Good taste or just a snob?
 

My taste in music, until a teenager, was limited to classical music. No other kind was ever heard in our home. I still have a strong recollection being invited to listen to Bill Haley(?) & the Comets performing Rock Around the Clock one day returning from Sunday school. ( No, i’m not a believer). I thought the human race had gone insane making my escape as soon as possible. Now in my 70’s I still find most early white rock & roll a boring dilution of the blues & jazz.
Being a pipe organ student may have warped my perspective which thankfully has been stretched much wider. However, I can still be snobbish even when it comes to classical music much of which I experience as ‘pot boiling’ rubbish. Took me another forty years to learn to appreciate the blues and country & western ( not the Australian variety of C & W which I gives me the horrors)
Punk, Dixieland and most Hollywood musicals (with the exception of West Side Story) I can’t abide.
When it comes to recorded music I find a nasty percentage of todays studio productions ruined by over manipulated digital effects - and don’t get me started on so called auto-tune.
My tolerance for a lot of today’s recordings is probably over sensitive but having been addicted to high end audio since my teens (once referred to as high-fidelity) and being blessed (cursed?) with perfect pitch makes listening to a lot of music over the web via MP3 compression etc at times irksome.

As of yet I can not ascertain as whether or not you are a " music snob, or have good taste in music." I would need slightly more information on your situation. I need to know what you like, what you don't like and perhaps why. So I post these videos as a test for further assessment and analysis.

Egg - Fugue in D Minor


The Stranglers - Golden Brown

I’ve aways enjoyed this somewhat laid back tune. As a geriatric hippie it reminds me of a time many decades ago when we interpreted ‘golden brown’ as refering to a specific kind of hashish we were very fond of.

I don't know, I like a tight perspective on my pipe organ.

Yeah, I'd kind of think you're a music snob. I like the Egg track as it is more of a homage to Bach than anything cheesy in my opinion. And, of course, there are so many homages to classical music in the rock genre to use as an example. Heck, ELO alone would probably want you to head for the hills, Ayn. :laughing:

As, for Golden Brown, yeah, one of my favorite songs from the Stranglers, but the harpsichord, as you may know, was used quite a bit in the sixties. Indeed, I always think of Sunshine Superman when someone mentions harpsichord (and the instrument was used in pop songs way before that).

Anyway, yes, I think you're a snob, but so what? All that really matters is that you enjoy the music you like. :)

There's a parallel between your introduction to music and mine, Ayn. This would be my own story:

My taste in music, until about seven, was limited to classical music. No other kind was ever heard in our home, except for "Children's Hour" on the radio on Saturday mornings.(Little White Bull, Seventy-Six Trombones, Nelly The Elephant etc.) I still have a strong recollection being invited to listen to Lonnie Donegan performing Don't You Rock Me Daddio. I thought the human race had at last come to its senses and now included adults who wanted instant, accessible fun from their music too.

So, similar, but completely different. Anyway, welcome to MB! We don't have many Australian members here: you'll soon discover that most of the posting action happens while you're asleep!

I don't know, the jury is still out on this one. I think for some people they wear "music snobbery" as a badge of honor, for others it's a pretty serious accusation to hurl at them. So before I call some a music snob I have to know whether I am stroking their ego or hurting their feelings. Neither of which I consciously want to do.

@OP I really enjoyed Fugue in D Minor by Egg. I like how the electric bass and organ intertwines. I think JS Bach would enjoy this himself too.

I don't know if these next two songs are the best examples of Hollywood musicals, and Punk. (I've seen the Plasmatics labeled as "Shock Rock" among falling into other categorizations) I imagine Judy Garland and Wendy O. Williams will have their detractors on MB. I fear there will be more ire for Judy Garland. I guess that is to be expected.

Judy Garland - The Trolley Song


Plasmatics - Butcher Baby

I don’t care who calls we a snob but experience has taught me to expect it.
As to your appreciation of that Bach interpretation I’ll stick my head out. I know enough about J S B and his works, his opinions of other musicians etc to be certain if he heard that version he’d be horrified, and not simply due to his somewhat puritanical religious views.
Anyhow don’t worry about hurting my feelings. I’m a tough enough and maybe arrogant enough for ‘insults’ not to matter.
I have one question for you though. Have you ever had the experience of hearing live a top rank organist perform J. S. Bach on one of the great instruments? If not I suggest you do.