i never understood indie music’s rejection of popular culture.
mainstream music is popular simply because the majority of people connect with it. being the mainstream doesnt necessarily mean being “bad”, it simply means being more popular. that said, there ARE some really horrid mainstream junk that gets churned out like clockwork, devoid of soul and artistic integrity. but with every flock, there’re bound to be a few black sheep, its normal. it would be unfair, however, to diss the whole flock as “bad”.
this entry’s inspired by a lil exchange between a friend and i on facebook:
FRIEND (to a friend he bumped into at the Brandon Flowers concert): seems like ur growing out of ur top 40 taste in music lol
BUSYBODY ME: b-b-but.. brandon flowers IS top40……….
FRIEND (on a seemingly defensive mode): i like to think that b.flowers still has some indie in him, despite the killers instant stardom (thanks to the strokes). still wouldn’t put him nxt to someone like lady blabla.
aiiight…. i beg to ask:
01. what defines “indie”?
02. why did i take away the vibe that in order for an artiste to be cool, they’d need to have “some indie” in them?
03. what has lady gaga ever done to offend other than being uber talented, deservingly rich and being basically the most influential music artiste on the planet?
okaaaay… DISCLAIMER: this entry is NOT intended as a personal attack towards any one individual (ive been wanting to write this piece for a few years now so please dont feel offended, young padawan). rather, its a product born out of my long-time bubbling-under resentment towards musical bigotry in general. er.. you could call it a general attack i reckon? 
okay so for the definition of “indie”, i turned to the all-knowing (albeit totally editable by any tomdickharry) web-encyclopaedia… and according to Wikipedia, independent music, often shortened to indie music or “indie”, is a term used to describe “independence from major commercial record labels and an autonomous, DIY approach to recording and publishing“. what a noble ideal! i approve! cuz if there’s anything i believe in, its freedom… of expression. and usually, breaking away from the stranglehold of a major record label gives artistes the freedom to be 100% creative. that said however, i somehow feel that that’s not what my friend was getting at when he mentioned “indie”….
honestly, whatever that thing is that defines a certain type of music as “indie” has become somewhat of a joke to me. based on keen observation and at times hasty stereotyping (it saves time), it seems to me that the modern day “indie” movement is made up of an army of kids (termed “indie kids” im guessing?) who get off on listening to music that nobody’s heard of. and often, its random stuff they found on myspace… the more obscure the artiste, the better:
INDIE KID #1: im so indie, my favourite band has 20 plays on myspace.
INDIE KID #2: im so indie that im the only one who knows of my favourite band on myspace.
so what defines music/band as “indie”? answer: the non-conformist ideal, apparently. i found this pretty hilarious post on urbandictionary.com…
Indie Band: we’re indie because we hate how music is commercial, and we don’t want to sell out, because we don’t want tons of money.
What They Really Mean: We suck so hard, no-one would give us a label in a million years. we’d sell out if anyone actually liked us, and we only say we don’t care about money because we couldn’t sell our tripe to a bunch of deaf idiots.
those indie bands have fans who are also most likely to insult popular music but have no valid reasons as to why it’s bad. omg. no need for insults surely? my stand on music is that, like religion, it’s subjective and personal: “to each his/her own”, “whatever rocks your world and makes you happy” etc. therefore, there cant ever be “bad” or “sell-out” music. instead, only two categories can exist: the “successful” and the “not so successful”.
lets talk about a coupla obvious success cases: Justin Bieber, virtually unknown “indie” youtube talent turned overnight teen-pop sensation after being discovered and signed by Usher. Lady Gaga, uber talented musician, who “slaved” many years as a song-writer before her current world domination. both artistes rose from the ashes of obscurity and were thrusted into the nirvana of success. does that mean they’ve lost the precious “indie” in them? and if so, does that mean they’re now producing sell-out crap? i think not. and i believe that their combined army of over 10 million fans will agree.
