As part of my newish – or rather, renewed – interest in popular music, I’ve been listening to a lot of music old and new. No doubt it’s at least partly as an escape from the political dolors du jour. But it also has its own fascination for me. I find it highly entertaining and even calming to listen to my favorites from the 50s through the 80s. And this time, I prefer watching as well, if possible in videos or live performances.
When I was growing up, even though we were hardly poor, my access to music was almost laughably limited compared to today’s internet and digital age. It was mainly through the radio that I heard the songs of the day, although I could have watched a show like “American Bandstand” and if so I would have gotten more of the visuals. But I found that program boring, and for me the way I listened was to turn on the radio while I did my homework. In later years there were parties in college where hired bands would play cover versions of the current hits. Much later on, in my days as a young married woman and mother it was mostly back to the radio again, only this time in the car while doing errands.
And then at some point popular music became a miss for me much more often than a hit, and for the most part I quit listening. I find that the popular music of today leaves me almost totally cold, even that small portion of it that seems at least superficially like the music I loved in my youth. Where are the hooks I used to like so much? Why don’t I hear them? Why do the voices sound either slurred or tortured or boringly similar to each other, or all of the above? Why are the words so often meaningless or ironic or repetitive or obscene?
There are styles in music, but there’s also snobbery in musical tastes. I don’t think new music doesn’t appeal to me because I’m a musical snob; at least, I never have been one before. In fact, I’ve never cared what music other people liked or disliked, nor did I look down on anyone for their tastes. But I’ve noticed here and elsewhere that some people not only have strong opinions on music and what they like, but are also what I might call musical snobs – that is, they look down on those who like music that they consider inferior in some way.
I think there are at least two spectra on which people often judge musical tastes in this way. The first is a continuum from cool to uncool. That’s more for popular music such as rock or jazz or pop or disco or rap. The second is a continuum from lofty to populist, and it’s used more for classical music. But there is interface and the two graphs are essentially the same thing – what’s in among the cognoscenti and what’s out.
People not only have preferences – sometimes they can explain those preferences and sometimes not. And sometimes they are quite knowledgeable about music theory and technique and sometimes not. But preferences and knowledge aren’t what I’m talking about – I’m talking about disdain for those who like music that a person has decided is inferior.
I’m not just talking about the disdain some feel for my newly-beloved Bee Gees, although that of course exists. I’ve noticed that the music looked down on is often dance music, both in the pop world (disco being a prime example) and in the classical one (I’ve long noticed disdain leveled against mere ballet music). Why is that? Is dance music considered less pure in some way? Because in pop or rock I have a liking for music with a strong beat as well as harmony, and my favorite classical composers have all had works that have been used in well-known ballets (Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Bach, and Dvorak).
I’m no music expert, and although as the saying goes I know what I like, I don’t always know exactly and precisely why I like it. But in the last year or so of turmoil and angst I’ve been drawn more and more to listening to music and to thinking about it more as well, not just about what I like but about why people like what they like.
