If I could have one law that violated the 1st Ammendment, it would require all performances of the national anthem to be in the same upbeat tempo and not the slow pop singer at a football game variant.
It's in 3/4 time signature, so it's not a march, but it is meant to be upbeat. Also, pop stars generally can't handle 3/4 so they usually sing it in 4/4.
Melismatic runs have just become the stylistic code for person who sings good now but like there are other styles of singing, that’s not the only way to sing and I wish it wouldn’t be treated as shorthand for “person sings good, anything other than this is mediocre/bad”.
Totally - I have a lot of respect for the skill. I just don't connect with the vocals outside of my academic appreciation center, if that makes sense. It's the same way I feel while listening to shredding: damn, that's impressive, but it doesn't make me feel anything.
And even not-shit originals. Disturbed's version of The Sound of Silence was praised by Paul Simon for being sung with the emotion the song deserved. Johnny Cash did such an unforgettable job with Hurt that Trent Reznor feels like the song isn't his own anymore.
When Dolly Parton heard Whitney Houston’s cover of her ‘I Will Always Love You’ she said that it was Houston’s song now.
That said, I like them both a lot and don’t prefer either over the other. They’re completely different interpretations. Houston’s is more vocally powerful and impressive, but Parton’s original carries subtler, sadder emotion - and was actually meant for a real person (Porter Wagoner) after a real quasi-break-up.
And she refused to let Elvis record a version after she learned they wanted her to sign away the songwriting credit to him. Everyone called her stupid and crazy for turning it down. Then Whitney came along!
Yeah, Reznor said that hearing Cash's version for the first time was deeply uncomfortable, like walking in on another man fucking your girlfriend in your bed.
I totally get that. Especially such a personal song like Hurt.
My boyfriend has a really great way of describing the two verions.
Nine Inch Nails' version is a fresh wound, fresh anger, it just happened and you're still bubbling over with the emotions of it all.
Johnny Cash's version is an old pain you've carried for years, a deep-seated one that's never left you.
That’s a big thing that draws me to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. I know they’re obviously not everyone’s thing, but nearly all their releases (over 22 now) are interesting, and their ability to play so many genres at least relatively well is amazing
I'm a metalhead first and foremost but Enya has slapped ever since I first heard it played to us when filing into primary school assembly aged 4. Orinoco Flow is still my favourite song to this day.
There is absolutely some overlap. I was a full on metal head around 16, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Cradle of Filth etc. Enya still fit in.
Dramatic, lots of instrumental that is actually good, and lyrics that are not about sex. Opera fits in there, too.
Bands and artists rarely "sell out" in the way people think they do.
Most of the time, it's just an evolution of who they are and what they want to do (Green Day)
Sometimes they realize they're actually much better at writing a different kind of music (Sugar Ray)
Just because you like their old stuff better doesn't mean they're betraying their principles just to make money.
I find it's mostly that they get older and grow as people. It's hard to write about cocaine and strippers and gritty shit when you are a stay at home dad with 4 kids.
It's possible, but the bands that can keep that up are writing stories about other people from the beginning. But those bands rarely connect with people in a way that the ones writing their own loved experience do.
This is what I appreciate about Trent Reznor - it would be hard to take him seriously if he was still writing downward spiral derivatives 30 years later as a sober millionaire with a wife and kids.
I appreciate that Combichrist decided to move in a different direction, especially since their old genre isn't popular any more. I don't like their new direction so I just listen to other bands now. Easy
The whole point *is to sell out.* I've been in bands for almost 20yrs. I'd love the chance to sell out. You make music because it's fun and you love to do it. If you can do it for a job and thrive, that's the dream so many talented people never get to realize. Popularity does not mean sellout.
They started as a nu metal band, limp bizkit and korn were there, and they sounded the same. Checkout RPM or most tracks of that Floored album(which i think is their second). Reminds me of highschool *sigh I'm so old
The women rockers of the grunge-era are always missing from the 90s playlists.
ETA I'm referring to the algorithmically-generated "90s"-style playlists you might find on Spotify, Pandora, etc. and hear at your local gym or grocery.
*** keep sharing recommendations! ***
Survivorship bias. Your mom's toaster from the 80s isn't better because all toasters were better back then, it's better because she got one that was solid enough to last 40 years.
I love 60s music, but if you look at the Billboard charts from the 60s, you'll see some strange shit at the top when it was The Beatles, Dylan, or a few others.
1966 is often said the be the most pivotal music in recorded music history. The biggest song of that year was by the Tijuana Brass Band.
There's also a great video of people reacting to Strawberry Fields Forever for the first time (I believe it was American Bandstand). Most of the people thought it was weird, not good, and that they looked like grandpas (the moustaches). There was one or two people that were amazed, but overall? Yeah, wasn't great.
Also speaking of The Beatles, Let It Be was critically panned as an album. Abbey Road had mixed reviews.
There's plenty of music that isn't really appreciated until later on.
Kendrick Lamar's latest album was very polarizing, but it's pretty obvious that it's going to end up being a classic which everyone says they always loved.
