Philosophy Now Forum

Humanity knew music long time ago . People of ancient civilizations like Greece , Egypt and others knew music and played it in many occasions as we can find on the Egyptian temples paintings of musical instruments. But in the twenty and twenty-first century music developed greatly just like everything else in those last few centuries . Today you find in your equalizer many kinds of music " Rock , Rap , Hip Hop , Metal , House , Trance , Chill out , Pop , Jazz , opera , classic and others " . you can also find on Youtube what you can consider a rating or a level of each kind's popularity . I tried to study the characteristics of each kind of music in a psychological way and also study or acknowledge the taste or character of different fans of each kind .
If we want to make a logical rating of each kind's popularity according to youtube and download websites , this can be a not bad rating :

1- Pop " Just check out Justin Bieber and lady gaga videos "
2- hip Hop - Rap " Make a visit to Eminem's videos "
3- Rock
4- House
5- Trance
6- Metal
7- Jazz
8- classical music and that kind of opera and Beethoven symphonies

1-Pop is in the first place because it's simple , trivial , has no specific or limited style ,
doesn't need mental effort to understand the message or meaning of the song
and finally most of pop songs are about beauty of love or the suffering from it .

2- Do you have a deep shit to share ? .. yeah , come on let me hear your rap story !

3- I'm Emo .. Rock is my medicine !

4- House music .. What a beautiful life !

5- That computerized music with it's electrice waves entering your body specially when you are high , sure I'm talking about Trance Music !

6- Metal , Oh let's know how much you hate your fuckin life !

7- Jazz , I was born in the wrong time , oh how much I wish I was born in the sixties !

8- Opera , Classical Symphonies ? There is no doubt you are a different mentality and culture !

Finally , Music has no language but it reflects the culture of each country and taste and maybe character of each person listining to it . Personally I love anything that makes me feel better or any type makes me smile . Respect to anyone disagree with me .

Music has pandered to the lowest common denominator.
To call this "development" is a travesty.
It has reached the bottom of the barrel in terms of skill, virtuosity, and emotional meaning.

Pop is to Classical music and Jazz what a hot dog is to haute cuisine.

And your the one who decried 'high art'?

Rubbish!

I said basically the same thing about "modern art" as I said about modern music.

A very antiquated view. The connection betwen so-called "high-art" music and "low-brow" popular music has never been stronger. Just think of some of the recent work of Radiohead or Bjork. Hardly low brow!

I love trance since the moment I heard it first, a decade ago or so. I discovered Trance.fm and do not listen to anything else all the time. What I love about it is that it is created by people who don't know if they are musicians yet and just enjoy mixing and expanding on tracks, and not just their own, which brings us ever closer to what really resonates with the designated centers of the mind for musical messages and inspiration.

Bullshit. Excellence does not date. I would not exclude either of the people you mention as performing good work - they are the exceptions.

I would not call them low brow either.

Trance is not music at all.

It is a sound track for taking drugs.

TYPICAL DUTCH!!!

Whatever it is, or is called by Elite Culture, Your Towering Inferno, I love it more than anything else with the possible exception of Barber's Adagio for Strings.

There is no doubt music and art in general has decayed in skills and everything . I don't mean by the word "development" that it developed to better but I meant it just changed or modernized as generations and life changed from yesterday to today in taste and culture . New generations love everything that is similar to fast food so they love music to be fast , spicy and delicious no matter if components were frozen , not fresh nor healthy .

No true Scotsman!

Why are you shooting yourself in the foot?
It was you that brought up "low-brow, high brow". I would not use those terms personally.

I understand.

A great tune. Like many great tunes they often suffer for the association they attract when adopted by Hollywood.

One of my all time great tunes is Handel's Saraband. (HWV 437). Kubrick's Barry Lyndon did nothing to diminish it, thankfully.
Beethoven's 7th especially 2nd movement, is also one of my all time greats.

Might I propose a different dynamic (no pun intended):

There is music which channels something noble, something 'essentially' human, which equates itself to a 'good time' but which does not reduce itself to the particular party or concert. Music which enfolds or ressonates with the listeners being, which allows the listener to come upon him/her self yet also humanity in its purity, touching upon what could be called something 'trascendant' yet not merely of the religious, but could be yet called religious.

Then there is music which caters, as was said above, to the lowest denominator, which lowers the listener itself into a selfishness, and through this confers a humanity as the 'next thing' and equates what one may see to that which was heard in the moment.