It's only natural that people have different tastes in music; where we were raised, what we were exposed to, what rhythm speak most to us, and many other factors affect how we view music.
Music is one of my favorite things in life---I need music to wake up, it's like caffeine, a subtle drug that I consume daily as a passageway for the words I fail to portray at times. Music has shaped me in ways that I'm unaware of at times; but I'm glad that it has. And I believe that all genres of music should be respected and heard at least once.
But recently what I've been noticing on quite of few sites, not just MyOtaku, is that people label types of music shamelessly, like how they label people. Music taught me about labeling--- how incorrect it is; how it affects and berates people and sets back the people who partake in labeling.
When I was younger, I only listened to 70's music and alternative rock; if anyone ever tried to shove a song of a different genre like hip-hop or cultural I strayed away and judged it right away. And before long, a whole chunk of lively, outspoken, music was shielded by my ignorance.
I was actually raised around Spanish and hip-hip, and basically all kinds of music. My family didn't shy away from certain genres like I had chosen too; and in the end, I was turning away from what I was raised with.
But then, as I got older, my ignorance began to peel away with the passing of the years. Under the influence of my family, I started dipping into other genres. This dive introduced me to J-rock, Hip-Hop, Folk, Metal, Techno, Country, Grunge, and more cultural music; like Haitian and Spanish.
I think people should be more open to music and all its genres; hip-hop, I soon found if you look at the right artists, can be very exciting and inspirational. But I see people blatantly posting that "rap is crap" or that bands like Hawthorne Heights or Linkin Park are 'emo', 'whiney' and pathetic---when I can easily guess that they didn't even take the time to absorb the message and lyrics.
Music can be very powerful and can speak about, family, love, affection, pride, prejudice, government, dreams, determination, everything. That's why I love music; there's a song for every occasion, every emotion, thought. Songs are something that anyone can sink into; it has a pulse, a power that can be defined but not measured perfectly. Even people who've lost hearing can enjoy music---the power, force, pulse or any genre is enough to make anyone slip out of their shell.
Music is not something that should be cast away simply because of title, genre or reputation. Hip-hop used to have a horrible reputation, and it saddens me to say that to a certain extent, it still does. But back then, if you listened to hip-hip, you were a hoodlum; if you promoted it, you never got far. People were closed off. And on television, it sometimes didn't get the respect it deserved. Nowadays, hip-hop is a gargantuan industry. It has influenced clothing trends, language, patterns of thinking, perception and many other things. :)
Not all music sends a perfect message. Sometimes it's explicit, ignorant, and degrading---but that's only a few in comparison to the thousands, millions of other songs; lovely, eager to make a difference, and still unheard by your ears.
It's never wrong to simply have listened to a genre and to have never been able to sink into it---but to blatantly label and degrade it with ignorance and hatred is not right.
I love music---hip-hop, rock, oldies, techno, new age, even country.
It's beautiful.
There was once a time where I was ignorant to the fact the American dubs suck horribly; then I started looking that the original subbed versions of anime like Yu-Gi-Oh and Death Note. Believe it or not, Yu-Gi-Oh is an excellent anime. Yes, I said it! The Japanese version of it didn’t have so many tedious, corny friendship references and the characters were little more realistic. Yugi in the very first episode of the show clarified his affections for Tea; and Seto Kaiba wasn’t a complete ass to everyone and wasn’t so ‘How dare you insult my multi-billion dollar company---I’m rich biatch!’ In fact, he actually had great philosophies and was a well-rounded character.
What is so wrong with America that they can’t portray believable and gut wrenching emotion when ever they dub something? I was watching Death Note, the dubbed version [I know, bad move---I’ll kill myself later.] The voices are all wrong! *Cries* Dude! Why does Light sound freaking happy? He’s creating a new world, not giving cookies to little children on Christmas!
And Mikami’s English voice when he goes totally insane with the word ‘Delete’, it sounded so hilarious! I began to wonder; is he writing down the names onto the paper, or raping himself? O_o
“Delete! Delete! Delete! DELETEEEEEEE!!!!!!!”
I simply believe that America should discontinue dubbing anime altogether, that is, unless they can start doing it right. I only like a select few dubs; Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, Neon Genesis Evangalion, Cowboy Bebop, and Wolf’s Rain It is my dream to turn on the television and watch the subbed version of my favorite anime on common channels. I mean, come on! How hard is it to read a couple of subtitles? No wonder this country is so laid back; everything is made so easy for its inhabitants.
But the worst dub I’ve ever witnessed with the 4-kids version of One Piece. I actually disliked One Piece because I thought that it was stupid, and overdone. But when I started watching the subbed version, it grew on me very quickly.
But hey, I heard FUNimation is planning on re-dubbing it; so maybe there is some hope left. XD
Naruto is not even getting a real mention because everyone knows that dub sucks too. [lol]
