Objective Quality?

jackhammer · 11-28-2009, 04:12 PM

Nickleback have had huge success so according to many they are far from a poor band and many many people haven't heard a full Radiohead album so any music is neither good or bad- just opinions.

When you really begin to delve into music and the mainstream bands then it's easy to not like a band because you feel that other bands do what they do but better. It's called elitism and I would say that 75% of music forum members are guilty of this whether intentional or not. You also begin to judge bands (maybe unfairly) on these criteria and sometimes deny yourself a band that you would otherwise enjoy. Some of the threads and posts on MB that I really enjoy are those that proclaim a liking for a band that are unpopular amongst more hardcore bands or that are unfashionable.

I always try to gauge a band on their merits regardless of fashion or popularity and just listen to them. I do feel that older members adhere to this a lot more and profess their liking for bands than younger members. This is understandable as I was the same when I was in my teens, early 20's; only liking certain bands because it seemed the right thing to do and you didn't want to feel ostracized from the crowd. However I couldn't really give two shit's these days whether I'm seen as cool or not.

Just because a band may adhere to genre cliche doesn't neccessarily mean that they suck. If they do it well enough and are sincere then I will listen. My Magnum post a case in point.

khfreek · 11-28-2009, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackhammer

Nickleback have had huge success so according to many they are far from a poor band and many many people haven't heard a full Radiohead album so any music is neither good or bad- just opinions

My post had in mind a group of musically informed people, not those who listen to what's presented to them on the radio.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucifer_sam

the mere fact that some bands appeal to a lot of people isn't indicative of any arbitrary objective value. popular opinion does not equate fact.

I know solid facts can't be formed; but maybe based on polls bands could at least be ranked against other bands? Though I suppose in real life these polls would be biased by the things Lee talked about: people liking bands for fashion of popularity.

Fruitonica · 11-29-2009, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khfreek

My post had in mind a group of musically informed people, not those who listen to what's presented to them on the radio.

Seriously? Insulating yourself from other peoples opinions isn't going to make yours any more objective.

Of course music and art can't be measured objectively.

Astronomer · 11-29-2009, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fruitonica

Seriously? Insulating yourself from other peoples opinions isn't going to make yours any more objective.

Of course music and art can't be measured objectively.

Yeah I agree that art and music will almost always be subjective. Popular opinion isn't objective.

11-28-2009, 04:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	Nickleback have had huge success so according to many they are far from a poor band and many many people haven't heard a full Radiohead album so any music is neither good or bad- just opinions. When you really begin to delve into music and the mainstream bands then it's easy to not like a band because you feel that other bands do what they do but better. It's called elitism and I would say that 75% of music forum members are guilty of this whether intentional or not. You also begin to judge bands (maybe unfairly) on these criteria and sometimes deny yourself a band that you would otherwise enjoy. Some of the threads and posts on MB that I really enjoy are those that proclaim a liking for a band that are unpopular amongst more hardcore bands or that are unfashionable. I always try to gauge a band on their merits regardless of fashion or popularity and just listen to them. I do feel that older members adhere to this a lot more and profess their liking for bands than younger members. This is understandable as I was the same when I was in my teens, early 20's; only liking certain bands because it seemed the right thing to do and you didn't want to feel ostracized from the crowd. However I couldn't really give two shit's these days whether I'm seen as cool or not. Just because a band may adhere to genre cliche doesn't neccessarily mean that they suck. If they do it well enough and are sincere then I will listen. My Magnum post a case in point. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”