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Actually, I don't consider it music.
Time to bust or confirm an audiophile stereotype: David Chesky is wondering if you ever listen to rap or hip-hop music?
The answer is never, but I never listen to the type of music David Chesky produces, either. Taste is discrimination, and I'm flabbergasted when people claim to like all kinds of music. I would argue that jazz, punk, and rap are anti-music. They lack a combination of harmony, melody, and rhythm. I'm also surprised when people are offended if you don't like music they like. Some people react as if they were the artist. Even within the genres I like, I only like a certain (generally small) percentage of commercial recordings. I like about 11,000 songs that fit under the overall pop umbrella (non-classical), and I don't think any of them could be labeled jazz, rap, or electronica.
You have got to be kidding! No chance, no way, no how! I will say that music is a matter of taste and should not be judged per se, but some of the socially questionable and offensive ideas put forth in some of that music precludes it from my consideration. Also, although I am not necessarily offended by swearing, (as sometimes appears in Stereophile), its use serves no purpose for the most part (a line from John Lennon's song "Working Class Hero" uses the F word to emphasize a point which I feel is appropriate) and is indicative of low intelligence and conveys no meaningful sentiment or content. The Doors & Jim Morrison were able to convey the sexual intent in the song "The End" with the line "...Mother, I want to..." with the rest being jazz-scat like semi gibberish, but made the intent clear. I also do not care for country music, and try as I have, cannot warm up to most classical music (and I am 52), but neither of those genres contain anything truly sexist and macho as rap can. Even without the negatives I have described, rap does nothing for me. Thankfully, none of my children like rap whatsoever, and like music ranging from the All American Rejects, to Beatles and Led Zepellin. Praise to Jah for that! Speaking of Jah, did Bob Marley ever curse in any of his songs? I doubt it.
I have heard some rap (I don't know the dif between rap and hip-hop) that I like. I remember the song by Blondie ("The man from Mars"?) And I used to laugh at the Will Smith (he started as a rapper I think) song ("Parents Just Don't Under Stand"). Seems to me now that this style of music (poetry) has lost a lot of its universality (broad appeal). The same kind of thing happened when rock was hi-jacked by one-upsmanship combined with drug abuse. In rap (and or hip-hop) the one-upsmanship has taken a tragic turn towards violent crime.
I will confirm: Never. If it had some even minimal social value, I might. Lord knows I've tried. This is what happens when music gets dumbed down. But Dub? King Tubby? Lee Perry? Absofrinkinloutly! Some of my favorite music on the planet is "Acid/Trance/ Electronic/Ambient/Reggae/Dub."
Hell yeah! And it's about time we finally got some classic hip-hop/rap albums in SACD format. Dr. Dre: The Chronic, De La Soul: Buhloone Mindstate, Notorious BIG: Ready To Die, The Roots: Illadelph Halflife, DJ Quik Rhythm: al-ism, Outkast: Aqemini (to name a few) would sound great on high-resolution SACD.
Sure do! The talent and cultural significance of many of these artists cannot and should not be ignored. Some examples are Eminem, NWA, and lesser known acts such as Aesop Rock. Once you get past the crude language I think you will find that a number of hip-hop/rap artists are extremely gifted and unashamedly emotional story tellers who are simply a joy to listen to.
David, Yes! That's for certain! DJs here in the DC area still bump old-school vinyl at the clubs from hip-hop, r&b, to rap and dance. You old-school audiophile guys should be open minded. Its not all about ambience of sound, its the whole package!