Music Debate Thread

[Cocyx The Skeleton]

i also dont consider stuff that doesnt get regular radio play to be mainstream

[hamdemon]

Nov 8, 2008 23:29:02 GMT -5 phillip00 said:

Ok I'm gonna say it right now, I hate people who dismiss a band for it's popularity.

Oh and really quick, instead of using the term "comercial" use "mainstream" it just sounds better.

Anyways, I can't stand people who won't listen to mainstream, but will listen to underground because... nobody listens to it(?!?). The reason mainstream artists are mainstream is because they've worked hard to earn the respect and loyalty of their fans. They didn't just emerge from the ground and started taking all your money.

And if you Underground artists truly are THAT good, they'll be mainstream soon enough. As much as you'd like to think that they're doing what they're doing to express themselves through music, and not for money, they'll accept a sponsorship from Coca-Cola the second they get it

Allow me to explain myself. It's not that I hate artists for their popularity. I'm not into calling big name artists "sellouts". I'm just saying that I don't listen to rap, and to avoid writing it off as complete garbage, which I'm not trying to do, I decided to bring up a point that I've seen others use. A lot of the time when I see people arguing with one side being the "rap is crap" side, and the other is "pro rap", someone will eventually bring up underground rap artists, saying that their lyrics are much more developed and meaningful than the mainstream artists.

So really, this isn't my point, it's the point that others make. I just didn't want to offend anybody. To be completely honest, I'm completely ignorant when it comes to rap music. I used to be interested in it, but I decided at one point that it wasn't for me.

Also, mainstream artists make up the majority of my musical tastes. It's just difficult for me to find anybody underground that interests me, since there's no one with the obscure music savvy to suggest something I like. There are a few in my playlist like "Go Betty Go", and "The Delgados", but even then, I'm not sure if these are all that obscure

[rapfan211]

My favorite type of music is rap. I don't really like the rap that's coming out now, but some of it is still good. I also like other songs in different genres, but rap is still the top for me.

[Cocyx The Skeleton]

Nov 10, 2008 0:31:23 GMT -5 rapfan211 said:

My favorite type of music is rap. I don't really like the rap that's coming out now, but some of it is still good. I also like other songs in different genres, but rap is still the top for me.

i cant help but giggle at your screen name after reading your post

[rapfan211]

Nov 10, 2008 19:41:59 GMT -5 Cocyx The Skeleton said:

Nov 10, 2008 0:31:23 GMT -5 rapfan211 said:

My favorite type of music is rap. I don't really like the rap that's coming out now, but some of it is still good. I also like other songs in different genres, but rap is still the top for me.

i cant help but giggle at your screen name after reading your post

Ya my screen name pretty much tells it all, but I just wanted to re-estate it.

[Joyo17]

Only true music is anything before the 60's. So take that!

[Sax]

Nov 17, 2008 20:58:48 GMT -5 Joyo17 said:

Only true music is anything before the 60's. So take that!

That is false as Queen started during the 70s.

[TheAwesome]

Well, it's 3:00 AM and apparently I have insomnia now! Awesome. Anyway, I was talking to my ex bf and he reminded me of this guy who calls himself MC Chris, and I immediately thought of this thread.

Before I go into it, I'll talk about the music I like first and say that it's hard to give a name to the music I listen to I guess? I like a lot of things. I grew up listening to stuff like The Doors, The Who, The Beatles, Four Tops...stuff my parents liked. I listen to mostly current bands that have heavy piano and acoustic influences in their music. Jack's Mannequin and The Hush Sound to name a couple.

I am a poetry performer (no, there are no black berets or bongos involved) and a lot of the people I do it with are freestylers and rappers and what have you. So, I have learned to respect the art over the years (as long as it's not ghetto booty rap, which sort of frightens me) and the talented lyricists out there.

I don't necessarily like most Mainstream music, but I see it for what it is - a kind of music that people like to listen, sing and dance to. I don't respect it any less...but I just don't listen to it.

Anyway, back to MC Chris.

