I am Sick and Tired of Real Music
You have heard it before. We all have. “That’s not real music.” It is a phrase used all too often by music snobs and older generations that don’t understand today’s new, loud music.
Whether it’s hip-hop, electronic music, or pop music that “doesn’t have any feeling,” the label of “not real music” is so quickly placed on a song because it's not complex, in-depth, or decent enough. In other words, people are quick to demean the art they don’t like.
My mother the other day had found one of my old mixtapes from when I was in middle school and jokingly told me about how she missed “when her baby enjoyed real music.” She was complaining that the music I listen to now was either electronic, rap, or alternative music and not the pop and country that I heavily listened to in middle school.
It was weird because, yes I still listened to pop and country music (maybe not as heavily but it was definitely still in my playlist), but also because why are those two genres more musical than what I was listening to now?
I also had a similar experience with my music professor that I am teaching a class with. While going over lesson plans in a local family diner, he made an off-hand comment about how he couldn’t believe the crap they were playing on the radio. That it wasn’t real music.
I even hear it from people trying to gatekeep music genres by saying “that’s not real rap” when talking about mumble rap or saying “that’s not real country” when they hear the pop-focused melodies of the current country scene.
It is ridiculous.
Music is an art form. That means that it has interpretations and significance beyond just fitting your musical taste. A song can mean the world to someone because of its relevance to them, and that really isn’t based on how or why the song was made. You don’t think the song has enough depth? Well, that can be a you problem and not the problem of the song.
We have to stop demeaning songs just because they don’t fit into our musical tastes.
In the example of my mom, maybe she could try to understand the music that I am listening to and ask questions about it. It could help her see into my personality as an adult.
My music professor could benefit from not being so critical of today’s pop music because it could help him connect to is students.
Music is a voice of the generation and listening to what gets released can be a look at what is happening in the culture around you, especially if you are a music professor that teaches the history of music.
It is not up to you to decide what is and isn’t music and in fact, it is not up to anyone. That is because music, like many art forms, has a special meaning to the listener and all of your complaining cannot take that away.