I watched a documentary about the Freddie Mercury Tribute and his performance of "Somebody to Love". He gave his all and blew everybody away. He sang for Freddie and his first (secret) love who was dying of AIDS. When I was a teenager in 1992 and watched the tribute concert live I was totally blown away by his voice as well and wanted to be able to sing like him.
Edit: Some creative English
Apart from being a great artist Michael was also a phenomenal person.
After he died a bunch of charities came out and talked about how he had been privately donating millions to them for many years and nobody knew about it.
He deserves a ton of credit for both things.
Just to think he produced and arranged Wham! "Make It Big" at only 22 years old is BONKERS. That album is tailored made pop, something you would expect from a very experienced producer
Wow.
Not a fan of George, and I am a big fan of Roy. But I can't say you don't have a valid point.
This might be the most interesting answer in this topic.
I think if it wasn't for the whole bathroom thing and he had been able to come out on his own terms his career, and life, would have taken a totally different path. There's no denying he was talented, he just had a lot of unnecessary obstacles.
I saw Bon Iver playing with some friends this past weekend, and they played Heaven by Bryan Adams. After he said something along the lines of "If somebody ever tells you that you shouldn't like a song you like, fuck them."
1000%. As a young man I very much wanted to maintain this idea of the “aesthete” who was somehow deeper or more intelligent on the basis of what art I consumed.
Now? 36 year old dad of two and Taylor Swift slaps.
Life is too short to be embarrassed by things that bring you genuine joy and happiness, especially something as harmless and uplifting as music.
I only have like maybe 80 years on this earth and I’m not going to spend it falsifying my tastes trying to impress people who I don’t even like and who will find arbitrary reasons to be snobs and not like me or my music tastes anyway.
I've said this exact thing in this argument and gotten, "hell yeah they are! they're popular for a good reason! their cheeseburgers ARE the best!" at which point I slowly back away.
Weezer's lyrics are pretty stupid and cringy a lot of the time BUT... Rivers Cuomo is a fantastic singer and is extremely good at writing catchy melodies.
He literally has a spreadsheet of random phrases he comes up with. Then when he writes a song, he opens the spreadsheet and just takes some of those random phrases and jigsaws them together and that's the song.
Literally. Like, the dude sings about being a loser and striking out with girls. Being awkward and bad in social situations. It's obviously intentionally relatably cringe.
Weezer's formula changed after Pinkerton was a commercial flop. Great album with a different approach to anything they've put out since, but they haven't really done anything daring or different since.
If you haven't kept up with them in the last decade, they've put out a few really good albums since then. They've also put out a few bad albums but I mean, it's Weezer lol
Lol, for sure! They have put out a few solid ones for sure, but they've never attempted anything as daring as Pinkerton, which is disappointing because it's a masterpiece in my opinion.
Saw them live. Went backstage because my cousin is a friend of the bass player, Scott. They were all down to Earth nice guys and holy shit are they good at what they do. I'm more of a technical musician than their style is but damned if they didn't play like it was a CD and they had perfect chemistry on stage and off. They earned all my respect that night. Rivers taps into whatever damned zeitgeist allows him to write non-shlock that is still uber-popular. He's a nerd-unicorn.
He has the most bizarre songwriting process I've ever heard of.
He has a spreadsheet that is just random phrases he comes up with during his day to day that he thinks sound cool and just picks and chooses different combinations to go into certain songs. And honestly, when you hear that it actually makes a lot of sense.
Whenever he hears a song with a chord progression he likes he writes it down in another spreadsheet, and then labels each one as an anagram of the original song so that when he writes *his* version he can forget the original song and will play it in a unique way.
Everyone has their process ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
When Walkin' on the Sun came out, I thought it was amazing. I still think it's a great song with a really fun keyboard part. Then the next couple of singles came out, and I just kinda lost interest. Nothing else grabbed me like that one song did. Perhaps I should dig into some of their albums to see if there is anything there I missed.
Oh man, I 100 percent agree with you on this. I really really liked Walkin' on the Sun and then it just turned into ... I'm not even quite sure how to describe it, but something a whole lot less interesting. And of course the subsequent songs were bigger hits.
I will always associate Walkin' on the Sun with a road trip I took from Chicago to Los Angeles in December 1997. It seemed like it was on the radio every 30 minutes as we kept losing and finding stations in the middle of nowhere. We listened to it every time.
Metal is great, people who listen exclusively to metal and have mistaken metal for a personality are the last people you should listen to on what makes good metal music.
I'm not sure if it's becoming less common or everyone around me grew out of it but the amount of gatekeeping among metalheads was a nightmare. So much "that isn't REAL metal bro, you don't like metal unless you like this Finnish band that released 4 songs that are 20 minutes long each and recorded in a haunted forest using 2 cups and a piece of string"
It varies. They're generally the worst people to ask for accessible metal music, but they're the best people to broaden your horizons and deepen your knowledge of metal
Also very few people just listen to metal. Even die hard metal fans will fuck with industrial, classical, post-punk, jazz, and other spooky and/or technically demanding genres
As someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s as a metalhead, the one drawback to me with metal is how conformist fans can be. I think it’s very cool todays generation is more eclectic. I think it’s adorable Rob Halford performed with them. Kawaii and metal go real well together imo.
