Is it important to you for people to like "your music"?

[ScorLibran]

This is something that I've thought many times, but I was pondering over it again this morning as I enjoyed the dismally-reviewed album Fashion Nugget by the band "Cake". The reviewer who wrote the article I was reading says basically that the album is unwitty, unskillful, sophmoric and tedious. The rest of their albums scored about the same level of praise.

What occurs to me is that nothing I read about music I've already heard sways my opinion. I'll give creedence to reviews of music I have yet to hear, to get some insight before I acquire it. But if I already have it, and I like it, everybody else in the world can hate it as far as I'm concerned. I'm not saying I'm apathetic to the opinions of others, especially those of my friends, I'm just saying "to each, his/her own".

Musical taste is as unique as a fingerprint. Many of us may "overlap" and have a lot of similar tastes, but I doubt any two people in this world would like all exactly the same music just the same way, and dislike all the same music as well.

And using the example of Fashion Nugget ... these 14 tracks were recorded, they were distributed, I have them, I like them. And to be honest, I don't care whether anyone else does or not.


So, getting to the point, I'm curious about two things on this topic...

• How much "creedence" do you give to the opinions of others in your own musical taste (mainly regarding music you've already heard)?
  
• Do you "like" any particular music because it's "cool" to like it? (Or, alternatively, do you dislike any music because it would be "uncool" to like it?)

(And be honest. )

[Cylob]

How much "creedence" do you give to the opinions of others in your own musical taste (mainly regarding music you've already heard)?

None - if my ears tell me it's good then it's good.

Do you "like" any particular music because it's "cool" to like it

No - if my ears tell me it's crap then it's crap! I use the White Stripes as an example...

I will be back to elabourate.

[NJK]

honestly

I don't give a .... about the fact that someone else doesn't like my choise in music.
it's a personal thing - I do however welcome advises on certain groups - certain music styles - certain new groups I missed out on ( thanks cylob for letting me know about Kings of Convience)
also I like a lot of different music styles
I listen to ABBA - Eagle ( great song) but I also listen to Pink Floyd - sheep or see emily play and I like Electronic, david sylvian, neil young,eric clapton,camouflage,new music,

as you can see I'm not restricted to one style or group
but Just for the record

I DON'T LIKE TRANCE,HOUSE AND BOYBANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Acolmiztli]

I don't read reviews, i judge the music myself. I find the human mind likes to pretend its right all the time, therefore, you'll agree with a shit review - when in reality, its probably your kind of music!!

[Cylob]

I try to ignore all reviews (the AMG stars etc), but you're right Acolmiztli - if AMG hand-out 5 stars I'd naturally expect the album to be special.

How often 5 stars = a load of crap!

[Acolmiztli]

Put it this way, Future Music gave the Chemical Brothers album, Come With Us, a really SHIT review.

But i love it!!

[Cylob]

It happens all the time....

[marvinbarcelona]

I pay absolutely no attention to reviews and the opinions of others. Well, I will get into a debate with friends about music etc, but that entirely different and enjoyable.

If I like it, then I like.

[Rellik]

[rant mode]
I don't pay attention to reviews, but what I pisses me off is when any idiot (especially that punk kid who thinks Eminem is GOD[not you eminemfan]) says that what I'm listening to isn't real music.

Sure it's my own taste and what I listen to is legitimitly good, but don't go calling other peoples music crap because because it's not in your chosen 'genre'.
[/rant mode]

[Triton4]

Personal Opinion.

I agree that any negative review about your favourite artist can 'shatter' your ego a bit. But it's ultimately what you like or derive from the music that matters most.

[MidnightViper88]

I'm my own judge...I may take opinions of friends and family members who are into the music I like, but I never really read/listen to the reviews and critics...If I come across listening to it and I like it, well there I have it...Sometimes a negative review can shake my ego a bit, but what does it really amount to? It's not like it's gonna change everything in the way I still view things until me myself comes across to my own conclusion on my own personal terms/thoughts...

