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Why is "Metal" constantly being bashed by "real" musicians?
- Thread starter RNV
- Start date
All country bass playing is root-fifth lines
All jazz is just pretentious wanking
People play in cover bands or play classical music because they can't write
People playing funk can only slap
People who play with picks do it because they're failed guitar players
People who play metal only do it because its the only thing they can play
People who play pop music are sell outs
Well, since we're painting with broad brushes, we may as well get all the stupid, baseless stereotypes out of the way.
Not enjoying a style is no excuse for such blatant ignorance.
All jazz is just pretentious wanking
People play in cover bands or play classical music because they can't write
People playing funk can only slap
People who play with picks do it because they're failed guitar players
People who play metal only do it because its the only thing they can play
People who play pop music are sell outs
Well, since we're painting with broad brushes, we may as well get all the stupid, baseless stereotypes out of the way.
Not enjoying a style is no excuse for such blatant ignorance.
Which is why this thread was started. It wasn't to defend metal or put down bar bands. It was to try to figure out where other bassists get impression that metal is talentless music.
All country bass playing is root-fifth lines
All jazz is just pretentious wanking
People play in cover bands or play classical music because they can't write
People playing funk can only slap
People who play with picks do it because they're failed guitar players
People who play metal only do it because its the only thing they can play
People who play pop music are sell outs
Well, since we're painting with broad brushes, we may as well get all the stupid, baseless stereotypes out of the way.
Not enjoying a style is no excuse for such blatant ignorance.
Awesome job! I'm glad that's out of the way.
Perhaps you missed my point. I don't for a second believe any of those stereotypes, though they're all commonly enough said. The point I was making was that no matter what your art, someone out there doesn't understand it and, in an attempt to justify themselves and make themselves feel more important, they treat it as a flaw within the art, rather than something to do with themselves.
I'm all for bar bands, in fact I spent last night watching one, the same one I go to see every few weeks, playing blues covers. I had a great night and the guys on stage, who were all over 50, rocked out and had a great time. I fail to see how anyone could have a problem with that.
Yeah, but metal is still talentless though isn't it?
I'm joking of course. I may not have been joking a year or so back because I've played nearly every genre of music in the time I've been playing, but not any huge amount of metal.
However, I joined a rock covers band about a year back that does songs from the heavier endof the rock spectrum, and some metal - not the really heavy stuff, just the type of stuff that almost passes for mainstream nowadays (Metalica, Iron Maiden, Sabbath and that sort of stuff). I went into this with a swaggering attitude that it would be easy. I should have known better. Like every genre it presents it's own challenges if you are going to do it properly. How to get the right level of aggresion without turning into a thrash fest? How to get the right attack and drive? How to build up the stamna to play fast 16th's or 'The Steve Harris' gallop for minutes on end, and then do it again on the next song...thelist goes on.
I'm sure that if I was doing death metal there would be similar challenges if you need to do it convincingly, and unless you are going to play with conviction, why play at all?
Edit: Dang this wirelss keyboard and it's mising characters
It's more metal to blow off the criticisms, and continue on with what you're into playing.
I know many "Metal" musicians who work just as hard as anyone else, in any other form of music, to perfect their craft. They often study other music and have wider listening habits than folks with more elitist attitudes.
Fight the stereotype.
"If it sounds good, it IS good."-Duke Ellington.
I know many "Metal" musicians who work just as hard as anyone else, in any other form of music, to perfect their craft. They often study other music and have wider listening habits than folks with more elitist attitudes.
Fight the stereotype.
"If it sounds good, it IS good."-Duke Ellington.
suck my.. er.. yeah.
Metal is a giant genre, including hundreds of former great jazz musicians looking for something more. To say that every band is equivalent to bands such as Venom or so is simply ********, and in my view, metal is the closest thing spiritually we have to classical music today. If you can't take the time to research what your talking about than you are an ignorant fool. Metal is by far the most technically demanding genre out there, for the people who call it simple. And as this guy put it:
for the most part, metal militantly enforces all of the negative/comical stereotypes that are associated with it. so for somebody on the outside who's not a fan, it can be tough to see the genre as a serious or legitimate art form.
Luckily I can destroy every single one of those stereotypes with a single song.
YouTube - ‪Opeth -Beneath The Mire‬‏
Please listen to the whole song. Amazing lyrics, complex harmonies and some sick grooves.
And whoever said metalheads are closed minded to other types of music, I think you are stereotyping metalheads as one of two groups - the guys who grew up on thrash and are in it for the speed and booze (im stereotyping in my own knock on stereotypes, haha, obviously not all thrash fans are like this), and the mallrat deathcore fan with his plugs and skinny jeans.
Most other metal fans I know listen to wide variety of styles. I can go from American black metal like Agalloch to modern prog like Spock's Beard to indie folk/rock like the Decemberists to classic jazz like Bill Evans to classic albums by the Beatles and Pink Floyd to Motown to underground hip hop. And I'll always have a soft spot for the grunge of the 90s which really brought me into modern music.
A lot of people seem to forget that art is entirely subjective.
I listen to everything, there are only 12 notes. If it peaks my interest, I'll listen to it. If it doesn't click then I'll come back another day before I totally dismiss it.
And for the record, I'm not a huge metal fan outside of Sabbath, Every Time I Die, Mudvayne and Mastodon. And honestly I don't even know if those bands are "metal," but on the flip side I really don't care. Most of the metal heads I've met throughout high school and college were the kids I actually wanted to hang out with, because they would get behind any kind of music.
I listen to everything, there are only 12 notes. If it peaks my interest, I'll listen to it. If it doesn't click then I'll come back another day before I totally dismiss it.
And for the record, I'm not a huge metal fan outside of Sabbath, Every Time I Die, Mudvayne and Mastodon. And honestly I don't even know if those bands are "metal," but on the flip side I really don't care. Most of the metal heads I've met throughout high school and college were the kids I actually wanted to hang out with, because they would get behind any kind of music.
My first cd I ever owned was a Jimi Hendrix cd. The first cd I spent my own money on was a doors cd. I routinely listen to Bach, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky cds for inspiration. One of the first times I realized and decided I loved bass was once I found out what that boom boom sounding instrument was after listening to sublime. I started in punk rock until I found something more complex and mature than punk. Then I moved to Slayer/Metallica. Then the first time I heard Opeth it was game over. What most people don't don't realize is for every genre out there, a metal counterpart exists. I've listened to alot of different kinds of music, but nothing does it quite like metal.
I may not like it, but as long as its well thought out non-manufactured music I can respect it, which is more than I see from these so-called "real" musicians. It reminds me of when I played Anesthesia(pulling teeth) acoustically note for note for a musician friend of my dads. He loved it and complemented me for knowing such a great piece, so I played him Cliffs original studio version, and his view completely changed, and almost seemed disgusted. Add a little distortion and wah and people turn their ears off.
I wasn't posting it to say you should LIKE it, I was posting it because a poster said the reasons he didn't like metal were lack of harmonic content, lack of groove and weak lyrical content.
Say what you want about that song, you can't say it lacks those three things, whether you enjoy it or not.
I don't like listening to MOST fusion or MOST blues, but I can hear something and know that it's done well.
I find if you can play, you are less likely to like metal.
It is the kindergarten of music for those still practicing head banging which was a lost art of the previous generation.
A 19 year old metal basist is not much to admire. A 60 year old bassist will be having his own fun and if you listen, will play some fine notes.
It is the kindergarten of music for those still practicing head banging which was a lost art of the previous generation.
A 19 year old metal basist is not much to admire. A 60 year old bassist will be having his own fun and if you listen, will play some fine notes.
