write off a band and insult their style and musicianship purely based on the fact that they perform in a genre you find unappealing, just lacks class to me.
I’m not trying to get all preachy. And I’m not implying, by any means, that we should all learn to love every band and style of music. I’m just saying that all musicians have to work very hard. And they all bleed for their music just the same. You don’t have to like it all – God knows I don’t like a lot of it. But that doesn’t mean I can’t respect their talents. And I sure as hell won’t burn another person for liking a style of music I don’t prefer. Now if the music is bad, that’s a different story, and as reviewers, we hear a lot of bad music everyday. That being said, these bands still deserve a chance to be heard – no matter what genre or how bad. We should always support these guys because, after all, they are following a dream I think we can all relate too; and a dream most of us have followed ourselves.
That’s what I love about our site. We showcase a wide variety of music from different styles, and have a diverse set of readers that make us, at least in my opinion, one of the best reviews sites out there.
Thanks for listening to my rant and supporting our site. Remember to support local music and be sure keep commenting. Your opinions mean more than you know, and they are all heard.
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4 Comments
September 30th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Well said, Ryan! I've had alot of similar experiences to the one you described, myself. I'll be the first to say that I don't like a particular style of music, but I don't get putting someone that does like it down. To each his/her own is how I look at it.
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October 5th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Great post. I've encountered this myself and it drives me nuts. I listen to a really wide array of music so my tastes always clash with a friend's. It's inevitable. Even I'm guilty of saying a genre was bad. I have no problem with a person liking whatever they do though. What they listen to is their prerogative and I respect them for having the same passion for music that I like to think I have.
I have a particular friend who will try and force an artist on me and can't understand when I tell him I'm not interested. He just can't fathom a reason as to why I would disregard listening to this entire artist's discography repeatedly until I actually like said artist. He tries to discredit my opinion, saying that it's invalid because I've yet to listen to EVERY song this artist has put out. I respect his passion for music and on the positive hand we go back and forth sharing a lot of diverse and new music, but on the negative end I hate that he goes out of his way to tell me I don't know anything.
I think the line between opinion and fact is hard for some people to distinguish.
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October 5th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
very well said…music is meant to bring people together and all too often people segregate themselves based on genres. I too have been guilty of this act, but I like to think Ive moved beyond it and personally I am trying to appreciate and listen to more styles. Reviewing for this site has really opened me up to more music I might have never listened to. Thats the point of the new review, we help to break down barriers and open our readers up to music they otherwise might have missed out on.
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October 9th, 2009 at 12:08 am
Yeah this is a chronic problem, especially with fans of underground genres. It's a kind of protectionist mechanism I think. People feel that by rejecting other forms of music they make their preferred genre stronger.
I feel this is an immature way of thinking about music, but it's also a phase most people go through. When kids start ragging on a genre or a set of bands, I just encourage them to stop talking about the music they hate, and just talk about the music they like.
No one never beat a music genre into submission with their spite, so the only power fans have is strengthening the stuff they actually think is good.
In my opinion, if you have a friend that is so insecure that they shoot down your musical tastes outright for any reason, they don't really deserve to discuss or listen to music with you.
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