Ethnography on Metal Listeners! Short and interesting!

[Omni]

- True/false section

1. Are you over the age of 25?
Your answer: No

2. When you first heard metal music did you like it right away?
Your answer: No

3. Would you want metal music to go mainstream?
Your answer: No


- Multiple choice section

1. What do you like most about metal music?
A. Lyrics
B. Themes/feelings/emotions
C. The energy/speed of it
D. It provides an escape from life
E. It's just something different
Your answer: B

2. What theme/feeling/emotion do you like most in metal music?
A. Rebellion
B. Loneliness
C. Fear
D. Anger
Your answer: B

3. What is your level of education?
A. High school and under
B. Some college
C. Bachelor's degree
D. Master's degree
E. Doctorate degree
Your answer: A


- Free answer section

1. List your 3 most favorite kinds of music other than metal.
Your answer: Post-punk, neofolk, ambient

2. List 3 of your hobbies other than music.
Your answer: Sleeping, the internet, reading

3. How does metal music influence other parts of your life?
Your answer: I don't know.

 

[no country for old wainds]

i saw it

me too

 

[The Butt]

me too

i didnt

 

[Master_Yoda77]

- True/false section

1. Are you over the age of 25?
Your answer: No

2. When you first heard metal music did you like it right away?
Your answer: No

3. Would you want metal music to go mainstream?
Your answer: No


- Multiple choice section

1. What do you like most about metal music?
A. Lyrics
B. Themes/feelings/emotions
C. The energy/speed of it
D. It provides an escape from life
E. It's just something different
Your answer: B (Atmospheres)

2. What theme/feeling/emotion do you like most in metal music?
A. Rebellion
B. Loneliness
C. Fear
D. Anger
Your answer: B

3. What is your level of education?
A. High school and under
B. Some college
C. Bachelor's degree
D. Master's degree
E. Doctorate degree
Your answer: A


- Free answer section

1. List your 3 most favorite kinds of music other than metal.
Your answer: Ambient, Noise, Classical

2. List 3 of your hobbies other than music.
Your answer: Watching movies, Writing, Video Games

3. How does metal music influence other parts of your life?
Your answer: It has definitely changed how I view certain things. I don't judge things unless I fully understand them, and I can appriecate and respect things, even though I don't enjoy them personally.

 

[Iron Bug]

1. Are you over the age of 25?
Your answer: Yes

2. When you first heard metal music did you like it right away?
Your answer: Yes

3. Would you want metal music to go mainstream?
Your answer: No


- Multiple choice section

1. What do you like most about metal music?
A. Lyrics
B. Themes/feelings/emotions
C. The energy/speed of it
D. It provides an escape from life
E. It's just something different
Your answer: E (I like the Music itself - it's not connected to feelings or emotions or lyrics or something from the list above)

2. What theme/feeling/emotion do you like most in metal music?
A. Rebellion
B. Loneliness
C. Fear
D. Anger
Your answer: D (but this is too limited list - there's no Hatred and it's different from anger, anyway. I would better pick Hatred)

3. What is your level of education?
A. High school and under
B. Some college
C. Bachelor's degree
D. Master's degree
E. Doctorate degree
Your answer: D (in my country my education is equal to your Master's degree)


- Free answer section

1. List your 3 most favorite kinds of music other than metal.
Your answer: classics, jazz, dark ambient

2. List 3 of your hobbies other than music.
Your answer: arts, languages, programming

3. How does metal music influence other parts of your life?
Your answer: I'm a player and singer for two bands, metal is my life.

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

May I add that I really don't like the choices for multi choice question 2. They're all essentially negative emotions/themes and I don't see metal as being exclusively or even significantly defined that way, although most outsiders would.

Funny you should mention this... since metal is significantly based on negative - or let's say out of the norm themes, though I do agree that more choices would be better.

 

[Kollectiv]

Thank you all for your input. I'm sorry some of the questions didn't suit you. I have changed multiple choice 2 to accord for your interests. My choosing the choices for this are based on mere general observations from me. I have not experienced all metal, so it's fair to say that my observations are one-sided.

This being the case, I will accept people who withdraw from answering certain questions. And, I have changed multiple choice 2 to accord for any differing answers.

I know there's a lot to be appreciated about metal and all music, so I respect all of your thoughts. However, I have to put some parameters on the answers to make stronger categories.

But don't feel anxious about contributing through comments though. I will be sure to note all minor varieties of thoughts in my analysis.

Thank you for your thoughtfulness and participation.

