Controversial music opinions

[Lexi Darling]

Pop music > avant-garde music

[larsvsnapster]

Pop music > avant-garde music

On paper it would certainly seem that way.  In practise, I don't have enough life left for Crazy Frog.

[Lexi Darling]

On paper it would certainly seem that way.  In practise, I don't have enough life left for Crazy Frog.

Well we're in agreement there. I hate Crazy Frog with a burning passion, haha.

Though honestly I'd still rather listen to it than Stockhausen or Xenakis. Crazy Frog is dumb and inane, but I understand it. I'm not smart enough to understand avant-garde music.

[larsvsnapster]

The Stone Roses I never quite got. They are so highly regarded, but I can't remember liking their music much.

But Reni is so hot. I still wear bucket hats because of him. 

[SGR]

Use Your Illusion 1 + 2 > Appetite for Destruction

[larsvsnapster]

Well we're in agreement there. I hate Crazy Frog with a burning passion, haha.

Though honestly I'd still rather listen to it than Stockhausen or Xenakis. Crazy Frog is dumb and inane, but I understand it. I'm not smart enough to understand avant-garde music.

Yes you do have to have ears to hear it.  But that was my first musical language.  My earliest musical memories are of David Rosenboom on a mainstream talkshow, showing how he uses brainwaves to create music.  I think about 20% of my collection moves in this direction although I think it's not very avant-garde if it's 70 or 80 years old. 

[larsvsnapster]

Use Your Illusion 1 + 2 > Appetite for Destruction

My only real thought about Guns & Roses:

Wawk like a maaan!
Tawk like a maaan!
Sing like Axl Ro-oo-wose!
Waugh-oo-waugh!
Everything's coming up Axl Ro-oses!

Note the Ethel Merman reference.  I once played her disco album to someone to show the "so awful it's great" phenomenon, and told them it was Axl Hose on holiday.  And they believed me .... for a few minutes. 

[Lexi Darling]

My only real thought about Guns & Roses:

Wawk like a maaan!
Tawk like a maaan!
Sing like Axl Ro-oo-wose!
Waugh-oo-waugh!
Everything's coming up Axl Ro-oses!

Note the Ethel Merman reference.  I once played her disco album to someone to show the "so awful it's great" phenomenon, and told them it was Axl Hose on holiday.  And they believed me .... for a few minutes. 

I absolutely love that album. I went through an era of my life where I sought out a lot of disco cash-in records. A time when I needed only to hear the title of "Disco Polka" by Myron Floren to know I needed to listen to it.

Drugs may have been involved.

[grindy]

Meanwhile, I'm still thinking.  As hard as I can on this subject.

Neither Robert Fripp nor Brian Eno have ever had an original thought in their lives.
Julian Cope can go straight to hell for what he did to Thighpaulsandra.
Rock In Opposition is where it's at.
The overbearing, weening push for more classic rock sales is deliberate, and it's not inconceivable that the CEOs of the Big Three record companies held meetings to plan it. 

I thought I was going to be able to come up with a long list, but I thought, no I don't want to drag anyone who's ever mentioned on those entertainment-masquerading-as-news portals like MSN, Bing, Yahoo, etc. except Fripp & Eno.  I'll blast them down in a heartbeat as musically they're the bane of my existence. 

Soundscape Fripp or KC Fripp?
Agree about RIO and AvantProg in general, some of the coolest music ever.

[grindy]

Well we're in agreement there. I hate Crazy Frog with a burning passion, haha.

Though honestly I'd still rather listen to it than Stockhausen or Xenakis. Crazy Frog is dumb and inane, but I understand it. I'm not smart enough to understand avant-garde music.

Honestly, I don't give a shit about understanding music. A cool concept can be a nice bonus but I care about how music sounds. I love pop, I love avant-garde. No rivalry there imo

[Lexi Darling]

Honestly, I don't give a shit about understanding music. A cool concept can be a nice bonus but I care about how music sounds. I love pop, I love avant-garde. No rivalry there imo

That's great! You're able to do what I wish I could. Atonal, serialist, electroacoustic, a lot of that mid century stuff just genuinely hurts my ears to listen to. No rivalry intended, I just personally find much of that kind of stuff unlistenable.

