I don't think I've ever listened to things just because someone has said it is hip or new in style, why should I care about fashion? You still do get music critics damning by faint praise in both classical and popular music. The technique is normally to compare a lesser known music with something far better known and celebrated and say while it is ok in it's way it is still inferior to the person who is more famous and supposedly did it first. What should matter more is whether something is simply good musically and not whether it is thought to be totally original or influential. Originality and influence tend to be vastly overhyped factors at the expense of the reality anyway. Music is about enjoyment to me and not about agonizing where I place someone in some music history I have constructed.
As for talking about music, I find it easier to talk about things which I have known and lived with for a while. And often what is there really to say about specific music except that you consider it consistent, well constructed and done with feeling? Or the opposite if you don't like it. I find talk about music as an art in more general terms can be more interesting as it can be broader in scope and bring in other subjects and so be a more fruitful way of exploring this mysterious art.
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non-cliquey member of every music forum I participate on
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