Is there objectively bad music?

[HotRhymez]

Is music all just opinion, or is some of it factually bad, and if so, how do you determine it? I always thought music was the most subjective and it all was just opinions. But I see a lot of people hating popular music like Britney Spears, Justin Bieber..but just because a lot of people hate something doesn't make it factually bad, or does it?

What are your thoughts?

 

[Qyöt27]

With Britney Spears, I would say it's more a matter of taste. I have about the same level of comprehension about the Justin Bieber craze as someone would while witnessing a Lovecraftian nightmare.

 

[spiralhoney]

With Britney Spears, I would say it's more a matter of taste. I have about the same level of comprehension about the Justin Bieber craze as someone would while witnessing a Lovecraftian nightmare.

Lol- "...a Lovecraftian nightmare." I looove H.P.Lovecraft's stories. "The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath" is my favorite.
As for bad music.... that song with the chorus "I'm riding solo,riding solo" makes me wanna strangle oxen.

 

[montgolfier]

Great question, the answer is of course no, it is a subjective experience

Now extend that question a little - 'Is there objectively bad anything' ?

I think the answer is perhaps the same

 

[AdamKane]

Yes, whether a given type of music is bad is usually subjective. However, genres like rap, R&B and even a lot of pop are technically bad. This is to say that they require no talent. Also music like rap, R&B and pop are usually very shallow on an emotional and spiritual level. Because of their lack of skill and shallowness, those genres are detrimental to music and culture in general. They cheapen a form of art which can be very deep and powerful.

 

[HotRhymez]

Yes, whether a given type of music is bad is usually subjective. However, genres like rap, R&B and even a lot of pop are technically bad. This is to say that they require no talent. Also music like rap, R&B and pop are usually very shallow on an emotional and spiritual level. Because of their lack of skill and shallowness, those genres are detrimental to music and culture in general. They cheapen a form of art which can be very deep and powerful.

That's a pretty bold statement. How much rap have you heard? Maybe a lot of the rap, r&b and pop on the radio is shallow, but there are plenty of rappers outside of that that have a lot of skill...Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, and Tupac are just some examples.

God bless,

HR

 

[HarborOrange]

It's all about taste, whatever you think sounds bad, sounds bad.
I personally hate mainstream music, because I see the industry as a monster, that devours everything, and chooses what is popular, and when that dies. And people blindly follow it.
I like underground bands better anyways, they're less superficial, more deep, and down to earth.

But again, it's all a matter of taste, just as it is with any art.

 

[AdamKane]

That's a pretty bold statement. How much rap have you heard? Maybe a lot of the rap, r&b and pop on the radio is shallow, but there are plenty of rappers outside of that that have a lot of skill...Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, and Tupac are just some examples.

God bless,

HR

A lot of rappers will "sample" other peoples music in their own. That is called unoriginal, uncreative and stupid. The word plagiarism also comes to mind. Seriously, they cut up someone elses song, change the tempo, remove the "beat", remove the vocals, insert their own talentless vocals, rearrange the song and call it good. I have heard rap vocals done by Microsoft Sam. So, in that rap song, the vocals were not provided by a singer, they were provided by the Microsoft Corporation. When the vocals of rap are not computerized, they are not talented. They are merely spoken with a failed attempt at rythim. Rap music is mostly electronic music. And even for electronic music, it is not very good. Electronic music is not good in general, but rap is even worse. Their is some okay electronic music, but you won't find it in rap, R&B or pop.

This here is turning into a rant about rap.

Rap all sounds the same. Most of it is filled with very offensive and dumb lyrics. Metal (which I love) on the other hand, has a million different sounds and lyrical topics. Metal has very deep emotion to it. Metal vocals and instrumentals are both breath-takingly skilled. Not all metal vocals are screaming. The ones that are however, are difficult to develop. If someone wants to scream metal songs, they must have proper technique or else they will hurt their voices and throats. In genres like gothic heavy metal and symphonic heavy metal, a lot of the singers are classically trained and even sound like opera singers. Metal instrumentals is not banging, it is controlled chaos. It is very precisely timed and played. It also requires a ton of skill. Writing and structuring metal songs is very difficult.

 

[AdamKane]

Delete this post. Please. I accept no double-posting on my part!

 

[HotRhymez]

Rap is crap.

Opinion.

And just out of curiosity, what do you listen to?

 

[Guy Incognito]

Rap is crap.

And quite wrong, in my opinion.

 

[AdamKane]

This is good electronic music:
YouTube - Zeromancer - Doctor Online / 1-800-SUICIDE
Rap is not good electronic music nor is it music.
Warning, the song in this video has lyrics that some may find offensive!

 

[HarborOrange]

Good electronic music. If you can call this electronic... It's more Industrial/Doom/Shoegaze, but whatever.

YouTube - Have A Nice Life - I Don't Love

 

[Stuntz]

Metal (which I love) on the other hand, has a million different sounds and lyrical topics.

So does rap.

