[castleofargh]

I'm a bit similar listener. My taste in music was a bit narrow in the beginning (modern electric dance music which really blossomed at the time, from latter part of the 80's to early years of the 90's), but it started to expand. Discovering classical music two decades ago was a real "game changer." I noticed that I can find music I enjoy in almost any genre if I just explore enough. The genre or instrumentation doesn't matter much. I realized that I had been a "music racist" and slowly educated myself away from that mindset.

I think people fool themselves by "protecting" their music taste from expanding by convincing themselves they are listening to the "correct" music and other music is incorrect. That is actually quite silly. I'm not afraid to admit I enjoy "silly" music. I enjoy Katy Perry and Kesha. I might listen to some better David Guetta after Alban Berg's Violin Concerto. The change is refreshing to say the least! So different concepts of what music is! A simpleton can appreciate only simple things. A smart person can appreciate both sophisticated and simple things and laught at himself/herself while doing so. I said to myself I must be losing it when I bought my first Katy Perry album and perhaps my head has gone soft, but I haven't regretted buying any pop album I have in my CD collection and after listening to some pop an average classical symphony sounds insanely sophisticated music in comparison. I don't want to be a simpleton calling fans of classical music elitists nor do I want to be a snob who calls people idiots for listening to radio friendly pop. I want to encourage people to explore music, make their own discoveries and enjoy music as much as possible be it the most sophisticated/difficult art music or the simplest popular music ever.

in that respect I know no shame. nor do I care. music listening is a personal stuff for me and only my opinion matters. you won't see me talking much about specific artists or songs because TBH I do not care what other people think about that. I'm very much a subjectivist in that respect.
I was raised on classical, that's been my foundation to music by a really vast margin up to maybe 15 or 16 old. my opening to the world after that has been brutal and completely uneducated(radio stations, friends, a pretty cover on the CD...). I have Dark Horse in the playlist I'm using right now . I wouldn't say that Katty Perry is a favorite artist of mine, she wouldn't even register in a top 100 list if I had any idea how to make one. but I enjoy a few of her songs. no problem for me here.

 

[bfreedma]

I meant structure as in four movements in a symphony with specific types of movements in a specific order- allegro, adagio, scherzo, presto for a symphony. Also Internal structure of movements like sonata form, or combinations of parts like introduction, exposition, development/variations, recapitulation and coda, depending on the form of the movement. I'm looking at basic compositional theory. I don't think I've ever heard that in prog rock. It seems that with prog rock it's either structured exactly the same as a rock song, the same 4/4 as most popular music, except with an orchestra backing the band ... or prog rock is through composed in an unstructured evolutionary mutation. That kind of structure feels like background music to me. It doesn't engage my brain with its structure. It's more like a ride at Disneyland. Genesis's Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and Pink Floyd albums meander through that sort of thing. It boils down to "stuff happens and then something different happens".

I suppose the closest I've heard rock music get to classical music is the instrumentals of Frank Zappa where he constructs Chinese puzzle boxes of contrasting time signatures, timbre, and structure like the avant garde 20s Russian and French composers sometimes did. I can listen to stuff like that in the same way as I listen to classical- with my brain turned on seeing how the pieces all fit together in an organized way. The Porcupine Tree album you mention sounds like Peter and the Wolf or Carnival of the Animals with a programmatic structure. That's similar to stuff like Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Center of the Earth. It tells a story, but to me, it's more like a film score where the music is illustrating a specific story, or a rock opera- which to me don't really resemble a real opera at all!

I'm trying to explain, but I might just be digging a deep hole here.

Thanks for the explanation

If a rock song met all of those criteria, it probably is no longer rock. I agree that it's extremely rare that a rock composition would mimic that exact structure. That said, did you have a chance to listen to the song I recommended?

 

[bigshot]

I've got it on my to do list for this weekend! Thanks

Castle, I am the exact opposite. I work in a creative field and I'm surrounded by artists and musicians every day. I'm involved with discussion of the relative merits of creative decisions all the time. It's fine for the audience to passively accept or reject art, but an artist can't do that. In order to create, you have to question, analyze and test to find what works. Creativity is not a passive subjective act, and it sure isn't magic. There is a lot of hard work and objective analysis involved. I find that understanding how art works gives me a broader field of influence and deeper connection with it than just going by gut subjective impressions. It really isn't that different from choosing audio equipment. You can go out and buy something that looks nice or has a fancy box and passively enjoy it. Or you can raise the hood and figure out how it works, define what good and bad is to yourself, and apply your criterion to select the best pieces of equipment you can. If it matters to you, it matters.