He's pretty crude, I won't lie - but it's all meant in a humorous way. He's a rapper, and here's a section of his lyrics from a song called "Kingdom Farts"


Dinin' on some Deep Dish, listin' to Cheap Trick,
live this life of chronic, Life Aquatic made me seasick.
On my Wii or my 3 or my 3-6.
Cross-legged, playin' bongos like a beatnik.
I'm gettin' baked with Solid Snake and Ratchet and Clank.
Pot with Ocelot 'cause he's got the mad dank.
We're drinkin' Sunny D 'cause the purple stuff's rank.
We never step outside, sun exposure's unsafe.
I'm not a party guy unless it's Mario Party time.
I'd rather kill some Zombie Army Guys while playin' R.E. 5
or the second God of War or the first Half-Life 2.
Now roll up the blunt with my degree from NYU.
I got the game thumb, the basement's the place to be.
President's daughter has been kidnapped and it's up to me.
In my pixelated palace, there's a policy:
if the world hangs in the balance, you best call mc!

He has a lot of songs about comic books, Star Wars, and one about Harry Potter. He just amuses me, and I thought of this thread first thing when we were talking about him. This guy isn't really talented lyricist really, in some of his songs he rhymes absurd words with one another - but he's mostly just a comedian.

[Xalgar]

Nov 8, 2008 14:28:59 GMT -5 hamdemon said:

I pretty much listen to everything (including Spanish and Japanese music) except for commercial rap and country.

First of all, I'm not going to write off rap as absolutely terrible and with no value at all, no matter how badly I want to. Without a doubt, all rap that is blared from the radios of rich white kids driving Hummers in the suburbs is terrible and serves only to make idiots of whoever likes it, but I'm certain that as with every other genre, there are obscure, unknown rap artists that are not only coherent, but the things that they rap about are probably a helluva lot more worthy of listening to than the rappers who actually get payed. I'm just saying, I don't like rap in general since I don't know any decent unknown artists.

As for country... I don't know, I just don't like listening to someone with a Southern drawl, no offense to anyone who has an accent like that. It's just not to my taste

I completely agree with this statement, Rap started off as stories from the ghetto and it was great for kids who lived in the ghetto's of the large cities across the Earth, however, the music industry recognized this and somehow, now we have a bunch of rich black dudes bragging about their money and game girls. Bragging is not music.

[school]

Nov 8, 2008 23:29:02 GMT -5 phillip00 said:

Ok I'm gonna say it right now, I hate people who dismiss a band for it's popularity.

Oh and really quick, instead of using the term "comercial" use "mainstream" it just sounds better.

Anyways, I can't stand people who won't listen to mainstream, but will listen to underground because... nobody listens to it(?!?). The reason mainstream artists are mainstream is because they've worked hard to earn the respect and loyalty of their fans. They didn't just emerge from the ground and started taking all your money.

And if you Underground artists truly are THAT good, they'll be mainstream soon enough. As much as you'd like to think that they're doing what they're doing to express themselves through music, and not for money, they'll accept a sponsorship from Coca-Cola the second they get it

This is not true. Mainstream artist are mainstream because they are on a major label and major label music is what sells the most; it is, as the name implies, what a majority of people listen to. (Although indie labels are getting bigger and bigger) And where do most people find out about music? On ad supported places like MTV and the radio. Those outlets want as many people to listen to them as possible for that will increase revenues.

So you have major labels that sell the most music and have the most followers and you have Ad-supported outlets that need followers. So where would you draw the music you play from?

[randomher0]

I'm probably joining in this debate too late to really comment, but all I want to say is that, underground bands that are popular don't often become mainstream bands. And the ones that do, change their style of music to become more popular. I think a perfect example of this is the band Fallout Boy *shudders*.

Honestly, before they were as huge as they are today, their music was decent. I may be mistaken here, but I believe they may even have done a little screamo in the past. But in today's mainstream society, that style of music doesn't sell records. So what does Fallout Boy do? They change their style of music to accomidate for the taste of 'pop' music lovers, and they become mainstream. That, in my opinion, is selling out. Changing the way you write and perform music just to make more money. But, although I do say that, I can understand why bands do this. Being in an underground band, even if you are extremely popular, in most cases you won't be making a huge amount of money. So changing your style of music to make money has to be done sometimes, just to get by. It's actually a very smart move when you think about it.

I honestly hate mainstream music. Not because 'everybody listens to it'. Just because it isn't my style of music. I prefer to listen to songs that have real meaning. Not songs that are put together to please fans and make money.

[infraredcentipede]

I figure I'll throw my opinions into the mix.

