...what makes people think "that sounds good"? This has fascinated me for so long but never really asked anyone else's opinion.
I'm referring to the bullshit cringe worthy cheesefest videos that people put links to on facebook. It's normally silly bubbly girls that write things like "eating dinner", and "wiv tha gurrlzzzzz"! They put links to some bullshit RnB pop crap and put a comment saying "luv disss". Some of the tunes are so bad, like I mean actually embarrassing to listen to. I just don't get how people can think it's good. And the lyrics.... wow! Like I can just imagine these clueless fucks sitting in the studio with a producer they probably met that day, and a manager feeding them promises of having a number 1 hit single by this time next year, jamming it out getting all hyped about what they believe to be clever words. It baffles my mind at what some people believe to be "good music".
But putting all the criticism aside. I actually think it's a beautiful thing that people have different tastes. And it when it comes to music it actually really fascinates me how someone can listen to something and it blows their mind where as others can listen and think it's utter trash.
Like for me, I love to hear new music. I love to hear new sounds and sonic frequencies I've never heard before. I love to see how sonic synthesis boundaries can be pushed to produce new and exciting tones that stimulate my brain. I also like all sorts of music, provided the sonic frequencies that enter my ear agree with my tastes I don't care what genre it is. I don't give a fuck about the message or how clever the words are, for me it's all about the harmonics and melodies. It can be as smooth as classical or as nasty as the filthiest DnB tune known to man. Provided sonically it sits well with my ears I'm happy.
I would love to see a scientific study of why I can play a simple pretty nasty distorted synth sound and some fall in love, yet others seem to scare away from it. Could it be environment? Like it all depends on what you have been exposed to? And why is it the older generation generally can't listen to say dubstep, for example, for more than 10 seconds before calling it a load of noise? Why do their brains not want to experience these "new" sonic frequencies they haven't heard before? Why do they insist on sticking to what they "grew up on"? For example, I love Stevie Wonder (amongst many others), but I also love Excision (again amongst many others). Why is it my mum loves Stevie Wonder but she wouldn't even give Excision the time of day? What is creating the barrier in her brain to be scared of music as aggressive as that?
It's probably unexplainable as to why someone like Akon or Rhianna makes me wanna shoot myself in the face yet others think they are the best thing since sliced bread. It's also probably unexplainable why some get off on aggressive nasty music while others get off on smooth relaxing chilled out stuff. I think I, probably along with many others on this forum, are a rare breed that can listen to different genres depending on the mood. Where as others listen to the same style regardless of the mood.
Another thing I've noticed from DJing in commercial venues is that there's very few people that actually like to hear new music when they go out. People mostly like to hear shit they know (I'm talking about the majority here). The thing that gets me though is there's always a first time you hear something so why do a lot of people look oddly at a DJ when he plays a new track they haven't heard before, as though he's doing something wrong? Why do I sigh in frustration when I'm in a club where the DJ is banging out the same old shit I been hearing on the radio every day, and others go mad for it when they too have been hearing it on the radio every day? Why do I get excited when I hear new music in a club I've never heard before, and others tend to go and sit down because the shit they hear day in day isn't being played?
What is it that tells one person something sounds good when to others it's shit. I mean, we all hear the same song as a whole (forget picking certain sounds out of a track we like, which again fascinates me), so what is it that makes us determine what is good and what is bad? I think it's amazing!
Sorry for lengthy post but it just fascinates me deeply. I've done a few searches but if anyone knows of any links to scientific studies on this subject I'd love to read up on it.
Thoughts welcome.
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