Music Forum / Rock Or Rap?

Rock

Up the irons!

both.

For those who like rock...what type of rock?


I personnaly like goth rock.

I just have a particular taste of music and this does not include Rap. I just find it all too similar (*waits for every rap fan to flame*).

I'm afraid that does suggest that you haven't given the genre as much as a chance as you could. Because although you might not like any rap at all, it is quite difficult to say that it all sounds similar.

I dunno, I prefer rock music I suppose, but I do enjoy rap too.

I have alot more guitar based music, but I really enjoy a bit of rap now and then (particuarly MF Doom).

I have to say rock because I have a higher tolerance for most rock than I do for rap. I can listen to a few rap songs in little bits, but like country music, or listening to any one artist from any genre, after too long it sounds too much the same. Personally, I have the a lot less tolerance for rap, R&B, and country than I do for rock. I don't hate it, I just don't have the taste to listen to it in the same dosage as rock. In the end, it also has a lot to do with the sound of the group/artist.

I think this poll is flawed, though. It doesn't include enough of the genres of music for me to choose from, like Ed said.

both.

Exactly! Where was that option?

I think that those who don't like rap haven't heard good rap and those who don't like rock haven't heard good rock. Rock is such a huge genre, encompassing pop, old, heavy, punk and many other variations; there's bound to be something out there for the listener. With hip hop you've got about three variations: Good, Bad, Old. I think those who say they don't like hip hop haven't heard music by k-Os, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Kamau, Common, A Tribe Called Quest or Lauryn Hill. And I don't think that those who say they don't like rock have heard of Interpol, Radiohead, Metric, The Smiths and even Coldplay. Obviously not everyone is going to like the artists mentioned, but if you find yourself voting in this poll then I would check out some of the artists I listed.

Exactly! Where was that option?

I think that those who don't like rap haven't heard good rap and those who don't like rock haven't heard good rock. Rock is such a huge genre, encompassing pop, old, heavy, punk and many other variations; there's bound to be something out there for the listener. With hip hop you've got about three variations: Good, Bad, Old. I think those who say they don't like hip hop haven't heard music by k-Os, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Kamau, Common, A Tribe Called Quest or Lauryn Hill. And I don't think that those who say they don't like rock have heard of Interpol, Radiohead, Metric, The Smiths and even Coldplay. Obviously not everyone is going to like the artists mentioned, but if you find yourself voting in this poll then I would check out some of the artists I listed.

You can leave Coldplay out that list.

I have heard some of this "underground" rap from a friend of mine and I still don't like it.

My main gripe with rap is that all the beats are uncreative and the melodies are boring to me. Lyrics dont mean much to me unless they have a good melody.

So obviously my preference is rock.

I have heard some of this "underground" rap from a friend of mine and I still don't like it.

My main gripe with rap is that all the beats are uncreative and the melodies are boring to me.  Lyrics dont mean much to me unless they have a good melody.

So obviously my preference is rock.

A lot of underground rap is pretty shit. That's why it's still underground, because it sucks. But about beats uncreative and melodies boring... holy shit, you have no clue.

But about beats uncreative and melodies boring... holy shit, you have no clue.

motion seconded

I'm with JBruckner and nate here. It is possible to enjoy both styles of music, eh?

For me, its pretty obvious what I prefer, but I will never rule out rock as a "bad" style of music.

I have heard some of this "underground" rap from a friend of mine and I still don't like it.

My main gripe with rap is that all the beats are uncreative and the melodies are boring to me.  Lyrics dont mean much to me unless they have a good melody.

So obviously my preference is rock.

I could say that rock has boring melodies too, assuming the only rock I had ever heard was Linkin Park and Staind.

I could say that rock has boring melodies too, assuming the only rock I had ever heard was Linkin Park and Staind.

Well then you would be correct in assuming rock has boring melodies, because Linkin Park and Staind both have boring melodies.

But if thats all you've heard, you havent heard the rock that does have good melodies.

A lot of underground rap is pretty shit. That's why it's still underground, because it sucks. But about beats uncreative and melodies boring... holy shit, you have no clue. 

Gimme a song or two that you feel has good beats and melodies and I'll give them a try.

Gimme a song or two that you feel has good beats and melodies and I'll give them a try.

I'm not gonna feed good rap music for you, music is different when you find it for yourself than when it's shown to you. But to get you started, listen to the beats on Late Registration, they don't sound like anything else I've ever heard (and pay attention to Gold Digger, that is a fucking tune!).

