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The above genres aren't my usual cup of tea, but from time to time I'll hear something I like or I'll pull out an old CD I haven't heard in a while and give it another listen.
Time to bust or confirm an audiophile stereotype: David Chesky is wondering if you ever listen to rap or hip-hop music?
Frankly, I prefer music with balanced tones. That means no chest-thumping bass, no ear-bleeding highsnot too much of anything. And I also prefer to listen to music that is created with instruments, without digital assistance at the time of recording.
I would have checked off the "Never" answer, but to be honest when you are out driving and stopped at a stoplight you are sometimes forced to listen to it played at high dB by the jerk in the next vehicle. I have to assume that at least a few other drivers listen to some actual music while they out on the road but at reasonable sound levels so it is not obvious. But on the bright side, aficionados of this so called music will soon have the option of listening to that great hip hop artist River Phoenix belting out some classics. Last thought. David I assume you have no plans to enter either of these music genre. Well at least you have had a good run distributing actual music.
It's an interesting point, but I think one of the main ways in which audiophiles are unfair to hip-hop is by lumping it all together as one genre and assuming all hip-hop sounds like the stuff they hear on the TV. It's a diverse genre with many truly gifted producers active.
Yes, some, because I like to hear new music. Artistry isn't confined to approved genres. There is nothing worse than seeing a room full of 50-year-old men all listening to classic rock and telling themselves, "it was all about the music back then!" Yeah, right.
Well, my first response is to take offense to the question; that rap or hip-hop could be called the same word as Bach or Mozart: music. However, there are times when I am somehow in the mood pump up the volume, shake the rafters, and jive to rhythmic, senseless repetition.
Like every other genre of music, there are good examples and bad examples. If you are not into rap and all you hear is whatever is played the loudest from someone's car stereo, you are bound to hate it. If all you ever heard of rock was the commercial top 40 you might have a similar distaste for that as well.
I play rap or hip-hop "music" to break in new speakers, usually when I'm not home to hear it. It's an old CD I picked up for free at a record store years ago. I don't even know who it is by, I never bothered to read it nor have I listened to more than 30 seconds of it. Stanley Crouch explained what rap or hip-hop is about.