Why do people hate classical these days?
I am completely serious, I have to come onto the internet to find other people with a passion for classical music like myself. Everywhere I go in my home town or around school it's all rock, metal, rap, country, those sorts of things. When I say I like classical to anybody they all give me strange looks, act like i'm retarded, then say classical is retard music because there aren't any lyrics. So, why do people hate Classical these days?
People sometimes hate what they don`t understand...
If anything, I would say the contrary is true; those styles mentioned are easily accessible, with drums pounding the beat, etc. To understand the subtleties of classical music, one needs a certain amount of intelligence...Originally Posted by Allegro
Having said that, I admit to liking rock music as well as classical. And some jazz.
Still, I could do without the, and I quote: "Your music is retarded man. It isn't even real music since there ain't any words". Classical Music has a passion, and a depth that they cannot understand and it pains and saddens me that they cannot understand it, so they hate it.
That`s ridiculous. Instrumental music is music in it`s purist form...even rock music has instrumentals...
Keep in mind that young folks often enjoy listening to the latest music. Classical music is sometimes old (depending on the work), so it`s probably not cool for that reason, in their eyes.
Have you discussed The Lord of the Rings music with them, or other classical-type film music? Sometimes that crosses the boundaries of acceptable coolness... if not, never mind; I`m sure you`ll meet plenty of ppl in your lifetime who enjoy classical music as much as you...right here, for example!
Let me say this: if bulls can talk, they must think it retarded for humans to say that the world is colorful. Because the bulls only distinguish 5 colors.
But will you be upset if you are appreciating a wonderful portrait while a bull shows no interest?
Last edited by Chopinson; May-28-2006 at 15:49.
This is the same for me, too. My only refuge is those few (I only know about 3) and this forum. That's the reason why I joined.
it's all music and i don't think people hate classical music... they like it really
I say it's more to do with the cocky, arrogant, self-centered musicians that are out there today, who think that they are the best, only the best. Alienating classical "newbs" and discouraging amateurs.
Like me for example
Allegro, do you play a musical instrument? You could always consider joining a music group at school, or in your community...
I've listened to classic music off and on for a few years, and know very little about it. So I guess I can look at both sides.
One of the main reasons is that people are just not exposed to clasic music. You have to go out an find it to listen to it. Yes, theres snippets on tv programs or the odd radio program, but nothing concrete. I would also say that sometimes (certainly at my school) we were forced to listen to classical music and as a result, rebeled against it.
Now (in my very late thirties) I'm begining to appreciate it.
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I can play piano, not masterfully but I can hold my own.
Sorry about earlier my earlier post...errrr....I was more than a little worse for wear..*hic*
Most people--even a lot of otherwise intelligent people--have had their ears and minds corrupted by the musical vernacular that bombards them everywhere they go. If music has no backbeat or amplification, they can't handle it.
I don't think people hate classical music, I just don't think they give it alot of thought. It seems to me that we are taught that classical music is boring or difficult. My girlfriend refuses to listen to it (thank God for my ipod), as finds it boring.
There are alot of causes for this; the media portray it as elitist, schools (here the UK at least) barely teach anything about it and people don't want to spend the time trying to listen.
Just because people have ears it doesn't mean they can hear. They hate it because they're not really listening. To suggest something like Beethoven's 9th is boring can surely not just be a an error of bad judgement? No. I think the selection of over played, commercialised "classical" music that is available to those who claim to hate it, is to blame for this. Have you ever heard someone describing Dvorak's New World Symphony as "Hovis"? *giggles* There is a depth to the purely instrumental that is expressed in such a way that I often find people holding a presumption that because it has no lyrics it is "snobby". This is very frustrating, as if appreciating what I consider to be the worlds most beautiful art form makes you a snob then I really think this culture has gone wrong. As for the lack of lyrics, some of my favourite composers are purely choral. I duno whether anyone likes Thomas Weelkes, but he's a totally kick-*** composer. One of my all time favourite pieces is "When to the Temple Mary Went" by Johannes Eccard. Something so deeply moving, with such sweetness of melody and gentle fluctuations can only be described as pure bliss...
I think the concern about the media press representing Classical as elite is far less of a concern than the media advertisers who make it difficult for neophytes to consume Beethoven's 9th without having images of overpaid professional sportsman polluting their mind!
In a sense, especially compared with populist music, Classical is elite...but so what? That isn't the same thing as saying, Classical is restricted to elites or whatever.
From my experience, people just can't relate to the depth and(/of) structure in most Classical music, and cannot digest it holistically. It's like me reading a book in French (I'm English!). I'll understand a couple of words and phrases, but not the entire narrative.
That's why, in a lot of Rap and mainstream Metal music I've listened to, where they try to implement Classical styling, it sounds ridiculous. On these Classical music video channels, the only thing remotely 'Classical' about the songs is the instrumentation. It's really pop music.
Also, I recall hearing a rap song with a Schubert-esque violin phrase, but it was totally isolated and repeated in that tedious verse-chorus format that makes me nauseous!
But that leads me to the sociological explanation. These people think in terms of parts, and not a whole. That is one pillar our modern culture. They took some part of a Classical work, and made it the whole. You take your measly individual life, and you make it the whole reality.
If it's noble, it ain't easy or whatever. That's just life, and art.
Last edited by SchubertObsessive; Aug-15-2006 at 11:48.
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