And I don't really care for what people think if what I listen to either, since opinions are just as much an opinion as mine are, whether they're applied to my own or someone elses, positive or negative...But I do think that people that try to put down my music like it's an absolute fact are shitheads...If you're closed-minded and you're ignorant to everything else but yourself, you're a shithead too...People that take serious offence to opinions are shitheads as well...And as an example, the useage of "shithead" as an adjective to describe those 3 groups of people is an opinion...

And there is no actual way to define "my music"...My music is widely varied...Try to find a link between people like Rush, Metallica, limpbizkit, Jurassic 5, Millencolin, Cirrus, Yui Horie and BoA...They're all different people from a wide variety of different genres of music...Some may be sub-genres of different title genres, but heavy metal and punk rock have two different feelings under the title of "rock"...The only link you can really give them is that they all make music, whether you like them or not...I'm not just a heavy metal fan, nor am I just a J-pop fan, progressive rock fan, or hip-hop fan...I can't even define it myself, and unless you're closed-minded on one and only one specific genre, I think that can apply to many other people too...

[ScorLibran]

Good points, everyone. And especially MidnightViper.

In my opinion, life would be so much easier if people realized the fact that musical taste is subjective. There are no absolutes in this area.

I happen to think a variant of the Golden Rule is good to follow when discussing music: If you don't have something nice to say about another person's musical taste, then don't say anything about it at all. (This doesn't include jokes or "ribbing", of course. Especially where boybands are involved. )

[MidnightViper88]

Originally posted by ScorLibran
(This doesn't include jokes or "ribbing", of course. Especially where boybands are involved. )

That's right people! Remember, it's not the boy bands we don't appreciate, it's their fans!

Oh, dear! "Not the boy bands"? What am I saying?!

[DragonSon]

I like whatever I want to like, regardless of reviews, friends opinions and such. If I hear it, and I think it's good, I'll listen to it.

[ShyShy]

Is it important to you for people to like "your music"?

My musical tastes are so varied that I'll undoubtedly find common ground with most people. We've all got a couple of selections that each of us has rolled our eyes at, lol. But, meh, I listen to what I like, I don't limit myself because of what's cool or cool to be "uncool"

[Namelessv1]

I don't need the approval of others.

[apola_anamisha]

He he he he….I can’t help laughing when I read these replies. So you think you it’s not important to you that others should like what you like? Lol….not telling anything directly….only.....It’s easy to tell but hard to do . And thanks to midnightviper for his honesty

Anyways, I like music………not every kind of music………but some particular type (pop) of music and I don’t like these for any particular reason. Ya, not for blonde hair and show-man personality ……….most of you think they are characteristics of pop music, right?Ya, they might give some priority to them(i.e. looks, popularity) but in the end its all music what has the meaning.
It’s hard to make people realize why someone likes something if those people don’t know much about that "something”. Everything has both good and bad side. I like something for the good sides and someone can hate that thing for its bad side and I don’t care. Cause they don’t know the good sides of it and so they dislike. But if you know the pop music well, you’ll know its not that bad…......even someone like Britney has songs like "I’m not a girl not yet a women” .Ya, that's the point........I’m not telling I like everything of Britney but there is something I think I should like and as I told its hard to make people understand why I think like that..
And I’m not trying too………Its not at all important to me that everyone should think the way I think or like what like. I can tell it loudly what I like but can’t force people to like what I like…..and that’s all I’m doing.

I don’t know about others but I listen to music or a particular type of music cause I like it and as long as I like all that matters to me is I like it…..I don’t care others like it or not.

[Namelessv1]

Originally posted by apola_anamisha
He he he he….I can’t help laughing when I read these replies. So you think you it’s not important to you that others should like what you like? Lol….not telling anything directly….only.....It’s easy to tell but hard to do . And thanks to midnightviper for his honesty

Are you accusing any of us of being hypocritical and/or duplicitous?

