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I have a friend who I haven't seen in a while (she moved out of state) and she's a mechanic...a VERY good one. Well, I talked to her recently and the conversation turned to some friends of mine who are always going on and on about wealthy celebrities and about how they have the best of everything because they're rich, and she said something that I had never thought of before.
See, while working for a BMW dealership she repaired allot of expensive cars, and while inside, curiosity would get the best of her and she would look at the built in MP3 player and what did she find?
Celine Dion
Britney
Etc etc...
Always the same generic pop crap, and maybe some generic hip-hop crap. NEVER did she find anyone with an expensive car listening to anything good and underground. She knows someone who works for a Bentley service place and he says the same thing. Which brings up a very good point: The one thing that money cannot dictate is taste in music.
I mean, if you want to have a nice wardrobe, you have to spend more money on expensive labels. If you want to have a nice car, you have to spend more money on it. If you want a nice house? More money...BUT, a Fields of the Nephilim CD and a Britney Spears CD cost the exact same thing. See what I mean? No matter how broke you are, you can easily have a much better music selection than a multimillionaire.
And I know, I know, "taste is relative"...but it isn't, less face it. I mean, is Prada better than Wal-Mart's clothing line? It is, officially, an opinion question, but people who know fashion of course know that Prada is better (and more expensive) Is a Penthouse better than a little condo? An opinion question...but it isn't really, and a Penthouse cost more.
An opinion question...but itisn't And the After Forever CD cost THE EXACT SAME as the Britney Spears CD.
So, next time I see someone riding in a nice car, living in a big house, wearing a expensive outfit ( which I can care less about, sense I am proud of the fact that I don't care what I look like) I will smile and think, "yahh, you have the money to afford things I have never heard of...but with less money, I can have a MUCH better music collection and am listening to music you never heard of."
They might have Prada, Bentley, and a McMansion...but I have
After Forever
The Birthday Massacre
Within Temptation
VNV Nation
Epica
Laibach
Leftover Crack
:Wumpscut:
Love is Colder than Death
Autumn's Grey Solace
The Changelings
Death Cult
Atari Teenage Riot
Oomph!
Agnostic Front
Alien Sex Fiend
Skyclad
Aphex Twin etc etc ect...
And it cost me no more than their collection of Celion Dion's greatest hits (Simone Simmone from Epica has a much better voice, btw YouTube - Epica - Cry For The Moon )
And I don't want to hear the "but big corporate bands and acts sell more albums so they must be good" because, guess what? I guarantee you that Wal-Mart's clothing line sells more than Prada, does that mean that it's better? Kia sells more than Rolls Royce, does that mean it's better?
Bottom line: the masses buy EN MASSE, wether it's the masses like me who are broke or the artistic masses buying their Christiana, Britney, and Emo crap. Hence, the crap always sells better than the good stuff, no matter what the commodity you're talking about.
So yes, music is the ONE thing that people like me can always have one up on anyone, no matter how much money they have.
Last edited by victorianpunk; 12-07-2008 at 08:30 PM..
My wife has always said that I don't judge people on the content of their soul, but rather on the content of their record collection. I like your way better, though -- don't judge people on the content of their wallet, rather judge them on the content of their record collection
And I know, I know, "taste is relative"...but it isn't, less face it.
I sure do not agree with you there.
Quote:
I mean, is Prada better than Wal-Mart's clothing line? It is, officially, an opinion question, but people who know fashion of course know that Prada is better (and more expensive)
"Better" is subjective no matter what we're talking about. Prada isn't objectively better than Wal-Mart clothing.
Quote:
Is a Penthouse better than a little condo? An opinion question...but it isn't really,
Yeah, it is. It depends on what someone likes, what they want, what they're looking for.
My wife has always said that I don't judge people on the content of their soul, but rather on the content of their record collection. I like your way better, though -- don't judge people on the content of their wallet, rather judge them on the content of their record collection
I'm not saying their bad people, just that their taste in music blows. I have met a lot of nice people who listen to crap music. But in the end, because a great record is no more expensive than a awful one, taste in music is the one thing you can't blame on your economic situation.
I sure do not agree with you there. "Better" is subjective no matter what we're talking about. Prada isn't objectively better than Wal-Mart clothing. Yeah, it is. It depends on what someone likes, what they want, what they're looking for. In my opinion, no. That After Forever song isn't better.
Okay, so a formally trained singer who went to one of Holland's best music schools is not better than a pop-tart from Arkansas?
The masses will always choice the lesser quality item and make it sell more, but with music, it is not the economic masses but rather the cultural masses.
Granted, Goldfrapp sells alright in the UK, but Europeans generally have much better taste in music than Americans.
Okay, so a formally trained singer who went to one of Holland's best music schools is not better than a pop-tart from Arkansas?
