I was asked this question the other day. “What kind of music do you listen to or like?” At first I thought, well, I sort of like a little bit of everything and then I like some music more than others. Then as I thought further I came to the conclusion that I do have certain genres or “types” of music I despise. Literally, I wouldn’t walk across the road to hear certain genres played live. And honestly, anyone that listens to the genres that I don’t like (I’ll elaborate more later), I always find myself not really having much in common with them. It is like we come from separate worlds or something. With that said, let’s jump right in.
Music I Hate
My number one hated genre is Gangster Rap and or Hip Hop (whatever it is called today). Everyone has heard it I’m sure. Just roll down your window at any red light and some dumb ass will have his loud enough for you to hear it. Enough said, this genre is useless to me and only propagates kids into wearing their pants down to their ankles and t-shirts that are 8 sizes too big for their body. This is pretty much why I avoid channel 20 on XM Satellite Radio which plays the top 20 hits of today played over and over. Number two genre on my list is pretty much anything played in dance clubs today with the boom-chic boom-chic boom-chic sound (hopefully you know what I mean). Some might call this genre Techno or Electronic/Dance I guess. I don’t have any respect for anyone that creates this type of music because I myself could do it given the equipment. It isn’t that hard, not very mind bending and is pretty much a lot of the same thing over and over and over and over and over… you get the idea. It is a shame at how many in the younger generation are listening to classic songs re-made in this style. The other day I heard a Def Leppard song re-done in this style and one of my co-workers I was with thought it was one of the best songs they’d heard, yet little did they know it was a remake. Number three genre on my list is extreme metal. Now some metal music I like, but the reason I say “extreme metal” is I’m talking about a particular type where the singer kills the song simply by screaming. I mean honestly, no one knows what the hell he is saying. He is just screaming whatever comes out of his mouth. This is a shame in a lot of ways because metal is fast, hard, and even harder to play which is why I like some it, out of respect for the musicians. Note to metal bands, if you want to get more people to buy your music, stop screaming and actually sing, otherwise you just look stupid!
Music I Like
In most all other genres of music I like something. Here’s an easy break down into some various areas:
- 70’s Rock (Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd)
- 80’s (love the 80’s, that’s when I grew up)
- Early 90’s (I say only early because then a lot of music from the top two genres I hate is being produced)
- Alternative (although we need a new name for this one because alternative is no longer alternative, it is now main stream)
- Jazz
- Classical
- Some country (older country because I know it better)
If I didn’t list something you thought I should have, trust me, it is probably on the list of like. Here is my take on music. If the song is decent, well thought out, has a nice melodic line (not a one noter), and is well done I usually like it. Notice I didn’t say anything about the words. Words for the songs are secondary to me. For me it is just another “instrument” in the mix. Lots of people like certain songs because of what the singer is saying. I think it is mostly because they can’t hear what’s happening underneath. I appreciate what is happening underneath more than the words and as a consequence, I suck at the words to most songs. 9 out of 10 songs the music is written first then words are put to it anyway so obvioulsy the music itself carries more weight. To understand what I mean by words not having that much meaning for me, here is how I try to explain it. First, pick a song, any song and have that song re-arranged so it is played by instrumentalist only. In other words, no singing. For example, take a song and have it re-scored for jazz band, marching band, wind ensemble or orchestra. Then, have 1,000 people listen to the song played by instrumentalist and see if it passes their inspection. If you listen to JUST the music then you are hearing what my ears hear. If the instrumentalist version passes inspection by the majority then you probably have a pretty good song that will stand the test of time and will probably interest me a heck of a lot more than another one.
i love music