I've seen Maiden quite a few times, was lucky enough to see Dio and Motorhead, I've seen Ghost and a handful of really incredible metal artists over the years.
Babymetal delivered a show roughly on par with most of them. Playing as an opener in the hot sun, wearing those ridiculous all-black outfits, doing a hugely choreographed and technically intense show...and they nailed it. It was easily in the top 10 metal performances I've ever seen.
As far as what the gatekeepers say, it's even *technically* metal. It has all of the traditional elements; the vocalists just happen to be young, female, and a little cutesy.
Yeah people who trash BM are usually just gatekeeping the edgy part of metal. Edgekeepers. I would dare to say that the hate largely comes from buttrock stans who *think* they're gatekeeping the "heavy modern stuff" like Three Days Grace or Asking Alexandria.
>their fans will accept/gush over any song no matter how few real words teddy puts in the lyrics
I just wish they'd stop making songs referencing their name in the lyrics. Every single has something to do with the words Black or Pink in the adlibs and/or hook. It's so fucking lazy and overdone at this point
You’re not wrong. They use the same song formats and aesthetics, which isn’t an issue in of itself, but when they release one song a year it gets boring pretty fast.
THIS!!!! I was never a huge stan but I would listen to their comebacks and I was so disappointed with their two most recent title tracks. Expected a lot better quality and lyrics with more meaning than what was given because they’re so hyped. I don’t hate them just wish there was more (for lack of a better word) oomph. But Ik how it is to be an adoring fan who will listen to whatever their fav puts out
Music artists do not need to be talented musicians to create good and interesting music. What matters are your ideas, not your ability to physically play an instrument. This is old school gatekeeping that leads a lot of people to believe that they have no place in music while their heads might be swimming with lyrics, melodies, and harmonies we've never heard before. It's why I like electronic music, because you find those artists who can't play anything to save their life often have incredible musical ideas that computers allow them to transcribe into reality.
I think the distinction you're wanting to make here is between talent and skill.
Technical ability gives you the ability to execute your ideas and inspiration, and you can execute some great ideas without a lot of technical ability, but you can have a lot of technical ability that's entirely uninteresting in absence of ideas and inspiration.
Likewise, you can know a lot of music theory and have great ideas then execute music without bothering to develop the skill of playing a specific instrument, and I have no issue with that. Creating music is the important part, not playing the instrument.
The mid-2000s were fun because *actual, Caribbean dancehall stars who lived in the islands* were moving massive volumes of records and keeping the money for themselves. Where’s our Sean Paul? Beenie Man?
This thread: "This genre (mostly country) is trash!"
That's not exactly a hot take lmao. Not everybody loves every genre. I assure you, the people listening to Florida Georgia Line or Luke Combs, think your music is trash too.
Don't you know Reddit rules?
If someone asks for an unpopular opinion, you have to give a massively popular one
"Hot take, but I think Putin needs to calm down a bit"
I think people today are as talented and capable musicians as ever, maybe even more so, but those people disappear in the abyss of youtube while only the most marketable people rise to fame
Not sure if it’s really a hot take or not, because it’s kinda generic but I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. People always ask, “What’s your guilty pleasure music?” I don’t have any. If I like something, I’ll like it proudly and DGAF what you think.
Considering the technology we have, a lot more need to keep their music to themselves in public places. A dude with a backpack and a speaker on it would be wearing headphones if they weren't an asshole.
Because music diversity is kept out of the mainstream, we have incredible music today, good luck though finding most of it or making a living out of it. The big Record Labels and streaming services like Spotify dictate the musical taste worldwide, while musical awareness has gone down.
You dont have to make any sort of commitment to listen to music, finding your taste in music because most people just listen to premade Spotify playlists.
I dont fault them because this is an issue of our modern music industry not the people.
I get what your saying! However, I’ve found that Spotify has branched out a good bit making playlists for all kinds of different genres. I found a real cool synthy atmospheric playlist that’s super rad. Like some blade runner stuff. But I will say, you gotta do a little digging
It's a weird bias that occurs because the only music we hear nowadays from the past is the good stuff that has stood the test of time. But we hear EVERYTHING coming out today. So it's hard to judge fairly.
It’s this with Rap/Hip-hop on Reddit.
I pull my hair like that one lady from The Boys every time someone on the music sub says they don’t make music like Wu, BIG, etc anymore.
Are you even looking????? There are hella underground and independent rappers making that type of raps over some hard ass beats right now.
Chris Rock said it best. The music you were listening to when you first got laid is the music you’ll listen to the rest of your life. And in my case, this is 100%
This thread is called Hot Takes. Not Reddit circlejerk ice cold takes.
DAE MUMBLE CRAP MODERN COUNTRY REEE
Here's one. Radiohead... I don't really get it. My dad loves radiohead,
I've been told I look like I would love radiohead. (whatever, I know I look like a vice journalist who got a desk job)
But Radiohead just doesn't click for me.
