Why/How is art rock pretentious?
 

I listen to a lot of Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, and Keiji Haino because I love what they can do with their instruments. However I've noticed in YouTube comments, forums, and journalist sites, these artists' music (and occasionally the artist themselves) are called "pretentious".
So why is it that a painter can do a painting and it's automatically called "art" and no one bats an eye, but when music is artful and creative it is labeled "pretentious"?

Art, especially of the modern variety, is being labeled as pretentious and 'not really art' all the time.

Its only pretenious if you are the pope....I mean you're already the pope....Do you really need a prog album too?

now that i think about it, you're absolutely right. why is that? why don't people accept new art? is art dying because everyone is shaming (for lack of a better word) it? will we see it as art in the future? WHAT DO WE DO??

If you don't see the beauty, skill, effort and purpose in a work of art or music, but the artist and fans act like they do, you feel like they are idiots pretending that there is something where you're sure there isn't. Hence the perceived pretentiousness.
I don't think anything has to be done. Nothing is dying. Artists will always create, some people will always appreciate it. Different strokes for different folks.

But back to the pope man....A solid 3:16 ;)

perfect! you've beautifully answered my question. thank you

This thread is getting pretentious.....Ya high flutin mothafuckas.....

Thanks, Neighbour.

I am pretty high, but it's too late at night for flutin'. Soprano recorders suck anyway.

Surprise.....surprise.

The way I see it, when someone (whether it be the artist, fans, and/or critics) calls something "art rock" it often comes across as a self-conscious and egotistical attempt to distance the music from mainstream "non-arty" music. I mean, there isn't a genre of art called "art painting". It's just art. Music is likewise just art -- even though a lot of people don't think of it that way -- and the kind of people who would use the term "art rock" are aware of this, so their using it just seems redundant and desperate.

That is not at all a criticism of the music itself of course, or even the tastes and opinions of people who call something "art rock", just my general impression of why they and the genre are seen as pretentious. It's not like I care about doing away with the term, and I use it myself, as it is a recognized genre name that describes certain bands who might otherwise be hard to categorize (not that "art rock" is a particularly useful description of a band's sound, but it's better than nothing).

Pretty sure it wasn't invented by the musicians themselves. Not to mention that a lot of bands are reluctant to label themselves.
It's one of the 'blurrier' genres anyway, don't think I've ever had to use the term when talking about music.

Not sure how I feel about the term, I've used it a couple times to refer to more forward thinking artists but there are certinly better terms to use.

Which is why I said artists, fans, and critics. I really don't know who coined the term, or who decides what bands qualify, but its application still comes across as a self-conscious attempt to legitimize an artist. Do you really need to call Brian Eno "art rock" to get across how arty or experimental he is?

Right, it's like the defense mechanism of the ignorant. it's kinda like insulting someone who knows more than you by calling them a geek or a nerd. i'd love to say im above such labels but frankly im not, just like everybody else i use them to my convenience.

Your last record sucked.

k

this pope has a strange ego

Not as bad as the nazi....

.

Drunk?

Yea kinda.

Getting even more drunk? Cause I have A LOT more beer. Like, I've decided that I'm not going to sleep even though I have work at 7 in the morning. Probably going to go to work at least moderately drunk cause **** life. Dubtrack? Let's do this ****.

I feel similarly about "literary" fiction and "intelligent" dance music. I like both of those things, but super pretentious names.

Your last album sucked too^..

Mine?

I don't know... I'd give it like a 4/10 but it certainly didn't suck. I think you just aren't paying attention to the subtleties, that's the main charm about it.

Art rock is pretentious because regular people who are used to listening to regular radio music don't understand it, and think that the whole point of it is to be a hipster **** and just pretend to like it because it's "deep" or some **** like that. It's really just people being afraid of things that are different than what they're used to.