Woah woah woah HK whattya doin? On a roll with these highly opinion driven topics that will make people go maaaaad insane...how can you be brave enough to state such opinions and ideas without fear of getting a backlash!!??

Well now I wanna talk about how music became extremely subjective...

there probably was a point in time back in deep history were music was just music...and everyone was seperated into cultures, so they took whatever was given to them...without needing to see the music of other cultures... yes it was still subjective, but certainly not to an elitist point...

but now with such freedom and spoilt minds developed, we can have an extreme subjective view where we think the music we listen to is the only music that should be listened to...

how do you think this came about in the past century?

I BALAEVES it was mainly due to extreme hype of types of music that came and went over the years...the way they managed to create culture with it through over-hype and promotion and mass media...eventually people somehow got brainwashed into thinking that the type of music they listened to is the best and everyone elses music sucks and is not the way of life...

ahhhh...so much braindead people...so little time...

anywayz what you all think?

 

I don't even think this premise is true (or not proven to be so), maybe we are aware of this because now we have the means to know other cultures' opinions on any subject.
Music is highly based on feeling and thus is inherently subjective.

 

ahhhh yes, good point. And of course it is and always has been...but what about those who take a particular type of music as a way of life, and find everything else inferior...this has happened only in the past century if you realise *yes*

 

True... *yes*

But its not untypical, its actually pretty human to think what you think is the best, is the best. Regardless of the fact that many otehr things are at least as good.

And few people know how to use that. Look at wars, you show people another country, show them how different and bad they are, and that you should fight for the believes of your country etc... I mean mostly the real reason for war is another (mostly because of economy or just to show power, or for a special country to deflect from innerpolitical problems).

Regardless of all that, the music I like is the best, and all the shit you listen to is not worth it (I mean unless I like it too)

 

That's a silly question kid @OP.

remember - everything in this universe is relative..

 

Actually, in past ages it seems to me that cultures have been far more ethnocentric than they are now. Take the 18th century naturalist for example... He would have gone to a foreign place, heard the music (or any other aspect of their society for that matter) and thought that it could not possibly compare to the "real" music (or aspects of society) that his culture was putting out. He would for example call tribal music "primitive" while Mozart was "refined". And so on and so forth...

At least that is my take on it. In my observation, people have far broader views on music now then they ever have in the past.

For example, the two genres of music that I listen to the most are electronica and mid-90's scandinavian black-metal. Like many in this day and age, I have very wide-ranging musical tastes.

 

then i guess a silly question deserves a silly answer, kid...

 

I as well think we are more open to listening to a wider scope of genres. People listen to electronica and nu metal or anything of the sort. It's true. In my country as a kid growing up in the 80s, you had to take sides: You were either a metal headbanger (I was), or a new waver. There used to be gang fights between followers of either side. You don't see that kind of intolerance anymore. At least, not in my side of the woods.

 

Unfortunately, within at least the last decade, if not longer, the world's exposure to music has been thinned out and bottlenecked into the few institutions still capable of reaching the global market. Up until that point, there was radio, there was video, there was advertising for albums, exposure for artists. Now, only the few labels that can afford it -- only the largest corporations, really -- get airplay or television play, and since the price of doing so is so high, all they're willing to crank out is product. There will never be another music revolution like punk or grunge or rap or even disco, because there will never be a percentage in it. CDs are a dying medium, music stores are a dead outlet and other than live shows, there is no real ability to reach any sort of audience or create any sort of awareness. That's not to say that music revolutions aren't happening all the time, we just won't be able to hear them unless we're willing to dig deep through Soundcloud or Myspace or Last.fm or whatever your free showcase of choice is. Many people aren't. Maybe -- HOPEFULLY! -- things will change, maybe the big record companies will finally follow suit and release their stranglehold on music's ability to reach the masses. Until then, like the movies, they're crushing artistic expression under their own financial weight.

 

Wow, that's extreme lol. I once heard a decent explanation for such levels of identification with a brand--or "fanboyism." Basically, it resides on the notion that some people have weak or under-developed senses of self image (eg, "who they are" as people). As such, they look to external influences to fill in the "gaps" their own personalities lack. Following that logic, it is easy to see why they will identify with the band, game, movie, anime, etc to such high levels--they see it as an extension of themselves. And as such, any criticism to said thing is taken in an utterly personal manner. They perceive such criticism as personal attacks. Anyways, there's my 2 cents.

 

Agreed. As a kid, you need to grow some identity, some sense of belonging. In the eighties, in my country, things were a lot black and white. If you listened to certain kind of music, and you wanted to belong in the pack, you had to develop status. It was a thing of being a true metal soul or just a poser. It was times of black leather, long hair, rivets, patches, and band tees. Once you adopted the look, you were in for being teased or bullied. Of course, you acted back in response. Post punks and new wavers had a look of their own, and it became a thing of eat or be eaten. Fun times, indeed. Kind of dangerous but fun.