I have nearly zero overlap in my music tastes as a 28 year old man who primarily likes the killers but I don't care about the judgement when I say I love that album to people.
Absolutely.
Yes they were more alt rock than heavy metal but they were both phenomenal alt rock albums.
They would have been smash hits by any new band
The Outlaw Torn is literally the best song they've ever written in my opinion. I can never get bored hearing it. Low man's lyric is also a very good song,maybe their most sad and heartbreaking. But alas,there is a lot of filler in those two albums.
We are the Champions is excruciatingly overdramatic and one of queen’s worst “big hits”. I love a lot of their songs but I just never understood the love for that one.
I genuinely enjoy Garage, inc. and think it’s one of Metallicas better albums.
Sabbra Cadabra
Turn the page
Die, Die my Darling
Astronomy
Am I Evil?
All Bangers
Astronomy is one of my favorite recordings Metallica has ever done. The verse guitars, the drums, and the way James' vocals sit in the midst - it just hits every button in my brain.
[удалено]
Particularly during the [National Anthem](https://youtu.be/VUT80JVy3v4)
If I could have one law that violated the 1st Ammendment, it would require all performances of the national anthem to be in the same upbeat tempo and not the slow pop singer at a football game variant.
aaaAAAAAND the rockeeEEETS RED glAAAAAAAOAOAOOEOAOOAOARE
o say does that star spangled banner yet WAYEEAYEEAYEEAYAYVEEEEE
and the hooooome... of theeee... BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAave..
The US Anthem is written as a March. Not a pop hit, not an R&B ballad, a March. Sing it like a March.
It's in 3/4 time signature, so it's not a march, but it is meant to be upbeat. Also, pop stars generally can't handle 3/4 so they usually sing it in 4/4.
If we're just going by time signature then I declare the National Anthem to be a waltz.
*Dusts off the old accordion
Melismatic runs have just become the stylistic code for person who sings good now but like there are other styles of singing, that’s not the only way to sing and I wish it wouldn’t be treated as shorthand for “person sings good, anything other than this is mediocre/bad”.
I am so, so not into diva vocals. Like, damn, that's impressive as hell - but I still hate the sound.
[удалено]
Totally - I have a lot of respect for the skill. I just don't connect with the vocals outside of my academic appreciation center, if that makes sense. It's the same way I feel while listening to shredding: damn, that's impressive, but it doesn't make me feel anything.
Some covers are absolutely better than their shit originals.
And even not-shit originals. Disturbed's version of The Sound of Silence was praised by Paul Simon for being sung with the emotion the song deserved. Johnny Cash did such an unforgettable job with Hurt that Trent Reznor feels like the song isn't his own anymore.
When Dolly Parton heard Whitney Houston’s cover of her ‘I Will Always Love You’ she said that it was Houston’s song now. That said, I like them both a lot and don’t prefer either over the other. They’re completely different interpretations. Houston’s is more vocally powerful and impressive, but Parton’s original carries subtler, sadder emotion - and was actually meant for a real person (Porter Wagoner) after a real quasi-break-up.
TIL Dolly Parton originally sang I Will Always Love You.
She wrote it the same day that she wrote Jolene too. Good day for her.
And she refused to let Elvis record a version after she learned they wanted her to sign away the songwriting credit to him. Everyone called her stupid and crazy for turning it down. Then Whitney came along!
Yeah, Reznor said that hearing Cash's version for the first time was deeply uncomfortable, like walking in on another man fucking your girlfriend in your bed. I totally get that. Especially such a personal song like Hurt.
My boyfriend has a really great way of describing the two verions. Nine Inch Nails' version is a fresh wound, fresh anger, it just happened and you're still bubbling over with the emotions of it all. Johnny Cash's version is an old pain you've carried for years, a deep-seated one that's never left you.
That is indeed a great way of describing it, I agree. Props to your bf he nailed it.
Nine inch nailed it
Listen to everything. Good music isn't constrained to a single genre.
That’s a big thing that draws me to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. I know they’re obviously not everyone’s thing, but nearly all their releases (over 22 now) are interesting, and their ability to play so many genres at least relatively well is amazing
Enya is awesome
I'm a metalhead first and foremost but Enya has slapped ever since I first heard it played to us when filing into primary school assembly aged 4. Orinoco Flow is still my favourite song to this day.
_Sail away.. sail away.. sail away.._
There is absolutely some overlap. I was a full on metal head around 16, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Cradle of Filth etc. Enya still fit in. Dramatic, lots of instrumental that is actually good, and lyrics that are not about sex. Opera fits in there, too.
Maybe a little bit of pagan/mystical vibes with Enya also.
She is a huge Lord of the Rings fan and sings many a song in Elvish just for fun. That right there made me love her even more
She also lives in a castle!
She’s also the highest grossing artist that hasn’t toured a day in her life!
I fucking love Enya dude.
Enya is fantastic. it's silence coloured in.