You're absolutely right about music surrounding us all the time to the point where we aren't even consciously aware of it any more. But that is like interior decoration. Some people just go out and buy furniture and put them in their living space the way it fits best. A bed in the bedroom, a couch in the living room, a table in the dining room... done! Other people analyze their space and create an environment that is both highly functional and aesthetically pleasing. I wouldn't say that the way those two types of people interface with their living space is equal... one just doesn't care and the other one does.

 

[Zapp_Fan]

Although I don't care for Kesha or David Guetta very much, I am 100% in that camp - pride / shame and self-image has no place in music listening. I listen to disco along with all kinds of other "dumb" music, and I don't care who knows it. I used to be one of those "anything but country" people, but now I even like country. Totally agree there are good songs + recordings to be found in basically any genre if you take the music on its own merits.

 

[71 dB]

in that respect I know no shame. nor do I care. music listening is a personal stuff for me and only my opinion matters. you won't see me talking much about specific artists or songs because TBH I do not care what other people think about that. I'm very much a subjectivist in that respect.
I was raised on classical, that's been my foundation to music by a really vast margin up to maybe 15 or 16 old. my opening to the world after that has been brutal and completely uneducated(radio stations, friends, a pretty cover on the CD...). I have Dark Horse in the playlist I'm using right now . I wouldn't say that Katty Perry is a favorite artist of mine, she wouldn't even register in a top 100 list if I had any idea how to make one. but I enjoy a few of her songs. no problem for me here.

I respect people with that attitude toward music even if they like totally different music I do, because I know they are doing it the right way that makes sense to them and allows music increase their quality of life. Absolutely no need to have Katy Perry (one 't') in your top 100 or even top 1000 and you have one song on your playlist anyway. You listen to the crap that works for you, I listen to the crap that works for me.

 

[71 dB]

I have Carly ray Jepsen dubstep version of call me maybe, and dub version of Kate perry fireworks, but that’s it.

Personally I think these dubstep/club versions often ruin the original versions. There are exceptions of course, but often the harmonies (chords) are destroyed removing the catchiness which is pretty essential in pop songs.

 

[71 dB]

Although I don't care for Kesha or David Guetta very much, I am 100% in that camp - pride / shame and self-image has no place in music listening. I listen to disco along with all kinds of other "dumb" music, and I don't care who knows it. I used to be one of those "anything but country" people, but now I even like country. Totally agree there are good songs + recordings to be found in basically any genre if you take the music on its own merits.

Well, for me Kesha is the (largely misunderstood) genius of pop while David Guetta only occasionally puts out a song worth my attention and I feel he kind of lost his mojo after 2011. I'm not much into country myself. That kind of music is not big in Finland or in whole Europe for that matter I believe, but Carly Simon, one of my favorite artists have country/folk vibes in her music. "Anything but country" is a dumb assesment, but "nothing but country" is even dumber.

I like your thoughts about music here.

 

[Zapp_Fan]

Well, for me Kesha is the (largely misunderstood) genius of pop while David Guetta only occasionally puts out a song worth my attention and I feel he kind of lost his mojo after 2011. I'm not much into country myself. That kind of music is not big in Finland or in whole Europe for that matter I believe, but Carly Simon, one of my favorite artists have country/folk vibes in her music. "Anything but country" is a dumb assesment, but "nothing but country" is even dumber.

I like your thoughts about music here.

You should listen to Shotgun Willie by Willie Nelson (the album) and see what you think. I wasn't much of a country fan until I got into some of the older stuff. The country they play on TV / radio (not that you'd be much exposed to it) is just pop with a different accent.

As far as Kesha, she's good, but I also don't really care much for pop in general. There are stand-outs but it's not a major focus for me.

 

[bigshot]

I love country music- all kinds from the Carter Family to Hank Williams to Bob Wills to Ray Price and Merle Haggard. People don't realize how broad a genre country music is. They just know about modern country pop music or a few truck driver songs and think that's it. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's a rich vein of music and it's just as important to the history of American music as jazz is.

 

[Glmoneydawg]

I love country music- all kinds from the Carter Family to Hank Williams to Bob Wills to Ray Price and Merle Haggard. People don't realize how broad a genre country music is. They just know about modern country pop music or a few truck driver songs and think that's it. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's a rich vein of music and it's just as important to the history of American music as jazz is.