 

[Bitencourt29]

- True/false section

1. Are you over the age of 25?
Your answer: Yes

2. When you first heard metal music did you like it right away?
Your answer: Yes

3. Would you want metal music to go mainstream?
Your answer: No


- Multiple choice section

1. What do you like most about metal music?
A. Lyrics
B. Themes/feelings/emotions
C. The energy/speed of it
D. It provides an escape from life
E. It's just something different
Your answer: B

2. What theme/feeling/emotion do you like most in metal music?
A. Rebellion
B. Loneliness
C. Fear
D. Anger
Your answer: A

3. What is your level of education?
A. High school and under
B. Some college
C. Bachelor's degree
D. Master's degree
E. Doctorate degree
Your answer: C


- Free answer section

1. List your 3 most favorite kinds of music other than metal.
Your answer: Classical, Ambient, Jazz

2. List 3 of your hobbies other than music.
Your answer: Watching movies, Reading, Playing Videogames

3. How does metal music influence other parts of your life?
Your answer: It does not.

 

[ShredHeadJHJ]

- True/false section

1. Are you over the age of 25?
Your answer:
No

2. When you first heard metal music did you like it right away?
Your answer:
Yes

3. Would you want metal music to go mainstream?
Your answer:
Yes (Because it's good for the bands, no other reason)


- Multiple choice section

1. What do you like most about metal music?
B. Themes/feelings/emotions

2. What theme/feeling/emotion do you like most in metal music?
D. Anger

3. What is your level of education?
A. High school and under


- Free answer section

1. List your 3 most favorite kinds of music other than metal.
Jazz Fusion
Progressive Rock
Instrumental Rock

2. List 3 of your hobbies other than music.
Playing guitar
Reading
Working out

3. How does metal music influence other parts of your life?
I can't really answer this question directly. I think the music I listen to opens my mind & makes me more unique than your average Joe, however I listen to a lot more music than just metal, therefore I would not be able to judge how metal alone affects my life. I do know that I love when I rarely meet people who have similar taste in music to myself, therefore it affects my social interactions with these rare breeds of people.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

You could make a case that going mainstream has not actually been good for the art of the bands. You can say this also about a lot of art! You can't make a conclusive statement about it, true, but it's interesting to think of.

 

[no country for old wainds]

i dunno i have some more fundamental questions like:
-what kind of society would allow darkthrone or warning or helstar to go mainstream?
-would metal as we know it ever have come into existence within such a society?
-would metal as we know it persist if our society was suddenly changed unrecognisably and currently underground bands became mainstream?
etc

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I don't think those are important questions, I believe the "now" of the situation is most important, and while I think it's fair to assert that metal began and probably still is very much against social norms, there is no limit to the kind of art which can fall under the heading of metal as long as the music is predominantly "metal" in aesthetic. I'm not of the persuasion that themes really necessarily change a band's genre in the grand scheme of things. It seems like a faulty way of categorizing.

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

You could make a case that going mainstream has not actually been good for the art of the bands. You can say this also about a lot of art! You can't make a conclusive statement about it, true, but it's interesting to think of.

I don't think that going mainstream inherently damages the art of the band. I believe art changing from its origin to a masses friendly version is what ultimately draws them to the mainstream. The apple was rotten before going mainstream sort of thing.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I agree. I wasn't trying to make the case that band going mainstream automatically equals shit. I think by the time the decision is made to make more mainstream stuff, the idea has already come about. It's not an accident.

 

[no country for old wainds]

I don't think those are important questions, I believe the "now" of the situation is most important, and while I think it's fair to assert that metal began and probably still is very much against social norms, there is no limit to the kind of art which can fall under the heading of metal as long as the music is predominantly "metal" in aesthetic. I'm not of the persuasion that themes really necessarily change a band's genre in the grand scheme of things. It seems like a faulty way of categorizing.

i disagree 'cause i see aesthetic as a manifestation of theme

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

It is but music (sound) is the most defining factor for music as art.

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

I agree. I wasn't trying to make the case that band going mainstream automatically equals shit. I think by the time the decision is made to make more mainstream stuff, the idea has already come about. It's not an accident.

Silly me, I probably misinterpreted your post .

 

[no country for old wainds]

It is but music (sound) is the most defining factor for music as art.

yeah but what i meant is that aesthetic is theme in aural form, and so a limited aesthetic means limited thematic scope.

 

[waif]

I think the people who worry about it going mainstream shouldn't. There's always gonna be an underground. Hip-hop is mainstream now but there's still underground hip hop. So even if mainstream hip-hop is stagnant and pathetic (and I have no idea if it is) there'll still be an underground making stuff worth listening too. And because of the mainstream hip-hop more people are drawn into it and then into the underground. And yeah, sure, some of them are worthless faggot posers or whatever but some are tr00 hoppers or whatever you call a hip-hop fan and contribute to the underground. I can't see how that would be unhealthy for metal. There'd be more scene kids to push through at certain concerts but in general it'd be good.
Also there's a certain sweet spot of popularity that's ideal for a band, where they make enough money from their music that they can focus on it and devote a lot of time to it but not enough that they absolutely depend on commercial success to maintain their absurd lifestyles or w/e. More bands could have this if metal was more popular.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

yeah but what i meant is that aesthetic is theme in aural form, and so a limited aesthetic means limited thematic scope.

Aesthetics aren't audible. I don't know what you're getting at.