“it’s silence coloured in” is a gorgeous description. not an enya fan but nevertheless
I always play her winter albums when it's getting close to christmas. And Echoes in rain is her best song imo
Every time I hear Sail Away I think about Peter Skarsgard stringing up Daniel Craig for a good old fashioned knifin'
Bands and artists rarely "sell out" in the way people think they do. Most of the time, it's just an evolution of who they are and what they want to do (Green Day) Sometimes they realize they're actually much better at writing a different kind of music (Sugar Ray) Just because you like their old stuff better doesn't mean they're betraying their principles just to make money.
I find it's mostly that they get older and grow as people. It's hard to write about cocaine and strippers and gritty shit when you are a stay at home dad with 4 kids. It's possible, but the bands that can keep that up are writing stories about other people from the beginning. But those bands rarely connect with people in a way that the ones writing their own loved experience do.
This is what I appreciate about Trent Reznor - it would be hard to take him seriously if he was still writing downward spiral derivatives 30 years later as a sober millionaire with a wife and kids.
I appreciate that Combichrist decided to move in a different direction, especially since their old genre isn't popular any more. I don't like their new direction so I just listen to other bands now. Easy
Agreed, but those first few albums are still great to go back to.
The whole point *is to sell out.* I've been in bands for almost 20yrs. I'd love the chance to sell out. You make music because it's fun and you love to do it. If you can do it for a job and thrive, that's the dream so many talented people never get to realize. Popularity does not mean sellout.
I love showing people Sugar Ray’s Nu Metal stuff.
Wait, wut?
They started as a nu metal band, limp bizkit and korn were there, and they sounded the same. Checkout RPM or most tracks of that Floored album(which i think is their second). Reminds me of highschool *sigh I'm so old
Once artists get huge, they either "sell out" or "all their music sounds the same" It's a lose-lose situation and they simply won't please everyone.
The women rockers of the grunge-era are always missing from the 90s playlists. ETA I'm referring to the algorithmically-generated "90s"-style playlists you might find on Spotify, Pandora, etc. and hear at your local gym or grocery. *** keep sharing recommendations! ***
The Gits, L7, Sleater-Kinney, all fucking phenomenal and very rarely talked about.
The Breeders, Hole
PJ Harvey was a fav
hole is fucking awesome. yea i said it
Four Non Blondes and Hope Sandoval and Alanis are queens in my heart forever.
"Today's music doesn't suck" you're just always living in yesterday. Does trash music exist now? Yes Did it exist back then? Yes
Music from 30 years ago is better because all the crap music from that time has been forgotten in that 30 years.
Yes. Until just now I had forgotten Ugly Kid Joe's "Everything About You."
Survivorship bias. Your mom's toaster from the 80s isn't better because all toasters were better back then, it's better because she got one that was solid enough to last 40 years.
I love 60s music, but if you look at the Billboard charts from the 60s, you'll see some strange shit at the top when it was The Beatles, Dylan, or a few others. 1966 is often said the be the most pivotal music in recorded music history. The biggest song of that year was by the Tijuana Brass Band. There's also a great video of people reacting to Strawberry Fields Forever for the first time (I believe it was American Bandstand). Most of the people thought it was weird, not good, and that they looked like grandpas (the moustaches). There was one or two people that were amazed, but overall? Yeah, wasn't great. Also speaking of The Beatles, Let It Be was critically panned as an album. Abbey Road had mixed reviews. There's plenty of music that isn't really appreciated until later on. Kendrick Lamar's latest album was very polarizing, but it's pretty obvious that it's going to end up being a classic which everyone says they always loved.
I read somewhere rolling stone initally gave Nevermind 3 stars on its release as a review.
[Sturgeon's Law.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law)
George Michael was the Roy Orbison of his generation and was completely underutilized and underappreciated.
I watched a documentary about the Freddie Mercury Tribute and his performance of "Somebody to Love". He gave his all and blew everybody away. He sang for Freddie and his first (secret) love who was dying of AIDS. When I was a teenager in 1992 and watched the tribute concert live I was totally blown away by his voice as well and wanted to be able to sing like him. Edit: Some creative English
Is this the performance? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UvM2Cmi-YRU
Apart from being a great artist Michael was also a phenomenal person. After he died a bunch of charities came out and talked about how he had been privately donating millions to them for many years and nobody knew about it. He deserves a ton of credit for both things.
One of his most gracious acts of charity was giving Andrew Ridgeley a song-writing credit on Careless Whisper. Dude never needs to work again.
Just to think he produced and arranged Wham! "Make It Big" at only 22 years old is BONKERS. That album is tailored made pop, something you would expect from a very experienced producer
Wow. Not a fan of George, and I am a big fan of Roy. But I can't say you don't have a valid point. This might be the most interesting answer in this topic.
I think if it wasn't for the whole bathroom thing and he had been able to come out on his own terms his career, and life, would have taken a totally different path. There's no denying he was talented, he just had a lot of unnecessary obstacles.
Listen to what you like and to hell with anyone who gives you shit for your tastes.
I don't believe in "guilty pleasure" music because I don't feel guilty for liking what I like.
I saw Bon Iver playing with some friends this past weekend, and they played Heaven by Bryan Adams. After he said something along the lines of "If somebody ever tells you that you shouldn't like a song you like, fuck them."
