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Mozart vs. Led Zeppelin
By CheapReveal | June 12, 2007
Well I stumbled across an article this morning in a blog called howardwho. I had dismissed the article when I initially read it but sometime later (maybe and hour or two) while I was dazing off in my cubicle I began thinking about the article again.
This aforementioned article was titled Classical Music is the Best Music. After reading the article for the first time I began to agree with it. There was one paragraph in particular that caught my eye.
For you see, the reason why classical music is the best is that decades and centuries have all but eliminated the crap, the mediocre artists, the trendy one-hit wonders, the fakers, and the wannabes. It is best by default because if we’re listening to it that means it stuck around and struck a nerve.
After a first read I had agreed with this portion of the article but later, as the day went on, I began to debate this with myself. You see in classical music we are only familiarized with the best of the best and I do not think that is what makes a genre stand out as the cream of the crop. Of course it has stood the test of time, but this is just due to the fact that the people in charge at the times (kings, queens, dukes, duchesses etc.) were keen to the sound. I for one would much rather listen to a rock opera than an actual opera.
See for me I think what this all boils down to is the age old debate of whether contemporary art can be compared to classical art. I would say that they both stand equal ground. It’s like comparing a Michelangelo to a Picasso. Sure the Michelangelo is breathtaking and remarkably detailed, but the Picasso is unique and extremely innovative. After seeing a Picasso you might ask yourself ‘how did he come up with that?’ while after staring at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for an hour you might be asking yourself, ‘how did he ever finish that?’.
To me it’s a matter of opinion.
Topics: art |
June 16th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Dude, thanks for the mention!
“Of course it has stood the test of time, but this is just due to the fact that the people in charge at the times (kings, queens, dukes, duchesses etc.) were keen to the sound.”
I was going to save this issue for another essay. Basically the gist is that classical music was not written for the elites but for everyone. That means that the poorest people would all be listening to the same operatic hit songs that the kings were. Of course, the poor may not have had access to go to the opera house, but they could learn to play the songs on piano and later on record players.
Actually, classical music didn’t actually become elite until about 60 years ago, which in my opinion drained it of its relevance to regular people who would I believe otherwise might like it.
June 17th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Touché, all great points.