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Is There a Musical Genre You Dislike?
Apologies in advance to any lovers of disco or heavy metal music, no offence intended.
I have been able to appreciate most musical forms and genres, including from ancient times, medieval times, classical music, modern music, jazz, soul, blues, rhythm and blues, big band era, gospel, traditional/folk, country, Latin, rock and roll, rockabilly, surf music, beat music, rock, psychedelic, bubblegum, hard rock, reggae, punk and new wave.
However, there has to be three I can happily ignore. They are disco, heavy metal and rap. I was saved from disco by punk and new wave and heavy metal is easy to ignore. However, who is going to save me from rap? .. I detest the genre .. thought it would be a fad, like disco, but it is not going away. .. not just the banal (and often mysoginistic) ‘music’ but the infuriatingly boring hand gestures!
What gives me some comfort is that I seem to have a soul mate in Keith Richards.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/keith-richards-rolling-stones-musicians-hates-feud/amp/
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7 Replies
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I can’t categorically say there is a genre I dislike. Although I don’t seek nor have ever bought a hip hop, disco, country, or jazz album, there have been the exceptions over the years where I enjoyed a certain song in those genres that made me think never say never I guess. My longest known friends and family have often scratched their heads over the decades with my wide varying musical preferences from Beach Boys to AC/DC to Beethoven and everything in between.
I suppose I could say one genre I never got my head wrapped around is opera though yet.
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There are certainly plenty of genres I haven’t sampled simply due to my “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude with regard to musical tastes. Occasionally one of my favorite performers branches out into a new genre and I try to follow him/her. Sometimes I end up grateful for the doors having been opened on a new world, but usually I just think, “Well, that was weird.” I really tried to get into classical music after Paul McCartney came out with his Liverpool Oratorio, but I just wasn’t feeling it.
As far as genres that I actively dislike, that would be pretty much anything where the music just sounds angry. There are enough angering things in the world already, and immersing yourself in anger only makes matters worse. Most angry music can be avoided, but as Howard pointed out you just can’t get away from rap. Many a happy walk has been ruined for me by a car driving by playing rap at full volume. (I have long fantasized about doing the same thing with music from Mr. Rogers.)
A few years ago one of my students, with my permission, played a rap song in class and asked what I thought about it. I answered both honestly and diplomatically, saying, “It sounds exactly like every other rap song I’ve ever heard.” To my surprise, several students laughed and applauded. So maybe there is hope in the new generation.
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For me I can’t stand Disco, rap, hip hop, thrash metal, speed metal, grunge, country western. I’m a rock & roll/hard rock guy for the most part. My main likes span from the 50’s through mid to late 70’s mainly. There isn’t much from the 80’s and 90’s that I like musically. And the 2000’s aren’t thrilling me that much either with the exception of the MLT of course!
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Well Thomas, I like both kinds of music ….. country AND western! No, seriously, my favourite music would be similar to yours in the period from the fifties to the early eighties. I’ve never been into purely country western music but I am quite partial to much country/folk music and country/rock like early Dylan, The Byrds (with Gene Clark and Gram Parsons), Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Kris Kristofferson (eg “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”), Buffalo Springfield, and many others.
The Rolling Stones also got into the act with songs like “Dead Flowers” and a country version of “Honky Tonk Women”. And let’s not forget from their album “Some Girls”, “Far Away Eyes”. The Stones tended to cover various genres as the times allowed, including the blues, rhythm and blues, pop, psychedelic, hard rock, disco, punk rock and country rock. I think they passed on bubblegum music though!
I can understand younger people being into grunge music, but with a couple of exceptions, it doesn’t do much for me.
“Far Away Eyes”
“I was driving home early Sunday morning through Bakersfield Listening to gospel music on the coloured radio station And the preacher said, ‘You know, you always have the Lord by your side’ Well, I was so pleased to be informed of this that I ran twenty red lights in His honor Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord.
So if you’re down on your luck and you can’t harmonize Find a girl with far away eyes And if you’re downright disgusted and life ain’t worth a dime Get a girl with far away eyes.“
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Well…I kind of touched on my musical preferences a bit already but I will say, classical,some disco, rap, hiphop, punk, new wave, alternative stuff, I’m not keen on, some new country not keen on, extreme heavy metal, majority of today’s music scene in general… However, besides MLT /GT, I do enjoy, jazz, gospel, soft rock, southern rock, classic old school country, folk, bluegrass, fiddle, Amy Winehouse, big band,Appalachian, abororiginal, stuff of 1920s-60s, eclectic, I am…if the music moves me in sound, lyrically….then I’m enjoying it??
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I’m with you on the RAP music. I just think it is missing a “C” at the beginning. It’s not appealing and to me it isn’t talent or music. Gangster poetry isn’t my Genre. I feel bad a little because I love music but to me RAP isn’t.
Nothing else I can think of I have strong feelings about. Don’t love much of the Heavy Metal, though I like Uriah Heap, Foghat, Led Zepplin and other earlier bands that might fit in that category. As a teen in the 70’s I liked loud, obnoxious, invigorating, etc. Now I like relaxing, beautiful, harmonious and TALENTED music of the MLT variety.
Used to hate country. Then Faith Hill did “Piece of My Heart” and Shania came along, Reba, and many more. Still cringe at much of the Willy Nelson type “Dog stole my car” ballads. But I like much of Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Keith Urban, Garth Brooks, Alabama, and others. A voice like Scotty McCreery amazes me. Alison Krauss is amazing and special as my nephew played her for me as I was yapping about Celine Dione. Last time I saw him alive. He was a first responder who died of a heart attack after spending the night saving a girl from a drug overdose and helping others. John Michael Montgomery is special in that I used to sing “I Can Love You Like That” to my wife.
Wasn’t much into Reggae, but learned to love UB40 and then Bob Marley. How can you not?
Don’t tell my son, but EDM doesn’t inspire me. But I fake it 🙂 The only way I can get them to listen to some of my music is to listen to theirs. Occasionally a group like One Republic or some of Imagine Dragons makes my playlist. My son was taking a music appreciation class a few months ago and I was able to play him some of the MLT covers like “Wishing You Were Here” as they were songs on his list.
Not too much into classical, but Vivaldi Four Seasons is a favorite. My playlist on YouTube is almost a thousand songs, so my interests are wider than I think they are at times. There of course is NO RAP. Only RAP I would listen to voluntarily would be the “Superbowl Shuffle” by the Chicago Bears.
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The two that come immediately to mind are Country Rap and Death Metal. The rest of it I can handle – even “regular” rap. Favorite genres are pretty much the same as what everyone else has listed.
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