Of course, if you've never ventured beyond the latest Ja Rule or Soulja Boy single, you might not realize it. Just like someone who's never ventured beyond Papa Roach and Linkin Park might claim that all metal sounds the same. You wouldn't let them get away with that, would you?

For the record, ALL of the things you're saying about rap music are things I've heard people say about metal music: lack of talent, ripping off other songs, dumb and offensive lyrics...I could go on. So isn't it a tiny bit ironic that you're falling over yourself to defend your favorite type of music while ignorantly dismissing an entire genre as derivative and talentless? Honestly, everything you've said here is ridiculously offensive and closed-minded, and says a lot more about your attitude than the quality of rap music.

Try writing a rap song. Program the beats, write the lyrics, perform them on tape, mix and master the track, and throw in a live freestyle while you're at it. Then come back and tell us that hip-hop requires no talent.

A lot of rap is terrible. Nobody's going to argue with that. But so is a lot of metal -- I don't think even you can argue with that. So why throw out the bad with the good?

 

[HarborOrange]

So does rap.

Of course, if you've never ventured beyond the latest Ja Rule or Soulja Boy single, you might not realize it. Just like someone who's never ventured beyond Papa Roach and Linkin Park might claim that all metal sounds the same. You wouldn't let them get away with that, would you?

For the record, ALL of the things you're saying about rap music are things I've heard people say about metal music: lack of talent, ripping off other songs, dumb and offensive lyrics...I could go on. So isn't it a tiny bit ironic that you're falling over yourself to defend your favorite type of music while ignorantly dismissing an entire genre as derivative and talentless? Honestly, everything you've said here is ridiculously offensive and closed-minded, and says a lot more about your attitude than the quality of rap music.

Try writing a rap song. Program the beats, write the lyrics, perform them on tape, mix and master the track, and throw in a live freestyle while you're at it. Then come back and tell us that hip-hop requires no talent.

A lot of rap is terrible. Nobody's going to argue with that. But so is a lot of metal -- I don't think even you can argue with that. So why throw out the bad with the good?

If all metal sounded like Linkin Park, I would not listen to metal. lol. I hate Linkin Park, they're the most overrated band ever.

 

[Stuntz]

If all metal sounded like Linkin Park, I would not listen to metal. lol. I hate Linkin Park, they're the most overrated band ever.

If all hip-hop sounded like Soulja Boy, I'd avoid it like the plague.

 

[HarborOrange]

If all hip-hop sounded like Soulja Boy, I'd avoid it like the plague.

Haha, and that's the whole thing behind this thread, music's all a matter of opinion. So many sounds fit into genres. Like, metal can range from 98% breakdown ugly and typical songs, to beautiful instrumental tracks like Rosetta or Isis would make. And rap ranges from typical, to atypical stuff. So, it's hard to say that there's a definite "bad" type of music, since it's all relative.

 

[AdamKane]

So does rap.
Try writing a rap song. Program the beats, write the lyrics, perform them on tape, mix and master the track, and throw in a live freestyle while you're at it. Then come back and tell us that hip-hop requires no talent.

I can use a computer program to make the beats. Try writing a symphonic metal song which has a 60 piece orchestra, choir, guitars, bass, piano and often more than one non choir vocalist. Oh, if you want your symphonic metal song to be a studio version, you have to do the mastering for that. Please, a little respect.

Check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGgk5V8QKns

Name one rapper who can play a guitar this awesomely:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hvvH9LyOO0

Pay close attention to the mind blowingly epic guitaring between 2:33 and 2:47.

 

[HarborOrange]

Oh, here, for awesome guitar riffs and stuff listen to this:

YouTube - And So I Watch You From Afar - S is for Salamander

Gotta love post-rock. The most innovative stuff out there.

Oh, and Math Rock:
23/8 time signature, it's crazy.

YouTube - Baboon - This Town Needs Guns


I'm not ripping on rap at all, or any other genre, but, I do feel like these two genres, along with post-metal and most other types of instrumental music, require an immense amount of talent.

I was going off of bad as more of a lyrical content... Immorality... bad though, not based on song quality, or musicianship.

OH, but I do know what the worst band ever to walk this earth is: Waking The Cadaver. It got a 1 on Sputnik Music. It sounds like a piece of absolute crap and the lyrics are vulgar.

 

[Stuntz]

I can use a computer program to make the beats. Try writing a symphonic metal song which has a 60 piece orchestra, choir, guitars, bass, piano and often more than one non choir vocalist. Oh, if you want your symphonic metal song to be a studio version, you have to do the mastering for that. Please, a little respect.

You're telling me to be respectful? After you claimed that an entire genre's worth of musicians and their fans are untalented and musically worthless?

I never said that metal doesn't require any talent. I'd be stupid to say that it doesn't. There's a lot of metal that I love and admire. There's also a lot of hip-hop that I love and admire, and I think it's equally naive of you to lump the bad in with the good and dismiss it altogether.

Just out of curiosity, what hip-hop have you listened to? Name some artists.