Beauty lies in the ears of the listener

Before I begin, I would like to mention that my knowledge over musical techniques, background, etc. is very limited. Therefore, I have (nearly) nothing intellectual to add to this discussion.

First, I’d like to explain what I personally define as classical and popular music. When people mention classical music, my mind immediately brings me to an image of piano’s, violins and several flutes (very close-minded, I’m sure). Even though there is a lot of technique and brilliance needed to create this sort of music, I myself experience it with a certain indifference that comes from a lack of interest in how it was composed.

Popular music is hard to define for me. It all depends on the audience at the time. These days, I can see that technology is more often used in music, with auto-tuned singing and electronic beats serving as my examples. Because of this, DJ’s are starting to become more and more popular. I have to admit that I do listen to some of this music. I like most of the songs made by T-pain, but that’s mostly because I think his lyrics are funny. I can also listen to songs with electronic beats, provided that the lyrics aren’t too meaningless and mainstream.

I’ll use three hip hop songs (the style I mainly listen to) as my examples.

The first is ‘Pass Out’ by Tinie Tempah. This popular type of hip hop uses more special effects and less musical techniques than in the past. I do not like listening to this song, as it has little meaning attached to it.



My second example is the song ‘You Got Me’ by Erykah Badu and a famous band called The Roots. Don’t get me wrong, I know their music isn’t classical music, but I do like to think of it that way, because they have been performing for a long while now, and they still use instruments in their music. I usually just call it classical hip hop to make it easier for myself. To be honest, I don't listen to them very often, but I do appreciate them more.



My last example is ‘Just to get by’ by Talib Kweli, a pretty well known rapper from New York. This doesn’t have much to do with the rest, but I just wanted to give you the best example of what my kind of music is. These lyrics contain substance and I actually enjoy listening to him, which is more than I can say about classical or popular music.



I realise that most of you don’t like this kind of music, so I won’t be appalled if anybody decides not to listen to the songs. Also, after reading this myself, I'm gonna have to admit that it doesn't really contribute any substance to the discussion. I still liked writing it though.