dont get me wrong, i really dont mind indie music at all. i do appreciate the occasional dose of morrissey, metric, casablancas and other bands whose band names tend to start with the word “the”. to me, its NEVER about the music genre. my gripe is about people who drew the proverbial elitist circle around themselves to keep apart from the mainstream music riffraff they deem as “uncool”. come down from your moral high ground already hunny! LOL!
just cuz i cant get into the music of Interpol or Beck, doesnt mean they’re crap – it just means that they’re acquired tastes that i have failed to acquire. and if that makes me “uncool” then so be it. excuse me while i go wallow in uncoolness to the sounds of Van Halen’s (commercial but) fantastical guitar riffs…
all music is art. art is culture. culture brings people together. some form bigger groups while others make do with more intimate gatherings. regardless of size, music unites humanity. why would anyone in their right mind want to be judgemental about something that does that?
RYAN LEE
Brilliant article.
I personally love my indie and Top 20. I like Regina Spektor and maybe some ppl are like huh, who’s that? Or maybe even explaining indie music to ppl, it’s quite hard. I guess I would identify it in my own words, they are more experimental/emotional/words make more sense than the norm?
I guess it’s like LV, or maybe some ppl think its not as cool to be commercialized at Lady Gaga. Love this article, retweeting it now!
haha by the way i dont think spektor counts as indie, ‘the call’ was used in the narnia movie and became pretty popular even amongst mainstream audiences
Yup Agreed. Indie to me = struggling, a lil underground, an element of mystery, a novelty of surprise – as if you’ve stumbled into some obscure hole-in-the-wall bar.
Mainstream represents (to me) big record labels, lucrative and sometimes irrelevant endorsements – eg. Usher’s face on a VISA debit card – yeah dude you’re a good dancer, singer, got a good bod, talented nonetheless but your face on a debit card is like saying, “Bradda’s gottit madeeee yo!” – no offense to your other readers but you know how I LOVE Angelina Jolie. I wouldn’t get her face on my anything – aside from…..ok never mind.
But then comes Lady Gaga, in all her chaotic fame and madness, surprised the industry when she was appointed the Creative Director for Polaroid, blending “fashion, technology and photography” into new cameras for a company going through dire financial straits. She didn’t go with Canon – a brand known for its vibrancy – a.k.a GAGA.
Then again with U2, they fit the mainstream category but they are still kinda indie to me because they are actively pursuing non-profit efforts and campaigns. So, at the risk of turning a post into a blog rant, Gaga & U2 to me is a novelty of surprise and an element of admiration, despite the stigma of being mainstream in all its riches. I guess end of the day, you know when someone’s a sell out – they lose their sense of individuality, they just blend into the whole industry into just another cracker from the cookie cutter.
p.s miss you. will let u know bday details. fly down. I pay for everything else cos, yaknow, you’re my hoe. *HUGS*
first thing’s first: im flyin to ANYWHERE to be with you on your bday. you’re paying for nothing. cuz your ma hoe so shuddafuggup.
about the entry: gotta reiterate my basic point – music is music is music to me. i dont like to make a big deal out of it. and i hate it when people do. and those people are usually the indie camp (fans and bands alike), acting all victimized by the loud brash success of the mainstream and therefore feeling the need to band together like a miserable little underground army to “defend” their cause. wake up: there’s no “war” to fight here.
about lucrative endorsements, hell, im ALL for it. if the music/art you create appeals to the majority, you can expect brands to be pounding on your door and begging you to endorse their products. but yes, i agree with you about keeping integrity intact. the key thing here is to not abuse the trust that your fans have in you.
hmm, not qualified to talk about indie myself but i think essentially indie followers feel that mainstream music is over-comercialized and thrashy? as you’ve mentioned yeah no artistic integrity and mostly just heaps of autotones and repetitive meaningless lyrics e.g. fly like a g6.
