# Approach All Music with a Degree of Objectivity



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Music van be approached objectively, and listeners can be "objective" in their being "logical" and taking in to account the purpose and intended use of the music (or art).

First, you have to have criteria which suit your own personal goals and desires for that particular "use" of music; I can "use" music in different ways.

For example, if I want "pure musical idea," I go to classical and contemporary. It is usually notated, and contains more "musical info" per square inch than pop music.

Then again, good jazz can also serve that need for "musical idea". Or good rock.

I can put on "ambient" music by Brian Eno when I want to read or think, or chill out;

"Sound itself" can be a criteria: do I want to hear flutes or pianos?

If you are informed as to the intended "purpose" of the music, you can go to it with reasonable expectations: doo *** music of the 1950s is going to stay within certain parameters. On the other hand, don't assume too much: sometimes "gems" can be found in ostensibly "consumer" genres like pop, which transcend the original boundaries of what "pop" music is supposed to be: The Beatles' "I Am the Walrus" is a good example.

Also, having logical, realistic criteria allows you to "respect" other genres, and avoid making absurd comparisons. Knowing that Brittney Spears and other pop music serves as much social identity function as anything allows you to "let it exist" for those 15-year-olds who wish to consume it, without having to bother to "dislike it" or "dismiss" it. This allows you to "think positively."

You therefore do not "need" to "dislike" any music on the grounds that it doesn't do anything for you personally; that would be illogical, wouldn't it? Illogical because it ignores the intended use and purpose of the music. The world doesn't revolve around my taste, after all.


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