[QUOTE=gredbioz]
You are quick to make dismissive assumptions about a music you “don’t know.” Yes, just as in rock, rap has its own canon. Rakim, Nas, Jay-Z, Biggie, Pac, NWA, Dr Dre, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Snoop Dogg, UGK, The Geto Boys, Wu Tang etc.
[/quote]
I didn’t say I don’t know rap music. I’ve been listening to rap and hip hop in some form since the days of Run DMC and I’m quite familiar with just about all of the artists you mentioned.
[QUOTE=gredbioz]
Do you really differentiate between serious music and party music when you’re listening?
[/quote]
I try and differentiate between “good” music and “bad” music. The question is what makes some music good, and what makes some music suck? There’s music that’s good party music but isn’t particulary good music. There’s music that’s good music that good music but not that great for partying too. There’s music that’s great to party to and great music. Finally there’s music that just sucks overall.
As to the question of “adolescent” or “adult” music being superior to one or the other - it’s more a question of the individuals taste. As an adult, I relate to music differently than someone who is a teenager. For example, I don’t suffer from “teenage angst”. I won’t be able to relate to music that predominantly features that theme on a personal level. Of course, if it is music from when I was a teenager (IE 80s Hair Bands or old-school Beastie Boys), I can relate to it on a nostalgic level. But that’s not to say that my teenager music is better than the current stuff. To a certain extent I’ve just grown out of that music.
And I guess that’s that what makes certain music “good”. If people of all ages at any point in time can relate to it on some level without it sounding “dated” or “lame” (do kids still say lame?).
I have one friend who stated he only listens to either the most current music or music that’s at least 10 years old. The implication being that if it’s still on your musical radar after 10 years, it must have something worthwhile (to him at least).