[larsvsnapster]

Soundscape Fripp or KC Fripp?
Agree about RIO and AvantProg in general, some of the coolest music ever.

Anything he's ever done. 

Soundscapes?  Erm, David Gilmour.  But before that Keith Rowe, which is where Syd got it. 
That dynamic sudden scare thing?  Erm, Tchaikowsky and Haydn.  He probably got it from Gustav Holst.
Frippertronics?  Terry Riley was doing the same exact thing at least 10 years before, plus there's Alvin Lucier's "I Am Sitting in a Room".

The only thing I can give Fripp is his sense of humour.  Best thing I ever heard him say, when asked what he wants from his fans:

"Send me money.  I'm not starving but the champagne I drink is not of the quality that I need.  Phone the radio station and they'll tell you where to send it.  And send $25 -- $35!  This is not a dishonest statement:  I want your money."

[grindy]

Anything he's ever done. 

Soundscapes?  Erm, David Gilmour.  But before that Keith Rowe, which is where Syd got it. 
That dynamic sudden scare thing?  Erm, Tchaikowsky and Haydn.  He probably got it from Gustav Holst.
Frippertronics?  Terry Riley was doing the same exact thing at least 10 years before, plus there's Alvin Lucier's "I Am Sitting in a Room".

The only thing I can give Fripp is his sense of humour.  Best thing I ever heard him say, when asked what he wants from his fans:

"Send me money.  I'm not starving but the champagne I drink is not of the quality that I need.  Phone the radio station and they'll tell you where to send it.  And send $25 -- $35!  This is not a dishonest statement:  I want your money."

I think KC and his playing in it was pretty much unparalleled for a long time. But honestly, I don't care about originality that much. If music is good then it's good, I don't care whether it's original.or derivative af

[Lexi Darling]

Honestly the reason I posted about the avant-garde thing was more because I don't like the attitude that just because something is experimental or works according to complex formulas it means it's more high brow or "serious" music.

That overly scholarly attitude just bugs me, and no it's not exclusive to avant-garde music but I can overlook that attitude more if I think the music is actually enjoyable to listen to, I guess. Which avant-garde is generally not for me.

No hate on the music itself.

[larsvsnapster]

Honestly the reason I posted about the avant-garde thing was more because I don't like the attitude that just because something is experimental or works according to complex formulas it means it's more high brow or "serious" music.

That overly scholarly attitude just bugs me, and no it's not exclusive to avant-garde music but I can overlook that attitude more if I think the music is actually enjoyable to listen to, I guess. Which avant-garde is generally not for me.

No hate on the music itself.

There's also a key -- my HFA is a superpower.  It was incredibly affirming to learn that my wiring is such that everything I perceive is unique to me, not just sound.  One of my superpowers is to hear the pointillism stuff (like say, Derek Bailey) and my brain can squash all those multioctave leaps into one octave enabling me to hum along fairly easily.  I also "see the notes" coming at me -- they've all got little tags specifying what note is sounding.  It used to be a burden if the recording was off (like say Beatles "Strawberry Fields Forever") but I've learned to adjust and hear relatively rather than absolutely.  I figure it's why I like soundscapes and noise so much -- that sort of music is something to listen to without the emphasis on what note is playing.  I still hear melodies and sometimes words in it, but in general it sounds like the ocean or a forest rustling to me -- very organic.

Basically because I'm autistic, I got a head start.  It took years to understand that not everyone has the wiring necessary to perceive it. I don't have the wiring necessary to understand why Twiggy Swift is so popular -- I can't tell one song from the other, and when I have heard her in passing I only found out it was her when I looked at the playlist several songs later.     

Speaking of autism, Robert Fripp displays a whole lot of classic textbook traits.  One of his that I identify strongly with is speaking so formally all of the time that when slang comes in it sounds really funny coming from him, as it does me.