Music Snobs
Music Snobs
by Dave Latchaw
You may know one or be one. I may be one. Musicians and fans of music are passionate about their own particular idiom, which is great. What has always surprised me though, is how some people can be so self-righteous and dismiss or give no credibility to music other than they like. I think it is natural for people to like or not like certain pieces or types of music, and that is is cool but quite wrong to dismiss it altogether. I think one should separate their personal opinion of an artistic work from whether the work is credible or not. My observations have led me to believe that when someone is degrading the credibility of an art form outside their own limited area of knowledge, it is usually because of arrogance or ignorance. Either way the music snob looks pathetic. What a bore it would be if everyone liked the same music. The more successful and interesting artists and music is a fusion of several styles.
How many of us have met that jazz player or fan who thinks that music has not changed since the 40’s? It is cool if that player wants to keep expanding on one time period of music. They are a pain in the axe if their attitude is dismissive toward all jazz that is different than their focus. It is suprising to me that so many people have such strong opinions about what jazz is, and yet have such a narrow perspective. For instance, when I heard musicians and music fans talk and write about the Ken Burns “Jazz” documentary, I was surprised at the number of people who had something to gripe about. They would dismiss the whole effort of the documentary. Yes, there were plenty of areas under the broad jazz umbrella that did not get covered. If you think about it, there is no way one could make an all-encompassing presentation on the topic of “Jazz”. Just covering the history of the known national jazz figures would not even make a dent on the surface of what jazz is about. To be complete you would also have to look internationally and regionally and cover the jazz warriors their contributions to jazz. Many Jazz Warriors have never gotten any recognition for their efforts. Jazz just has too many angles to satisfy everyone with an opinion. The areas that Ken Burns covered were informative, interesting and cool to look at. When hearing Ken Burns discuss his thoughts on the “Jazz” documentary, he made it clear that his effort was just a snapshot of this thing called jazz.
It is a waste of your time to make a big deal about trashing something you don’t dig. I don’t know how many times I have met a classical, jazz or rock musician who acts as though their music is “it”. When I hear these people play, I miss a certain completeness about their playing. A classical chamber musician does not have to like Metallica, but if they’ve never listened to metal, they are missing a whole direction of energy that they could bring to the music they play. The jazz or rock musician that does not explore classical music is missing a whole piece of the musical puzzle which teaches a discipline that will aid them in being a complete musician. Being open and not judgmental can create a unique and special interpretation of a piece of music. I think if you are going to be a great musician, you have to be open to other areas of music to expand your musical growth. Complacency and a narrow perspective with a righteous attitude is just silly! Being a musician and a fan of music is a lifetime commitment of study, work and evolution. Take it all in and have opinions, but don’t be a music snob!