[apola_anamisha]

Oh no........I didn't tell anything, you're telling(the truth)

[Namelessv1]

That was completely incoherent...

[Spazz333]

The thing is, pretty much all of us /have/ listened to pop music so have experienced and summarily rejected it. It's called the Radio. I can't escape it, I go to work and must listen to it until we close the store, then other music can be played. I got to Wal-Mart and I hear it over the speakers everywhere. If we had rejected it just because it was popular but had no real experience, yes then, we'd be hypocrites.

[MidnightViper88]

I actually liked pop music, when I was first introduced to music when I was like 10 or something (I'm almost 16 now)..."Repetitive" is the only way I can describe how I made my change away from pop...

[orac]

i have got used to the fact the cylob goes out of his way to hate the music I like...

[ScorLibran]

I LOVE POP MUSIC!

But I like many other kinds of music too.

Like I said, no two people like ALL the same music (and also dislike all the same things). It's just a matter of "overlap" of musical tastes. How much (or little) you have in common with someone else's taste in music is determined by the amount of this "overlap".

I just think it's interesting to see some people like something because they think it's "cool" to like it. I'm not referring to any forum members here, because I've never seen evidence of anyone here doing that. But I've seen it elsewhere (occasionally) throughout my life. Almost like some people think they'll "fit in" better if they "like" a certain music.

Better to live within yourself and be whoever you really are, IMO.

[Triton4]

Chris, I don't mean to offend you in any way, but in your case, you liked Fashion Nugget by Cake a lot, but the reviewer said it wasn't good (I presume that he's based it on public opinion, but I could be wrong).

Doesn't this reflect on the 'quality' of the music? Perhaps, the artist should have put more effort into making the song better in everyone's opinion. Doesn't this highlight the difference between an average track and a superhit?

[Phyltre]

Currently, I think pop music has its uses, but it's certainly not what I listen to when I have a choice. On a psychological slant, one might say that some of the allure of p2p is letting people see and try out the music that you "endorse." Like we're all promotional DJ's, mixing things up for the audience, the p2p user.

Which is why there's more interest in music now than there ever has been--we get to write our own reviews, given the bandwidth and time. We can see, with a few clicks, whatever we want (and, barring a server loss) whenever we want. Of course, when the corporate reviewers are wielding higher-up economic power, the system that harbors them does not take kindly to being worked around. Enter the present.

So--if I like a band, but their album gets a bad review, I won't just abandon them. In fact, I really couldn't care less. I know what I like, and have painstakingly figured out the FROM WHOM. Nobody needs to tell me that.

And if I have no idea about a band, I'll try to glean quantitative data versus qualitative. I think we're all learning to have our own opinions, and that "cool" is a word that only has meaning for ourselves. The whole point here is, one person might hate a song for the exact reason that another person loves it. Reviews are useful, but in the end, we should always find out for ourselves.

[Fickle]

I like nearly all types of music. Country and most rap are a thorn in my side, but I'm good at finding good music.

[Xerxes]

I honestly don't really care who likes my music - which is 95% classical. If someone doesn't like it then they deserve to go on thinking the music of the late 20th century is the entire realm of music.

At the same time, I am forced to care slightly - because my favorite music is endangered. Most national, state, and city orchestras are losing money and sponsors. Of all of the classics concerts in the world that were performed in the year 2001, not even 10% were of pieces written after 1950. This is troubling, because it indicates that because of lack of interest, less and less people are composing new work. People are already ignorant of classical music - and of the people who are not, many of them are ignorant of contempory composers- rather, they think of classical as the wide array of bromides that have been played over and over.


So I don't care, because it's my thing, and I do care, because my thing is dying. Please patronize your local orchestra today.

[MidnightViper88]

There need to be more bands that can create something sucessful like what Metallica did with "S&M"...

[Spazz333]

Yuck, I actually didn't like the orchestral remixes they did on that. If they had been new songs who knows but that CD got my thumbs down.

[MidnightViper88]

I kinda liked it...

Some songs didn't fit, though...