9 replies to this topic

[Fuzzy]

WARNING: VERY FUCKING DRUNKEN RANT HEAVY - SKIP TO END FOR SUMMARY.

Just a little thing I thought I would share with you as I am curious as to everybody's personal opinion on the subject:

I was just on a site called Plug DJ which is a site that hosts many chat rooms in which you can create your own playlist of songs and play or "DJ" them for the rest of the room.
I was in one of the many chatrooms on there based around the metal genre. No specific sub genre such as metal core, thrash, melodic, death, slam and so on. Just metal.
So anyway I get a playlist set up and when it is my turn to select a song from my playlist I chose a song that I very recently fell in love with called "April Rain" by a female metal band called "Delain" which I recently came across by accident, isn't something I would have looked for if someone had told me about and really got into. I would strongly recommend giving them a listen but I'm going off topic.
Soooo anyway I play them and some jumped up arsehole in the chatroom, instead of simply voting to skip the track, starts having a go claiming that "women can't do metal" and it sucked because "it's not hard enough" whatever that meant.

There were a few other things he put up but they are either too sexist for me to post without annoying the mods (see I'm learning) or contain too many censored words for them to make sense if I tried to post them here.
Now overlooking the fact that this guy was a sexist wanker, I have a number of problems with the comments this guy made.
One of the main things seemed to be that he didn't want it played because it wasn't his particular taste in the extremely broad term that covers the metal genre. Now I have a problem with this because peoples taste in music be it metal, classical, RnB, electronica or whatever, is one of the most diverse and individualistic things in existence and everyones taste will be slightly or extremely different.
The amount of elitism and inability to accept other peoples specific preference to me is just ridiculous. Diversity in taste should be celebrated not demonised. The very fact that there are so many genres and sub genres shows how diverse music is. New genres are being created all the time and current ones are constantly evolving and splitting into even more genres.
All this taken into account, what gives anyone the right to criticise anyone on their taste in music? The guy that said all those things about the song I played went on to play "Limp Bizcuit" (unsure on how it's spelt) which personally I don't care for but I'm not going to jump down his neck about it. So fucking what if he likes something I don't, big fucking whoop. Have a fucking badge. Bellend.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is this: on the subject of music and musical diversity, what is the point in musical elitism? What purpose does it serve other than to simply pump the ego of some jacked up little shit? In my personal opinion musical elitism is elitism at its most hypocritical. They would willingly call someone out for liking something they personally don't and then expect everyone to conform to a specific taste that suits them while calling everybody else wrong. Another thing that fucks me off is that these people will call you every derogatory term under the sun because they're on the Internet where it's safe to do that whereas in the vast majority of cases I could probably walk up to them carrying a sound system blasting the shit on full and they wouldn't say a god damn thing. It's like when I used to play the CoD series and get hate mail from some trickshot douche for not playing a game I payed for the way he wanted me to. I'm sorry son but if I have an LMG and you're pissing around spinning about jumping off a building then you're fucked mate.

Anyway, music elitists. What is the point? You should want it to become even more diverse and want new sounds and techniques to emerge not for everything to be the exact same damn thing! It'd be fucking boring! It'd be like watching every episode of Tom and Jerry back to back! Now don't get me wrong, I love that show but could I watch every goddamn episode in a row? Fuck that. I'd rather run over a cat and paint a wall with its brains using a paint brush made from its fur and an improvised paint can made from its skull while singing bohemian rhapsody and having a mailbox inserted forcefully up my piss hole top end first in the middle of a thunderstorm.

Long story short: fuck em.


Adding this to the end :
I typed this up last night while slightly "merry" and passed out before I posted it. I read through it this morning. Instead of changing anything other than misspelt words, clearing up sentences so they were actually coherent and removing a hell of a lot of swearing as it made the post twice as long as it is now and most of it would've been censored, I decided "fuck it, I'll post it with my uncensored completely without second thought as to what I'm saying opinion" so yeah, sorry about the parts in that where I pretty much started rambling.
If you actually read all that then holy shit you must've been bored. Have a sticker!

[CruciasNZ]

GAH CHEST HIGH WALL OF TEXT!!!

FYI the summary was a lie

[Fuzzy]

Yeah, this is probably the longest post I've made on here so far. :L
Why not "fuck em"?

[Doomdrinker1]

I have spent to long on the warframe forums, walls of text are the norm over there.

 

But ye this is simply a by product of the internet think nothing of the idiot, hell even responding to these kind of people is enough to keep them going.

 

I demand my sticker.

[Iron K]

Hmm.. Interesting, to say the least. My first thought; are you claiming to have been "merry" while writing this, so that you wouldn't have to "take responsibility" for creating an actually interesting discussion point?

My second thought is that I want my sticker!

 

Anyways. You raise a few good arguments, none of which I will retell. Don't want to wear them down.

Instead I will give my own near divine opinion about it. 

 

The genre of Rock is the most diverse of them of them all. From the King, Elvis Presley, to the Scottish pirate inspired power/folk metal band Alestorm. But with diversity comes differences in opinion. And a human will always value ones own opinion greater than others.

To say that your taste in music, or the band you listen to, is better than all others, is basically the same to say that the football team you rout for is better, or even that the color of your skin is better. Sure, there is a huge difference between them, but basically its the same type of thinking.

