is there such a thing as 'intelligent music'?

[U2Man]

everyone has probably heard radiohead being talked about as 'rock's most intelligent band'. and you can read posts saying 'old school metallica WAS intelligent'. some people call songs such as vertigo 'stupid'. but does it make sense? what defines 'intelligent' music?

 

[LemonMelon]

Good question. What really defines "intelligence" anyway? One man's down is another man's up.

In a world gone mad, only the insane truly make sense.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

hooo boy, here we go...

Well it's all subjective isn't it?

I mean there is some music that I guess you can clearly classify as not intelligent; Paris Hilton's music for example....

To call music intelligent is harder I think because everyone has a different view, to me I find a simple set of words to be genius but others may think I'm crazy...

And what about classical music? There are no words at all but that certainly doesn't detract from the sophistication of the music itself.

 

[Snowlock]

hooo boy, here we go...

Well it's all subjective isn't it?

I mean there is some music that I guess you can clearly classify as not intelligent; Paris Hilton's music for example....

To call music intelligent is harder I think because everyone has a different view, to me I find a simple set of words to be genius but others may think I'm crazy...

And what about classical music? There are no words at all but that certainly doesn't detract from the sophistication of the music itself.

I don't think you can clearly classify any music as intelligent or unintelligent. Even Paris Hiltons... For her to make her album, there had to be intelligent musicians playing the music. Intelligent and creative people in the studio. Art takes intelligence, I think no matter what we may think of it subjectively. Even the Barney song has intelligence in that someone had to be smart enough to come up with something so insufferably memorable and have vision enough to know that kids would find it irresistable.

Now, lyrics you can classify as intelligent, non intelligent or neutral I suppose given your interpretation or their intent, and there I'll agree with your Paris example.

 

[coemgen]

Music can't be intelligent, but the listener can be.

 

[Chris Martin]

 

[BVS]

Who ever called Metallica 'intelligent'?

 

[U2Man]

http://forum.interference.com/t173729.html

 

[Saracene]

I strongly suspect that the whole "intelligent music" thing was coined was so that people could pat themselves on the back for listening to "intelligent music" and feel all nice and exclusive,

And it's all awfully subjective; after all many people think that all rock music is dumb, simple and stupid compared to, say, classical.

 

[If you shout...]

Uuuuhhhhhh...IDM, anybody...?

 

[jphelmet]

i can see why people say it. i think in most contexts intelligent is music that is not instant or easily accessible. music that reveals more the more time is spent listening. i think that would be the case with classical music. does that mean something that is immediately accessible is not intelligent? no i don't think so but I think that is the way it is described a lot of the time. I think that is why someone may say vertigo is dumb in that context. i personally think its the opposite, b/c its not easy to song that is immediately accessible. For me what really makes it intelligent is when its both. When you hear it and its immediate, but has layers and just gets better. (Like a lot of U2).

i think of it in terms of a quote i heard from the bassist from tool, a year or so ago: "With us, it sucks — you don't get any music for a long time, but when you do, it's something you can sink your teeth into. It lasts a little longer. Think of it like fast food — sure, it's instantly satisfying, but it doesn't really sort you out in the long run. I don't know which is better, but that's just how we roll, you could say."

as he says something you can sink your teeth into, i think thats the way a lot of people define intelligent music. at least that is what i think, but who knows i'm not that intelligent.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

What about those songs that helped you learn your times table?

 

[LemonMelon]

Uuuuhhhhhh...IDM, anybody...?

Uh...that music stupid...

 

[BVS]

http://forum.interference.com/t173729.html

Oh wow.

 

[xaviMF22]

this thread =

 

[Justin24]

Bethoveen is intelligent music? So is Mozart, Bach, Chopin.

 

[Muminki]

this thread =

 

[Copy]

this thread =

If you don't like a thread, why post in it?

 

[intedomine]

No, there is not really such thing as "intelligent music". It's all in the mind, a myth perpetuated by those who were against the idea of someone "making music for the sake of fun or commerical gain."

In the eyes of these people, a piece of music or a musical "group" or "artist" was only credible if it they made their music for the sake of "art" and "art" alone, hence making it "intelligent." Just a form of elitism.