while mainstream music emphasizes catchy tunes over lyrics, emotive and expressive lyrics are at the heart of indie music. you’d realize that most indie songs read like a poem – both in the sense of the linguistic fluidity and its lack of musicality.
in short – indie followers feel that mainstream music’s like songs for the public with no self, while indie music is songs for the self with no public i.e. audience haha.
i agree with you on your point that most indie followers put themselves on a moral pedestal, but i think you’ve been rather flippant in this post and carelessly discounted the bunch of bona fide indie followers who love indie music not solely for their ‘exclusiveness’
of course. i agree with you – in every group, there’s always a bunch of deviants unlike the majority. and yes, there are indie followers who just simply like the music. therefore, these people (non-bigots like you) shouldnt feel scathed by what i expressed?
i dont agree with your hasty generalisation that repetitive meaningless lyrics belong only to mainstream music though. does a song need to have good lyrics before its considered a good song? if so, then the dance tracks and classical music would suffer wont they? besides, pop’s not the only one with “meaningless” lyrics.. i find myself to be pretty dumbfounded by the yeah yeah yeah’s lyrics:
“Shake it like a ladder to the sun
Makes me feel like a madman on the run
Find me, never, never far gone
So get your leather, leather, leather on, on, on, on”
thats taken from the song “zero”. awesome track, (to me) lousy lyrics (wtf does “shake it like a ladder to the sun” mean!?).. BUT i enjoyed it nonetheless. look, i didnt write this post to criticize pop vs indie styles. by writing this, i hope that in some lil way i brought my point across that musical bigotry is not necessary. enjoy music for what it is. there’s no need to deconstruct or over-analyze or preach from a moral pedestal. what may not appeal to you, might appeal to others. and so just let it be.
Indie used to be a genre for people who cant decide what stream their e music belongs to. Which means that Indie probably means different at that time. However, I guess mass media has warped up the idea of indie. Anything that sells has to be appealing to the mass crowd. The message indie gives is ‘You are special and unique .’ It’s what people label themselves when they do not see originality. It’s this thought that goes ‘Indie is cool and special and everyone likes Indie so I shall conform to this mediocre thing.’ Therefore the idea of indie is now being tweaked to be a lifestyle way I guess. However, how is indie any different from mainstream now? I don’t feel that music should be devoid just to be ‘Indie’ because then that really defeats the purpose as that’s changing oneself to fit into others image. Not all good music is indie and not all bad music are mainstream. Just because Lady Gaga is famous does not make her any less special than trashy sucky bands who try to appeal to their crowds with jeans so tight they could explode any minute. I mean, they probably wont be that unique as to wear meat.
Can I just add in to say that indie is essentially not a music genre, but rather, its a movement?
In my opinion, those who are onto the whole ‘indie is better than pop’ stand aren’t really seeing the bigger picture. And I agree with you, at the end of the day, if the music is nice, it is nice, no matter how indie-ish or pop-ish it is.
Just my 2 cents’ worth!
I agree with you with regards to how music popularity does not necessarily make it crap and how Top 40/Mainstream music has often been (wrongly) criticised.
However, you mentioned that music is ‘ subjective and personal: “to each his/her own”, “whatever rocks your world and makes you happy” ‘, but then earlier on in your post you went on to criticise your friend’s stand on gaga, whose music may not rock someone else’s boat so much, by saying “what has lady gaga ever done to offend other than being uber talented, deservingly rich and being basically the most influential music artiste on the planet?”
