What Are You Doing RIGHT NOW? Part ELEVEN: Through the Wormhole...

[Witticus]

RB3 Expert Guitar FC #562: Stone Temple Pilots - "Vasoline"

I really don't know why this took so long.

Anyways, now I only have 9 songs left from the import to FC:
Black Hole Sun
Brainpower
Creep
Foreplay/Long Time
Green Grass and High Tides
Highway Star
Outside
Pleasure (Pleasure)
Train Kept A Rollin'

I'd say there are three of these that I should already have, and I'm pretty sure I have a tech. FC of GGaHT. (won't ever get the full song, but a tech FC is still pretty cool)

I'm gonna give you a little heads up. Nobody actually pays attention to any of these FC posts you make, they're the equivalent of the Brain Age thread.

[www1221]

I'm gonna give you a little heads up. Nobody actually pays attention to any of these FC posts you make, they're the equivalent of the Brain Age thread.

And there is actually a thread for this exact thing.

[BachiG]

"I like Nickelback more than the Beatles" - acceptable statement.

"Nickelback are better than the Beatles" - utter nonsense.

See what I mean?

Not really. What is it exactly about the Beatles that makes them "better" then Nickleback? How is that a universal fact in all matters? You mean you like their music better then Nickleback's? I know I like the Beatles music more than Nickleback's, but I don't know how that makes them generically just "better"... You have to define more precisely what aspect you're referring to.

Going back to your earlier example:

Yes, you most certainly can. Opinions are great fun, and if you like Limp Bizkit better than anything, heaven bless you. But Alter Bridge (as one example) have far more technically proficient musicians, more complex and thorough compositions, and jesus, frontmen. Myles Kennedy has a degree in music theory. Fred Durst is ****ing Fred Durst. One group is of an objectively higher quality than the other. If you like low-quality stuff, that's fine. Hell, I do too in some cases. But that doesn't make it better. Just your favorite. Two very different things.

You can't honestly say that Nickelback sleepwalking their way through the same three chords in every one of their songs is in any way equal to a group like Radiohead (and jesus, I hate Radiohead). That's just lunacy.

I could understand if you argued exactly that Alter Bridge have more technically proficient and complex musicians and more thoroughly or technically complex songs than LB, exactly as you said above, but that doesn't translate to being a "better" band or having "better" music, just one having more complex music and a band consisting of more complex musicians... The "better" part is still an opinion. If someone thinks that the songs composed entirely of simple power chords sound better then who's to argue?

[nascargo19]

I'm gonna give you a little heads up. Nobody actually pays attention to any of these FC posts you make, they're the equivalent of the Brain Age thread.

I figured that.

[BachiG]

I'm curious, does your mindset extend to other art forms? Would you balk at me saying The Godfather is a better movie than Manos: The Hands of Fate ? Yes, there certainly is a gulf between the two in my personal enjoyment, but that's not the statement I'm making here.

Let me turn the table, can any musician or group be compared to any other musician or group and a universal decision on who is better be reached?

Are all Mathcore/Mathrock bands universally better than all Southernrock bands just because the former style of music is more complex than the latter?

[killer_roach]

Let me turn the table, can any musician or group be compared to any other musician or group and a universal decision on who is better be reached?

Are all Mathcore/Mathrock bands universally better than all Southernrock bands just because the former style of music is more complex than the latter?

On the first point, while a comparison on reasonably objective merits could be reached, there would be a lack of consensus on how to weight those comparisons, and would mean that a universal decision would be impossible to reach (unless one band was clearly better on every single aspect, which I highly doubt).

As to the latter, tying into my prior paragraph, only if your consideration of "better' gave sufficient weighting to technical complexity.

[SheSaidSheSaid]

snip

Then we're at an impasse. The only way I can read this is "nothing is ever objectively good or bad" which, as I've said, is an area of conversation I'm not interested in exploring.

Let me turn the table, can any musician or group be compared to any other musician or group and a universal decision on who is better be reached?

I don't see why not.

Are all Mathcore/Mathrock bands universally better than all Southernrock bands just because the former style of music is more complex than the latter?

Certainly not (not sure what "mathcore" is anyway). Lynyrd Skynyrd, at least in their heyday, were some of the best rock musicians who have ever lived. Same, to a lesser extent, of the Allman Brothers and even their offshots like Gov't Mule. There are probably 'mathcore' bands that are terrible at what they do.

[Witticus]

I could understand if you argued exactly that Alter Bridge have more technically proficient and complex musicians and more thoroughly or technically complex songs than LB, exactly as you said above, but that doesn't translate to being a "better" band or having "better" music, just one having more complex music and a band consisting of more complex musicians... The "better" part is still an opinion. If someone thinks that the songs composed entirely of simple power chords sound better then who's to argue?

Yeah but there are still artists who can't write their way out of a paper bag, that being said Limp Bizkit is one of them.

"Heartbreak is a headache like a toothache or an earthquake
Spontaneous combustion leaves a taste that so disgustin'
And it don't go away too fast, I'm a window made of broken glass
I've never needed anythin', anythin' but you" - Limp Bizkit

And Nickelback can be argued for their astute lack of craftsmanship.

"Yes, sex is always the answer, it's never a question
'Cause the answer's yes, oh the answer's yes
Not just a suggestion, if you ask a question
Then it's always yes, yeah" - Nickelback

Point taken is that I can still call an artist stupid as fact.

[www1221]

I liked it better when we were talking about shirtless men and professional wrestlers.

[Witticus]

I liked it better when we were talking about shirtless men and professional wrestlers.

How about a happy compromise and a conversation about shirtless women mud wrestling.