Yep...i was resistive to country when i was younger,learned to love willie and some of the old gaurd.Roots music seems a great bridge between country,rock and of course the blues.A lot of great voices there...you believe they have experienced what they sing about.

 

[Strangelove424]

Big fan of stuff like The Highwaymen, Charlie Daniels Band, and Don Edwards. That new stuff that's all about pickup trucks and hats I do not consider real country, but a wannabe commercial imitation formulated to sell out stadiums. This is real country...

 

[Glmoneydawg]

Big fan of stuff like The Highwaymen, Charlie Daniels Band, and Don Edwards. That new stuff that's all about pickup trucks and hats I do not consider real country, but a wannabe commercial imitation formulated to sell out stadiums. This is real country...

Agreed....commercialization loses the sprit and soul of the music.

 

[SilverEars]

I'm a bit similar listener. My taste in music was a bit narrow in the beginning (modern electric dance music which really blossomed at the time, from latter part of the 80's to early years of the 90's), but it started to expand. Discovering classical music two decades ago was a real "game changer." I noticed that I can find music I enjoy in almost any genre if I just explore enough. The genre or instrumentation doesn't matter much. I realized that I had been a "music racist" and slowly educated myself away from that mindset.

I think people fool themselves by "protecting" their music taste from expanding by convincing themselves they are listening to the "correct" music and other music is incorrect. That is actually quite silly. I'm not afraid to admit I enjoy "silly" music. I enjoy Katy Perry and Kesha. I might listen to some better David Guetta after Alban Berg's Violin Concerto. The change is refreshing to say the least! So different concepts of what music is! A simpleton can appreciate only simple things. A smart person can appreciate both sophisticated and simple things and laught at himself/herself while doing so. I said to myself I must be losing it when I bought my first Katy Perry album and perhaps my head has gone soft, but I haven't regretted buying any pop album I have in my CD collection and after listening to some pop an average classical symphony sounds insanely sophisticated music in comparison. I don't want to be a simpleton calling fans of classical music elitists nor do I want to be a snob who calls people idiots for listening to radio friendly pop. I want to encourage people to explore music, make their own discoveries and enjoy music as much as possible be it the most sophisticated/difficult art music or the simplest popular music ever.

I agree with you whole heartedly. I listen to everything that sound good to me and try to appreciate new genres if possible. Classical is boring to me, but I listen to ones that sounds good. Country is not my music either, but I went through the Alison Krauss phase like all audiophiles, but I'll listen to it to hear something different at times. I think my moods changes and look for something different at times, and get bored with repetition. I listen to 80's pop sometimes, David Guetta, I like Katy Perry's video and she seems like she has a great character and enjoy her music as well. I have no shame, I listen to many different types of music. When I was younger, I was limiting what I listened to, and it was more of an image thing, but as an adult, it's all about what sounds good and enjoy, and new discoveries, whether it's pop or whatever. I don't have a high nose or call myself sophisticated, but I know I have a taste and preferences, and love me music! We all have various backgrounds and exposures, and this has effects on our tastes. I don't want to be convinced into liking a genre because of image of sophistication, but because I like it, like the recording quality and the melody.

I'm a 90's child so alternative rock was mainstream at the time, and enjoy some of that due to being highly exposed to it. I also listened to Eurodance as it was a 90's thing. Gangster rap, R&B. Love me smooth R&B, very soulful music. I got into various genres(that I wasn't exposed to much) due to quality of the recordings, like jazz, and audiophile recordings(I don't find them all that exciting or all that different, but repetitive with similar use of percussions and crap).

Country and Metal are genres I can't get myself into. Metal just sounds too congested, peaky, and shreaky, stresses me out. I like more isolated sounds, airy, not too much going on. I love vocals as I find that I will never get bored of new vocals as there are so many different types of voices. I do enjoy quality guitar riffs like from Yngwie Malmsteen or Eric Johnson(this maybe due to watching many episodes of Top Gear and the intro music stuck to my head. LOL.).

 

[castleofargh]

country music is a little like the Super Bowl. you're less likely to fall into it if you're not from around the US. can't say it's even a thing a in France.

 

[SilverEars]

country music is a little like the Super Bowl. you're less likely to fall into it if you're not from around the US. can't say it's even a thing a in France.

I've also went through Carla Bruni phase. Haha.