5 ms·

Musicians and more sophisticated listeners see simple music as boring and vapid, not blissful. Liking it doesn't make you stupid, but it may well mean you're ig

by Uhhrrr 10y ago

Musicians and more sophisticated listeners see simple music as boring and vapid, not blissful. Liking it doesn't make you stupid, but it may well mean you're ignorant. I would bet the likes of Tiesto will be much less interesting to you in a few years' time.

noobiemcfoob 10y ago
Throwing Tiesto out there as "simple", "boring", and "vapid" is exactly the same. I'd ask you to apply your own argument to his music. You don't get to compose for the Olympics while being a simple hack.
ThrustVectoring 10y ago
Uhh, it varies, really. There's music that's simple because the musicians don't know how to be make interesting music, and then there's music that's simple because that's the musically correct thing to do and the musicians have the confidence to be like "no, we're not playing all the notes and doing all the things right now". There's layers of sophistication. Sometimes becoming a better musician means learning to put more into a song, and sometimes it means less. A good example of this: Ahmad Jamal, Surrey With The Fringe On Top, particularly the section 50 seconds in - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM7PDwzY9LA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM7PDwzY9LA More mainstream is the drumming in "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes.
- Uhhrrr 10y ago
  That section goes for 10 seconds. I guess if Tiesto only ever played for 10 seconds that would be cool.
  - Uhhrrr 10y ago
    One other thing: Jahmal is playing against the time signature in that section, which would be anathema to someone who just wants to make sounds to move bodies by.
brokenmachine 10y ago
I think simplicity in music can often be a positive, not a negative. I love both at times, complex music that I can keep listening to over and over and finding new elements to enjoy, and also simple music where it has been boiled down to only the essential element that perfectly expresses a particular feeling. Horses for courses. The "sophisticated listener" should be intelligent enough to understand that.
blub 10y ago
Regular, unsophisticated as you put it people listen to music because it's fun, not because it's complex or has some deep meaning. If you like to play status games that's of course unacceptable to you, as one has no way to separate the plebs from the connoisseurs. Music certainly has no lack of self-important individuals.
- Uhhrrr 10y ago
  It's ok by me, but the parent was saying liking EDM doesn't mean one is ignorant. I'm just pointing out that it actually does. There's a reason no one listens to unadorned 808 loops, and for the same reason, many people who listen to simple pop and dance music eventually move on to more sophisticated fare.

by Uhhrrr 10y ago

noobiemcfoob 10y ago

Throwing Tiesto out there as "simple", "boring", and "vapid" is exactly the same. I'd ask you to apply your own argument to his music. You don't get to compose for the Olympics while being a simple hack.

ThrustVectoring 10y ago

Uhh, it varies, really. There's music that's simple because the musicians don't know how to be make interesting music, and then there's music that's simple because that's the musically correct thing to do and the musicians have the confidence to be like "no, we're not playing all the notes and doing all the things right now". There's layers of sophistication. Sometimes becoming a better musician means learning to put more into a song, and sometimes it means less. A good example of this: Ahmad Jamal, Surrey With The Fringe On Top, particularly the section 50 seconds in - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM7PDwzY9LA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM7PDwzY9LA More mainstream is the drumming in "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes.

Uhhrrr 10y ago
That section goes for 10 seconds. I guess if Tiesto only ever played for 10 seconds that would be cool.
- Uhhrrr 10y ago
  One other thing: Jahmal is playing against the time signature in that section, which would be anathema to someone who just wants to make sounds to move bodies by.

brokenmachine 10y ago

I think simplicity in music can often be a positive, not a negative. I love both at times, complex music that I can keep listening to over and over and finding new elements to enjoy, and also simple music where it has been boiled down to only the essential element that perfectly expresses a particular feeling. Horses for courses. The "sophisticated listener" should be intelligent enough to understand that.

blub 10y ago

Regular, unsophisticated as you put it people listen to music because it's fun, not because it's complex or has some deep meaning. If you like to play status games that's of course unacceptable to you, as one has no way to separate the plebs from the connoisseurs. Music certainly has no lack of self-important individuals.

Uhhrrr 10y ago
It's ok by me, but the parent was saying liking EDM doesn't mean one is ignorant. I'm just pointing out that it actually does. There's a reason no one listens to unadorned 808 loops, and for the same reason, many people who listen to simple pop and dance music eventually move on to more sophisticated fare.