Rap music - Page 7 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Hatterasguy · #91 06-07-2006, 07:49 PM

The only rap that I have seen is the crap by M&M and all those black guys that walk around their girls and Bently's talking about shooting people and bling and selling drugs. Maybe their is good rap out their, but I don't care enough about it frankly to search it out.

I will change my statement when I hear a good rap song.

Maroon 300D · #92 06-07-2006, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemover

I don't care about genres and classifications and demographics....

In my view, there are only TWO kinds of music: GOOD and BAD.

This is highly subjective of course, but sometimes bad is just bad.

Naturally there are exceptions... but most of the current popular music that passes for rap or hip-hop quite obviously falls under the "bad" category.

There are actually a LOT of talented, artistically-inspired hip-hop artists out there... but you'll almost never see them on MTV or hear them on the radio. 95% of what they're offering is just the lowest-common-denominator crap, as it is with most forms of entertainment recently. People surf past MTV and all they see is some gold-toothed, moronic, baggy-pants and bullet-proof-vest-wearing thug, holding his nuts and saying, "Yo, yo, props to my peeps ya'll, I gots my *****es and hos and my bling, bling"....... and this is what they think hip-hop is all about. Accurate or not, it is the image and the perception that the industry presents, and this accounts for why the average casual music listener often has such a knee-jerk "oh, rap sucks" reaction.

The good stuff you'll have to seek out for yourself.... It has very little in common with the mindless garbage that if offered by TV and radio.

Mike

All very true.

I saw the Lifesavas open up for Barrington Levy last weekend at the free reggae show they have every year at Oregon State. I'd never heard of them before, but they were really good and put on a great show.

Sometimes I listen to the hip-hop radio show on KLCC, the local public station, and it's mostly pretty good. The artists featured there are socially conscious and totally opposite of the gangsta types you see on MTV. Recently on that show they featured one guy, can't remember his name...I think he died of lupis or something...at any rate he was very good, I thought, and I'd like to check out more of his music.

Barrington Levy was really good, too...that guy has some voice!

Jim B. · #93 06-07-2006, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemover

I don't care about genres and classifications and demographics....

In my view, there are only TWO kinds of music: GOOD and BAD.

This is highly subjective of course, but sometimes bad is just bad.

Naturally there are exceptions... but most of the current popular music that passes for rap or hip-hop quite obviously falls under the "bad" category.

There are actually a LOT of talented, artistically-inspired hip-hop artists out there... but you'll almost never see them on MTV or hear them on the radio. 95% of what they're offering is just the lowest-common-denominator crap, as it is with most forms of entertainment recently. People surf past MTV and all they see is some gold-toothed, moronic, baggy-pants and bullet-proof-vest-wearing thug, holding his nuts and saying, "Yo, yo, props to my peeps ya'll, I gots my *****es and hos and my bling, bling"....... and this is what they think hip-hop is all about. Accurate or not, it is the image and the perception that the industry presents, and this accounts for why the average casual music listener often has such a knee-jerk "oh, rap sucks" reaction.

The good stuff you'll have to seek out for yourself.... It has very little in common with the mindless garbage that if offered by TV and radio.

Mike

Interesting observations, and I'm not very much a student of rap music, either, but in Peru they say there THREE kinds of music,

1. Good music

2. Bad music

3. Mexican music

To me, music constantly evolves, and what is heaven to my ears might be trash to someone else's.

I don't like to hear ANY music too much, either.

I try to keep an open mind, but gangsta rap is fascinating/repulsive to me, like a car wreck, and wouldn't want much exposure to it. Then again I hate some classical, rock, metal, bubblegum and mariachi and Chinese music too.

And John Cage, ugh.

mikemover · #94 06-08-2006, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

The only rap that I have seen is the crap by M&M and all those black guys that walk around their girls and Bently's talking about shooting people and bling and selling drugs. Maybe their is good rap out their, but I don't care enough about it frankly to search it out.

I will change my statement when I hear a good rap song.

I don't mean this in an offensive way at all...

But if that's all you've seen/heard, then you know next to nothing about the genre.

That is the equivalent of going to McDonald's and Taco Bell, and then deciding that you already know all that needs knowing about food.

Believe me, I'm a pretty reluctant defender of rap/hip-hop music in general... The industry and most of its fans have allowed a handful of shallow, moronic, talentless people to give the genre a bad image... one that will be very difficult, if not impossible, to improve upon at this point.

But there IS some good stuff out there. You readily admit that your exposure to the type of music in question has been very minimal, so please consider that before arbitrarily declaring that "it all sucks".

Mike

aklim · #95 06-08-2006, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemover

But there IS some good stuff out there. You readily admit that your exposure to the type of music in question has been very minimal, so please consider that before arbitrarily declaring that "it all sucks".

Mike

Maybe so but how do we reach it if it isn't mainstream where we hear it readily? We can't be really dredging the world for most every piece of music? I read a book and if the first couple of chapters is boring, would I bother tor ead the entire book? Usually not.

OK. How about this. "What I have heard so far tells me that rap is crap."

mikemover · #96 06-08-2006, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

Maybe so but how do we reach it if it isn't mainstream where we hear it readily? We can't be really dredging the world for most every piece of music? I read a book and if the first couple of chapters is boring, would I bother tor ead the entire book? Usually not.

OK. How about this. "What I have heard so far tells me that rap is crap."

