Music Banter - View Single Post - Why is music so polarizing for so many people?

grtwhtgrvty · 04-13-2015, 05:53 PM

It's funny because the only thing that's really objective is the aesthetic of the music. That's the only thing that can't really be argued, unless it's from an ignorance vs knowledge perception (or god forbid ignorance vs ignorance).

And the argument of complexity vs simplicity is both objective and subjective, especially since, from an aesthetic standpoint, an artist's music can be simultaneously simplistic and complex.

Let's say you take a single and reverb the **** out of it and layer it until it's this massive wall of sound. That is inherently simple. It's just one, massive sound. Then you add in complex drum patterns, thus rendering it complex as well, which renders the concept of complex vs simplicity arbitrary, even though the aesthetic created is completely, objectively, THAT aesthetic, it's just that looking at it from a complex vs simplicity or complex + simplicity perspective is rather relative.

I do relate to your friend to a certain extent. I think there are varying degrees and many flavors of intelligence. Some of the smartest people I know are not able to grasp music. It's just random sounds to them. I don't know your friend. They could be subjectively judging you and refusing to be your friend, which is immature, or the fact that you don't share his level of refined taste puts a strain on the friendship. If music is a big part of his life, and he can't discuss the intricacies of it with you, it leaves him feeling unfulfilled. I don't know why I'm assuming he is male, but I'm gonna roll with it. I don't necessarily view it as a smart vs stupid thing. I view it moreso like an RPG. There is x number of skills and we all have skill points and those skill points have been allotted into different things depending on our interests. Music and concepts of music and the artistry behind music and aesthetics is a big part of my life, which had given me more points in "Musical Intelligence", thus refining my taste. Based on the massively mainstream artists you listed off, none of which are particularly complex or cutting edge, you don't have that refined of a taste -- which is fine. Maybe that's why your friend is having issues with you. I don't think, for me, that would make or break a friendship, but it would definitely be a huge aspect of my life I wouldn't be able to discuss with them.

Music is the biggest part of my life, and if I learn that my friend, let's call her Anne, only listens to Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry, both incredibly one dimensional artists, that's a huge part of my life that I can't discuss or enjoy with that person. If he wants to talk about Tchaikovsky and you can't meet his standard for refined musical discussion, I can't really blame him for feeling a strain in the relationship because that is an interest of his you can't address.

People say that musical taste should have no baring on who you are friends with, but I think that's bull****, because musical taste is an interest, and you are friends with people that you have interests in common with. If I love Nascar, and I meet someone who is just as into Nascar as I am, and Nascar is totally my favorite thing in the world, we are going to have a better chance of being friends.

Although in my opinion, you sound really immature for being friends with someone who is going to call you gay for liking The Beach Boys. I think that says a lot about you and your level of maturity. I don't know any mature person in the world that would tolerate such a low brow form of expression. That's something a 14 year old would say.

I think your open mindedness got the better of you and caused you to have ****ty friends. I think you should narrow your perception a little bit and find people more suiting to your needs because from the looks of it you have absolutely no standards on friendship.

04-13-2015, 05:53 PM	#9 (permalink)
grtwhtgrvty jiojoijoi Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 398	It's funny because the only thing that's really objective is the aesthetic of the music. That's the only thing that can't really be argued, unless it's from an ignorance vs knowledge perception (or god forbid ignorance vs ignorance). And the argument of complexity vs simplicity is both objective and subjective, especially since, from an aesthetic standpoint, an artist's music can be simultaneously simplistic and complex. Let's say you take a single and reverb the ** out of it and layer it until it's this massive wall of sound. That is inherently simple. It's just one, massive sound. Then you add in complex drum patterns, thus rendering it complex as well, which renders the concept of complex vs simplicity arbitrary, even though the aesthetic created is completely, objectively, THAT aesthetic, it's just that looking at it from a complex vs simplicity or complex + simplicity perspective is rather relative. I do relate to your friend to a certain extent. I think there are varying degrees and many flavors of intelligence. Some of the smartest people I know are not able to grasp music. It's just random sounds to them. I don't know your friend. They could be subjectively judging you and refusing to be your friend, which is immature, or the fact that you don't share his level of refined taste puts a strain on the friendship. If music is a big part of his life, and he can't discuss the intricacies of it with you, it leaves him feeling unfulfilled. I don't know why I'm assuming he is male, but I'm gonna roll with it. I don't necessarily view it as a smart vs stupid thing. I view it moreso like an RPG. There is x number of skills and we all have skill points and those skill points have been allotted into different things depending on our interests. Music and concepts of music and the artistry behind music and aesthetics is a big part of my life, which had given me more points in "Musical Intelligence", thus refining my taste. Based on the massively mainstream artists you listed off, none of which are particularly complex or cutting edge, you don't have that refined of a taste -- which is fine. Maybe that's why your friend is having issues with you. I don't think, for me, that would make or break a friendship, but it would definitely be a huge aspect of my life I wouldn't be able to discuss with them. Music is the biggest part of my life, and if I learn that my friend, let's call her Anne, only listens to Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry, both incredibly one dimensional artists, that's a huge part of my life that I can't discuss or enjoy with that person. If he wants to talk about Tchaikovsky and you can't meet his standard for refined musical discussion, I can't really blame him for feeling a strain in the relationship because that is an interest of his you can't address. People say that musical taste should have no baring on who you are friends with, but I think that's bull, because musical taste is an interest, and you are friends with people that you have interests in common with. If I love Nascar, and I meet someone who is just as into Nascar as I am, and Nascar is totally my favorite thing in the world, we are going to have a better chance of being friends. Although in my opinion, you sound really immature for being friends with someone who is going to call you gay for liking The Beach Boys. I think that says a lot about you and your level of maturity. I don't know any mature person in the world that would tolerate such a low brow form of expression. That's something a 14 year old would say. I think your open mindedness got the better of you and caused you to have **ty friends. I think you should narrow your perception a little bit and find people more suiting to your needs because from the looks of it you have absolutely no standards on friendship.