Lately I've been thinking a lot about music (oddly enough, I seem to think about it as much, or more than I listen, yet still get a similar satisfaction,....)and how we percieve it. This may explain the idea of Elitism to some extent, and how it works.This may be a little long winded, but I'll just jump right into it.
Why do we appreciate some bands, and think they are gods, but often dislike Pop music, or simpler, mainstream forms of musical entertainment? To put it simply, I think it has a lot to do with one's talent for listening.
With mainstream music, we are often exposed to simplistic tunes, with predictable arrangements, and simple melodies. Basically, you hear the song once and you can sing a long with it, or at least recall it pretty well.
However, take a more advanced piece of music like Yes-Close to The Edge. You go through it, but on the first listen, at any given point you are pretty much lost as to how far into the song you are, and you just can't recall how one particular passage has any relation to any previous ones. There is a lot of evolution, and it is simply much more complex than your average pop tune.
So what's the point? Well, with the simple pop tunes, it's cool on the first listen or so, maybe catchy, easy to tap your foot to...Which is fine. But after repeated listens, it's way beyond predictable, you know every little detail of the song, and it loses it's excitement. Because what is so exciting about something you are totally familiar with?
Now look at more complex tunes, let's say Yes again. Every moment requires your full attention to realize what is happening, and you still don't fully grasp what is going on. It's takes careful listening, and many repeated listens to understand fully what the song is doing, where it is going, and how it all relates. I don't know how many times I listened before I realized they were doing variations on a theme within the song....
The more complex material requires more brain activity. We are actively engaged in the listening, trying to decipher the song as a whole. Every new listen brings excitement, because you simply can't predict what comes, or what new things you'll pick up on because of the complexity. But with the pop song, you lose interest after a few listens, because the brain no longer needs to be actively involved in the listening...You just instictvely or habitually know what is going to happen next.
Which brings me to the point of Opeth and Elitism. What we see here is some who think of Opeth as gods, and others who seems them as mediocre, or what have you. The way I see it, Opeth are sort of a crossover band in some ways. The seem to be a perfect bridge into more complex music, despite being relatively simple.
Opeth's songs are long with many riffs-hence it requires many listend to fully grasps. That's a lot of riffing to remember in one sitting. Also, their riff lengths tend to be longer than most bands. Again, more brain activity, more active listening/remembering to catch on to the songs. However, the repeat riffs ad nauseam, rather than letting them gradually evolve, or adding slight differences to each repeat of a riff. Thus the listener gets a good feel for the riff during the course of the song-it is repeated enough for them to grasp and understand as a single entity. Though being able to relate it well to the rest of the song comes after repeated listens.
So I see them as a crossover band. They can appeal to more advanced musical listeners, (listeners who are able to quickly pick up and understand more complex material as opposed to someone who hasn't yet ventured into that territory). After all, the brain can only develop skills through learning and practice, and it takes time to be able to appreciate lengthy complex pieces. For some people, complex music isn't worth wasting their time on, because they simply don't understand it. Just like some people don't see the point in learning to speak Japanese. It makes no sense to them, and they don't care for it to make sense to them. And that's fine!
So this is where elitism comes from in my mind. It's the interaction of people appreciating music on different levels than others. Some people praise Opeth to no end-well, that's great if it works for you, but it doesn't make them the best. There may be a lot more out there for you to discover, and you'll laugh at your foolishness if you are ever lucky enough to find the music that takes you further than Opeth.
Then there are those who see Opeth as being too simple. Chances are they have more advanced listening skills, and Opeth's music doesn't stimulate the senses enough to make it interesting to them. If that is the case, imagine how they must view something that is less complex than Opeth! It comes across as shallow, predictable, and unoriginal in most cases. And in their own mind, they are perfectly fine with saying that this type of music sucks. Because it does pretty much nothing for them.
Therefore, I think Elitism is simply a case of being on a different musical plane than someone else.
And to those that bash Opeth and their fans, just try and appreciate the fact that everyone here is at a different level of musical listening, and what they are hearing in Opeth is just right at this particular time...Chances are it will change in due time. So just respect it in that manner....
