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Originally Posted by Nefeli
i dont need to listen to all noise albums ever made, no- really....i dont need to read novels, as obscure as they might be. so i dont know, that narrows it a bit.
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And this is why you must be my bride.
But on topic for a moment - I think this is a point where downloading relates to a sort of aesthetic of appreciation, rather than an aesthetic of music itself. With literature, even knowing a handful of publishing industry sorts, semi-professional writers, full-time academics [etc] - there simply doesn't exist, in the written word, the notion of scrabbling around for the indie writer who's doing something beyond their position. I mean, publishers and so on do find new writers, but there's not a groundswell indie market from the audience up in the same way that music has. The idea of finding that obscure band who are overlooked happens so, so much less in writing. I know of a few writers who are better than where they are, professionally - our own Jenn, for instance - but I could probably list 20 bands none of you will ever hear who are awesome. Not because I look deeper, but just because they don't record or get further than local appreciation, or only happened for a short time.
What I'm saying, I suppose, is in relation to my own thing with both writing and listening... Ok. One of the things I like about classical music, whether that means relatively new stuff like Pickard or much older stuff like Downland is that before it gets to my ears, it has a series of filtration processes. By the time it gets to my ears, lots of people have decided it's fit for public consumption. Which is where radio functions as a great equivocator, for me. One issue I have with downloading is that I simply can't be fucked - good stuff will find me. I might get on my high horse when something truly exceptional is forgotten or not thought about much -
Datblygu, for instance - but generally I'm happy waiting to see how I feel about something a few years down the line. With Datblygu, it was a good 5 years of listening before I realised that they really were a band worth listening to and shouting about.
In that context, what worries me about download culture as a general aspect of listening culture is that desire to shout about things instantly. If a band is worth my attention, they'll find me. Death Grips, for instance, are [is?] pretty great, but it took a few mates saying 'whoah - this is a bit good' before I could be arsed to listen. If I spent all day listening to all the things that people are shouting about - given the broad portfolio of places I go to for music (loads of blogs, a few forums, some orthodox news outlets, radio etc) - I'd never have time to do anything else (like read, wank, meet people, practise music, wank again). I'm happy for people to feel differently, and feel like the unheard-of music proselyte, but for me I'm happy waiting. Should I have listened to
Froberger before just now? Yes, on the basis of that; but it ultimately doesn't matter. I don't define taste, and neither do I want to.