Clapton's newer music isn't that good, I have to agree. The only song that I like by him is "Change The World" cause his guitaring (if that's even a word) is good. Lyrically it isn't that bad either.
Easy enough to claim bad artists (Creed) or even sub-genres (southern booty-bass rap). Coming up with entire genres of music I don't like though... Jazz Fusion. Even the "good" stuff, like the Brecker Bros., etc. It just really never did it for me. Musical Theatre post Sondheim, with the exception of the score to Les Miserables. There's an eight part fugue in there (I think in the overture) that's simply mind-expanding. Crap like Lloyd Webber, Rent, etc though? Nah. The "Serial Music" craze in the 1950s. PhDs with nothing better to do than come up with multi-dimensional tone, dynamic, attack, duration rows, then draw a line through those rows for each instrument part, and call it art. Interesting concept. Godawful music. Pure minimalism, such as Philip Glass and Steve Reich. Some folks will group Arvo Paert and Michael Nyman in with them. Some folks are wrong. Listening to Philip Glass for too long makes me want to break things; like my stereo system. "Christian" versions of rock, rap, whatever popular music form deserve pity. I'll put them on the list because they're sort of a genre, and they all suck. Yes, even Amy Grant. Doesn't mean she wasn't smoking-hot, though. In that "come corrupt my morals" way. Norteño, Ranchero, whatever you want to call it... Mexican country music drives me up the wall. Spanish language top-40, though -- I'm down. Other than that, if it has artistic and musical integrity, sounds as though actual creativity went into its creation, and is delievered effectively, I pretty much like all music. Some genres are harder to do this in than others (see Western, Country and. Also see: "alternative", bubblegum pop, modern R&B). Most music that's played on the radio I turn off. But that's because it's poorly written and performed, not because I don't like "that type of music". To hate an entire genre takes some stones.
--- you obviously have an excellent musical education and well-defined tastes. i wonder whence the animus toward ALW. here's a guy who is the master craftsman of the swoon-inducing dramatic ballad ( e.g.: All I Ask Of You ) and you toss him off with "nah". you don't have to like that kind of music -- this isn't the Spanish Inquisition -- but could you not concede that he is very good at what he does? so i am taking issue not with your personal taste but the notion of "poorly written and performed". i happen not to like sarah brightman at all ( i wince at her voice ) but i couldn't begin to say that others shouldn't like her singing. a couple points of agreement: i found "fusion" distasteful, even by the most virtuosic exponents. the reason: it's a detour on the road to jazz or funk or rock, a by-way inhabited mostly by people who could not play jazz adequately and fell upon the idea that they could get away with appearing "creative" instead of performing well. experimenters like Miles Davis get a free pass because he was a very dangerous person and i still fear him. by Mexican country music, i imagine you include "banda" and "ooompa" rubbish, the spawn of men in large hats and fey jackets. i shiver. on the other hand, a good corrido can be quite entertaining. i find it interesting that the American Country artist Marty Robbins gained popularity in the late 50s with "El Paso", which was really nothing more than a corrido translated to English. a little Reich and Adams go a long way, true, but they and the guru, Terry Riley, formed the basis for a good portion of Brian Eno's work, both in production and writing, as well as a generation of Euro-synth music, which, like or not, has achieved broad popularity. i cannot frankly imagine U2, where they are now, without Riley and co. good post, overall...
It started with a bad childhood experience... Requiem in 1985. He ripped off centuries of his country's musical tradition to create this rock/pop/oratorio monstrosity. He should thank his lucky stars that Paul McCartney would do the same thing a few years later, which made ALW's palatable. In retrospect, I'm glad I got the chance to perform it, but it was a terrible introduction to his music. Everything else of his I heard (and you couldn't be around other highschool music geeks in the late 80s without hearing lots of Phantom), including Cats, I've found either repetitive, insipid, or (usually) both. And while I don't doubt the earnestness of either Brightman or Crawford, some basic voice training would have done both of their careers a world of good. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anyone shouldn't like a type of music just because I happen not to. If you're into Lloyd Webber, If "Nixon in China" is your idea of a night at the opera, by all means, knock yourself out. I really dig Puccini -- and I mean the top-40 La Boheme, Butterfly, etc. Lots of folks have questioned my taste in music. I'm also really into hip-hop. Snoop, Em... with some training in counterpoint and harmony could be extraordinary musicians. They're already putting out ground-breaking stuff. While I can't stand Britney, Hilary, etc., I think Christina Aguilera has some significant talent. I've been around enough music snobs to know that if you try to be cooler-than-thou about your music choices, you're going to dis alot of wonderful nuggets that nonetheless have made it into the general populace's ears. But I still don't like ALW. But that's just me
--- first time i heard Lose Yourself, I thought, "Yo, dis boyee gots mad skills." well, maybe not those exact words, but what i appreciate about MM is that he has great musical instincts as well as a lot of guts and a particularly torqued sense of humor. same with Snoop, but i can do without all the LBC gangsta flavor. i'm really a creaky old man. my three favorite melodies in all the world are Un Bel Di, Pavane Pour Une Enfante Defunte ( Ravel ), and Adagio in G mi ( Albinoni ). Number four would be the refrain from All I Ask Of You. pathetic, I know. admitting these particular preferences places me at great risk of being shot at. if you decide to place me in your sights, come strong!
Norteño and Ranchero are completely different types. Norteño is your typical (as the name implies) northern fare that includes an accordion, sometimes keyboards, and is played with electric guitars. Ranchero mostly refers to Mariachi that includes; violins, trumpets, acoustic guitar and bass, and sometimes a harp. I myself can't stand Norteño. I do, however, love Mariachi. It's in my blood. It's what played in the house when I was growing up.
Thanks for the schooling. Serves me right for thinking I knew something about something I heard in a language I don't speak . Let me amend my previous statement to concur with what you say here. Mariachi I dig. Norteño I don't.
Frat rock. Noun/Verb + Number bands are just the pits. Sum 41, Blink 182, 7 Mary 3, Front 242 (Ha! just kidding. they were great back in the day).
What's that English 'Idols' guy name... the one with the terrible songs over the past year and a half? He ought to be shot.
There are great Mariachi bands in my neighborhood roaming around from bar to bar and restaurant to restaurant. One of them is so particularly good, that my girlfriend and I promised each other we'd hire them to play our reception if we ever get married. Which would be hilarious considering we both are as white as Irishmen.