So that's my little theory. Comments? Think I'm a retard?
Ps. You can recommend me some complex music of any genre, and I'd be much appreciative!
Why do we appreciate some bands, and think they are gods, but often dislike Pop music, or simpler, mainstream forms of musical entertainment? To put it simply, I think it has a lot to do with one's talent for listening.
With mainstream music, we are often exposed to simplistic tunes, with predictable arrangements, and simple melodies. Basically, you hear the song once and you can sing a long with it, or at least recall it pretty well.
However, take a more advanced piece of music like Yes-Close to The Edge. You go through it, but on the first listen, at any given point you are pretty much lost as to how far into the song you are, and you just can't recall how one particular passage has any relation to any previous ones. There is a lot of evolution, and it is simply much more complex than your average pop tune.
So what's the point? Well, with the simple pop tunes, it's cool on the first listen or so, maybe catchy, easy to tap your foot to...Which is fine. But after repeated listens, it's way beyond predictable, you know every little detail of the song, and it loses it's excitement. Because what is so exciting about something you are totally familiar with?
Now look at more complex tunes, let's say Yes again. Every moment requires your full attention to realize what is happening, and you still don't fully grasp what is going on. It's takes careful listening, and many repeated listens to understand fully what the song is doing, where it is going, and how it all relates. I don't know how many times I listened before I realized they were doing variations on a theme within the song....
The more complex material requires more brain activity. We are actively engaged in the listening, trying to decipher the song as a whole. Every new listen brings excitement, because you simply can't predict what comes, or what new things you'll pick up on because of the complexity. But with the pop song, you lose interest after a few listens, because the brain no longer needs to be actively involved in the listening...You just instictvely or habitually know what is going to happen next.
Which brings me to the point of Opeth and Elitism. What we see here is some who think of Opeth as gods, and others who seems them as mediocre, or what have you. The way I see it, Opeth are sort of a crossover band in some ways. The seem to be a perfect bridge into more complex music, despite being relatively simple.
Opeth's songs are long with many riffs-hence it requires many listend to fully grasps. That's a lot of riffing to remember in one sitting. Also, their riff lengths tend to be longer than most bands. Again, more brain activity, more active listening/remembering to catch on to the songs. However, the repeat riffs ad nauseam, rather than letting them gradually evolve, or adding slight differences to each repeat of a riff. Thus the listener gets a good feel for the riff during the course of the song-it is repeated enough for them to grasp and understand as a single entity. Though being able to relate it well to the rest of the song comes after repeated listens.
So I see them as a crossover band. They can appeal to more advanced musical listeners, (listeners who are able to quickly pick up and understand more complex material as opposed to someone who hasn't yet ventured into that territory). After all, the brain can only develop skills through learning and practice, and it takes time to be able to appreciate lengthy complex pieces. For some people, complex music isn't worth wasting their time on, because they simply don't understand it. Just like some people don't see the point in learning to speak Japanese. It makes no sense to them, and they don't care for it to make sense to them. And that's fine!
So this is where elitism comes from in my mind. It's the interaction of people appreciating music on different levels than others. Some people praise Opeth to no end-well, that's great if it works for you, but it doesn't make them the best. There may be a lot more out there for you to discover, and you'll laugh at your foolishness if you are ever lucky enough to find the music that takes you further than Opeth.
Then there are those who see Opeth as being too simple. Chances are they have more advanced listening skills, and Opeth's music doesn't stimulate the senses enough to make it interesting to them. If that is the case, imagine how they must view something that is less complex than Opeth! It comes across as shallow, predictable, and unoriginal in most cases. And in their own mind, they are perfectly fine with saying that this type of music sucks. Because it does pretty much nothing for them.
Therefore, I think Elitism is simply a case of being on a different musical plane than someone else.
And to those that bash Opeth and their fans, just try and appreciate the fact that everyone here is at a different level of musical listening, and what they are hearing in Opeth is just right at this particular time...Chances are it will change in due time. So just respect it in that manner....
So that's my little theory. Comments? Think I'm a retard?
Ps. You can recommend me some complex music of any genre, and I'd be much appreciative!
