Questions That I Didn't Invent

[Jim LotFP]

Has metal already been perfected? Can anything as good as the classics still be made?

It can't be hard to be better than silence, can it?

Is it a betrayal of Art for a band to consciously appeal to fans it has already attracted?

Should a band care about its fans?

Should a band worry about whether people like them?

Which is better, to sell your ideals for a good price or to stick to them for long enough to make those ideals as well as yourself seem ridiculous?

 

[NAD]

Has metal already been perfected? Can anything as good as the classics still be made?

No it hasn't, and yes it still has room to grow. Hooray for bands like Meshuggah.

It can't be hard to be better than silence, can it?

Science involves facts, the known. Art is wholly separate. Science has an answer, art does not. But I don't know which one is more difficult. EDIT: WTF I READ SCIENCE. Duhhh, silence rules as much as music. That's why I don't bring along headphones for nature walks.

Is it a betrayal of Art for a band to consciously appeal to fans it has already attracted?

No, some bands live for their fans, and that's perfectly okay.

Should a band care about its fans?

Probably, but if bands were as fickle as their fans, every show would end in a bloodbath.

Should a band worry about whether people like them?

I love bands that most people hate, so no.

Which is better, to sell your ideals for a good price or to stick to them for long enough to make those ideals as well as yourself seem ridiculous?

Both are equally bad, or good. I want bands to make the music they want to make, if I like it, great. If not, fuckit.

 

[Hell Mike]

Has metal already been perfected? Can anything as good as the classics still be made?
Possibly and yes

It can't be hard to be better than silence, can it?
not that hard maybe but there's VEEEERY much music that I'd gladly replace with silence

Is it a betrayal of Art for a band to consciously appeal to fans it has already attracted?
Not necessarily

Should a band care about its fans?
Yes

Should a band worry about whether people like them?
No

Which is better, to sell your ideals for a good price or to stick to them for long enough to make those ideals as well as yourself seem ridiculous?
Good ideals won't make you look ridiculous

 

[Erik]

Has metal already been perfected?

No. Everything points to that certain sub-genres of metal (like thrash) have been mostly perfected, but metal as a whole, no.

Can anything as good as the classics still be made?

Yes. Especially from the genres that are still developing.

It can't be hard to be better than silence, can it?

It's pretty hard. Very subjective, though. I'd take silence over anything on the radio, for example, but some people need to have background noise or they go mad.

Is it a betrayal of Art for a band to consciously appeal to fans it has already attracted?

Tough question. In most cases I would say yes, in that it taints true artistic vision.

Should a band care about its fans?

Yes and no. The band should not care about its fans as to what direction the actual music (art) takes i.e. compromise artistic integrity, BUT things like signing to major labels and so forth is generally a betrayal of the fans which I don't approve. I think that the greatest thing a band can do to their fans is to promise to never compromise their artistic vision.

Should a band worry about whether people like them?

No.

Which is better, to sell your ideals for a good price or to stick to them for long enough to make those ideals as well as yourself seem ridiculous?

Alternative 2. What can be more ridiculous than selling yourself? Also, I already said you shouldn't care about whether people like you (and by extension -- what people think about you)

 

[J.]

Can anything as good as the classics still be made?

Careful. A bunch of folks in here still think no classics exist after 1989.

 

[Arunas]

Silence is not so bad. It's good actually. I mean perfect, real silence.

 

[Jim LotFP]

Silence is not so bad. It's good actually. I mean perfect, real silence.

Can any serious music fan still have the ability to ever hear silence? I gave up that privilege years ago. Damn headphones.

 

[Erik]

Actually, an environment of perfect, real silence would likely make you go mad very quickly. You will hear your blood pumping, tiny tinnitus-esque defects in your hearing and such that the human brain just isn't designed to cope with.

 

[Arunas]

Why not? It's good for relaxing and it's good to fill the void between listening music
And since metal and stuff that's being discussed on this forum is not easy-listening (I consider it more ambitious music, which requires a listener to focus while listening), it's good to let your ears rest a bit.

 

[Arunas]

Yeah but I'm considering a 'perfect silence' as perfect for me - without the defects and stuff. I mean not hearing the damn humming of my PC, no cars around, no one screaming outside, no dogs barking and so on - I think you know what I mean.

 

[lurch70]

Has metal already been perfected? Can anything as good as the classics still be made?

yes

Is it a betrayal of Art for a band to consciously appeal to fans it has already attracted?

i don't think so ... look at AC/DC ... even though they sound the same ... their heart is definetelly in it.

Should a band care about its fans?

yes, to a certain degree ... the fans are the ones that made them who they are (on a success/recognition level at least)

Should a band worry about whether people like them?

definetelly not!

Which is better, to sell your ideals for a good price or to stick to them for long enough to make those ideals as well as yourself seem ridiculous?

this is I answer with a saying: ... "Follow your heart, it will never lead you astray"

 

[NAD]

I never have music playing all day. Even while I'm at work when a CD ends I usually don't change it for an hour or so. I understand Erik's point, but I don't find good silence maddening.

 

[anonymousnick2001]

So "natural" silence, not "actual" silence?

 

[Erik]

Yeah. It's just that I used to think about "perfect silence" as being a good thing, and then I did some reading on people who have experienced close approximations of perfect silence -- it's apparently very disturbing. Like people who have stood in the middle of Chernobyl city center recently; it's a huge city, all dead and DEAD. SILENT. The brain can't really cope, it expects a city to be full of life, you know, at least some cars in the distance, something.

EDIT: Ukraine, not Japan

 

[NAD]

So "natural" silence, not "actual" silence?

There's definitely a difference, but I don't think complete silence is too wacky. It is sorta weird when it happens, but I don't find it unbearable or anything.

Complete darkness, maybe. Been in that once and it fucking RULED (hand in front of my face, eyes wide open, COULD NOT SEE IT), but it was only for a minute or so.

 

[NAD]

Yeah. It's just that I used to think about "perfect silence" as being a good thing, and then I did some reading on people who have experienced close approximations of perfect silence -- it's apparently very disturbing. Like people who have stood in the middle of Hiroshima city center recently; it's a huge city, all dead and DEAD. SILENT. The brain can't really cope, it expects a city to be full of life, you know, at least some cars in the distance, something.

The whole post-apocalyptic thing might have something to do with that.

 

[Erik]

There's definitely a difference, but I don't think complete silence is too wacky. It is sorta weird when it happens, but I don't find it unbearable or anything.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you most likely have never experienced anything even CLOSE to perfect silence. There's always some shit in the background; the brain might filter it out, but it's there and it will emerge from your subconscious if the situation calls for it. I doubt close approximations of real, true silence can be achieved on more than a few scattered places on Earth.

 

[NAD]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you most likely have never experienced anything even CLOSE to perfect silence. There's always some shit in the background; the brain might filter it out, but it's there and it will emerge from your subconscious if the situation calls for it. I doubt close approximations of real, true silence can be achieved on more than a few scattered places on Earth.

Possibly, it's hard to tell what small sounds that you take for granted and automatically tune out might still be present. The desert can get awfully quiet though, especially at night.

 

[lurch70]

i tell you ... when we had that blackout in NYC a few years ago .. the night silence and darkenss was unnerving ... especially in NYC.

 

[Erik]

I mean, if we're going to go into real technical details, it is impossible for a human being to ever experience true silence, because even in a hypothetical place where true silence exists, the moment a human being enters that place, it will emit sounds, even if it's just your hair growing, your blood pumping, your stomach burping around, breaths of air...