On music ...

... Chris's comment in the last post got me thinking:

No but seriously I like music a lot, you know that, and sometimes it's fun to listen to it and discover new things or new musical theoretical things and, umm, chord usage... etc etc lol.

Though this may not be directly about that, but ... whatever, here goes ...

It bothers me when people say that there is no good music today. This happens when people obsess over some period "back when" and define some point as the precise moment when music stopped being good. I used to think that way without knowing it. I disregarded all music that was current. I only listened to bands that didn't exist anymore.
Another thing that people do when it comes to music is get very stuck up about music. Among others, there are classical snobs, jazz snobs, instrumental virtuoso snobs, and "underground" music snobs. All pf these musical tastes have something in common: anything outside of their chosen genre is "too low and vulgar for them to like. Let the masses have their musical junk food."

My philosophy is this: Good music is good music, no matter what kind of music it is. Everyone has different tastes, but they should not limit those tastes to "approved genres" or look down on people who like those types of music. If you know me, you might be saying, "But Mike, you hate country and refuse to even give it a chance." Well, that is part of my point. It's true, I don't like country music in general and I don't really go looking for some country artist that I might like. However, I think if I heard a country artist that I did like, I wouldn't have a problem admitting that. For example, I bought a Johnny Cash CD over the summer. Though many people don't consider him "country", it's about as far west as I go.

The idea I'm getting at has two parts:

1. Let people like their music. You can dislike it, but don't consider it "not good enough" for you - just say it's not your style ... cough ... country ... cough. All music has some value ... well, pretty much all music. I guess I would have to say, all music that is thoughtful and from the heart has value. Anything created for money or fame is barely even art.

2. Don't limit yourself. I would never have guessed when I first listened to Led Zeppelin's Zoso album that I would listen to the music today. Now I have classic rock, swing, jazz, classical, punk, ska, metal, hardcore, pop, and even some rap and hip hop. Not to mention every combination of those that you can think of. It's all one ... don't try to separate music into the preapproved varieties that record companies try to create. In my opinion, if it's heartfelt and creative, anything goes.