Not in my opinion in the case of those two songs, at least, no. Of course, I certainly do not judge music only on vocals, but even just judging the vocals on those two tunes, I do not like the After Forever song better.
Also, just to reiterate, I do not believe that any "better/worse" comparison can be sourced objectively. So no matter what two things we compare--say, "Hitler being resurrected as a world leader vs. Gandhi"--whatever crazy thing we can dream up, I do not believe that one thing is objectively better than another.
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Anyway, like I said...ask anyone in the fashion business if Prada is better than Wal-mart, and they will say yes.
Even if that were so, it's irrelevant. The fact that everyone agrees on something doesn't make what they're agreeing on not an opinion; and it doesn't make what they're agreeing on objective.
I'm in the music business, and I have graduate degrees in music (as well as in philosophy). In this case, also, I do not like the Goldfrapp song any better. It's not that I dislike the After Forever or Goldfrapp songs, but I do not dislike commercial pop music at all either.
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Granted, Goldfrapp sells alright in the UK, but Europeans generally have much better taste in music than Americans.
That was a lot of chatter to get your point across. You are putting down other peoples taste in music? I can understand putting down rap or hippity hop because that is trash. Im a musician and some call me the Rock Professor due to my vast music vocabulary.....but in my over 50 years I have never even heard of let alone listened to even one of your 17 choices you listed that you call good. It appears you purchased all those 17 CDs for less then the cost of a Celine Dion CD if I understood you correctly. That should speak volumes of your taste in music.
That ain't calling you bad but I wonder why this is bothering you so much. Maybe they dont like your taste of music. I usually agree with you but that post was weird !
Last edited by desertsun41; 12-08-2008 at 07:00 PM..
Reason: sp
That was a lot of chatter to get your point across. You are putting down other peoples taste in music? I can understand putting down rap or hippity hop because that is trash. Im a musician and some call me the Rock Professor due to my vast music vocabulary.....but in my over 50 years I have never even heard of let alone listened to even one of your 17 choices you listed that you call good. It appears you purchased all those 17 CDs for less then the cost of a Celine Dion CD if I understood you correctly. That should speak volumes of your taste in music.
That ain't calling you bad but I wonder why this is bothering you so much. Maybe they dont like your taste of music.
"The Rock Professor" who has never heard of Atari Teenage Riot, one of the most, if not THE most, important punk bands of the last 20 years? Or VNV Nation, the founders of the "Futurepop" movement and the leaders of the new wave of EBM? Aphex Twin...YOU NEVER HEARD OF APHEX TWIN!?!? "Selected Ambient Works" Hello?!?!
Also, AS I SAID , Celine Dion CDs cost THE SAME as a Nightwish CD ( one of the best selling heavy metal bands on earth right now, but not big in the US...never heard of them either, huh ) That is what I am saying, that radio-crap cost THE SAME as good music.
Anyway, I suppose you are one of those people who equate knowledge of music with knowledge of classic rock? Just because I don't know what John Lennon's favorite breakfast cereal was does not mean that I don't know anything about music...but if someone has not heard of an ENTIRE SUBGENRE of music, like, lets say EBM Electronic body music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia or Ethereal Goth Ethereal Wave - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia or Power Metal Power metal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, than perhaps the said person really doesn't know anything about MUSIC IN GENERARL and instead is one of those people who is all caught up in their own favored music while ignoring EVERY OTHER GENRES.
EDIT Hold on...YOU NEVER HEARD OF AGNOSTIC FRONT! !!!???!!?!!?!?!?!?!
Lets face it, most mainstream pop music is just bad. Fairweather music fans tend to like very bad music. Is that such a bad thing? I'd rather they be listening to Britney Spears than The Gathering.
Just fyi, I had no idea what that was until I looked it up. It's not that I do not know those artists--I'm familiar with at least some music by everyone mentioned in that article, and I like some of those artists quite a bit, but I've long not paid much attention to most popular genre labels, because, well, I think there are far too many genre labels, and many of them tend to be stupid, imo. The music the labels tag often isn't different enough to warrant a new label, imo, and often the attempts to come up with demarcation criteria for the genre most often do not provide a workable demarcation criteria at all. AND, often things that I do not consider part of the music as such have to be brought in--such as the semantic content of lyrics, political views of practitioners, clothing styles, etc.
On the other hand, I probably go too far in the other direction. For example, any dance oriented music that tends to be "four on the floor" (that is, emphasized, steady quarter notes on whatever is functioning as drums/percussion) I call "disco". (A bit of interesting trivia--"four on the floor" comes from the fact that in the early disco days, when it was usually drummers playing acoustic sets providing the drum/percussion sounds, the steady quarter notes tended to be played on the bass drum, which is played with a pedal--so you're literally pounding out "four (quarter notes per measure) on the floor".)
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) That is what I am saying, that radio-crap cost THE SAME as good music. 