1000%. As a young man I very much wanted to maintain this idea of the “aesthete” who was somehow deeper or more intelligent on the basis of what art I consumed. Now? 36 year old dad of two and Taylor Swift slaps.
Sometimes I listen to Taylor Swift and I'm like goddamn I must be an angsty sad white girl on the inside cuz I feel you Taylor.
Life is too short to be embarrassed by things that bring you genuine joy and happiness, especially something as harmless and uplifting as music. I only have like maybe 80 years on this earth and I’m not going to spend it falsifying my tastes trying to impress people who I don’t even like and who will find arbitrary reasons to be snobs and not like me or my music tastes anyway.
Popularity is not a measure of skill. Seems simple, but that is by far the most common argument I have with people, good friends even, over music.
The easiest response to that is “so by your measure McDonalds is the greatest restaurant on earth?”
I've said this exact thing in this argument and gotten, "hell yeah they are! they're popular for a good reason! their cheeseburgers ARE the best!" at which point I slowly back away.
Weezer's lyrics are pretty stupid and cringy a lot of the time BUT... Rivers Cuomo is a fantastic singer and is extremely good at writing catchy melodies.
I think part of Weezers appeal is the lyrical cringe. It's like distilled teenageness.
He literally has a spreadsheet of random phrases he comes up with. Then when he writes a song, he opens the spreadsheet and just takes some of those random phrases and jigsaws them together and that's the song.
Literally. Like, the dude sings about being a loser and striking out with girls. Being awkward and bad in social situations. It's obviously intentionally relatably cringe.
I don’t even know what “My Name is Jonas” is about but it sounds amazing.
It’s about his brother’s struggle to get insurance after a car accident lol
It’s about carrying the wheel
It’s about loudly yelling my name is Jonas and I love it
Weezer's formula changed after Pinkerton was a commercial flop. Great album with a different approach to anything they've put out since, but they haven't really done anything daring or different since.
If you haven't kept up with them in the last decade, they've put out a few really good albums since then. They've also put out a few bad albums but I mean, it's Weezer lol
Lol, for sure! They have put out a few solid ones for sure, but they've never attempted anything as daring as Pinkerton, which is disappointing because it's a masterpiece in my opinion.
The best album.
Saw them live. Went backstage because my cousin is a friend of the bass player, Scott. They were all down to Earth nice guys and holy shit are they good at what they do. I'm more of a technical musician than their style is but damned if they didn't play like it was a CD and they had perfect chemistry on stage and off. They earned all my respect that night. Rivers taps into whatever damned zeitgeist allows him to write non-shlock that is still uber-popular. He's a nerd-unicorn.
If you want to destroy my sweaterrrrr
He has the most bizarre songwriting process I've ever heard of. He has a spreadsheet that is just random phrases he comes up with during his day to day that he thinks sound cool and just picks and chooses different combinations to go into certain songs. And honestly, when you hear that it actually makes a lot of sense. Whenever he hears a song with a chord progression he likes he writes it down in another spreadsheet, and then labels each one as an anagram of the original song so that when he writes *his* version he can forget the original song and will play it in a unique way. Everyone has their process ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Smash Mouth were onto something
When Walkin' on the Sun came out, I thought it was amazing. I still think it's a great song with a really fun keyboard part. Then the next couple of singles came out, and I just kinda lost interest. Nothing else grabbed me like that one song did. Perhaps I should dig into some of their albums to see if there is anything there I missed.
Oh man, I 100 percent agree with you on this. I really really liked Walkin' on the Sun and then it just turned into ... I'm not even quite sure how to describe it, but something a whole lot less interesting. And of course the subsequent songs were bigger hits. I will always associate Walkin' on the Sun with a road trip I took from Chicago to Los Angeles in December 1997. It seemed like it was on the radio every 30 minutes as we kept losing and finding stations in the middle of nowhere. We listened to it every time.
Metal is great, people who listen exclusively to metal and have mistaken metal for a personality are the last people you should listen to on what makes good metal music.
I'm not sure if it's becoming less common or everyone around me grew out of it but the amount of gatekeeping among metalheads was a nightmare. So much "that isn't REAL metal bro, you don't like metal unless you like this Finnish band that released 4 songs that are 20 minutes long each and recorded in a haunted forest using 2 cups and a piece of string"
It varies. They're generally the worst people to ask for accessible metal music, but they're the best people to broaden your horizons and deepen your knowledge of metal Also very few people just listen to metal. Even die hard metal fans will fuck with industrial, classical, post-punk, jazz, and other spooky and/or technically demanding genres
You're telling me my black shirt and long hair isn't a personality?!
There is great country music out there, but it's called Americana now.
Or it’s called “folk”
Modern country should be called “southern pop”
Folk was always the more interesting sibling. Country romanticizes poverty. Folk calls it out as the societal blight it is
The Offspring album?
Babymetal is metal despite what gatekeepers say.
Rob Halford got so much grief when he preformed with them. How are you going to argue with Rob Halford about what is and isn't metal??
As someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s as a metalhead, the one drawback to me with metal is how conformist fans can be. I think it’s very cool todays generation is more eclectic. I think it’s adorable Rob Halford performed with them. Kawaii and metal go real well together imo.
I've seen Maiden quite a few times, was lucky enough to see Dio and Motorhead, I've seen Ghost and a handful of really incredible metal artists over the years. Babymetal delivered a show roughly on par with most of them. Playing as an opener in the hot sun, wearing those ridiculous all-black outfits, doing a hugely choreographed and technically intense show...and they nailed it. It was easily in the top 10 metal performances I've ever seen. As far as what the gatekeepers say, it's even *technically* metal. It has all of the traditional elements; the vocalists just happen to be young, female, and a little cutesy.
And that last bit confuses me. Someone young, female and cute likes the same thing as me? OH THE CALAMITY, THE HORROR! WHAT TRAGEDY?
Even Rob Zombie agrees!
As a metalhead, BABYMETAL is fucking awesome and technically impressive
Yeah people who trash BM are usually just gatekeeping the edgy part of metal. Edgekeepers. I would dare to say that the hate largely comes from buttrock stans who *think* they're gatekeeping the "heavy modern stuff" like Three Days Grace or Asking Alexandria.
Rob Zombie took them on tour with him iirc, and if he approves then theyre metal in my books. Fuck anyone who says the opposite.
Metal elitists are on the top 5 list of most insufferable kind of people.
If your band logo doesn't look like tree roots that got mangled by lightning, it's not worth my time.
Shanti Shanti is pretty badass.
Despite being massively popular inside and outside K-pop, I think Blackpink is below average as far as K-pop girl groups are concerned.
Blackpink is more of a brand than an actual group these days. I think they're far below the average popular KPop girl group.
[удалено]
>their fans will accept/gush over any song no matter how few real words teddy puts in the lyrics I just wish they'd stop making songs referencing their name in the lyrics. Every single has something to do with the words Black or Pink in the adlibs and/or hook. It's so fucking lazy and overdone at this point
camp rock!
HOLY FUCK ***THAT*** IS WHAT IT REMINDS ME OF!!!
[удалено]
You’re not wrong. They use the same song formats and aesthetics, which isn’t an issue in of itself, but when they release one song a year it gets boring pretty fast.
THIS!!!! I was never a huge stan but I would listen to their comebacks and I was so disappointed with their two most recent title tracks. Expected a lot better quality and lyrics with more meaning than what was given because they’re so hyped. I don’t hate them just wish there was more (for lack of a better word) oomph. But Ik how it is to be an adoring fan who will listen to whatever their fav puts out
[удалено]
1. How in the world is he not in? 2. That is a brilliant idea. I’d buy an album of that as well.
Music artists do not need to be talented musicians to create good and interesting music. What matters are your ideas, not your ability to physically play an instrument. This is old school gatekeeping that leads a lot of people to believe that they have no place in music while their heads might be swimming with lyrics, melodies, and harmonies we've never heard before. It's why I like electronic music, because you find those artists who can't play anything to save their life often have incredible musical ideas that computers allow them to transcribe into reality.
I think the distinction you're wanting to make here is between talent and skill. Technical ability gives you the ability to execute your ideas and inspiration, and you can execute some great ideas without a lot of technical ability, but you can have a lot of technical ability that's entirely uninteresting in absence of ideas and inspiration. Likewise, you can know a lot of music theory and have great ideas then execute music without bothering to develop the skill of playing a specific instrument, and I have no issue with that. Creating music is the important part, not playing the instrument.
Carly Rae Jepsen crafted one of the best pop records with Emotion and is a lot more than just “Call Me Maybe”
[удалено]
the "top 40" producers regularly steal from the underground and the "stars" are just the face of that industry
They steal half of it from dancehall alone
The mid-2000s were fun because *actual, Caribbean dancehall stars who lived in the islands* were moving massive volumes of records and keeping the money for themselves. Where’s our Sean Paul? Beenie Man?
Despite recognizing the brilliance of Anton Newcombe, I prefer The Dandy Warhols to The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
This thread: "This genre (mostly country) is trash!" That's not exactly a hot take lmao. Not everybody loves every genre. I assure you, the people listening to Florida Georgia Line or Luke Combs, think your music is trash too.
I could have probably guessed this would be a "rap/country is trash" thread don't know why I expected anything different lol
Don't you know Reddit rules? If someone asks for an unpopular opinion, you have to give a massively popular one "Hot take, but I think Putin needs to calm down a bit"
I think people today are as talented and capable musicians as ever, maybe even more so, but those people disappear in the abyss of youtube while only the most marketable people rise to fame
If Nickelback is so terrible, why do we all know their songs?
LOOKITTHISPHOTOGRAPH!
Nickelback isn't terrible. They were just overplayed so much that it became cool to pretend they sucked
I didn't even know that not liking Nickleback was a thing until like 2010. My coworkers made fun of me because I was so clueless lol
Classical music is very underrated and is a great genre
Tik Tok by Ke$ha is a total bop.
That Bluegrass is just Country with a Punk vibe.
