Get Your Musical Complaints Off Your Chest

[terrible cheeb]

since the metal scene died i started listening to dubstep except now to many people have started listening to it, but listening to really bad producers. proof of this is mount eden being the most veiwed dubstep video on youtube. i hate people sometimes.

 

[Call4Duty]

I spent this morning taking a song I like from a bunch of bands I like and arranging it from "light" to "heavy" and there was a LOT of variance in that playlist. Anyway, I have really broad musical tastes, which is important here.
I really hate it when people can't accept that some people just like a lot of different things. I have a friend who's a HUGE old school metal fanmetallica, iron maiden, et al. and he was pissed that I listened to Fall Out Boy. Because, y'know, "Fall Out Boy isn't fucking METAL, MAN! They're fagpop sellout assholes!" Well I really don't care; I like their music. I also listen to Dillinger Escape plan so I'm definitely not aurally 'weak' and I think I deserve to be able to relax with some Cold War Kids without being pigeonholed as a hipster.

 

[Brainplant]

My personal musical gripe is the 'this vs. this' arguements. I see this everywhere... genre vs. genre, equipment vs. equipment, live vs. programmed, old vs. new, etc., and it's so tiresome. I don't care what style it is, and I care even less HOW you made it. If it sounds good to me, that's all that matters to me.

Also, I can't stand dubstep fans who try to one-up each other when describing how 'dirty' a track is.

 

[ccjav]

For me, music is music... I can dance and listen to just about any music with a decent beat or a catchy, and that includes music i generally would dislike and not include on my ipod (stuff like tswift, flo rida, usher etc fall in this category)... im not going to include it on my private listening device because i don't want to listen to it unless I'm in a club etc, so i dont really feel i have the right to bash it... its just music and there are people out there who truly enjoy it.

For example, I'm a huge listener of post-rock, which a lot of people find boring. I dont take offense to that, as the only thing that really matters to me is the inspiration I get from it. The only thing i can do is attempt to get my friends to be exposed to it to at least see if they like a genre that they wouldnt be otherwise exposed to. Same goes for bands like The Protomen, John Butler Trio, Circle takes the Square etc... Amazing Bands, but very little recognition.

Which brings me to the thing I really hate about music, and that is peoples fear of diversification. Everytime someone recommends a band to me, I will write it down in my phone, and if thats not on me, then on paper, no exceptions. In time, i will look them up, and if I enjoy it I'll buy their album, or their single. People who give a shit about genres or stigmas cant call themselves music lovers. Because of this, I listen to everything from Nas to Regina Spektor to Genghis Tron to Godspeed you! Black Emperor to Classical and Baroque music.

Musical feuds also really piss me off. This is far more prevalent in Hip-hop, but I remember during the whole Nas/ Jay-Z thing and even now the Immortal Technique/Jedi Mind Tricks people would only listen to one or the other, even though both were producing fantastic music.

Finally, I read above how people dislike Lady Gaga, which I can understand, as some of her songs do piss me off (telephone,love games). However, she is quite original and catchy (which for some reason is a criticism in the music world, there's nothing wrong with a catchy line, it just possibly decreases the time you'll be satisfied with a song. MGMT does the exact same thing as Sean Kingston, its just oriented towards a different audience.) And I dont think anyone can deny she is talented. She produces almost all of her own music, which is better than Coldplay for example (Although they are still an amazing band, and that Brian Eno helped produce Viva la Vida just makes the album all the more awesome). As well, shes a pretty fantastic singer and piano player ... this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3R3KqrJAI4 should be enough to convince you of that...

 

[runnernda]

I like most music, but I don't see the appeal of most death metal/black metal. You know, the stuff where the vocals are just screaming and the instruments sound like they're in pain? It just doesn't really qualify as music to me. The lyrics might be super deep, but I can't understand them.

Of course, one of my favorite types of music is showtunes, so there you are.

 

[oooooooooooooooooooooooooo]

since the metal scene died i started listening to dubstep except now to many people have started listening to it, but listening to really bad producers. proof of this is mount eden being the most veiwed dubstep video on youtube. i hate people sometimes.

Yeah I've also noticed that, despite how dubstep's popularity has been growing, I've somehow managed to remain in the "indie" crowd simply coz the dubstep I listen too isn't part of this new fangled "mainstream" dubstep.

Anyway, when my favourite musician (I won't specify who) appeared on two Twilight film's soundtracks, I was a little put off.

 

[Vrach]

Snip

I try and listen to 'good' rap and I enjoy some of it (Opposite of adults - Chiddy Bang for example) but most of the stuff that people say is better it still bores me or annoys me.

