Driving home yesterday I was annoyed by a piece being played on the radio. Very repetitive sounds, somewhat alien to my Western ear.
Then I challenged myself, was I being culturally biased. Just because I didn’t grow up on Eastern music, does that make it less good?
Feeling rather uncomfortable, and sitting in boring slow traffic, I started to sort through the tiny mind. Just how much of a bigot am I?
I think I am. I am biased towards rhythm of the complex variety, I like lyrical music, I love stuff which has a ‘heartbeat’ (I still want to make an Ipod selection of all of those as they calm me down.) I like some Eastern music, complex and beautiful, some African music – those unbelievably complex rhythms speak to my soul. I like rock, sometimes heavy metal. Some of the gentler more reflective country music.
I intensely dislike the German Liedere, they sound like undiluted sugar-syrup being forced into my ears, I dislike the head-banging stuff, I hate the boring repetitive wailing stuff. I don’t like the more ‘wailey’ of Eastern music. Then too I don’t like much country music, especially when the person sounds like a failed drunk bewailing their fate as though they had no hand in it. Some African choirs do a ‘wailey’ sound that grates on my ears.
Am I a music bigot?
Maybe but then everyone is allowed their own taste.
Viewfromtheside's Blog 
No it is simply a question of taste plus some cultural background.
hopefully it’s purely taste and background and not some stupid bias
Sounds like very wide tastes to me, Sidey. I like much in the way of music, but my chief bigotry is about opera. I like classical music, but especially I love Bach’s music. And Folk music also – June and I were once resident singers at a local folk club!!
But is is all good stuff, Sidey.
John
I do like all sorts of things, I’m lucky I had a family and friends with very different tastes
Each to their own, Sidey!
You have carefully considered tastes. 🙂
i have fairly definite tastes, even if they are quite wide!
I also know what I like and don’t like. My iPod need to be reorganised too, when I ever get around to it. 😉
mine lets me build selections as lists so one piece can be in more than 1 list
I like many different genre’s of music but cannot stand rap, if that makes me a bigot then so be it.
Rap is something I just don’t get
Exactly why there are so many different kinds of music Sidey – because we all have different tastes.
exactly, different people do the creating!
my least favourite is anything where the singer wails at the top of her voice – Maria Carey and the likes. all it sounds like is somebody about to die…in agony
and Celine Dion!!!!!!!!
oh yes, put her on my dislike list!
😉
You are making an important distinction here – we all have bias, in many areas, from our culture and personal taste, pre-judgments if you like. Bigotry is when prejudge is thoughtlessly continue to judge and especially judge as wrong/bad/etc, especially continuing to discriminate against others who cannot defend themselves. To be prejudiced but thoughtful so that in the present there is no negative judgement, is the road to dialogue and development of new … enjoy your music … I enjoy your thoughts
Thanks Elspeth
I have tried all kinds of Eastern music, and the only thing I consistently return to is Indian classical ragas and such (not Bollywood-style takeoffs). The West (imo) has come up with very little of interest since the seventies in popular music, and even jazz has been unbelievably watered down. It’s as if they’re trying to narrow musics that were incredibly exciting in their diversity into a single, saccharine stream from which we’re being force-fed… Look at how many young people prefer to listen to the old rock (retro, to them). I might not be bigoted, but I’m definitely biased. 😉 My bias is for music that is beautiful, rich, preferably complex in rhythm… I don’t care what it is or where it came from, but I want to feel somehow richer for having heard it.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m just getting old and therefore don’t appreciate modern music. Then I hear something that totally steals my attention 😉
and I still logve the best from the 60’s and 70’s
Never really thought of music and biases this way. Gosh golly I do like an appreciate another human who steps outside and takes a look at themselves from time to time.
I shortened my reasoning sometime ago in regards to music. I like good music and dislike bad music. Period. I think that is case for most,
Music, whether we know it or not affects and effects us in so many ways. I have music on the site and blog, more for demonstration of how themes in all media share a likeness. We all have music playing in our heads most of the time – whether it is musical, visual or plain old fashion thoughtfulness. This world is a harmonic wonder, we humans just play the instruments badly from time to time.
aha! but what is ‘good;’ and what is ‘bad’?
I like fresh figs. Why? I haven’t the foggiest. I just do. Same with music I suppose.
Maybe you don’t like Chinese food – that doesn’t make you a bigot.Nah, you either like it or you don’t like it – easy as that 🙂
But do I reject it because I have tried it and don’t like it, or just reject itbecause of where it comes from. I’m afraid my mind is becoming stagnant, assuming my prejudices are taste?
If you’re intolerant just because it’s not what you want then I’d say “Hey bigot, where to do we have you put down?” but from the sound of it you don’t like it because you have tried it. Stagnant? Nah maybe a bit fuzzy cause it’s still after the weekend?
who you calling fuzzy? I get licked into tidyness by the furry-purries
Great, I put my foot in it – what’s new, hey? Those furry purries, they’ll eat you soon!
naaw, my babies just lick me tidy
You make them lick you clean? I hope you don’t roll in tins of tune beforehand?
i don’t need to
hehe
Er your post made me think tune – I meant, tuna!
that’s a fishy statement
Want some chips with that?
off the old block?
Where’d I leave that chisel?
eeeek!
I could try chipping with a spoon but that might take a while?
Skinning with a blunt teaspoon is one of my favourite threats
Like I told AP the other day, I prefer the plastic variety, with some butter.
hehehe, you just want to be buttered up
It would be nice
slippery sam!
Exactly! Now let’s hope there is space enough for this comment.
Slender comments by now, the butter may be needed to help- fit the comment in properly
tighter than a mouse’s sweat pore at the moment … *wheeze*
urgh! now I need some bleach!
Not too much now or you might turn yellow!
hehe, that may be fun
they might think you have hepatitis and quarantine you – or something.
I always think music is like flavour and kinds of food. There are some we love immediately, some we have never tried, some alien tastes to which we become accustomed, some we will never touch with a bargepole.
Indeed, there seems to be strong cultural similarities. Maybe you need to be surfeited with the food to appreciate the music, and vice versa
SV, you mention you like some metal music when the mood is right? Pls do elaborate ..