If I based my opinions solely on what I had heard in passing on MTV, BET, or the radio, then I would concur.

But music means a lot more to me than that, so I DO search out lesser-known artists of MANY styles/genres, and I immerse and educated myself before making any sweeping judgments.

For example, I know next to nothing about traditional Bavarian polka music.... So I don't make any sweeping "it all sucks!" generalizations about it, because I have not heard nearly enough of it to qualify me to make such a judgement. Some of it probably does suck, some of it probably does not. But I am not equipped with the knowledge to make that call at this time.

You can't rely on television and corporate-owned radio to bring you the quality stuff, of ANY style of music. More often than not, they bring you the watered-down, sanitized, generic, maximum-profits/minimum artistic value schlock, and not much more. There are exceptions, but if these are your only sources, then you're missing out on a LOT of quality music.

There's always itunes.com, XM radio, Sirius radio, myspace.com, mp3.com, isound.com, your local record store (especially the indepent ones)gb, college and independent radio stations... There are PLENTY of places to find stuff that you don't hear on the usual outlets, and it requires minimal effort. You just have to care enough to devote a little time and effort to it.

Mike

AustinsCE · #97 06-08-2006, 02:46 PM

I think its also possible not to like the genre at all without hearing "the good stuff". Like classical, some people just dont like it, but they havent heard some of the lesser know composers like Boccherini, just mozart or whatever? But they just plain dont like the whole deal. I think most people feel that way about rap. I dont like any of it, because the way it works, talk to a usually electronic beat. I do however like dance music, actually sing and much more musical, complex, because the main part is the music of the song, not the speach. I dunno, my .2...

cscmc1 · #98 06-08-2006, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemover

If I based my opinions solely on what I had heard in passing on MTV, BET, or the radio, then I would concur...

You can't rely on television and corporate-owned radio to bring you the quality stuff, of ANY style of music. More often than not, they bring you the watered-down, sanitized, generic, maximum-profits/minimum artistic value schlock, and not much more. There are exceptions, but if these are your only sources, then you're missing out on a LOT of quality music.

Mike

Ah, but Mike, you said "Old country (Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, etc.....) is the ONLY country music worth listening to" when someone suggested they liked country. Just giving you a hard time -- I know what you mean, but for fairness' sake, there IS good country being produced today. As you said, you just have to hunt it down; it's not going to be playing on many FM stations!

mikemover · #99 06-08-2006, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surf-n-Turf

I like the older genre. Sugar Hill Gang, LL Cool J, RUN DMC, etc. They talked about their lives without all the vulgarity. The rap now I think promotes violence, ignorance, total disrespect for humanity. Early rap tried to pull people out of that mindset. That's not to say that all newer rap is crap. It's the gangsta style I could do without.

Yep! Finally, somebody who gets it.

Mike

mikemover · #**100** 06-08-2006, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cscmc1

Ah, but Mike, you said "Old country (Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, etc.....) is the ONLY country music worth listening to" when someone suggested they liked country. Just giving you a hard time -- I know what you mean, but for fairness' sake, there IS good country being produced today. As you said, you just have to hunt it down; it's not going to be playing on many FM stations!

Yep, you got me... I did say that.

Guilty as charged.

I do agree with you.... there is some good country music going on today, it just takes some effort to find it, just as with hip-hop/rap.

I do enjoy Lyle Lovett, Shelby Lynne... There's a handful of good newer country artists out there carrying the torch.

Mike

cscmc1 · #**101** 06-08-2006, 02:57 PM

Hey, whatever happened to our "Registered User" IKnowMusic friend who re-ignited this thread by championing the rap cause, anyway?

cscmc1 · #**102** 06-08-2006, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemover

Yep, you got me... I did say that.

Guilty as charged.

I do agree with you.... there is some good country music going on today, it just takes some effort to find it, just as with hip-hop/rap.

I do enjoy Lyle Lovett, Shelby Lynne... There's a handful of good newer country artists out there carrying the torch.

Mike

Indeed...

You've probably already heard Neko Case; if not, RUN to the record store and buy one of her last 2 records.

mikemover · #**103** 06-08-2006, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cscmc1

You've probably already heard Neko Case...

Yep. VERY talented lady.

I really dig Shelby Lynne, too... Especially her first album. Heard it yet?

Mike

cscmc1 · #**104** 06-08-2006, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemover

Yep. VERY talented lady.

I really dig Shelby Lynne, too... Especially her first album. Heard it yet?

Mike

I have, but not in ages. Actually, I don't know that it was her first album, just one of her albums. I ought to find a copy to borrow and re-check it out.

I have to admit, there are a lot of country/folk artists I'm "supposed" to like but can't -- Lucinda Williams, for instance. All the hipsters dig her, but I can't get on that wagon. Then again, my guilty pleasures include early Duran Duran and Rush, so I might not be the best guy to ask about "good" music.

That said, check out the new Lanterna album; there is an MP3 or two on Badmanrecordings.com. I grabbed it and, on a whim, Summer at Shatter Creek on a whim. Good stuff both -- instrumental and My Morning Jacket-esque respectively. I went back and ordered the Don Peris CD too; this seems to be a pretty decent label!

AustinsCE · #**105** 06-09-2006, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim
I liked Shania Twain, Gretchen Wilson and Faith Hill before I even saw how hot they were.

I liked Hilary Duff until I heard her songs.