3 ms·

It's strange to believe that you know what people undergo during something as subjective as a sensory experiment. No matter your expertise, you can never really

by mekoka 6y ago

It's strange to believe that you know what people undergo during something as subjective as a sensory experiment. No matter your expertise, you can never really know how another person is perceiving their reality. We're all given a set of senses and a brain to explore the world in our own way. It will not be the same from one individual to the next. If some people are looking to be soothed by music, while others are looking to be stimulated, does that give one group an authority on taste over the other?

AndrewUnmuted 6y ago
> does that give one group an authority on taste What the hell? I never made any such comment on the subjective experiences of listeners. You can enjoy music and know it's "junk food." I like listening to plenty of bad music. I don't judge anyone for what they enjoy. To call Philip Glass a master of his domain, a rightfully-celebrated contributor to Western art music, or any of this other crap - that's what I take issue with. Enjoy his music all you want - it's all available and in print, and his various corporate music labels make sure of that. Just don't mislead others who may actually take HN users at their word.
- ubermonkey 6y ago
  DO NOT SPREAD YOUR INCORRECT OPINIONS. ONLY THE OPINIONS OF ANDREWUNMUTED ARE VALID.
- rolfea 6y ago
  post-Cage I think it's gotten a bit hard to pin down what it means to be a significant contributor to "Western art music." How do you define that? Has Glass been influential (yes), popular (yes), and tried things compositionally that others hadn't (arguable). Is Steve Reich's music "better"? I think so, both as a listener and a performer, but Glass being potentially more popular doesn't really do any harm to anything. It just is what it is. But I've had as many (and honestly, more) arguments with "anti-contemporary music/art" folks about Berio and Feldman, for example. What is late Feldman doing compositionally? Just shifting around simple chords surrounded by loads of silence while stuffy audiences in turtlenecks nod sagely and compose tweets in their mind for later about how "serene and haunting" this performance was? (I love Feldman, for the record)
- UncleMeat 6y ago
  > What the hell? I never made any such comment on the subjective experiences of listeners. It was impossible to read your post as anything other than "I am a learned connoisseur and the unwashed masses are all fools".
  - waihtis 6y ago
    Half laughing at the comments, but on the other hand, you always have to appreciate such passion towards any subject matter.

by mekoka 6y ago

AndrewUnmuted 6y ago

> does that give one group an authority on taste What the hell? I never made any such comment on the subjective experiences of listeners. You can enjoy music and know it's "junk food." I like listening to plenty of bad music. I don't judge anyone for what they enjoy. To call Philip Glass a master of his domain, a rightfully-celebrated contributor to Western art music, or any of this other crap - that's what I take issue with. Enjoy his music all you want - it's all available and in print, and his various corporate music labels make sure of that. Just don't mislead others who may actually take HN users at their word.

ubermonkey 6y ago
DO NOT SPREAD YOUR INCORRECT OPINIONS. ONLY THE OPINIONS OF ANDREWUNMUTED ARE VALID.
rolfea 6y ago
post-Cage I think it's gotten a bit hard to pin down what it means to be a significant contributor to "Western art music." How do you define that? Has Glass been influential (yes), popular (yes), and tried things compositionally that others hadn't (arguable). Is Steve Reich's music "better"? I think so, both as a listener and a performer, but Glass being potentially more popular doesn't really do any harm to anything. It just is what it is. But I've had as many (and honestly, more) arguments with "anti-contemporary music/art" folks about Berio and Feldman, for example. What is late Feldman doing compositionally? Just shifting around simple chords surrounded by loads of silence while stuffy audiences in turtlenecks nod sagely and compose tweets in their mind for later about how "serene and haunting" this performance was? (I love Feldman, for the record)
UncleMeat 6y ago
> What the hell? I never made any such comment on the subjective experiences of listeners. It was impossible to read your post as anything other than "I am a learned connoisseur and the unwashed masses are all fools".
- waihtis 6y ago
  Half laughing at the comments, but on the other hand, you always have to appreciate such passion towards any subject matter.