Is your heart filled with a love of music, or something else?

The human ego is always seeking ways to justify its agenda. 

boxer12

I was reflecting on the frictions that arise here and on other forums and how they are often less about the topic at hand and more about unconsci-ous ego-driven impulses, such as "the need to feel or be seen as right", "the need to feel be seen as smarter", etc. We are all susceptible to this but being aware of when we are being triggered/engaged in defending an idealized view of ourselves certainly helps in such circumstances. If we're aware of how it feels to be caught up in such states, we can rein in the drive to "prove" a point-- a drive that often involves "proving the other guy is wrong". 

Perhaps my earlier post will make more sense, now. I hope so. 


arafiq:

I invite you to consider the possibility that to say "Rap is not music" is not necessarily a put-down.  

There are differing definitions of "music". 

The one I go by requires that three aspects be present (listed in no specific order): rhythm, melody and harmony.

Rap has rhythm but very little or no melody or harmony. What is most apprent is the language. Therefore, I'd define it as a spoken-word art, much more akin to poetry than music.  

I love many African-American musical genres-- most of my listening is to Jazz and when it comes to guitar-playing, one of my favorites to play has always been Blues. I also read poetry and have spent many years trying to write it. So it's not that I don't appreciate or respect African-influenced music or the art of stringing words together.

I simply don't happen to find Rap aesthetically appealing or engaging. 
I don't care for New Country, Metal, Prog, Contemporary R&B or Smooth Jazz,  either.

And, the fact that these other genres DO fit my definition of music, has, in actuality very little, if anything, to do with my dislike for them. The same is true of Rap. I don't dislike it "because it's not music" -- it simply doesn't appeal to me. 

Now, I'm not denying that the statement "Rap is not music" is often used as a criticism. It is, and the same thing has been said of Bebop, Early Rock 'N Roll, Free Jazz and other genres.

I'm simply offering another angle. 

I'm not here to fight. I'd ideally like this to be a place where people with differing viewpoints can learn about the viewpoints of others rather than immediately getting triggered into conflict about who is "right". When it comes to aesthetics, you can try to prove that mustard is the right thing to put on a hot dog, not ketchup, but good luck coming up with a definitive argument. It's very subjective. 

frogman:

"Re: “frictions that arise”: I also agree, but would temper that sentiment with the idea that it is not always inappropriate to know and be confident in being right on a particular topic or issue. Being confident in being right is not necessarily driven by “the need to be right”. Relativism is appropriate only up to certain point. How we deal with and treat each other is the key.

You make excellent points. 

I certainly didn't mean to imply that "the need to be right" is always operating in every case-- only that it's one factor that, acting as an uncoscious driver of behavior, has the capacity to lead to unneccessary friction-- or, as you might put it--  to people not "treating each other" well.