conformity in music

we have a huge problem in music
it has something to do with people's opinion of music is the new wave of racism
you see
yesterday i was walking down to the bookstore while wearing my judas Priest "screaming for vengence" shirt. as i was waiting at the crosswalk two white boys in a car noticed my shirt and began screaming "hey fag, stop listening to that shit and start listening to tupac!!!!" as they drove past me. so i gave them my jolly middle finger.
then i wondered
"why did he do that?"
and "why does he want me to listen to tupac when i am happy listening to Judas Priest"
i think it has something to do with being important and special
you see
i think that witht the influence of televsion and radio that we force oursleves to conform to whatever is played heavely on the radio and segregate the ones who don't listen to what they like.
i think that those kids listen to a lot of rap stations and bought tupacs record and actually beleived that if people who don't lsiten to tupac are not human or not cool
like for example emo kids
because emo punk is so emotional and personal that if they lsiten to anyelse such as old school metal, then they think that they will become weak again
so a lot emo kids bash metal
now im not saying we should conform to other people's music just so that its right
i think that people shouldn't have to segregate or ridicule other people's tastes of music
(im talking to you emo kids) and i don't think we should force ourselves to like aa certain music to avoid ridicule
but i do think that everyone should have an open mind towards music and not be so segretory about it. i also think that we should voice our opinions about music but at the same time realize that we all have different tastes and not get offended
case in mind here's my opinion
i think modern day punk is shitty
it doesn't have the energy or the anger of old school punk

Yeah, those Ramones were pretty pissed off.

I wouldnt even call newer music punk. Then again its all been done in the past at some point which may discourage younger punks.

I definitely feel a wave of weakness wash over me every time I switch from my Saves The Day playlist to my Slayer playlist.

There's certainly a dearth of creativity in music today. Where are The Stooges of the new generation? Is it supposed to be Sum 41, or some other likewise boring, diluted faux-punk twaddle? Where are the bands who fill themselves with a mixture of drugs, vitriol and obscure literary references and let it all pour out in crazy, shrieking, bombastic songs? I really pity a generation that doesn't grow up listening to bands like The Birthday Party. And even though it doesn't exist yet, I'm already tired of the future that belongs to such a generation.


Lord, do I feel old.

good music is good music regardless of how you or anybody else categorizes it-i should say that yes it's totally subjective, and if more people tried to appreciate different musical styles maybe the new tunes of tomorrow would become more interesting?

You feel old because you're acting fucking old, Grandpa.

It isn't about the music, it's about the little cliques and sub-cultures that identify themselves with the music. Annoys the hell out of me. Just listen to your damn music and let other people listen to theirs.

Listen to chickenshit conformist-DK, 'bout sums up my opinion

I'm acting old because it's what I'm best at, and because it's much preferable to acting like an infantile twat.

And I'm a girl. Way to be observant.

I'm acting old because it's what I'm best at, and because it's much preferable to acting like an infantile twat.

And I'm a girl. Way to be observant.[/QUOTE
touche! has anyone seen my geritol and bengay?

[Edited on Jun 10, 2004 by jlmabba7]

Well, not ALWAYS.

Well have fun complaining about youngesters and their crazy new fangled computer music at the old folks home. I'm sure the nurses will be intrigued. Because, it's not everyday someone has a senile old opinion about how much better music was 10 years ago. You're so novel.

[Edited on Jun 10, 2004 by endlessben]

Yep.

(Edited because I'm a girl, and I'm still the bigger man)

[Edited on Jun 10, 2004 by velocity]

They broke up a couple years back. They were called At the Drive-In. Now you've got The Mars Volta, almost as good. There was Refused. Now you've got The (International) Noise Conspiracy, almost as good. There's Zao. There's System of a Down. There was Queens of the Stone Age. Tom Waits. There was Atari Teenage Riot. There's Desaparacidos. Sonic Youth.

So, uh... I'm missing the dearth, apparently. I guess unlike some people on this thread, I'm not blinded by misplaced nostalgia.

Edit: Might I also point out, Iggy LIKES Sum 41.

Edit 2: And furthermore, why would you compare The Stooges to Sum 41? Why not compare them to something as underground as they were? Sum 41 are a pop act. Why even waste your time with them? Are you now too lazy to bother looking for quality music that flies under the radar? The Stooges never cracked the Top 100 albums chart. Why should you compare them to a pop band?

[Edited on Jun 10, 2004 by Cigarette]

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm a bit out of the loop, admittedly. I copy edit for a music magazine in New Zealand, so I could go on for days about all the wonderful, crazy things going on down there. Nothing around here has really caught my attention, but my attention has been peripheral at best.

while i agree w/ just about everything you said, i think its important to remember that as a music genre ages so do you...and almost always, you refer back to the "ground breaking" groups that got you really excited...and now just about everything is old hat. on the other hand, w/ the internet and other technology, a lot of underground groups that should get attention are, that never would've been heard unless you were local.

the whole tupac thing...i think is a sign of the mainstream masses trying to move towards "hip hop" (though not really).

god save the queen? fuck the queen, god save punk!

hip hop is the mainstream now...

No, kill 'em both.

[Edited on Jun 10, 2004 by Cigarette]

Seriously. How many kids out there with their McDonalds 40oz think that they're turning Japanese?

I think people put to much stock in genres. Emo is as pointless a word as modern. Or Rock for that matter. How can a genre encompase Chuck Berry, Elvis, Nickelback, Korn, Cream, and the Ventures.

Also, i believe it was the filmmaker Rene Clair who said "the first thing to conform are the anti-conformists."

Sweden...

all that aside there is just much pressure to conform in every way shape and form that people need you to re enforce their choice so that they know they made the correct one.

Just be true to yourself, be honest with yourself and do your thing, just don't rain on my parade.

Exactly. People express their taste in music like they are flying a flag.

Fuck flags. It's only music.

I think it would be neat if they had a feature here that would send you all the stupid crap you say and think in your late teens and early twenties, when you're like 35.

OK... this is in response to the initial post in this thread (I haven't read beyond that yet)...

When I was like 8 or 9 years old (this was in either '76 or '77), I got the shit beat out of me by some older kids because I was wearing a KISS t-shirt. The main guy doing the beating called me a "little fag for liking that make-up glitter shit", and that I should "listen to REAL rock bands like Styx, man!" What's the point? Simple... this is an age-old phenomenon and I doubt it's gonna change anytime soon. I'm sure this same stuff was happening to kids in the 50's over "who's better? Sinatra or Elvis?" I mean... if you're a serious diehard music lover, like I think many of us are... you choose your space and draw your line in the sand. It's as simple as that. It's about how passionately you feel about what you're into... wrong or right.