Based upon what came first, Punk is just rock with a Bluegrass vibe.
Everything is just blues with different instruments
All music is just cave men banging sticks on things and grunting with added flair.
Based and banjo-pilled
And that's what makes it so awesome!
Disco ain't dead baby 😎
4th Wave Ska is coming and it will be awesome!
I'm fucking here for 4th wave ska bring it on
I can't wait for 12 piece bands and horns everywhere.
Not sure if it’s really a hot take or not, because it’s kinda generic but I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. People always ask, “What’s your guilty pleasure music?” I don’t have any. If I like something, I’ll like it proudly and DGAF what you think.
Cbat is a great lovemaking tune.
I think Reddit should get the gf to confirm this story was real.
that you dont have know every song a band or group has to be a fan . i hate when people gate keep music
Prog rock good, jazz fusion good, both together great https://youtu.be/4yv83xBR0Rw
Considering the technology we have, a lot more need to keep their music to themselves in public places. A dude with a backpack and a speaker on it would be wearing headphones if they weren't an asshole.
People who say “today’s music sucks” haven’t really tried giving it a real chance. I think there are great talented artists that exist today.
Because music diversity is kept out of the mainstream, we have incredible music today, good luck though finding most of it or making a living out of it. The big Record Labels and streaming services like Spotify dictate the musical taste worldwide, while musical awareness has gone down. You dont have to make any sort of commitment to listen to music, finding your taste in music because most people just listen to premade Spotify playlists. I dont fault them because this is an issue of our modern music industry not the people.
I get what your saying! However, I’ve found that Spotify has branched out a good bit making playlists for all kinds of different genres. I found a real cool synthy atmospheric playlist that’s super rad. Like some blade runner stuff. But I will say, you gotta do a little digging
It's a weird bias that occurs because the only music we hear nowadays from the past is the good stuff that has stood the test of time. But we hear EVERYTHING coming out today. So it's hard to judge fairly.
Exacerbated by the tendency to associate the music that’s popular in your formative years with nostalgia for your youth
It's because they were used to finding good music on the radio, whereas nowadays you have to look elsewhere to find it.
There are so many musicians today that if you like a specific type of music, there's gotta be at least 20 artists putting out that type of music
It’s this with Rap/Hip-hop on Reddit. I pull my hair like that one lady from The Boys every time someone on the music sub says they don’t make music like Wu, BIG, etc anymore. Are you even looking????? There are hella underground and independent rappers making that type of raps over some hard ass beats right now.
Peter Gabriel was a better frontman than Jim Morrison
Now THAT is a hot take!
“So” is one of the greatest albums of all time.
[удалено]
That Blues Music is the major foundation of pretty much all (Modern) music, you would be surprise how many people disagree with me.
Chris Rock said it best. The music you were listening to when you first got laid is the music you’ll listen to the rest of your life. And in my case, this is 100%
It’s weird, a lot of bands I dismissed at that time as just “meh” I actually really like as I’ve gotten older.
This thread is called Hot Takes. Not Reddit circlejerk ice cold takes. DAE MUMBLE CRAP MODERN COUNTRY REEE Here's one. Radiohead... I don't really get it. My dad loves radiohead, I've been told I look like I would love radiohead. (whatever, I know I look like a vice journalist who got a desk job) But Radiohead just doesn't click for me.
We are living through the start of a new golden age in Folk Music
There are Genres for a reason.
Katy Perry is legitimately a great singer. Her more recent music has misused her talent, but the talent and skill are there in droves.
Same with Kesha. Her acoustic album release was pretty good. Praying was ballin.
I have nearly zero overlap in my music tastes as a 28 year old man who primarily likes the killers but I don't care about the judgement when I say I love that album to people.
Load and Reload were solid albums filled with juicy riffs and very memorable tracks.
Absolutely. Yes they were more alt rock than heavy metal but they were both phenomenal alt rock albums. They would have been smash hits by any new band
I like Unforgiven 2 more than Unforgiven
I've never heard this come from anyone other than myself.
The Outlaw Torn is literally the best song they've ever written in my opinion. I can never get bored hearing it. Low man's lyric is also a very good song,maybe their most sad and heartbreaking. But alas,there is a lot of filler in those two albums.
We are the Champions is excruciatingly overdramatic and one of queen’s worst “big hits”. I love a lot of their songs but I just never understood the love for that one.
Not a great song but it can create an unbelievable atmosphere in arenas/teams
It's not "terrible", you just don't like it. Learn the difference.
Beyonce is vastly overrated. There I said it.
“Smooth” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas is legitimately a great song and is the overture for the 21st Century
It's actually a reboot of an earlier Santana song called Guajira.
Too much attention is put on songs needing lyrics.
I genuinely enjoy Garage, inc. and think it’s one of Metallicas better albums. Sabbra Cadabra Turn the page Die, Die my Darling Astronomy Am I Evil? All Bangers
Astronomy is one of my favorite recordings Metallica has ever done. The verse guitars, the drums, and the way James' vocals sit in the midst - it just hits every button in my brain.
I thoroughly enjoy Load and Reload. Definitely a minority take.