Hello all,

I am currently in the process of writing an article covering the topic of what bad music is. I'm a looking for opinions from all different walks and areas and I figured this board would be a fair place to begin.

 

I'm not looking at "The Worst Band of All Time" or "The Worst Song of All Time." What I want to hear from people is what they view as bad music...and why it's part of the media if it's so bad. I'm doing a case study of different genre's and of different demographics.

 

Or also just different bad practices of the industry in general.

 

What specifically to you, is the epitome of bad music?

 

Also, if you could please, fill out this quick 10 question survey regarding music that would be greatly appreciated... http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HB7BV95

 

Thank you!

"Bad" music for me is stuff that's overhyped, given too much undeserved (in my opinion) attention. Also, stuff released on programs such as the X-factor and American idol really annoy me.

Corporate products. These artists (from the beginning) rely on corporations to get them the best generic lyrics, the best beats, and publicity. Ie, Disney "artists"

In my opinion bad music is music which feels as if it has been done just to make money and not because the artist/s enjoy making the music. Music such as X factor winner covers which they are basically told to make the song instead of the artist wanting to do it themselves.

 

I also find music much more enjoyable when the lyrics have meaning and i can identify with them, so music without that is less appealing to me, although that is not a solid rule.

No such thing.

Attack Attack!

Boring, formulaic songs created for the sole purpose of making money.

 

And Nickelback.

If it just...sounds bad. Perhaps bad vocals, the insutrumentation doesn't mesh well. I often find music with little more than a basic beat with ridiculous amounts of bass-see "dance music" or "pop"-to be "bad", or at the very least incomplete. Complete reliance on computers as an instrument kinda stretches it.

This idea of bad music is on peoples personal opinion. I for one do not like country music and most rap and hiphop. However, someone may think that those 2 genres of music is the best thing ever. In my opinion there is no such things as bad music. As a music major, I respect all forms of music, even though I might not like some of it. All pieces of music are works of art and should be treated as such.

Just my opinion.

No such thing.

What about the people that got booted off American Idol? There's one guy that they keep having on the morning radio here, and he pushes the line of whether or not there is 'bad' music...

Bad music is music that doesn't make you feel an emotion.

Disney [cabbage] and screamo.

Disney [cabbage] and screamo.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZsTGjddN0E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z68qDOxDDB8

 

Yes, I really wouldn't judge an entire genre by what is commonly mislabeled as "screamo."

Disney [cabbage] and screamo.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZsTGjddN0E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z68qDOxDDB8

 

Yes, I really wouldn't judge an entire genre by what is commonly mislabeled as "screamo."

 

why did you show me those songs? they're screamo and I hate them, sorry.

I would say for each artist, you need to judge them according to their genre, and with that, according to what they're trying to acheive, e.g. pop artists would generally be trying to acheive a catchy melody and a demonstration of vocal talent, just to generalise. Bad music would be something that doesn't acheive its goals suitably in the mind of the listener. That said, I don't think there is any such thing as universally bad music.

Basically what Mcneilp, Shadow, Dan, Langzor, and JBlighted said. There's no point if it's not music that's yours, it's just what your songwriters handed you. Also I hate music that doesn't have at least some complexity, something that took skill to make or to preform.

 

Like the Finnish band Hurriganes; Long story short they brought Rock'n'Roll to Finland in the 1970s. They knew 3 chords and no English (The lead singer, writing the songs, looked in an English dictionary for words that ended in the same letters), so their songs are incredibly easy to play. Horrible music, I don't care if it's "Classic".

Bad music is music that doesn't make you feel an emotion.

I'm not entirely sure; I must admit that I like a few songs by Timbaland, but it doesn't make me really feel anything, it just sounds awesome.

Bad music is music that doesnt please the ear in some way. There really isnt one "bad" type of music, because its pure opinion.

Anything Atonal.

"Bad" music for me is stuff that's overhyped, given too much undeserved (in my opinion) attention. Also, stuff released on programs such as the X-factor and American idol really annoy me.

This.

 

I dunno if it's just me, but ANYTHING that gets too much attention (Not just mainstream, I mean like lunch boxes and bumper stickers) pisses me off. It's like people like it because they're told to like and the "artists" are told what to do :/ It's like going up to a painting by Picasso and "fixing" it :thumbdown:

Basically what Mcneilp, Shadow, Dan, Langzor, and JBlighted said. There's no point if it's not music that's yours, it's just what your songwriters handed you. Also I hate music that doesn't have at least some complexity, something that took skill to make or to preform.

 

Like the Finnish band Hurriganes; Long story short they brought Rock'n'Roll to Finland in the 1970s. They knew 3 chords and no English (The lead singer, writing the songs, looked in an English dictionary for words that ended in the same letters), so their songs are incredibly easy to play. Horrible music, I don't care if it's "Classic".

There are songs like that that work though.

On the opposite end is music that is absurdly complex but doesn't sound like anything. A lot of guys in the shred genre end up with this, songs that go absurdly fast but end up sounding mediocre at best because they end up being just a barrage of notes. A prime example would be the ever-famous Eruption...

 

Of course, there are bands that do it well too.

Anything Atonal.

 

I wouldn't say so. It's not the most gratifying of music, but Schoenberg had quite a lot of substance in his compositions.

Anything Atonal.

 

I wouldn't say so. It's not the most gratifying of music, but Schoenberg had quite a lot of substance in his compositions.

So, not the notes but how they're played?

I would say for each artist, you need to judge them according to their genre, and with that, according to what they're trying to acheive, e.g. pop artists would generally be trying to acheive a catchy melody and a demonstration of vocal talent, just to generalise. Bad music would be something that doesn't acheive its goals suitably in the mind of the listener. That said, I don't think there is any such thing as universally bad music.

 

Ever heard of the genre 'extratone'?

 

 

But anyway, I disagree about the achievement thing. E.g. I really hate commercial pop stuff things. When I listen to it I don't care about what the artist wants to achieve, I care about how I feel about the music. Micheal jackson might be the biggest pop-icon in the world, his songs mean nothing to me because I don't like them.

 

I just think bad music is music you don't like, it's as simple as that.

Anything Atonal.

 

I wouldn't say so. It's not the most gratifying of music, but Schoenberg had quite a lot of substance in his compositions.

So, not the notes but how they're played?

 

Yes, I would say so. Serialism and atonality is very mathematical, and it takes a lot of skill to make something substantial. It's not really something I listen to regularly, but I think it's very far from qualifying as "bad music" even if it can sound a little ugly at times. It's not intended to be pleasant.

Music fans are pretentious about.

 

Ie, all of it?

 

Mainly none, though.