A week or so ago I wrote a blog that trigged some interesting responses. It was a rant, my own personal frustration let loose on ‘paper’ because I couldn’t see the point in continuing to argue about the subject out loud any longer. The basic premise of my rant was dealing with a certain band of guys, who because of certain connections to they have with a so called “boy band,” seems to deem them as unacceptable musicians to some of my guy friends. And I have actually noticed this trend elsewhere.
It seems to me that this bias towards this group (and others) seems to stem not from their musical standpoint but rather which artists in the industry they associate with. Because they seem to run in a circle of musicians whose target audience is tweens, my friends have deemed them unsuitable for my interest. From my standpoint, it seems obvious that their rejection of the music stems from the demographics of the fan-base and not on the quality of their music.
And this I believe is wrong. How can you base your opinion of a musical artist off of his or her fan base? Or worse, how can you judge them just because they happen to be signed to a label, which stems from the company run by a mouse? Why is this a factor in how you respond to them as musicians?
If we are taking the standpoint held by the second argument (the company argument) than maybe I should tell my guy friends to stop watching sports because ESPN is owned by this same company. Or stop watching some of their favorite TV shows because they happen to run on ABC and this same company also owns ABC.
They tell me to grow up and listen to ‘real music’ but what classifies as real music? If they would open their eyes (and ears) for one minute they would see that I don’t just listen to what they call “teeny-bopper” music. My music taste is actually quite eclectic, and I will listen to anything once. Although I do have to say that music with heavy cursing and the majority of rap turns me off. But anything else is usually ok.
I hope that someday they realize how closed-minded they are being. Sure, Jonas Brothers and Honor Society’s music may not be for everyone, but they need to stop judging them on appearance, or whom they are associated with. If they don't like their music, fine, I can accept that. But to dislike them because they are associated with the Jonas Brothers (who they dislike because they are "Disney") is ignorant and stupid.
While we are on the subject of music, I LOVE music. With a passion. Music speaks when words fail, and songs can sometimes tell a story in a way that nothing else can. When I listen to a song that tells a vivid story I begin to see it playing out in my head.
That’s what I believe music is all about. You have to allow it to speak to you. You can’t judge it on the artist or the genre. Just listen to it, let it fill you, and let it tell its story to you. Trust me, you wont’ regret it.
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