Maybe you’re right about the last part but your opinion about gaga being “uber talented” is in itself subjective. Maybe 10 million people in the world agree with you. But it doesn’t make it a “fact” or some form of reality. I’m not a big fan myself and I know a few people who find her downright weird. Opinion is opinion, and imo just because you have a majority support doesn’t make it a fact.
but u cant discount the fact that she is talented. whether you like her or not, doesnt matter. her talent is still a constant. and a fact.
i roll my eyes to the heavens everything i meet these kind of people who are so wrapped around the word ‘indie’ that its really sad. they dont even know what the true meaning is. for example
me: hey, what kind of music you listen to?
indieboy: oh, i listen to mostly indie music
me: ummm, right what kind of indie music?
indieboy: errr, indie just indie?
me: ya lah, indie what lah? indie pop, indie rock, indie electro pop?
indieboy: gives a confused face*
meh i think the IDEA of indie itself has become commercialised. its even being used as a selling point for some bands.
agree with you, it’s not about the commercial aspect of music but more like whatever genre floats your boat.
PREACH!!! Totally agree with you Roz. Kids who claim they are indie (or hipsters, I think they’re prob the same) are asking for a foot in the face. They insult pop but oh when MJ died Woah they’re all his biggest fans. Eventhough they hate pop. Sheesh.
oh…used to dislike the “im so indie” kids in school…like get over it ok …but one thing i like is that some of them do go and support the local bands (when they were still indie) which I think it’s pretty important esp when you’re starting out.
yup and brandon flowers?? the only thing I find obscure abt him are his lyrics.
I don’t care if it’s indie or mainstream, I agree with you on the “categorizing” on music thing it limits pple somehow . However, I can’t agree on Lady Gaga. Her music just never caught on to me ! Am I missing out on something? Just prolly still stuck in my ’90s mindframe and never came back
Loving Britney, Christina and JT as always,
E
hey eve, you dont have to like gaga
but not likin her or not being able to connect with her music, doesnt mean she isnt talented. cuz she is. uber. cheers to music! *clank*
Hi rozz, been following your blog for quite some time already! this is totally outta topic but can i just check where do you usually source for food recipes online? chinese food in particular. could you please recommend? was reading through your entire blog and looking for recipes.. ur surely one helluva awesome cook
hey babe! the recipes were from my mom.. i picked it up along the way whilst i was growing up. and some were trial and error. not too hard with chinese food
Hey Rozz, gotta admire your guts for posting about “indie” music and the rave about it. ‘Cos this issue had always been in mind now and then as well.
Personally, I’m an avid listener of pop music including bands that we would be damn embarrassed if one gets caught listening to ie. Aqua, Backstreet Boys, ‘N sync and many more late 90′s bands. I guess for me, deep lyrics does entice me at times but I gotta admit simple melody with nice hooks always keep my tracks on replay mode.
So basically, the fascination to be label “indie” music as one’s top music choice comes from the obsession of categorizing music taste(s). If you are identified as a rock music listener, you belong to the “cool” people (and especially if you’re hardcore metal band listener, you’re “damn hardcore”.) And perhaps if you listen to J/K-Pop, you belong to another group.
On the surface, this form of categorization does help everyone to identify peers with common interests and thus the ability to bond closer with one another seems more possible. However the downside is pretty much everyone discriminates the other party with another kind of music taste with a stereotypical view, even before getting to really know him/her.
Indie as the word suggests indicates independence or rather isolation towards other forms of music. This may be a generalisation to an extent but followers to indie music tend to have this idealistic thinking of one’s music being superior to others.
Ultimately, I agree with your puzzled mind of what’s with this indie music trashing other forms of music. Music is just a form of expression, if we can even discriminate about other’s music, what’s the value of music and its way of expressing oneself.
GO ROZZ!
loved the post ros! thank you! i think you articulated what i’ve been thinking about the whole indie vs pop slash mainstream music debate.
just to throw a spanner into the works, what’s your thoughts about overplay? i’m not sure what it’s like in singapore, here in australia they have an amazing ability to kill any decent song through severe overplay.. indie or mainstream, if the song is deemed a ‘hit’ it gets airplay it about 4 times a day on most commerical stations. it really kills any joy you might’ve felt for any song.
music is such a personal thing.. indie or mainstream it’s all about what you like to listen. we should really stop hating on people either way. listen to what you like to and don’t inflict your music on people.. especially if they don’t like what you listen to. hehe. one tiny step closer to world peace.
anything “over” is bad. but with radio “overplay”, its a marketing thing. long story about how majority of radio listeners tune in and out quickly. so in order to get them to pay attention to a new track, there has to be “overplay”. who suffers? the people who stay tuned for long periods of time.
