On the validity of "comparing" DT to NW

[kyrasantae]

It's kind of like justifying why I prefer to listen to Chopin over Bach. They're composers of completely different styles, in different forms, for different instruments, for different reasons. I like some music from their respective periods (Scarlatti and Schubert for example), and dislike some from the same (e.g. Handel, Wagner); so it's not a matter of liking one period of Classical music more than another*.

Yet it is completely valid to say that "I like Chopin more than Bach for the following reasons: ..."

...but not the same for contemporary bands?


*Again, such labels of periods are arbitrary, and therefore there is *still* no such thing as the "Finnish national style of metal." Thank you.

Comments

[voxwoman.livejournal.com]

On music criticism in general: most of it is complete rubbish. I am especially amused by people who couldn't make any sounds remotely approaching music having extremely strong opinions about music. (I also feel similarly in regards to art criticism.) Both music and visual art are such "personal taste" matters anyway. There is no absolute. There are people who have religious experiences listening to things that sound like utter noise to me. And there are other people who will pay thousands of dollars for what is basically a large dirty tube of canvas (that was hanging in our university dorm for a while... it was supposed to be "art". I thought it was a used vaccuum cleaner bag.)

If you've never read "High Fidelity", I suggest it to you. It's a good novel in any case, and it's about a music lover and obliquely about music criticism and asshats. :)

You don't have to be a singer to notice that some music is worse than others.

[retiqlum.livejournal.com]

I can't sing as well as you or Kyra, but I can recognize someone who is better.

This is an arrogance that you both need to overcome.

Just because I can't build space-rockets doesn't mean that when a space shuttle blows up I can't recognize that somebody failed. Just because I can't drive race-cars doesn't mean I can't recognize that Dale Earnhardt made a mistake.

There is a difference between ability and recognition.

I know a guitarist who would amaze you, but I can't play anything other than "Red River Valley"

Does that mean I can't understand his talent?

Re: You don't have to be a singer to notice that some music is worse than others.

[voxwoman.livejournal.com]

My criticism is of "critics" - people who decide what is or isn't art or music, people who create genres and then pidgeon-hole artists into them.

To use your engineering example, it's as if someone, who has never written a line of code in their life, has the power to decide that since you've written code for a pill-sorting robot, that's the only job you'll ever be able to get: writing code for only pill-sorting robots. Because you don't have experience writing code for a different sort of robot (or a washing machine or a web site).

(and then I went on to say that both art and music are personal taste issues, and that there are people who very much enjoy both art and music that I don't.)

Re: You don't have to be a singer to notice that some music is worse than others.

[kyrasantae.livejournal.com]

Why did I just get this crazy idea to one day write an album where each song is inspired distinctly by a different song by a different band? :P ... oh wait I'm already writing texts like that.

I think one of the more interesting characteristics of fine art is that it is intrinsically selfish - 'for the glory of God' is rarely the excuse these days, as it was in the days of Bach. As something that is made by its creator to serve (often) the whims of its creator (unless it's commissioned or something), works of art are definitely subject to personal taste, and one man's absolute trash is another man's masterpiece.

I mean, I don't like most abstract art, but for some reason I like Rothko :o

[chaotic-lady.livejournal.com]

It seems to me like it's comparing apples and oranges.
"I like apples better because..."
or "I like oranges better than apples..."
Both are fruit, but you can't compare them.