| >> | >>458862
You're classically trained and I'm not, I'm just a music obsessive. But I'll say this, according to most aesthetic philosophers art is subjective, but I honestly don't really buy that. For one thing, there's a lot to be said for craft - some art has had way more effort poured into it, is way more interesting, and I think has the potential to move people way more than other art. If it just stops at "all art is subjective," then there's no way to objectively say that JS Bach is any better than the Insane Clown Posse, or that Shakespeare is any better of a writer than Gabbie Hanna. And that's moronic. Especially with music, we can measure people's brains to see how much different kinds of music can affect them. Anyone with writing experience can easily identify bad writing.
However, this can get tricky with considerations like artifice, which I think is the main strike against pop music, including boy bands (Korean or not) like BTS. I'm sure they get good session musicians to do their backing tracks. I'm sure they're all great singers. But the music holds no appeal for me, because it feels hollow, and its very form of boy band music repulses me. That said, I did some digging to see if there's any k-pop I would like, and I actually did find an artist, Zion.T. Zion.T reminds me of something like a Korean R&B David Bowie. He's a little weirder, and he seems more involved with the creation of his actual music than those awful manufactured boy bands. But it's still glossy pop music, it just has an aesthetic that appeals more to me. There's no way for me to prove to some teen girl fan of BTS that Zion.T is any better of an artist. I wouldn't even try, because I don't actually believe he is better, I'd just rather listen to him. I also really like the band Suede, which is a poppy indie band. They have an amazing singer and a great guitarist, and they're great songwriters. I would say they're infinitely better than BTS, but the qualities I base that on - writing their own music, being talented musicians themselves - are subjective qualities. A BTS fan probably doesn't care how manufactured their favorite band is.
However, that's all popular music, and I do think great classical composers are objectively better than boy bands who, even with their professional studio musicians, make shallow music. They use a steady beat, use the most basic melodies, and write about the most moronic subjects. It makes me feel nothing, and I assume their main appeal to their fanbase is at least somewhat sexual.
Talking about art music, I think subjectivity comes into play with people's ability to appreciate it. I like western classical music, I love jazz, and I like a lot of Chinese classical. But I'll be honest, I have no understanding whatsoever of Indian classical music, and this is despite really loving many things about South Asian culture. But I don't think my limitation, my own lack of understanding, detracts from Indian classical music's depth and value in any way. It's simply about my own limitations. I think it would be ridiculous to say that someone who listens to 90s rock radio once in a while in the car has just as valid of an opinion on music as someone who's spent their whole life studying music.
tl;dr I don't really think music is subjective. User is currently banned from all boards |
