Lots of words I don't know in the post satiremanic and I don't want to go find the dictionary. Still it seems like you put in a lot of effort to help take a BEA post and produce good conversation from it so thank you for that. 😄 There is nothing more I can say now
was an attempt to push the boundary as far as I could and still make something I would be willing to listen to, and I think I may've gone too far, in hindsight (though I still am honestly proud of it). _________________
I mostly don't care. If by "inoffensive" music we mean generic or formulaic music, then yeah, of course I'm gonna usually dislike it. Even then, though, I enjoy plenty of pop songs that could be described that way. Music doesn't necessarily need to challenge me, either. Sometimes I just like to indulge my soft spots.
I'm also usually not one to care about an artist's politics. If I find something I can relate to in the music, I'll listen to it, even if there are lyrics that could be interpreted as misogynistic, racist, homophobic, or whatever. That's not to say that I'm apathetic about politics, but just that it doesn't dominate my experience. Also, I'm fascinated by people, so if a serial killer or an extreme bigot makes an album that really speaks from the depths of their soul, I want to hear it.
That said, there is some music that's too disturbing for me. I can't listen to some of Eminem's more disturbing songs, like "Kim" or "'97 Bonnie and Clyde", because the imagery is just too visceral and overwhelming. I'm not offended that he made them, it's just not my thing.
Most of all, though, I don't call people out for what they listen to. Listening to music is a very personal thing and there's no way for me to know why someone likes what they do. Anyone who criticizes me for what I say on here is well within their rights, but if you criticize me for enjoying music you find offensive, you will be told (not so kindly) to fuck off.
Last edited by sp4cetiger on 09/07/2014 22:44; edited 2 times in total
Yeah, they're two pretty different words in this context, but they're certainly related. I won't listen to anything that offends me, but I'll still use the word "inoffensive" to describe music that is really safe and doesn't push the envelope at all. In other words, when I describe something as "inoffensive", I basically mean "the artist was so afraid to offend people that they didn't take any risks'. There's really not a single album I love which I can think of and say "Y'know, I really don't understand why anyone would dislike this", because any album for which that was the case would seem really dull and uninteresting to me, even if it was an enjoyable album.
Most of all, though, I don't call people out for what they listen to. Listening to music is a very personal thing and there's no way for me to know why someone likes what they do. Anyone who criticizes me for what I say on here is well within their rights, but if you criticize me for enjoying something you find offensive, you will be told (not so kindly) to f*** off.
Very reasonable 😄 This is something which I have always tried to follow. If someone likes something, it can't be changed because you want it to change. No need to criticize them
and denmark, we will have to give you more recs of albums which offend you 😉 This way you will start liking albums which offend you and then one day you will put up chart named 'My favorite albums which offend me' and people may find great reccos from it 😄
Anyone who criticizes me for what I say on here is well within their rights, but if you criticize me for enjoying music you find offensive, you will be told (not so kindly) to fuck off.
Everything in your post is my opinion on this, spot-on. But this bit in particular. It's happened to me before on here and I did very much flip the fuck out over it. >_> In retrospect I very clearly overreacted but damn I can't stand that. It's rude to attack someone's tastes in the first place let alone while being so incriminating. _________________ kill yr idols
I mean, I enjoy it when artists attempt interesting things, but there's nothing inherently wrong with being inoffensive or safe. Of course, taking risks are more exciting, but sometimes they fail. When they succeed in a big way, then that's very special. _________________ Inversion Verses
https://thesplitinfinitives1.bandcamp.com/album/inversion-verses
Everything in your post is my opinion on this, spot-on. But this bit in particular. It's happened to me before on here and I did very much flip the fuck out over it. >_>
I think it's hard not to get hot over something like that. Much of the time, we don't even know why we love things, so to be accused of being a bigot or misogynist or whatever because of those feelings... that sucks. It's hard enough to read people bash our favorite music, let alone have them use it as a weapon against us.
That's not to say that I'm against analysis of art in the political context. For example, there's no question in my mind that many of the lyrics in gangster rap reflect a view of women that's at least problematic, if not downright toxic. However, I don't think we should condemn the act of expression simply because it reveals something that makes us uncomfortable, especially if that something is only a small part of a much bigger picture. If we want a society that welcomes free expression, we have to take the bad with the good. Rather than attacking the artists or consumers of their art, we should use their expression as an opportunty to understand; and then, attack society's problems based on that understanding.
To put it more simply, I think music is much less an agent of societal change than a messenger of its state. Let's not shoot the messenger.
Last edited by sp4cetiger on 09/08/2014 08:27; edited 1 time in total
I think it's hard not to get hot over something like that. Much of the time, we don't even know why we love things, so to be accused of being a bigot or misogynist or whatever because of those feelings... that sucks. It's hard enough to read people bash our favorite music, let alone have them use it as a weapon against us.
That's not to say that I'm against critical analysis of art in the political context. For example, there's no question in my mind that many of the lyrics in gangster rap reflect a view of women that's at least problematic, if not downright toxic. However, I don't think we should condemn the act of expression simply because it reveals something that makes us uncomfortable, especially if that something is only a small part of a much bigger picture. If we want a society that welcomes free expression, we have to take the bad with the good. Rather than attacking the artists or consumers of their art, we should use their expression as an opportunty to understand; and then, attack society's problems based on that understanding.
To put it more simply, I think music is much less an agent of societal change than a messenger of its state. Let's not shoot the messenger.
Well said. Free speech is very important. However, if the messenger is spouting something highly offensive to you then you have the right to shoot right back at the messenger. I just feel in the past acts like NWA and 2 Live Crew, both who early on made some quality music decided that they wanted to get paid and they did that by pushing the boundaries of decency without any thought for artistic merit. It worked without question. Ice T has also pushed it but in his case he is asking questions of everyone who listens. Put simply he has some intelligence and the aforementioned don't seem like the sharpest tools. Check Ice T and Jello Biafra on Oprah debating censorship to see what i mean about him. I think it's on YouTube.
Well said. Free speech is very important. However, if the messenger is spouting something highly offensive to you then you have the right to shoot right back at the messenger. I just feel in the past acts like NWA and 2 Live Crew, both who early on made some quality music decided that they wanted to get paid and they did that by pushing the boundaries of decency without any thought for artistic merit. It worked without question. Ice T has also pushed it but in his case he is asking questions of everyone who listens. Put simply he has some intelligence and the aforementioned don't seem like the sharpest tools. Check Ice T and Jello Biafra on Oprah debating censorship to see what i mean about him. I think it's on YouTube.
Without commenting on any particular artist, I'd say this should be one of the main goals of music criticism, to distinguish honest expression from mere exploitation. The extent to which it actually functions that way is a whole other issue, of course...
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