What music should be all about, IMO, is having fun and making something that sounds good. Not making something that sounds like shite. That's not intelligent, that's just silly.

Indeed, where is this underlying principle that certifies Paris Hilton's music as less "intelligent" than Radiohead's? The quality of the song should be judged on the level of enjoyment, not upon how avant-garde or unprecedented something is.

 

[WinnieThePoo]

Bethoveen is intelligent music? So is Mozart, Bach, Chopin.

it's cold as ice , not human enough

Classic music shows you whats right and whats wrong with our society

 

[bono_man2002]

What about those songs that helped you learn your times table?

 

[Bonochick]

this thread =

Dude, knock off the attitude. If you don't like a thread, don't post in it. You've been getting reprimanded a lot lately, so if you want to continue posting here, stay out of trouble.

 

[WinnieThePoo]

All i know is what i like
And what i like is jazz , Blues & electronic music===>>> everything in between , there is future and real life in those genres

 

[GibsonGirl]

it's cold as ice , not human enough

What is? Classical music? If so, I must respectfully disagree with you. I think classical music is just as human as any kind of music, sometimes even more so. Especially if you equate "human" with "emotion." The third movement of Shostakovich's Symphony For Strings Op. 118a is probably the most moving piece of music I've ever heard.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

What is? Classical music? If so, I must respectfully disagree with you. I think classical music is just as human as any kind of music, sometimes even more so. Especially if you equate "human" with "emotion." The third movement of Shostakovich's Symphony For Strings Op. 118a is probably the most moving piece of music I've ever heard.

Shostakovich

The suite from The Gadfly is transcendent...

 

[corianderstem]

it's cold as ice , not human enough

Classic music shows you whats right and whats wrong with our society

So ... you're saying classical music is too cold, not human enough ... and then say it's an example of what's wrong with our society?

Or are you saying it's an example of what's RIGHT with our society? If so, I think that contradicts your first statement.

To say that classical music is cold and not human enough is baffling to me.

 

[Canadiens1131]

When i think of "intelligent music", I kind of think of a bunch of German guys sitting around in black turtlenecks listening to Kraftwerk while doing large math sums on big chalkboards.

Or, alternately, that "new age" shit that plays in homeopathic medicine shops, which has spawned even worse - artists like Enya. I'm not a 20-something woman with low self-confidence contemplating how my period relates to the earth mother cycle in the celestial ocean, so I don't really get Enya.

 

[Zoots]

When i think of "intelligent music", I kind of think of a bunch of German guys sitting around in black turtlenecks listening to Kraftwerk while doing large math sums on big chalkboards.

Or, alternately, that "new age" shit that plays in homeopathic medicine shops, which has spawned even worse - artists like Enya. I'm not a 20-something woman with low self-confidence contemplating how my period relates to the earth mother cycle in the celestial ocean, so I don't really get Enya.

Well said. Although I don't mind some Enya once in a while to relieve the rock n roll.

There is no such thing as intelligent music. It's all snob talk.

 

[angelordevil]

There is no such thing as intelligent music. It's all snob talk.

I'll probably end the thread with this next offering

I was reading something the other day, and came across this qoute by Alan Bennett, a Bristish writer. He's talking about books here, but if you insert 'music' for "reading," it really capures how I feel about a great song:

"The best moments in reading are when you come across something — a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things — which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours..."

Taste is absolutely subjective, but I would say any kind of music that fits that criteria is pretty damn intelligent.

 

[ntalwar]

I found some stuff on "The Mozart Effect":

The Mozart Effect was founded by Gordon Shaw and some of his fellow colleagues. This experiment showed how music affects the brain to increase intelligence and spatial-temporal memory.

In the first experiment, college students took an intelligence test before listening to the first 10 minutes of Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major.

After listening to the song, the students were given another intelligence test. The scores increased by eight to nine points. This showed that the spatial-temporal reasoning and memory were enhanced by listening to the music.

The experiment was repeated many times. The scores were never as drastic as the first, but they always increased

Also, EEG coherence studies were done along with fMRI studies that showed cortical blood oxygenation activation by the Mozart sonata. These studies, also, showed that the Mozart Effect is important for spatial-temporal reasoning and memory.

All of this information can be found in Gordon Shaw’s notes and article called The Mozart Effect.