Thanks for the insight Rozz (sorry for the previous mispell).. I’ve always wondered if it was just a station thing!
Hahaha God bless marketers and their uncanny ability to devalue what they’re supposed to be promoting. (I’m sure I’ve been guilty of this as well
. haha)
Thanks again for humouring me! Hanging for the next post!
WOW i agree with you! i dont get why indie kids are so proud they are indie. Get a life. I love my pop music and dont get why people are always so quick to put a disgusted face when i say i love songs like Like A G6 and claim that is not music. Music is subjective so we all should embrace all genres even death metal.
roz, I am extremely impress with this entry. U totally stood up for the innocent pop that should have never been discriminated.
ohla
man…. brandon doesn’t deserve this, surely.
oh god this issue annoys me to no end. i once had a friend call me ‘narrow-minded’ just because i didn’t appreciate the same type of music as she did. i say people who think they’re too good for mainstream or popular music are even more narrow-minded.
your friend is an idiot. i tend to gravitate towards music that’s labeled “indie”, but i hate the label or saying i like indie music solely because of people like your friend.
indie as a term in literal definition, doesn’t really make any sense really. it’s more of a colloquialism at this point.
Well said Roz. The proliferation of genres today is ridiculous. In the end all that matters is the ingenuity of an artist, and whether you appreciate what they’re expressing. All the genre classification crap is people trying to make themselves come off cooler with their “playlists”.
This is interesting and I agree with you!
I’ve noticed that there’s been a trend of steering away from ‘pop’ culture, or ‘mass culture’ towards a supposedly cooler branch of music – indie music (woo hoo, I’m so cool I only listen to guy playing rubbish tin cans on the street, I kid.). It is getting pretty annoying that pop culture is rejected merely for the sake of rejecting it, much alike a person rebelling without a cause.
i like this post because you mentioned Brandon Flowers. *thumbsup*!
i love what you said in the last paragraph. and i agree that music, in any form, should be celebrated in its way. i can’t stand it when ppl judge or side-line me just becoz of our vast music preferences.
I think its a good distinction to make because with the explosion of music blogs and self-started websites (which is a wonderful way of leveling the playing field for artistes) there is a lot of concern about indie vs. mainstream. I do think most people today would like to imagine themselves as being a little musically rebellious and dabble with lesser known bands (simply because they are lesser known)
I guess a simple perspective is that, as in sport, “form is permanent, but class is forever”, meaning that there are definite standards of vocal quality and/or musicality which define whether an artist (regardless of their album sales) is really something special or not. To judge class i do think people need a sense of music’s history and variety. I’m all for people enjoying the music they do without reservation or needing to defend their choices, but when it comes to calling a contemporary artist a ‘legend’ or an ‘icon’ then I think in the interests of fairness and objectivity a wider knowledge of the musical precedent is needed. For every Gaga there was a Madonna, for every Michael jackson there was a James Brown. For every Hendrix there was a chuck berry and so on. To really call a band or singer worthwhile or revolutionary or a pioneer you have to judge them not just by their contemporary impact or their personal relevance to you, but also by how musically fresh or well executed their product is. I love gaga, I think shes unique and interesting, but I certainly dont think she’s anything that Madonna wasnt before, and daring as she may be I doubt she will ever push the envelope as much as Bjork has. Maybe I’m wrong, and in 20 years she’ll be the biggest thing ever, but I think for older or more serious music listeners it can get abit frustrating for us to see modern day fads compared to proper legends.
