Jump to content

Does bad music exist...........


Bud the Baker

Recommended Posts

...............or is it just a matter of personal taste?

I'm sure we've all listened to a song at some point and thought "that is fucking crap" but can some music (Jive Bunny, Leonard Nimoy. Willian Shatner, Manufactured Bands & James Blunt*) be described as bad? Moving away from pop I'd say there's a point in some genres of music (Classical, Bebop, Jazz-Fusion & Prog Rock) where the focus seems to shift from the music to the virtuosity of the musicians and I'd argue that's bad music. 

Also for me there's a factory aspect to the bulk of chart music nowadays which produces bland, derivative tunes devoid of personality, (although I accept there's nothing new in this - eg The Monkees & Motown, it's just more prevalent nowadays - or is it?) that I can't quite decide on and although I much prefer Dusty Springfield or Amy Whitehouese to Adele & Susan Boyle does that make the latter two bad.?

Then there's the business of making records, many musicians including Gerry Rafferty :rolleyes: have been alienated by this but is it just a matter of "art for art's sake, money for God's sake"?

***************

* A bit tongue in cheek but I've mentioned James Blunt whose first elpee sold millions on the back of "You're Beautiful" because it turned out most of it was co-written by Linda Perry from 4 Non Blondes and when he took more control of the songwriting and production of his subsequent albums sales plummeted.

PS - negative comments welcomed, the more the merrier!

Edited by Bud the Baker
Link to comment
Share on other sites


It's all a matter of preference or taste.

As I mentioned on the Rafferty thread, where you're not allowed to be even slightly negative :rolleyes:, music is very subjective.

It cant be measured by record sales as the OP has mentioned some "artists" have sold bucketfuls of copies and would generally be seen as "throw away" attempts at music, at best, but millions have liked them enough to go out and purchase them. 

No, I don't believe there is definitive "bad music", just different taste.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, faraway saint said:

It's all a matter of preference or taste.

As I mentioned on the Rafferty thread, where you're not allowed to be even slightly negative :rolleyes:, music is very subjective.

It cant be measured by record sales as the OP has mentioned some "artists" have sold bucketfuls of copies and would generally be seen as "throw away" attempts at music, at best, but millions have liked them enough to go out and purchase them. 

No, I don't believe there is definitive "bad music", just different taste.  

Have you heard Honey G from X factor? That's not even music.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, faraway saint said:

It's all a matter of preference or taste.

As I mentioned on the Rafferty thread, where you're not allowed to be even slightly negative :rolleyes:, music is very subjective.

It cant be measured by record sales as the OP has mentioned some "artists" have sold bucketfuls of copies and would generally be seen as "throw away" attempts at music, at best, but millions have liked them enough to go out and purchase them. 

No, I don't believe there is definitive "bad music", just different taste.  

The GR thread was really a tribute to the guy and although there's no legitimate reason for criticizing negative posts on it I'd repeat the question - why bother?

*********************

As for it just being a question of taste - I'd mostly agree and most of the lists you can find on the interweb are really just pet hates due to overexposure.

I've included the wiki list below and there's three (possibly four) song on the list that I own - one, MacArthur Park by Richard Harris, is a real favourite of mine. The Screaming Lord Sutch and Allman/Cher albums both of which I've heard tracks from are pretty dire but the Sgt. Pepper OST while not up to the standard of the originals is far from being bad.

Lou Reed's MMM album also mentioned in the article is so self-indulgent that it possibly crosses the boundary (I heard a segment on a radio documentary years ago and it was painful:hammer) 60-odd minutes of feedback cut into 4 pieces for the elpee and two pieces of equal length for the cassette version it seemed to be released as an attempt to distance himself from the commercially orientated music he'd released with David Bowie in the albums prior to this. I'd argue that it's bad music for the possibly perverse reason that it's not music at all :wacko: merely an attempt to piss people off.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_music_considered_the_worst

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Machine_Music

 

Edited by Bud the Baker
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is bad music just as there is music one may not like.

For me trance music is bad music can't get my head around it, House music I do like both are dancing music.

Music is an art form so it does not matter how old it is if it does it for you it should always be listened too. Too many people out there seem to think if its not new it should be cast aside. Have music in my collection going as far back as the 50's every now and again it comes out for an enjoyable listen. 

Music brings so much pleasure you can be down or having a bad day. Sit down play some tunes before you know it your mood is lifted. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Isle Of Bute Saint said:


Well the fact your a fan of Take That and openly admit attending their gigs we totally understand why you would not enjoy Gerry Rafferty old yin.

 

14 minutes ago, Isle Of Bute Saint said:

There is bad music just as there is music one may not like.

For me trance music is bad music can't get my head around it, House music I do like both are dancing music.

Music is an art form so it does not matter how old it is if it does it for you it should always be listened too. Too many people out there seem to think if its not new it should be cast aside. Have music in my collection going as far back as the 50's every now and again it comes out for an enjoyable listen. 

Music brings so much pleasure you can be down or having a bad day. Sit down play some tunes before you know it your mood is lifted. 

Aye, funny that......................LOL 

It doesn't matter if it's new or old, it's music that, as you say, brings pleasure to many people.

Music snobbery, on the other hand, does exist. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Isle Of Bute Saint said:

There is bad music just as there is music one may not like.

For me trance music is bad music can't get my head around it, House music I do like both are dancing music.

Music is an art form so it does not matter how old it is if it does it for you it should always be listened too. Too many people out there seem to think if its not new it should be cast aside. Have music in my collection going as far back as the 50's every now and again it comes out for an enjoyable listen. 

Music brings so much pleasure you can be down or having a bad day. Sit down play some tunes before you know it your mood is lifted. 

Check out this track by Lemon Jelly......

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, faraway saint said:

Yip, there is only music you like and music you don't, as previously stated, purely subjective and down to your taste which has developed over the years. :rolleyes:

Correct 

I prefer Fandabidozi by The Krankies better than anything Rafferty did. 

Just more entertaining. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Isle Of Bute Saint said:

It should be The State Of Trance followed by the word shite 

Not a particularly good example. Like most music today, it's vastly over produced IMO.

There are some excellent 90's trance tracks around.

The music categorised as trance in today's day and age bears little resemblance to the stuff I listened to in the 90's.

Much like comparing punk in it's hey day of the late 70's to the drivel that masquerades as "punk" today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...