How Alternative is Alternative?
Posted by Andrew
I know I’m a bit of a music snob. I’m willing to say that. I’m a fairly open minded snob, as far as snobs go, at least that’s what I’d like to think. I like listening to music that not that many people listen to, to be on the cutting edge and all that rubbish. If you’re easily offended by elitism, cease reading here and assume the rest of the post just says that everyone is wonderful and all music is wonderful.
For those of you who have stayed, I retract the above statement.
A couple of experiences over the last week or so have inspired me to write on this. The first one of those was in the car with my mum the other day. In the car, since I’m the one who really cares about music (mum’s tone deaf), I control the radio in the car. I flicked to one of the more “alternative” radio stations and listened for a while to a song and started singing harmonies or something to it. Mum commented that the music was “unconventional” or “unusual” or something like that. That of course got me going. I asked what use it was if we were to only listen to “conventional” or “normal” music?
I riffed for a little on that. What if Bach’s sons hadn’t moved on from their father’s work? We wouldn’t have seen the same progression from the baroque to classical periods. What if the Beach Boys had made Pet Sounds more conventional? More than likely that band across the pond wouldn’t have been pushed to create Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Unconventional music is a necessary force against the boundaries of music so that music does not become stagnant. I like that. In the unusual, we find thing which are unusually beautiful, where the usual has become dull.
The whole genre of “Alternative” is a total misnomer. How can you group people like Radiohead with the likes of Joanna Newsom? What makes something “Alternative”? Does it just not fit the mainstream? The thing about the alternative, that quite often things that were once alternative become mainstream. Snow Patrol, Josh Pyke, Angus & Julia stone are all examples of artists who were once considered “alternative” and are now mainstream. Quite apart from their respective genres, all of these artists have pulled the mainstream a little, and have been pulled a little bit the mainstream. This is healthy.
Now the second experience I had was this week’s Australian free single on iTunes. It’s Lykke Li’s Dance Dance Dance. I quite like it, it’s quirky, laid back and not badly done. Some of the iTunes reviews were hilarious though. Here are some select reviews to remind you how well educated Australia’s listening public is:
Wrong Section by DeathEdge:
This song I would say that little kids and queer men would listen to(no offence, just pointing out my opinion)
WEIRD!!!! by MUSIC MASTER(i know best for music):
VERY WERID (sic) AND NOT MY KIND OF MUSIC.
AAH! by Music_Lover_82:
Sounds like the song is being sang (sic) by a 2 year old… I HATE IT!!!
Firstly, I’d like to think that in high school we were all taught to write a review. I also hope we were taught the difference between a “review” and a “comment”. Perhaps on the internet any text field is just an opportunity to voice one’s opinion with no mind to what anyone else may think (before you comment, this text field is just such an opportunity for me). Some sort of perspective is required.
Now in all fairness, I’m pretty harsh on pop music (although I’m making some of my own at the moment and I still hate it) and have already admitted to being a snob, correct me if I’m wrong but I feel like I’m not that bad when it comes to commenting on music. I have my opinions, and I’ll happily share them, but at least they have some critical basis rather than just “IT’S NOT WHAT I’M USED TO, WAAAAAAAAAAA!”.
Anyhow, I just wanted to get that off my chest. If you’re Australian and have an iTunes account, check out the track. I think it’s pretty cool.
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