oh quit being such a fuddy duddy LOL! “serious” music listeners??! you joking bro?! do these “serious listeners” listen to music with furrowed brows and an intense gaze? cmon! LOL! the old heroes had their time, let the new blood take the reins. there are only so many keys on a keyboard and only that many variations when it comes to beats and riffs. its gotten to a point where it seems like the melodies have gotten so used up that we’ve entered an era of remixes and mashups and sampling. key thing to remember is not where the music’s “copied” from but where its taken to. new heights? wider/new audience reach? all the better. i wouldnt bother so much about “pushing the envelope” like bjork (she’s too weird for my liking really) or dwell on nitty gritties like who does or doesnt deserve “diva/icon” status. as long as an artiste impacts my life in a great way, he/she will be accorded god-like titles as i deem fit. and i aint gonna sit thru some music history course just so i can earn a “right” to make that statement. the whole point of my article is to drive across one thing: music is to be enjoyed. have fun… relak jack. *horn signs in the air*
haha sorry i came across as a fuddy duddy, what i was trying to put forward was a more objective means of judging an artiste’s talent whether they are indie or mainstream. Of course you correctly point out that its how the song makes u feel that ultimately defines the band’s standing, and I agree with that 100%. “music is to be enjoyed” – absolutely.
The qn for me is HOW new and innovative are they, really, for them to legitimately be called an icon in the wider public sphere. its normal for a 16 year old to think justin bieber(or britney for that matter ) is God, and its ok for the individual to feel that way: that still doesnt make it a fair comparison. what im against is the marketing/hype train that is eager to canonize every new act that comes along, BEFORE they have really proven they are THAT good. I notice your comment about “its gotten to a point where it seems like the melodies have gotten so used up that we’ve entered an era of remixes and mashups and sampling”. thats very very true. quite abit of today’s anthems seems to be composed of past riffs (barbara striesand for e.g), heck even something seminal like Oasis’s “Wonderwall” is actually a re-make of an older song. In both cases people LOVE these songs…but if they knew the origins, would they be quite so quick to venerate the artists?
popular opinion/album sales isnt really a good enough indicator here: we both know with enough industry support both can be manipulated (e.g any of the throw-away korean acts that come over regularly). Being indie or non-mainstream means nothing in itself, many are equally rubbish. What i’m suggesting is that for this to go beyond a war of “your opinion vs. mine” or “everybody feels this way right now”, it would help if everyone had a sense of perspective. Do I expect people to start reading up on music history? no of course not. People should be able to enjoy their music and make no apologies for it.
Should artists be rewarded and recognized for attributes other then their album sales and marketability? Yes, absolutely. Indie or mainstream, I’d like to see artists of genuine talent, skill and pioneering innovation get the recognition they deserve. And this is where the internet with youtube and music blogs and Itunes and facebook sharing has become so important in providing the opputunity for people to have that ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ to their musical catalogue. I think this will result in a more level playing field for ‘indie’ artists,who can now self-market, and whose creativity and talent can be appreciated more readily (independent of the hype/marketing).
What I’m saying is that as our awareness of the non-mainstream grows (whether past or present bands), this will result in a more balanced perspective of new acts and whether they are worth our hard earned dollar. The type of breadth/depth perspective im forwarding is not something limited to some elite group of ‘serious’ listeners : i think its going to be how everyone percieves talent (to varying degrees) in the not so distant future.
sorry to write big chunks of text! we’re both clearly passionate about this issue so …why not talk abt it
yar man… egggxactly!
naise.
guess your sentiments are shared down here too:
http://www.standard.net.au/blogs/tom-ballard/hey-mr-dj-put-a-record-on/1938542.aspx?storypage=0
“all music is art. art is culture. culture brings people together. some form bigger groups while others make do with more intimate gatherings. regardless of size, music unites humanity. why would anyone in their right mind want to be judgemental about something that does that?”
all music is related to culture. all music is art to a certain extent, but not really. there is music as entertainment, and music as art.
some people have more artistic merit than others, to put it simply.