 

Oscar Wilde said "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.". The internet gives a man an amount of anonymity that is equal to a mask, and the fact that they don't have to be physically present. Therefore they can voice opinions against others without a real fear of reprisal. It also means that people online will go to further to lash out against a strangers opinion than they would in real life.

It is arguable if the world wouldn't be a better place if all opinions would stay online. I mean, wouldn't it be better if football hooligans bitched it out in forums like angry preschoolers, instead of beating the living shit out of each other like angry preschoolers stuck in a grown mans testosterone filled body?

 

Elitism will always exist in the human world. It is tied to us through the sin of pride. But elitism within music, and online, is far from the biggest problem we have with elitism. Racism, nationalism, hooliganism and discrimination is far worse elitism, which leads to personal injury, death, and persecution in the real world almost every day.

 

 

In my experience, when you meet another Rocker/Metalhead in the not-internet-world, you don't start to bitch and whine, you share opinions and talk with passion about the music that fills and shapes your life. I can't say I've ever encountered elitism within the Rock/Metal genre in the real world. Though, a hell of a lot against it from other genres..

 

 

One last thing Fuzzy. If I would hunt you down, and force you choose between watching all the Tom and Jerry episodes, and the charming thing you described, I doubt you would choose the later. Or did you just write that because you were anonymous, and didn't need to fear being called out on it?

[ebonybrotherhood]

God, I hate people who don't like a type of music because its not their favourite genre. Mostly because I have a very strange (or very diverse, depending on how you want to look at it) music taste, as I don't really listen to songs based on their genre, but instead I base it on individual merit. The result of this is my music folder consists of 954 songs! Everything from really screamy death metal to easy listening. And because of my aforementioned music tastes, I try not to discriminate others for their music choices. Does not mean there is not any bad music, because there is *cough*boy bands*cough*  

[MetalHead666X]

I listen to Delain. Personal favorite is "Your Body is a Battle Ground". I also think Arch Enemy and Halestorm are pretty good as well.

 

The genre of Metal and Rock is a varied one. I listen to Kerrang radio in the week, Johnny Dooms 3 hours on week days. What I like is the fact is that there is a variety of music, none of it is the same. A Band like Protafield and their amazing Electric Metal (Example being God Forced. Epic song.) Or the aforementioned Halestorm and their cover of Daft Punks "Get Lucky" (Much to Crucias's disappointment)

Thing is about the Metal Genre there is no specific definition of it. There is no right version of it, it is all just personal preference. 

 

However personal preference cannot be used as an excuse to enforce you views onto others. Thats what I think.

[dx144]

I wouldn't call myself a music elitist. I'm not really a fan of many other genres and I will dislike hearing them but I don't go to the point I smash whatever is playing the music I don't like or start complaining about the music being played. Unless they are being played in the kitchen as I try to make food as that is crossing the line. I would just prefer if people were more considerate. By that I wouldn't start playing Slayer as loud as I could just because I could in a room or wherever with loads of other people but I would put in headphones so that no one listens to music they don't like.

 

I usually listen to music I'm not really a fan of when I work at the local club/pub. Doesn't bother me that much. Twats are the ones who actually annoy me...

 

As for the CoD bit. I first played MW2 when I got an Xbox and I would use Assault Rifles, LMGs and other automatic weapons but it annoyed me when people would run around with a sniper do "Trick Shots" made me laugh when I destroyed them with an LMG. I haven't played CoD for a long time though and I have no real intention of going back to it. When people send messages saying you aren't playing the game you payed for properly then fuck them. That being said any online shooter I try to win and when I have people on my team who are just team hampering I just get annoyed. Don't send them messages complaining but just get annoyed.

 

I would say people might think Woman can't do metal because its mainly male dominated. That is probably true but I know of only a few metal artists with female lead singers. Might be because I look out for Power Metal and I think the only Power Metal artist I know of with a female singer is Battle Beast. That being said Battle Beast have an incredible sound that I think will make them a great artist with lots of recognition.

 

Personally I don't give a shit if they are male or female just if they sound good. I'm not going to say a band is shit because they have a woman playing an instrument or singing. If they don't sound good then I'll probably lose interest but that is the same for all bands regardless of their sex.

[Fuzzy]

STICKERS FOR ALL!

In all seriousness though I am very interested by the opinions and responses that you guys have come back with on this and have read all of them. They are very well written and thought out. It's actually scary. I agree with most of what has been said here and what dx said about having earphones in is bang on. It's all about having a basic level of respect for someones personal preference weather you agree or not. Nothing is more annoying than when you get some *CENSORED* sat at the back of a bus blasting music out. I can remember some shit brain that was sat behind me one time blasting out lady gaga (another artist I personally don't care for) and I had just got off work, was knackered, piss wet through and had a pounding headache and that little shit was say there with fucking speakers. Not going to get into what I said as it was something I regretted saying immediately afterward, not because he retaliated in any way, shape or form because he didn't and actually turned the music off and didn't look up for the rest of the trip. I won't repeat it because it was just plain offensive and was a little over the top even for me. But yeah anyway, like I said I compleatly agree with what dx said about earphones. Just have respect for people. It really is that simple.

[dx144]

The way I look at life is treat people the way I want to be treated.

 

Some people don't understand that or something and think I should treat others as a god so then I'll be treated as a god. No just treat people with respect and they should in theory treat you with respect. Although if someone does act like a *CENSORED* don't expect me to respectful about it.