by B.J. on 9/05/2003 06:28:00 PM 0 comments Print this post

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Electronic Music = "Classical" Music

Music is an art of expression. It's supposed to tell you what's happening and make you feel good. It's the universal language, and if you criticize one form, you don't really understand music.

So I was both confused and amazed when two people whom I consider to be smart, my AP US History/Euro history teacher and Sue, tried to pound in my head at different points in time that I was not listening to "real" music. My non-real music was not classical enough or something. But damn, electronic music is just as cool as classical music. The only differences between electronic and classical are that trance encompasses a wider range of music from horrible to brilliant quality and that trance is too new for the older crowd to like. Beach vibes can make you think and ponder about random things as much a moonlight sonata if you know what I mean.

"Classical purists" disregard the form of electronic music because it's apparently easy to make without instruments. They say it's not timeless, a passing fad, an "unsophisticated" teenager's music.

Try saying that to the face of Fischerspooner (from which PC users can download "Emerge" on Kazaa).

Here's what actually seperates electronic from classical music:

Genres of music are usually defined by their quality songs. There's a shitload of electronic music to the point where the quality electronic music becomes inaccessible. As a result of this sea of crap, the best electronic music is not being heard. Quality classical music on the other hand has been stuffed down our throats forever through every form of media. We've heard the best already. The lesser known pieces are made plentiful to those more interested in that type of music. Furthermore, with lesser quantities, the pieces become story tellers of history.

Classical music is also a great artifact. And when an artifact is from the distant past, there's some kind of protection from critique and opinion because either the artifact is looked at as a glimpse into history and culture or there isn't much known about the artifact. For example, no one would complain about the shitty engine of a car from the 1920s because it provides a glimpse into history and culture. And maybe that's what classical music is - a shitty engine but intriguing-sounding and looking. These purist/extremists think that classical music is the standard of good music, when it's just music that came first and in lesser quantities.

Real musicians recognize.

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