you keep saying you don’t give a damn about whether a band/artist is fresh-sounding as long as you enjoy them. good for you. but some people do and you have to respect that as well. just because they care more about the artistic side of it doesn’t make them pretentious. pretentious would be to be pretending, and i know that i think taylor swift and justin bieber is shit, i’m not pretending i’m not trying to be anti-mainstream i truly do think they are shit. they just happen to be popular.
there are serious and casual music listeners. think of paintings, you could show some layman a really weird critically acclaimed avant-garde painting. he wouldn’t think or care about it. whereas some art lover will go nuts over it. thats the difference between serious and casual.
why shouldn’t people be judgmental about music? if you truly love something you will tend to have a strong opinion about it.
just because there are retards out there like the guy mentioned in your post who judges music based on how popular it is doesn’t mean everyone who hates any mainstream act is like that.
peace
Update your blog already!
Or are you too busy chasing boys and tripping girls?
Visiting ur blog for the past 1 mth but no updates! O.O
Anw have a blessed December and Merry Xmas!
Hey Roz,
Missed reading your blog. Please update soon? Hope you’re doing well. Happy New Year! <3
“all music is art. art is culture. culture brings people together. some form bigger groups while others make do with more intimate gatherings. regardless of size, music unites humanity. why would anyone in their right mind want to be judgemental about something that does that”
you say it so well rozz! <3
I agree that indie can be pop, pop can be indie, pop only means that a lot of people like it hence it’s popular, etc… But I have to say that I did like Lady Gaga in the beginning. Now I find her extremely obnoxious. I forget which award show it was, but she showed up in that dress made of meat and Cher was on stage to give her the award. Then Lady Gaga stood there and belted out a verse from her then-to-be-coming single “Born this Way”. That was so annoying and indulgent, I don’t care if it was *her moment*. And when people wear “fashion” that they can’t even WALK IN, it’s everything that style is not about. She started trying too hard to stand out, to be different and it’s annoying. And then I found out that she has gone bankrupt at least 4 times. Yeah, that’s called irresponsible. Who gave her the right to run up huge debts trying to become a star, make her music, produce her shows/tours if she couldn’t afford it? As an American tax payer sucking up her sh*t, I wanna give her a big F-U.
Yup do update rozz! Miss reading your blog!
)
Yeah. I agree. This is the same reasoning as people who like to dress ‘mainstream’ going according to the current fashion trend, and deem those who have their personal style as ‘trying too hard to stand out’ , ‘wanna-be’ and ‘uncool’. If people would just ‘mind their own business’ and ‘shut up’ and not impose your idea of cool and acceptability to anyone, I think the world would be more pleasant place.
Art, the essence of it all, is a form of self expression, in the purest and earnest form, an identity of oneself that could be forged by all senses.
How many people today are really living for the sake of art, because they enjoy it(whatever genre it is), and not because of doing it to feel ‘cool’ and accepted by peers.
Real artists, like Glenn Gloud, Salvador Dali, Van Gogh, Jay Chou….etc. have their own voice in their art and I really admire and respect them for their passion and individuality. For being unshaken by the masses.
After reading your article, I really wonder what most rockers in SOFT forum really think of others who are not pure indie lovers, especially towards those that have a classical music background.
Gladly so far, I’ve met with some really open minded people, but I wonder whether they are sincere in accepting the minority into their ‘indie/cool’ band, or it’s just for the sake of accepting someone that has reached their expectations in terms of music technically/talent.
NONO musicist (music discriminator) for me!
Thanks Rosalyn, am gonna watch out for more ‘musicist’ in future.
*Am not attacking/or aiming at anybody. Am just saying what comes to mind honestly.
There really is only two types of music in the world, the good and the bad. Indie, pop, or whichever music one prefers to listen to is all based on cultural influences. Those saying one music genre is better than the other is just basically showing a lack of understanding of the universal essence of music. Music should be loved for being everyday epiphanies in our lives, for their creativity and art.