Yeah, as I said, you gotta be into it to appreciate it and I totally understand it's not even close to being everyone's thing, it doesn't even need to be... I don't like pushing my views on people either, just like sharing a few names and songs of "the good stuff" so they can see for themselves and check out more if they like it

 

[Brainplant]

I like most music, but I don't see the appeal of most death metal/black metal. You know, the stuff where the vocals are just screaming and the instruments sound like they're in pain? It just doesn't really qualify as music to me. The lyrics might be super deep, but I can't understand them.

The way I see it, any type of music can sound good as long as it's done right. With death/black metal, a lot of it is poorly produced, so it ends up sounding like how you describe it.

Gabber is another victim of this. Some of it sounds great, but most of it is going through a distortion war with other gabber tracks.

Like I say though, there are at least a few exceptions, and they are the ones worth seeking out.

 

[instantbenz]

I dont know about you guys but i find this great.

EDIT:
Oh yeah, also anything by the scatman.

Ah yes, the scatman. I will say I listened to that often. My bizarre music listening progression went from the country of early 90s to the pop of the mid-late 90s to Metallica to the Killers in early 00s for a short time before really getting into Coheed & Cambria where I have more or less stayed going to J-Pop and Emocore from time to time. Over my progression I've listened to a lot and made a lot of decisions ... everyone's different and I would say to respond to op that if I had any complaints it would be about how particular types of music don't contribute anything to music history. Some music doesn't have anything to say and I guess we all, individually, have types of music to put in that category.

 

[Mockingjay]

I'm sick of hearing 'I discovered this really amazing band at the weekend' and it being a very popular and critically well recieved band that everyone has heard of but just hasn't charted. I am also sick of hearing the word 'indie' being used as a genre to describe pop music because some people think it's uncool to listen to pop.

 

[Ham_authority95]

I would like to give Tool the following message:

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE come out with a new album!!!1!111!! PLEASE!!

*phew* I had to get that out of my system...

[small]don't report me for this low content post, please....[/small]

 

[Ham_authority95]

I'm annoyed by the fact that angsty, gothic music is aimed mostly at white upper-middle class suburban teenagers who don't have much to be angsty about.

I agree with you on this one.

While emotional music is the best in my opinion, un-needed angst is un-needed.

 

[Jerious1154]

I hate people who assert that modern music sucks because popular music sucks. 90% of popular music in the last 40 years has sucked. You're just too lazy to find decent music. I would rather listen to Lady Gaga than KISS. On a related note, I hate KISS.

I hate people who listen to death metal and then criticize other people's taste in music. NOT because death metal is "bad", (although I personally couldn't stand it for more than 10 seconds), but because somebody who enjoys listening to sounds that are so objectively unpleasant should recognize the fact that different sounds appeal to different people.

I hate how Radiohead is held up as the best band of the last 20 years. To me, they seem to have forgotten the most important part of music amidst all of their experimentation and innovation: to actually make enjoyable music. Music doesn't have to be catchy, but Radiohead is the antithesis of fun.

Edit: I almost forgot. I hate the stigma associated with pop music. Pop music can be a lot of different things, especially if you look beyond the charts to more "indie" stuff. Judging pop music by Justin Bieber is like judging metal by Linkin Park or judging rock by Nickelback.

 

[Ham_authority95]

I don't care what style it is, and I care even less HOW you made it. If it sounds good to me, that's all that matters to me.

In my humble opinion, this is what music should be about.

 

[FinalHeart95]

I know there's been a lot of complaining about rap, but I'm going more specific... the lyrics.

With other genres the music itself is often more important than the lyrics. That's not to say that lyrics should be allowed to get away with being totally stupid, but if the lyrics ARE bad, you have the music to fall back on. Rap, however, is basically poetry with a beat at its most basic form. There are often other instruments, but the rapper usually takes front stage. Now, take into consideration that normal singers have to take into consideration rhythm, lyrics, AND the notes that they are singing. Rappers don't sing (if they try it's usually a failure), so they only have to worry about rhythm and lyrics. So shouldn't the rhythms and lyrics be superior to those of other genres? Not only that, but because of the fact that the rapper takes front stage and really shouldn't have the music to fall back on, you would think the lyrics would be better. Not only are a lot of rap lyrics just awful, but some of them even contain just BASIC RHYTHMS for the rap. Let's look at Soulja Boy for a moment (I know... just hold on). "Soulja Boy up in his ho, watch him crank it watch him go". You could argue that the ho is a metaphor for the banks, and how he is trying to bring them down due to him being angry about the economical collapse, but somehow I don't think that's what he's trying to portray. Also, although this isn't related to the lyrics, the rhythm of the rap is very basic. It's "1 + 2 + 3 + 4", for those who understand what that means. Very basic.