I enjoy a fair range of music, mostly industrial, electropunk, alternative, etc. I name genres solely on what appears most on my iPod. I can't say "I like industrial", because whenever I listen to other bands from certain genres, I end up hating them. I guess I just start listening to whatever sounds good when I hear them.

I can't stand songs that are super serious. If it's something I can dance to, headbang to, or enjoy singing along to, I enjoy it.

Which is why I love Mindless Self Indulgence.

[helixfc3s]

I enjoy pretty much any music genre because listening to the same genre gets boring after awhile. The only type of music I dislike is country pretty much (sorry if I offended any country-lovers).

I'll name some of the bands I listen to (not all): Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Hoobastank, Red, Breaking Benjamin, Fort Minor, Hollywood Undead, Skillet, Celldweller, Three Days Grace, Pendulum, and TrustCompany.

I occassionally listen to some rap or hip-hop, but the recent stuff is mostly displeasing (e.g. Lil Wayne). Lil Wayne pretty much killed a song I thought I liked called Let it Rock by Kevin Rudolf. Sorry, if anyone likes him, but I just don't think he has any great songs or a great voice. BUT the few rap artists I like are Styles of Beyond, Mike Shinoda, some Jay-Z, some Kanye West, and Eminem. There are some other songs I like, but I don't know all their names.

Of course, I love my fix of techno, trance, and drum n' bass (and throw in some Eurobeat from Initial D ). I like pretty much any song that pumps me up--not any particular artist--and just has a nice beat. I guess DJ Tiesto is a pretty popular one I listen to, a nutsload of good songs made by talented people at Newgrounds.com (e.g. ParagonX9), Daft Punk, Pendulum, some of that Mortal Kombat soundtrack from those crappy movies a decade ago (I know you remember them), and a lot of other electronic crap I can't name off the top of my hand.

I won't argue which band or genre is the best, though I can easily tell you my favorite band or artist. I'm no music expert or elitist, I just listen to what sounds good and if the lyrics appeal to me. One could argue for days and weeks over which artist or band is the best, but it all comes down to personal preference so I find it haughty at those that tell people they have bad music taste.

[Cocyx The Skeleton]

Dec 2, 2008 15:35:44 GMT -5 helixfc3s said:

I'll name some of the bands I listen to (not all): Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Hoobastank, Red, Breaking Benjamin, Fort Minor, Hollywood Undead, Skillet, Celldweller, Three Days Grace, Pendulum, and TrustCompany.

the few rap artists I like are Styles of Beyond, Mike Shinoda, some Jay-Z, some Kanye West, and Eminem. There are some other songs I like, but I don't know all their names.

Of course, I love my fix of techno, trance, and drum n' bass (and throw in some Eurobeat from Initial D ). I like pretty much any song that pumps me up--not any particular artist--and just has a nice beat. I guess DJ Tiesto is a pretty popular one I listen to, a nutsload of good songs made by talented people at Newgrounds.com (e.g. ParagonX9), Daft Punk, Pendulum, some of that Mortal Kombat soundtrack from those crappy movies a decade ago (I know you remember them), and a lot of other electronic crap I can't name off the top of my hand.

do you happen to make/watch AMV's?

lol.

[helixfc3s]

Dec 2, 2008 16:46:15 GMT -5 Cocyx The Skeleton said:

Dec 2, 2008 15:35:44 GMT -5 helixfc3s said:

I'll name some of the bands I listen to (not all): Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Hoobastank, Red, Breaking Benjamin, Fort Minor, Hollywood Undead, Skillet, Celldweller, Three Days Grace, Pendulum, and TrustCompany.

the few rap artists I like are Styles of Beyond, Mike Shinoda, some Jay-Z, some Kanye West, and Eminem. There are some other songs I like, but I don't know all their names.

Of course, I love my fix of techno, trance, and drum n' bass (and throw in some Eurobeat from Initial D ). I like pretty much any song that pumps me up--not any particular artist--and just has a nice beat. I guess DJ Tiesto is a pretty popular one I listen to, a nutsload of good songs made by talented people at Newgrounds.com (e.g. ParagonX9), Daft Punk, Pendulum, some of that Mortal Kombat soundtrack from those crappy movies a decade ago (I know you remember them), and a lot of other electronic crap I can't name off the top of my hand.

do you happen to make/watch AMV's?

lol.

No, why? I watch some of the music videos the band or artist makes... sometimes, but I just prefer to listen to the music.