...rap is more of a cultural thing, so the flow of the genre has more to do with the attitudes of that culture, as opposed to a natural evolution of the sound.

The only rap I really like is either really old, or silly.

a list of hiphop artists I actually like:

run dmc
grand master flash
sugarhill gang
(early) ll cool j
del the funky homosapien
disposable heroes of hiphoprisy
cypress hill
sir mix-a-lot
beastie boys
eminem (most of his stuff SUCKS, just those 4 or 5 songs are what I happen to like).

a few others, but that's pretty much it. Most times, it's just one album or song, really.

...if I want breakbeat, I'm pretty content to leave the fucking fatheaded MC's in the fucking gutter, and let the actual breaks and beats get some attention.

turntablism is talent, what MC's do is NOT talent. PERIOD. Poetry is poetry, whatever, but what most of these guys do is not audibly aesthetic at all. It's verbal revelry, used only to introduce the DJ and pump up the CROWD. How it became an "artform" (term used loosely) is BEYOND me. Yelling about a deep issue with about as much tonal variance as a whistle does not make you talented. Matching your voice to really really fast or intricate beats could be skilled, but I've heard most of these tracks that people were like "aaaaww yeah, check that speeeeeed" and was not, infact, impressed. The problem is that rap is repetitive because the only thing the voice does is accomodate the beat, without giving anything to the fucking MELODY. The only way rap can sound good is when there is a hook that works well within the structure, and that hook has to be catchy for the whole thing to work. Most rap... is so engorged with the idea that it IS rap, that it doesn't feel the need to actually sound musical.

Actually, i DO know why MC's got the attention, while dj's didn't. MC's get to do the speaking, but what dj's do is a very behind the scenes sort of thing. It's like a guitarist and vocalist in a rock band. Chances are, the guitarist is the one with the talent, but who gets all the fucking attention? The crowing asshole who thinks he's gods gift to man, even though he had nearly zero creative input on the whole shibang. It's like THAT. MC's got the lime light cuz they were the voice, the image. Naturally, that blew them up in the eyes of audiences, and elevated this hokey bullshit to somehow become a fucking "genre".

There are some that do impressive things WITHIN the medium of the "breakbeat", but it's STILL mostly a cultural thing, and that's not even counting the shit storm that is ultra-mainstream-gansta-bullshit-rap, which has even less merit than "jump-up" as far as I'm concerned.

Some of it is so bad, I can't even help but laugh when I hear it.

My favorite breakbeat is ultra hardcore breakbeat.

AKA

mindless self indulgence.

That shit is fucking awesome.

In the end, the style is just a means to an end, not an end itself, and really, doesn't matter, unless, of course, the artist doesn't realise this, in which case they suck anyways.

However, I rarely listen to hip-hop these days, and frequently listen to rock, so...

rock all the way for me. i like alternative and punk (chili peppers, green day, offspring, interpol, nirvana) and classic (eric clapton, beatles, aerosmith, the who) the best

Bah. It's just culture people. What sounds good to you is from your culture. It's what you grow up with. The only reason rock is winning this poll is simple demographics. It's not because it's a more popular form of music or more aesthetic sound. It's simply because certain types of people grow up listening to certain types of music and most never think to go outside of that.

If you really don't agree with me, conduct a little experiment. Pick a radio station you can't ever imagine listening too. Whether that be rap or pop or country or rock or whatever. Now listen to that station several hours a day every day for two weeks. Even if it literally makes your ears bleed. Just do it. I bet by the end there'll be songs you recognize when they come on and you kind of like. You'll be bobbing your head with the beat. You'll have a few phrases of the lyrics or a few lines of the melody memorized. Sure you'll probably still hate a lot of it, but you'll find something you like. And if you kept that up for longer than 2 weeks you'll probably find even more that you like. The only reason not to push yourself to try new things is that you're afraid you might like them.

Yelling about a deep issue with about as much tonal variance as a whistle does not make you talented.

I do not agree with your post on many levels. The most glaring issue is as quoted above. Firstly, those who yell do not yell about important issues. One could say the same thing about heavy-metal (or other forms of rock). The yelling typecast is a label best placed on those who yell, not on an entire genre. Secondly, hip hop is not about the vocal delivery of a message, it's about the power of the message.