Besides that, we have some good songs with good means, and some good rhythms thrown in. For example, let's look at "Young Forever" by Jay-Z. It has a good meaning, and some fun little triplets thrown in there for good measure. However, it brings up another concern I have with rap. Sampling songs. You see, rap/hip-hop is the ONLY GENRE I can think of that samples songs (besides dance mixes.... obviously), and it really takes no effort at all to build a song when you have a starting point. A lot of popular songs do it, and it not only causes confusion as to who that song is by in the first place, but it (in my opinion) makes the artist look bad. You seriously couldn't just make a song from scratch? Well, you decided to be lazy, and now there are a bunch of kids that don't know that "Forever Young" is a pop song by Alphaville. Thanks a lot you douchebag! There are other examples too. There's "Right Round" by Flo Rida (he just SOUNDS like a tool) which samples from "You Spin Me Right Round" by Dead or Alive. "Let's Go" by Trick Daddy samples "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne. It's so common in rap, that no one seems to give a crap (haha, rhyming), but I find it obnoxious that people may associate Crazy Train with some guy that calls himself "Trick Daddy".

And as a totally unrelated thing, My Chemical Romance isn't emo. They look the part, but if you listen to the lyrics, they don't relate at all to angsty teenagers who really have no right to be angsty.

 

[Ham_authority95]

I love U2. And Coldplay. everyone seems to hate Coldplay. I also have a firm disgust for mainstream, anything popular usually isn't that good for me.It mostly sounds the same. Bands I do like: Muse, Radiohead, Slipknot (Sorry, love 'em), Coldplay, U2, The Beatles (Oh come, you know they're brilliant), Rage Against The Machine...you get my drift.

I do love the Beatles. I used to like Radiohead, enough to buy all their albums, but I just sort of lost interest after a couple of years.

Same with me and Metallica, I bought a shit-ton of their music, but both burnt myself out and found other metal to listen to.

 

[Lawyer105]

The biggest problem I have with music today is simply that a lot of it isn't music, as I understand the term.

To me, music must:
- be pleasant to hear (which lets out death metal and a lot of pop music),
- must have meaning (doesn't mean it has to have words must just have power - which lets out the vast majority of rap and pop),
- must require talent (little Billy randomly honking on a tuba isn't music - which lets out many modern artists), and
- must be created or interpreted by the artist involved (which lets out even more modern artists).
Also, anything that requires a music video of half-naked women to sell automatically disqualifies itself from being music.

As such, I dislike a lot of music. So many of the modern idols have little or no talent (e.g. voices warbling up and down desperately hunting for the right notes, or repeating the same two or three 6-note patterns ad nauseum). So many modern 'musicians' lack the ability to write their own material... and lack the ability to truly understand the material written by others.

My complaint is this:
I want music to be more about the music and less about pushing yet another talentless, brain-dead bimbo in front of us to mime to some music video. I want music to go back to when musicians could look like hell, because only the music mattered. There are a few exceptions today, but the vast majority aren't - Montserrat Caballe, Tenacious D, Susan Boyle and Scatman John are examples of excellent musicians with less than perfect looks. Beyonce, Christina Aguilera and Rihanna are examples of poor... well, I can't call them musicians,... trading on their looks and sex-appeal (such as it is).

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Here's my main problem with music.

If a really talented fat ugly guy, with a godlike voice and A++ musical ability, can sing your stuff and people don't like it, it's balls.

I guess what I'm saying, is if you can't replace the pretty, media sculpted figurehead of the band with the guy from the WOW episode of South Park, and still sell records, then you suck.

Music shouldn't be about just making pubescent panties damp. I maintain that the Beatles can't be lumped into this argument as they weren't actually that great looking, and I suggest at some level, most of the fans felt the music was talking to them, not just a simple case of ' I want to ride Ringo's face, so I'll buy Yellow Submarine'.

Look at the people we constantly rip on here at the Escapist, Bieber, Cyrus, Jonas, et al.

Then take a look at the faces of say, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Meatloaf, Lemmy from Motorhead, Freddie Mercury, none of them typical modern day beauties, but all created vastly more powerful music than the Disney corp or the X Factor.

Sadly, maybe things have changed, as while Michelle McManus, a very large scottish woman who won Pop Idol showed, if you're not the typical 'ideal' look, you won't sell in generic pop.
Note I'm only comparing her to other Pop Idol winners as it'd be unfair to rank her among musicians.

Barry White and Luciano Pavarotti are another example - either of them show up on America's got Talent and they'll get buzzed off in seconds with 'Try weightwatchers and come back next year fat boy'.

It might even be a great thing for music if every band took the Gorillaz approach to music, create some avatars and hide behind them, I'm pretty sure no-one's buying Gorillaz cds purely because they want to get into Murdoch or Noodles' pants.

EDIT: Ninja'd by the above guy

 

[technoted]

Emo and anything that ends with core, modern rap and pop and dance.