Newsgroups: bit.listserv.allmusic
Date:         Mon, 4 Jan 1993 15:25:46 -0500
From:         mjferzig@MIDWAY.UCHICAGO.EDU
Subject:      Musical exposure/open mind - BobTee's tapes...

I wrote:
>>
>> Bloom, I don't know if you're referring to me, but my name is spelled
>> Marsha, if you are. You're right, I can't tell them apart. But the thing
>> is, I don't like metal music very much. Now, you could probably find a band
>> loosely described as metal that I WOULD like, but the thing is, it's  just
>> not my cup of espresso. I've never much cared for division of types of
>> music. There are many types of a cappella music - "choral" (any high school
...
>> McFerrin)...... I think you get my point. Many people couldn't tell them
>> apart either. I think that's good. People should just hear the stuff - be
>> exposed to it! Play me some metal that I'll like! Find a country singer I
>> want to listen to! Force me to call a rap thing "music"!!!! Whip me, beat
>> me, make me write bad checks!!!!!
>>
Ilia responds:
>Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the person just wouldn't get into it. I think,
>being exposed to a new genre does not suffice for being able to enjoy
>it. Whenever you hear new music which does not fulfill your sonic
>expectations (hello, Bloomdido!), you have to go through a certain
>period of getting used to it. And often you have to make an effort of
>'digging' into that stuff, trying to find what's going on there. People
>who never listened to jazz often have troubles grasping a melody played
>by a trumpet. People who grew up on western musical scales are not too
>comfortable with ragas. (I had problems with McLaughlin's 'Shakti'
>period quite similar to those my friend had with his early music). A
>typical reaction to a new genre is "they're all the same" (be it Miles'
>solos or Heavy Metal riffs). I find it somewhat similar to our visual
>perception of faces, when 'uncommonness' of a face type dominates
>all other features (aka europeans meeting chinese people and thinking
>that they all look alike). Anyway, to get to a point: Marsha, if you do
>want to enjoy Heavy Metal or any other kind of music that is 'not your
>cup of espresso', prepare to put aside your pre-judgements and patiently
>listen to the stuff. Sometimes it may turn worth an effort. :)

Ilia - I agree with you completely. I think you missed my point, or I
didn't state it well. I do want to be exposed to the music - almost any
kind. I was trying to say that I don't think it matters what labels one
puts on things, or how categorized you want to make music. I'll like
Triumph even if they are considered "metal", which I generally don't like.
I'll continue to dislike college a cappella groups, even though I generally
love a cappella music! I think music is music is music and exposure is key.
The reason I say I don't like metal in general is that the metal I've heard
has been overly loud, not very musical, vulgar, violent and offensive,
incomprehensible, grating, etc (all IMHO, of course). Now, the problem is
most likely that my housemate simply had poor taste in metal music, or that
his tastes didn't jibe with mine. The people on this list are very
knowledgeable, and I'd like to be introduced to types of music I don't
think of myself as enjoying by people I trust. I am more than happy to put
aside my pre-judgments. Believe me - I did that in my twentieth- century
music class 2 years ago, after going in with the attitude that I hated
12-tone etc...and discovered that I like 12-tone! I like minimalism! I
discovered Varese, Britten, Gershwin, Borroff, Copeland, Schoenberg, Sloane
and a number of others whose names escape me right now. I'm sure I'd like
metal if someone would steer me in the right direction.

BTW - this all started as my argument for a compilation tape being made....

BTW2 - i am opening my mind right now. I have been listening to Bob
Turnbull's mix a lot lately and really enjoy some of the tracks that I
didn't expect to - "Internal Exile" (Fish), "Mount Tiede" (Mike Oldfield),
"Let the Day Begin" (The Call), "Nearly Lost You" (Screaming Trees) and
"Edge of the World" (Faith No More)....I'm learning.....

Marsha


Marsha J. Ferziger
University of Chicago School of Law
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