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Opinion

My Controversial Music Opinions…

I am a very opinionated person, but here is the thing: opinions are opinions, not fact, so if you disagree with me that’s okay! Feel free to make your case in the comments, and if you agree, make sure y’all are debating with me down there. This is a mix of opinions, serious ones, some hot takes, all based on the wiring in my specific brain ok? With all that being said, let’s get into it.

  • First things first, there is no such thing as a bad taste in music. If you are someone who shits on someone elses music taste unironically, I hate to be the one to tell you this but you are annoying. Let’s break the word taste down first, okay? Taste is defined as a persons liking for particular flavors. In food, every single person on the planet has different taste preferences, ingredients and meals that just don’t sit right with them, it all depends on your personal taste buds and the reaction your body has to what you’re consuming. Why don’t people look at music taste that way? Everyone has different flavor preferences, that doesn’t mean your musical taste buds are any better than mine, it just means we don’t like the same flavor profiles babe. You should listen to music like you’re exploring a new food.
  • I might be bias on this next one, but let me say my piece. I will take a phenomenal alto over the worlds greatest soprano every single day of the week. Altos never get the appreciation they deserve in choirs, in theatre, in any application of harmony the altos are carrying and the credit is overdue. Altos deserve all your love and attention, always. The vocal range of an alto is so gorgeous and luscious and velvety, it works in every single setting and vibe whether it be a campfire acoustic little get together or a national stage, an alto in their prime energy strikes your soul. If you put me on a deserted island and I had to choose between an alto or a soprano, im choosing the alto because honestly I think they are more reslliant. The social structure of being an alto toughens you up, and thats a fact.
  • Everyone takes genre way too seriously. Every single genre is a subgenre of another genre that came before it, or its a leg off a branch of a tree from a genre that was stolen from another genre, and it goes on and on.When people say, “I only listen to _____ music.” I always wanna say you are lying, because whatever genre they say they only lisen to is always a mix of other genres and filled with so much context that is not captured by the one word genres we use. It is my belief that Genres should be used as a GPS to finding music you like, a navigation tool that points you towards a vibe. If you are only listening to one genre of music, reconsider what genre means. I think I’m gonna make a longer video about this because I could go on about how I think genres are borderline obsolete for HOURS!!! Anyway, onto the next..
  • This one is really really important and I need y’all to listen carefully. Nickelback is a fucking good band, and they always have been a good band, and they deserve credit for the absolute bops they gave me throughout my childhood. This is how you remind me, If Today was Your Last Day, Rockstar, Animals, and thats just to name a FEW! The music videos are iconic, the energy is there, and I will forever and always be a nickelback stan. That’s all.
  • Artists do not ever owe you a specific sound. Just because you liked what they did on a previous album does not mean they are obligated to stick within that space for any amount of time. Artists are artists, and should have the flexibility to create that art however they want to. This is the only way that artists can truly flow with themselves in their music. I am both an artist and a fan in music. As an artist, my job is to create. As a fan, my job is to consume. I, as a fan, am not entitled to those creations though. It’s my job to listen to it, see the vibe and if its something that makes it into the rotation, or if I’m gonna just stick with the stuff I have liked from that artist throughout the rest of their discography. I can understand the attachment to the sounds that artist develop, especially if you find them during certain times of your life, but the artist isn’t required to replicate that feeling for you. When fans demand or shit on their favs when a new album comes out, it makes no sense to me and I don’t think yall are real fans of the artist, rather than a fan of that one particular sound you got from them in one instance.
  • Disco is one of the most fun genres of music and it will always be good. People who don’t like disco should seek therapy, honestly. Out of the whole genre, you can’t get down to one song? No boogie in you at all? Aside from the music, the whole era is everything. The clothes, the clubs, the stars, Disco is everything. There will never be a day that I deny Disco, not on this channel. I don’t even understand why people don’t like it, they just say they don’t and act like thats normal. What’s up with that?
  • Next up, the quality of recording does not equal how good or bad a piece of music is. The amount of music technology advancements in the last 20 years is unbelievable, but before that last few decades it wasn’t about the quality of the recording but the quality of the artist and their portrayal of a song. In today’s time, I can understand the desire for the highest of production quality in music, but this contributes so much to how exclusive the music industry is. There are many artists who simply do not have the means to secure a studio space, whhether it be home made or a profesional space, should they wait until they have all that to release their music? I think not. You can always re-record stuff when you get to the next level. Listen for the artist, the lyrics and the instruments, the emotions that person is exploring in that performance. None of that can be defined by the quality o f the recording, in most cases. Obviously if its like blown out and literally messed up, that’s different but I’m talking just about what would be considered amatuer or mediocre recording set ups.
  • A piece of music does not have to have significant meaning or or value to be a good song. Songs that are witten just because are unique as they allow you to really give it a meaning for yourself. Attaching your own memories to music is a magical way to widen your music taste and perspective on your life. Not every song needs to be a sweeping gut wrenching tale or fantastical interpretation of the grand meaning of life. Peanut Butter by RuPaul is one of my favorite songs of all time, and the lyrics are not emotionally meaningful to me but the situations in which I have played that song are. This leads to my last and most important controversial opinion.
  • This is the opinion on which the principles of my entire brand are built. You do not need to be educated, or good at music at all in order for your opinion and your experiences with music to be valid. For context, I just graduated last month with a music degree. After I have that degree physically in my hand I am going to make a much more in depth about music education, BUT I want to drive home that my love and passion for music has never been found in an academic setting. Music is a feeling that you aren’t going to find reading about it or having someone, even me, talk your ears off about it. All of that is just to point you towards experiencing the actual music, which you do not need formal education for. Babies fresh out of the womb can have opinions on music, they just can’t speak them yet. But I know y’all have had to see those videos of babys calming down when their parents put on a song they like, or the ones dancing around with big smiles on even though they dont know what the hell is going on. It’s a feeling, a transfer of energy. Music is everywhere, and putting boundaries on who can or cannot listen to certain types of music or who can or can not have an opinion on music is not productive to the music community. In this space, if you listen to music and you have something to say about it, I wanna hear it. With that being said, make sure to leave your comments below on what you agreed or didn’t agree with so we can argue about it or celebrate our matching energies.

For an audio/video version of this post, check out the YouTube Channel:

By Victoria Shell

Epileptic Singer-Songwriter & Independent Music Journalist.

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