Re: OT music (was LOL! Mark Purdey FAQ)

[Guest guest]

Hi Robin,

I know NIN, Joni , Talking Heads, and Velvet Underground, but

not the others. I get my daily dose of bass from hip hop. I was just

kidding in the judgment-- it's just my own personal taste that I don't

dig the energy of the hard rock/ metal / hard core genres. That's not

to say they don't fulfill a niche and vibe with certain people.

Tying into the whole " conveying " something discussion, music can't

really convey anything in the sense of a consistent transmission

between the creator and the listener, because the same music will

elicit entirely different responses in different people. The emotions

or thoughts or other mental processes that the music elicits in a

person are as much a function of the internal states and experiences

of that person as the music itself.

I did the grunge/metal thing in my early teens, and the punk thing in

my late teens. Now I would prefer to dance than to bang my head or

jump up and down. I enjoy the more sensual and fluid vibe that I

perceive in the hip hop / r & b / soul axis of musical genre than the

right angled, rigid, and stacatto vibe that I perceive in the hard

rock / metal / hard core axis. While some of the hip hop (only some)

that I listen to is lyrically too gangsta for me, at least to take

literally, I would prefer the self-confidence it exudes to the anger

and depression that is lyrically characteristic of a lot of metal

(lyrics like " I stick my fingers in my eyes / It's the only thing that

stops the pain " ~ Slip Knot).

There's probably a lot of factors and ultimately it will boil down to

invdividual preference and not be able to be reduced to specific

factors, but I think maybe if someone has stored anger that needs to

be released, or their primary gap to overcome is finding a way to

healthily express that anger, or overcome a lack of energy, then metal

might fill that void. My primary gap to overcome has in recent years

has been my lack of social confidence at some stages in my life, and

overcoming the results of years of anti-materialism that has caused me

to make life choices that have left me in a poor position with regard

to material success, and hip hop is more suited to filling that void.

I could psychoanalyze it to death but ultimately it boils down to the

fact that I just like certain music. It's not a lack of experience--

I've experienced most forms of music.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Hi I knew you were kidding with your comments to me. I forgot

to include the smiley faces in my reply..

It's funny because I've always liked certain kinds of music. I've

always had a rather broad taste but it never(!)included metal. That's

what kills me. I need it now. I don't even know if I like it but it's

just the right thing for this 53 year old woman right now. It's not

just the music that makes me laugh it's the fact that I'm enjoying the

music so much.

There's no head banging or anything but there is a lot of energy in

the rooms and that's just what the doctor ordered. For me. For now. In

a couple months I'll be on to something else.

~Robin